It was probably in the fall of 1787 that two of Dolly's Virginia friends came to pass the winter in Philadelphia,—Deborah Pleasants,[19] the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Pleasants of Beaver Dam, who had been a friend and schoolmate at the old Cedar Creek School; and her cousin Elizabeth Brook,[20] then from Leesburg, Virginia, a Quaker settlement where the smaller plantations of from one hundred to three hundred acres were cultivated entirely by free labor.
The journey from Beaver Dam had been made on horseback, in easy stages, as there were many Friendly homes to stop at on the way, and the days spent in riding through the almost unbroken forests of Virginia pines and the fording of the rivers had been a delightful experience to the two girls, who, with their entire outfit on their saddle pommels, finally drew rein in the quiet neighborhood of Brook Court, where the arrival of their little cavalcade caused an unwonted stir.
A happy winter followed, in which the three girls were much together, but when summer came "Deborah" and "Elizabeth" returned to their southern homes.
The following girlish letter[21] from Dolly Payne to Elizabeth Brook is undated, but must have been written about December, 1788, or later:
Philadelphia.
How much am I indebted to thee dearest Eliza For throwing off that formality so stifling To the growth of friendship! and addressing First her who feels herself attached to thee by Every sentement of her heart and she often In her "hours of visinary indulgence" calls to Recollection the two lov'd girls who rendered Her so happy during their too short stay in Philadelphia.
I should most gladly have offered you the Tribute of my tender remembrances long before This by the performance of my promise of Wrighting, but my ignorance of a single conveyance[22] was the only preventative.
Let this however, my Dr Betsy obliterate the Idea of my neglect occasion'd by my prospects Of happiness[23] for be assur'd that no sublunary Bliss whatever should have a tendency to make Me forgetful of friends I so highly value.
This place is almost void of anything novell, Such however as is in circulation I will endeavor To Recollect in order to communicate.—Susan Ward and thy old Admirer W. S. have pass'd Their last meeting & are on the point of Marriage. Sally Pleasants and Sam Fox[24] according to the Common saying are made one—Their wedding Was small on account of the death of a cousin, M. Roads. The Bride is now seting up in form For company. I have not been to visit her but Was informed by Joshua Gilpin[25] that he met 40 Their paying their respects, etc., etc.
A general exclamation among the old Friends Against such Parade—a number of other matches
Talked off but their unsertainty must apologize For my not nameing the partys——
A charming little girl of my acquaintance & A Quaker too ran off & was married to a Roman Catholic the other evening—thee may have seen Her, Sally Bartram was her name.
Betsy Wister[26] & Kitty Morris too plain girls Have eloped to effect a union with the choice of Their hearts so thee sees Love is no respecter Of persons——
The very respectful Compliments of Frazier Await the 2 Marylanders—Frazier that unfortunate youth whose heart followed thee captive to Thy home—do call to mind this said conquest Betsy—I see him every day & thee is often the Subject of our Tete-a-tetes—he says the darn in Thy apron first struck him & declares that he Would give any mony for that captivating badge Of thy industry.
After bloting my paper all ore with nonsense I must conclude with particular Love to Debby Pleasants when thee should see her & respects