ay in which the bed of justice
was held. The day before yesterday the parliament house was surrounded
by ten thousand people, who received them on their adjournment with
acclamations of joy, took out the horses of the principal speakers and
drew their chariots themselves to their hotels. The parliament not
having taken the desperate step (as far as is yet known) of forbidding
the execution of the new tax laws by an _Arret de defence sur peine de
mort_, we presume it is the fear of a popular commotion which has
occasioned the King to exile them to Troyes. This is known only this
morning. The ministry here have certain information that the English
squadron has sailed and took its course westwardly. This is another
move towards war. No other important fact has taken place since my
letter by the packet. Adieu. Yours affectionately.

TO THE COUNT DEL VERMI.

PARIS, August 15, 1787.

SIR,--In consequence of the permission you were so kind as to give me,
when I had the honor of seeing you at Milan, I shall sometimes take the
liberty of troubling you with a line. I cannot begin with an act of
greater justice than that of expressing to you all my gratitude for
your attentions and services while in your capital, and to which I am
indebted for the best informations I received there. I then mentioned
some late publications on the subject of America, of which I would do
myself the honor of sending you one, because it was my own, and two
others because worth reading. Mine are some notes only on the State of
Virginia. The others are Ramsay's history of the war and Soule's
history. The first is very authentic, there being no fact in it which
may not be relied on; but it is confined to the war in the southern
States. The last is a general history, of which we can only say it is
the best of those written in Europe. There is a history of the same
period now printing in London, though written in America by an English
clergyman of the name of Gordon. He had access to some collections of
papers not known to any other writer. But I am unable to say as yet
what may be the merit of his work. You must have observed when in
America, that time and trial had discovered defects in our federal
constitution. A new essay, made in the midst of the flames of war,
could not be perfect. The States have appointed deputies, who are now
sitting at Philadelphia, to consider what are the defects, and to
propose new articles to be added to the instrum