I should receive a Letter or Letters from you by the first
and all oppertunetys with the greatest sense or mark of your
esteem and affection whereas its the greatest Pleasure I can yet
forsee of having in fairfax to hear from my Intimate friends and
acquaintances I hope you in Particular will not Bauk me of what I
so ardently Wish for[49]
[Footnote 49: This appears to have been a study for a letter to
some youthful companion. Even to the close of his life it was the
habit of Washington, in writing important letters and papers,
to make rough drafts of them as a study. However, in copying
them off, he frequently changed expressions and amplified their
contents as his judgment approved. The original drafts of many of
his letters are preserved in the Department of State at Washington
and illustrate this fact. Hence the transcripts in his letter-book
are not always true copies of either his drafts or his original
autograph letters. These drafts were kept by him as memoranda,
rather than as exact copies. It is also probable that there are
many drafts preserved of letters which were never actually sent. In
some cases he endorses this fact upon drafts of letters.]