Tavern--Breakfasted 1/7 rode thence by a small Town call'd
Churchill--thence to the Head of Chester River 22 miles here I dined
my Company gone to the Chester Races which happen to morrow--Expence
2/4 Rode thence to Warwick 12 miles My Horses feet swell this Evening
_Teusday 25._
Bill at Warwick--supper 1/3--Oats./8--Stable Hay & Lodging 2/.--Glass
of Wine Bitters./4--Rode thence to Port Penn 15 miles expence there
1/7--Ferriage 5/.--Arrived once more by Gods Kindness in New-Jersey
among my friends & relations I found many of my Acquaintances have
gone off the Stage Uncle _Seeley_; _Damon James_; Mrs _Reeve_; _James
Boyd_; & several others--And many are Sick--Our Family through divine
Goodness are in Health.--
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO ELIZABETH BEATTY]
Greenwich Novem: 30: 1774.
TO LAURA.
--The Widow left the Room after begging that I would stay to Coffee--I
was seated near the Toilet on which Miss had thrown her Piece of
Drawing.--I viewed it, She saw me, & began a fine Apology--That her
Situation is so lonely, being out of the Way of Entertainment by
Company!--That Music & Drawing are her chief & necessary
Amusements--That She was glad of the Opportunity of an Hours
Conversation even of an utter Stranger--That She came to America about
the 20th: of last May, with a Brother who is since returned--That her
Aunt is desirious She may stay in Mary-land & be a Companion and
Intimate with her--That since July She has had the Ague and Fever,
which had left her only a few Days--And, said She, I want very much to
up to Philada:--I heard all this with great Attention &
Patience;--When She had finished her Story, I asked her in turn
several Questions which she answered with Propriety, & the greatest
Apparent Frankness--Til She came to the Answer which I have before set
down, then I smil'd--You came then from Britain, Miss--No Sir, I came
from London!--Fearing a Proposal to wait on her down to Annapolis, &
thence to Philadelphia, the moment I had drank two Dishes of Coffee,
which was a few Minutes before Sunset I mounted & rode twenty Miles--
Do you know Mr ---- who lodged at Mrs ---- in Philada said P.---- to
me as we were sitting together in the Parlour this rainy Afternoon,
she sewing at a Lawn Wrist-band, & I pouting over Watts's Logic--Yes,
Madam, I have some Acquaintance with him--And he knows Miss ---- said
She, I saw him last Spring at Mr A---- She had sometime before told
him that you was remarkably & impertinently intimate with Miss
Beatty--That She herself, & Miss Beatty both had disapproved of your
Conduct, & had by themselves, agreed to inform you of their Sentiments
& to advise you to enter upon a different Behaviour--She told him that
She had at last prevailed over you so far as to declare to her that
you would never make any further Addresses to Miss ---- because She
had a few Days before made a pointed and ill-natured Remark upon your
going to Virginia--And pray Madam, did you believe such Trash--? But
Trash or Substance it makes me feel grave--I was to Day looking over
my Papers & saw Something Apropos, if I can turn to it presently you
shall have it--It is an Extract from my Virginia Journal.
I have heard lately some very dull Stories, & am consequently in a
very dull gloomy kind of Humour--Every Day I am expecting a more
vigorous Feeling--Perhaps it will come tomorrow, but today I must tell
you that my Feeling accords precisely with what I have recorded of
myself last March.
--Virginia.
_Teusday March 22. 1774._
--In spite of all my strongest opposing Efforts my Thoughts dwell on
that Vixen Laura--I strive to refuse them Admission, or harbour them
in my Heart, yet like hidden Fire they introduce themselves, & sieze &
overcome me, when perhaps I am pursuing some favorite Study, amusing
or useful, or giving Directions to my little lovely Charge--
I had an Invitation to go to night to hear Mr Worth, a Baptist
Minister preach; Polley, Salley, Ruth, Sister, Dr King were to be
along-- But it storms, & has been storming all Day so violently that
I have not dared yet to venture myself so far as the Stable to see my
Horse--Nature is like your Pulse Laura; There is a constant Succession
of black & white, Pain & Ease, Good & Evil--Yesterday was as fair, &
to Day as directly the contrary as ever I saw two--Had you ever a
Swellyng on your Finger--? It throbb'd--The Pain came & went by
turns--This is not my Thought, I stole it from Mr Addison--He tells us
of the Conversation & Behaivour of the great Socrates the morning he
was to die. "When his Fetters were knocked off, being seated in the
midst of his Scholars, and laying one of his Legs over the other in a
very unconcerned Posture, he began to rub it where it had been galled
by the Iron: And willing to improve every Oppertunity of instructing
them he observed the Pleasure of that Sensation which now arose in
those very Parts of his Leg that just before had been so much pained
by the Fetter. Upon this he reflected on the Nature of Pleasure & Pain
in General that they constantly succeed each other"--If you are
curious you may read the whole beautiful Story of their Alliance &
Marriage in the Spect: No: 183.
We poor earthly Creatures are, as to fortune & Feeling, exactly like
the Nails in a turning Wheel, to Day up, to morrow Down--Always either
sinking or rising. I have been descending for several Days, & am this
very Moment down on the cold Earth in which lowly Posture I sincerely
tell you I am in good or evil Fortune--fortune kind or cross.
forever yours
PHILIP. V. FITHIAN.
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO ELIZABETH BEATTY]
Greenwich Decem: 1. 1774.
TO LAURA.
--"From a Settlement made May 12: 1774 there appears a Balance due
from Laura of N. n to Lucius, fifteen Letters & a Visit; the whole to
be paid on or before the 20th: of Novem. next ensuing--Which Payment
if not well & truely made by the said Laura, within the Time above
limited, then the said Lucius is, & by these Presents shall be now &
forever possest of the full Liberty of siezing, destraining, or taking
any or every Part of the said Delinquents Goods & Chattels, &
disposing of the same, as he shall think proper til the said Balance
be made up--And in Case there shall be failure of Effects, then it is
& Shall be lawful for the said Lucius to take under his immediate
Direction the Person of the said Laura--
This 1. Day of Decem: on which I am examining a little into my
Accompts is the 11:Day since the Time of Payment allow'd to that young
Lady is fully expired--"Curse not the King, said Solomon, in thy
Bed-Chamber, not even in thy Heart"--Why? "The Birds of the Air will
tell it."--Very fine, this! Bring Scrippture among your Pounds,
Shillings, & Pence--Very fine, young black Coat--Don't be too fast,
Madam, I've got a Gown on, & my Hair is cu'd--On the 4: of July 1774.
about three in the Afternoon, I was sitting alone in my Chamber, in
Virginia, thinking--Among many other Conclusions I remember well, it
was determined in my mind that this same Laura who is now so much in
my Debt, is actually worth 50,000£ Sterling, pr Annum--Where is the
Impropriety then, of my mentioning Solomon's Advice?--Does it now hurt
your Conscience, Madam?--
If you can have Patience, I will tell you, from my Virginia Journal
the true Cause of that Conclusion.
--Monday. July 4th: 1774.
"Miss Nancy Carter, at Dinner, informed us that Miss Lee, a young Lady
from Richmond is now at Mr Turberville's, & she begg'd that her
Brother, & I would go in the Evening & invite her here--We consented,
& after School took Horses & rode on our Errand; Besides Miss Lee, we
found Capt: Turberville, his Lady, Daughter, & several young
Gentlemen.
After the Ceremony of Introduction, & our Devoirs were over, we took
Seats, in a Cool Hall where the Company were sitting;--All when we
entered were smiling at young Mr ---- who had been gathering
Mulberries, & stained his Ruffle--The Attention of the Company being
wholly taken up with him, I had the Oppertunity which I wanted, of
examining the Person of his Sister, without being interrupted either
by the Notice of others, or by my own Timidity. Miss Lee, I am told,
is now entering her 20th Year; She is handsome. Her Eyes are exactly
such as _Homer_, attributes to the Goddess _Minrva_; and her Arms
resemble those which the same Poet allows to _Juno_--Her Hair is a
dark leaden Colour; & was craped & knotted up very high, & in it
neatly-woven, a Ribband, with a Sprig of green Jessamine--She wore a
light Chintz Gown, very fine, with a blue Stamp, eligantly, &
fashionably made, & which set well upon her--In one word, her Dress
was neat & genteel; her Behaivour such as I should expect to find in a
Lady whose Education had been conducted with Care & Skill, & her
Person, abstracted from the Embellishments of Dress & Good-Breeding,
not much above the Generality of Women.
What made me desirous to see, and curious to examine this young Lady,
was a Sentence that was dropt yesterday by a respectable Person in our
Family, intimating a Desire that I may, on seeing Miss Lee, after
having known, by Report, her faultless Character, be so far pleased
with her Person, as to try to make her mine, & settle in this
Colony--That kind Person who is for making me happy by setling me in
Virginia, & connecting me with one of the best Families in the
Government little knows how painful it would be, if I was indeed
compell'd by any Accident of Fortune, to spend the Remainder of my
Days in Virginia, if it is the Pleasure of Providence, that I am to
continue for any Length of Time in the World.
"_Strong_, & _sweet_ are the Bands which tye us to our Place of
Nativity; If it be but a beggarly Cottage, we seem not satisfied with
the most rich & splendid Entertainment if we are separated totally
from it.
"But if a Princess should ask me to accept together with herself,
50,000, £ Sterling pr Annum; I declare with as great Pleasure as Truth
that the Esteem and Fidelity which I possess for my ever-dear Eliza
would make me, without Reflection, evade & refuse the Offer."
This is not strained Panegyrick; it is still the faintest Image of my
Heart, tho' the Sentiment may seem strong & improbable.
PHILIP. V FITHIAN.
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO PRISCILLA CARTER]
Philadelphia Octr. 12th. 1775.
MADAM.
It gave me high satisfaction when I saw your brother first in our
province. I was cordially glad.--He came unexpected, and that
circumstance increased my pleasure at seeing him at all. He is now in
this city--Has been in several parts of East and West Jersey--Has
tolerable health--And a steady cheerfulness, which I am willing to
believe, arises from pretty constant entertainment.
I hear with much surprise, that none of my letters, since I left your
family, have been so fortunate as to arrive safe. I impute this to the
jealousy of the public, concerning the contents of letters passing
through the continen[t].
Mr Peck carries you, with these, my best wishes--That you may rise
rapidly in the early improvement of your mind in each useful and
ornamental undertaking to which you may be directed--That you may have
much real unmixed happiness in the friendships which your age and rank
will soon lead you to form--And that the transporting scenes which at
a distance, you discover to be painted on your future life, may, as
they rise before you one after another, give you as much peaceful
enjoyment as so great imperfection can bestow.
You will please to give my best duty to your dear Mama.
I shall write to Miss Nancy. Do not fail by any means whatever, to
mention me to Miss _Fanny_, _Betsy_, and _Harriot_--Dear Harriot, Dear
Betsy, dear Fanny--Lovely, lovely Girls! And Tasker too, if he has not
forgot me, O tell him,--Tell them all how much I want to see
them--Tell them I will surely come for such impatience as mine cannot
bear disappointment.
You will also please to give my kind respects to Miss Sally Stanhope,
and to all the family without one exception.
May I ask you to send me a line? My desire of se[e]ing as well as
hearing from you is so strong I will venture--O write; three lines, if
you send no more, will put you to some little trouble, but none can
tell how welcome three lines from you would be to
Your most obliged,
And most humble Servt:
P. V. FITHIAN
TO MISS PRISCILLA CARTER.
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO ANN TASKER CARTER]
Philadelphia Octobr: 13th. 1775.
MISS NANCY:
No Dances, and but little music! You will begin to ask what is the
world coming to?--No Tea, nor Gause, nor Paris-net, nor lawn, nor
lace, nor Silks, nor Chintzes; Good Sirs--Good Sirs!--Well Nancy, in
these hard times, I must want Stocks, and you must want Caps--But you
look best, when I recollect, in your Hair; you look ten thousand
thousand times over the best without any Cap at all, so that in spight
of me I shall be outdone. I want to know how you and the Guitar agree
yet--
Pray do you ride out often? If you do, who rides with you; or do you
boldly ride alone?--Tell me who is yet mistress at Checks--I believe,
if you will allow me to guess at so great a distance, it is Fanny. My
dear Nancy I want much to see you. I would give this moment my hand
full of half-Bits, or their value in coppers, if I thought you wish to
see me.
Good-by, Good-by
PHILIP V. FITHIAN
TO MISS NANCY CARTER.
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO ROBERT BLADEN CARTER]
Greenwich Octobr: 16th. 1775.
SIR.
It gives me pleasure to hear by your brother and Mr Peck, that, in
continual health, you are growing rapidly to lusty Manhood--I am more
pleased to hear that by growing industry you are rising faster in the
progress of your education. Diligence overcomes all difficulties, Be
diligent, in a proper course of business, and you will be great.
Mr Peck informs me that Henry has left the school and is in an other
way of business; I wish him success in whatever course fortune shall
lead him in. You will give him my kind respects. I should have written
him a letter but I am drove on to the last hour of your brothers stay
before I finish these.
Mr Peck or your Brother can inform you farther in any questions of my
place and business,
I must now write myself dear Bob always respectfully
Yours
PHILIP V. FITHIAN
MASTER BOB CARTER
Virginia
[LETTER OF PHILIP V. FITHIAN TO COUNCILLOR ROBERT CARTER]
Greenwich Octobr. 17th. 1775.
HON: SIR.
I was much gratified at your indulgent permission of your Son to
visit, for a time, these northern Provinces. I think it will on the
whole, be several ways advantageous to him. When I first saw him, he
was feeble, and daily feverish; now he is better--He attended the
commencement at Princeton; has been some time in Philadelphia--Seems
cheerful--I think entertained--And will not return home without having
made some useful observations--I am however fearful, that his
constitution is not sufficiently vigorous, without scrupulous
attention to exercise and nourishment, to afford him lasting health.
With regard to the public concerns they are here at so high a pass,
and so complex, I must refer you to _Ben_ and Mr _Peck_.
I hear with great anxiety of Mrs Carters Illness; but hope, through
the kindness of auspicious Heaven, that before you receive these, She
will again enjoy her usual health. You will please to remind her of my
constant strong esteem; it flows from the remembrance of a succession
of unmerited kindness.
I have wrote frequently since I left your family, but am surprized to
hear that all my letters have been intercepted or lost.
I am, Sir, with great truth & Esteem
Your most obliged
Most obedient
Servant
PHILIP V. FITHIAN
TO ROBT: CARTER ESQR.
Virginia.
APPENDIX
[CATALOGUE OF LIBRARY OF ROBERT CARTER COMPILED BY PHILIP FITHIAN.]
FOLIO'S
Molls large correct map of the whole world.
Chamber's Dictionary of the Arts & Sciences 2 Vols
Suplement to Ditto 2. Vol.
Millers Gardeners Dictionary.
Postlethwayts Do. of Trade & Commerce 2. Vol.
Bayley's Etymological Ditto.
Laws of Maryland.
Puffendorf's Law of Nature & Nations
Salmons universal Traveller 2. Vol.
Grotius on War & Peace.
Lockes Works 3 Vols.
Wilkin's real Character.
Principle of Equity.
Homes Decisions of the Court of Sessions.
Treatise & Maxims of Equity or Chancery.
Stackhouse History of the Bible 2 Vols.
17 Volumes of Music, by various Authors.
Temples Works 2 Volumes.
Cases in Equity Abridged 2 Volumes.
Ackerleys Britanick Constitution.
Spelmans Works.
Swinburne of Wills.
Vavassoris omnia Opera.
Hughes's natural History of Barbadoes.
Salmons Abridgment of state Trials.
Vossii Epistolae.
Observations on Caesars Comment.
Clarendons Tracts.
Scripta Senecae Philosophi.
Books of Common Prayer.
The Surveyor in four Books.
Hortensii Enarrationes in Virgilium.
Advices from Parnassus.
Blounts Censura Authorum.
Bacons Government.
Dictionaire universel de toates les Sciences, & des Arts 3 Volumes.
Biblia Sacra.
Stephani Thesaurus 4 Volumes.
Le grand Dictionaire History 4 Volumes.
Acta Regia.
Raleighs History of the World.
Calmets historical, critical, geographical, chronological and
Etymological Dictionary of the Holy Bible in 3 Volumes.
Bundys Roman History 3 Volumes.
Works of Virgil 2 Volumes.
A View of universal History.
Cooke [Coke] on Littleton.
Sidney on Government.
Cornu Copia of Terence Varra.
Calmets Prints.
Alexanders Feasts, or the Power of Music, an Ode in Honour of St.
Celaelia [Cecilia] by Dryden set to Music by Handel.
Hammond on the New Testament.
_QUARTO._
Bates Hebrew & English Dictionary.
Christianity as old as the Creation.
North's Examen.
Blackstones Comment. 4 Volumes.
Harris's Justinian, in Latin.
Shaws Boerhave. 2 Volumes.
Simpsons Justice.
Builders Treasure of Designs.
Palladio Londenensis.
Marine Dictionary.
Newtons observations on Daniel.
Guidonis de Rebus memorabilibus.
Piscarnii Dissertationes medicae.
Carmina quadrigessimalia.
History of the London Royal Society.
Erasmus de optimo Rei Statue.
The Courtier by Castligio.
Puffendorf de la Nature, et des Gens.
Hedorici Lexicon.
Morhosii Polyhistor 2 Volumes.
Helvicus Chronology.
Hierenymi Syphilis.
Pearoes Longinus.
Boyers Dictionary.
Aurelii de Levitate Dei.
Phisica, a manuscript.
Monthly Review 24 Volumes.
Quinctiliani de Institutione Oratoris.
Barcleys Argenis.
Apology of the Church of England.
Newton's Milton 3 Vols. neatly gilt.
Horatius Bentleii.
Cowleys Works.
Chubbs Tracts.
Robertsons Charles 5. 5 Vols. Gilt.
Desaguliers Experiment. Philos. 2 Vols.
Gravesande Elements of Philosophy 2 Vols.
Sheridan on Elocution.
Grotius de la Guerre & de la Paix.
Fingal; an Epic Poem.
OCTAVO'S.