I received the day before yesterday at my brothers your letter of the 7th and am much concerned to hear that your health has not been so good as I had been led to hope it was from what I had heard concerning it on your leaving Philadelphia. As your chills have left you we may however indulge the expectation that the Dyspepsy which has persecuted you will follow them or at least be greatly moderated.

On my return from Fauquier a few days past I received the copy of a letter addressed to you by Mr Sparks respecting the removal of the papers of General Washington to Boston. As a decision on that proposition rests exclusively with yourself my first intention was not to intrude any opinion of mine upon you.

Your letter of the 21st has just reached me. I am astonished at the failure of my letter in answer to that which contained the proposition of Mr Sparks. I answered the day of its reception and expressed unequivocally my opinion that his offer should be accepted. In addition to the obvious reasons for accepting it stated by yourself I suggested others of a nature somewhat delicate which I would not willingly submit to any eye but yours.

I am satisfied from the enqueries my friends have made for me that The Calm Observer, if ever published in a pamphlet, is no longer to be found in that form. Mr Hopkinson was kind enough to make the enquiry for me and to communicate the result. In my answer acknowledging the receipt of his letter I requested him to look into the files of the Aurora & to let me know the date of the first & of the last number. He has never noticed this letter, & I have suspect¹ that it has miscarried.

I had the pleasure of receiving your letter written immediately after your return from Philadelphia and am much obliged by your kind enquiries for “The Calm Observer.” I now believe that those papers were never in the pamp[h]let form, or if ever so published, are no longer to be found. I will thank you, if General Washington ever took & preserved that precious deposit of democratic patriotism.

I have the pleasure of receiving your favour of the 14th & thank you for your attention to my request. The mode of conveyance you propose suits me precisely as I shall want the books in Washington next February. Yours truly & affectionately

"...I want half a dozen copies of my history of the colonies, and as I wish to dispose of three or four in Washington, one to your brother Todd should he join us, I shall be much obliged by your putting them in your baggage."

I received this morning your favour of the 29th of Septr and concur with you perfectly in the course which ought to be pursued in the very unpleasant affair which Mrs Hamilton has so unwisely brought before a court of chancery. I do not think the most remote opposition ought to be made by the friends of General Washington to the publication of any correspondence respecting his farewell letter. I firmly believe Mr Jays statement to be correct.

I received a few days past your letter of the 29th of June and am much grateful at its contents. It is extremely fortunate that Mr Jay was privy to the whole transaction and that he has lived long enough to explain it.

I have just received a letter from Colonel Troup of New York which surprised me a good deal. It seems that a correspondence took place between General Washington and General Hamilton respecting the Farewell address which shows perhaps, for the letter to me does not state the fact positively, that it was written by General Hamilton. This correspondence was placed by Mr Pendleton one of the exrs of General Hamilton, confidentially in the hands of Mr King.

I received your letter a few days past & ought immediately to have answered it; but when you reach my age you will find that when a man is engaged as I am at present, a thing postponed is very apt to slip the memory & to be longer neglected than it ought to be. I concur with you in the opinion that the clerk can be appointed only when the court is in session, & I suppose there would be an impropriety if indeed there would be a power to make the appointment at the August term. I wish most devoutly that the business was over.

I have received your letter and am very happy to be informed that you will devote a part of this summer to a perusal of the letters. I believe it will be proper to make some deductions for the purpose of avoiding repetition but several letters may be withdrawn or abridged without affecting the number of volumes.

I am closely engaged in preparing my corrections of the life, and have no doubt they will be in perfect readiness by the winter, should any printer be disposed to engage in the publication. This however is a business which we can not press. My present employment has brought to my recollection a letter which I think ought to be suppressed but which I forgot to mention to you in Washington.

In conformity with your wish expressed in your last letter I have deposited the boxes in the steam boat addressed to you to the care of Mr Herbert. The captain received them from me & assured me that he would put them in his room & deliver them safely at Alexandria.

I have found the missing book. It had been brought out of my office into the house & placed on a settee where it was covered with a pile of newspapers. I had put some other book into one of the trunks & supposed it must be this.

I have expected to hear from you since you have had an opportunity to look into the trunks and chests last sent up for the volume of letters containing those which have not been copied, and am uneasy at not receiving a letter from you. I have been apprehensive that you have been prevented by indisposition. Still, as I have not heard of your being sick I will flatter my self that some accident has prevented your looking into the trunks, or has prevented your writing.

I have not heard from you since your letter informing me that you had discharged your juries in Philadelphia, & cannot help being a little apprehensive that your health is not so firm as I could wish it to be. I hope my fears will soon be removed.

I presume you are now at Mount Vernon & I hope in better health than when I heard from you in Philadelphia.

I was extremely sorry to learn from your last that you were again indisposed. This has been generally the most sickly season I have ever known, but I will hope that the frosts have had a favourable influence on your health as they have had on that of most others. You were certainly right to return, and I hope your endeavours to meet your brethren in February will succeed.

I returned from the upper country too late to answer your letter of the 29th of August previous to your providing on your circuit.

The copies which I mentioned to you may be carried to Washington in Feb. when they may be placed with the others which I shall endeavour to carry with me. Meanwhile I shall try to arrange them as we both think most advisable. It cannot be made complete but I shall endeavour so far to complete it as to free it from any striking impropriety.

Soon after receiving the box containing the correspondence copied at this place I commenced a careful reperusal of it & have just finished that part which concerns the old war of 1754. I find that the last letter is dated the 25th of July 1758 & consequently breaks off in the midst of the interesting transactions which preceded the capture of fort Du Quêsne. Before I made this discovery I had packed up all the books & sent them to you so that it is not in my power to supply this chasm. The last letter is to Colo.

I have received the box of letters by the steam boat.

I received your letter expressing your wish to know the principle decided in the case of the Bank of the U.S. v Dandridge’s securities. The case will be carried before the Supreme court & I am very glad of it, as the law on the subject ought to be settled.

The court which has just terminated has furnished some business for your Honors at Washington. I have had some new & intricate questions on one of which, that goes up to the Supreme court, I decided on reflection differently from my first impression.¹ That judgement will probably be reversed.

I did not receive your letter of the 22d. till yesterday.

I recollect but very indistinctly to have seen among the papers of Genl. Washington a letter from some foreigner respecting lands or to have seen Genl. Washingtons answer to the letter I forget which. I am now much occupied in court, &, when the term is over, will examine for the letter.