I have this moment recd your letter of the 17th, and I am sorry to observe that you have not recieved the books. They were packed and sent to Alexa. before the 14th of June with directions to Adams & Herbert to forward them by the first conveyance to Baltimore to T. & S. Vance (as you requested) to whom I wrote by post informing them that they were for you. They were soon afterwards put on board of the Sloop Union Capt. Middleton, who recd a special charge to be careful of them, & I understand that he is a man of excellent character. After stating these Circumstances, I trust that I shall stand acquitted of all blame, whatever may have been the fate of the Books.

     I cannot help feeling hurt at the concluding paragraph of your letter, which seems to imply that you have been imposed upon. You observe that the books or a number of them are from 4 to 8 years old, and that you believed that they were all quite modern and of recent importation. The Statement which I made to you was that Mrs Washington had lately imported a parcel of Novels from London which I had read & found to be interesting, or words to this amount. When they were first published I knew not at that time, nor do I now know; but they were all perfectly New to us, and I doubt if any of them had ever been imported into the U.S. for sale; most assuredly we had never seen in any advertisement or Catalogue. They were purchased in London by a friend from Alexa. for ready mony, I of course upon the best terms. They arrived in November, a few months only previous to my conversation with you.

     If after recieving the list I sent you, you felt disinclined to take them because they were not as new as you expected, I wish you had said so in your letter of the 6th June. They had not then left Alexa., & Mrs W. would willingly have kept them. I am Sir yr Humb. Servt