第18章

havenothingtogiveyouinexchange。ThequietofEuropeatthismomentfurnisheslittlewhichcanattractyournotice。Norwillthatquietbesoondisturbed，atleastforthecurrentyear。PerhapsithangsonthelifeoftheK。ofPrussia，andthathangsbyaveryslenderthread。AmericanreputationinEuropeisnotsuchastobeflatteringtoitscitizens。Twocircumstancesareparticularlyobjectedtous，thenonpaimentofourdebts，andthewantofenergyinourgovernment。Thesediscourageaconnectionwithus。Iownittobemyopinionthatgoodwillarisefromthedestructionofourcredit。Iseenothingelsewhichcanrestrainourdispositiontoluxury，andthelossofthosemannerswhichalonecanpreserverepublicangovernment。Asitisimpossibletopreventcredit，thebestwaywouldbetocureit’silleffectsbygivinganinstantaneousrecoverytothecreditor；thiswouldbereducingpurchasesoncredittopurchasesforreadymoney。Amanwouldthenseeapoisonpaintedoneverythinghewishedbuthadnotreadymoneytopayfor。IfearfromanexpressioninyourletterthatthepeopleofKentuckethinkofseparatingnotonlyfromVirginia(inwhichtheyareright)butalsofromtheconfederacy。IownIshouldthinkthisamostcalametousevent，andsuchanoneaseverygoodcitizenonbothsidesshouldsethimselfagainst。Ourpresentfederallimitsarenottoolargeforgoodgovernment，norwilltheincreaseofvotesinCongressproduceanyilleffect。Onthecontraryitwilldrownthelittledivisionsatpresentexistingthere。OurconfederacymustbeviewedasthenestfromwhichallAmerica，North&Southistobepeopled。

Weshouldtakecaretoo，nottothinkitfortheinterestofthatgreatcontinenttopresstoosoonontheSpaniards。Thosecountriescannotbeinbetterhands。Myfearisthattheyaretoofeebletoholdthemtillourpopulationcanbesufficientlyadvancedtogainitfromthempiecebypiece。ThenavigationoftheMississippiwemusthave。Thisisallweareasyetreadytoreceive。IhavemadeacquaintancewithaverysensiblecandidgentlemanherewhowasinSouthAmericaduringtherevoltwhichtookplacetherewhileourrevolutionwasworking。Hesaysthatthosedisturbances(ofwhichwescarcelyheardanything)costonbothsidesanhundredthousandlives——IhavemadeaparticularacquaintanceherewithMonsieurdeBuffon，andhaveagreatdesiretogivehimthebestideaIcanofourelk。Perhapsyoursituationmayenableyoutoaidmeinthis。

Wereitpossible，youcouldnotobligememorethanbysendingmethehorns，skeleton，&skinofanelk。Themostdesireableformofreceivingthemwouldbetohavetheskinslitfromtheunderpawalongthebellytothetail，&downthethighstotheknee，totaketheanimalout，leavingthelegsandhoofs，thebonesofthehead，&

thehornsattachedtotheskinbysewingupthebelly&shippingtheskinitwouldpresenttheformoftheanimal。HoweverasanopportunityofdoingthisisscarcelyexpectedIshallbegladtoreceivethemdetached，packedinabox，&senttoRichmondtothecareofDoctorCurrie。Everythingofthiskindisprecioushere，andtopreventmyaddingtoyourtroubleImustclosemyletterwithassurancesoftheesteem&attachmentwithwhichIamDrSirYourfriend&servt。

P。S。ImustaddaprayerforsomePeccannuts，100，ifpossible，tobepackedinaboxofsandandsentme。TheymightcomeeitherdirectlyorviaN。York。

AROMANTEMPLEFORVIRGINA

_ToWilliamBuchananandJamesHay_

_Paris，January26，1786_

GENTLEMEN，——Ihadthehonorofwritingtoyou，onthereceiptofyourorderstoprocuredraughtsforthepublicbuildings，andagain，onthe13thofAugust。Intheexecutionoftheseorders，twomethodsofproceedingpresentedthemselvestomymind。Theonewas，toleavetosomearchitecttodrawanexternalaccordingtohisfancy，inwhichway，experienceshews，that，aboutonceinathousandtimes，apleasingformishitupon；theotherwas，totakesomemodelalreadydevised，andapprovedbythegeneralsuffrageoftheworld。

Ihadnohesitationindecidingthatthelatterwasbest，norafterthedecision，wasthereanydoubtwhatmodeltotake。ThereisatNismes，inthesouthofFrance，abuildingcalledtheMaisonquarree，erectedinthetimeoftheCaesars，andwhichisallowed，withoutcontradiction，tobethemostperfectandpreciousremainofantiquityinexistence。ItssuperiorityoveranythingatRome，inGreece，atBalbecorPalmyra，isallowedonallhands；andthissingleobjecthasplacedNismesinthegeneraltouroftravellers。

Havingnotyethadleisuretovisitit，Icouldonlyjudgeofitfromdrawings，andfromtherelationofnumberswhohadbeentoseeit。I

determined，therefore，toadoptthismodel，andtohaveallitsproportionsjustlyobserved。Asitwasimpossibleforaforeignartisttoknow，whatnumberandsizesofapartmentswouldsuitthedifferentcorpsofourgovernment，norhowtheyshouldbeconnectedwithoneanother，Iundertooktoformthatarrangement，andthisbeingdone，Icommittedthemtoanarchitect(MonsieurClerissault)

whohadstudiedthisarttwentyyearsinRome，whohadparticularlystudiedandmeasuredtheMaisonquarreeofNismes，andhadpublishedabookcontainingmostexcellentplans，descriptions，andobservationsonit。Hewastoowellacquaintedwiththemeritofthatbuilding，tofindhimselfrestrainedbymyinjunctionsnottodepartfromhismodel。Inoneinstance，only，hepersuadedmetoadmitofthis。Thatwas，tomaketheporticotwocolumnsdeeponly，insteadofthree，astheoriginalis。Hisreasonwas，thatthislatterdepthwouldtoomuchdarkentheapartments。Economymightbeadded，asasecondreason。Iconsentedtoit，tosatisfyhim，andtheplansaresodrawn。Iknewthatitwouldstillbeeasytoexecutethebuildingwithadepthofthreecolumns，anditiswhatI

wouldcertainlyrecommend。WeknowthattheMaisonquarreehaspleased，universally，forneartwothousandyears。Byleavingoutacolumn，theproportionswillbechanged，andperhapstheeffectmaybeinjuredmorethanisexpected。Whatisgood，isoftenspoiledbytryingtomakingitbetter。

Thepresentisthefirstopportunitywhichhasoccurredofsendingtheplans。Youwill，accordingly，receiveherewiththegroundplan，theelevationofthefront，andtheelevationoftheside。Thearchitecthavingbeenmuchbusied，andknowingthatthiswasallwhichwouldbenecessaryinthebeginning，hasnotyetfinishedthesectionsofthebuilding。Theymustgobysomefutureoccasion，aswellasthemodelsofthefrontandside，whicharemakinginplaisterofParis。Thesewereabsolutelynecessaryfortheguideofworkmen，notveryexpertintheirart。Itwilladdconsiderablytotheexpense，andIwouldnothaveincurredit，butthatIwassensibleofitsnecessity。Thepriceofthemodelwillbefifteenguineas。Ishallknowinafewdays，thecostofthedrawings，whichprobablywillbethetripleofthemodel：however，thisisbutconjecture。Iwillmakeitassmallaspossible，payit，andrenderyouanaccountinmynextletter。Youwillfind，onexamination，thatthebodyofthisbuildingcoversanarea，buttwofifthsofthatwhichisproposedandbegun；ofcourse，itwilltakebutaboutonehalfthebricks；and，ofcourse，thiscircumstancewillenlistalltheworkmen，andpeopleoftheartagainsttheplan。

Again，thebuildingbegun，istohavefourporticoes；thisbutone。

Itistruethatthiswillbedeeperthanthosewereprobablyproposed，butevenifitbemadethreecolumnsdeep，itwillnottakehalfthenumberofcolumns。Thebeautyofthisisinsuredbyexperience，andbythesuffrageofthewholeworld：thebeautyofthatisproblematical，asiseverydrawing，howeverwellitlooksonpaper，tillitbeactuallyexecuted：andthoughIsupposethereismoreroomintheplanbegun，thaninthatnowsent，yetthereisenoughinthisforallthethreebranchesofgovernment，andmorethanenoughisnotwanted。Thiscontainssixteenrooms；towit，fouronthefirstfloor，fortheGeneralCourt，Delegates，lobby，andconference。Eightonthesecondfloor，fortheExecutive，theSenate，andsixroomsforcommitteesandjuries：andoverfourofthesesmallerroomsofthesecondfloor，arefourmezzininosorentresols，servingasofficesfortheclerksoftheExecutive，theSenate，theDelegates，andtheCourtinactualsession。Itwillbeanobjection，thattheworkisbegunontheotherplan。Butthewholeofthisneednotbetakentopieces，andofwhatshallbetakentopieces，thebrickswilldoforinnerwork。Mortarneverbecomessohardandadhesivetothebricks，inafewmonths，butthatitmaybeeasilychippedoff。Anduponthewhole，theplannowsentwillsaveagreatproportionoftheexpense。

Hitherto，Ihavespokenofthecapitolonly。Theplansfortheprison，also，accompanythis。Theywillexplainthemselves。Isend，also，theplanoftheprisonproposedatLyons，whichwassentmebythearchitect，andtowhichweareindebtedforthefundamentalideaofours。Youwillsee，thatofagreatthingaverysmalloneismade。Perhapsyoumayfinditconvenienttobuild，atfirst，onlytwosides，forminganL；butofthis，youarethebestjudges。Ithasbeensuggestedtome，thatfinegravel，mixedinthemortar，preventstheprisonersfromcuttingthemselvesout，asthatwilldestroytheirtools。InmyletterofAugustthe13th，ImentionedthatIcouldsendworkmenfromhence。AsIaminhopesofreceivingyourordersprecisely，inanswertothatletter，Ishalldeferactuallyengagingany，tillIreceivethem。Inlikemanner，IshalldeferhavingplansdrawnforaGovernor’shouse，&c。，tillfurtherorders；onlyassuringyou，thatthereceivingandexecutingtheseorders，willalwaysgivemeaverygreatpleasure，andthemore，shouldIfindthatwhatIhavedonemeetsyourapprobation。

Ihavethehonortobe，withsentimentsofthemostperfectesteem，gentlemen，yourmostobedientandmosthumbleservant，THENOTES，HOUDON，ANDTHEENCYCLOPEDIE

_ToJamesMadison_

_Paris，Feb。8，1786_

DEARSIR，——Mylastlettershavebeenofthe1st&20thofSep。andthe28thofOct。YoursunacknowledgedareofAug。20，Oct。

3，&Nov。15。Itakethisthefirstsafeopportunityofenclosingtoyouthebillsofladingforyourbooks，&twoothersforyournamesakeofWilliamsburgh&fortheattorneywhichIwillprayyoutoforward。Ithankyouforthecommunicationoftheremonstranceagainsttheassessment。MazzeiwhoisnowinHollandpromisedmetohaveitpublishedintheLeydengazette。Itwilldousgreathonour。

IwishitmaybeasmuchapprovedbyourassemblyasbythewisestpartofEurope。Ihaveheardwithgreatpleasurethatourassemblyhavecometotheresolutionofgivingtheregulationoftheircommercetothefederalhead。Iwillventuretoassertthatthereisnotoneofit’sopposerswho，placedonthisground，wouldnotseethewisdomofthismeasure。ThepoliticsofEuroperenderitindispensablynecessarythatwithrespecttoeverythingexternalwebeonenationonly，firmlyhoopedtogether。Interiorgovernmentiswhateachstateshouldkeeptoitself。IfitcouldbeseeninEuropethatallourstatescouldbebroughttoconcurinwhattheVirginiaassemblyhasdone，itwouldproduceatotalrevolutionintheiropinionofus，andrespectforus。Anditshouldeverbeheldinmindthatinsult&wararetheconsequencesofawantofrespectabilityinthenationalcharacter。Aslongasthestatesexerciseseparatelythoseactsofpowerwhichrespectforeignnations，solongwilltherecontinuetobeirregularitiescommittingbysomeoneorotherofthemwhichwillconstantlykeepusonanillfootingwithforeignnations。

IthankyouforyourinformationastomyNotes。ThecopiesI

haveremainingshallbesentovertobegiventosomeofmyfriendsandtoselectsubjectsinthecollege。Ihavebeenunfortunateherewiththistrifle。Igaveoutafewcopiesonly，&toconfidentialpersons，writingineverycopyarestraintagainstit’spublication。

AmongothersIgaveacopytoaMr。Williamos。Hedied。I

immediatelytookeveryprecautionIcouldtorecoverthiscopy。Butbysomemeansorotherabooksellerhadgotholdofit。Heemployedahirelingtranslatorandwasaboutpublishingitinthemostinjuriousformpossible。AnAbbeMorellet，amanoflettersheretowhomIhadgivenacopy，gotnoticeofthis。Hehadtranslatedsomepassagesforaparticularpurpose：andhecompoundedwiththebooksellertotranslate&givehimthewhole，onhisdecliningthefirstpublication。Ifounditnecessarytoconfirmthis，anditwillbepublishedinFrench，stillmutilatedhoweverinit’sfreestparts。

IamnowatalosswhattodoastoEngland。Everything，goodorbad，isthoughtworthpublishingthere；andIapprehendatranslationbackfromtheFrench，andapublicationthere。Iratherbelieveitwillbemosteligibletolettheoriginalcomeoutinthatcountry；

butamnotyetdecided。