Philadelphia 26^th of the 10^th month 1797 Observing in the public Prints under New York heads of the 17 instant that the President of the United States intended honouring the Theatre in King Street with his presence, and that a Box was engaged for his reception — My mind was led into serious reflection on the influence of Examples so conspicuous as that the Chief Ruler filling the highest Station of Confidence and respect in Government, should in any degree countenance or encourage such Scenes of Vanity and Dissipation, which however artfully disguised with a plausible show of Morality, do most powerfully tend to deprave the minds of the People: every waste the time of the Lord, and unnerve reason in the actions [undecipherable] of the same unwholesome tending to infidelity, lewdness and indecency, which the morally most candidly is subversive of the Civil wellbeing of the Community at large — and it is Righteousness and a love to true Religion which alone exalts a Nation or [undecipherable] —— I am well known in a time of trouble and difficulty, sensible of the value of an [undecipherable] and adverse to the salutary institutions of Piety and Christian forbearance, and in many of [undecipherable] all those have [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] that love of [undecipherable] Country [undecipherable] and [undecipherable] and [undecipherable] — [undecipherable] then at [undecipherable] and [undecipherable] with the most [undecipherable] attributed to the [undecipherable] including the [undecipherable] an happy [undecipherable] rebuked [undecipherable] an administration and [undecipherable] Peace [undecipherable] and constant still retain the credible and [undecipherable] — I am sensible of the national embarrassment and almost constant pressure resulting from the want of finances and not many other causes which necessarily claim thy attention, but could not but a moment write to me noble without [undecipherable] to the [undecipherable] I also have an upholding the exalted degree of thy dignity, and an [undecipherable] round to the honour of God and a dutiful [undecipherable] [undecipherable] of your Exertions of [undecipherable] to the United States above, and and in the End the fruition of that Peace which results from a consciousness of having done well according to the ability received — That this may be fully manifested in thy experience is the fervent desire of thy real friend — John Parrish To John Adams — President of the United States. ——