I remember nothing; I shall soon forget my Christian name.'

If this page was printed running on like Erasmus's Colloquies, it would not have made more than five lines.

To John In- I thank you much for the postscript respectgenhousz, dated Passy, 29

ing my disorder, the stone. I have taken April, 1795. heretofore, and am now again taking the remedy you mention, which is called Blackrie's Solvent. It is the soap lie, with lime-water, and I believe it may have some effect in diminishing the symptoms, and preventing the growth of the stone, which is all I expect from it. It does not hurt my appetite; I sleep well, and enjoy my friends in cheerful conversation as usual. But, as I cannot use much exercise, I eat more sparingly than formerly, and I drink no wine.

I admire, that you should be so timid in asking leave of your good imperial master to make a journey for visiting a friend. I am persuaded you would succeed, and I hope the proposition I have repeated to you in this letter will assist your courage, and enable you to ask and obtain. If you come hither soon, you may, when present, get your book finished, and be ready to proceed with me to America. While writing this, I have received from Congress my leave to return; and I believe I shall be ready to embark by the middle of July, at farthest. I shall now be free from politics for the rest of my life. Welcome again, my dear philosophical amusements !

To Count de I have the honor to acquaint your ExcelVergennes, dated Passy,

lency, that I have at length obtained, and 3 May, 1785. yesterday received, the permission of Congress to return to America. As my malady makes it impracticable for me to pay my devoirs at Versailles personally, may I beg the favor of you, Sir, to express respectfully for me to his Majesty, the deep sense I have of all the inestimable benefits his goodness has conferred on my country; a senticould wish it. It is shrunk indeed by your admitting only sixty children a year.

What

you

have told your brethren respecting America is true. If you find it difficult to dispose of your children in England, it looks as if you had too many people. And yet you are afraid of emigration. A subscription is lately set on foot here to encourage and assist mothers in nursing their infants themselves at home; the practice of sending them to the Enfants trouvés having risen here to a monstrous excess, as, by the annual bill, it appears they amount to near one third of the children born in Paris ! The subscription is likely to succeed, and may do a great deal of good, though it cannot answer all the purposes of a foundling hospital.

Your eyes must continue very good, since you can write so small a hand without spectacles. I cannot distinguish a letter even of large print; but am happy in the invention of double spectacles, which, serving for distant objects as well as near ones, make my eyes as useful to me as ever they were. If all the other defects and infirmities were as easily and cheaply remedied, it would be worth while for friends to live a good deal longer, but I look upon death to be as necessary to our constitution as sleep. We shall rise refreshed in the morning.

To a Friend I was glad to hear that you possessed a in England,

comfortable retirement, and more so that you dated Passy, 21 Aug., 1784. had thoughts of removing to Philadelphia, for that it would make me very happy to have you there. Your companions would be very acceptable to the Library, but I hoped you would long live to enjoy their company yourself. I agreed with you in sentiments concerning the Old Testament, and thought the clause in our constitution, which required the members of Assembly to declare their belief, that the whole of it was given by divine inspiration, had better have been omitted. That I had opposed the clause; but, being overpowered by numbers, and fearing more might in future times be grafted on it, I prevailed to have the additional clause, " that no further or more extended profession of faith should ever be exacted." I observed to you too, that the evil of it was the less, as no inhabitant, nor any officer of government, except the members of Assembly, was obliged to make the declaration.

So much for that letter; to which I may now add, that there are several things in the Old Testament, impossible to be given by divine inspiration; such as the approbation ascribed to the angel of the Lord, of that abominably wicked and detestable action of Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite. * If the rest of the book were like that, I should rather suppose it given by inspiration from another quarter, and renounce the whole.

To Benjamin This will be delivered to you by Count Vaughan, da

Mirabeau ; son of the Marquis of that name, ted Passy, 7 Sept., 1784. author of "L'Ami des Hommes.” This gentleman is esteemed here, and I recommend him to your civilities and counsels, particularly with respect to the printing of a piece he has written on the subject of hereditary nobility, on occasion of the order of Cincinnati lately attempted to be established in America, which cannot be printed here. I find that some of the best judges think it extremely well written, with great clearness, force, and elegance. If you can recommend him to an honest, reasonable bookseller,

that will undertake it, you will do him service, and perhaps some to mankind, who are too much bigoted in many countries to that kind of imposition.

I had formerly almost resolved to trouble you with no more letters of recommendation; but I think you will find this gentleman to possess talents, that may render his acquaintance agreeable.

To John Jay, I did hope to have heard by the last packet dated Passy, of your having accepted the secretaryship of 8 Feb., 1785.

foreign affairs, but was disappointed. I write to you now, therefore, only as a private friend; yet I may mention respecting public affairs, that, as far as I can perceive, the good disposition of this court towards us continues. I wish I could say as much for the rest of the European courts. I think that their desire of being connected with us by treaties is of late much abated ; and this I suppose is occasioned by the pains Britain takes to represent us everywhere as distracted with divisions, discontented with our governments, the people unwilling to pay taxes, the Congress unable to collect them, and many desiring the restoration of the old government. The English papers are full of this stuff, and their ministers get it copied into the foreign papers. The moving about of the Congress from place to place has also a bad effect, in giving color to the reports of their being afraid of the people. I hope they will soon settle somewhere, and, by the steadiness and wisdom of their measures, dissipate all those mists of misrepresentation raised by the remaining malice of ancient enemies, and establish our reputation for national justice and prudence as they have done for courage and perse