Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/246

Rh Her marriage to Mr. Adams took place October 25, 1764, and she passed the ten years that succeeded, devoting herself to domestic life and the care of her young family. In 1775 she was called to pass through scenes of great distress amid the horrors of war and the ravages of pestilence.

She sympathized deeply with the sufferings of those around her. "My heart and hand," she wrote, "still tremble at the domestic fury and fierce civil strife. I feel for the unhappy wretches who know not where to fly for succor, and I feel still more for my bleeding countrymen, who are hazarding their lives and their limbs." To the agonized hearts of thousands of women went up the roar of the cannon booming over those hills, and many a heart joined in breathing her prayer: "Almighty God! Cover the heads of our countrymen and be a shield to our dear friends."

But in all her anxieties her calm and lofty spirit never deserted her; nor did she regret the sacrifice of her own feelings for the good of the community. During the absence of her husband, when Mr. Adams had been sent as a joint commissioner to France, she devoted herself to the various duties devolving on her, submitting with patience to the difficulties of the time.

After the return of peace, Mr. Adams was appointed the first representative of the Nation at the British court, and his wife went to Europe to join him. From this time Abigail Adams moved amidst new scenes and new characters, yet in all her variety and splendor of life in the luxurious cities of the Old World she preserved the simplicity of heart which had adorned her seclusion at home. In the prime of life, with a mind free from prejudice, her record of the impressions she received is interesting and instructive. Her letters of this period are filled with that delicate perception of beauty which belongs to a poetic spirit.