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41    Pennsylvania Gazette, 27 February 1788
Extract of a letter from a qentleman in Wilminrton, _tohis
friend in this city, dated February 19, 1788.
"Be pleased to accept many thanks for thy very obliging
letter of the 17th, and my hearty congratulations on the
Ratification of the Foederal Constitution by the state of
Massachusetts. It is indeed an event that promises most
happy consequences----that America will now enjoy peace,
liberty and safety----be united at home, and respectable
abroad. My hopes are enlivened. I look upon my children
with an encreased satisfaction, because their lot in life
seems to me to be rendered more favourable by the prospect
of public felicity.
"May the gracious Providence, that has preserved us
through so many dangers, difficulties and distresses, lead
us into an establishment and conduct of beneficial influence
to our fellow creatures in the other parts of the world."
1. This item was reprinted ten times from New Hampshire
to Virginia by 26 March.