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may be assured of My Affectionate Love and Duty. give my Dear Mother and acc[e]pt my tenderest Love yourself, Giveing Love and compliments to all friends and take care of your health. let nothing Depress your Spirits and Beleave me most Affectionately Disposed to do everything for your happyness as for my own. I am, Dear Brother, Yours Most Affectionately, JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY.

Mr. Izard['s] Portrait will be a very fine one.
ROME, 14. of March, 1775.

S'R,

Charles Reak and Samuel Okey to Henry Pelham
NEWPORT, March 16, 1775.

Yours by Mr. Tyler came to hand last Night and I take the early opertunaty of the next Morning to answer your Obliging and Polite Letter and aquaint you that I receiv'd yours with great Pleasure as it may posibly bring on A Connection of Business both Beneficial and in some measure a little improving these parts of the Polite Arts in this New World. wee shall publish in About a Month a Poster sized Plate of Mr. Sam Addams from A Picture I had of Mr. Mitchels Painting. wee have copied it well enouf and are not affraid of the Sucsess of it; but A plate done Properly shoud be from A good Picture. It was the best I cou'd get when last in Boston and I don't on any Account mean to disparage that Young Gent'n, or wish that this may go any farther than to you. I have A Letter now on my Desk Just Receiv'd from him wherein he kindly tels mee his Portrait of Mr. Hancock is at my service. And now for that Matter, the Moment wee have done Mr. Addams, Do'r Coopers from Mr. Copely will be in hand. when that is done,

as it will be in about Two Months, and I am shure it will be much superior to Addams, Intirely owing to the superioraty of Mr. Copelys Pencil. If Mr. Hancock woud be so obliging on your aplycation as to let us have his faviorate Picture, it shall be taken the greatest Care of Imaginable, and restored in just the same state as Receiv'd, and shou'd be put in a Case and delivered to the Care of Mr. Peter Mumford our Post. wee have many subjects that Offer, but none that wee shoud wish to do sooner than that as it will be a proper Companion for Mr. Addams; and as in his wee have been Obliged cheafly to consult Profit, so from the fine Picture of Mr. Hancock that I have already had the Pleasure to see wee shal consult Honour. Mr. Mumford informs mee he will get that Picture, but I shoud be happy in owing that Obligation to Mr. Pelham's Friendship. Do'r Winthrop as a gent❜n of that distinguishing Merrit you represent might be a proper subject, and particular[ly] as A Companion to the Ingenious and Learned Dr. Franklin. I remember the size of the Plate as I may well do, as laying the Ground on it in London for that scraped by Fisher.' I think it sold for five Shillings Ster'g. Que[ry] whether these high Priced Prints may be agreable to the Generality. only shoud be glad if youd Consult a few of Do'r Winthrop Friends and let mee have there and your Opinion how many Impresions wee may probably expect to sell. at the first set of the drawing I dare say will do very well to execute from. I must stop Short as the Post is this Minute setting out, so no further at Present but to beg you'l accept our best respects, and that you will add to the favior of your last by writing to us again by the first opertunaty, which will greatly Oblige your Most hum'e Serts.

CHAS REAK and SAM OKEY.

1 Edward Fisher (1730-1785?).

Sir, the Post went without this at last, so it retards this another Week. if Do. Winthrop woud take the Value of Quarter of a Hundred for the Use of his Friends; but in Interim should be glad of Mr Hancocks Portrait.

Henry Pelham to Copley

MY DEAR BROTHER,

C. R.

BOSTON, April 3d, 1775.

Just meeting an Opertunity I cant omitt writing a few lines just to let you know that We are, thank God, in pretty good health. As my time is short and this will have a very circuitous Passage before it getts to Rome, I shall not be able to write you so long a letter as you might perhaps expect, or I could Wish, To assure you we have been for this long time past anxiously solicitous of Receiving a line from you. it seems, and indeed it is, almost an age sinc[e] we heard from you. the last intelligence was your letter to Our hon'd Mamma of the 5 of Nov'r. Indeed we console ourselves that there has been no opertunity except by the Pacquet, and I now beg that you would direct you[r] Correspondent in England to forward your Letters by the very first Opertunitys, weither the packet or otherwise, as we shall not at all value a few Shillings when it procures us the Happyness of a Letter from you. I am pleased when I can inform you that our hon'd Mamma, my dear Sister, and my dear little Cousins are well. My Mamma has had a very tolerable Winter. She desires me to present you with her kindest Love and Blessing and thanks for your letter to her. She would have wrote you a few lines, but as I thought it would worry her I diswaded her from it. so you must place the Omission to my acc't, and I am assured of your excuse knowing your willingness to forego any pleasure reather than give her trouble.

Little did I think a month go that my next Letter would carry such unwelcome news as I have now to Communicate. but alas! how precarious are all sublunary injoyments, how uncertain is human Life! with malencholy Regret I inform you that our very worthy Friends, the once amiable and engaging Mrs. Oliver,1 Our onc[e] gay facetious and respectable Nei[gh]bour Mr. Chardon and Mr. Winslow, very late the man of Buisness, are now no more. Death regardless of Worth and Virtue, Youth and Gayety, with ruthless hand snaps the slender Th[r]ead of Life and Leavs the tender husband, the amiable and affectionate Wife, the Dutifull and the infant Children, to mou[r]n the[i]r fri[e]nds departure, and to feel the loss of there indearing Offices of Benevolence and Love, which with the hopes of a Happy immortallity smooth the rugged Path of Life and render more than tolerable that journey so thickly strowed with disapointment and Vexations. Let it be the consolation of our sorrows to Remember and Imitate their Virtues. Let us improve this Righteous providenc[e] of God in th[e]ir Removal to our profit. let it imprint on our minds the uncertanty of this world's best injoyments. Convinced that this is but a passage to Eternity, let us be with the hope and fortitude of Christians always prepared to meet that stroke however sudden which shall reunite Us to our departed Fr[i]ends, with them to enjoy the Endless Rewards of a Virtuous and good Life. A few perticulars of our Fri[e]nds' dec[e]ase you will doubtless expect. Judge Olivers Lady was seised with a Fit of the Palsey on the 17 of March. She continued sinking away till the 25th, when she died and was buried the 30 from My Sister's with all the Respect due to her Rank and amiable Virtues. Mr Chardon was taken not a month ago with a Mortification in his

1 1 Mary, daughter of William Clarke.

Bowels, of which he languish'd 4 Days. Mr. Joshua Winslow, Commodore Loring's Son-in-Law was abroad the 16 of Last Month, and on the 23d was an inhabitant of the silent Tomb.1

My Brother Pelham is now confined with a very severe fitt of the Gout with which he has been for some time past afflicted. My Sister Pelham I am fearfull is in a declineing Way. Your Enquiries after Snap he takes Very kind. He de[s]ires his duty to you. I with pleasure inform you that he had been ever sinc[e] you left us a very good Boy.

You doubtless expect I should write you the present State of the political Contest, but this I must omitt for want of time and Room till my next, assuring you in the mean time that our Fr[i]ends here live very quietly, and ther[e] is but little danger I think of their not continuing so to do, let the dispute be as it will. in Boston we are too strong to meet with the lea[s]t disturbance. I am happy to inform you that I am very fully imployed, but People are very backwa[r]d in paying, there being now no law to Oblig[e] them to it. It would be too great a Tax upon you to enumerate all the Fr[i]ends who desire there Compliments to you, But I cant excuse myself from mention❜g My Hon'd Mamma, Sister C, Brother and S. P., Judge O. Mr. Clar[k]e, Isaac, Miss Lucy, Mr. and Mrs. Bromfield and my amiabl[e] young fr[i]ends with them, as repeatedly desireing to have their k[i]nd love and Regards presented to you. I am proud of uniteing myself with so respectable a list of Friends in sincere[s]t good Wishes and Prayers for your Health and Happyness. I subscribe myself your very affectionate Brother and Humble Servant,

H. P.

1 A merchant of Boston, who married Hannah, daughter of Nathaniel Loring. See Massachusetts Gazette, March 23, 1775.

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