ThedeathofM。deBuffonyouhaveheardlongago。Idonotknowwhetherweshallhaveanythingposthumousofhis。Astopoliticalnews，thiscountryismakingitswaytoagoodconstitution。Theonlydangeris，theymaypresssofastastoproduceanappealtoarms，whichmighthaveanunfavorableissueforthem。Asyet，theappealisnotmade。Perhapsthewarwhichseemstobespreadingfromnationtonation，mayreachthem：thiswouldinsurethecallingoftheStatesGeneral，andthis，asissupposed，theestablishmentofaconstitution。
Ihavethehonortobe，withsentimentsofsincereesteemandrespect，DearSir，yourfriendandservant，”AMONOPOLYOFDESPOTISM”
_ToSt。JohndeCrevecoeur_
_Paris，August9，1788_
DEARSIR，——Whileoursecondrevolutionisjustbroughttoahappyendwithyou，yourshere，isbutcleverlyunderway。Forsomedays，Iwasreallymelancholywiththeapprehension，thatarmswouldbeappealedto，andtheoppositioncrushedinitsfirstefforts。Butthingsseemnowtowearabetteraspect。Whiletheoppositionkeepsatitshighestwholesomepoint，government，unwillingtodrawthesword，isnotforcedtodoit。ThecontesthereisexactlywhatitwasinHolland：acontestbetweenthemonarchicalandaristocraticalpartsofthegovernment，foramonopolyofdespotismoverthepeople。