exhibition of Shakespeare’s Othello. The part of Iago was acted by Mr.
—— in my opinion perfectly well. The character of Iago is a horrid one,
yet, Mr. —— made every action, every look, so exactly correspond with
the subject, that ’twas with regret I saw him pass off the stage at the
termination of each scene. Mrs. Merry, wife of the poet, appeared in the
character of Desdemone, all seemed highly satisfied with her
performance, I could point out no place in which she seemed particularly
defective, yet I believe a Mrs. Siddons would have contrived somehow or
other, to have drawn from me more tears. But Mr. Fennet in the character
of Othello, met with unbounded applause, not from me however,—he
displayed a strongly expressive countenance, & told the story of his
courtship inimitably. When I observed to my fellow boarders that the
part was overacted, I found no one whose opinion corresponded with
mine—we find that the style of acting most pleasing to those who are
much used to Theatrical exhibitions always appears overstrained,
overacted to those who have never attended the theatre—& which have the
most reason to think themselves in the right? those that have seen
nothing but nature, & consequently have no other standard to judge by,
or those who have long lost of nature, & judge of acting by comparison
with some favorite actor? They tell me my taste is not sufficiently
refined,—I tell them theirs is vitiated—one poor half starved tear only
did Othello draw from my eyes. In the succeeding farce called the Romp,
Mrs. Martial acted the part of Priscilla very pleasingly, ’twas judged
there were 1000 people in the house.
Kosciusko has left town, while here he made a practice of kissing the
ladies who came to see him—of 2 young ladies intimate with the family to
which I board, one who was saluted by him resolved that no other person
should kiss her for three weeks, for after being saluted by so great a
man, the kisses of all others had become insipid,—the other swore she
would not wash her face in a fortnight. Do you think the Litchfield
ladies would so far prefer the kisses of the brave to those of the
pretty fellows who are every evening fluttering about them? or is their
taste in this kind of commodity less refined? 3 sons of the late Duke of
Orleans M. Egalite are in town,—curiosities abound—here is a panorama in
which if we can believe the keepers of it everything worth seeing is to
be seen—aerial representation—wax work—The learned pig is also
displaying his wisdom here—he draws many spectators—but he will have
more wit than I think he has, if he gets 4 shillings from me.
Give my respects to everybody. Nabby Smith I think wrote from Aurora to
have Fanny get into the Pulpit next Sunday & give her love to the whole
congregation—do the same kind office for me—I have received no letter
from Fanny, Betsey, & Maria, they promised to write.
5th Oct. T. PIERCE.
You must look over and correct this letter yourself. I have not time. On
the 10th about 1000 French books are to be sold at vendue, if I can buy
some for nothing, I shall make a few bids whether I have money or not.
I have spun out this epistle to such a length, that I shall not have
time this evening to write every one—therefore each one may appropriate
this to him or herself, & give me credit for it upon their letter
account books.
Lynde says, “the pay of the youngest servant of the bank, is 500
dols—the next 600—& so on—but there is no prospect of a vacancy—in this
line of business you cannot make a living unless you obtain promotion to
the higher places”—this is very uncertain.—“I have been in the bank 8
years (I think he said 8) & have gained a place barely lucrative enough
to maintain my family in an economical frugal way the business in which
you will be employed in the bank has no relation to merchandise & you
are mistaken if you think you can go at any time into that business—to
trade with a probability of making a fortune, requires a knowledge of
traffic which can be gained only by long attention to the business, so
that if you should be disgusted 2 or 3 years hence with the dull
uniformity & confinement of this business, there is no respectable
employment whatever into which you can immediately enter.” Therefore he
advises you not to embark in the business—but if you still have an
inclination, the first time a vacancy happens he will exert his
influence to obtain the place for you—you may be sure. I think of Mr.
Burral’s favour.—The business will require a clear, neat, upright
handwriting, elegant figures & the utmost accuracy.
Nancy, I forward those rings from Mrs. Pierce to you by Col. Talmage. I
hope they may please you as much as they did me—I long to have an
evening conversation with you about Dr. Bard & other New York folks, but
we are so circumstanced at present that I fancy it will be a difficult
matter to effect.
Addressed to James Pierce outside.
No. 5
BROTHER JAMES:—
I have received two letters from Mr. Allen since he has been at
Philadelphia & have written 2 to him, his last contained the paragraph
which I have enclosed in his own handwriting, my last letter to him
contained the following paragraph as near as I can recollect in answer
to what he has written me concerning you. “I receive frequent letters
from my brother James, his abilities are ... &c. &c. ... heart &c. Yet I
fear his dislike to the law will prevent his making that application to
the study of it which is necessary to form the able counsellor.” In his
last letter he expressed a desire to enter as a Clerk into the Bank. Mr.
Catlin has promised him his influence in procuring the next vacant
clerkship, but at the same time earnestly advised him not to engage in
the Bank, the reasons he urged in support of this advice appeared to me
sufficiently forcible to prevent his further thinking of the scheme. I
wish you would write to him upon the subject, your advice will perhaps
fix his attention upon something, &c. &c. You have here the import of
what I wrote concerning you, but I hope it was not so badly expressed.
So if he does not forget it, he will soon send you some good advice,
perhaps you will think I have been too officious in this business.
I have been purchasing a few Medical books, some of which are _dog
cheap_, others _devilish dear_.
Chaptal’s Chemistry 1 Vol. 3 dollars.
Darwin’s Zoonomia 6 Vols. 6.25 cts.
Cullen’s Materia Med. 2 Vols. 2
Bell on Venereal diseases 1 Vol. 1 dollar.
Bell on Ulcers 1 Vol. 1 „
Smellie’s tables 1 Vol. 1 „
Hamilton’s Obstetrics 1 Vol. 1 „
New System of Anatomy 3 Vols. 3.37 cts.
Huxhum on fevers 1 Vol. .75 cts.
—————
19.37
I shall subscribe for an edition of Darwin’s Botanic Garden now printing
in an elegant style in New York. This with a few other books that I
intend soon to buy will make a clever little library.
I was much entertained by your political sketch. I have but little time
to spend to read the Newspapers. Give my respects & love to Mamma, some
of you wrote she was sick,—in your last letter she is not even
mentioned.
TO JAMES.
No. 6
TO MY BROTHER & SISTERS, GREETING.
In your last letter Polly, you say of yourself “If I can get sense
enough to rub through a short life decently, I shall be satisfied—But I
despair of that!!” Why do you despair of that? Or why be content with
rubbing through decently when it is in you power to shine. The mind is
made of such plastic materials that with a little attention we can mould
it in any form we please. How happens it that the memory of one person
is better than that of another? It is not owing to a more perfect
structure of the brain, but to a habit of exercising the memory acquired
in early life. The Judgment & all our other faculties may be greatly
improved by exerting them. Thus habits of exertion form the _Sage_, and
habits of relaxation the ninny, I do not know that I have clearly
expressed my meaning—but I suppose you would prefer reading something
else, to hearing a further explanation.
You desire me to forward you some French books if I have purchased
any—but whenever I have attended the Auctions, French books have been
sold for more than I chose to give—so that I have as yet, procured for
you only one book, a poor solitary, mutilated volume of Rousseau’s
Emile. It has been kicked about the Library of some empty headed French
man, who seems to have made no other use of it than curling his locks,
or wiping his razor with the first 4 pages. If I were to judge from its
appearance, I should say—that it has been _read_ but little, yet
_wormeaten_ a great deal. The worms by making many a delicious repast
upon the _inside_ of the book, have certainly shown good taste, more
relish, for this elegant work of Rousseau, than the light headed French
man who used it only to look at & abuse its outside. By the way I bought
it for almost nothing otherwise I would not send you an incomplete
work—but Polly can amuse herself with it whenever she takes it into her
head to read French (which I fear will be very seldom) till I have an
opportunity to send others.
I have just called upon Mr. Tisdale the engraver, he says the pictures
are finished, but will not be perfectly dry till tomorrow morning—so
that if Mr. Seymour sets out before 9 o’clock, they will be obliged to
wait for another opportunity. You are surprised that the pictures have
not been finished before. Tisdale is a good engraver, & an excellent
miniature painter, but he has lately taken to writing poetry—which is as
great an hinderance to punctuality as taking to liquor. You remember
that I wrote word that they were promised for the next week.
Kiss little Ann Pierce Brace for me and tell her I hope she may make as
fine a lady, as little Ann Pierce Pendleton intends to be.
Give my love, compliments, & respects, to all who wish for them.
TIM’Y PIERCE.
No. 7
CAMP, 10th. Sept. 1799.
DEAR BROTHER:—
I met with a cordial reception in Camp last evening & lodged with Capt.
Ranny—for the first time under a canvas roof—In regard to warmth my
quarters were comfortable enough but I could sleep only a small part of
the night. This was owing to my attention being kept awake by the
novelty of the scene, the noise of the Camp, certain interesting
reflections which the occasion suggested, the nature of which I will
leave to you to guess, & by an attack upon the Camp by at least a whole
regiment of fleas. These hopping enemies, if my calculations are
accurate, will shed more blood, from our regiment, than will be drawn by
the French or any other foreign foes. The rascals march into our lines,
by the day in spite of bayonets, & steal upon our station by night
without the ceremony of countersign. But it is to be hoped that cooler
weather will before long screen us from their invasion. A little change
of temperature will defend me from the bites of fleas, the bites of
bedbugs, the bites of mosquitoes, & from all the bites except the bite
of _Jack Frost_.
It will be necessary for me to supply the furniture of my own Markee.
Therefore whatever articles either of sleeping or waking domestic use
that can without inconvenience be spared from home will be thankfully
received. I shall yet be obliged to set the fashion for surgeon’s dress,
therefore Polly may send on some cravats, A black stock would save some
washing—Our other Surgeon’s mate has not yet come or accepted, & our
Surgeon departs for a day or two, therefore for some days or perhaps
weeks I alone shall hold le cleff d’acheron. Be careful that my trunk
shall come on the next stage. There are 3 or 4 sick in Camp, one with
quite a grievous dysentry, but I hope this fine weather may prove a
reviving cordial to him. Idea requested me to bequeath to her at my
departure a portion of the Esculapion Spirit. I found leisure to write a
few simple directions, which may be of use, but forgot to hand them to
her, you will find them scrawled upon the back of a letter from Dr.
Mitchel directed to me, perhaps they are unintelligible for I had no
time to review them. She will find rules for simple cases very plainly
laid down in an old rusty book in the bookcase, called Buchans Family
Physician.
I shall not want a horse at present.
Give my love to the girls at our house. I wish some or all would be good
natured enough to write to me. My knee is my table, you might guess it.
Farewell.
Tell Polly to send me a cockade as large as she can lift.
Addressed to JAMES PIERCE,
Litchfield.
No. 8
In my last letter I forgot to mention that I wanted Moggy to make me two
or three night caps. Desire sister Nancy to be so good as to send me
those letters written by Gen. L. Kosciusko which are in her possession,
to those engaged in military duty, anything relating to the Hero of
Polish Liberty is, you may conceive, highly interesting. Some of our
officers are acquainted with him & would be delighted to see the
handwriting of their old friend. I promise that the letters shall be
safely returned to her possession. Lucy, you have perhaps returned to
Litchfield with a doleful story of the Camp, but the appearance of
things is totally altered. The whole ground of the encampment is now as
cleanly swept every day, as our kitchen floor,—wide bowers of evergreens
are carried in front of the tents through the whole length of the
encampment, supported by pillars thickly covered by intertwined ivy
leaves. It really exhibits a most beautiful view, especially by
moonlight, & when the tents are illuminated. Our Surgeon is gone & I
have the whole care of the regiment. It is sickly in the Camp at present
& therefore I have my hands full. Dr. Munson informs me there is much of
the dysentery at present in New Haven,—At Washington it is quite sickly.
Give my love to Lucy R. & tell her she may be assured I received her
present with a great deal of pleasure, but I fear she will not receive
the picture today nor tomorrow. I wish some of the young ladies would
write to me. I suppose they would expect a correspondence would be begun
by myself, but I know not who wishes to correspond with me & who would
not. Some of them if the question were asked would probably desire it.
But the strongest proof I can receive would be a _letter itself_,
Whoever will be good enough to write shall be answered with punctuality
& gratitude.
I lodge at present with our Colonel in his markee and diet at his table.
I never experienced such agreeable accommodations. The Colonel keeps a
table separate from the rest of the officers, & the other officers take
their food at a place called Social Hall, where they are accommodated
with excellent provisions. The expense of last week’s provisions
amounted only to 8/6 per head. I shall become again a member of Social
Hall when the Colonel sets out to visit his friends, which is expected
in a few days. The 4 dollars I took with me are spent & as it is
uncertain when I shall receive anything from Government a five dollar
bill sent by a safe opportunity would not be used for wadding to my
fowling piece. Give my love to all our young ladies.
MR. JAMES PIERCE, Litchfield. Yours, TIM’Y PIERCE,
No. 9
TO MY MOTHER, TO MY BROTHER, TO MY SISTERS, & TO MY FRIENDS,
GREETING:—
60 miles from Philadelphia, about 35 from New York—9 from New
Brunswick—near 140 from home & far removed from the habitations of any
human beings, except of those whose sole aim consists in devising every
art that knavery can suggest to plunder the contents of our purses, such
is the situation of our Camp.
The packet in which I embarked made a favorable run & landed us safe.
Not at New Brunswick as was expected, for New Brunswick was not the
place of our destination—but at Elizabethtown-point, whence after an
encampment of two or three days, to wait for the other transports, we
marched 18 miles & arrived at our present encampment, called _Union
Camp_ upon Scotch Plains.
The transport carrying Capts. Young, Balford, & their companies were not
so fortunate—You have heard the particulars of their scrape at Hellgate.
Poor devils—I felt for them on the rock, half dead with fear, cold & wet
as drowned rats. Fortunately, however, no lives were lost. The shock had
nearly thrown half the soldiers overboard. Their vessel keeled almost
upon her beams and very soon filled with water. The crew were brought
off with ferryaugers—baggage well pickled with brine, & guns almost
spoiled by the salt water. We waited for them at Elizabethtown-point, &
they marched on with us to the place of our encampment.
New York is still forbidden fruit for me. In a month or two I shall
visit that city & purchase a few articles of military dress, if I do not
eat up all my money. New Brunswick is at such a distance that it will
seldom be honored by my presence, for I shall keep no horse but have
concluded it wisest to eat my horse’s forage myself.
The soil of Elizabethtown is luxuriantly fertile. The place contains
about 180 houses, & in many respects resembles Weathersfield. New Ark
which I walked up to see is a fine flourishing manufacturing town of
nearly the same size. These towns are well worth the attention of
travellers. The land about our station at Union Camp, looks considerably
like Connecticut—but the farmers do not know how to work it right—they
are not as expert as the yankee boys in the tillage of their soil, but
in the midst of fertility most of them live in apparent poverty. Produce
of every kind is much dearer here than in our state, particularly in the
vicinity of the Camp. Here the griping marketers seem resolved to
squeeze out our heart’s blood. Soldiers, they think, are foolish &
imprudent & will give any price for whatever pleases their fancy—this
the soldiers absolutely do. They think the officers full of money—& that
they have a right to make them pay double for every thing they have—and
the officers do absolutely pay double for most articles & for some
treble the Conn’t price. You may get some idea of this by the following
list of prices. New York currency. Butter 2/ & 2/6 per pound—Apples 5/
per bushel—Potatoes 5/—Small loaves of bread 1/ middling sized 1/6—Cider
6/ per quart—3 dollars the barrel—small pumpkin pies, fit pukes for
dogs, 1/—Apple pies, crust rye & without shortening, spice or anything
else & hard as cannister shot 1/ &c. So that I feel myself in the
situation of the “soldier who lives on his pay,—and spends half a crown
out of sixpence a day.”
At present we are encamped in tents, having no floors in our markees as
in New Haven, but our feet are accommodated with a carpet, a la mode de
hog pen, that is straw spread upon the ground. But as we shall have log
houses in two or three weeks made convenient & calculated to last
several years as a durable habitation for future armies, or for our
_Standing Army_ that the Democrats tell about. Government has purchased
80 acres of land here consisting of good parade ground, & a fine piece
of wood for the building of huts & firing. But sending us here to build
our own huts, was a sad piece of economization in the U. S. A. For wood
at this place will sell for [illegible] a cord. The wood stands thick
upon the ground, consisting almost wholly of black oak & walnut,
straight, trim, & making excellent timber & it is calculated that the
logs we shall employ in building would sell for more than the cost of
comfortable frame barracks. If I have time to draw it I shall send a
plan of our present encampment & of the log houses erecting for our
winter accommodations.
Almost all kinds of religious persuasions prevail in our neighborhood
except those dictated by reason. Baptists, Saturday new Quakers &c.
abound. Last Sunday I attended a Quaker-meeting—Total silence prevailed,
the whole congregation sat motionless the old men & women with their
fingers upon their mouths, waiting for the access of the spirit, &
engaged in pious meditation. My thoughts were more intently fixed upon
home, than heaven. At length one rose & observed that nothing human
beings could offer before the throne of grace would be more acceptable
than meditation & awful silence. That young & inexperienced as he was
nothing would have tempted him to interrupt that becoming silence if he
had not feared that some of the congregation were walking the downward
road to perdition. This was the whole purport of his discourse. The
friends then shook hands with each other & retired to their homes. The
dresses of more wealthy Quaker ladies are plain, rich & becoming—One
young Quaker of about 18 years of age, carried the sweetest look & most
graceful manners I have seen this long time. I promised myself some
pleasure from her society, but was informed that she lives 10 miles
distant. Many of these Quakers attend these silent meetings steadily
from a distance of 12 or 15 miles. Tell Mamma that some time since I
purchased a testament, & have kept it so _nice_ that I have not yet
_soiled_ it in the _least_. The Quakers & other inhabitants about this
place like the Yankees much better than the York troops, or even than
the Jersey men. A respectable Quaker merchant told me yesterday that
“the New York soldiers & officers gave them a great deal of trouble, but
those from Connecticut were very civil in their behaviour & gave them no
trouble at all.” Most of the New York officers live so freely as to
expend the whole of their pay & many of them more than their wages.
Several have become discontented & resigned their commissions—6 or 8
have deserted from the New Jersey Reg’t since stationed here. 4 or 5
deserters from the New York line are in custody,—one,—two, or more of
them will probably be shot. For military execution a whole plattoon of
soldiers stand a few paces distant from the criminal & pour the balls at
once into his bosom. A court martial will be held in a few days upon one
of the York artillery officers, for taking money of soldiers who had
enlisted, for releasing them, as I am informed. The Yankee lads have the
reputation throughout the Camp of being formidable young sprigs. The
soldiers of York and Jersey reg’ts are in some measure at variance, but
both court the friendship of the Yankees. A day or two ago, a two handed
fellow from Cap’t Rod’s company, was gaping about in the York quarters,
when a stout Yorker strutted up to him & told him to go home,—he replied
that he would when he was ready—upon this Yorker bustled up to him, but
the Yankee laid his opponent sprawling by a single blow. Another Yorker
came up, but immediately measured the ground with his length—a third
shared the same fate & our victorious countryman set his arms akimbo &
walked to his tent at his leisure. A few similar incidents have given
the Yankees the names of brave lads. Our music is much better than that
of the other Reg’ts. The tune of Yankee Doodle is very often played, &
is known by the name of the _Invincible March_. _Did you ever see a
Yankee who was not a good brag?_
Our regiment has been remarkably healthy, we return generally only from
15 to 20 each day—3 or 4 have died from the York regiment, since the
recruits service began, & not a single man from ours—_See what the Dr.
can do!!_
As for myself I am hearty as a buck, & grow fleshy rapidly & could spend
my time very agreeably if I had a few companions that I could select
from our Litchfield society. We have some fine fellows among the
officers—but as to female society—I have given up all expectation of its
delights for this winter.
Sally’s letter from New Haven was highly gratifying to me, especially as
it informed me that Mamma’s health improved rapidly, by this time she
has probably recovered entirely. But she must be quite careful of
herself this winter, fatigue seems the one chief exciting cause of her
attacks of the pleurisy, she ought therefore to avoid it, & perhaps it
would be of use to her to take of the bark once now & then through the
winter. I wish she was where I could take care of her, but I do not
think she could have been left in better hands than in Polly’s.
A visit to the hill Sally mentions back of Amboy, would be very
desirable to me, but its distance will prevent a frequent enjoyment of
that water prospect she speaks so highly of. Yet whenever I visit Amboy,
I shall pay grateful acknowledgement to that benevolent family who were
so hospitable to our much lamented brother. I have heard nothing from
sister Pierce. We hear seldom from New York, almost never from
Philadelphia,—there are few papers taken in our Camp,—we so seldom have
intelligence from them, that those two places seem as distant as Europe.
We used generally to hear as much from them in one week, at Litchfield,
as I have heard since our arrival in New Jersey. Yes, Sally it would
have delighted me much to have visited the Museum at New Haven with you,
& the rock you mention, & were it not for one doleful obstacle I might
hope that, one of these days, after school in the afternoon, you would
accompany me to a rock in the neighborhood of our present encampment
from which New Brunswick, Amboy, & a vast extent of country may be seen
at once.
If James wrote by the post as you mentioned, the letter has been lost,
for no letter has yet been received though long anxiously expected.