Sir ー

I recd your Letter Date 3d & 5th Inst shall Endeavour to do the best I Can respectg the Business &c Tho nothing is now Done but hurrying from this Distressd Town, have Inclosd this Days paper to which refer ー am surprizd that Chaloner shoud say he had paid Cole the remaindr of Thurstons Debt, which he assur'd me he had Done ー he has been missing since the Late Commotion & tis supposd is Shelterd on board one of the Ships Which with Tenders &c are at prest absent Their Gallant attempt on Bristol you've Doubtless heard ー Cowardice & Cruelty are Insep[ar]able Companions, ー tis suppos'd they will soon return here & Exercise their Barbarous Bravery ー The fate of Newport I believe is Determind ー alas! how Uncertain and Transitory Are all Terrestrial Injoyments ー a few Days a few Hours or Indeed a few moments Essentially alters our State here, or Irreversibly fixes it in a Permanent Eternity, ー how Seasonably at this alarming Crisis, how Pertinent is the Apostles Exhortation, "Let those that have &c, be as tho' they had not" Intend to return to Providence this Week, in the Course of Which Time hope my Dear friends (some Are movd) will find a more safe or at least a more quiet abode than this Town at present affords, ー The Case of the Poor is very Deplorable no Provision (that I Can learn) is yet made for their relief or support. O! That all These Events may be Duly Sanctified is the Earnest Desire Of yours [&c.]