Joseph Horsey, Portsmouth, to the John and Maria Saffery, Salisbury, [Wednesday], 28 October 1801.

Octr 28  1801

Dear Children

   I improve the opportunity by Br Rawlings to assure you we love you & wish you the very best of Blessing in time & Eternally we rejoice with you in the returns of Peace & in that plenty our heavenly Father has loaded the Earth with & trust its happy Efects [sic] will be thankfully injoyd  The Lord is truly Good to old England notwithstanding the awfull ingratitude that abounds in our Land O for more thankfulness among the Lord’s own People:  as to us as family we indeed have much to be thankfull for we injoy a portion of health alltho not free from pain increasing weakness &c  My poor wife is often very weak and low & myself not long free from some Complaint or other but when I reflect on many of our age I wish to say Bless the Lord O my Soul & forget not all his Benefits. As a Church we have reason to Bless the Lord he is we trust still with us and owning his Word to the Convertions of Sinners & building up his people we hope to Baptize on next Lords day a goodly Company O that they may be all the Sheep of Christ.  Our Br Birt is to preach on the occasion so that alltho he is about to take away one of our number he will witness the addition of others. He is a wonderful man for Courage & perseverance  I believe he has intirely silenced the bantering on mount Prudence in short every thing must give way his attacks are so violent we are rather sorry for it but we must submit & pray for their happyness when the definitive treaty will be signed < > know but I believe not this < > I suppose he will return to Dock  it is much peculiar preaching  I inform you that my dear grand daughter is one of the Candidates for Baptism she has given a very satisfactory account to the Church O what reason have I for thankfulness to Children I hope already in Heaven & two on the way and now my grand daughter help me my dear children to serve the Lord:  My time is up can only add that Mr and Mrs Mew are rather unhappy because you dont write about the Child they think she must want some things & wish to know what and also how she is &c  do write by return of Post

         I am yours &c

                                 J Horsey

We all join in love to you the dear Boy & all friends we shall be always glad to hear of you & to see you

Text: Saffery/Whitaker Papers, acc. 142, I.A.(23.), Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford. No address page. For a complete annotated version of this letter, see Timothy Whelan, gen. ed., Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840 (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2011), vol. 6, p. 187. Isaiah Birt was the Baptist minister at Plymouth Dock.