第25章

_He_hasnothingagainst_him_，_but_the_suspicion_of_republicanprinciples_。Ithinkhewilloneday_beof_the_ministry_。Hisfoibleis，a_canineappetiteforpopularityandfame_；buthewillget_above_this。_TheCountdeVergennes_is_ill_。Thepossibilityofhis_recovery_，rendersitdangerousfor_ustoexpressadoubtofit：but_heis_indanger_。Heis_agreatminister_in_Europeanaffairs_，buthasvery_imperfectideas_of_ourinstitutions_，_andnoconfidencein_them。His_devotion_totheprinciplesof_puredespotism_，rendershim_unaffectionatetoourgovernments_。But_hisfear_of_Englandmakeshimvalueus_asa_makeweight_。Heis_cool，reservedinpoliticalconversations，butfreeandfamiliar_onother_subjects_，andavery_attentive，agreeableperson_to_dobusinesswith_。Itis_impossible_tohaveaclearer，better_organizedhead_；but_age_has_chilledhisheart_。Nothingshouldbespared，onourpart，toattachthiscountrytous。Itistheonlyoneonwhichwecanrelyforsupport，undereveryevent。Itsinhabitantsloveusmore，Ithink，thantheydoanyothernationonearth。ThisisverymuchtheeffectofthegooddispositionswithwhichtheFrenchofficersreturned。Inaformerletter，Imentionedtoyouthedislocationofmywrist。Icanmakenottheleastuseofit，exceptforthesinglearticleofwriting，thoughitisgoingonfivemonthssincetheaccidenthappened。Ihavegreatanxieties，lestIshouldneverrecoveranyconsiderableuseofit。Ishall，bytheadviceofmysurgeons，setoutinafortnightforthewatersofAix，inProvence。Ichosetheseoutofseveraltheyproposedtome，becauseiftheyfailtobeeffectual，myjourneywillnotbeuselessaltogether。ItwillgivemeanopportunityofexaminingthecanalofLanguedoc，andofacquiringknowledgeofthatspeciesofnavigation，whichmaybeusefulhereafter；butmoreimmediately，itwillenablemetomakethetouroftheportsconcernedincommercewithus，toexamine，onthespot，thedefectsofthelateregulationsrespectingourcommerce，tolearnthefurtherimprovementswhichmaybemadeinit，andonmyreturn，togetthisbusinessfinished。Ishallbeabsentbetweentwoandthreemonths，unlessanythinghappenstorecallmeheresooner，whichmayalwaysbeeffectedintendays，inwhateverpartofmyrouteImaybe。Inspeaking_ofcharacters_，Iomitted_thoseofReynevalandHennin_，the_twoeyes_of_CountdeVergennes_。The_former_isthemostimportant_character_，_becausepossessing_themostofthe_confidence_ofthe_Count_。_He_israther_cunning_

than_wise_，hisviewsofthingsbeingneither_great_nor_liberal_。

_Hegoverns_himselfby_principles_whichhehas_learned_by_rote_，andis_fitonly_forthe_details_of_execution_。_Hisheart_issusceptibleoflittle_passions_butnotof_goodones_。

_He_is_brother_-_in_-_law_to_M_。_Gerard_，fromwhomhereceived_disadvantageousimpressions_of_us_，_which_cannotbe_effaced_。

_He_hasmuch_duplicity_。_Hennin_isa_philosopher，sincere，friendly，liberal，learned，beloved_byeverybody；the_other_by_nobody_。I_think_itagreat_misfortune_thatthe_UnitedStates_

areinthe_department_ofthe_former_。Asparticularsofthiskindmaybeusefultoyou，inyourpresentsituation，Imayhereaftercontinuethechapter。Iknowitwillbesafelylodgedinyourdiscretion。

Feb。5。Sincewritingthusfar，_Franks_is_returned_from_England_。_Ilearn_that_Mr_。_Adams_desirestobe_recalled_，&

that_Smith_shouldbe_appointedchargedesaffaires_there。Itisnotformetodecidewhetherany_diplomaticcharacter_shouldbe_kept_ata_court_，which_keeps_nonewith_us_。Youcanjudgeof_Smith’s_abilitiesby_hisletters_。Theyarenotofthe_firstorder_，buttheyare_good_。Forhis_honesty_，heislikeourfriend_Monroe_；turnhis_soul_wrongsideoutwards，andthereisnotaspeckonit。_He_hasone_foible_，an_excessiveinflammability_of_temper_，buthefeelsitwhenitcomeson，andhas_resolutionenough_to_suppress_it，andto_remainsilent_tillit_passes_over。

IsendyoubyColo。Franks，yourpockettelescope，walkingstick&chemicalbox。Thetwoformercouldnotbecombinedtogether。

Thelattercouldnotbehadintheformyoureferredto。Havingagreatdesiretohaveaportablecopyingmachine，&beingsatisfiedfromsomeexperimentsthattheprincipleofthelargemachinemightbeappliedinasmallone，IplannedonewheninEngland&haditmade。Itanswersperfectly。Ihavesincesetaworkmantomakingthemhere，&theyareinsuchdemandthathehashishandsfull。

Beingassuredthatyouwillbepleasedtohaveone，whenyoushallhavetriedit’sconvenience，IsendyouonebyColo。Franks。Themachinecosts96livres，theappendages24livres，andIsendyoupaper&inkfor12livres；inall132livres。Thereisaprintedpaperofdirections；butyoumustexpecttomakemanyessaysbeforeyousucceedperfectly。Asoftbrush，likeashavingbrush，ismoreconvenientthanthesponge。Youcangetasmuchink&paperasyoupleasefromLondon。Thepapercostsaguineaaream。”THEEMPTYBUSTLEOFPARIS”

_ToAnneWilli