or out of my own hands. No mortal ever knew from me
that these questions had been proposed." Mr. Jefferson then expressed
his belief, that one who had been their mutual friend "thought it worth
while to sow tares" between the president and himself, and denounced him
as an "intriguer, dirtily employed in sifting the conversations of his
table, where, alone, he could hear him."[101] The person here alluded to
was General Henry Lee, of Virginia, who had lately become attached to
the federal party, and incurred the political enmity of Jefferson.

This letter drew from Washington a most noble reply. On the sixth of
July he wrote: "If I had entertained any suspicions before, that the
queries, which have been published in Bache's paper, proceeded from you,
the assurances you have given of the contrary would have removed them;
but the truth is, I harbored none. I am at no loss to conjecture from
what source they flowed, through what channel they were conveyed, and
for what purpose they and similar publications appear. They were known
to be in the hands of Mr. Parker in the early part of the last session
of Congress. They were shown about by Mr. Giles during the session, and
they made their public exhibition about the close of it.

"Perceiving and, probably, hearing, that no abuse in the gazettes
would induce me to take notice of anonymous publications against
me, those who were disposed to do me _such friendly offices_, have
embraced, without restraint, every opportunity to weaken the
confidence of the people; and, by having the whole game in their
hands, they have not scrupled to publish things that do not, as
well as those which do exist, and to mutilate the latter, so as to
make them subserve the purposes which they have in view.

"As you have mentioned the subject yourself, it would not be
frank, candid, or friendly, to conceal, that your conduct has been
represented as derogating from that opinion I had conceived you
entertained of me; that, to your particular friends and connections
you have described, and they have denounced, me as a person under a
dangerous influence; and that, if I would listen more to some other
opinions, all would be well. My answer invariably has been, that I
had never discovered anything in the conduct of Mr. Jefferson to
raise suspicion in my mind of his insincerity; that, if he would
retrace my public cond