While a member of Congress, fifty-two-year-old Wick wrote about himself to a friend, describing himself as "fair, a little fat, having increased since 1833 from 146 to 214 pounds— six feet and one inch high, good complexion, portly." Wick, speaking of himself said that "Wick has committed much folly in his time—the principal of which has been holding offices, writing rhymes, playing cards for money, and paying other people's debts—all which he abandoned about the time he became a Democrat." By now his hair had turned gray, and he was suffering from frequent fevers and what he described as "bilious attacks and dyspepsia."