in the brilliant epigram of his life are those that tell of his supreme devotion to the welfare of his country. He abandoned cherished ambitions and sacrificed personal ease to bear the burdens of a nation. Twice he braved personal ruin and risked his entire fortune at critical moments of his country's history. He became personally responsible to the farmers of Pennsylvania and Maryland to recompense them for their horses and wagons when they declined to accept the security of Braddock. And in later years he pledged himself to pay for all the tea destroyed in Boston Harbour if the government of England would but subscribe to suitable terms of reconciliation with the colonies. When he left America to enter upon his service as commissioner in France, the rumour was rife in England that he had deserted a forlorn cause. His malicious critics had grossly misread the character of the man whose last act upon quitting the home that he might never see again was to lend to the Congress his entire available fortune, between three and four thousand pounds. It is a pleasure to add to the list of those to whom at the beginning of this work I confessed my obligations the name of M. Lionel de Crèvecœur, who generously brought to me in Paris a large and interesting collection of private papers belonging to his great grandfather Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecœur. I am also deeply indebted to Dr. John L. Haney and Mr. Howard C. Myers, who have assisted me in the reading of proofs, and to Mr. Raymond M. Fulforth, who has helped in the preparation of the index. JANUARY 29, 1907. A. H. S. CONTENTS NO. 1757. To Mrs. Catherine Greene. March 2, 1789 1763. Observations relative to the Intentions of the original 1766. To M. Le Veillard. September 5, 1789 1767. An Account of the Supremest Court of Judicature in Penn- 1773. To William Alexander. October 26, 1789 1774. To Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, Fils. October 31, 1789 1777. To Benjamin Vaughan. November 2, 1789 1778. Queries and Remarks respecting Alterations in the Consti- 63 1781. To Alexander Small. November 5, 1789◄ 1782. An Address to the Public; from the Pennsylvania Society for promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of Free Negroes unlawfully held in Bondage. November 9, 1789. PAGE 64 1792. To Ezra Stiles. March 9, 1790 1793. To Francis Childs. March 10, 1790 1794. On the Slave Trade. March 23, 1790 1799. The Internal State of America; being a True Description |