I enclose to You, Frederic Bull’s Account & Receipt.1 It was with difficulty, & not till I had called on him four or five times, that I could persuade him to exhibit it. He said he had no account against You, & did not want any of your money. He was irritated by the stories told him by Mr. Pease, the Post-rider, who called on You for Payment at Philadelphia. It seems that Pease thought You did not treat him with all that attention, deference & respect, which in these times of Equality, are certainly due from a Vice President to a Post-rider—and made his report accordingly. Bull’s Account is charged extravagantly high—but he insisted on receiving all or nothing— I thought it best to pay it, to avoid further altercation with a Man of so peculiar a temper.

I have not yet been able to procure a set of the Echos— The Printer 201 keeps only one set of his News-papers, which he binds in a most unportable Volume. However I imagine You must have seen most of those, that related to Political subjects—for the Writers have often echoed the most trivial & insignificant productions.

You have probably seen in Hudson & Goodwin’s Paper, a poetical Essay, entitled, The Versifier. This is written by my Friend, the Doctor, who accompanied me in my Journey to Philadelphia.2 He is a Writer of a most excentric Genius, but many of his political productions have had very important effects on the policy of this State. If you have received Fenno’s Gazette regularly, You must have seen what use has been made of the hint, concerning a certain extraordinary kind of Chickens. The piece must, I think, have some effect, as it has attracted so much notice, as to be reprinted in other Papers.

We boast that Mankind are governed by reason—but I consider it as the greatest of all possible mistakes. Men chuse their Party & form their resolutions, by the influence of their Passions, their feelings, their Interests, or their Connections. After this, they employ their reasoning powers in inventing arguments to vindicate their conduct, & justify their choice. Statesmen, Orators, & poets, all address themselves to the passions of mankind—to their irritability, their pride, their fears, & their superstition. An affecting incident will often be of more consequence, than forty laboured Essays. The Death of Louis, the most humane & benevolent tho’ far enough from being the greatest or wisest of the Kings of France (for had he been either he would have avoided his fate) will for a time have more effect to prevent Americans from adopting the whims of Democratic distraction, than all your Volumes of mathematical demonstration on the subject of Government— And it will be some time before you have another civic feast at Boston.

Satirists apply to the feelings of Indignation & contempt—which last might without impropriety be called a passion, as its effects are as sudden, as violent, & more permanent than those of fear or anger. Shall I own to You, that when I could divest myself of the vanity of an Author, & consider myself only as one of the human race, & so liable to my average of general degradation in the scale of Beings, I have been mortified & ashamed at the success of some of my own satirical productions, as well as those written by others. I have often seen, that a well-timed stroke of humour against a measure proposed, or a lucky burlesque nickname fixed on an influential man, have had more effect in destroying the influence of the Man, or 202 preventing the success of the measure, than if all the reason ever bestowed on mankind had been distilled in an alembic into Alchohol, & given in proper doses to the Legislature, or the People.

I had the pleasure of seeing Your Son, on his return from Europe, when he called on me at Hartford.3 I was much pleased with his observations on the policy & literature of the countries, in which he had travelled, & thought him a Son, altogether worthy of such a Father. If you have half as good an opinion of Yourself, as you Great Folks commonly have, You will know how to appreciate the value of this Compliment. The Poem addressed to the Authors of the Echo, was noticed by us all, as composed in a style & taste, very much superior to the general cast of American, & especially Bostonian Poetry.4 For if we may judge from their publications, a fondness for the most inflated Bombast, both in prose & poetry, distinguishes the taste of your Citizens, from those of any other populous Town, in the United States. I am sure no Editor of a Magazine or News-paper, in Connecticut, New York, or Philadelphia, would disgrace his press, by the publication of such frothy nonsense, as at Boston, is often printed & applauded. Your Son may do very great service among them, not only by correcting their false opinions in Politics, but by altering their ridiculous taste in Literature. I shall be happy in improving any future opportunities of cultivating his acquaintance, and continuing what I may call an Hereditary Friendship, to which You will please to inform him, that I conceive I have a legal Title.

I have been very much out of health for several weeks, from turns of a bilious Cholic, attended by a low, irregular fever, which for a great part of the time, has confined me to my house. But I have no right to complain of being an Invalid. A Boy who had no more sense than to learn to read at two years of age, began to make rhymes at four, study Virgil, Tully, Horace, Homer, the Greek Testament, & enter as a Member of the University at seven, & spend all his days afterwards in a studious & sedentary way, employing all the intervals from his professional business in reading or scribbling Poetry & Politics, must expect to be an Old Man at Forty. I am rather better at present, & mean next week to set out on a Journey to the Springs at New Lebanon. If I find riding of service, I shall probably continue it thro’ the Summer—& I wish to pay a Visit to my Friends in & near Boston, where I have not been Since the Year 1781— But in the present state of my health, I can promise nothing, & must depend on future contingences.

I hope Mrs: Adams has recovered from her illness, & request You 203 to present to her my best wishes & Compliment— I need not assure You with what Respect I am / Your most Obedt: Servant

I had the honor to write you very hastily by the post following the receipt of your letter. My having recd. the letter you did me the honor to write, upon that (or any other matter mentioned in it) is known only to myself: and in pursuance of your directions will continue so.1 It is very extraordinary, that it has not yet been found practicable to ascertain what did occur.

Mr. Genet is not yet arrived, but he must be very soon here. My opinion is that he will be received, at least as Minister from the Government de facto, and that the Treaty is likely to be considered as in force notwithstanding any alterations which may have taken place in France, and the suggestions founded on actual alterations in the situations of contracting parties. These things I beg leave however to express confidentially and with no decision. The Sentiments of those who have confered upon the last of these subjects probably are not the same. I should suppose numbers were as nearly divided as the Case will admit—I only conjecture.

Mr. Tallon, late Atty. genl. of France under the old Government, Visct. Noailles, two other respectable french Emigrants & the Son of an eminent German Physician in London have landed here from that city.2 They hold a large property: it is said 3,000,000 livres, and they say if they like the footing of property and other appearances of things here they mean to remain. Noailles’s accounts, as I 204 understand confidentially, are that the U. S are highly appreciated by the Government of Britain in a military and civil view—and that they are desirous of our remaining at peace. The English are much so here, as far as one can judge from appearances. We have no Symptoms yet of any popular desire or expectation of our engaging, in France— It is possible Mr. Genet may have some arrangements to propose, that may tend to unite the two Countries more closely, and may produce inconvenient Jealousies in Britain, spain, Holld. and portugal. But disordered as things are in the civil line, if the military affairs of France wore a brighter face, we cannot desire a closer connexion. Indeed my personal opinion is against close connexions, of any kind, & with any Nation, which do not result from the natural current of the business of the day, or some actual political necessity in our affairs.

I wish to see this extensive country find itself more & more together in the present moment, and particularly that it should put itself into good order for internal industry, and resource— You will find, Sir, in the inclosed Gazette a little sketch of a plan calculated to that End, which I prepared about the time of Col. Smiths arrival, being convinced from his accounts that the Peace of Europe was at an End. Tho I did not and do not at this time fear that we shall engage, yet it appeared adviseable to extend the reflexions to that Contingency. I have sent a copy to Mr. Ames with a request that he will get it published in Boston.3 The Exemplification in Pennsylvania was to give it more point and a chance of being carried into execution. I am told Watertown in Massachusetts is well adapted to such a plan—also Taunton & the falls of Merrimack, to each of which I have procured copies to be conveyed.—

We have a rumor of the Capture of Tobago by the British. If so Mr. Genet’s ground of requisition will be extended— I do not wish this report mentioned however, as fame seems to have more false Tongues than usual.

I have the honor to be with perfect Respect, Sir, / your most obedient / & most humble servant