cautions must be observed for the
security of his Majesty's revenue, which we do not wish to impair, will
rest with the wisdom of his ministers, whose knowledge of the subject
will enable them to devise the best plans, and whose patriotism and
justice will dispose them to pursue them. To the friendly dispositions
of your Excellency, of which we have had such early and multiplied
proofs, I take the liberty of committing this subject, particularly
trusting that some method may be devised, of reconciling the collection
of his Majesty's revenues, with the interests of the two nations; and
have the honor of assuring you, of those sincere sentiments of esteem
and respect, with which I am your Excellency's most obedient, and most
humble servant.

TO MR. SKIPWITH.

PARIS, July 28, 1787.

DEAR SIR,--A long journey has prevented me from writing to any of my
friends, for some time past. This was undertaken with a view to benefit
a dislocated and ill-set wrist, by the mineral waters of Aix, in
Provence. Finding this hope vain, I was led from other views to cross
the Alps as far as Turin, Milan, Genoa; to follow the Mediterranean as
far as Cette, the canal of Languedoc, the Garonne, etc., to Paris. A
most pleasing journey it proved; arts and agriculture offering
something new at every step, and often things worth our imitation. But
the accounts from our country give me to believe that we are not in a
condition to hope for the imitation of anything good. All my letters
are filled with details of our extravagance. From these accounts, I
look back to the time of the war as a time of happiness and enjoyment,
when amidst the privation of many things not essential to happiness, we
could not run in debt, because nobody would trust us; when we practised
by necessity the maxim of buying nothing but what we had money in our
pockets to pay for; a maxim which, of all others, lays the broadest
foundation for happiness. I see no remedy to our evils, but an open
course of law. Harsh as it may seem, it would relieve the very patients
who dread it, by stopping the course of their extravagance, before it
renders their affairs entirely desperate. The eternal and bitter
strictures on our conduct which teem in every London paper, and are
copied from them into others, fill me with anxiety on this subject. The
state of things in Europe is rather threatening at this moment. The
innovations of the Emperor in his dominions have excited a spirit o