_Paris，April24，1788_
Iarrivedhere，mydearfriend，thelastnight，andinabushelofletterspresentedmebywayofreception，Isawthatonewasofyourhandwriting。ItistheonlyoneIhaveyetopened，andIansweritbeforeIopenanother。IdonotthinkIwasinarrearsinourepistolaryaccountwhenIleftParis。InaffectionIamsureyouweregreatlymydebtor。Ioftendeterminedduringmyjourneytowritetoyou：butsometimesthefatigueofexercise，andsometimesfatiguedattentionhinderedme。
AtDusseldorffIwishedforyoumuch。Isurelyneversawsopreciousacollectionofpaintings。AboveallthingsthoseofVanderWerffaffectedmethemost。HispictureofSarahdeliveringAgartoAbrahamisdelicious。IwouldhaveagreedtohavebeenAbrahamthoughtheconsequencecouldhavebeenthatIshouldhavebeendeadfiveorsixthousandyears。CarloDolcebecamealsoaviolentfavorite。IamsolittleofaconnoisseurthatIpreferredtheworksofthesetwoauthorstotheoldfadedredthingsofRubens。Iambutasonofnature，lovingwhatIsee&feel，withoutbeingabletogiveareason，norcaringmuchwhethertherebeone。AtHeidelbergI
wishedforyoutoo。InfactIledyoubythehandthro’thewholegarden。
IwasstruckwiththeresemblanceofthisscenetothatofVaucluseasseenfromwhatiscalledthechateauofPetrarch。Naturehasformedbothonthesamesketch，butshehasfilledupthatofHeidelbergwithabolderhand，theriverislarger，themountainsmoremajesticandbetterclothed。Arttoohassecondedherviews。
ThechateauofPetrarchistheruinofamodestcountryhouse，thatofHeidelbergwouldstandwellalongsidethepyramidsofEgypt。Itiscertainlythemostmagnificentruinafterthoseleftusbytheantients。
AtStrasbourgIsatdowntowritetoyou，butformysoulI
couldthinkofnothingatStrasbourgbutthepromontoryofnoses，ofDiego，ofSlawkenburgiushishistoriaga，&theprocessionoftheStrasburgerstomeetthemanwiththenose。HadIwrittentoyoufromthenceitwouldhavebeenacontinuationofSterneuponnoses，&
IknewthatnaturehadnotformedmeforaContinuatorofSterne：soletitalonetillIcamehereandreceivedyourangryletter。Itisaproofofyouresteem，butIlovebettertohavesofttestimonialsofit。
Youmustthereforenowwritemealetterteemingwithaffection；suchasIfeelforyou。SomuchIhavenorighttoask。
BeingbutjustarrivedIamnot_aufait_ofthesmallnewsaffectingyouracquaintanceshere。IknowonlythattheprincessLubomirskiisstillhere&thatshehastakenthehousethatwasM。deSimoulin’s。
Whenyoucomeagainthereforeyouwillbesomewhatnearertome，butnotnearenough：andstillsurroundedbyanumerouscortege，sothatIshallseeyouonlybyscrapsasIdidwhenyouwereherelast。Thetimebeforewewerehalfdays&wholedaystogether，&Ifoundthistoolittle。Adieu！Godblessyou！
Your’saffectionately”AMAZONSANDANGELS”
_ToAnneWillingBingham_
_Paris，May11，1788_
DEARMADAM，——AgentlemangoingtoPhiladelphiafurnishesmetheoccasionofsendingyousomenumbersoftheCabinetdesModes&
somenewtheatricalpieces。Theselasthavehadgreatsuccessonthestage，wheretheyhaveexcitedperpetualapplause。Wehavenowneedofsomethingtomakeuslaugh，forthetopicsofthetimesaresadandeventful。ThegayandthoughtlessParisisnowbecomeafurnaceofPolitics。Alltheworldisnowpoliticallymad。Men，women，childrentalknothingelse，&youknowthatnaturallytheytalkmuch，loud&warm。Societyisspoiltbyit，atleastforthosewho，likemyself，arebutlookerson——Youtoohavehadyourpoliticalfever。Butourgoodladies，Itrust，havebeentoowisetowrinkletheirforeheadswithpolitics。Theyarecontentedtosoothe&calmthemindsoftheirhusbandsreturningruffledfrompoliticaldebate。
Theyhavethegoodsensetovaluedomestichappinessaboveallother，andthearttocultivateitbeyondallothers。ThereisnopartoftheearthwheresomuchofthisisenjoyedasinAmerica。Youagreewithmeinthis；butyouthinkthatthepleasuresofParismorethansupplyitswants；inotherwordsthataParisianishappierthananAmerican。Youwillchangeyouropinion，mydearMadam，andcomeovertomineintheend。Recollectthewomenofthiscapital，someonfoot，someonhorses，&someincarriageshuntingpleasureinthestreets，inrouts&assemblies，andforgettingthattheyhaveleftitbehindthemintheirnurseries；comparethemwithourowncountrywomenoccupiedinthetenderandtranquilamusementsofdomesticlife，andconfessthatitisacomparisonofAmazonsandAngels——YouwillhaveknownfromthepublicpapersthatMonsieurdeBuffon，thefather，isdead&youhaveknownlongagothatthesonandhiswifeareseparated。Theyarepursuingpleasureinoppositedirections。MadamedeRochambeauiswell：soisMadamedelaFayette。IrecollectnootherNouvellesdesocieteinterestingtoyou。Andasforpoliticalnewsofbattles&sieges，Turks&
Russians，Iwillnotdetailthemtoyou，becauseyouwouldbelesshandsomeafterreadingthem。Ihaveonlytoaddthen，whatItakeapleasureinrepeating，tho’itwillbethethousandthtimethatI
havethehonourtobewithsentimentsofverysincererespect&
attachment，dearMadam，yourmostobedient&mosthumbleservant。”THECRUMBSOFSCIENCE”
_TotheRev。JamesMadison_
_Paris，July19，1788_
DEARSIR，——Mylastlettertoyouwasofthe13thofAugustlast。Asyouseemwillingtoacceptofthecrumbsofscienceonwhichwearesubsistinghere，itiswithpleasureIcontinuetohandthemontoyou，inproportionastheyaredealtout。Herschel’svolcanointhemoonyouhavedoubtlessheardof，andplacedamongtheothervagariesofahead，whichseemsnotorganisedforsoundinduction。Thewildnessofthetheorieshithertoproposedbyhim，onhisowndiscoveries，seemstoauthoriseustoconsiderhismeritasthatofagoodopticianonly。Youknowalso，thatDoctorIngenhousehaddiscovered，ashesupposed，fromexperiment，thatvegetationmightbepromotedbyoccasioningstreamsoftheelectricalfluidtopassthroughaplant，andthatotherphysicianshadreceivedandconfirmedthistheory。Henow，however，retractsit，andfindsbymoredecisiveexperiments，thattheelectricalfluidcanneitherforwardnorretardvegetation。Uncorrectedstilloftherageofdrawinggeneralconclusionsfrompartialandequivocalobservations，hehazardstheopinionthat_light_promotesvegetation。Ihaveheretoforesupposedfromobservation，thatlightaffectsthecoloroflivingbodies，whethervegetableoranimal；butthateithertheoneortheotherreceives_nutriment_fromthatfluid，mustbepermittedtobedoubtedof，tillbetterconfirmedbyobservation。Itisalwaysbettertohavenoideas，thanfalseones；tobelievenothing，thantobelievewhatiswrong。Inmymind，theoriesaremoreeasilydemolishedthanrebuilt。
AnAbbehere，hasshaken，ifnotdestroyed，thetheoryofdeDominis，DescartesandNewton，forexplainingthephenomenonoftherainbow。Accordingtothattheory，youknow，aconeofraysissuingfromthesun，andfallingonacloudintheoppositepartoftheheavens，isreflectedbackintheformofasmallercone，theapexofwhichistheeyeoftheobserver：sothattheeyeoftheobservermustbeintheaxisofbothcones，andequallydistantfromeverypartofthebow。Butheobserves，thathehasrepeatedlyseenbows，theoneendofwhichhasbeenveryneartohim，andtheotherataverygreatdistance。Ihaveoftenseenthesamethingmyself。I
recollectwelltohaveseentheendofarainbowbetweenmyselfandahouse，orbetweenmyselfandabank，nottwentyyardsdistant；andthisrepeatedly。ButIneversaw，whathesayshehasseen，differentrainbowsatthesametime，intersectingeachother。I
neversawcoexistentbows，whichwerenotconcentricalso。Again，accordingtothetheory，ifthesunisinthehorizon，thehorizoninterceptsthelowerhalfofthebow，ifabovethehorizon，thatinterceptsmorethanthehalf，inproportion。Sothatgenerally，thebowislessthanasemicircle，andnevermore。Hesayshehasseenitmorethanasemicircle。Ihaveoftenseenthelegofthebowbelowmylevel。MysituationatMonticelloadmitsthis，becausethereisamountainthereintheoppositedirectionoftheafternoon’ssun，thevalleybetweenwhichandMonticello，isfivehundredfeetdeep。Ihaveseenalegofarainbowplungedownontheriverrunningthroughthevalley。ButIdonotrecollecttohaveremarkedatanytime，thatthebowwasmorethanhalfacircle。Itappearstome，thatthesefactsdemolishtheNewtonianhypothesis，buttheydonotsupportthaterectedinitssteadbytheAbbe。Hesupposesacloudbetweenthesunandobserver，andthatthroughsomeopeninginthatcloud，therayspass，andformanirisontheoppositepartoftheheavens，justasaraypassingthroughaholeintheshutterofadarkenedroom，andfallingonaprismthere，formstheprismaticcolorsontheoppositewall。Accordingtothis，wemightseebowsofmorethanthehalfcircle，asoftenasofless。A
thousandotherobjectionsoccurtothishypothesis，whichneednotbesuggestedtoyou。Theresultis，thatwearewiserthanwewere，byhavinganerrorthelessinourcatalogue；buttheblankoccasionedbyit，mustremainforsomehappierhypothesisttofillup。
Thedisputeabouttheconversionandreconversionofwaterandair，isstillstoutlykeptup。Thecontradictoryexperimentsofchemists，leaveusatlibertytoconcludewhatweplease。Myconclusionis，thatarthasnotyetinventedsufficientaids，toenablesuchsubtlebodiestomakeawelldefinedimpressiononorgansasbluntasours：thatitislaudabletoencourageinvestigation，buttoholdbackconclusion。SpeakingonedaywithMonsieurdeBuffon，onthepresentardorofchemicalinquiry，heaffectedtoconsiderchemistrybutascookery，andtoplacethetoilsofthelaboratoryonafootingwiththoseofthekitchen。Ithinkit，onthecontrary，amongthemostusefulofsciences，andbigwithfuturediscoveriesfortheutilityandsafetyofthehumanrace。Itisyet，indeed，amereembryon。Itsprinciplesarecontested；experimentsseemcontradictory；theirsubjectsaresominuteastoescapeoursenses；
andtheirresulttoofallacioustosatisfythemind。Itisprobablyanagetoosoon，toproposetheestablishmentofasystem。Theattempt，therefore，ofLavoisiertoreformthechemicalnomenclature，ispremature。Onesingleexperimentmaydestroythewholefiliationofhisterms，andhisstringofsulphates，sulfitesandsulfures，mayhaveservednootherend，thantohaveretardedtheprogressofthescience，byajargon，fromtheconfusionofwhich，timewillberequisitetoextricateus。Accordingly，itisnotlikelytobeadmittedgenerally。
Youareacquaintedwiththepropertiesofthecompositionofnitre，saltoftartarandsulphur，calledpulvisfulminans。Ofthis，theexplosionisproducedbyheatalone。MonsieurBertholet，bydissolvingsilverinthenitrousacid，precipitatingitwithlimewater，anddryingtheprecipitateonammoniac，hasdiscoveredapowderwhichfulminatesmostpowerfully，oncomingintocontactwithanysubstancewhatever。Oncemade，itcannotbetouched。Itcannotbeputintoabottle，butmustremaininthecapsula，wheredried。
Thepropertyofthespathicacid，tocorrodeflintysubstances，hasbeenlatelyappliedbyaMr。Puymaurin，toengraveonglass，asartistsengraveoncopper，withaquafortis。M。delaPlacehasdiscovered，thatthesecularaccelerationandretardationofthemoon’smotion，isoccasionedbytheactionofthesun，inproportionashisexcentricitychanges，or，inotherwords，astheorbitoftheearthincreasesordiminishes。Sothatthisirregularityisnowperfectlycalculable。
Havingseenannouncedinagazette，thatsomepersonhadfoundinalibraryofSicily，anArabictranslationofLivy，whichwasthoughttobecomplete，IgotthechargedesaffairesofNapleshere，towritetoNaplestoinquireintothefact。Heobtainedinanswer，thatanArabictranslationwasfound，andthatitwouldrestoretousseventeenofthebookslost，towit，fromthesixtiethtotheseventy-seventh，inclusive：thatitwasinpossessionofanAbbeVella，who，assoonasheshallhavefinishedaworkhehasonhand，willgiveusanItalian，andperhapsaLatintranslationofthisLivy。Therearepersons，however，whodoubtthetruthofthisdiscovery，foundingtheirdoubtsonsomepersonalcricumstancesrelatingtothepersonwhosayshehasthistranslation。Ifind，nevertheless，thatthechargedesaffairesbelievesinthediscovery，whichmakesmehopeitmaybetrue。
Acountrymanofours，aMr。LedyardofConnecticut，setoutfromhencesometimeagoforSt。Petersburg，togothencetoKamtschatka，thencetocrossovertothewesterncoastofAmerica，andpenetratethroughthecontinent，totheothersideofit。Hehadgotwithinafewdays’journeyofKamtschatka，whenhewasarrestedbyorderoftheEmpressofRussia，sentback，andturnedadriftinPoland。HewenttoLondon；engagedundertheauspicesofaprivatesociety，formedthereforpushingdiscoveriesintoAfrica；passedbythisplace，whichheleftafewdaysagoforMarseilles，wherehewillembarkforAlexandriaandGrandCairo；thenceexploretheNiletoitssource；crosstheheadoftheNiger，anddescendthattoitsmouth。Hepromisesme，ifheescapesthroughhisjourney，hewillgotoKentucky，andendeavortopenetratewestwardlytotheSouthSea。