ADAMS, John (1735-1826). Autograph letter signed ("John Adams") TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1767-1848), Philadelphia, 8 April 1777. 1 page, 4to, chipped at top left corner and top edge, loss from seal along left edge; with autograph address panel . MORAL ADVICE TO HIS 10-YEAR OLD SON ON THE "MISERIES, DANGERS AND DISTRESSES" WHEN MEN "DEPART FROM...HONOUR, TRUTH AND VIRTUE" A charming letter from one future President to another, written while Adams serves in the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War and his precocious son feels the first stirrings of intellectual achievement. "I rec'd your letter of 23 March," the elder Adams writes, "and was pleased with it because it is a pretty Composition, and your Mamma assures me it is your own. The History you mention of Bamfylde Moore Carew is worth your reading, although he was a very wicked Man, because it serves to Shew you what a Vanity there is in the Characters of Men, and what Odd, whimsical and extravagant Effects are produced by great Talents, misapplied, and what Miseries, Dangers and Distresses, Men may bring themselves into, when they depart from the Paths of Honour, Truth and Virtue. You, my Son, whom Heaven has blessed with excellent Parts, will never abase them to bad Purposes, nor dishonour yourself by any Thing unworthy of you. So wishes your affectionate Father..." The book Adams refers to is The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew (1745), a best-selling story of the notorious rogue and impostor dubbed "King of the Beggars." Nine editions of the work had appeared by 1777. Moore (1693-1759) was transported to Maryland, made his way to Pennsylvania and impersonated a Quaker merchant. He conned his way back to Scotland in 1745 and joined the retinue of the Young Pretender, but soon dropped from public notice, dying in Devon in 1759. The few surviving letters from John to the young John Quincy exemplify the virtues John and Abigail strove to instill in their precocious son, who, they believed, would eventually play a role in public affairs. John Quincy Adams never dishonored his character, but scandal touched other members of the Adams family. Around the time of this letter, one of Abigail's brothers had abandoned his wife and children to lead a life of drunkenness. Indeed, Mrs Adams may have put Carew's rather sensationalistic story in young John Quincy's hands precisely to warn him against such a fate. Provenance : R.G. Newman, 1984.
ADAMS, John (1735-1826). Autograph letter signed ("John Adams") TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1767-1848), Philadelphia, 8 April 1777. 1 page, 4to, chipped at top left corner and top edge, loss from seal along left edge; with autograph address panel . MORAL ADVICE TO HIS 10-YEAR OLD SON ON THE "MISERIES, DANGERS AND DISTRESSES" WHEN MEN "DEPART FROM...HONOUR, TRUTH AND VIRTUE" A charming letter from one future President to another, written while Adams serves in the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War and his precocious son feels the first stirrings of intellectual achievement. "I rec'd your letter of 23 March," the elder Adams writes, "and was pleased with it because it is a pretty Composition, and your Mamma assures me it is your own. The History you mention of Bamfylde Moore Carew is worth your reading, although he was a very wicked Man, because it serves to Shew you what a Vanity there is in the Characters of Men, and what Odd, whimsical and extravagant Effects are produced by great Talents, misapplied, and what Miseries, Dangers and Distresses, Men may bring themselves into, when they depart from the Paths of Honour, Truth and Virtue. You, my Son, whom Heaven has blessed with excellent Parts, will never abase them to bad Purposes, nor dishonour yourself by any Thing unworthy of you. So wishes your affectionate Father..." The book Adams refers to is The Life and Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew (1745), a best-selling story of the notorious rogue and impostor dubbed "King of the Beggars." Nine editions of the work had appeared by 1777. Moore (1693-1759) was transported to Maryland, made his way to Pennsylvania and impersonated a Quaker merchant. He conned his way back to Scotland in 1745 and joined the retinue of the Young Pretender, but soon dropped from public notice, dying in Devon in 1759. The few surviving letters from John to the young John Quincy exemplify the virtues John and Abigail strove to instill in their precocious son, who, they believed, would eventually play a role in public affairs. John Quincy Adams never dishonored his character, but scandal touched other members of the Adams family. Around the time of this letter, one of Abigail's brothers had abandoned his wife and children to lead a life of drunkenness. Indeed, Mrs Adams may have put Carew's rather sensationalistic story in young John Quincy's hands precisely to warn him against such a fate. Provenance : R.G. Newman, 1984.
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