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.

I was about to sit down to give you an account of my autumnal Circuit, when I had the pleasure of receiving your late letter— Before I say one word on this subject, I beg to apologize for not acknowleging before the barrel of hams which you sent me— The barrel of hams safely arrived at Boston, & there by the carelessness of the Captain or Consignee or both, it was left on the wharf for a day or two, & thus all were stolen except five— These I received & they were so good that I regretted extremely my loss—& a

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 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.

I am grieved to learn by your late letter of your continued indisposition— I heard in the autumn quite by accident of your sickness at Philadelphia; but I presumed it was temporary. I most earnestly hope & pray that a good Providence will restore you to health & enable you to attend at the February Term. I shall feel quite lost <illegible> without you; & must say in all sincerity & frankness that I know not in whose judgment I have implicit a reliance, as in yours.

I have received your letter requesting to know whether I had formed an opinion on the case which was remanded to the circuit court of Pennsylvania. I regret that I had not formed one. It would give me pleasure to communicate it to you.

I have this instant received yours of the 24th.

After my return from Phila. I recd your letter requesting me to furnish you with the opinion delivered in the above case. Most fortunately I had preserved a rough copy of that opinion, or I am perfectly satisfied that it would not have been in my power to comply with your request. As this is the case I am rather pleased that you have been compelled to call upon me, since it has enabled me to correct a mistake in the opinion which was delivered, into which I was led by depending upon an abridgement for the want of the full reports of cases.

     I have read over all the cases in my note books to the end of the fall term of 1809, with some attention, and now enclose you some observations upon such of the cases as seemed to merit criticism. You will observe that the corrections which I have suggested are principally such as qualify expressions more general than it was safe to use, or tend to expunge dicta which were unecessary to the points decided, the correctness of which might be doubted.

I have not yet completed my Circuit & shall defer to a future time a statement of the decisions which have been already made— My present object in writing is to ascertain what has been the practice, if any, in the District or circuit Courts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey upon Summary applications to repeal patents under the 10th Sect. of the Patent act 1793. A case is now before me from the District Court upon a writ of error from its decisions under that Section— Several questions have arisen. 1.

I had the pleasure of receiving your late letter yesterday. The question which you state is indeed an important & delicate one. I have never yet had reason to decide it although it has been twice within my view.

I have just closed a very laborious autumnal circuit, in the course of which many highly important questions have been decided— I would send you an abstract of them, if I could command leisure just now; but my whole attention is directed to affairs connected with my departure for Washington— I shall however either bring the original opinions with me; or an abstract per your use.

     I have Just read over the Case of Sperry vs. DE Ins. Co. & find it as all my notes of cases must necessarily be from the hurry in which they are made, extremely inaccurate in Style & in everything but substance. I trust therefore that you will consider my report of this as of all other cases nothing more than rough notes, to be corrected & reformed in your own way[.] If I did not calculate upon these corrections, I should not suffer copies to be taken until I could find time to transcribe then.