In some of my former letters, I suggested an opportunity of obliging this

court, by borrowing as much money in Holland as would pay the debt due

here, if such a loan could be obtained; as to which, I was altogether

ignorant. To save time, I wrote to Mr. Dumas, to know whether he thought

it probable a loan could be obtained, enjoining on him the strictest

secrecy, and informing him I was making the inquiry merely of my own

motion, and without instruction. I enclose you his answer. He thinks

purchasers of the debt could be found, with a sacrifice of a small part

of the capital, and a postponement be obtained of some of the first

reimbursements. The proposition by him, for an immediate adoption of this

measure by me, was probably urged on his mind by a desire to serve our

country, more than a strict attention to my duty, and the magnitude of

the object. I hope, on the contrary, that if it should be thought worth

a trial, it may be put into the hands of Mr. Adams, who knows the ground,

and is known there, and whose former successful negotiations in this line,

would give better-founded hopes of success on this occasion.

I formerly mentioned to you the hopes of preferment, entertained by the

Chevalier de La Luzerne. They have been baffled by events; none of the

vacancies taking place which had been expected. Had I pressed his being

ordered back, I have reason to believe the order would have been given.

But he would have gone back in ill humor with Congress, he would have laid

forever at their door the failure of a promotion then viewed as certain;

and this might have excited dispositions that would have disappointed us

of the good we hoped from his return. The line I have observed with him

has been, to make him sensible that nothing was more desired by Congress

than his return, but that they would not willingly press it, so as to

defeat him of a personal advantage. He sees his prospects fail, and will

return in the approaching spring, unless something unexpected should turn

up in his favor. In this case, the Count de Moutier has the promise of

succeeding to him, and, if I do not mistake his character, he would give

great satisfaction. So that I think you may calculate on seeing one or the

other, by midsummer.

It had been suspected that France and England might adopt those concerted

regulations of commerce for their West Indies, of which your letter

expresses some apprehensions. But the expressions in the 4th, 5th, 7th,

11th, 18th, and other articles of their treaty, which communicate to the

English the privileges of the most favored _European_ nation only, has

lessened, if not removed those fears. They have clearly reserved a right

of favoring, specially, any nation not European; and there is no nation

out of Europe, who could so probably have been in their eye at that

time, as ours. They are wise. They must see it probable, at least, that

any concert with England, will be but of short duration; and they could

hardly propose to sacrifice for that, a connection with us, which may be

perpetual.

We have been for some days in much inquietude for the Count de Vergennes.

He is very seriously ill. Nature seems struggling to decide his disease

into a gout. A swelled foot, at present, gives us a hope of this issue.

His loss would at all times have been great; but it would be immense

during the critical poise of European affairs existing at this moment. I

enclose you a letter from one of the foreign officers, complaining of the

nonpayment of their interest. It is only one out of many I have received.

This is accompanied by a second copy of the Moorish declaration sent me

by Mr. Barclay. He went to Alicant to settle with Mr. Lambe; but on his

arrival there, found he was gone to Minorca. A copy of his letter will

inform you of this circumstance, and of some others relative to Algiers,

with his opinion on them. Whatever the States may enable Congress to do

for obtaining the peace of that country, it is a separate question whether

they will redeem our captives, how, and at what price. If they decide to

redeem them, I will beg leave to observe, that it is of great importance

that the first redemption be made at as low a price as possible, because

it will form the future tariff. If these pirates find that they can have

a very great price for Americans, they will abandon proportionably their

pursuits against other nations, to direct them towards ours. That the

choice of Congress may be enlarged, as to the instruments they may use

for effecting the redemption, I think it my duty to inform them, that

there is here an order of priests called the Mathurins, the object of

whose institution is to beg alms for the redemption of captives. They keep

members always in Barbary, searching out the captives of their country,

and redeem, I believe, on better terms than any other body, public or

private. It occurred to me, that their agency might be obtained for the

redemption of our prisoners at Algiers. I obtained conference with the

General, and with some members of the order. The General, with all the

benevolence and cordiality possible, undertook to act for us, if we should

desire it. He told me that their last considerable redemption was of

about three hundred prisoners, who cost them somewhat upwards of fifteen

hundred livres apiece; but that they should not be able to redeem ours

as cheap as they do their own; and that it must be absolutely unknown

that the public concern themselves in the operation, or the price would

be greatly enhanced. The difference of religion was not once mentioned,

nor did it appear to me to be thought of. It was a silent reclamation and

acknowledgment of fraternity, between two religions of the same family,

which historical events of ancient date had rendered more hostile to one

another, than to their common adversaries. I informed the General, that

I should communicate the good dispositions of his order to those who

alone had the authority to decide whatever related to our captives. Mr.

Carmichael informs me, that moneys have been advanced for the support of

our prisoners at Algiers, which ought to be replaced. I infer from the

context of his letter, that these advances have been made by the court of

Madrid. I submit the information to Congress.

A treaty of commerce is certainly concluded between France and Russia. The

particulars of it are yet secret.

I enclose the gazettes of France and Leyden to this time, and have the

honor of assuring you of those sentiments of perfect esteem and respect

with which I am, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO M. SOULÉS.

February 2, 1787.

SIR,--I send you the papers M. de Creve-coeur sent to Normandy for.

The account of the destruction of Wyoming begins page 40. You may rely

certainly on the author's facts, and you will be easily able to separate

from them his reflections. You can best judge whether an account of that

interesting settlement, condensed into a few lines, might not form an

agreeable episode in your history, and prepare the mind more awfully for

its final catastrophe. I will thank you to return these papers as soon

as you are done with them that I may restore them to the hands of M. de

Creve-coeur before my departure, which will now be in a few days. I have

the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient humble servant.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY MR. ADAMS.

PARIS, February 6, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--Your favors by Colonel Franks have come safely to hand. He will

set out from thence the 8th instant. The packet being to sail from Havre

the 10th, I enclose you the copy of a letter lately received from Mr.

Barclay, and of the paper it enclosed. In a letter from Mr. Carmichael, is

a postscript, dated December 25, in the following words: "Since writing

the preceding, the Portuguese ambassador has pressed me to hint, that

the present moment is favorable to push our treaty with the court." In

the body of the letter he says: "The Count de Expilly has promised me to

continue his attention to our prisoners during his stay at Algiers; and I

have also engaged the Consul of Spain, who remains there on his return,

to take care of them. Advances have been made for their support which

ought to be refunded." I suppose these advances have been made by order of

Mr. Lambe, and that his powers being at an end, it will be incumbent on

us to take measures on that subject. The Count de Vergennes is extremely

ill. His disease is gouty. We have for some days had hopes it would fix

itself decidedly in the foot. It shows itself there at times, as also in

the shoulder, the stomach, &c. Monsieur de Calonnes is likewise ill, but

his complaints are of a rheumatic kind, which he has often had before.

The illness of these two ministers occasioned the postponement of the

Assembly of the Notables to the 14th, and probably will yet postpone it.

Nothing is yet known of the objects of that meeting. I send you a pamphlet

giving a summary account of all the meetings of a general nature which

have taken place heretofore. The treaty between Prussia and this country

is certainly concluded, but its contents are not yet known. I shall set

out for the waters of Aix on the 13th instant, so that I am unable to say

when and whence I shall have the honor of addressing you again. But I take

measures for the conveying to me on my road all letters, so that should

anything extraordinary require it, I can at all times be recalled to Paris

in a fortnight. I shall hope to hear from you at times, as if I were in

Paris. I thank you much for the valuable present of your book. The subject

of it is interesting, and I am sure it is well treated. I shall take it

on my journey, that I may have time to study it. You told me once, you

had thought of writing on hereditary aristocracy. I wish you would carry

it into execution. It would make a proper sequel to the present work. I

wish you all possible happiness, and have the honor to be, with sentiments

of sincere esteem and affection, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most

humble servant.

TO MRS. BINGHAM.

PARIS, February 7, 1787.

I know, Madam, that the twelve month is not yet expired; but it will be,

nearly, before this will have the honor of being put into your hands.

You are then engaged to tell me, truly and honestly, whether you do not

find the tranquil pleasures of America, preferable to the empty bustle of

Paris. For, to what does that bustle tend? At eleven o'clock, it is day,

_chez madame_. The curtains are drawn. Propped on bolsters and pillows,

and her head scratched into a little order, the bulletins of the sick are

read, and the billets of the well. She writes to some of her acquaintance,

and receives the visits of others. If the morning is not very thronged,

she is able to get out and hobble round the cage of the Palais Royal;

but she must hobble quickly, for the _coeffeur's_ turn is come; and a

tremendous turn it is! Happy, if he does not make her arrive when dinner

is half over! The torpitude of digestion a little passed, she flutters

half an hour through the streets, by way of paying visits, and then to

the spectacles. These finished, another half hour is devoted to dodging

in and out of the doors of her very sincere friends, and away to supper.

After supper, cards; and after cards, bed; to rise at noon the next day,

and to tread, like a mill horse, the same trodden circle over again. Thus

the days of life are consumed, one by one, without an object beyond the

present moment; ever flying from the ennui of that, yet carrying it with

us; eternally in pursuit of happiness, which keeps eternally before us. If

death or bankruptcy happen to trip us out of the circle, it is matter for

the buzz of the evening, and is completely forgotten by the next morning.

In America, on the other hand, the society of your husband, the fond

cares for the children, the arrangements of the house, the improvements

of the grounds, fill every moment with a healthy and an useful activity.

Every exertion is encouraging, because, to present amusement, it joins the

promise of some future good. The intervals of leisure are filled by the

society of real friends, whose affections are not thinned to cob-web, by

being spread over a thousand objects. This is the picture, in the light it

is presented to my mind; now let me have it in yours. If we do not concur

this year, we shall the next; or if not then, in a year or two more. You

see I am determined not to suppose myself mistaken.

To let you see that Paris is not changed in its pursuits, since it was

honored with your presence, I send you its monthly history. But this

relating only to the embellishments of their persons, I must add, that

those of the city go on well also. A new bridge, for example, is begun at

the Place Louis Quinze; the old ones are clearing off the rubbish which

encumbered them in the form of houses; new hospitals erecting; magnificent

walls of inclosure, and Custom-houses at their entrances, &c., &c., &c.

I know of no interesting change among those whom you honored with your

acquaintance, unless Monsieur de Saint James was of that number. His

bankruptcy, and taking asylum in the Bastile, have furnished matter of

astonishment. His garden, at the Pont de Neuilly, where, on seventeen

acres of ground, he had laid out fifty thousand louis, will probably sell

for somewhat less money. The workmen of Paris are making rapid strides

towards English perfection. Would you believe, that in the course of the

last two years, they have learned even to surpass their London rivals in

some articles? Commission me to have you a phaeton made, and, if it is not

as much handsomer than a London one, as that is than a Fiacre, send it

back to me. Shall I fill the box with caps, bonnets, &c.? Not of my own

choosing, but--I was going to say, of Mademoiselle Bertin's, forgetting,

for the moment, that she too is a bankrupt. They shall be chosen then by

whom you please; or, if you are altogether nonplused by her eclipse, we

will call an Assembleé des Notables to help you out of the difficulty, as

is now the fashion. In short, honor me with your commands of any kind, and

they shall be faithfully executed. The packets now established from Havre

to New York, furnish good opportunities of sending whatever you wish.

I shall end where I began, like a Paris day, reminding you of your

engagement to write me a letter of respectable length, an engagement the

more precious to me, as it has furnished the occasion, after presenting

my respects to Mr. Bingham, of assuring you of the sincerity of those

sentiments of esteem and respect with which I have the honor to be, dear

Madam, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO GOVERNOR RANDOLPH.

PARIS, February 7, 1787.

SIR,--I have the honor of enclosing to your Excellency, a report of

the proceedings on the inauguration of the bust of the Marquis de La

Fayette in this city. This has been attended with a considerable, but

a necessary delay. The principle that the King is the sole fountain of

honor in this country opposed a barrier to our desires, which threatened

to be insurmountable. No instance of a similar proposition from a foreign

power, had occurred in their history. The admitting it in this case, is

a singular proof of the King's friendly disposition towards the States of

America, and of his personal esteem for the Marquis de La Fayette.

I take this, the earliest occasion, of congratulating my country on your

Excellency's appointment to the chair of government, and of assuring you

with great sincerity, of those sentiments of perfect esteem and respect,

with which I have the honor to be, your Excellency's most obedient, and

most humble servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, February 8, 1787.

SIR,--The packet being to sail the day after tomorrow, I have awaited

the last possible moment of writing by her, in hopes I might be able to

announce some favorable change in the situation of the Count de Vergennes.

But none has occurred, and in the meantime he has become weaker by the

continuance of his illness. Though not desperately ill, he is dangerously

so. The Comptroller General, M. de Calonnes, has been very ill also, but

he is getting well. These circumstances have occasioned the postponement

of the Assemblée des Notables to the 14th instant, and will probably

occasion a further postponement. As I shall set out this day se'nnight

for the waters of Aix, you will probably hear the issue of the Count de

Vergennes' illness through some other channel, before I shall have the

honor of addressing you again. I may observe the same, as to the final

decision for the _effranchisement_ of Honfleur, which is in a fair way

of being speedily concluded. The exertions of Monsieur de Creve-coeur,

and particularly his influence with the Duke d'Harcourt, the principal

instrument in effecting it, have been of chief consequence in this matter.

I have the honor to be, with the most perfect esteem and respect, Sir,

your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO MR. DUMAS.

PARIS, February 9, 1787.

SIR,--My last to you was dated December 25th; since which I have been

honored with your several favors of December the 29th, January the 5th,

9th and 23d. I thought that your affairs could not be more interesting

than they have been for a considerable time. Yet in the present moment

they are become more so, by the apparent withdrawing of so considerable a

personage in the drama, as the King of Prussia. To increase this interest,

another person, whose importance scarcely admits calculation, is in a

situation which fills us with alarm. Nature is struggling to relieve

him by a decided gout; she has my sincere prayers to aid her, as I am

persuaded she has yours. I have letters and papers from America, as late

as the 15th of December. The government of Massachusetts had imprisoned

three of the leaders of their insurgents. The insurgents, being collected

to the number of three or four hundred, had sent in their petition to

the government, praying another act of pardon for their leaders and

themselves, and, on this condition, offering to go every man home, and

conduct himself dutifully afterwards. This is the latest intelligence.

I thank you for your attention to the question I had taken the liberty of

proposing to you. I think with you, that it would be advisable to have our

debt transferred to individuals of your country. There could, and would be

no objection to the guarantee remaining as you propose; and a postponement

of the first payments of capital, would surely be a convenience to us.

For though the resources of the United States are great and growing, and

their dispositions good, yet their machine is new, and they have not got

it to go well. It is the object of their general wish at present, and they

are all in movement, to set it in a good train; but their movements are

necessarily slow. They will surely effect it in the end, because all have

the same end in view; the difficulty being only to get all the thirteen

States to agree on the same means. Divesting myself of every partiality,

and speaking from that thorough knowledge which I have of the country,

their resources and their principles, I had rather trust money in their

hands, than in that of any government on earth; because, though for

awhile the payments of the interest might be less regular, yet the final

reimbursement of the capital would be more sure.

I set out next week for the south of France, to try whether some mineral

waters in that quarter, much recommended, will restore the use of my hand.

I shall be absent from Paris two or three months; but I take arrangements

for the regular receipt of your favors, as if I were here. It will be

better, however, for you to put your letters to Mr. Jay, under cover to

Mr. Short, who remains here, and will forward them.

I have thought it my duty to submit to Congress the proposition about the

French debt, and may expect their answer in four months.

I have the honor to be, with sincere esteem and respect, Sir, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO MESSRS. BORGNIS DESBORDES FRERES.

PARIS, February 12, 1787.

GENTLEMEN,--Mr. Barclay, the American Consul General for France, being at

present out of the kingdom, I have given orders to Mr. Grand, banker at

Paris, to pay your draught for one hundred and eighty-six livres, advanced

by you for the relief of the shipwrecked Americans. I thank you for your

attention to these unfortunate people. It will rest with Mr. Barclay to

give such future directions as he shall think proper for cases of this

kind, which properly fall within the consular department. A certainty

that your kindness will meet his thanks, and that my interference in his

absence will be approved, has engaged me to do it without any hesitation.

I am just setting out on a journey of two or three months, but Mr. Grand,

as I have before mentioned, will pay your draught for the 168 livres

whenever you shall be pleased to make it. I have the honor to be, with

sentiments of the most perfect esteem and respect, Gentlemen, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY MR. ADAMS.

PARIS, February 14, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--As I propose to write you on business by Mr. Cairnes, who will

set out in a few days for London, the object of the present letter is only

to inform you that the Count de Vergennes died yesterday morning, and that

the Count de Montmorin is appointed his successor, and further to beg the

favor of you to forward the enclosed by the first vessel from London. I

set out on my journey on Sunday the 18th. I have the honor to be, with

sentiments of very sincere affection and respect, dear Sir, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, February 14, 1787.

SIR,--In the letter of the 8th instant, which I had the honor of writing

you, I informed you that the Count de Vergennes was dangerously ill.

He died yesterday morning, and the Count de Montmorin is appointed

his successor. Your personal knowledge of this gentleman, renders it

unnecessary for me to say anything of him.

Mr. Morris, during his office, being authorized to have the medals and

swords executed, which had been ordered by Congress, he authorized Colonel

Humphreys to take measures here for the execution. Colonel Humpreys did

so; and the swords were finished in time for him to carry them. The medals

not being finished, he desired me to attend to them. The workman who was

to make that of General Greene, brought me yesterday, the medal in gold,

twenty-three in copper, and the dye. Mr. Short, during my absence, will

avail himself of the first occasion which shall offer, of forwarding

the medals to you. I must beg leave, through you, to ask the pleasure of

Congress as to the number they would choose to have struck. Perhaps they

might be willing to deposit one of each person, in every college of the

United States. Perhaps they might choose to give a series of them, to each

of the crowned heads of Europe, which would be an acceptable present to

them. They will be pleased to decide. In the meantime, I have sealed up

the dye, and shall retain it till I am honored with their orders as to

this medal, and the others also, when they shall be finished.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and

respect, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO M. LE PREVOT DES MARCHANDS ET ECHEVINS DE PARIS.

PARIS, February 18, 1787.

SIR,--I am now to acknowledge the receipt of the letter with which

you have been pleased to honor me, together with the report on the

inauguration of the bust of the Major General the Marquis de La Fayette.

I availed myself of an opportunity which offered in the moment, of

transmitting them to the State of Virginia, with a faithful representation

of the favor with which the Prevot des Marchands et Echevins de Paris

received their proposition, the zeal with which it was pursued, and the

dignity of its ultimate execution. Knowing the attachment of my country

to the character which was the subject of that transaction, and the price

they will set on the attentions of the magistracy of Paris, I am safe in

assuring you that they will feel themselves infinitely obliged on this

occasion.

The interest you are pleased to take in the happiness of our infant

States, your judicious admonitions as to the means of preserving it, and

the terms in which you particularly honor some of their members, require

my personal thanks, which I humbly offer, with all those sentiments of

homage and respect with which I have the honor to be, Sir, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO MR. CARMICHAEL.

PARIS, February 18, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--My last to you was dated December 26, since which I have been

honored with yours of December 17. I now enclose you a duplicate of the

vote for the recall of Mr. Lambe. I take the liberty, also, of putting

under cover to you our confirmation of the Morocco treaty, together with a

joint letter to Fennish. The fear that Mr. Barclay might not be at Madrid

has occasioned my giving you this trouble, as well as that of addressing

the letter properly, and of having it transmitted.

I have received from Mr. Jay sundry despatches relative to the frigate the

South Carolina, and to a claim against the Court of Madrid founded on the

aid of that vessel in taking the Bahama and Providence islands, with an

instruction from Congress to confer with the Prince of Luxembourg, and get

him to interest the Duke de La Vauguyon to join you in your solicitations

of this matter. This is accordingly done, and you will have the aid of

the Duke. The despatches relative to this subject, I have sealed up and

addressed to you, but they will be delivered to the Duke de La Vauguyon,

to find a safe occasion of forwarding them. My last news from America

was of the 15th of December. The insurgents of Massachusetts had sent in

a petition to their government, praying the release of their leaders in

jail, and an act of pardon for themselves, and offering thereon to retire

every man to his home and to live submissively. You will have heard of the

death of the Count de Vergennes, and appointment of Mons. de Montmorin.

I was unlucky enough five months ago to dislocate my right wrist, and

though well set, I have as yet no use of it, except that I can write,

but in pain. I am advised to try the use of mineral waters, and those of

Aix in Provence being as much recommended as any others, I combine with

this object a design of making the tour of those seaports with which

we trade, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes, &c., and shall set out the day

after to-morrow, and expect to be absent three months. This may probably

prevent my having the honor of writing to you during that interval, unless

anything extraordinary should arise. I take measures for the receipt of

all letters addressed to me as regularly as were I here. I have the honor

to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and respect, Sir, your

most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO MR. BARCLAY.

PARIS, February 18, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I am now to acknowledge your separate favors of December 4th

and January 6th, and the joint one to Mr. Adams and myself of January 6th;

this last has been communicated to Congress, and to Mr. Adams. You have

my full and hearty approbation of the treaty you obtained from Morocco,

which is better and on better terms than I expected. Mr. Adams and myself

have annexed our confirmation to two of the copies, one of which is gone

to Congress; the other, with a joint letter to Fennish, I now enclose to

Mr. Carmichael, apprehending you are not in Madrid. I concur clearly with

you in opinion that, for many reasons, Mr. Carmichael would be a proper

person to negotiate our business with Algiers, if it be negotiable with

such means as we possess. I have expressed this opinion in my letters to

America, but I am sure we cannot raise the money necessary. Colonel Franks

was gone to London before I received your letter. He returned and embarked

in the packet for Havre, but nothing was done on the subject of accounts

or money. I was unlucky enough to dislocate my right wrist five months

ago, and though it was well set, I can yet make no use of it but to write.

I am advised to try mineral waters, and those of Aix in Provence, being as

much recommended as any others, I am induced to go to them by the desire

of making the tour of the ports with which we trade, Marseilles, Bordeaux,

Nantes, &c. I set out in two days and shall be absent three months. The

packets are finally fixed at Havre. They sail every six weeks. Honfleur

will, I think, certainly be made a free port; and I flatter myself will

become the centre for much of our trade, and particularly that of rice.

The death of Count de Vergennes, and appointment of Monsieur de Montmorin,

will reach you before this letter does. I have letters, &c., from America

as late as the 15th of December. The insurgents of Massachusetts had

prayed pardon for themselves and their leaders in jail, and on these terms

had offered to retire and live peaceably at home. Mrs. Barclay and your

family are well, except they are somewhat apprehensive of a film growing

over the eye of your youngest daughter; but should it do so, it will be

easily removed. I have the honor to be, with much esteem and respect, dear

Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY JOHN ADAMS.

PARIS, February 20, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of January

25th. Colonel Franks sailed in the packet of this month from Havre for New

York. The arrangement of the packets opens a direct communication between

Paris and America, and if we succeed, as I expect we will, in getting

Honfleur made a free port, I hope to see that place become the deposit for

our whale oil, rice, tobacco and furs, and that, from thence, what is not

wanted in the country may be distributed to others. You remember giving

me a letter of credit on Messrs. Willinck and Staphorst for one thousand

guineas to pay for the swords and medals. When the swords were finished, I

drew on the Vandemjers, with whom the money was deposited, for sixty-five

thousand livres, to pay for the swords. They paid it. A medal is now

finished, and others will very soon be. But these gentlemen say they must

have fresh orders. In the meantime, the workmen complain. Will you be so

good as to draw in favor of Mr. Grand on Willinck, &c., for the balance of

the thousand guineas (which is about the sum that will be necessary), and

send the bill to Mr. Grand, who, in my absence, will negotiate it and pay

the workmen. I enclose you Vandemjer's answer. The meeting of the Notables

on Thursday, and the necessity of paying my court to our new minister,

will detain me till Friday, and perhaps till Tuesday next. Nothing is

known yet of the objects of this Assembly. I enclose you two new pamphlets

relative to it, and will inform you of whatever I can discover relative to

it during my stay. I learn with real pain the resolution you have taken

of quitting Europe. Your presence on this side the Atlantic gave me a

confidence that, if any difficulties should arise within my department,

I should always have one to advise with, on whose counsels I could rely.

I shall now feel bewidowed. I do not wonder at your being tired out by

the conduct of the court you are at. But is there not room to do a great

deal of good for us in Holland in the department of money? No one can

do it as well as yourself. But you have taken your resolution on mature

consideration, and I have nothing to offer, therefore, but my regrets.

If anything transpires from the Notables before my departure worth

communication, you shall yet hear from me. In the meantime, believe me

to be, with sincere esteem and respect, dear Sir, your most obedient, and

most humble servant.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY MR. ADAMS.

PARIS, February 23, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--The Notables met yesterday; the King opened the Assembly with

a short speech, wherein he expressed his inclination to consult with them

on the affairs of his kingdom, to receive their opinions on the plans he

had digested, and to endeavor to imitate the head of his family, Henry

IV., whose name is so dear to the nation. The speech was affectionate.

The Garde des Sceaux spoke about twenty minutes, complimented the clergy,

the noblesse, the magistrates and tiers etats. The Comptroller General

spoke about an hour. He enumerated the expenses necessary to arrange his

department when he came into it; he said his returns had been minutely

laid before the King; he took a review of the preceding administrations,

and more particularly of Mr. Neckar's; he detailed the improvement

which had been made; he portrayed the present state of the finances, and

sketched the several schemes proposed for their improvement; he spoke on a

change in the form of the taxes, the removal of the interior custom-houses

to the frontiers, provincial administrations and some other objects.

The Assembly was then divided into committees. To-day, there was to be

another grand Assembly, the plans more fully explained and referred to the

discussion of the committees. The grand Assembly will meet once a week and

vote individually. The propriety of my attending the first audience day

of Count Montmorin, which will not be till the 27th, retards my departure

till then.

I have read your book with infinite satisfaction and improvement. It will

do great good in America. Its learning and its good sense will, I hope,

make it an institute for our politicians, old as well as young. There is

one opinion in it, however, which I will ask you to reconsider, because it

appears to me not entirely accurate, and not likely to do good. Page 362,

"Congress is not a legislative, but a diplomatic assembly." Separating

into parts the whole sovereignty of our States, some of these parts are

yielded to Congress. Upon these I should think them both legislative

and executive, and that would have been judiciary also, had not the

confederation required them for certain purposes to appoint a judiciary.

It has accordingly been the decision of our courts that the confederation

is a part of the law of the land, and superior in authority to the

ordinary laws, because it cannot be altered by the legislature of any one

State. I doubt whether they are at all a diplomatic assembly. On the first

news of this work there were proposals to translate it. Fearing it might

be murdered in that operation, I endeavored to secure a good translator.

This is done, and I lend him my copy to translate from. It will be

immediately announced to keep others from attempting it. I am, with

sincere esteem and respect, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble

servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, February 23, 1787.

SIR,--The Assemblée des Notables being an event in the history of this

country which excites notice, I have supposed it would not be disagreeable

to you to learn its immediate objects, though no way connected with

our interests. The Assembly met yesterday; the King, in a short but

affectionate speech, informed them of his wish to consult with them on

the plans he had digested, and on the general good of his people, and

his desire to imitate the head of his family, Henry IV., whose memory

is so dear to the nation. The Garde des Sceaux then spoke about twenty

minutes, chiefly in compliment to the orders present. The Comptroller

General, in a speech of about an hour, opened the budget, and enlarged on

the several subjects which will be under their deliberation. He explained

the situation of the finances at his accession to office, the expenses

which their arrangement had rendered necessary, their present state, with

the improvements made in them, the several plans which had been proposed

for their future improvement, a change in the form of some of their

taxes, the removal of the interior custom-houses to the frontiers, and

the institution of Provincial Assemblies. The Assembly was then divided

into committees, with a prince of the blood at the head of each. In this

form, they are to discuss separately the subjects which will be submitted

to them. Their decision will be reported by two members to the minister,

who, on view of the separate decisions of all the committees, will make

such changes in his plans as will best accommodate them to their views,

without too much departing from his own, and will then submit them to the

vote (but I believe not to the debate) of the General Assembly, which

will be convened for this purpose one day in every week, and will vote

individually.

The event of the Count de Vergennes' death, of which I had the honor to

inform you in a letter of the 14th instant, the appointment of the Count

Montmorin, and the propriety of my attending at his first audience, which

will be on the 27th, have retarded the journey I had proposed, a few days.

I shall hope, on my return, to meet here new powers for the consular

convention, as under those I have, it will be impossible to make the

changes in the convention which may be wished for.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and

respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant.

TO RICHARD PETERS.

PARIS, February 26, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--Your favor of October 1, covering the letter and bill to

Captain Capitaine, did not come to my hands till yesterday. I wrote to

him immediately, to inform him it should be delivered here at any moment.

We talk and think of nothing here but the Assemblée des Notables. Were

all the puns collected, to which this Assembly has given rise, I think

they would make a larger volume than the Encyclopedie. The government is

said to want eighty millions of livres revenue more than they have. They

propose to give to the people provincial administrations, and to make

other improvements. It is a pity they had not more of the virtue called

economy, of which we have something to spare. I hope the company of Mrs.

Peters and your little ones have cured all your aches and pains both of

body and mind. That you and they may continue forever clear of them, is

the sincere prayer of, dear Sir, your friend and servant.

TO THE MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE.

PARIS, February 28, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I am just now in the moment of my departure. Monsieur de

Montmorin having given us audience at Paris yesterday, I missed the

opportunity of seeing you once more. I am extremely pleased with his

modesty, the simplicity of his manners, and his dispositions toward us. I

promise myself a great deal of satisfaction in doing business with him.

I hope he will not give ear to any unfriendly suggestions. I flatter

myself I shall hear from you sometimes. Send your letters to my hotel,

as usual, and they will be forwarded to me. I wish you success in your

meeting. I should form better hopes of it, if it were divided into two

Houses, instead of seven. Keeping the good model of your neighboring

country before your eyes, you may get on, step by step, towards a good

constitution. Though that model is not perfect, yet, as it would unite

more suffrages than any new one which could be proposed, it is better to

make that the object. If every advance is to be purchased by filling the

royal coffers with gold, it will be gold well employed. The King, who

means so well, should be encouraged to repeat these Assemblies. You see

how we republicans are apt to preach, when we get on politics. Adieu, my

dear friend. Yours affectionately.

TO MADAME LA COMTESSE DE TESSE.

NISMES, March 20, 1787.

Here I am, Madam, gazing whole hours at the Maison quarrée like a lover at

his mistress. The stocking weavers and silk spinners around it consider

me a hypochondriac Englishman, about to write with a pistol the last

chapter of his history. This is the second time I have been in love since

I left Paris. The first was with a Diana at the Chateau de Laye-Epinaye

in Beaujolois, a delicious morsel of sculpture, by M. A. Slodtz. This,

you will say, was in rule, to fall in love with a female beauty; but

with a house! it is out of all precedent. No, Madam, it is not without a

precedent in my own history. While in Paris, I was violently smitten with

the Hotel de Salm, and used to go to the Tuileries almost daily, to look

at it. The _loueuse des chaises_, inattentive to my passion, never had

the complaisance to place a chair there, so that, sitting on the parapet,

and twisting my neck round to see the object of my admiration, I generally

left it with a _torti-colli_.

From Lyons to Nismes I have been nourished with the remains of Roman

grandeur. They have always brought you to my mind, because I know your

affection for whatever is Roman and noble. At Vienne I thought of you.

But I am glad you were not there; for you would have seen me more angry

than, I hope, you will ever see me. The Prætorian Palace, as it is called,

comparable, for its fine proportions, to the Maison quarrée, defaced by

the barbarians who have converted it to its present purpose, its beautiful

fluted Corinthian columns cut out, in part, to make space for Gothic

windows, and hewed down, in the residue, to the plane of the building, was

enough, you must admit, to disturb my composure. At Orange, too, I thought

of you. I was sure you had seen with pleasure the sublime triumphal arch

of Marius at the entrance of the city. I went then to the Arenæ. Would

you believe, Madam, that in this eighteenth century, in France, under the

reign of Louis XVI., they are at this moment pulling down the circular

wall of this superb remain, to pave a road? And that, too, from a hill

which is itself an entire mass of stone, just as fit, and more accessible?

A former intendant, a M. de Basville, has rendered his memory dear to

the traveller and amateur, by the pains he took to preserve and restore

these monuments of antiquity. The present one (I do not know who he is)

is demolishing the object, to make a good road to it. I thought of you

again, and I was then in great good humor, at the Pont du Gard, a sublime

antiquity, and well preserved. But most of all here, where Roman taste,

genius, and magnificence, excite ideas analogous to yours at every step. I

could no longer oppose the inclination to avail myself of your permission

to write to you, a permission given with too much complaisance by you,

and used by me with too much indiscretion. Madame de Tott did me the same

honor. But she, being only the descendant of some of those puny heroes who

boiled their own kettles before the walls of Troy, I shall write to her

from a Grecian, rather than a Roman canton; when I shall find myself, for

example, among her Phocæan relations at Marseilles.

Loving, as you do madam, the precious remains of antiquity, loving

architecture, gardening, a warm sun and a clear sky, I wonder you have

never thought of moving Chaville to Nismes. This, as you know, has

not always been deemed impracticable; and, therefore, the next time a

_Sur-intendant des batiments du roi_, after the example of M. Colbert,

sends persons to Nismes to move the Maison quarrée to Paris, that they

may not come empty handed, desire them to bring Chaville with them, to

replace it. Apropos of Paris. I have now been three weeks from there,

without knowing anything of what has passed. I suppose I shall meet it all

at Aix, where I have directed my letters to be lodged, _poste restante_.

My journey has given me leisure to reflect on this Assemblée des Notables.

Under a good and a young King, as the present, I think good may be made of

it. I would have the deputies then, by all means, so conduct themselves as

to encourage him to repeat the calls of this Assembly. Their first step

should be, to get themselves divided into two chambers instead of seven;

the Noblesse and the Commons separately. The second, to persuade the King,

instead of choosing the deputies of the Commons himself, to summon those

chosen by the people for the Provincial administrations. The third, as the

Noblesse is too numerous to be all of the Assemblée, to obtain permission

for that body to choose its own deputies. Two Houses, so elected, would

contain a mass of wisdom which would make the people happy, and the King

great; would place him in history where no other act can possibly place

him. They would thus put themselves in the track of the best guide they

can follow; they would soon overtake it, become its guide in turn, and

lead to the wholesome modifications wanting in that model, and necessary

to constitute a rational government. Should they attempt more than the

established habits of the people are ripe for, they may lose all, and

retard indefinitely the ultimate object of their aim. These, Madam, are my

opinions; but I wish to know yours, which, I am sure, will be better.

From a correspondent at Nismes, you will not expect news. Were I to

attempt to give you news, I should tell you stories one thousand years

old. I should detail to you the intrigues of the courts of the Cæsars, how

they affect us here, the oppressions of their prætors, prefects, &c. I am

immersed in antiquities from morning to night. For me, the city of Rome

is actually existing in all the splendor of its empire. I am filled with

alarms for the event of the irruptions daily making on us, by the Goths,

the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals, lest they should re-conquer us to

our original barbarism. If I am sometimes induced to look forward to the

eighteenth century, it is only when recalled to it by the recollection of

your goodness and friendship, and by those sentiments of sincere esteem

and respect with which I have the honor to be Madam, your most obedient,

and most humble servant.

TO THE MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE.

NICE, April 11, 1787.

Your head, my dear friend, is full of notable things; and being better

employed, therefore, I do not expect letters from you. I am constantly

roving about, to see what I have never seen before, and shall never see

again. In the great cities, I go to see what travellers think alone worthy

of being seen; but I make a job of it, and generally gulp it all down in

a day. On the other hand, I am never satiated with rambling through the

fields and farms, examining the culture and cultivators, with a degree of

curiosity which makes some take me to be a fool, and others to be much

wiser than I am. I have been pleased to find among the people a less

degree of physical misery than I had expected. They are generally well

clothed, and have a plenty of food, not animal indeed, but vegetable,

which is as wholesome. Perhaps they are over-worked, the excess of the

rent required by the landlord obliging them to too many hours of labor in

order to produce that, and wherewith to feed and clothe themselves. The

soil of Champagne and Burgundy I have found more universally good than I

had expected, and as I could not help making a comparison with England,

I found that comparison more unfavorable to the latter than is generally

admitted. The soil, the climate, and the productions are superior to

those of England, and the husbandry as good, except in one point; that of

manure. In England, long leases for twenty-one years, or three lives, to

wit, that of the farmer, his wife, and son, renewed by the son as soon

as he comes to the possession, for his own life, his wife's and eldest

child's, and so on, render the farms there almost hereditary, make it

worth the farmer's while to manure the lands highly, and give the landlord

an opportunity of occasionally making his rent keep pace with the improved

state of the lands. Here the leases are either during pleasure, or for

three, six, or nine years, which does not give the farmer time to repay

himself for the expensive operation of well manuring, and, therefore, he

manures ill, or not at all. I suppose, that could the practice of leasing

for three lives be introduced in the whole kingdom, it would, within the

term of your life, increase agricultural productions fifty per cent.; or

were any one proprietor to do it with his own lands, it would increase

his rents fifty per cent. in the course of twenty-five years. But I am

told the laws do not permit it. The laws then, in this particular, are

unwise and unjust, and ought to give that permission. In the southern

provinces, where the soil is poor, the climate hot and dry, and there are

few animals, they would learn the art, found so precious in England, of

making vegetable manure, and thus improving these provinces in the article

in which nature has been least kind to them. Indeed, these provinces

afford a singular spectacle. Calculating on the poverty of their soil,

and their climate by its latitude only, they should have been the poorest

in France. On the contrary, they are the richest, from one fortuitous

circumstance. Spurs or ramifications of high mountains, making down from

the Alps, and, as it were, reticulating these provinces, give to the

valleys the protection of a particular inclosure to each, and the benefit

of a general stagnation of the northern winds produced by the whole of

them, and thus countervail the advantage of several degrees of latitude.

From the first olive fields of Pierrelatte, to the orangeries of Hieres,

has been continued rapture to me. I have often wished for you. I think

you have not made this journey. It is a pleasure you have to come, and

an improvement to be added to the many you have already made. It will be

a great comfort to you, to know, from your own inspection, the condition

of all the provinces of your own country, and it will be interesting to

them at some future day, to be known to you. This is, perhaps, the only

moment of your life in which you can acquire that knowledge. And to do it

most effectually, you must be absolutely incognito, you must ferret the

people out of their hovels as I have done, look into their kettles, eat

their bread, loll on their beds under pretence of resting yourself, but

in fact, to find if they are soft. You will feel a sublime pleasure in the

course of this investigation, and a sublimer one hereafter, when you shall

be able to apply your knowledge to the softening of their beds, or the

throwing a morsel of meat into their kettle of vegetables.

You will not wonder at the subjects of my letters; they are the only ones

which have been presented to my mind for some time past; and the waters

must always be what are the fountains from which they flow. According

to this, indeed, I should have intermixed, from beginning to end, warm

expressions of friendship to you. But according to the ideas of our

country, we do not permit ourselves to speak even truths, when they may

have the air of flattery. I content myself, therefore, with saying once

for all, that I love you, your wife and children. Tell them so, and adieu.

Yours affectionately.

TO WILLIAM SHORT.

NICE, April 12, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--At Marseilles, they told me I should encounter the rice fields

of Piedmont soon after crossing the Alps. Here they tell me there are none

nearer than Vercelli and Novarra, which is carrying me almost to Milan.

I fear that this circumstance will occasion me a greater delay than I had

calculated on. However I am embarked in the project, and shall go through

with it. To-morrow, I set out on my passage over the Alps, being to

pursue it ninety-three miles to Coni, on mules, as the snows are not yet

enough melted to admit carriages to pass. I leave mine here, therefore,

proposing to return by water from Genoa. I think it will be three weeks

before I get back to Nice. I find this climate quite as delightful as it

has been represented. Hieres is the only place in France, which may be

compared with it. The climates are equal. In favor of this place, are

the circumstances of gay and dissipated society, a handsome city, good

accommodations, and some commerce. In favor of Hieres, are environs of

delicious and extensive plains, a society more contracted, and therefore

more capable of esteem, and the neighborhood of Toulon, Marseilles and

other places, to which excursions may be made. Placing Marseilles in

comparison with Hieres, it has extensive society, a good theatre, freedom

from military control, and the most animated commerce. But its winter

climate is far inferior. I am now in the act of putting my baggage into

portable form for my bat-mule; after praying you therefore, to let my

daughter know I am well, and that I shall not be heard of again in three

weeks, I take my leave of you for that time, with assurances of the

sincere esteem with which I am, dear Sir, your friend and servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

MARSEILLES, May 4, 1787.

SIR,--I had the honor of receiving at Aix your letter of February the 9th,

and immediately wrote to the Count de Montmorin, explaining the delay

of the answer of Congress to the King's letter, and desired Mr. Short

to deliver that answer with my letter to Monsieur de Montmorin, which he

informs me he has accordingly done.

My absence prevented my noting to you, in the first moment, the revolution

which has taken place at Paris, in the department of finance, by the

substitution of Monsieur de Fourqueux in the place of Monsieur de

Calonnes, so that you will have heard of it through other channels before

this will have the honor of reaching you.

Having staid at Aix long enough to prove the inefficacy of the waters,

I came on to this place for the purpose of informing myself here, as I

mean to do at the other sea-port towns, of whatever may be interesting to

our commerce. So far as carried on in our own bottoms, I find it almost

nothing, and so it must probably remain till something can be done with

the Algerines. Though severely afflicted with the plague, they have come

out within these few days, and showed themselves in force along the coast

of Genoa, cannonading a little town and taking several vessels.

Among other objects of inquiry, this was the place to learn something more

certain on the subject of rice, as it is a great emporium for that of the

Levant and of Italy. I wished particularly to know whether it was the use

of a different machine for cleaning, which brought European rice to market

less broken than ours, as had been represented to me by those who deal

in that article in Paris. I found several persons who had passed through

the rice country of Italy, but not one who could explain to me the nature

of the machine. But I was given to believe that I might see it myself

immediately on entering Piedmont. As this would require but about three

weeks, I determined to go and ascertain this point, as the chance only of

placing our rice above all rivalship in quality, as it is in color, by the

introduction of a better machine, if a better existed, seemed to justify

the application of that much time to it. I found the rice country to be in

truth Lombardy, one hundred miles further than had been represented, and

that though called Piedmont rice, not a grain is made in the country of

Piedmont. I passed through the rice fields of the Venellese and Milanese,

about sixty miles, and returned from thence last night, having found that

the machine is absolutely the same as ours, and of course, that we need

not listen more to that suggestion. It is a difference in the species of

grain, of which the government of Turin is so sensible, that, as I was

informed, they prohibit the exportation of rough rice on pain of death. I

have taken measures, however, which I think will not fail for obtaining a

quantity of it, and I bought on the spot a small parcel, which I have with

me. As further details on this subject to Congress would be misplaced, I

propose, on my return to Paris, to communicate them, and send the rice

to the society at Charleston for promoting agriculture, supposing that

they will be best able to try the experiment of cultivating the rice of

this quality, and to communicate the species to the two States of South

Carolina and Georgia, if they find it answer. I thought the staple of

these two States was entitled to this attention, and that it must be

desirable to them to be able to furnish rice of the two qualities demanded

in Europe, especially, as the greater consumption is in the forms for

which the Lombardy quality is preferred. The mass of our countrymen being

interested in agriculture, I hope I do not err in supposing that in a

time of profound peace, as the present, to enable them to adapt their

productions to the market, to point out markets for them, and endeavor to

obtain favorable terms of reception, is within the line of my duty.

My journey into this part of the country has procured me information which

I will take the liberty of communicating to Congress. In October last

I received a letter dated Montpelier, October the 2d, 1786, announcing

to me that the writer was a foreigner, who had a matter of very great

consequence to communicate to me, and desired I would indicate the channel

through which it might pass safely. I did so.

I received soon after a letter in the following words, omitting only the

formal parts. [_A translation of it is here given._]

"I am a native of Brazil. You are not ignorant of the frightful slavery

under which my country groans. This continually becomes more insupportable

since the epoch of your glorious independence, for the cruel Portuguese

omit nothing which can render our condition more wretched, from an

apprehension that we may follow your example. The conviction, that

these usurpers against the laws of nature and humanity only meditate

new oppressions, has decided us to follow the guiding light which you

have held out to us, to break our chains, to revive our almost expiring

liberty, which is nearly overwhelmed by that force, which is the sole

foundation of the authority that Europeans exercise over America. But it

is necessary that some power should extend assistance to the Brazilians,

since Spain would certainly unite herself with Portugal; and in spite of

our advantages for defence, we could not make it effectual, or, at least,

it would be imprudent to hazard the attempt without some assurance of

success. In this state of affairs, Sir, we can with propriety look only

to the United States, not only because we are following her example, but,

moreover, because nature, in making us inhabitants of the same continent,

has in some sort united us in the bonds of a common patriotism. On our

part, we are prepared to furnish the necessary supplies of money, and at

all times to acknowledge the debt of gratitude due to our benefactors. I

have thus, Sir, laid before you a summary of my views. It is in discharge

of this commission that I have come to France, since I could not effect

it in America without exciting suspicion. It now remains for you to decide

whether those views can be accomplished. Should you desire to consult your

nation on them, it is in my power to give you all the information you may

require."

As, by this time, I had been advised to try the waters of Aix, I wrote

to the gentleman my design, and that I would go off my road as far as

Nismes, under the pretext of seeing the antiquities of that place, if

he would meet me there. He met me, and the following is the sum of the

information I received from him: "Brazil contains as many inhabitants as

Portugal. They are, 1. Portuguese. 2. Native whites. 3. Black and mulatto

slaves. 4. Indians, civilized and savage. 1. The Portuguese are few in

number, mostly married there, have lost sight of their native country,

as well as the prospect of returning to it, and are disposed to become

independent. 2. The native whites form the body of their nation. 3. The

slaves are as numerous as the free. 4. The civilized Indians have no

energy, and the savage would not meddle. There are twenty thousand regular

troops. Originally these were Portuguese. But as they died off, they

were replaced by natives, so that these compose at present the mass of

the troops, and may be counted on by their native country. The officers

are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilians; their bravery is not doubted,

and they understand the parade, but not the science of their profession.

They have no bias for Portugal, but no energy either for anything. The

priests are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilians, and will not interest

themselves much. The Noblesse are scarcely known as such. They will,

in no manner, be distinguished from the people. The men of letters are

those most desirous of a revolution. The people are not much under the

influence of their priests, most of them read and write, possess arms,

and are in the habit of using them for hunting. The slaves will take the

side of their masters. In short, as to the question of revolution, there

is but one mind in that country. But there appears no person capable

of conducting a revolution, or willing to venture himself at its head,

without the aid of some powerful nation, as the people of their own might

fail them. There is no printing press in Brazil. They consider the North

American revolution as a precedent for theirs. They look to the United

States as most likely to give them honest support, and, from a variety of

considerations, have the strongest prejudices in our favor. This informant

is a native and inhabitant of Rio Janeiro, the present metropolis, which

contains fifty thousand inhabitants, knows well St. Salvador, the former

one, and the mines d'or, which are in the centre of the country. These are

all for a revolution; and, constituting the body of the nation, the other

parts will follow them. The King's fifth of the mines yields annually

thirteen millions of crusadoes or half dollars. He has the sole right of

searching for diamonds and other precious stones, which yield him about

half as much. His income from those two resources alone, then, is about

ten millions of dollars annually; but the remaining part of the produce of

the mines, being twenty-six millions, might be counted on for effecting a

revolution. Besides the arms in the hands of the people, there are public

magazines. They have abundance of horses, but only a part of their country

would admit the service of horses. They would want cannon, ammunition,

ships, sailors, soldiers and officers, for which they are disposed to

look to the United States, it being always understood that every service

and furniture will be well paid. Corn costs about twenty livres the one

hundred pounds. They have flesh in the greatest abundance, insomuch, that

in some parts they kill beeves for the skin only. The whale fishery is

carried on by Brazilians altogether, and not by Portuguese; but in very

small vessels, so that the fishermen know nothing of managing a large

ship. They would want of us, at all times, shipping, corn and salt fish.

The latter is a great article, and they are at present supplied with it

from Portugal. Portugal, being without either army or navy, could not

attempt an invasion under a twelvemonth. Considering of what it would

be composed, it would not be much to be feared, and, if it failed, they

would probably never attempt a second. Indeed, this source of their

wealth being intercepted, they are scarcely capable of a first effort. The

thinking part of the nation are so sensible of this, that they consider

an early separation inevitable. There is an implacable hatred between the

Brazilians and Portuguese; to reconcile which, a former minister adopted

the policy of letting the Brazilians into a participation of public

offices, but subsequent administrations have reverted to the ancient

policy of keeping the administration in the hands of native Portuguese.

There is a mixture of natives of the old appointments still remaining in

office. If Spain should invade them on their southern extremities, these

are so distant from the body of their settlements, that they could not

penetrate thence; and Spanish enterprise is not formidable. The mines

d'or are among mountains inaccessible to any army, and Rio Janeiro is

considered the strongest port in the world after Gibraltar. In case of

a successful revolution, a republican government in a single body would

probably be established."

I took care to impress on him, through the whole of our conversation,

that I had neither instructions nor authority to say a word to anybody on

this subject, and that I could only give him my own ideas, as a single

individual; which were, that we were not in a condition at present to

meddle nationally in any war; that we wished particularly to cultivate

the friendship of Portugal, with whom we have an advantageous commerce.

That yet a successful revolution in Brazil could not be uninteresting to

us. That prospects of lucre might possibly draw numbers of individuals to

their aid, and purer motives our officers, among whom are many excellent.

That our citizens being free to leave their own country individually,

without the consent of their governments, are equally free to go to any

other.

A little before I received the first letter of the Brazilian, a

gentleman informed me there was a Mexican in Paris, who wished to have

some conversation with me. He accordingly called on me. The substance

of the information I drew from him was as follows. He is himself a

native of Mexico, where his relations are, principally. He left it at

about seventeen years of age, and seems now to be about thirty-three or

thirty-four. He classes and characterizes the inhabitants of that country,

as follows: 1. The natives of Old Spain, possessed of most of the offices

of government, and firmly attached to it. 2. The clergy, equally attached

to the government. 3. The natives of Mexico, generally disposed to revolt,

but without instruction, without energy, and much under the dominion of

their priests. 4. The slaves, mulatto and black; the former enterprising

and intelligent, the latter brave, and of very important weight, into

whatever scale they throw themselves; but he thinks they will side with

their masters. 5. The conquered Indians, cowardly, not likely to take

any side, nor important which they take. 6. The free Indians, brave and

formidable, should they interfere, but not likely to do so, as being

at a great distance. I asked him the numbers of these several classes,

but he could not give them. The first, he thought very inconsiderable;

that the second formed the body of the freemen; the third equal to the

two first; the fourth, to all the preceding; and, as to the fifth, he

could form no idea of their proportion. Indeed, it appeared to me, that

his conjectures as to the others, were on loose grounds. He said he knew

from good information, there were three hundred thousand inhabitants in

the city of Mexico. I was still more cautious with him than with the

Brazilian, mentioning it as my private opinion (unauthorized to say a

word on the subject otherwise) that a successful revolution was still at

a distance with them; that I feared they must begin by enlightening and

emancipating the minds of their people; that, as to us, if Spain should

give us advantageous terms of commerce, and remove other difficulties, it

was not probable that we should relinquish certain and present advantages,

though smaller, for uncertain and future ones, however great. I was led

into this caution by observing that this gentleman was intimate at the

Spanish ambassador's, and that he was then at Paris, employed by Spain to

settle her boundaries with France, on the Pyrenees. He had much the air of

candor, but that can be borrowed; so that I was not able to decide about

him in my own mind.

Led by a unity of subject, and a desire to give Congress as general a view

of the disposition of our southern countrymen, as my information enables

me, I will add an article which, old and insulated, I did not think

important enough to mention at the time I received it. You will remember,

Sir, that during the late war, the British papers often gave details

of a rebellion in Peru. The character of those papers discredited the

information. But the truth was, that the insurrections were so general,

that the event was long on the poise. Had Commodore Johnson, then expected

on that coast, touched and landed there two thousand men, the dominion

of Spain in that country would have been at an end. They only wanted a

point of union, which this body would have constituted. Not having this,

they acted without concert, and were at length subdued separately. This

conflagration was quenched in blood; two hundred thousand souls, on

both sides, having perished; but the remaining matter is very capable of

combustion. I have this information from a person who was on the spot at

the time, and whose good faith, understanding, and means of information,

leave no doubt of the facts. He observed, however, that the numbers above

supposed to have perished, were on such conjectures only as he could

collect.

I trouble Congress with these details, because, however distant, we may

be, both in condition and dispositions, from taking an active part in any

commotions in that country, nature has placed it too near us, to make its

movements altogether indifferent to our interests, or to our curiosity.

I hear of another _Arret_ of this court, increasing the duties on foreign

stock-fish, and the premium on their own, imported into their islands; but

not having yet seen it, I can say nothing certain on it. I hope the effect

of this policy will be defeated by the practice which, I am told, takes

place on the Banks of Newfoundland, of putting our fish into the French

fishing-boats, and the parties sharing the premium, instead of ours paying

the duty.

I am in hopes Mr. Short will be able to send you the medals of General

Gates, by this packet. I await a general instruction as to these medals.

The academies of Europe will be much pleased to receive each a set.

I propose to set out the day after to-morrow for Bordeaux, (by the canal

of Languedoc,) Nantes, L'Orient and Paris.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and

respect, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO M. GUIDE.

MARSEILLES, May 6, 1787.

SIR,--A desire of seeing a commerce commenced between the dominions of

his Majesty, the King of Sardinia, and the United States of America, and a

direct exchange of their respective productions, without passing through a

third nation, led me into the conversation which I had the honor of having

with you on that subject, and afterwards with Monsieur Tallon, at Turin,

to whom I promised that I would explain to you, in writing, the substance

of what passed between us. The articles of your produce wanted with us,

are brandies, wines, oil, fruits, and manufactured silks: those with

which we can furnish you, are indigo, potash, tobacco, flour, salt fish,

furs and peltries, ships and materials for building them. The supply of

tobacco, particularly, being in the hands of government solely, appeared

to me to offer an article for beginning immediately the experiment of

direct commerce. That of the first quality can be had, at first hand,

only from James river, in Virginia; those of the second and third, from

the same place and from Baltimore, in Maryland. The first quality is

delivered in the ports of France at thirty-eight livres the quintal,

the second at thirty-six livres, the third at thirty-four livres, weight

and money of France, by individuals generally. I send you the copy of a

large contract, wherein the three qualities are averaged at thirty-six

livres. They may be delivered at Nice for those prices. Indeed, it is my

opinion, that by making shipments of your own produce to those places,

and buying the tobaccos on the spot, they may be had more advantageously.

In this case, it would be expedient that merchants of Nice, Turin, and

America, should form a joint concern for conducting the business in the

two countries. Monsieur Tallon desired me to point out proper persons in

America, who might be addressed for this purpose. The house of the most

extensive reputation, concerned in the tobacco trade, and on the firmest

funds, is that of Messrs. Ross and Pleasants, at Richmond, in Virginia. If

it should be concluded, on your part, to make any attempt of this kind,

and to address yourselves to these gentlemen, or any others, it would be

the best to write them your ideas, and receive theirs, before you make

either purchases or shipments. A more hasty conduct might occasion loss,

and retard, instead of encouraging the establishment of this commerce.

I would undertake to write, at the same time, to these, or any other

merchants whom you should prefer, in order to dispose them favorably,

and as disinterestedly as possible, for the encouragement of this essay.

I must observe to you, that our vessels are fearful of coming into

the Mediterranean on account of the Algerines; and that, if you should

freight vessels, those of the French will be most advantageous for you,

because received into our ports without paying any duties on some of those

articles, and lighter than others on all of them. English vessels, on

the other hand, are distinguished by paying heavier duties than those of

any other nation. Should you desire any further information, or to pass

letters with certainty to any mercantile house in America, do me the favor

to address yourselves to me, at Paris, and I shall do whatever depends on

me, for this object.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of high esteem and respect, Sir,

your most obedient humble servant.

TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL.

PARIS, June 14, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--Having got back to Paris three days ago, I resume immediately

the correspondence with which you have been pleased to honor me. I wish

I could have begun it with more agreeable information than that furnished

me by Mr. Grand, that the funds of the United States here are exhausted,

and himself considerably in advance; and by the board of treasury at New

York, that they have no immediate prospect of furnishing us supplies. We

are thus left to shift for ourselves, without previous warning. As soon as

they shall replenish Mr. Grand's hands, I will give you notice, that you

may recommence your usual drafts on him; unless the board should provide a

separate fund for you, dependent on yourself alone, which I have strongly

and repeatedly pressed on them, in order to remove the indecency of

suffering your drafts to pass through any intermediate hand for payment.

My letters from America came down to the 24th of April. The disturbances

in the Eastern States were entirely settled. I do not learn that

the government had made any examples. Mr. Hancock's health being

re-established, the want of which had occasioned him to resign the

government of Massachusetts, he has been re-elected to the exclusion of

Governor Bowdoin. New York still refuses to pass the impost in any form,

and, were she to pass it, Pennsylvania will not uncouple it from the

supplementary funds. These two States and Virginia are the only ones, my

letters say, which have paid anything into the Continental treasury, for

a twelve month past. I send you a copy of a circular letter from Congress

to the several States, insisting on their removing all obstructions to the

recovery of British debts. This was hurried, that it might be delivered

to the Assembly of New York before they rose. It was delivered, but

they did nothing in consequence of it. The convention to be assembled at

Philadelphia will be an able one. Ten States were known to have appointed

delegates. Maryland was about to appoint; Connecticut was doubtful; and

Rhode Island had refused. We are sure, however, of eleven States. South

Carolina has prohibited the importation of slaves for three years; which

is a step towards a perpetual prohibition. Between six and seven hundred

thousand acres of land are actually surveyed into townships, and the sales

are to begin immediately. They are not to be sold for less than a dollar

the acre, in public certificates. I wrote you from Bordeaux on the subject

of Colonel Smith. I was sorry I missed him there, for other reasons as

well as from a curiosity to know his errand. The Notables have laid the

foundation of much good here; you have seen it detailed in the public

papers. The Prince of Wales is likely to recover from his illness, which

was very threatening. It is feared that three powers have combined to lift

the Prince of Orange out of his difficulties. Have you yet the cypher of

which I formerly wrote to you, or any copy of it?

I am, with sincere esteem, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble

servant.

TO MR. DUMAS.

PARIS, June 14, 1787.

SIR,--I arrived at this place three days ago, and avail myself of the

first possible moment of acknowledging the receipt of your favors of the

5th and 7th of June. The letters they accompanied for Mr. Jay shall be

sent by the packet, which sails the 25th instant, and by a passenger.

My letters from America are none later than the 24th of April. The

disturbances in the Eastern States were entirely settled. I do not learn

that the government required any capital punishments. We promise ourselves

good from the Convention holding at Philadelphia. It consists of the

ablest men in America. It will surely be the instrument of referring to

Congress the regulation of our trade. This may enable them to carry into

effect a general impost which one or two obstinate States have so long

prevented. Between six and seven hundred thousand acres of land are now

surveyed into townships, and will be immediately sold. The backwardness

of the States to bring money into the public treasury has increased rather

than diminished. This has prevented the treasury board from remitting any

money to this place for some time past, and Mr. Grand has given me notice

that their funds in his hands are exhausted, and himself considerably in

advance. This renders it necessary for us to suspend all draughts on him

until he shall have received supplies from the Board of Treasury, to whom

I write to press remittances. The moment we shall have wherewithal to

answer your accustomary draughts, I will exercise the pleasing office of

giving you notice of it. Indeed, I perceive by the papers that Mr. Adams

is gone over to Holland. I am not without hopes that his object may be

to procure supplies of money, and that your exertions joined with his may

give relief to us all. I have no answer from Congress on the subject which

has been thought of between us. I am afraid we may consider the refusal

of the impost as an answer. I am exceedingly anxious to see the turn the

affairs of your country may take. It will surely be seen soon whether

for the better or worse. I wish nothing may be gathering in the horizon

to obscure the prospects of the patriotic party. My prayers for their

prosperity are warm, as are the sentiments of personal esteem and respect

with which I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient, and most

humble servant.

TO J. BANNISTER, JUNIOR.

PARIS, June 19, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I have received your favor of April the 23d, from New York, and

am sorry to find you have had a relapse. Time and temperance, however,

will cure you; to which add exercise. I hope you have long ago had a

happy meeting with your friends, with whom a few hours would be to me an

ineffable feast. The face of Europe appears a little turbid, but all will

subside. The Empress endeavored to bully the Turk, who laughed at her,

and she is going back. The Emperor's reformations have occasioned the

appearance of insurrection in Flanders, and he, according to character,

will probably tread back his steps. A change of system here, with respect

to the Dutch, is suspected; because the Kings of Prussia and England

openly espouse the cause of the Stadtholder, and that of the Patriots is

likely to fall. The American acquaintances whom you left here, not being

stationary, you will hardly expect news of them. Mrs. Barrett, lately

dead, was, I think, known to you. I had a letter from Ledyard lately,

dated at St. Petersburg. He had but two shirts, and yet more shirts than

shillings. Still he was determined to obtain the palm of being the first

circumambulator of the earth. He says, that having no money, they kick him

from place to place, and thus he expects to be kicked round the globe. Are

you become a great walker? You know I preach up that kind of exercise.

Shall I send you a conte-pas? It will cost you a dozen louis, but be a

great stimulus to walking, as it will record your steps. I finished my

tour a week or ten days ago. I went as far as Turin, Milan, Genoa; and

never passed three months and a half more delightfully. I returned through

the canal of Languedoc, by Bordeaux, Nantes, L'Orient, and Rennes; then

returned to Nantes and came up the Loire to Orleans. I was alone through

the whole, and think one travels more usefully when alone, because he

reflects more.

Present me in the most friendly terms to Mrs. Bannister, and to your

father, and be assured of the sincere esteem of, dear Sir, your friend and

servant.

TO JAMES MADISON.[D]

PARIS, June 20, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I wrote you last on the 30th of January, with a postscript of

February the 5th. Having set out the last day of that month to try the

waters of Aix, and been journeying since, till the 10th instant, I have

been unable to continue my correspondence with you. In the meantime, I

have received your several favors of February the 16th, March the 18th

and 19th, and April the 23d. The last arrived here about the 25th of May,

while those of March the 18th and 19th, though written five weeks earlier,

arrived three weeks later. I mention this to show you how uncertain is the

conveyance through England.

The idea of separating the executive business of the confederacy from

Congress, as the judiciary is already, in some degree, is just and

necessary. I had frequently pressed on the members individually, while

in Congress, the doing this by a resolution of Congress for appointing

an executive committee, to act during the sessions of Congress, as

the committee of the States was to act during their vacations. But the

referring to this committee all executive business, as it should present

itself, would require a more persevering self-denial than I suppose

Congress to possess. It will be much better to make that separation by

a federal act. The negative, proposed to be given them on all the acts

of the several legislatures, is now, for the first time, suggested to my

mind. _Prima facie_, I do not like it. It fails in an essential character;

that the hole and the patch should be commensurate. But this proposes to

mend a small hole by covering the whole garment. Not more than one out of

one hundred State acts concern the confederacy. This proposition, then, in

order to give them one degree of power, which they ought to have, gives

them ninety-nine more, which they ought not to have, upon a presumption

that they will not exercise the ninety-nine. But upon every act, there

will be a preliminary question, Does this act concern the confederacy?

And was there ever a proposition so plain, as to pass Congress without a

debate? Their decisions are almost always wise; they are like pure metal.

But you know of how much dross this is the result. Would not an appeal

from the State judicature to a federal court, in all cases where the

act of Confederation controlled the question, be as effectual a remedy,

and exactly commensurate to the defect? A British creditor, for example,

sues for his debt in Virginia; the defendant pleads an act of the State,

excluding him from their courts; the plaintiff urges the Confederation,

and the treaty made under that, as controlling the State law; the judges

are weak enough to decide according to the views of their legislature. An

appeal to a federal court sets all to rights. It will be said, that this

court may encroach on the jurisdiction of the State courts. It may. But

there will be a power, to wit, Congress, to watch and restrain them. But

place the same authority in Congress itself, and there will be no power

above them, to perform the same office. They will restrain within due

bounds, a jurisdiction exercised by others, much more rigorously than if

exercised by themselves.

I am uneasy at seeing that the sale of our western lands is not yet

commenced. That valuable fund for the immediate extinction of our debt

will, I fear, be suffered to slip through our fingers. Every delay exposes

it to events which no human foresight can guard against. When we consider

the temper of the people of that country, derived from the circumstances

which surround them, we must suppose their separation possible, at every

moment. If they can be retained till their governments become settled

and wise, they will remain with us always, and be a precious part of

our strength and our virtue. But this affair of the Mississippi, by

showing that Congress is capable of hesitating on a question, which

proposes a clear sacrifice of the western, to the maritime States, will

with difficulty be obliterated. The proposition of my going to Madrid,

to try to recover there the ground which has been lost at New York, by

the concession of the vote of seven States, I should think desperate.

With respect to myself, weighing the pleasure of the journey and bare

possibility of success, in one scale, and the strong probability of

failure and the public disappointment directed on me, in the other, the

latter preponderates. Add to this, that jealousy might be excited in the

breast of a person, who could find occasions of making me uneasy.

The late changes in the ministry here excite considerable hopes. I

think we gain in them all. I am particularly happy at the re-entry of

Malesherbes into the Council. His knowledge and integrity render his value

inappreciable, and the greater to me, because, while he had no views of

office, we had established together the most unreserved intimacy. So far,

too, I am pleased with Montmorin. His honesty proceeds from the heart

as well as the head, and therefore may be more surely counted on. The

King loves business, economy, order, and justice, and wishes sincerely

the good of his people; but he is irascible, rude, very limited in his

understanding, and religious, bordering on bigotry. He has no mistress,

loves his queen, and is too much governed by her. She is capricious like

her brother, and governed by him; devoted to pleasure and expense; and

not remarkable for any other vices or virtues. Unhappily the King shows

a propensity for the pleasures of the table. That for drink has increased

lately, or, at least, it has become more known.

For European news in general, I will refer you to my letter to Mr. Jay. Is

it not possible, that the occurrences in Holland may excite a desire in

many, of leaving that country and transferring their effects out of it,

and thus make an opening for shifting into their hands, the debts due to

this country, to its officers, and Farmers? It would be surely eligible.

I believe Dumas, if put on the watch, might alone suffice; but he surely

might, if Mr. Adams should go when the moment offers. Dumas has been

in the habit of sending his letters open to me, to be forwarded to Mr.

Jay. During my absence, they passed through Mr. Short's hands, who made

extracts from them, by which I see he has been recommending himself and

me for the money negotiations in Holland. It might be thought, perhaps,

that I have encouraged him in this. Be assured, my dear Sir, that no such

idea ever entered my head. On the contrary, it is a business which would

be the most disagreeable to me of all others, and for which I am the

most unfit person living. I do not understand bargaining, nor possess the

dexterity requisite for the purpose. On the other hand, Mr. Adams, whom

I expressly and sincerely recommend, stands already on ground for that

business, which I could not gain in years. Pray set me to rights in the

minds of those who may have supposed me privy to this proposition. _En

passant_, I will observe with respect to Mr. Dumas, that the death of the

Count de Vergennes places Congress more at their ease, how to dispose of

him. Our credit has been ill treated here in public debate, and our debt

here deemed apocryphal. We should try to transfer this debt elsewhere,

and leave nothing capable of exciting ill thoughts between us. I shall

mention in my letter to Mr. Jay, a disagreeable affair which Mr. Barclay

has been thrown into, at Bordeaux. An honester man cannot be found, nor a

slower, nor more indecisive one. His affairs, too, are so embarrassed and

desperate, that the public reputation is, every moment, in danger of being

compromitted with him. He is perfectly amiable and honest, with all his

embarassments.

By the next packet, I shall be able to send you some books, as also your

watch and pedometer. The two last are not yet done. To search for books,

and forward them to Havre, will require more time than I had between

my return and the departure of this packet. Having been a witness,

heretofore, to the divisions in Congress on the subject of their foreign

ministers, it would be a weakness in me to suppose none with respect to

myself, or to count with any confidence on the renewal of my commission,

which expires on the 10th day of March next; and the more so, as instead

of requiring the disapprobation of seven States, as formerly, that of

one suffices for a recall, when Congress consists of only seven States,

two, when of eight, &c., which I suppose to be habitually their numbers

at present. Whenever I leave this place, it will be necessary to begin

my arrangements six months before my departure; and these, once fairly

begun and under way, and my mind set homewards, a change of purpose could

hardly take place. If it should be the desire of Congress that I should

continue still longer, I could wish to know it, at farthest, by the packet

which will sail from New York in September. Because, were I to put off

longer the quitting my house, selling my furniture, &c., I should not have

time left to wind up my affairs; and having once quitted, and sold off

my furniture, I could not think of establishing myself here again. I take

the liberty of mentioning this matter to you, not with a desire to change

the purpose of Congress, but to know it in time. I have never fixed in

my mind, the epoch of my return, so far as shall depend on myself, but I

never supposed it very distant. Probably I shall not risk a second vote on

this subject. Such trifling things may draw on me the displeasure of one

or two States, and thus submit me to the disgrace of a recall.

I thank you for the paccan nuts, which accompanied your letter of March.

Could you procure me a copy of the bill for proportioning crimes and

punishments, in the form in which it was ultimately rejected by the House

of Delegates? Young Mr. Bannister desired me to send him regularly the

_Mercure de France_. I will ask leave to do this through you, and that

you will adopt such method of forwarding them to him, as will save him

from being submitted to postage, which they would not be worth. As a

compensation for your trouble, you will be free to keep them till you

shall have read them. I am, with sentiments of the most sincere esteem,

dear Sir, your friend and servant.

[D] [Much of this letter is in cypher, but the notes annexed to it

have enabled the Editor to decipher and publish it.]

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, June 21, 1787.

SIR,--I had the honor of addressing you in a letter of May the 4th, from

Marseilles, which was to have gone by the last packet. But it arrived

a few hours too late for that conveyance, and has been committed to a

private one, passing through England, with a promise that it should go

through no post office.

I was desirous, while at the seaports, to obtain a list of the American

vessels which have come to them since the peace, in order to estimate

their comparative importance to us, as well as the general amount of our

commerce with this country, so far as carried on in our own bottoms. At

Marseilles, I found there had been thirty-two, since that period; at

Cette, not a single one; at Bayonne, one of our free ports, only one.

This last fact I learned from other information, not having visited that

place; as it would have been a deviation from my route, too considerable

for the importance of the object. At Bordeaux, Nantes, and L'Orient, I

could not obtain lists in the moment; but am in hopes I shall be able to

get them ere long. Though more important to us, they will probably be more

imperfect than that of Marseilles. At Nantes, I began with Monsieur Dobrée

an arrangement of his claims. I visited the military stores, which have

been detained there so long, opened some boxes of each kind, and found the

state of their contents much better than had been represented. An exact

list of the articles is to be sent me.

The importations into L'Orient of other fish oils, besides those of the

whale, brought to my notice there a defect in the letter of Monsieur de

Calonnes, of October the 22d, which letter was formerly communicated to

you. In that, _whale_ oil only was named. The other fish oils, therefore,

have continued to pay the old duties. In a conference with Monsieur de

Villedeuil, the present Comptroller General, since my return, I proposed

the extending the exemption to all _fish oils_, according to the letter

of the Hanseatic treaty, which had formed the basis of the regulations

respecting us. I think this will be agreed to. The delays of office

first, then the illness of Monsieur de Calonnes, and lastly, his removal

and the throng of business occasioned by the Assemblée des Notables,

have prevented the reducing the substance of the letter into the form

of an _Arret_, as yet; though I have continued soliciting it as much

as circumstances would bear. I am now promised that it shall be done

immediately, and that it shall be so far retrospective to the date of the

letter, as that all duties paid since that, shall be refunded.

The new accessions to the ministry are valued here. Good is hoped from the

Archbishop of Toulouse, who succeeds the Count de Vergennes as _Chef du

Conseil de finance_. Monsieur de Villedeuil, the Comptroller General, has

been approved by the public, in the offices he has heretofore exercised.

The Duke de Nivernois, called to the Council, is reckoned a good and

able man; and Monsieur de Malesherbes, called also to the Council,

is unquestionably the first character in the kingdom, for integrity,

patriotism, knowledge, and experience in business. There is a fear that

the Marechal de Castries is disposed to retire.

The face of things in Europe is a little turbid at present; but probably

all will subside. The Empress of Russia, it is supposed, will not push her

pretensions against the Turks to actual war. Weighing the fondness of the

Emperor for innovation, against his want of perseverance, it is difficult

to calculate what he will do with his discontented subjects in Brabant

and Flanders. If those provinces alone were concerned, he would probably

give back; but this would induce an opposition to his plan, in all his

other dominions. Perhaps he may be able to find a compromise. The cause

of the Patriots in Holland is a little clouded at present. England and

Prussia seem disposed to interpose effectually. The former has actually

ordered a fleet of six sail of the line, northwardly, under Gore; and the

latter threatens to put her troops into motion. The danger of losing such

a weight in their scale, as that of Prussia, would occasion this court to

prefer conciliation to war. Add to this the distress of their finances,

and perhaps not so warm a zeal in the new ministry for the innovations

in Holland. I hardly believe they will think it worth while to purchase

the change of constitution proposed there, at the expense of a war. But

of these things you will receive more particular and more certain details

from Mr. Dumas, to whom they belong.

Mr. Eden is appointed Ambassador from England to Madrid. To the hatred

borne us by his court and country, is added a recollection of the

circumstances of the unsuccessful embassy to America, of which he made a

part. So that I think he will carry to Madrid dispositions to do us all

the ill he can.

The late change in the ministry is very favorable to the prospects of the

Chevalier de La Luzerne. The Count de Montmorin, Monsieur de Malesherbes,

and Monsieur de Lamoignon, the Garde des Sceaux, are his near relations.

Probably something will be done for him, and without delay. The promise

of the former administration to the Count de Moutier, to succeed to this

vacancy, should it take place, will perhaps be performed by the present

one.

Mr. Barclay has probably informed you of his having been arrested in

Bordeaux, for a debt contracted in the way of his commerce. He immediately

applied to the parliament of that place, who ordered his discharge. This

took place after five days' actual imprisonment. I arrived at Bordeaux

a few days after his liberation. As the Procureur General of the King

had interested himself to obtain it, with uncommon zeal, and that too on

public principles, I thought it my duty to wait on him and return him my

thanks. I did the same to the president of the parliament, for the body

over which he presided; what would have been an insult in America, being

an indispensable duty here. You will see by the enclosed printed paper, on

what grounds the Procureur insisted on Mr. Barclay's liberation. Those on

which the parliament ordered it, are not expressed. On my arrival here, I

spoke with the minister on that subject. He observed, that the character

of consul is no protection in this country against process for debt;

that as to the character with which Mr. Barclay had been invested at the

court of Morocco, it was questionable whether it would be placed on the

diplomatic line, as it had not been derived immediately from Congress;

that, if it were, it would have covered him to Paris only, where he had

received his commission, had he proceeded directly thither, but that

his long stay at Bordeaux must be considered as terminating it there. I

observed to him, that Mr. Barclay had been arrested almost immediately

on his arrival at Bordeaux. But, says he, the arrest was made void by

the parliament, and still he has continued there several weeks. True, I

replied, but his adversaries declared they would arrest him again, the

moment he should go out of the jurisdiction of the parliament of Bordeaux,

and have actually engaged the Maréechaussée on the road, to do it. This

seemed to impress him. He said he could obtain a letter of safe conduct

which would protect him to Paris, but that, immediately on his arrival

here, he would be liable to arrest. I asked him if such a letter could not

be obtained to protect him to Paris, and back to Bordeaux, and even to

America? He said, that for that, the consent of the greater part of his

creditors would be necessary; and even with this, it was very doubtful

whether it could be obtained; still if I would furnish him with that

consent, he would do what should depend on him. I am persuaded he will,

and have written to Mr. Barclay to obtain the consent of his creditors.

This is the footing on which this matter stands at present. I have stated

it thus particularly, that you may know the truth, which will probably

be misrepresented in the English papers, to the prejudice of Mr. Barclay.

This matter has been a great affliction to him, but no dishonor where its

true state is known. Indeed he is incapable of doing anything not strictly

honorable.

In a letter of August the 30th, 1785, I had the honor of mentioning to you

what had passed here, on the subject of a convention for the regulation

of the two post offices. I now enclose you a letter from the Baron

D'Ogny, who is at the head of that department, which shows that he still

expects some arrangement. I have heard it said, that M. de Creve-coeur

is authorized to treat on this subject. You doubtless know if this be

true. The articles may certainly be better adjusted there, than here. This

letter from the Baron D'Ogny was in consequence of an application from a

servant of mine, during my absence, which would not have been made had I

been here. Nor will it be repeated; it being my opinion and practice to

pay small sums of money, rather than to risk favors.

I have the honor to enclose you also, copies of a letter and papers from

the Marechal de Castries, on the claim of an individual against the State

of South Carolina, for services performed on board the Indian; and the

petition of another, on a like claim; also copies of letters received

from O'Bryan at Algiers, and from Mr. Lambe. A letter of the 26th of May,

from Mr. Montgomery, at Alicant, informs me, that by a vessel arrived

at Carthagena from Algiers, they learn the death of the Dey of that

republic. Yet, as we hear nothing of it through any other channel, it

may be doubted. It escaped me at the time of my departure to Aix, to make

arrangements for sending you the gazettes regularly, by the packets. The

whole are now sent, though a great part of them are so old as to be not

worth perusal. Your favor of April the 24th has been duly received. I have

the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and respect,

Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant.

TO MADAME DE CORNY.

PARIS, June 30, 1787.

On my return to Paris, it was among my first intentions to go to the

rue Chaussée d'Antin, No. 17, and inquire after my friends whom I

had left there. I was told they were in England. And how do you like

England, Madam? I know your taste for the works of art gives you a little

disposition to Anglomania. Their mechanics certainly exceed all others

in some lines. But be just to your own nation. They have not patience,

it is true, to set rubbing a piece of steel from morning till night, as a

lethargic Englishman will do, full charged with porter. But do not their

benevolence, their cheerfulness, their amiability, when compared with the

growling temper and manners of the people among whom you are, compensate

their want of patience? I am in hopes that when the splendor of their

shops, which is all that is worth looking at in London, shall have lost

their charm of novelty, you will turn a wistful eye to the people of

Paris, and find that you cannot be so happy with any others. The Bois de

Boulogne invites you earnestly to come and survey its beautiful verdure,

to retire to its umbrage from the heats of the season. I was through it

to-day, as I am every day. Every tree charged me with this invitation

to you. Passing by la Muette, it wished for you as a mistress. You want

a country house. This is for sale; and in the Bois de Boulogne, which

I have always insisted to be most worthy of your preference. Come then,

and buy it. If I had had confidence in your speedy return, I should have

embarrassed you in earnest with my little daughter. But an impatience

to have her with me, after her separation from her friends, added to a

respect for your ease, has induced me to send a servant for her.

I tell you no news, because you have correspondents infinitely more _au

fait_ of the details of Paris than I am. And I offer you no services,

because I hope you will come as soon as the letter could, which should

command them. Be assured, however, that nobody is more disposed to render

them, nor entertains for you a more sincere and respectful attachment,

than him who, after charging you with his compliments to Monsieur de

Corny, has the honor of offering you the homage of those sentiments of

distinguished esteem and regard, with which he is, dear Madam, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO JOHN ADAMS.

PARIS, July 1, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I returned about three weeks ago from a very useless voyage;

useless, I mean, as to the object which first suggested it, that of

trying the effect of the mineral waters of Aix, in Provence, on my hand.

I tried these, because recommended among six or eight others as equally

beneficial, and because they would place me at the beginning of a tour

to the seaports of Marseilles, Bordeaux, Nantes and L'Orient, which I

had long meditated, in hopes that a knowledge of the places and persons

concerned in our commerce, and the information to be got from them, might

enable me sometimes to be useful. I had expected to satisfy myself, at

Marseilles, of the causes of the difference of quality between the rice

of Carolina, and that of Piedmont, which is brought in quantities to

Marseilles. Not being able to do it, I made an excursion of three weeks

into the rice country beyond the Alps, going through it from Vercelli

to Pavia, about sixty miles. I found the difference to be, not in the

management, as had been supposed both here and in Carolina, but in the

species of rice; and I hope to enable them in Carolina, to begin the

cultivation of the Piedmont rice, and carry it on, hand in hand, with

their own, that they may supply both qualities; which is absolutely

necessary at this market. I had before endeavored to lead the depôt of

rice from Cowes to Honfleur, and hope to get it received there on such

terms, as may draw that branch of commerce from England to this country.

It is an object of two hundred and fifty thousand guineas a year. While

passing through the towns of Turin, Milan and Genoa, I satisfied myself

of the practicability of introducing our whale oil for their consumption,

and suppose it would be equally so, in the other great cities of that

country. I was sorry that I was not authorized to set the matter on foot.

The merchants with whom I chose to ask conferences, met me freely, and

communicated fully, knowing I was in a public character. I could, however,

only prepare a disposition to meet our oil merchants. On the article of

tobacco, I was more in possession of my ground; and put matters into a

train for inducing their government to draw their tobaccos directly from

the United States, and not, as heretofore, from Great Britain. I am now

occupied with the new ministry here, to put the concluding hand to the new

regulations for our commerce with this country, announced in the letter

of Monsieur de Calonnes, which I sent you last fall. I am in hopes, in

addition to those, to obtain a suppression of the duties on tar, pitch

and turpentine, and an extension of the privileges of American _whale_

oil, to their _fish_ oils in general. I find that the quantity of cod-fish

oil brought to L'Orient, is considerable. This being got off hand (which

will be in a few days) the chicaneries and vexations of the Farmers on

the article of tobacco, and their elusions of the order of Bernis, call

for the next attention. I have reasons to hope good dispositions in the

new ministry towards our commerce with this country. Besides endeavoring,

on all occasions, to multiply the points of contact and connection with

this country, which I consider as our surest mainstay under every event,

I have had it much at heart to remove from between us every subject of

misunderstanding or irritation. Our debts to the King, to the Officers,

and the Farmers, are of this description. The having complied with no

part of our engagements in these, draws on us a great deal of censure,

and occasioned a language in the Assemblée des Notables, very likely to

produce dissatisfaction between us. Dumas being on the spot in Holland,

I had asked of him sometime ago, in confidence, his opinion of the

practicability of transferring these debts from France to Holland, and

communicated his answer to Congress, pressing them to get you to go

over to Holland, and try to effect this business. Your knowledge of the

ground, and former successes, occasioned me to take this liberty without

consulting you because I was sure you would not weigh your personal

trouble against public good. I have had no answer from Congress; but

hearing of your journey to Holland, have hoped that some money operations

had led you there. If it related to the debts of this country, I would

ask a communication of what you think yourself at liberty to communicate,

as it might change the form of my answers to the eternal applications I

receive. The debt to the officers of France carries an interest of about

two thousand guineas, so we may suppose its principal is between thirty

and forty thousand. This makes more noise against us, than all our other

debts put together.

I send you the _Arrets_ which begin the reformation here, and some

other publications respecting America; together with copies of letters

received from O'Bryan and Lambe. It is believed that a naval armament has

been ordered at Brest, in correspondence with that of England. We know,

certainly, that orders are given to form a camp in the neighborhood of

Brabant, and that Count Rochambeau has the command of it. Its amount, I

cannot assert. Report says fifteen thousand men. This will derange the

plans of economy. I take the liberty of putting under your cover, a letter

for Mrs. Kinloch, of South Carolina, with a packet, and will trouble

you to inquire for her, and have them delivered. The packet is of great

consequence, and therefore referred to her care, as she will know the safe

opportunities of conveying it. Should you not be able to find her, and can

forward the packet to its address, by any very safe conveyance, I will beg

you to do it. I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect

friendship and esteem, dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble

servant.

TO DAVID HARTLEY.

PARIS, July 2, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--I received lately your favor of April the 23d, on my return

from a journey of three or four months; and am always happy in an occasion

of recalling myself to your memory. The most interesting intelligence from

America, is that respecting the late insurrection in Massachusetts. The

cause of this has not been developed to me, to my perfect satisfaction.

The most probable is, that those individuals were of the imprudent number

of those, who have involved themselves in debt beyond their abilities

to pay, and that a vigorous effort in that government to compel the

payment of private debts, and raise money for public ones, produced

the resistance. I believe you may be assured, that an idea or desire

of returning to anything like their ancient government, never entered

into their heads. I am not discouraged by this. For thus I calculate.

An insurrection in one of thirteen States, in the course of eleven years

that they have subsisted, amounts to one in any particular State, in one

hundred and forty-three years, say a century and a half. This would not

be near as many, as have happened in every other government that has ever

existed. So that we shall have the difference between a light and a heavy

government, as clear gain. I have no fear, but that the result of our

experiment will be, that men may be trusted to govern themselves without

a master. Could the contrary of this be proved, I should conclude, either

that there is no God, or that he is a malevolent being. You have heard

of the federal convention, now sitting at Philadelphia, for the amendment

of the Confederation. Eleven States appointed delegates certainly; it was

expected that Connecticut would also appoint, the moment its Assembly met.

Rhode Island had refused. I expect they will propose several amendments;

that that relative to our commerce will probably be adopted immediately,

but that the others must wait to be adopted one after another, in

proportion as the minds of the States ripen for them. Dr. Franklin

enjoys good health. I shall always be happy to hear from you, being

with sentiments of very sincere esteem and respect, dear Sir, your most

obedient, and most humble servant.

TO B. VAUGHAN.

PARIS, July 2, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--Your favor of February the 16th, came to my hands in the moment

I was setting out on a tour through the southern parts of France and

northern of Italy, from which I am but just now returned. I avail myself

of the earliest moment to acknowledge its receipt, and to thank you for

the box of magnets which I found here. Though I do not know certainly,

by, or from whom they come, I presume they came by Colonel Smith, who

was here in my absence, and from Messrs. Nairne and Blunt, through your

good offices. I think your letter of February the 16th, flatters me

with the expectation of another, with observations, on the hygrometers

I had proposed. I value what comes from you too much, not to remind

you of it. Your favor by Mr. Garnett also, came during my absence. I

presume he has left Paris, as I can hear nothing of him. I have lost the

opportunity, therefore, of seeing his method of resisting friction, as

well as of showing, by attentions to him, respect for yourself and your

recommendations. Mr. Paine (Common Sense) is here on his way to England.

He has brought the model of an iron bridge, with which he supposes a

single arch of four hundred feet, may be made. It has not yet arrived in

Paris. Among other projects, with which we begin to abound in America,

is one for finding the latitude by the variation of the magnetic needle.

The author supposes two points, one near each pole, through the northern

of which, pass all the magnetic meridians of the northern hemisphere, and

through the southern, those of the southern hemisphere. He determines

their present position and periodical revolution. It is said, his

publication is plausible. I have not seen it.

What are you going to do with your naval armament on your side the

channel? Perhaps you will ask me, what they are about to do here? A

British navy and Prussian army hanging over Holland on one side, a French

navy and army hanging over it on the other, looks as if they thought of

fighting. Yet I think both parties too wise for that, too laudably intent

on economizing, rather than on further embarrassing their finances. May

they not propose to have a force on the spot, to establish some neutral

form of a constitution, which these powers will cook up among themselves,

without consulting the parties for whom it is intended? The affair of

Geneva shows such combinations possible. Wretched, indeed, is the nation

in whose affairs foreign powers are once permitted to intermeddle. Lord

Wycombe is with us at present. His good sense, information and discretion,

are much beyond his years, and promise good things for your country.

I beg you to accept assurances of the esteem and respect with which I have

the honor to be, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO DR. GORDON.