Yours of the 8th. I received the 17th. Inst. and broke the Affair to Mr. Cranch, who has it under Consideration and expect he will give me an Answer this Week—1

A Day or two previous to the Receipt of yours, Solomon Thayer of Braintree came to my House and offered me a piece of Pasture Land adjoyning to a detached Piece of the Farm which You bought of Elkanah Thayer, the same Piece he had offered me last Summer @ 18 Dollr. Pr. Acre, I then refus’d the offer— Dr. Fogg had now made him an offer of his Pasture (@ 30 Dollr Pr. Acre) the Money to be paid in 3 or 4 Days. this laying near Thayers House, led him to renew his offer to me— Although I felt an Aversion to engage without consulting you upon it—Yet several Considerations induced me to make him an Offer with which He finally closed, it turnd out 11 Dollrs. & 47 Cents Pr. Acrend by Admeasurement, about 13 Acres. have paid him & received a Deed— In the Piece now purchased is a living spring which Thayer assures me He never knew to be dry; in Your Land adjoyning the water fails in a Dry Season— heretofore You could not get into Your Land without passing through his— Thayer has also cleared up & cut off a greater part of the Bushes in the Fall2 past— The Purchase of half an Acre (or an Acre at most) of John Hobart, which I am told may be easily made, would bring You into all Your Lands in that Quarter, without being dependant on any Body for a Passage—3 These Considerations led me to think that the Purchase would be agreable to You, if not You must rap my Knuckles & tell me to do so no more—4

For two Months past I have been upon the Enquiry for Barley in Quincy, but without Success— I hope to collect some in Weymouth or Hull— I shall not feel easy untill it is secured, as I foresee that it will be difficult to secure it in the Spring—

Burrell is disposed to keep his Station another Year— French seems to be undetermind— I settled Accounts with him about Ten Days past He appeared very dull, He told me He had worked hard 361 and should close the Year with a Loss of (at least) 50 Dollrs. His Barley had been lost his Crop of Corn greatly diminishd, on these Articles He had placed much Dependance for his Profits, He askd me whether I could make him any Allowance, I declind doing it without Advice, He wishd me to represent his Case to You, this I have now done, and shall follow Your Directions—

The Subject Matter of Your Letter I shall carefully attend to, and in my next give You information of my Proceedings—

Mine & mrs. Tufts’s best Regards to Mrs. Adams and accept of the best Wishes of / Your Friend & H Servt.

Your kind attention to my last emboldens me again to interrupt your more important pursuits, & offer my warmest acknowledgement for your excellent letter and the packet accompaning it, received Jan 13th. Yours, my aunt, afforded a fund of refined and rational pleasure. Besides containing much valuable information, it pleasingly assured me of a share of that love and friendship, which I have ever been desirous of obtaining. For next to the divine plaudit, and the approbation of that inward testimony, which faithfully admonishes me whenever I deviate from the peaceful path of rectitude, it is the heigth of my ambition to merit the esteem of a virtuous few.

I was not less pleased with Porcupines genuine humor, than instructed by the good sense, sound judgment and elegant style of Gifford. It appears to me it must completely silence the cavils of 362 the jacobins. Mr. Gifford writes like a man whose conduct is guided by the ennobling principle “Assert your rights, or quit the name of man.”1

I most heartily rejoice with Porcupine on the late success of the English. I do love England next to our country America, and surely that country ought to be reverenced, which reverences liberty and law, which has produced men, worthy to govern the interests of nations, & patriots equal to the far famed heroes of ancient Europe, and only inferior to the Washingtons of our country

The premeditated invasion of England by France is, like the rest of her conduct, absurd & foolish in the extreme. Does not France know, that she has not as England has, a navy? That the channel is not frozen over, as the Scheld was, when the army of France conquered Holland. Indeed I am no fear of the conquest of England. In that Island are men, and manners, and laws and liberty, all powerful interest. These combined will tell the French, they are not fighting puny Italians, nor chicken hearted Dutchmen.

Your grand children are well & excellent boys. I should be quite lonely without them. Polly is very busy. She soon expects to be tied by the connubial loose and thrown swung from the gallows of celibacy into the eternity of matrimony. 2

Judge Dana’s eldest son is in Mr. Gray’s store at Salem. He was with me at college two years. I was not much accquainted with him; but always heard that he was a very accomplished young fellow & pretty good scholar. Ned graduates a year from next commencement—possesses excellent abilities but is no great student.3

I wish you and my good Uncle many happy returns of the season. That this letter may find you in health, and every revolving year be crowned with blessings prays most ardently / your dutiful nephew