Details
JEFFERSON, Thomas (1743-1826), President. Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") to Col. W[illiam] S[tevens] Smith (Secretary to John Adams), Paris, 4 May 1786. 1½ pages, 4to, recipient's docket on p.4.
THOMAS JEFFERSON IN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE: THE BEAUTIES OF NORMANDY, THE AFFAIR OF THE DIAMOND NECKLACE, AND ENGLISH DIPLOMATS
A rare letter from Jefferson's first year as Minister to France, recommending the most scenic route from Calais to Paris, commenting on the arrest of the notorious Cagliostro and the Cardinal de Rohan in the famous affair of the diamond necklace, and sending warm greetings to John Adams, Minister at the Court of St. James. Jefferson, just returned from a trip to England, writes: "The morning after John left me at Dover the wind became so favourable as to place me at Calais in three hours...and I reached Paris in 48 hours from Calais. Whenever you come again to Paris come by way of St. Omer and by this means you do not travel one foot of the road you have always passed, and you see the whole way one of the most lovely countries imaginable, except on the D'Oise where there are a few barrens, being on the skirts of the forest of Chantilly. I find the Cardinal de Rohan and Cagliostro in the Bastille as I left them there likely to remain. It is believed here that the King of Prussia is in a desparate situation. They talk favourably of Mr. [William] Eden's progress, but such is the impenetrable secrecy here, that those who talk of it know no more than I do which is nothing at all. When you see the Parliament laying other taxes to supply the deficiencies of revenue which a Treaty with France would occasion, then believe that Mr. Eden is a more successful negociator in France than he was in America."
"Present me affectionately to Mr. [John] Adams and the ladies, and tell them I never offer prayers to heaven for myself without including them. You have puzzled me with your scrap about a something which has turned up, of which you say you spoke to me in November &c &c I cannot find this out. You should remember that tho' a word is enough to the wise, it is not to the foolish..."
Jefferson had gone to England in March, at Adams' request, to help in delicate treaty negotiations with Britain and Portugal. He was presented to King George III (who received him coldly, aware of his authorship of the Declaration of Independence), visited Stratford-on-Avon and toured English gardens. William Eden (1744-1814), whom Jefferson mentions, was a member of the Carlisle Commission which in 1778 went to Philadelphia to attempt to thwart the American alliance with France. Cagliostro and the Cardinal de Rohan had been implicated in the theft of an enormously valuable diamond necklace intended for Marie Antoinette; they were acquitted after a sensational trial. Published in Papers, ed. J.P. Boyd et al, 9:447-448.
THOMAS JEFFERSON IN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE: THE BEAUTIES OF NORMANDY, THE AFFAIR OF THE DIAMOND NECKLACE, AND ENGLISH DIPLOMATS
A rare letter from Jefferson's first year as Minister to France, recommending the most scenic route from Calais to Paris, commenting on the arrest of the notorious Cagliostro and the Cardinal de Rohan in the famous affair of the diamond necklace, and sending warm greetings to John Adams, Minister at the Court of St. James. Jefferson, just returned from a trip to England, writes: "The morning after John left me at Dover the wind became so favourable as to place me at Calais in three hours...and I reached Paris in 48 hours from Calais. Whenever you come again to Paris come by way of St. Omer and by this means you do not travel one foot of the road you have always passed, and you see the whole way one of the most lovely countries imaginable, except on the D'Oise where there are a few barrens, being on the skirts of the forest of Chantilly. I find the Cardinal de Rohan and Cagliostro in the Bastille as I left them there likely to remain. It is believed here that the King of Prussia is in a desparate situation. They talk favourably of Mr. [William] Eden's progress, but such is the impenetrable secrecy here, that those who talk of it know no more than I do which is nothing at all. When you see the Parliament laying other taxes to supply the deficiencies of revenue which a Treaty with France would occasion, then believe that Mr. Eden is a more successful negociator in France than he was in America."
"Present me affectionately to Mr. [John] Adams and the ladies, and tell them I never offer prayers to heaven for myself without including them. You have puzzled me with your scrap about a something which has turned up, of which you say you spoke to me in November &c &c I cannot find this out. You should remember that tho' a word is enough to the wise, it is not to the foolish..."
Jefferson had gone to England in March, at Adams' request, to help in delicate treaty negotiations with Britain and Portugal. He was presented to King George III (who received him coldly, aware of his authorship of the Declaration of Independence), visited Stratford-on-Avon and toured English gardens. William Eden (1744-1814), whom Jefferson mentions, was a member of the Carlisle Commission which in 1778 went to Philadelphia to attempt to thwart the American alliance with France. Cagliostro and the Cardinal de Rohan had been implicated in the theft of an enormously valuable diamond necklace intended for Marie Antoinette; they were acquitted after a sensational trial. Published in Papers, ed. J.P. Boyd et al, 9:447-448.