Your most acceptable and very animating
Favour of
December
3rd –70 Came Safely to Hand a few Days a
go, for
which I return you ten thousand Thanks —
I am in great Hopes, Your Letter to
Esq. Thornton will attract Bowels of compassion towards me and
mine. And I pray the Lord to reward You and yours
Bountifully in Both worlds, — I am in Greater straits
and necessities than ever, we had but little Corn last
year and consequently little meat. it was Dry season
with us; I have no provisions now at all only what
I buy, and I have no Money to buy with, I am obliged
to Sell anything I have to get meat and Corn with, and
my Family consists ten Souls constantly, and a great
Number of visitors Continually from all quarters
there has not been one Week, nor 3 Days as I
[gap: worn_edge][guess: re‐] member in the Year past, but that we have had
Some Stranger or other — My being acquainted
with the
World in Some measure, has made my house a Sort of an Asy‐
lum for
Strangers both English and Indians, far and
near, — I Labour under Bodily indisposition
constantly
near a Year, I have not been able to do much in hard
Labour, which
puts me back very much; under these Dif‐
ficulties, my unbelieving Heart brings me upon the
Borders
of discouragement
at times, but my reason and better understand‐
ing tells me, this is the Time to trust and Hope in god,
and I believe God never made any Creature with a
Mouth, but that he will provide for it, in his own way and
Time — and when I Come to recollect what I have Seen
in my Travels, and what I
have Read also, I am Struck
with amazement and Stand speechless; I am Sure if god
should Deal with me according to my deserts I should
have no‐
thing that is Comfortable in this
World nor in that which
is to Come — How many poor Creatures have I Seen
in
the World as good by Nature as I am, go almost Na
ked in the severest weather, and have nowhere to
Lay their Heads, and not one Mouthful of the mean
est Bread, that they Can Command, but are obliged
to go from house to house, and from Door to Door, with
Tears Streaming Down their Dirty Cheeks begging a
a crumb of Bread, and when they have one mouthful giv
en them, they know
not who will give them the next, — when
I Come to consider how much better God has Dealt with
me, I am astonished at myself, that I have no more
sense of the distinguishing
goodness of God to me, and to mine —
I have greatest
reason to Call upon my Soul and
all that is within me to bless and praise God Night and
Day; and when I come to consider further, how many
Holy Souls, I mean the Children of
god, have suffered, in
Times of
persecution, all manner of Torments, and
deprived of every Comfort in this World, Yet how
full of praises and thanksgivings were they — Yea
when I Come to trace the Son of the most High, from
the Manger to his Cross, I am Struck Dumb, I am Con‐
founded, I am ashamed, I have no Room to open my
Mouth in a way of Complaint, I pray god to
learn
me by these Small trials I meet with in the World
to Hope and trust in god alone, and not in the Crea‐
ture — I Pray god to kill me to the world, and that he would
kill the World to me — that I may be Dead to the World
and the
World to me — God has Seen fit to take away
my eldest Son by Death a few weeks ago, the Lord
Sanctify this afflictive
dispensation to me and to
mine —
my wife
is not well, but the rest of my
Family are well through the goodness of god at pre‐
sent — I Pray God these may find you and yours
in Health of Body and Soul prosperity, —
my wife Joins
me in Christian
Respects to you and Yours —
I am, most kind madam
PS:
Please to remember me to
Phillis and the rest of your Servants
Pray madam, what harm would it be to Send
Phillis to her
Native Country as a Female Preacher to her kindred,
you know Quaker women are allowed to preach, and why
not others in an Extraordinary case —
S: O
2 PS
Madam I have a favour to beg of you
that is, to get me a Singing Book, I think it
was Printed at
Salem lately price, I was told
S8 my Children are much inclined to Singing
and I would
Encourage them in Time, — and
I will
endeavour to Send you Money sometime
or other Send by any Careful Hand to Mr.
John Baker Brimmer at
Norwich
Landing yours etc.
S: Occom
Received
September 1772
why could he never write in this strain to me when he knew me sinking under labour
and trial for his Nation.