Adams Family Correspondence, volume 2
I suppose your Ladyship has been in the Twitters, for some Time past, because you have not received a Letter by every Post, as you used to do.—But I am coming to make my Apology in Person. I, Yesterday asked and obtained Leave of Absence. It will take me till next Monday, to get ready, to finish off a few Remnants of public Business, and to put my private Affairs in proper Order. On the 14th. day of October, I shall get away, perhaps. But I dont expect to reach Home, in less than a fortnight, perhaps not in three Weeks, as I shall be obliged to make stops by the Way.1
No vote on JA's application for leave, 10 Oct., is recorded in the Journal of Congress. He set off from Philadelphia on Sunday the 13th; see the entry of that date in his
Diary and Autobiography
, 2:251. But since his itemized accounts have not been found, we do not know his route beyond Trenton; and since his correspondence broke off abruptly upon his departure from Congress, we do not know when he reached Braintree. He had arrived by 5 Nov., however, for on that date he drafted a letter, probably intended for a colleague in Congress, on the problem of currency inflation; this is in Lb/JA/1 (Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 89), but appears to be incomplete and may not have been sent.