首页 >出版文学> LETTERS>第39章

第39章

  _ToCharlesCarroll_
  _Philadelphia,April15,1791_
  DEARSIR,——Ireceivedlastnightyourfavorofthe10th,withMr。Brown’sreceipt,andthankyouforthetroubleyouhavebeensokindastotakeinthisbusiness。
  Ournewsfromthewestwardisdisagreeable。ConstantmurderscommittingbytheIndians,andtheircombinationthreatenstobemoreandmoreextensive。Ihopeweshallgivethemathoroughdrubbingthissummer,andthenchangeourtomahawkintoagoldenchainoffriendship。Themosteconomicalaswellasmosthumaneconducttowardsthemistobribethemintopeace,andtoretaintheminpeacebyeternalbribes。Theexpeditionthisyearwouldhaveservedforpresentsonthemostliberalscaleforonehundredyears;norshallweotherwiseevergetridofanyarmy,orofourdebt。TheleastragofIndiandepredationwillbeanexcusetoraisetroopsforthosewholovetohavetroops,andforthosewhothinkthatapublicdebtisagoodthing。Adieu,mydearSir。Yoursaffectionately。
  BURKE,PAINE,ANDMR。ADAMS
  _TothePresidentoftheUnitedStates_
  GEORGEWASHINGTON
  _Philadelphia,May8,1791_
  SIR,——Thelastweekdoesnotfurnishonesinglepubliceventworthycommunicatingtoyou:sothatIhaveonlytosay”alliswell。”Paine’sanswertoBurke’spamphletbeginstoproducesomesquibsinourpublicpapers。InFenno’spapertheyareBurkites,intheothers,Painites。OneofFenno’swasevidentlyfromtheauthorofthediscoursesonDavila。IamafraidtheindiscretionofaprinterhascommittedmewithmyfriendMr。Adams,forwhom,asoneofthemosthonest&disinterestedmenalive,Ihaveacordialesteem,increasedbylonghabitsofconcurrenceinopinioninthedaysofhisrepublicanism;andevensincehisapostacytohereditarymonarchy&nobility,tho’wediffer,wedifferasfriendsshoulddo。
  BeckleyhadtheonlycopyofPaine’spamphlet,&lentittome,desiringwhenIshouldhavereadit,thatIwouldsendittoaMr。J。
  B。Smith,whohadaskeditforhisbrothertoreprintit。BeinganutterstrangertoJ。B。Smith,bothbysight&characterIwroteanotetoexplaintohimwhyIastrangertohimsenthimapamphlet,towit,thatMr。Beckleyhaddesiredit;&totakeoffalittleofthedrynessofthenote,IaddedthatIwasgladtofinditwastobereprinted,thatsomethingwouldatlengthbepubliclysaidagainstthepoliticalheresieswhichhadlatelysprungupamongus,&thatI
  didnotdoubtourcitizenswouldrallyagainroundthestandardofcommonsense。ThatIhadinmyviewtheDiscoursesonDavila,whichhavefilledFenno’spapers,foratwelvemonth,withoutcontradiction,iscertain,butnothingwaseverfurtherfrommythoughtsthantobecomemyselfthecontradictorbeforethepublic。Tomygreatastonishmenthowever,whenthepamphletcameout,theprinterhadprefixedmynotetoit,withouthavinggivenmethemostdistanthintofit。Mr。Adamswillunquestionablytaketohimselfthechargeofpoliticalheresy,asconsciousofhisownviewsofdrawingthepresentgovernmenttotheformoftheEnglishconstitution,and,I
  fearwillconsidermeasmeaningtoinjurehiminthepubliceye。I
  learnthatsomeAnglomenhavecensureditinanotherpointofview,asasanctionofPaine’sprinciplestendstogiveoffencetotheBritishgovernment。Theirrealfearhoweveristhatthispopular&
  republicanpamphlet,takingwonderfully,islikelyatasinglestroketowipeoutalltheunconstitutionaldoctrineswhichtheirbell-weatherDavilahasbeenpreachingforatwelvemonth。I
  certainlynevermadeasecretofmybeinganti-monarchical,&
  anti-aristocratical;butIamsincerelymortifiedtobethusbroughtforwardonthepublicstage,wheretoremain,toadvanceortoretire,willbeequallyagainstmyloveofsilence&quiet,&myabhorrenceofdispute——IdonotknowwhetheryourecollectthattherecordsofVirginiaweredestroyedbytheBritishintheyear1781。Particularlythetransactionsoftherevolutionbeforethattime。IamcollectinghereallthelettersIwrotetoCongresswhileIwasintheadministrationthere,andthisbeingdoneIshallthenextendmyviewstothetransactionsofmypredecessors,inordertoreplacethewholeinthepublicofficesinVirginia。Ithinkthatduringmyadministration,saybetweenJune1。1779。&June1。1781。
  Ihadthehonorofwritingfrequentletterstoyouonpublicaffairs,whichperhapsmaybeamongyourpapersatMountVernon。Woulditbeconsistentwithanygeneralresolutionyouhaveformedastoyourpapers,toletmylettersoftheaboveperiodcomeheretobecopied,inordertomakethemapartoftherecordsIamendeavoringtorestoreforthestate?orwouldtheirselectionbetootroublesome?
  ifnot,Iwouldbegtheloanofthem,underanassurancethattheyshallbetakentheutmostcareof,&safelyreturnedtotheirpresentdeposit。
  Thequiet®ularmovementsofourpoliticalaffairsleavesnothingtoaddbutconstantprayersforyourhealth&welfareandassurancesofthesincererespect&attachmentofSirYourmostobedient,&mosthumbleservt。
  ANORTHERNTOUR
  _ToThomasMannRandolph_
  _Bennington,inVermont,June5,1791_
  DEARSIR,——Mr。Madison&myselfaresofaronthetourwehadprojected。WehavevisitedinthecourseofittheprincipalscenesofGenl。Burgoyne’smisfortunestowitthegroundsatStillwaterwheretheactionofthatnamewasfought,&particularlythebreastworkswhichcostsomuchbloodtobothparties,theencampmentsatSaratoga&groundwheretheBritishpiledtheirarms,thefieldofthebattleofBenningtonabout9milesfromthisplace。WehavealsovisitedFortsWm。Henry&George,Ticonderoga,Crownpoint,&c。whichhavebeenscenesofbloodfromaveryearlypartofourhistory。Weweremorepleasedhoweverwiththebotanicalobjectswhichcontinuallypresentedthemselves。ThoseeitherunknownorrareinVirgnaweretheSugarmapleinvastabundance,theSilverfir,Whitepine,Pitchpine,Sprucepine,ashrubwithdecumbentstemswhichtheycallJuniper,anazaleaverydifferentfromthenudiflora,withverylargeclustersofflowers,morethicklysetonthebranches,ofadeeperred,&highpink-fragrance。ItistherichestshrubIhaveseen。Thehoneysuckleofthegardensgrowingwildonthebanks’ofL。George,thepaper-birch,anAspenwithavelvetleaf,ashrub-willowwithdownycatkins,awildgooseberry,thewildcherrywithsinglefruitnotthebunchcherrystrawberriesinabundance。
  FromtheHighlandstothelakesitisalimestonecountry。ItisinvastquantitiesontheEasternsidesofthelakes,butnoneontheWesternsides。TheSandyhillfalls&Wing’sfalls,twoveryremarkablecataractsoftheHudsonofabout35f。or40f。eachbetweenF。Edward&F。Georgeareoflimestone,inhorizontalstrata。
  ThoseoftheCohoes,ontheW。sideoftheHudson,&of70f。height,wethoughtnotoflimestone。Wehavemetwithasmallredsquirrelofthecolorofourfox-squirrel,withablackstripeoneachside,weighingabout6oz。generally,andinsuchabundanceonL。ChamplainparticularlyasthattwentyoddwerekilledatthehousewelodgedinoppositeCrownpointthemorningwearrivedthere,withoutgoing10
  yardsfromthedoor。Wekilled3crossingthelakes,oneofthemjustashewasgettingashorewhereitwas3mileswide,&wherewiththehighwindthenblowinghemusthavemadeit5or6miles。
  IthinkIaskedthefavr。ofyoutosendforAnthonyintheseasonforinoculn,aswellastodowhatisnecessaryintheorchard,astopursuetheobjectofinoculatingalltheSpontaneouscherrytreesinthefieldswithgoodfruit。
  Wehavenowgotoverabout400milesofourtourandhavestillabout450moretogoover。ArrivinghereontheSaturdayevening,andthelawsofthestatenotpermittingustotravelontheSunday,hasgivenmetimetowritetoyoufromhence。IexpecttobeatPhiladelphiabythe20thor21st。Iam,withgreat&sincereesteemDearSiryoursaffectionately。
  BREACHOFAFRIENDSHIP
  _ToJohnAdams_
  _Philadelphia,July17,1791_
  DEARSIR——Ihaveadozentimestakenupmypentowritetoyouandasoftenlaiditdownagain,suspendedbetweenopposingconsiderations。Ideterminehowevertowritefromaconvictionthattruth,betweencandidminds,canneverdoharm。
  ThefirstofPaine’spamphletsontheRightsofman,whichcametohandhere,belongedtoMr。Beckley。HelentittoMr。Madisonwholentittome;andwhileIwasreadingitMr。Beckleycalledonmeforit,and,asIhadnotfinishedit,hedesiredme,assoonasI
  shouldhavedoneso,tosendittoMr。JonathanB。Smith,whosebrothermeanttoreprintit。Ifinishedreadingit,and,asIhadnoacquaintancewithMr。JonathanB。Smith,proprietyrequiredthatI
  shouldexplaintohimwhyI,astrangertohim,senthimthepamphlet。IaccordinglywroteanoteofcomplimentinforminghimthatIdiditatthedesireofMr。Beckley,and,totakeoffalittleofthedrynessofthenote,IaddedthatIwasgladitwastobereprintedhere,andthatsomethingwastobepubliclysaidagainstthepoliticalheresieswhichhadsprungupamongusetc。IthoughtsolittleofthisnotethatIdidnotevenkeepacopyofit:noreverheardatittlemoreofittill,theweekfollowing,Iwasthunderstruckwithseeingitcomeoutattheheadofthepamphlet。I
  hopedhoweveritwouldnotattractnotice。ButIfoundonmyreturnfromajourneyofamonththatawritercameforwardunderthesignatureofPublicola,attackingnotonlytheauthorandprinciplesofthepamphlet,butmyselfasit’ssponsor,byname。SoonaftercamehostsofotherwritersdefendingthepamphletandattackingyoubynameasthewriterofPublicola。Thuswereournamesthrownonthepublicstageaspublicantagonists。ThatyouandIdifferinourideasofthebestformofgovernmentiswellknowntousboth:butwehavedifferedasfriendsshoulddo,respectingthepurityofeachother’smotives,andconfiningourdifferenceofopiniontoprivateconversation。AndIcandeclarewithtruthinthepresenceofthealmightythatnothingwasfurtherfrommyintentionorexpectationthantohavehadeithermyownoryournamebroughtbeforethepubliconthisoccasion。Thefriendshipandconfidencewhichhassolongexistedbetweenusrequiredthisexplanationfromme,andIknowyoutoowelltofearanymisconstructionofthemotivesofit。Somepeopleherewhowouldwishmetobe,ortobethought,guiltyofimproprieties,havesuggestedthatIwasAgricola,thatIwasBrutusetc。etc。Ineverdidinmylife,eitherbymyselforbyanyother,haveasentenceofmineinsertedinanewspaperwithoutputtingmynametoit;andIbelieveInevershall。
  WhiletheempressisrefusingpeaceunderamediationunlessOczakowandit’sterritorybecededtoher,sheisofferingpeaceontheperfectstatuquotothePorte,iftheywillconcludeitwithoutamediation。Francehasstruckasevereblowatournavigationbyadifferenceofdutyontob[acc]ocarriedinourandtheirships,andbytakingfromforeignbuiltshipsthecapabilityofnaturalization。
  Shehasplacedourwhaleoilonratherabetterfootingthaneverbyconsolidatingthedutiesintoasingleoneof6。livres。Theyamountedbeforetosomesousoverthatsum。IamtoldIknownothowtrulythatEnglandhasprohibitedourspermacetioilaltogether,andwillprohibitourwheattillthepricethereis52/thequarter,whichitalmostneveris。WeexpecthourlytohearthetrueeventofGenl。Scott’sexpedition。Reportsgivefavorablehopesofit。BesogoodastopresentmyrespectfulcomplimentstoMrs。AdamsandtoacceptassurancesofthesentimentsofsincereesteemandrespectwithwhichIamDearSirYourfriendandservant。
  HOPEFOR”OURBLACKBRETHREN”
  _ToBenjaminBanneker_
  _Philadelphia,Aug。30,1791_
  SIR,——Ithankyousincerelyforyourletterofthe19thinstantandfortheAlmanacitcontained。NobodywishesmorethanI
  dotoseesuchproofsasyouexhibit,thatnaturehasgiventoourblackbrethren,talentsequaltothoseoftheothercolorsofmen,andthattheappearanceofawantofthemisowingmerelytothedegradedconditionoftheirexistence,bothinAfrica&America。I
  canaddwithtruth,thatnobodywishesmoreardentlytoseeagoodsystemcommencedforraisingtheconditionbothoftheirbody&mindtowhatitoughttobe,asfastastheimbecilityoftheirpresentexistence,andothercircumstanceswhichcannotbeneglected,willadmit。IhavetakenthelibertyofsendingyourAlmanactoMonsieurdeCondorcet,SecretaryoftheAcademyofSciencesatParis,andmemberofthePhilanthropicsociety,becauseIconsidereditasadocumenttowhichyourwholecolourhadarightfortheirjustificationagainstthedoubtswhichhavebeenentertainedofthem。
  Iamwithgreatesteem,SirYourmostobed’thumbleserv’t。
  STRENGTHENINGTHESTATEGOVERNMENTS