I have to acknowledge the rect of your letter of the 6th of Augt which, having had to travel after me from Alexandria to this part of the state did not reach me 'till long after its date.

The difficulties you anticipate in bringing out the work, and in keeping the incidental accounts were entirely unexpected on my part. Presuming that you were well acquainted with the various circumstances which must at all times attend an undertaking of this kind, and that you knew much better than we possibly could how to meet the difficulties which might occur, I flattered myself that none could arise which were not foreseen, that could at all embarrass you. I was consequently entirely satisfied, with the arrangement agreed upon between us at Washington. If the personal trouble which that arrangement is likely to impose upon you should be greater than you anticipated I shall very sincerely regret, and will cheerfully contribute, as far as I reasonably can, to lessen it.

<As to the plan you propose I feel myself totally incompetent to Judge of it from my ignorance¹ of the business which devolves upon you, & of the various circumstances² connected with it which may & ought to be taken into consideration in regulating the offer you wish me to make, so as to render it Just to you as well as to our Selves. The Contract into which we have entered was but an acceptance on our part to of your own proposal— I am Satisfied that I could have made none had I been required to do so. The only other Contract of the nature of the above in which I have had any agency was made with Mr Wayne for the "Life of Washington" and, if my memory does not decieve me, the offer came from that gentleman & was accepted by me. That was a dollar a volume for the whole edition which was 7000 Copies, and, I think,>³ 10 Copies each for our own use. What part of the sum received by him for the manuscript copy sold in England was paid to us I cannot now recollect, and our contract is at Mt Vernon. I would here observe that you assign no reason why the disposition you may make of the work in Europe should be for your exclusive benefit. I confess that I have, perhaps without reason, made no inconsiderable calculation of the value of such a disposition. At all events I should not like it that we should have distinct interests in this work.

Feeling entirely satisfied with the arrangement already made between us, as well as my incompetence to make any proposal for which I could assign reasons satisfactory to you or myself— and believing with all that the subject is much better understood by you than by myself, I can only add that the Chief Justice and myself will respectfully recieve, and with candor & liberality consider any proposition which you may incline to make us. I shall immediately communicate to that gentleman the substance of your letter as well as of any other which you may write upon the same subject.

There is one part of your letter, which if I rightly understand it, I could wish to have explained. you observe that "neither the letters recieved by Genl Washington, heretofore proposed to be published, nor the opinions of the Major Generals above mentioned shall be taken into the Account." I had supposed that the plan was to publish all the letters to Genl W. intended to be given to the publick, in the same work with those written by him, and consecutively, for the purpose of throwing light upon many parts of the latter which <might> otherwise be obscure & difficult to be understood— Am <I mistaken in this idea, or have you> thought it best to change <that plan?

I shall leave this in a few days for Phila., where I expect to remain till some time in Novr— With great regard I am Dear Sir very respectfully & sincerely yrs