Mr William Herbert of Alexandria being anxious to enter into the marine Corps at Washington, if he can obtain an appointment in it, has applied to me for an introduction to you. This I give him with great pleasure, having had a long acquaintance with him, and a much longer one with the respectable family of which he is a member. He is a gentleman amiable in his manners, possesses a high sense of honor, and, I am persuaded, most of the important qualities to constitute a good Officer.

     My friend Mr William Herbert is desirous of obtaining an appointment in the marine Corps, or failing there, in the Army. Being well acquainted with him, and believing that he possesses most of the essential qualities to constitute an excellent officer, besides others which render him entirely amiable, I feel anxious for his success, and with a view to promote it, I beg leave to solecit your patronage & assistance as far as you may think yourself at liberty to extend it to him. I am with great regard My dear Sir your affect. & faithful Servt

     I recd yesterday, at this place, your favor of the 30^th Ulto.— Had it come to hand before I left Mount Vernon, it is highly probable I could have found amongst my papers a rough Copy of the two opinions in the case of Miller vs Mitch— it is now too late to have the search made. These opinions however are copied into my note book volume 17 which is in the hands of Mr Richard Peters Junr of Philadelphia, who, I think it likely, will attend this supreme Court.

     Above is a check for $90 for the 30 bbs Corn for Bushrod.

     The 5 Copies of the life of Washin<gton> which by our last contract was to have been deliver<mutilated> I have given to five of my Nephews, and I am <mutilated> to have them bound without further loss of time. B<mutilated> as to deliver them to Mr David Caldwell, who will undertake to have the business of binding attended to.

After an absence from home for more than three months and a half, I have returned with health in no respect impaired by my official labors. I have not as yet had time to look into my domestic & agrecultural concerns, and have determined to write to you before they interfere to prevent me. many of the cases which came before the two courts are new and highly interesting, a report of which I shall endeavour to make as intelligible as can be done in the compass of a letter.

I received last night from Alexandria, your favor of the 11th inst. and I beg you to accept my best thanks for your generous offer of the columns of the Federal Republican for the purpose of refuting certain illiberal remarks, which have appeared in other journals of the day, respecting a sale of negroes which it was my good fortune to effect during the last month.

Yesterday was the first day that I was at liberty to read your letter of the 19th July with the attention it deserved, and to look into a few Cases. I regret that is not in my power to devote more time¹ in examining the authorities before returning you an answer; but this is prevented by the necessity I am under of leaving home in a day or two for the Springs, whence I shall proceed on my circuit.

I wrote you a long letter soon after my return home in June, which I hope got safe to hand. The object of this is to ask your acceptance of a barrel of hams cured in my meat house which Messrs Wm Fowle & Co. have undertaken to forward to you. If they do not get injured, I think you will find them as fine you ever tasted. I trust that they are now on their voyage, if not already arrived.

     My Cook having eloped during my absence, I am left perfectly destitute. I have thought it probable that as this is an id[l]e Season in Washington for persons of that profession; a good french Cook might be engaged for 2 or 3 months. Will you do me the favor to cause some enquiries on this subject to be made for me & inform me the result.

I returned from my Circuit yesterday after an absence of 3 months wanting as many days. I was ten weeks in Court without intermission, and have upon no former occasion had so many important cases to decide. Notwithstanding the length & severity of this tour of duty, my health, thank God, has continued to improve, and I now feel as well as I have been for some years past.

     you proposed sharing with me in furnishing the bearer with clothes. These I have provided for her amounting to about $4.66.— If you can conveniently furnish her this year or 'till she can be got under the care of the overseers of the poor, with meal or Corn as your mill it will be about equal to the clothes. I propose this on account of her wandering life & my long absences from home to prevent her from suffering from her allowance not being regularly sent for.

Some time after receiving your letter dated in december, I wrote to E.J. Cole, of Baltimore, to forward the Journals you had deposited with him; but nothing further has been heard of them. I mentioned to Dr. Chapman, that as no agent had been appointed for this place, he might consider me as one: but finding myself totally unacquainted with such business, I have concluded it would be better to select a more suitable person. To the agent you may appoint in this city I will give the subscription in my possession, and continue to exert myself for the success of the work.

     Altho much too unwell to attend to business of any intricacy or which requires a reference to papers, there can be little difficulty in making the necessary observations upon Mr Hammonds claim. In the first place I do not believe that in the contract with H. we engaged to assign Ashtons Mortgage, for if we had, I presume he would have called for it. Neither do I think that if it had been assigned, it would have entitled Mr H.

I now enclose you a statement of the <mutilated>en by you on the 1st day of next month; <illegible> <mutilated>gned to <illegible> acting executors of Genl Washington <mutilated>ed by a deed of trust and Dukes bonds. <illegible> of the account is your agreement to pay the balance with interest, annually, & punctually, to me, which you will sign & have witnessed by two witnesses, and immediately enclose it back to me by post (clear of postage).

I have not recd a line from you since yours of the 7th altho I have with infinite anxiety sent to Alexa. in the hope of recieving a letter to inform me what was done on the 11th as to the adjournment of the Court. Mrs Washington has not even yet recovered her strength, but it was our intention at least to set out on our Journey & to endeavour to perform it by slow rides in case you had informed me that the adjournment was to any day in this month.

I wrote you some days ago describing the Situation of Mrs W. & myself, and expressing my anxiety (which I most sincerely felt & yet feel) to attend the Phila. Court, and my doubts whether it would be practicable. I am now distressed, (as well on account of the effect as of the cause) to inform you, that I altogether despair of being able to go forward. I am yet very weak myself, although I should risk the attempt to get on, if I had myself alone to attend to. But Mrs W.

Very soon after the rect of your kind favor, whilst the Hack from Washington was here to take us to Trenton, & the night before the Journey was to commence, I was attacked by a bilious fever, which with the necessary evacuations have so prostrated my strength, that I have scarcely enough left to enable me to move, but with great difficulty, about the room. Mrs W. is equally indisposed with the same Complaint.

     Judge Washington presents his Complts to the P—— E—— and is commanded by his lady Mistress the P.—— A. to return her thanks for the Shoes—to say they do not fit—& to request the favor of the P—— E—— to restore them to the person to whom they belong.

     Be so good as to say how Mrs Scott & the family are.

Since the rect of your favor of the 29 June, I have again examined the papers respecting the Kentucky land with a view to the fact you allude to, and find that Lees bond for a conveyance to Genl W. bears date in [17]88 long before the deed to Banks. But upon an attentive consideration of the case of Brown vs. Jackson, I am by no means satisfied that it rules this case.

     Having no apology satisfactory to myself to offer for my long silence in relation to the subject on which you requested my opinion, I must throw myself altogether upon your indulgence to excuse it.

     Some time ago I recd from Mr Thos Griffin Prest of the Dismal Swamp Co. two drafts for dividends due the estate of Genl Washington which I have found it unpracticable to negotiate at any of the Alexandria Banks, on acct. of the Currency in which they are made payable.

     I recd your favor of the 22 May, and have endeavoured, but without success, to negotiate the orders with the bank in Alexandria where I do business. The difficulty arises from the kind of mony in which they are payable, the value of which cant be known here. Permit me to trespass upon your time by asking your advice as to the best mode I can adopt for managing this matter.

     An answer to Mr Banks' offer of a compromise, respecting the Kentucky land viz he to take one half & the heirs the other, has been delayed until you could make such enquiries as to satisfy yourself respecting his lette[r]. Something should be definitively decided upon without further delay, & I must beg the favor of you to let me hear from you on this subject as soon as possible.

     The sudden & unexpected termination of the Circuit Court in April prevented my acknowledging your favor of the 9th of that month, whilst I was in Phila., and many circumstances, unnecessary to detail, have united to postpone the performance of this duty since my return home. I beg leave now to offer you my apology, and to request you to accept my thanks for the pamphlet which accompanied your letter.