Papers of John Adams, volume 17

From Charles Storer, 13 May 1785 Storer, Charles Adams, John

From Charles Storer

Dear Sir, London. 13th. May. 1785.

In obedience to your Commands, by Mr: West, respecting Lodgings, I have been, yesterday & today, in search of such as I thought would suit you, but have not been able to find any.—1 There are many houses to be let—but these are either too large or too small; your direction being for “a Drawing Room, Dining Room, three Chambers, & one for one Servant only”— Besides, in all these Houses, the inconvenience respecting your Board constantly occurr’d—for Traiteur’s are not so common here as at Paris— This being the Case, I should advise it as best, being the surest and cheapest way, to take Lodgings in some Hotel, untill you can meet some house that will suit you—in which you will then have Mrs: Adams opinion— In Hotels, you know you may do as you please, and you are sure there to find room always—& there too you are boarded at no Trouble to yourself— You have tried the Adelphi—there are others in Covent-Garden, and a great one in Pall-Mall, at which last Mr: Bingham & Lady lodge—but this I am told is very expensive—2 However, I shall not give over my search after such lodgings as you describe, and write this only to desire some further instruction from you.— This I hope will reach you on Wednesday next, the 18th. inst.— The next day the Post leaves Paris, so I shall hope to hear from you, in reply to this, by the Post of the 24th. inst.— You will be kind enough to let me know when you leave Paris, & where you propose to alight here that I may meet you on your arrival.—

Mr: West tells me your Son was to leave Paris this week— I hope he did not miss of a letter I wrote him the last week, as otherwise he 114may think it odd, not to see or hear from me before he left Europe, since I have been so long talking of going to Paris—3 However, should he not have received it, I hope he will assure himself of my best wishes for a pleasant passage, and a happy sight of his friends.—

In hopes of hearing from you soon, I have only to add my best respects to Mrs: & Miss Adams, in which my Sister & Mr: Atkinson4 join, and to assure you that I am, with much esteem, dear sir, / Your much obliged / humle: servt:

Chas: Stor[er]

RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “À son Excellence / Monsieur Adams. / Ministre Plenipo: des Etats-Unis de / l’Amerique, près sa Majestè tres Chrêtienne, / à Auteul, pres de / Paris.—”; internal address: “John Adams Esqr:”; endorsed: “Charles Storer / May 13th 1785.” Some loss of text where the seal was removed.

Benjamin West, the artist, left Paris on 7 May (JQA, Diary , 1:263–264). No letter from JA to either Storer or West regarding accommodations in London has been found, so it is likely that his instructions to Storer were conveyed orally by West. But see also AA’s instructions in her letter to Storer of 18 May, which indicate that either he had written to her at the same time as to JA or that AA had seen this letter ( AFC , 6:151–152).

JA and JQA lodged at Osborne’s Hotel, Adelphi Buildings, for a short time in Oct. 1783, after their arrival in London, and AA and AA2 stayed there when they arrived in July 1784 (vols. 15:313; 16:283). When the Adamses arrived in London on 26 May 1785 they went first to Osborne’s but, finding it full, went on to the Bath Hotel in Piccadilly where Storer had procured them rooms ( AFC , 6:170).

Not found.

Storer’s half-sister Elizabeth was married to John Atkinson, a London merchant (vol. 16:576).

The American Commissioners to the Duke of Dorset, 16 May 1785 American Commissioners Dorset, the Duke of

The American Commissioners to the Duke of Dorset

My Lord Duke Passy near Paris May 16th 1785

We received in due time the letter which your Grace did us the honour to write us on the 26th day of March last, and have delayed the acknowledgment of it in expectation of the arrival of the packets, by which we hoped for further Instructions from Congress.

We have now the honor to inform your Grace that Congress on the 24th day of Feby last, appointed a Minister Plenipotentiary to reside at the court of His Britannic Majesty who proposes to proceed to London in the course of two or three weeks, which makes a more particular answer to your letter unnecessary1

With great respect / We have the honor to be / Your Grace’s Most obedient and / Most humble Servants

John Adams B. Franklin T. Jefferson 115

FC in David Humphreys’ hand (PCC, No. 116, f. 402–403); internal address: “His Grace the Duke of Dorset Ambassador / from His Britannic Majesty to the court / of Versailles.”

This letter is the commissioners’ official notification to Dorset that Congress had appointed a minister to Great Britain and indicates that they believed JA’s appointment rendered moot Dorset’s queries in his letter of 26 March about the commissioners’ powers to negotiate and the ability of Congress to compel the states to observe the provisions of any Anglo-American treaty that might be negotiated (vol. 16:577–578). Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson enclosed this copy in their 18 June letter to John Jay, and Dorset sent a copy to the Marquis of Carmarthen on 2 June (Jefferson, Papers , 8:153, 235–236; PRO:FO 27, 16:597). The commissioners’ belief was not, however, shared by the British government, which continued to harbor doubts about the powers of both JA as minister and Congress as a sovereign entity, leading JA to reopen the issue in a 26 Sept. letter to Carmarthen, below, that he presented to the foreign minister at a meeting on 20 October.