I have had the Honor to receive a very polite Address from you; &, tho' I have not the Pleasure to be personally acquainted with you, I beg Leave to assure you it was very acceptable to me from the Mother of Mr Bushrod Washington. I suppose I am indebted to his too generous & gratefull Heart for this Instance of your Attention. He was introduced to Mr Powel by his Uncle, whose Recommendation alone would have given him a sufficient Title to our Respect, but his own Merit confirms his Claim to our Regard. Your Reasons for having sent him to Phila. appear to have been very strong, but, I confess, that I thought, at the Time of his Arrival, that it was a hazardous Experiment to make with a Lad at his time of Life. Phila. was at that Period the most luxurious, expensive, gay & dissipated, Spot on our Continent, with every Incentive to Pleasure & but few to Industry or Study. Happily for you, your Son I believe has been & is superior to every Pursuit incompatible with Virtue & Propriety. He has, at a very early Period of Life, (acquired what few ever attain), the Talent of blending Business & Pleasure so as to assist each other. Indeed, Madam, I would not deceive you; I too well know the Extent of maternal Feelings to trifle with them, or to flatter on a Subject so interesting to your Happiness. I do assure you, without Compliment, that I think him a most amiable Youth. He possesses eminently the Graces of the Mind. Travel & Experience will give him what he at present¹ needs, & must want for some Time, I mean the Knowledge of the World, which can only be acquired by reading Man under various Circumstances. That he is ignorant of Characters is very certain & it is natural that he should be so. I have sometimes been charmed & diverted at his Innocence & Credulity with respect to the Motives that influence the Conduct of Men. His Conjectures are often erroneous, tho allways on the side of Benevolence & Liberality. Conscious of the Rectitude of his own Heart, he is incapable of suspecting that others may be actuated by base & politic Views, & often believes that Real & Apparent are the same. A long Acquaintance with the World, (I do not determine how flattering for human Nature) evinces that nothing is more delusive than Appearances. Any Instances of Attention, or Affection, that he may receive from us are more than compensated by his Company & Manner of receiving them. I confess I love sometimes to read the guileless Page of Youth; its Conceptions are generally more ebullient than those of Experience & Ambition, & it recalls to the Mind Scenes that exhilirate the Spirits & causes us in some Sort to revisit a Period, delightfull indeed, but full of Dangers from the Predominance of Fancy & Inexperience over Reason.

     I love the Warmth with which you speak of your Attachment to your Children. The maternal & domestic Circle is the only one in which an amiable Woman can act with Pleasure & be truly happy. The Sacrifice you have made in parting with your Son for so long a Time will I hope be amply compensated by his Acquirements equalling the most sanguine Wishes that you can have formed for his Advancement & Happiness in Life. The Length of this Letter would need an Apology, was not the Subject so intersting to you, & it must appear presumptuous in me to enter into the Character of your Child to you, did you not recollect that the Time he has spent here has opened a Field for a Display of Dispositions & Character that the former part of his Life could not have done in the same Degree.

     I most sincerely congratulate you on the Return of Peace & beg Leave to offer my best Comps. to yourself & Mr Washington in which Mr Powel most cordially joins Madam Your most obedt humble Servant