square miles alternately, will be a great let to the sale: but experience, to which there is an appeal, must decide. Soon after I had written to you in Feby., Mr. Jefferson, and after him Mr. Carmichael informed me that in consequence of an application from Mr. Harrison for permission to export a Jack for me from Spain, his Catholic Majesty had ordered two of the first race in his Kingdom (lest an accident might happen to one) to be purchased and presented to me as a mark of his esteem.-Such an instance of condescension and attention from a crowned head is very flattering and lays me under great obligation to the King; but neither of them is yet arrived :—these I presume are the two mentioned in your favor of the 16th of April; one as having been shipped from Cadiz-the other as expected from the Isle of Malta, which you would forward.-As they have been purchased since December last, I began to be apprehensive of accidents; which I wish may not. In the case with respect to the one from Cadiz, if he was actually shipped at the time of your account :— should the other pass thro' your hands you cannot oblige me more, than by requiring the greatest care, & most particular attention to be paid to him. I have long endeavored to procure one of a good size and breed, but had little expectation of receiving two as a royal gift.— I am much obliged to you my dear Marquis, for your attention to the Hounds, & not less sorry that you should have met the smallest difficulty, or expe rienced the least trouble in obtaining them: I was no way anxious about these, consequently should have felt no regret, or sustained no loss if you had not succeeded in your application.-I have commissioned three or four persons (among whom Colo. Marshall is one) to procure for me in Kentucke, for the use of the King's Gardens at Versailles or elsewhere, the seeds mentioned in the list you sent me from New York, and such others as are curious, and will forward them as soon as they come to my hands: which cannot be 'till after the growing crop has given its seeds. My best wishes will accompany you to Potsdam, and into the Austrian's Dominions whenever you set out upon that tour. As an unobserved spectator, I should like to take a peep at the troops of those Monarch's at their manoeuverings, upon a grand field day; but as it is among the unattainable things, my philosophy shall supply the place of curiosity, and set my mind at ease. In your favor of the 19th of March you speak of letters which were sent by a Mr. Williams; but none such have come to hand. The present for the little folks did not arrive by Mr. Ridouts ship as you expected; to what cause owing I know not.-Mrs. Washington has but indifferent health; & the late loss of her mother, & only brother Mr. Barthw. Dandridge (one of the Judges of our Supreme Court) has rather added to her indisposition. My mother and friends enjoy good health.-George has returned after his peregrination thro' the West Indies, to Burmuda, the Bahama Islands, & Charlestown; at the last place he spent the winter. He is in better health than when he set out, but not quite recovered: -He is now on a journey to the Sweet Springs, to procure a stock sufficient to fit him for a matrimonial voyage in the Frigate F. Bassett; on board which he means to embark at his return in October:-how far his case is desperate, I leave you to judge-if it is so, the remedy, however pleasing at first, will certainly be violent. The latter end of April I had the pleasure to receive in good order, by a ship from London, the picture of yourself, Madame la Fayette and the children, which I consider as an invaluable present, & shall give it the best place in my House.—Mrs. Washington joins me in respectful compliments, & in every good wish for Madame de la Fayette, yourself & family, all the others who have come under your kind notice present their compliments to you. For myself, I can only repeat the sincere attachment, & unbounded affection of My Dr. Marqs., &c. DEAR SIR, TO EDMUND RANDOLPH. MOUNT VERNON, 30 July, 1785. Although it is not my intention to derive any pecuniary advantage from the generous vote of the Assembly of this State, consequent of its gratuitous gift of shares in the navigation of each of the rivers Potomac and James; yet, as I consider these undertakings as of vast political and commercial importance to the States on the Atlantic, especially to those nearest the centre of the Union, and adjoining the western territory, I can let no act of mine impede the progress of the work. I have therefore come to the determination to hold the shares, which the treasurer was directed to subscribe on my account, in trust for the use and benefit of the public; unless I should be able to discover, before the meeting of the Assembly, that it would be agreeable to it to have the product of the tolls arising from these shares applied as a fund, on which to establish two charity schools, one on each river, for the education and support of the children of the poor and indigent of this country, who cannot afford to give it, particularly the children of those men of this description, who have fallen in defence of the rights and liberties of it. If the plan succeed, of which I have no doubt, I am sure it will be a very productive and increasing fund, and the moneys thus applied will be a beneficial institution. I am aware that my non-acceptance of these shares will have various motives ascribed to it, among which an ostentatious display of disinterestedness, perhaps the charge of disrespect or slight of the favors of my country, may lead the van; but under a consciousness, that my conduct herein is not influenced by considerations of this nature, and that I shall act more agreeably to my own feelings, and more consistent with my early declarations, by declining to accept them, I shall not only hope for indulgence, but a favorable interpretation of my conduct. My friends, I persuade myself, will acquit me; the world, I hope, will judge charitably. Perceiving by the advertisements of Messrs. Cabell, Buchanan, and Southall, that half the sum required by the act, for opening and extending the navigation of James River, is subscribed, and the 20th of next month appointed for the subscribers to meet at Richmond, I take the liberty of giving you a power to act for me on that occasion. I would (having the accomplishment of these navigations much at heart) have attended in person, but the president and directors of the Potomac company, by their own appointment, are to commence the survey of this river in the early part of next month; for which purpose I shall leave home Besides which if the ejectments which I have been obliged to bring for my lands in Pennsylva. are to be tried at the September term, as Mr. Smith my lawyer conceives they would and is to inform me, I shall find it necessary I fear to attend the trial. An intermediate journey therefore, in addition to Richmond, would be impracticable for me to accomplish. I am, Sir, &c.1 to-morrow. TO EDMUND RANDOLPH. DEAR SIR, 13 August, 1785. At the time your letter from the Rocks was delivered to me, I had neither pen, ink, paper, or a table to write on at command; consequently could only verbally ac 1 Washington was chosen president of the James River Company, but he declined to serve, although assured of being relieved of the "troublesome part." Randolph wrote: "We wish to be considered as having your particular patronage." |