Early 19th c. New York portrait of a gentleman holding a letter in his outstretched hand in the manner of Ammi Phillips. The text of the letter comes from Oliver Goldsmith's (1730 - 1774) "Poems of Home - The Traveler" and reads: "Eternal blessings crown my earliest friends. And round their dwellings guardian saints attend. Wherever I roam to see whatever dreams, my heart untraveled fondly turns to them. Hope points to a return to my dear nature shore. To repay with rapture the pains I now endure. May my almighty God grant that it so may be and that all my friends in health I again may see." The letter is signed indistinctly and dated Messina 16 October 1811. Messina is now part of present day Syracuse. The painting is in good condition - minor foxing - stretched and relined. Framed measures 38 3/4" x 32 3/4"; sight measures 32" x 26".