― [page break] ―Philad. Jan.y 18. 1808.
My dear Sir
Permit me to thank you for the kind letter I have lately recieved from you. The
intelligence it conveyed was, indeed, equally unexpected & afflicting. The deep regret I felt
at not being able to visit & console my beloved sisters, in their calamity, was alleviated by reflecting on
the friendship & kindness they might justly expect to recieve from you & some other disinterested
friends. Any service you may render them, will find its own reward in the testimony of your own heart
Their gratitude & mine, however, will, in no small measure, be due to you.
The death of my father in law will be a heavy calamity to all his children; but it will
be felt more sensibly by those that are young & unmarried. His Son William was designed for the
Pulpit by his father, & by the wishes of his sisters, & had his father’s life been spared four or five years
longer, their wishes would have probably been accomplished. As it is, I very much fear, he will be obliged
to give up these desirable prospects, & pursue some way of life, that may be wholly unexpensive, or, at least,
least, less expensive to his friends: If my means were equal to my wishes, his father’s death should make
no change in the young man’s future situation, but these, alas, are too limited to permit me to do all that
is dictated by the interest of these orphans, & by my affection for them. I am wholly uninformed, however, [gap] to
the actual expense attending the education of a young man for the pulpit, & shall be grateful to you for
any information on this head.
William formerly expressed a liking for the mercantile profession, & perhaps, this preferance still
continues: In such a case, perhaps his inclination ought to be complied with even had not this disaster
befallen us. I regret exceedingly my distance from Albany, which prevents a ready & speedy communication with
the family: I address myself thus frankly to you from the high esteem I have of your benevolence, & the
friendship I know you entertained for my father in law. This is an occasion on which I know you will be
inclined to be an active friend, & this persuasion inclines to me to address you on this subject without
scruple or reserve.
If William should be inclined to the Mercantile life, would it be impracticable to procure him
a situation with some respectable merchant in your city. I am informed it is not uncommon to take young
men, of good education & connections, into Compting houses, on terms very favourable to their families. If my
brother’s inclinations point this way, & such a situation be attainable, I do not know that anything better
could have been done for him, had his fathers life been spared. May I venture to bespeak your interest for
him, in commending him to such a situation, if your opinion of its eligibility coincides with me?
friend
C. B. Brown.
― [page break] ―C. Brockden Brown to Jn B Romeyn