EconlibThe LibraryOther Sites |
Front Page  Titles (by Subject) TO JAMES MADISON 1 - The Works, vol. 5 (Correspondence 1786-1789)
Return to Title Page for The Works, vol. 5 (Correspondence 1786-1789)The Online Library of LibertyA project of Liberty Fund, Inc.Search this Title:Also in the Library:
TO JAMES MADISON 1 - Thomas Jefferson, The Works, vol. 5 (Correspondence 1786-1789) [1905]Edition used:The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904-5). Vol. 5.
Part of: The Works of Thomas Jefferson, 12 vols.
About Liberty Fund:Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright information:The text is in the public domain. Fair use statement:This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
TO JAMES MADISON1j. mss. Paris Oct. 8, 1787. Dear Sir, —The bearer hereof the Count de Moustier, successor to Monsr de la Luzerne, would from his office need no letter of introduction to you or to anybody. Yet I take the liberty of recommending him to you to shorten those formal approaches which the same office would otherwise expose him to in making your acquaintance. He is a great enemy to formality, etiquette, ostentation & luxury. He goes with the best dispositions to cultivate society without poisoning it by ill example. He is sensible, disposed to view things favorably, & being well acquainted with the constitution of England, it’s manners & language, is the better prepared for his station with us. But I should have performed only the lesser, & least pleasing half of my task, were I not to add my recommendations of Madame de Brehan. She is goodness itself. You must be well acquainted with her. You will find her well disposed to meet your acquaintance & well worthy of it. The way to please her is to receive her as an acquaintance of a thousand years’ standing. She speaks little English. You must teach her more, and learn French from her. She hopes by accompanying Monsieur de Moustier to improve her health which is very feeble, & still more to improve her son in his education & to remove him to a distance from the seductions of this country. You will wonder to be told that there are no schools in this country to be compared to ours, in the sciences. The husband of Madame de Brehan is an officer, & obliged by the times to remain with the army. Monsieur de Moustier brings your watch. I have worn it two months and really find her a most incomparable one. She will not want the little redressing which new watches generally do after going about a year. She cost 600 livres. To open her in all her parts, press the little pin on the edge, with the point of your nail, that opens the chrystel, then open the dial plate in the usual way, then press the stem, at the end within the loop, & it opens the back for winding up or regulating. De Moustier is remarkably communicative. With adroitness he may be pumped of anything. His openness is from character, not from affectation. An intimacy with him may, on this account be politically valuable. [1 ]Parts in italic are in cipher in original. |
