Ihavepurchasedlittleforyouinthebookway,sinceIsentthecatalogueofmyformerpurchases。Iwishfirsttohaveyouranswertothat,andyourinformationwhatpartsofthosepurchaseswentoutofyourplan。Youcaneasilysaybuymoreofthiskind,lessofthat&c。Mywishistoconformmyselftoyours。IcangetforyoutheoriginalPariseditioninfoliooftheEncyclopediefor620livres,35。vols。;agoodednin39vols,4to,for380#;andagoodonein39vols8vo,for280#。Thenewonewillbesuperiorinfarthegreaternumberofarticles:butnotinall。Andthepossessionoftheancientonehasmoreovertheadvantageofsupplyingpresentuse。Ihaveboughtoneformyself,butwaityourordersastoyou。IrememberyourpurchaseofawatchinPhiladelphia。Ifitshouldnothaveprovedgood,youcanprobablysellher。InthatcaseIcangetforyouhere,onemadeasperfectashumanartcanmakeitforabout24louis。Ihavehadsuchaonemadebythebest&mostfaithfulhandinParis。Ithasasecondhand,butnorepeating,nodayofthemonth,norotheruselessthingtoimpedeandinjurethemovementswhicharenecessary。For12louismoreyoucanhaveinthesamecover,butonthebackside&absolutelyunconnectedwiththemovementsofthewatch,apedometerwhichshallrenderyouanexactaccountofthedistancesyouwalk。Yourpleasurehereonshallbeawaited。
Houdonisreturned。HecalledonmetheotherdaytoremonstrateagainsttheinscriptionproposedforGenlW。’sstatue。
Hesaysitistoolongtobeputonthepedestal。ItoldhimIwasnotatlibertytopermitanyalteration,butIwouldrepresenthisobjectiontoafriendwhocouldjudgeofit’svalidity,andwhetherachangecouldbeauthorized。Thishasbeenthesubjectofconversationshere,andvariousdevices&inscriptionshavebeensuggested。Theonewhichhasappearedbesttomemaybetranslatedasfollows:”Behold,Reader,theformofGeorgeWashington。Forhisworth,askHistory:thatwilltellit,whenthisstoneshallhaveyieldedtothedecaysoftime。Hiscountryerectsthismonument:
Houdonmakesit。”Thisforoneside。Onthe2drepresenttheevacuationofBostonwiththemotto”Hostibusprimumfugatis。”Onthe3dthecaptureoftheHessianswith”Hostibusiterumdevictis。”Onthe4ththesurrenderofYork,with”Hostibusultimumdebellatis。”
Thisisseizingthethreemostbrilliantactionsofhismilitarylife。Bygivingouthereawishofreceivingmottosforthisstatue,wemighthavethousandsoffered,ofwhichstillbettermightbechosen。TheartistmadethesameobjectionoflengthtotheinscriptionforthebustoftheM。delaFayette。Analterationofthatmightcomeintimestill,ifanalterationwaswished。HoweverIamnotcertainthatitisdesirableineithercase。ThestateofGeorgiahasgiven20。000acresoflandtotheCountd’Estaing。Thisgiftisconsideredhereasveryhonourabletohim,andithasgratifiedhimmuch。IampersuadedthatagiftoflandsbythestateofVirginiatotheMarquisdelaFayettewouldgiveagoodopinionhereofourcharacter,andwouldreflecthonourontheMarquis。NoramIsurethatthedaywillnotcomewhenitmightbeanusefulasylumtohim。ThetimeoflifeatwhichhevisitedAmericawastoowelladaptedtoreceivegood&lastingimpressionstopermithimevertoaccommodatehimselftotheprinciplesofmonarchicalgovernment;
anditwillneedallhisownprudence&thatofhisfriendstomakethiscountryasaferesidenceforhim。Howglorious,howcomfortableinreflectionwillitbetohavepreparedarefugeforhimincaseofareverse。Inthemeantimehecouldsettleitwithtenantsfromthefreestpartofthiscountry,Bretagny。Ihaveneversuggestedthesmallestideaofthiskindtohim:becausetheexecutionofitshouldconveythefirstnotice。Ifthestatehasnotarighttogivehimlandswiththeirownofficers,theycouldbuyupatcheappricesthesharesofothers。Iamnotcertainhoweverwhetherinthepublicorprivateopinion,asimilargifttoCountRochambeaucouldbedispensedwith。Ifthestatecouldgivetoboth,itwouldbebetter:
butinanyevent,IthinktheyshouldtotheMarquis。C。Rochambeautoohasreallydeservedmoreattentionthanhehasreceived。Whynotsetuphisbust,thatofGates,Greene,Franklininyournewcapitol?
AproposoftheCapitol。Domydearfriendexertyourselftogettheplanbegunonsetaside,&thatadoptedwhichwasdrawnhere。Itwastakenfromamodelwhichhasbeentheadmirationof16。centuries,whichhasbeentheobjectofasmanypilgrimagesasthetombofMahomet:whichwillgiveunrivalledhonourtoourstate,andfurnishamodelwhereontoformthetasteofouryoungmen。Itwillcostmuchlesstoothantheonebegun,becauseitdoesnotcoveronehalftheArea。Ask,ifyouplease,asightofmyletterofJan。26toMessrs。Buchanan&Hay,whichwillsparemetherepeatingitssubstancehere。
EverythingisquietinEurope。Irecollectbutonenewinventionintheartswhichisworthmentioning。Itisamixtureoftheartsofengraving&printing,renderingbothcheaper。Writeordrawanythingonaplateofbrasswiththeinkoftheinventor,andinhalfanhourhegivesyouengravedcopiesofitsoperfectlyliketheoriginalthattheycouldnotbesuspectedtobecopies。Histypesforprintingawholepageareallinonesolidpiece。Anauthorthereforeonlyprintsafewcopiesofhisworkfromtimetotimeastheyarecalledfor。Thissavesthelossofprintingmorecopiesthanmaypossiblybesold,andpreventsaneditionfrombeingeverexhausted。
IamwithalivelyesteemDearSir,yoursincerefriend&
servant。
P。S。Couldyouprocure&sendmeanhundredortwonutsofthepeccan?theywouldenablemetoobligesomecharactersherewhomI
shouldbemuchgratifiedtooblige。Theyshouldcomepackedinsand。
Theseedsofthesugarmapletoowouldbeagreatpresent。
BRITISHARTSANDBRITISHHATRED
_ToJohnPage_
_Paris,May4,1786_
DEARSIR,——YourtwofavoursofMar15andAug23,1785,byMonsieurdelaCroixcametohandonthe15thofNovember。Hisreturngivesmeanopportunityofsendingyouacopyofthenauticalalmanacsfor1786,7,8,9。Thereisnolateandinterestingpublicationhere,orIwouldsenditbythesameconveiance。WiththesealmanacsIpackacopyofsomeNotesIwroteforMonsrdeMarboisintheyear1781,ofwhichIhadafewprintedhere。Theywerewritteninhaste&forhisprivateinspection。AfewfriendshavingaskedcopiesIfounditcheapertoprintthantowritethem。
Oneofthesegotintothehandsofabooksellerwhogettingabadtranslationofthemmade,obligedmetoconsentthattheyshouldappearonconditionoftheirbeingtranslatedbyabetterhand。I
apprehendthereforetheywillgetfurtherthanIintended:tho’asyettheyareinfewhands。Theywilloffernothingnewtoyou,notevenasanoblationofmyfriendshipforyouwhichisasoldalmostasweareourselves。MazzeibroughtmeyourfavorofApr28。I
thankyoumuchforyourcommunications。Nothingcanbemoregratefulatsuchadistance。Itisunfortunatethatmostpeoplethinktheoccurrencespassingdailyundertheireyes,areeitherknowntoalltheworld,ornotworthbeingknown。Theythereforedonotgivethemplaceintheirletters。Ihopeyouwillbesogoodastocontinueyourfriendlyinformation。Theproceedingsofourpublicbodies,theprogressofthepublicmindoninterestingquestions,thecasualtieswhichhappenamongourprivatefriends,andwhateverisinterestingtoyourselfandfamilywillalwaysbeanxiouslyreceivedbyme。
Thereisonecircumstanceintheworkyouwereconcernedinwhichhasnotyetcometomyknowledge,towithowfarWestwardfromFortPittdoestheWesternboundaryofPennsylvaniapass,andwheredoesitstriketheOhio?ThepropositionyoumentionfromMr。Andersononthepurchaseoftobacco,Iwouldhavemadeuseof,butthatIhaveengagedtheabusesofthetobaccotradeonamoregeneralscale。I
confesstheirredressdoesnotappearwithanycertainty:buttillI
seeallhopeofremovingtheevilbytheroots,Icannotproposetopruneit’sbranches。
IreturnedbutthreeorfourdaysagofromatwomonthstriptoEngland。Itraversedthatcountrymuch,andownbothtown&countryfellshortofmyexpectations。Comparingitwiththis,Ifoundamuchgreaterproportionofbarrens,asoilinotherpartsnotnaturallysogoodasthis,notbettercultivated,butbettermanured,&thereforemoreproductive。Thisproceedsfromthepracticeoflongleasesthere,andshortoneshere。ThelabouringpeopleherearepoorerthaninEngland。Theypayaboutonehalftheirproduceinrent,theEnglishingeneralaboutathird。Thegardeninginthatcountryisthearticleinwhichitsurpassesalltheearth。Imeantheirpleasuregardening。Thisindeedwentfarbeyondmyideas。ThecityofLondon,tho’handsomerthanParis,isnotsohandsomeasPhiladelphia。TheirarchitectureisinthemostwretchedstileI
eversaw,notmeaningtoexceptAmericawhereitisbad,norevenVirginiawhereitisworsethaninanyotherpartofAmerica,whichI
haveseen。ThemechanicalartsinLondonarecarriedtoawonderfulperfection。ButoftheseIneednotspeak,becauseofthemmycountrymenhaveunfortunatelytoomanysamplesbeforetheireyes。I
considertheextravagancewhichhasseizedthemasamorebanefulevilthantoryismwasduringthewar。Itisthemoresoastheexampleissetbythebestandmostamiablecharactersamongus。
Wouldthatamissionaryappearwhowouldmakefrugalitythebasisofhisreligioussystem,andgothrothelandpreachingitupastheonlyroadtosalvation,Iwouldjoinhisschooltho’notgenerallydisposedtoseekmyreligionoutofthedictatesofmyownreason&
feelingsofmyownheart。ThesethingshavebeenmoredeeplyimpressedonmymindbywhatIhaveheard&seeninEngland。Thatnationhatesus,theirministershateus,andtheirKingmorethanallothermen。Theyhavetheimpudencetoavowthis,tho’theyacknolegeourtradeimportanttothem。Buttheysaywecannotpreventourcountrymenfrombringingthatintotheirlaps。A
convictionofthisdeterminesthemtomakenotermsofcommercewithus。Theysaytheywillpocketourcarryingtradeaswellastheirown。Ouroverturesofcommercialarrangementhavebeentreatedwithaderisionwhichshowstheirfirmpersuasionthatweshallneverunitetosuppresstheircommerceoreventoimpedeit。Ithinktheirhostilitytowardsusismuchmoredeeplyrootedatpresentthanduringthewar。IntheartsthemoststrikingthingIsawthere,new,wastheapplicationoftheprincipleofthesteam-enginetogristmills。Isaw8pr。ofstoneswhichareworkedbysteam,andtheyaretosetup30pairinthesamehouse。Ahundredbushelsofcoaladayareconsumedatpresent。Idonotknowinwhatproportiontheconsumptionwillbeincreasedbytheadditionalgeer。
BesogoodastopresentmyrespectstoMrs。Page&yourfamily,toW。Lewis,F。Willis&theirfamiliesandtoacceptyourselfassurancesofthesincereregardwithwhichIamDrSiryouraffectionatefriend&servt。
P。S。MazzeiisstillhereandwillpublishsoonabookonthesubjectofAmerica。
WARONBARBARY
_ToJohnAdams_
_Paris,July11,1786_
DEARSIR——OurinstructionsrelativetotheBarbarystateshavingrequiredustoproceedbywayofnegotiationtoobtaintheirpeace,itbecameourdutytodothistothebestofourpower。
Whatevermightbeourprivateopinions,theyweretobesuppressed,andthelinemarkedouttous,wastobefollowed。Ithasbeensohonestly,andzealously。Itwasthereforenevermaterialforustoconsulttogetheronthebestplanofconducttowardsthesestates。I
acknolegeIveryearlythoughtitwouldbebesttoeffectapeacethro’themediumofwar。Tho’itisaquestionwithwhichwehavenothingtodo,yetasyouproposesomediscussionofitIshalltroubleyouwithmyreasons。Ofthe4。positionslaiddowninyourletterofthe3d。instant,Iagreetothethreefirst,whichareinsubstancethatthegoodofficesofourfriendscannotprocureusapeacewithoutpayingit’sprice,thattheycannotmateriallylessenthatprice,andthatpayingit,wecanhavethepeaceinspightoftheintriguesofourenemies。Astothe4th。thatthelongerthenegotiationisdelayedthelargerwillbethedemand,thiswilldependontheintermediatecaptures:iftheyaremanyandrichthepricemayberaised;iffewandpooritwillbelessened。Howeverifitisdecidedthatweshallbuyapeace,Iknownoreasonfordelayingtheoperation,butshouldratherthinkitoughttobehastened。ButIshouldprefertheobtainingitbywar。1。Justiceisinfavorofthisopinion。2。Honorfavorsit。3。ItwillprocureusrespectinEurope,andrespectisasafe-guardtointerest。4。Itwillarmthefederalheadwiththesafestofalltheinstrumentsofcoercionovertheirdelinquentmembersandpreventthemfromusingwhatwouldbelesssafe。Ithinkthatsofaryougowithme。Butinthenextstepsweshalldiffer。5。Ithinkitleastexpensive。6。
第19章