[Letter from Ann Upshur Eyre to her sister, Elizabeth Upshur Teackle, February 20, 1812]

February 20^th 1812

My dear sister,

No longer willing to support my repeated disappointments, I have availed myself of the next most consoling circumstance to being with you, that of hearing from you immediately. I was again, all ready to depart to you, this morning. Everything equipt, when Mr E, who waited at the courtyard for the arrival of the stage brought such intelligence of the badness of the roads, which we have every reason to dread in consequence of our heavy carriage, and heavy baggage we have. Abel was to have taken one of the girls in our gig. Notwithstanding, we should have a sufficient load for such deep roads. I should however have gone in despite of all their difficulties if Mr. E. had not heard also by a Mr. Beard, who says he was in Somerset last week, that Mr. Teackle had returned home. My anxiety on your account was of course lessoned by this intelligence, and I agreed to defer, or give up my jaunt, unless you will positively promise me to return with

me. You must be brought to the point at once. Your evading won’t do any longer. The girls will have to go up soon, we shall send them. Abel will accompany, I conjecture, tho' I have not seen him since our last arrangement, but whether I go depends upon yourself, and now what will be your next demur. I shall stick to my point. I should find my ride home alone very disagreeable. Mr E. cannot possibly leave home. Mama is now entirely confined to her bed and it would be a monstrous act for us both to leave her. From the gradual sinking of her frame, we have no reason to apprehend an immediate period to her life. But you must be sensible, how wrong it would be for us both to leave her even though Sally Lyon and Sally Parker should be here. I am very anxious indeed to hear particularly from you. If you are still alone, and in want of any of my sisterly assistance all other considerations, I shall certainly forego on your account. The difficulties you have encountered, tho' you have the heroism to make a jest about them, have nevertheless been the subjects of my constant thoughts since I received your last letter, and under the influence of these and the uncertainty of my brother Littⁿ

being really at home to supply your wants; I have enclosed you thirty dollars which you and I can settle about, when we meet. I already owe you three or four on account of the jewelry you had done for me. If you had been as magnanimous in friendship as you have shown yourself skilled in doing without it, you would not have had the necessity of “raising the wind”. You must have known where you could have applied, with the most perfect propriety, for any assistance of that kind. Then learn my dear girl, how to receive acts of friendship, as well as to confer them. It is in my opinion no proof of a well organized mind to be above these reciprocities. My means and yours have always been a common stock from our earliest years, and I am sure, our claims upon each other are no way lessen'd that I know of. I have also sent you a handkerchief which Miss Gray sent a present to me. You fall heir to it in consequence of its being entirely too small for me. I should not otherwise have so ungra[ciou]sly treated the young lady's present. [torn page] I can't say but I had as leave she had not

sent it, for I have considered it a little sort of a hint to me to invite her over here again, which I do not intend to take. She has been discharged by Mr. Tabb some time. The young Messrs. Tabbs are here now. They have given me a full account of her conduct in their father’s family, and in Matthews generally. The girl must certainly have lost her senses or all claims to generous or feminine feelings. She has so fatally managed her cards as not to have secured one friend to herself, tho' so much dependent on the world for even a shelter for her head. Strange! That with her sense, and the knowledge of course she must have, of her utter state of destitution, she should really seem to study how to make her self enemies. Mr. Patterson has I am told, always been disposed to palliate her conduct in the Tabb family. But lately, he has had opportunities of seeing her in a most unfavorable light, and tho’ he affords her an asylum until she can look out for a situation, he will not have her an inmate of his family. What an abomination! She de[serve]s to be humbled to the dus[torn page]

[These last two pages were out of order in the paper collection, and these actually belong at the end of an 1824 letter. We are working to correct this issue.]

the train La Fayette with his adopted daughters the Miss Wrig[hts] [torn corner of page] Scotch Literary ladies, who form part of his family, I am told some of their writings are published in this country and I have heard their description of Niagara much spoken of, they are very distinguished women. You may remember a notice was made of them in his progress up the North river. They went on to Richmond to see all that is to be done there. And if they pay me a visit I shall hear I hope, in the course of next week. William is in the midst of it, as he returned next morning to N- for Richmond. General Taylor enquired after you, God bless him, and was very near coming over with me. He thinks of paying us a visit shortly. He has laid by his embroidery and gone to his law labors again. I was very thankful to you for the paper and the articles you sent me. I wish earnestly to learn you are going on and as it is late for the mail, I must conclude with my fondest love to Elizabeth and with every feeling of sisterly affection I am [torn page] yours Ann Eyre

I had near walked off my feet on the night of the great illumination in Norfolk, viewing all the varieties and transparencies that were exhibited. Mr. Walter Herons or Herow house was very superb, an open portico in front was decorated with twisted wreathes of evergreens, which were surmounted with rows of lamps as thickly studed as your fingers, forming wreathes of light above the pillars—were festoons studed with lamps it was the most striking object in all N-, tho all have one blaze of light. In most of the streets I was in

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Mrs. Elizabeth U. Teackle
Princess Anne, Md.