The enclosed copy of the response of Mr. Van der Hoop, comptroller of the admiralty, to the questions that I posed in a note on behalf of the honorable commission has been in hand since last Saturday, and I would have sent it to your excellency on Tuesday with a very interesting letter for Congress concerning the internal affairs of this republic,1 if the condition of my spouse, who had already been very indisposed for several days, had not worsened in a way that alarmed us in the extreme. Even now we are still not reassured. Her illness is a bilious fever. We send our respects to the Adams ladies. May God grant that a change for the better will give me the peace of mind necessary to write to you in greater detail next week. My respects, please, to your esteemed colleagues. Your excellency’s very humble and very obedient servant