I received by the last post the letter with which you honored me, sir, dated 18 September.1 The one that you addressed to me jointly with Messrs. Franklin and Jefferson, touching on the conclusion of the treaty of commerce that I had the privilege of negotiating with you, has been transmitted to the king. As soon as further orders from His Majesty are made known to me, I will hasten to share them with you.

The information that the president of the committee sitting at Annapolis during the congressional recess sent to you, sir, and that you were so good as to share with me, regarding the affairs of some Prussian subjects interested in the estate of Lutheran pastor Christian Ravenhorst, who died at Ebenezer, Georgia, will be the object of a report today that I will send to the court. It appears to me that the heirs living in the king’s dominions have obtained not the judgment of Congress at all but only a testimonial, an earnest intercession directed to the Georgia authorities. What is more, in my opinion, hiring an attorney, whose pains would reasonably require a certain remuneration, would be not just difficult but ruinous at such a great distance and for such a modest inheritance.

I have the honor of being with the greatest consideration, sir, your very humble and very obedient servant