Finding it necessary to obtain a remittance from home, and not wishing if it can be avoided to trust bank notes by post, I have taken the liberty to enclose you a check on the bank for $200 which I presume is considerably within the sum to my credit there, and if you can procure a bill on Phila, at sight, and such as will certainly be paid, I will thank you to send me such a one—if such cannot be obtained, I should prefer two post notes for the amount.

     I have filed a bill in Chancery—Copy of Which is enclosed—on the opposite sides of this sheet is a rough answer proposed for you, which you will add to, alter or amend as you think proper— If it meets your Approbation, I wish it fairly transcribed, and sworn to, and enclosed to me at Annapolis where it will find me between the 11th and 18th of this month.

I beg your pardon for being so troublesome to you with my letters.

You have indeed misapprenhed me in supposing I intended publickly to defend myself agt the charges contained in genl Washingtons letter to govr Henry. Far from it. I had determined to submit to them in silence. To my family & friends only I intended to justify¹ myself.² Even this would have been painful, to me, for in doing so I shd not only have done violence to my present feelings, but to the habitual respect³ I have uniformly done to his illustrious character.

I am much obliged to your polite & friendly letter which I have just now received. I answer it thus promptly, to request the favor of you immediately to write to Mr Wayne to suppress the letter alluded to govr Henry, or at least the two paragraphs in it which I am accused of having acted on insinsere & inconsistent part towards the general. I mentioned the Reasons formerly, why it cannot be correct.¹ 

     I will thank you to inform me if the sum which Mr Lee was authorised to draw for is placed to my credit with the bank. sincerely & respectfully yrs

     I have this day learned that a letter¹ from me to Governor Henry of Virginia which was sent by him to Genl Washington with the General's Answer to it,² are to be printed in the history of his life. It is foreign to my wishes to hint at³ present at the State of the⁴ public mind towards General Washington towards the Close of the year 1777, & which events subsequent to that year, altered in his favor. I shall mention one passage only in his letter to Mr Henry⁵ in which there is an evident mistake.

     Having a large sum of mony to pay to Mr Bernard, I shall be obliged to get my nephew to carry it down to him. He will call at Haywood, but as well on account of his health as of his studies I hope he will not remain in the lower Country more than a day or two, unless you should wish otherwise.

     A Gentleman of your City leaves Alexa. tomorrow, and I shall endeavour to prevail with him to take charge of the box containing the 3d vol. of the history. Having nothing to add to my letter a few days past. I am Sincerely yrs

     Mr Riddle is offer'd $600, or the Vessel alone, in good negotiable paper at 3,629 months, which I wd have authorised him to take, if I knew with certainty that you had made no contract with Keene. The Man who makes the offer demands an immediate answer; I have requested Riddle to call upon him & promise him one by 10 <o'cl>ock tomorrow. I shall order Jerry to carry this letter to you tonight, and will thank you to write to Riddle & send the letter so as to reach him before the time I have fixed.

After a careful examination of the circumstances which attended, as well as others which preceded the fire at this place, it is obvious that it was the work of an incendiary. But I know as little who to suspect at this moment, as when I first recieved the information. There is not amongst my domestics one, to whom I can trace it by any possible motive of vengeance, or whose conduct would in any manner warrant me in selecting him as the guilty person.

     When I removed to Mount Vernon I had to purchase new furniture for all the rooms of that extensive building as well as the necessary instruments for conducting the operations of a large farm. The present, is the first year, when I could expect to be repaid by the Crops.

In the letters lately addressed to you I have forgotten to mention a circumstance which deserves some attention. In the old books from which I extracted the facts composing the first volume I found our bay spilt thus—Chessapeake. Without any examination of the orthography I believe I have gone on to spell it in the same manner.

I have just received your letter inclosing your notes on the parts of the life which you have read. I am sorry they are not more ample—but I hasten to advert to the circumstance mentioned by Mr Wayne which is of real importance. I had designed barely to hint at Braddocks defeat in the first volume & to detail the circumstances minutely in the second & thought I had done so, but on looking into what I believe is the 12th chapter I find I have been much more particular than I thought myself or woud wish to be.

I have just received your letter inclosing your notes on the parts of the life which you have read. I am sorry they are not more ample – but I hasten to advert to the circumstance mentiond by Mr. Wayne which is of real importance. I had designed barely to hint at Braddocks defeat in the first volume & to detail the circumstances minutely in the second & thought I had done so, but on looking into what I believe is the 12th chapter I find I have been much more particular than I thought myself or woud wish to be.

     I md a Letter from Mr Carter of the 4th Int. acknowledging the nt of mine giving him the information that I had drawn on him in your favr for, the amount of his Bond prin[cipa]l & Int. from date, Mr Carter objects to paying one years Int.

     Your favr of the 30th March I have just recd & am greatly surprised you should not long ago have known in whose hands your Bond was deposited, as Mr Butler when he assigned it to me directed Mr Carmichael to give you information; & I wrote to you last July or first of August by Captn John Kelly requesting you would take in my Bond which he held of nearly the amount of yours, & that it should be good against your Bond in my possession; having more heard from you on that subject, I addressed <mutilated> you not long since by the way of Leesburg, to

The day after I wrote to you I was informed that a Mr Davidson of this place was setting out for Philadelphia & woud take charge of a box to you.¹ I thought it most advisable to send it tho I had not had it in my power to examine the second copy, or to correct the first. There is a part about which I wish you to be particularly attentive, as, on reading it over I had designed to change it, but the opportunity of sending it was so sudden that I have omitted to make the corrections I intended.

So idle were the gentlemen I had employed in my copying business during my absence, that with my utmost exertions I coud not get the books in readiness in time to send them to you before your departure from Alexandria. Every thing is now prepared, & I watch the stage continually for some person who will take them to Philadelphia. I am extremely anxious that you shoud give the volume an attentive reading & make all those corrections which I am sure will suggest themselves to you.

I did not receive your favour till a month after its date, owing to my absence at Norfolk. I saw Mr. George Ball the 5th inst. and personally delivered him your letter, which I first sealed.  He said he should write you on the subject of your letter, but never hinted to me its tenour.

     I now enclose you a deed for your part of the General's estate sold me, which I will thank you to execute as soon as you possibly can, lest accidents to you or I might produce embarrassments which might be unpleasant to the survivor. I have annexed to the deed a Commission for the privy examination of Cousin Lewis, and you will have to get two magistrates to attend at your house to take it.

Your letter of the 13th found me confined to my bed by a severe pleuretic attack, from which I am just recovering. It is a matter of regret to me, that this indisposition prevented me from seeing & conversing with two distinct parties of members of Congress who have lately favoured me with their company. I was extremely anxious to know what was thought & said in that house about the impeachment. my wish to see the charges was gratified by your letter.

I am happy in being able to remove [your] the uneasiness, expressed in your letter of the 9th, respecting what has been done. – Mr. Morgan is Satisfied. I explained fully to him what I long before had stated to him on the Subject. – I hope no censure will attach to Mr. Marshall but that I alone may be considered in fault. tho' I confess I cannot conceive of there being any thing dishonorable in the business.

Your letter of the 31st. Decr. mentioning that one of the manuscript Copies has been delivered to you to [act partially] upon gives me great uneasiness. I am at a loss to account for Mr Marshall's having done so inconsiderate a thing after the letter which I wrote him upon that subject. – I was so particular in my directions to him, as to forbid the delivery of the manuscripts to you even sealed up, unless Mr Morgan consented thereto, & in case of his refusal, I requested him to deposit them so sealed with Mrs. Powel. –

     I recd a day or two ago yr favr of the 23d. Being much hurried at present, & expecting to write you a long letter as soon as I hear from Mr Marshall, I mean at present only to assure you that we have every disposition to gratify all your reasonable wishes & will do so. The moment I recieve Mr Marshalls' letter, I shall send you on every thing necessary to enable you to commence your Operations.