Papers of John Adams, volume 19
I received this day a letter from mr̃s Adams of the 26th. ult. informing me you would set out on the 29th. for the Hague.1 our
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affairs at Amsterdam press on my mind like a mountain. I have no information to go on but that of the Willincks & VanStaphorsts, & according to that something seems necessary to be done. I am so anxious to confer with you on this, & to see you & them together, & get some effectual arrangement made in time that I determine to meet you at the Hague. I will set out the moment some repairs are made to my carriage. it is promised me at 3. oclock tomorrow; but probably they will make it night, & that I may not set out till Tuesday morning. in that case I shall be at the Hague Friday night.2 in the meantime you will perhaps have made all your bows there. I am sensible how irksome this must be to you in the moment of your departure. but it is a great interest of the U.S. which is at stake and I am sure you will sacrifice to that your feelings & your interest. I hope to shake you by the hand within 24. hours after you receive this, and in the mean time am with much esteem & respect Dear Sir / Your affectionate friend & humble servt
FC (DLC:Jefferson Papers); internal address: “H.E. mr̃ Adams.”
AA wrote to Jefferson on 21 and 26 Feb., enclosing reimbursement for fabric and other household goods that he had purchased for her in Paris. Anxiously awaiting JA’s formal letter of recall from Congress, AA anticipated “retiring to our own little Farm feeding my poultry & improveing my Garden,” rather than remaining “at the court of Saint Jame’s where I seldom meet with Characters So innofensive as my Hens & chickings, or minds so well improved as my Garden” (
AFC
, 8:236, 238). For Jefferson’s reaction to the Adamses’ departure, see Descriptive List of Illustrations, No. 5, above.
Jefferson departed Paris on 4 March and reached The Hague five days later, where he met with JA and the loan consortium to contract a fourth Dutch loan on [13 March], below. After settling his accounts and some of JA’s expenses in Amsterdam, Jefferson embarked on a scenic tour of Holland and the Rhine Valley. Visiting Utrecht, Cologne, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, and Épernay, Jefferson sampled wines, assessed agricultural methods, and composed a memorandum of “hints” to Americans traveling in Europe. He returned to Paris on 23 April (
Jefferson’s Memorandum Books
, 1:696–699, 704; Jefferson, Papers
, 13:8–36, 264–276).
of the United Netherlands
A Memorial
6 March 1788
The Subscriber, Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America, has the honour to communicate to your High Mightinesses, a Resolution an Act of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, by which he is recalled from his Mission to your High Mightinesses & permitted to revisit his native Country.
The Wisdom and Magnanimity, with which your High Mightinesses manifested your Friendship to the United States of America in the year, one Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty two, contributed to accellerate that general Peace of the World which has lasted So long: and the Candour and Goodness of your High Mightinesses, and of the whole Republick to the Subscriber, as well as to his Country, have made Impressions on his Mind,2 which neither Time, nor Place can ever oblitterate.
In terminating his Residence in Europe and in taking a respectful Leave of your High Mightinesses, he begs leave to express his Thanks for all Indulgences and Attentions to himself, and his ardent Wishes for the Happiness of your High Mightinesses and your Families and his Sincere Assurances, that in whatever Country he may be, he shall never cease to pray for the Liberty the Independence and the Universal Prosperity of the whole Republick of the United Netherlands
Done at the Hague this Day of March A.D. 1788
John Adams.
Dft (Adams Papers); docketed: “Memorial”; notation by TBA: “to / The States General—”
JA presented this memorial to the States General at The Hague on 6 March, bringing to a formal close the diplomatic duties that he had undertaken there since 1780. He also composed a French-language version of the same text, which the States General accepted (Nationaal Archief:Staten-Generaal, inv. no. 7461). JA’s departure earned only a brief mention in European newspapers, including the 11 March 1788 Gazette d’Amsterdam, which reported the news of his final audiences. See also
JA’s memorial to William V, presented a day later, below.
In the French text, JA wrote “coeur,” or heart.