d
with your acquaintance, unless Monsieur de Saint James was of that
number. His bankruptcy, and taking asylum in the Bastille, have
furnished matter of astonishment. His garden, at the Pont de Neuilly,
where, on seventeen acres of ground he had laid out fifty thousand
louis, will probably sell for somewhat less money. The workmen of Paris
are making rapid strides towards English perfection. Would you believe,
that in the course of the last two years, they have learned even to
surpass their London rivals in some articles? Commission me to have you
a phaeton made, and if it is not as much handsomer than a London one,
as that is than a fiacre, send it back to me. Shall I fill the box with
caps, bonnets, &c.? Not of my own choosing, but I was going to say,
of Mademoiselle Bertin's, forgetting for the moment, that she too is
bankrupt. They shall be chosen then by whom you please; or, if you are
altogether nonplused by her eclipse, we will call an _Assemblees des
Notables_, to help you out of the difficulty, as is now the fashion.
In short, honor me with your, commands of any kind, and they shall be
faithfully executed. The packets now established from Havre to New York
furnish good opportunities of sending whatever you wish.

I shall end where I began, like a Paris day, reminding you of your
engagement to write me a letter of respectable length, an engagement
the more precious to me, as it has furnished me the occasion, after
presenting my respects to Mr. Bingham, of assuring you of the sincerity
of those sentiments of esteem and respect, with which I have the honor
to be, Dear Madam, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Th: Jefferson,

LETTER XLVII.--TO GOVERNOR RANDOLPH, February 7, 1787

TO GOVERNOR RANDOLPH.

Paris, February 7, 1787.

I have the honor of enclosing to your Excellency a report of the
proceedings on the inauguration of the bust of the Marquis de la
Fayette, in this city. This has been attended with a considerable, but
a necessary delay. The principle that the King is the sole fountain
of honor in this country, opposed a barrier to our desires, which
threatened to be insurmountable. No instance of a similar proposition
from a foreign power, had occurred in their history. The admitting it
in this case, is a singular proof of the King's friendly dispositions
towards the States of America, and of his personal esteem for the
character of the Marquis de la Fayette.

I take this, the earlie