1840 August 25, Newport, to Alfred

              Newport 8mo 25. 1840



Dear Alfred,



It is growing towards being after sunset, but while Job is making arrangements for our departure tomorrow morning in the Massacheusetts Steamer for Providence, it falls to my lot to drop a line by Wm who is intended send with the Carriage & Horses next day, by return of the same Steamer to NYk thence to proceed on his way to Philada.-  You will all be gratified to hear of thy dear mothers improved health, & also of Eleanors- altho we have experienced hot weather for some days, & have qualms as to the propriety of throwing ourselves into a more heated atmosphere-  Stephen P. Morris arrived here yesterday from Providence, & reports the thermometer to have been up to 95 the day before.  The air since dinner to day has become cooler, & we may reasonably hope will improve a pace shortlty-  Other things change as well as the weather- & now after writing so far, a bell man announces that a Balloon Steamer is to be here tomorrow from P. & return again at 3 AM-  We wished originally to go by her- but she has undergone repairs, & there was this morning no certainty when she wd. be here-  We therefore had made up our minds to go by the Massachusetts between 6 & 7 AM-  We intend to visit N. Bedford, Boston, Wooster &c &c.  & stop at Hartford Ct where letters may meet us on our way home, not later than 10 days from today-



We have visited most of the Lions- & among them the Library, where rest the remains of divers elderly volumes-  The discoveries of the Icelanders are there deposited-  We met in the St a certain antiquarian, named Bull, with whom we held learned converse on those discoveries-  On asking him if he had heard of the learned northener who had found a stone with Runic Characters- a temple, & an image representing the Scandanavian God Thor, in Brazil- He said he had not- & then added, "so long as they confined themselves to N. Am, I was willing to concede that point to them- but now that they are going to claim S. Am too, I wont believe any of it"-  The old man may have read our couplet- "They lose the whole who claim too much
 


As Simon Snyder said in Dutch- And the Danes may now hang up their fiddle, & content themselves with their own Icy shores-