lader respecting a
report which has been propagated concerning Mr. Joseph Reed--I
declare on my honour, the circumstances are as follows. In the
spring of 1780, I obtained permission for an interview with my
brother at Elizabethtown. In the course of conversation, one
day, he happened to mention that there were men among us, who
held the first offices, who applied for protection from the
British while they lay in New Jersey. I was alarmed at this
assertion, and insisted on knowing who they were;--he said,
that when the British army lay in Jersey, in 1776, Count Donop
commanded at Bordentown; that he was often at that officer's
quarters, and possessed some degree of his confidence; that
one day, _an inhabitant came into their lines, with an
application from Mr. Joseph Reed, the purport of which was, to
know whether he could have protection for himself and his
property_, (there was another person included in the
_application_, whose _name_ it is not necessary here to
mention.) The man was immediately ordered for execution, but
it was prevented by the interposition of my brother and some
other persons, who had formerly known him. Perhaps Mr. Reed
and his friends may say, that Count Donop would not have
ordered the man executed, had he not thought he came for
intelligence. No doubt that officer would have justified his
conduct by putting upon the footing of a spy, but why was
another person included in the application, and one who was
not looked on as a trifling character? his name I will mention
to any one who will apply to me; however, my brother said, the
man who was sent with the application was a poor peasant, and
the most unfit person in the world to send for intelligence;
this argument was what had weight with Count Donop, and which
saved his life.[I] These circumstances being mentioned by a
brother, and which he declared to be true, naturally produced
an alteration in my sentiments of Mr. Reed; for previous to
this, there were few men of whom I entertained so high an
opinion. On my return to Philadelphia, I made no secret of
what I heard; indeed, I thought it my duty to mention it
publicly, that it might prevent further power being put into
the hands of a man who might make a bad use of it. The report
circulated daily, and I was often called on to mention the
c