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Jabez Delano Letter

Loving Brother:

We have recd. two letters lately from you, for which we thank you, wherin you have given us an accnt of your Condition & we are Comforted to hear it is better with you then we could expect, considering that divers reports of sickness in ye Country, & in your person, & by your letter in your fammely, had caused us to fear. 

Brother I was Moved to write to you before now, both with in my self & from mother, but I put her off becaus of the sickness (that was in my famely of which through Mercy we have had a small share to what many of our Neighbours have had) but especially becaus of ye dangerous condition ye broth Nathll lay in for some time.  I being greatly desierous that my letters might be ye messengers of Joy & not of sorrow to you. And now brother, as we have recd Comfort from your letter, we hope these lines my be so to you, & all our friends, & may find you in health & peace; and that our hearts may be drawn forth to thankfullness unto God for all his Mercies.

And now I shall briefly touch on what is omitted in Brother Natll Letter; and first, of ye sickness; concerning Brother Natll & you have an accnt in his Letter.  Our eldest has had a long lingering Illness, but is pretty much recruted.  I am poorly on't, my self having bin Considerably ill, this 4 weeks, which makes me write with a trembling hand.  the sickness has bin very genous in our town, of which there are four grown persons dead in our village; vis. Jonathan Hathaway, Rose Spooner, Jemima Badcock & Amos Taber's wife; but people are generally pon recovery, & it looks like a time of health.

Of the season (we have Indeferent good Crops.)  We have had a great drought which lasted from Inglish mowing till about ye Middle of Sept. since which we have had extrordinary groing weather, till within this 4 or 5 weeks.

Of an earthquake, which was a week yesterday, about ten att night, which shook both ye Land & water, the Islands & seas, at that degree that several doors were shook of ye Latch in our village, & tis said that at Nantuket ye harth stones grated one against another, and that Car, ye boat builder, Run out of his house got in to a boar for fear ye Island should sink.

Mother desiered me to acquaint you that she Greatly desires to se you, and so we doe all.  My love to all our friend[s] farwell your Brother