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Novem [?] (1798)
Well, my dear Margaret, here I am comfortably seated in Sister Ierne's chamber, enjoying the benefit of a good fire. It was a great disappointment to me, that you should pass through Princeton without my seeing you. I would have joyfully relinquished twenty four hours of my life, to have seen you alone for two. I wanted to show you a letter which I think would give you entire satisfaction, and convince you that I might continue my correspondence, without the most di stant apprehensions. I suppose he is by this time in Philad. I saw him in Princeton,the greater part of two days. I passed my time very agreeably while there the latter part particularly. The day after I arrived D Blackwell & his wife & daughter came to spend a week with Mr Morgan and while Mrs B_ remained she would not allow me to do a simple thing I liked. If I went to my room to write, she would send up half a dozen times to tell me that writing was very prejudicial to my health, & if I resisted these friendly admonitions, would finally oblige me to discontinue the exercise of the pen, by insisting if writing were really indispensible that I should accept of her as an amanuensis. If I were going to walk, she would immediat ly offer to accompany me & then I could not choose my own path,
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but must follow where she led. Let me however in the midst of my [invectives?], make my acknowledgements to her for increasing my pleasure by procuring me the aquaintance of Ms Regal. Her address is very preposessing & far removed from the flippancy of a french woman, yet she appeared to me more like a native of France than of Holland. Indeed, I have often heard that the most respectable class of people of the latter place, greatly resemble those of the former. There is a degree of gravity, sometimes verging towards melancholy in her department that greatly interested me. I fancy she has received some lessons in school of adversity which the ameliorating hand of time has not yet deprived of their severity. In her apparel, she an emblem of neatness & purity, & the effect produced by her imperfect pronunciation, is not at all unpleasant. You have seen her once, & perhaps may think that I have superflous, but then I have formed my, I like to hear other people's opinions, & in this ease have judged you by myself. Besides when I began I did recollect your having seen her. After this apology, and before I know your mind about these things, it would be transgressing all the rules of propriety to give you my opinion of Ms Bradwell, who you know so much better than I do. All I will venture to say is, that I think her a charming woman, that I shall seige with avidity every opportunity of rendering our acquantance more permanent
