第19章
加入书架 A- A+
点击下载App,搜索"LETTERS",免费读到尾

  Ihavepurchasedlittleforyouinthebookway,sinceIsentthecatalogueofmyformerpurchases。Iwishfirsttohaveyouranswertothat,andyourinformationwhatpartsofthosepurchaseswentoutofyourplan。Youcaneasilysaybuymoreofthiskind,lessofthat&c。Mywishistoconformmyselftoyours。IcangetforyoutheoriginalPariseditioninfoliooftheEncyclopediefor620livres,35。vols。;agoodednin39vols,4to,for380#;andagoodonein39vols8vo,for280#。Thenewonewillbesuperiorinfarthegreaternumberofarticles:butnotinall。Andthepossessionoftheancientonehasmoreovertheadvantageofsupplyingpresentuse。Ihaveboughtoneformyself,butwaityourordersastoyou。IrememberyourpurchaseofawatchinPhiladelphia。Ifitshouldnothaveprovedgood,youcanprobablysellher。InthatcaseIcangetforyouhere,onemadeasperfectashumanartcanmakeitforabout24louis。Ihavehadsuchaonemadebythebest&mostfaithfulhandinParis。Ithasasecondhand,butnorepeating,nodayofthemonth,norotheruselessthingtoimpedeandinjurethemovementswhicharenecessary。For12louismoreyoucanhaveinthesamecover,butonthebackside&absolutelyunconnectedwiththemovementsofthewatch,apedometerwhichshallrenderyouanexactaccountofthedistancesyouwalk。Yourpleasurehereonshallbeawaited。

  Houdonisreturned。HecalledonmetheotherdaytoremonstrateagainsttheinscriptionproposedforGenlW。’sstatue。

  Hesaysitistoolongtobeputonthepedestal。ItoldhimIwasnotatlibertytopermitanyalteration,butIwouldrepresenthisobjectiontoafriendwhocouldjudgeofit’svalidity,andwhetherachangecouldbeauthorized。Thishasbeenthesubjectofconversationshere,andvariousdevices&inscriptionshavebeensuggested。Theonewhichhasappearedbesttomemaybetranslatedasfollows:”Behold,Reader,theformofGeorgeWashington。Forhisworth,askHistory:thatwilltellit,whenthisstoneshallhaveyieldedtothedecaysoftime。Hiscountryerectsthismonument:

  Houdonmakesit。”Thisforoneside。Onthe2drepresenttheevacuationofBostonwiththemotto”Hostibusprimumfugatis。”Onthe3dthecaptureoftheHessianswith”Hostibusiterumdevictis。”Onthe4ththesurrenderofYork,with”Hostibusultimumdebellatis。”

  Thisisseizingthethreemostbrilliantactionsofhismilitarylife。Bygivingouthereawishofreceivingmottosforthisstatue,wemighthavethousandsoffered,ofwhichstillbettermightbechosen。TheartistmadethesameobjectionoflengthtotheinscriptionforthebustoftheM。delaFayette。Analterationofthatmightcomeintimestill,ifanalterationwaswished。HoweverIamnotcertainthatitisdesirableineithercase。ThestateofGeorgiahasgiven20。000acresoflandtotheCountd’Estaing。Thisgiftisconsideredhereasveryhonourabletohim,andithasgratifiedhimmuch。IampersuadedthatagiftoflandsbythestateofVirginiatotheMarquisdelaFayettewouldgiveagoodopinionhereofourcharacter,andwouldreflecthonourontheMarquis。NoramIsurethatthedaywillnotcomewhenitmightbeanusefulasylumtohim。ThetimeoflifeatwhichhevisitedAmericawastoowelladaptedtoreceivegood&lastingimpressionstopermithimevertoaccommodatehimselftotheprinciplesofmonarchicalgovernment;

  anditwillneedallhisownprudence&thatofhisfriendstomakethiscountryasaferesidenceforhim。Howglorious,howcomfortableinreflectionwillitbetohavepreparedarefugeforhimincaseofareverse。Inthemeantimehecouldsettleitwithtenantsfromthefreestpartofthiscountry,Bretagny。Ihaveneversuggestedthesmallestideaofthiskindtohim:becausetheexecutionofitshouldconveythefirstnotice。Ifthestatehasnotarighttogivehimlandswiththeirownofficers,theycouldbuyupatcheappricesthesharesofothers。Iamnotcertainhoweverwhetherinthepublicorprivateopinion,asimilargifttoCountRochambeaucouldbedispensedwith。Ifthestatecouldgivetoboth,itwouldbebetter:

  butinanyevent,IthinktheyshouldtotheMarquis。C。Rochambeautoohasreallydeservedmoreattentionthanhehasreceived。Whynotsetuphisbust,thatofGates,Greene,Franklininyournewcapitol?

  AproposoftheCapitol。Domydearfriendexertyourselftogettheplanbegunonsetaside,&thatadoptedwhichwasdrawnhere。Itwastakenfromamodelwhichhasbeentheadmirationof16。centuries,whichhasbeentheobjectofasmanypilgrimagesasthetombofMahomet:whichwillgiveunrivalledhonourtoourstate,andfurnishamodelwhereontoformthetasteofouryoungmen。Itwillcostmuchlesstoothantheonebegun,becauseitdoesnotcoveronehalftheArea。Ask,ifyouplease,asightofmyletterofJan。26toMessrs。Buchanan&Hay,whichwillsparemetherepeatingitssubstancehere。

  EverythingisquietinEurope。Irecollectbutonenewinventionintheartswhichisworthmentioning。Itisamixtureoftheartsofengraving&printing,renderingbothcheaper。Writeordrawanythingonaplateofbrasswiththeinkoftheinventor,andinhalfanhourhegivesyouengravedcopiesofitsoperfectlyliketheoriginalthattheycouldnotbesuspectedtobecopies。Histypesforprintingawholepageareallinonesolidpiece。Anauthorthereforeonlyprintsafewcopiesofhisworkfromtimetotimeastheyarecalledfor。Thissavesthelossofprintingmorecopiesthanmaypossiblybesold,andpreventsaneditionfrombeingeverexhausted。

  IamwithalivelyesteemDearSir,yoursincerefriend&

  servant。

  P。S。Couldyouprocure&sendmeanhundredortwonutsofthepeccan?theywouldenablemetoobligesomecharactersherewhomI

  shouldbemuchgratifiedtooblige。Theyshouldcomepackedinsand。

  Theseedsofthesugarmapletoowouldbeagreatpresent。

  BRITISHARTSANDBRITISHHATRED

  _ToJohnPage_

  _Paris,May4,1786_

  DEARSIR,——YourtwofavoursofMar15andAug23,1785,byMonsieurdelaCroixcametohandonthe15thofNovember。Hisreturngivesmeanopportunityofsendingyouacopyofthenauticalalmanacsfor1786,7,8,9。Thereisnolateandinterestingpublicationhere,orIwouldsenditbythesameconveiance。WiththesealmanacsIpackacopyofsomeNotesIwroteforMonsrdeMarboisintheyear1781,ofwhichIhadafewprintedhere。Theywerewritteninhaste&forhisprivateinspection。AfewfriendshavingaskedcopiesIfounditcheapertoprintthantowritethem。

  Oneofthesegotintothehandsofabooksellerwhogettingabadtranslationofthemmade,obligedmetoconsentthattheyshouldappearonconditionoftheirbeingtranslatedbyabetterhand。I

  apprehendthereforetheywillgetfurtherthanIintended:tho’asyettheyareinfewhands。Theywilloffernothingnewtoyou,notevenasanoblationofmyfriendshipforyouwhichisasoldalmostasweareourselves。MazzeibroughtmeyourfavorofApr28。I

  thankyoumuchforyourcommunications。Nothingcanbemoregratefulatsuchadistance。Itisunfortunatethatmostpeoplethinktheoccurrencespassingdailyundertheireyes,areeitherknowntoalltheworld,ornotworthbeingknown。Theythereforedonotgivethemplaceintheirletters。Ihopeyouwillbesogoodastocontinueyourfriendlyinformation。Theproceedingsofourpublicbodies,theprogressofthepublicmindoninterestingquestions,thecasualtieswhichhappenamongourprivatefriends,andwhateverisinterestingtoyourselfandfamilywillalwaysbeanxiouslyreceivedbyme。

  Thereisonecircumstanceintheworkyouwereconcernedinwhichhasnotyetcometomyknowledge,towithowfarWestwardfromFortPittdoestheWesternboundaryofPennsylvaniapass,andwheredoesitstriketheOhio?ThepropositionyoumentionfromMr。Andersononthepurchaseoftobacco,Iwouldhavemadeuseof,butthatIhaveengagedtheabusesofthetobaccotradeonamoregeneralscale。I

  confesstheirredressdoesnotappearwithanycertainty:buttillI

  seeallhopeofremovingtheevilbytheroots,Icannotproposetopruneit’sbranches。

  IreturnedbutthreeorfourdaysagofromatwomonthstriptoEngland。Itraversedthatcountrymuch,andownbothtown&countryfellshortofmyexpectations。Comparingitwiththis,Ifoundamuchgreaterproportionofbarrens,asoilinotherpartsnotnaturallysogoodasthis,notbettercultivated,butbettermanured,&thereforemoreproductive。Thisproceedsfromthepracticeoflongleasesthere,andshortoneshere。ThelabouringpeopleherearepoorerthaninEngland。Theypayaboutonehalftheirproduceinrent,theEnglishingeneralaboutathird。Thegardeninginthatcountryisthearticleinwhichitsurpassesalltheearth。Imeantheirpleasuregardening。Thisindeedwentfarbeyondmyideas。ThecityofLondon,tho’handsomerthanParis,isnotsohandsomeasPhiladelphia。TheirarchitectureisinthemostwretchedstileI

  eversaw,notmeaningtoexceptAmericawhereitisbad,norevenVirginiawhereitisworsethaninanyotherpartofAmerica,whichI

  haveseen。ThemechanicalartsinLondonarecarriedtoawonderfulperfection。ButoftheseIneednotspeak,becauseofthemmycountrymenhaveunfortunatelytoomanysamplesbeforetheireyes。I

  considertheextravagancewhichhasseizedthemasamorebanefulevilthantoryismwasduringthewar。Itisthemoresoastheexampleissetbythebestandmostamiablecharactersamongus。

  Wouldthatamissionaryappearwhowouldmakefrugalitythebasisofhisreligioussystem,andgothrothelandpreachingitupastheonlyroadtosalvation,Iwouldjoinhisschooltho’notgenerallydisposedtoseekmyreligionoutofthedictatesofmyownreason&

  feelingsofmyownheart。ThesethingshavebeenmoredeeplyimpressedonmymindbywhatIhaveheard&seeninEngland。Thatnationhatesus,theirministershateus,andtheirKingmorethanallothermen。Theyhavetheimpudencetoavowthis,tho’theyacknolegeourtradeimportanttothem。Buttheysaywecannotpreventourcountrymenfrombringingthatintotheirlaps。A

  convictionofthisdeterminesthemtomakenotermsofcommercewithus。Theysaytheywillpocketourcarryingtradeaswellastheirown。Ouroverturesofcommercialarrangementhavebeentreatedwithaderisionwhichshowstheirfirmpersuasionthatweshallneverunitetosuppresstheircommerceoreventoimpedeit。Ithinktheirhostilitytowardsusismuchmoredeeplyrootedatpresentthanduringthewar。IntheartsthemoststrikingthingIsawthere,new,wastheapplicationoftheprincipleofthesteam-enginetogristmills。Isaw8pr。ofstoneswhichareworkedbysteam,andtheyaretosetup30pairinthesamehouse。Ahundredbushelsofcoaladayareconsumedatpresent。Idonotknowinwhatproportiontheconsumptionwillbeincreasedbytheadditionalgeer。

  BesogoodastopresentmyrespectstoMrs。Page&yourfamily,toW。Lewis,F。Willis&theirfamiliesandtoacceptyourselfassurancesofthesincereregardwithwhichIamDrSiryouraffectionatefriend&servt。

  P。S。MazzeiisstillhereandwillpublishsoonabookonthesubjectofAmerica。

  WARONBARBARY

  _ToJohnAdams_

  _Paris,July11,1786_

  DEARSIR——OurinstructionsrelativetotheBarbarystateshavingrequiredustoproceedbywayofnegotiationtoobtaintheirpeace,itbecameourdutytodothistothebestofourpower。

  Whatevermightbeourprivateopinions,theyweretobesuppressed,andthelinemarkedouttous,wastobefollowed。Ithasbeensohonestly,andzealously。Itwasthereforenevermaterialforustoconsulttogetheronthebestplanofconducttowardsthesestates。I

  acknolegeIveryearlythoughtitwouldbebesttoeffectapeacethro’themediumofwar。Tho’itisaquestionwithwhichwehavenothingtodo,yetasyouproposesomediscussionofitIshalltroubleyouwithmyreasons。Ofthe4。positionslaiddowninyourletterofthe3d。instant,Iagreetothethreefirst,whichareinsubstancethatthegoodofficesofourfriendscannotprocureusapeacewithoutpayingit’sprice,thattheycannotmateriallylessenthatprice,andthatpayingit,wecanhavethepeaceinspightoftheintriguesofourenemies。Astothe4th。thatthelongerthenegotiationisdelayedthelargerwillbethedemand,thiswilldependontheintermediatecaptures:iftheyaremanyandrichthepricemayberaised;iffewandpooritwillbelessened。Howeverifitisdecidedthatweshallbuyapeace,Iknownoreasonfordelayingtheoperation,butshouldratherthinkitoughttobehastened。ButIshouldprefertheobtainingitbywar。1。Justiceisinfavorofthisopinion。2。Honorfavorsit。3。ItwillprocureusrespectinEurope,andrespectisasafe-guardtointerest。4。Itwillarmthefederalheadwiththesafestofalltheinstrumentsofcoercionovertheirdelinquentmembersandpreventthemfromusingwhatwouldbelesssafe。Ithinkthatsofaryougowithme。Butinthenextstepsweshalldiffer。5。Ithinkitleastexpensive。6。

点击下载App,搜索"LETTERS",免费读到尾