Rebecca Gratz to Maria Fenno Hoffman - March 25, 1805

Rebecca tells her sister-in-law Maria about her nephew Benjamin Etting's journey to China and his delayed return, the effects of her neighbor's death on his widow, and shares various other updates about family and friends.

Rebecca reflects on her correspondence with her sister-in-law Maria, the busyness of the season, a number of international events involving the Queen of England, the Onís-Adams Treaty of 1819, studies of the British Monarchy, and discussion surrounding unidentified Indigenous people and fashion.

Writing to her sister-in-law Maria from Saratoga Springs, Rebecca critiques the social scene there and tells of the secret marriage of a young girl to a bishop's son, whose father officiated the ceremony.

Thanking Rebecca for sending a book on George Washington, Maria Edgeworth reflects on the characters of both Washington and Napoleon. She also sends a book of her father's writings and invites people in Rebecca's circle to visit her in Ireland.

Rebecca writes to her sister-in-law Maria, hoping to convince her to travel to Philadelphia after the death of Maria's infant son.