Another paper is a Release to Francis Mitchener, October 14, 1800, in which it is recited:
"That the said Elizabeth Pain had ever since lived separate from him the said Thos. Pain, and never had any issue, and the said Thomas Pain had many years quitted this kingdom and resided (if living) in parts beyond the seas, but had not since been heard of by the said Elizabeth Pain, nor was it known for certain whether he was living or dead."
This release is signed by Robert Blackman and wife, and eight others, among these being the three children of Samuel Ollive, who under his will were to "share alike "—Samuel, Thomas, and Elizabeth (Mrs. Paine). The large seals attached to the signatures were fortunately well preserved, for each represents the head of Thomas Paine. By the assistance of Mr. Hammond I am able to present this little likeness of Paine that must have been made when he was about thirty-five, or nearly twenty years earlier than any other portrait of him. The reader must form his own conjecture as to the origin of this seal, its preservation by the wife, and use on this document At this time, and probably since her separation, Elizabeth Paine would appear to have resided with her brother Thomas, a watchmaker in Cranbrook, Kent. That she and the family did not know Paine's whereabouts in 1800, or whether he were dead or alive, argues that they had not followed his career or the course of public events with much interest. One would be glad to believe that Elizabeth cherished kindly remembrance of the man who considering his forlorn condition, had certainly shown generosity in the justice with which he renounced all of his rights in the property she had brought him, and whose hand she might naturally have suspected behind the monies anonymously sent her. We will therefore hope that it was from some other member of the family that Oldys obtained,—unless, like his "A. M. of the University of Philadelphia," it was invented,—the letter said to have been written by Paine's mother to his wife.*
* "Thetpord, Norfolk, 27th July, 1774. Dear Daughter,—I
must beg leave to trouble you with my inquiries concerning
my unhappy son and your husband: various are the reports,
which I find come originally from the Excise-office. Such as
his vile treatment to you, his secreting upwards of 30£.
intrusted with him to manage the petition for advance of
salary; and that since his discharge, he have petitioned to
be restored, which was rejected with scorn. Since which I am
told he have left England. To all which I beg you'll be kind
enough to answer me by due course of post.—You 'll not be
a little surprized at my so strongly desiring to know what's
become of him after I repeat to you his undutiful behavior
to the tenderest of parents; he never asked of us anything,
but what was granted, that were in our poor abilities to do;
nay, even distressed ourselves, whose works are given over
by old age, to let him have 20£. on bond, and every other
tender mark a parent could possibly shew a child; his
ingratitude, or rather want of duty, has been such, that he
have not wrote to me upwards of two years.—If the above
account be true, I am heartily sorry, that a woman whose
character and amiableness deserves the greatest respect,
love, and esteem, as I have always on enquiry been informed
yours did, should be tied for life to the worst of husbands.
I am, dear daughter, your affectionate mother,
"F. Pain.
"P. S. For God's sake, let me have your answer, as I am
almost distracted."
The letter may have been manipulated, but it is not improbable that rumors, "exaggerated by enmity or misstated by malice," as Oldys confesses, elicited some such outburst from Thetford.* The excisemen, angry at the failure to get their case before Parliament, and having fixed on Paine as their scapegoat, all other iniquities were naturally laid on him. Eighteen years later, when the scapegoat who had gone into the American wilderness returned with the renown of having helped to make it a nation, he addressed a letter to Lewes, which was about to hold a meeting to respond to a royal proclamation for suppressing seditious writings. His tone is not that of a man who supposed that Lewes had aught against him on the score of his wife.
"It is now upwards of eighteen years since I was a resident inhabitant of the town of Lewes. My situation among you as an officer of the revenue, for more than six years, enabled me to see into the numerous and various distresses which the weight of taxes even at that time of day occasioned; and feeling, as I then did, and as it is natural for me to do, for the hard condition of others, it is with pleasure I can declare, and every person then under my survey, and now living, can witness the exceeding candor, and even tenderness, with which that part of the duty that fell to my share was executed. The name of Thomas Paine is not to be found in the records of the Lewes justices, in any one act of contention with, or severity of any kind whatever towards, the persons whom he surveyed, either in the town or in the country; of this Mr. Fuller and Mr. Shelley, who will probably attend the meeting, can, if they please, give full testimony. It is, however, not in their power to contradict it. Having thus indulged myself in recollecting a place where I formerly had, and even now have, many friends, rich and poor, and most probably some enemies.
* When Paine had the money he did forward twenty pounds to
his parents, and made provision for his mother when she was
a widow. As to writing to her, in those unhappy years, he
probably thought it better to keep his burdens to himself.
He may also have been aware of his mother's severity without
knowing her interest in him.
I proceed to the import of my letter. Since my departure from Lewes, fortune or providence has thrown me into a line of action which my first setting out in life could not possibly have suggested to me. Many of you will recollect that, whilst I resided among you, there was not a man more firm and open in supporting the principles of liberty than myself, and I still pursue, and ever will, the same path."
Finally, it should be added that Rickman, a truthful man, who admits Paine's faults, says: "This I can assert, that Mr. Paine always spoke tenderly and respectfully of his wife; and sent her several times pecuniary aid, without her knowing even whence it came."
While Paine was in London, trying to get before Parliament a measure for the relief of excisemen, he not only enjoyed the friendship of Goldsmith, but that of Franklin. In the Doctor's electrical experiments he took a deep interest; for Paine was devoted to science, and the extent of his studies is attested by his description of a new electrical machine and other scientific papers, signed "Atlanticus," in the Pennsylvania Magazine, The sale of his effects in Lewes paid his debts, but left him almost penniless. He came to London, and how he lived is unknown—that is, physically, for we do find some intimation of his mental condition. In a letter written many years after to John King, a political renegade, Paine says: