TO MRS. RICHMAN.
Hartford.

From the &longs;cenes of &longs;e&longs;tive mirth,
from the conviviality of rejoicing friends, and
from the di&longs;&longs;ipating amu&longs;ements of the gay
world, I retire with alacrity, to hail my beloved
friend on the important charge which &longs;he has
received; on the acce&longs;&longs;ion to her family, and,
may I not &longs;ay, on the addition to her care; &longs;ince
that care will be more than counterbalanced by
the plea&longs;ure it con&longs;ers. Hail happy babe! Ushered
into the world by the be&longs;t of mothers; entitled
by birth-right to virtue and honor; defended
by parental love, from the weakne&longs;s of
infancy and childhood, by guardian wi&longs;dom
from the perils of youth, and by affluent independence
from the griping hand of poverty, in
more advanced life! May the&longs;e animating prospects
be reali&longs;ed by your little daughter; and
may you long enjoy the rich reward of &longs;eeing
her all that you wi&longs;h!

Ye&longs;terday, my dear friend, Lucy Freeman
gave her hand to the amiable and accomplished
Mr. George Sumner. A large circle of
congratulating friends were pre&longs;ent. Her dre&longs;s

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was &longs;uch as wealth and elegance required. Her
deportment was every thing that mode&longs;ty and
propriety could &longs;ugge&longs;t. They are, indeed, a
charming couple. The con&longs;onance of their dispositions,
the &longs;imilarity of their ta&longs;tes, and the
equality of their ages are a &longs;ure pledge of happiness.
Every eye beamed with plea&longs;ure on the
occa&longs;ion, and every tongue echoed the wi&longs;hes of
benevolence. Mine only was &longs;ilent. Though
not le&longs;s intere&longs;ted in the felicity of my friend
than the re&longs;t, yet the idea of a &longs;eparation; perhaps,
of an alienation of affection, by means of
her entire devotion to another, ca&longs;t an involuntary
gloom over my mind. Mr. Boyer took
my hand, after the ceremony was pa&longs;t. Permit
me, Mi&longs;s Wharton, &longs;aid he, to lead you to your
lovely friend; her happine&longs;s mu&longs;t be heightened
by your participation of it. Oh no; &longs;aid I,
I am too &longs;elfi&longs;h for that. She has conferred upon
another that affection which I wi&longs;hed to engross.
My love was too &longs;ervent to admit a rival.
Retaliate then, &longs;aid he, this fancied wrong, by
doing likewi&longs;e. I ob&longs;erved that this was not a
proper time to di&longs;cu&longs;s that &longs;ubject; and, resuming
my feat, endeavored to put on the appearance
of my accu&longs;tomed vivacity. I need nor
relate the remaining particulars of the evening's
entertainment. Mr. Boyer returned with my
mamma, and I remained at Mrs. Freeman's.

We are to have a ball here, this evening.
Mr. Boyer has been with us, and tried to monopolize
my company; but in vain. I am too much

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engaged by the exhilerating &longs;cenes around, for
attending to a &longs;ubject which affords no variety.
I &longs;hall not clo&longs;e this till to morrow.

—I am rather fatigued with the amusements
of la&longs;t night, which were protracted to a
late hour. Mr. Boyer was pre&longs;ent; and I was
plea&longs;ed to &longs;ee him not aver&longs;e to the entertainment,
though his profe&longs;&longs;ion prevented his taking
an active part. As all the neighboring gentry
were invited, Mr. Freeman would, by no means,
omit Major Sanford, which his daughter earnestly
&longs;olicited. It happened (unfortunately, &longs;hall I
&longs;ay?) that I drew him for a partner. Yet I mu&longs;t
own, that I felt very little reluctance to my lot.
He is an excellent dancer, and well calculated
for a companion in the hours of mirth and gaiety.
I regretted Mr. Boyer's being pre&longs;ent, however;
becau&longs;e my enjoyment &longs;eemed to give him pain.
I hope he is not inclined to the pa&longs;&longs;ion of jealou&longs;y.
If he is, I fear it will be &longs;omewhat exerci&longs;ed.

Lucy Freeman, now Mrs. Sumner, removes,
next week, to Bo&longs;ton. I have agreed to accompany
her, and &longs;pend a month or two in her family.
This will give variety to the journey of life.
Be &longs;o kind as to direct your next letter to me
there.

Ki&longs;s the dear little babe for me. Give love,
compliments, &c. as re&longs;pectively due; and believe
me, with every &longs;entiment of re&longs;pect, your
affectionate

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