For some time we have been hoping to find an opportunity to congratulate your excellency on the successful and speedy outcome of the American Revolution, in which your excellency played so great a part and which has just ended so gloriously for your country and for you. We hoped for this occasion with particular enthusiasm because while your excellency lived in this town we had the honor of providing your excellency with certain books, which were read either by you or your family. We thus had the great pleasure of entertaining you in our house from time to time and of getting to know your humane and amiable nature.

Having now found this occasion and in consequence taking humble advantage of it, we would like to recommend to your excellency two very close friends of ours who are planning to go and live in Philadelphia, where they would like to set up a bookstore. To this end they have acquired a considerable collection of the best books available, besides taking all necessary steps for periodically increasing their stock, so as to meet all potential demands of connoisseurs of European books in America. This enterprise, which as your excellency will realize can only be carried out at great expense, has been formed by Mr. Boinod and Mr. Gaillard, who are both Swiss nationals.1 Mr. Gaillard has for some years had an established and exclusive French boarding school in one of the principal towns of Holland, which, however, he is obliged to give up for reasons of health. Mr. Boinod is a lawyer particularly devoted to education. For some years he traveled with his student who is currently at our university finishing his studies. These gentlemen have powerful patrons in this country who would write them excellent recommendations, and they possess all the knowledge necessary to accomplish their design. These friends are very dear to us, 339and we would very much like to help them achieve success. Since we understand your excellency's influence is extremely powerful in all aspects of American affairs and that it would probably prove more effective than anything else, we humbly commend our friends to your goodwill and protection. We earnestly beg you to recommend them to whatever persons in America you deem capable of helping with their plan. It would even be helpful if your excellency, on returning to your beloved and now liberated fatherland, could show them the same favor you bestowed on us here in Leyden. We would consider this kindness to our friends as a kindness to ourselves and keep it in mind forever. Please could you give a brief response to our request, to cheer our friends before their departure, which is imminent.

We await your response with the most profound respect, sir, your very humble and very obedient servants