four lost in the invoice came here under the care of Mr. Marshal, who told me he would have them delivered to me as soon as they could become at in the ship. They shall be sent on to you the moment they are landed. I believe I never rendered any account of the money deposited in my hands for your use while here. You know my constant employment & will therefore excuse it. It is to supply the omission that I have now gone over my memorandums & made out a statement. Be so good as to compare it with your own notes & correct mine whenever wrong, for I cannot answer for perfect exactness.-Your friends here complain that you have written to none of them. We do not know whether you are gone or going to Wmsburg. You have missed seeing what has highly gratified the great mass of Philadelphians, British prizes brought in by French armed vessels. Thousands & thousands collected on the beach when the first came up, & when they saw the British colours reversed & the french flying above them they rented the air with peals of exultation. I have got off my furniture on to Virginia, so as to be in readiness for flight the moment I find an apt occasion. My friendly respects to Mr. & Mrs. Eppes & family, & am Dear Sir Yours affectionately

TO HARRY INNES.

J. MSS.

PHILADELPHIA, May 23, 1793.

DEAR SIR, I am in your debt for several letters received & not yet acknoleged-one of these is particularly to be noticed, as it was interesting to you; I

mean that which concerned your slaves carried off by the Indians. I know that the channel proposed in your letter would effect nothing. I therefore concluded to take the opportunity which I knew was to occur of endeavoring to serve you through the Commissioners who were to go to the treaty with the Indians. Those of the very towns where you supposed your negroes to be were to be at the treaty. A clause would of course be inserted in the treaty for the restoration of all captives of every condition. As Mr. Beverly Randolph was appointed a commissioner, & passed by this place, I put into his hands your letter & description of the slaves, that the moment the treaty should be concluded, he being on the spot with those Indians might avail himself of the opportunity to find out yours & take means for their restoration to you. This he promised me he would do. And it appears to me at least the best chance of recovering them which I have been able to seize. It is very interesting to the U. S. to see how this last effort for living in peace with the Indians will succeed. If it does not, there will be a great revolution of opinion here as to the manner in which they are to be dealt with. If war is to follow, the event of this campaign will probably fix the kind of instruments to be used. I suspect that your state might form the conduct of this war from us with great advantage to both parties. I fear we are to have it on our own Southern quarter also. It is very necessary for us then to keep clear of the European combustion, if they will let us. This they will do probably if France is successful: but if

great successes were to attend the arms of the kings, it is far from being certain they might not chuse to finish their job completely, by obliging us to change in the form of our government at least, a change which would be grateful to a party here, not numerous, but wealthy & influential.-The late retreat of the French from the Netherlands, tho' a check, is little decisive. As long as they can be tolerably unanimous internally, they can resist the whole world. The laws of nature render a large country unconquerable if they adhere firmly together & to their purpose. This summer is of immense importance to the future condition of mankind all over the earth, and not a little so to ours. For tho' its issue should not be marked by any direct change in our constitution, it will influence the tone & principles of it's administration so as to lead it to something very different in the one event from what it would be in the other.

TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.

J. MSS.

PHILADELPHIA May 24, 1793,

DEAR SIR,-The bearer hereof, Mr. Barnes, is, as I understand, the representative of the company concerned in the steam navigation, of the late Mr. Rumsey, was the attorney of Mr. Rumsey here, and goes now to Europe to secure the benefit of his discoveries to those entitled to them. In times like these he may need your protection as a stranger, and at all times would merit it as a man of worth & talents. As such I take the liberty of recommending him to

your good offices, and particularly so as shall be necessary for securing the benefit of the discoveries in which himself, & those for whom he acts, are interested. To these titles to your patronage he adds that of being a citizen of the U. S. I am with great & sincere esteem Dear Sir Your most obed & most humble serv

TO MARTHA JEFFERSON RANDOLPH.

J. MSS.

PHILADELPHIA, May. 26, 1793.

MY DEAR MARTHA,-Yours & Mr. Randolph's welcome favors of the 16th came to hand yesterday, by which I perceive that your post-day for writing is the Thursday. Maria is here and, tho' not in flourishing health, is well. I will endeavor to prevail on her to write, & perhaps may succeed, as the day is too wet to admit her saunters on the banks of the Schuylkill, where she passes every Sunday with me. We are in sight both of Bartram's & Gray's gardens, but have the river between them & us. We have two old stories here, the one that Dumourier is gone over to the Austrians. The authority for this is an English paper. No confidence in Dumourier's virtue opposes it, for he has none; but the high reputation he has acquired is a pledge to the world, of which we do not see that there were any motives on this occasion to induce him to forfeit. The other story is that he has cut off 10,000 Prussians, & among them the K. of Prussia, and D. of Brunswick, the latter we know is out of command, & the former not in Dumourier's way. Therefore we concluded the story fabricated

It has now come

merely to set off against the other. thro' another channel & in a more possible form to wit that Custine has cut off 10,000 Prussians without naming the King or Duke. Still we give little ear to it. You had at your Convent so many counts (as terminations of names) that I wish the following paragraph of a newspaper may involve none of them : A few days ago several rich & respectable inhabitants were butchered at Guadaloupe. The following are the names of the unfortunate victims. Madame Vermont & Madame Mayencount, Mons! Condrecount, three daughters just arrived from France from II. to 18. years of age, Messrs Condrecount.' Maria thinks the Condrecounts were at the convent. The French minister Genet told me yesterday that matters appeared now to be tolerably well settled in St. Domingo; that the Patriotic party had taken possession of 600 aristocrats & monocrats, had sent 200 of them to France, & were sending 400 here; and that a coalition had taken place among the other inhabitants. I wish we could distribute our 400 among the Indians, who would teach them lessons of liberty & equality. Give my best affections to Mr. Randolph, & kiss the dear little ones for me.

TO JAMES MADISON.

MAD. MSS.

May 27, 1793.

I wrote you last on the 19th. The doubts I then en

tertained that the offers of the Fr. rep. clined, will pretty certainly be realized.

would be de

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