y insufficiency of their governmt to y° spirit & principles of commerce, thrô wch alone, as they used to say, France could hope to rival G. B. & to obtain ye superiority in Europe her natural advantages entitled her. These officers gave y° first motives to y° French Revolution, wch in ye course of it, by running far ahead of the sentiments and opinions wch excited it, has swept away in its consequences the very characters which first promoted a reform & were desireous that France sh', like Engla, become a mixed monarchy.

Should the French Revolution succeed, wch it wa seem cannot be wholly prevented, France will probably become a much greater maritime & commercial power than ever she has yet been, in which case there is no reason why she sha not have a great proportion of ye American commerce. She possesses the secrets of manufactures, and abounds in people who labour at a cheaper price than in England, and it may not be long after ye present cruel contest before she will have merchants, manufacturers, & manufactures wch will vie with those of G. B. That com

merce delights in free governmts & most commonly takes her residence in such situations is an acknowledged truth. If France succeeds in y establishment of a free, efficient government, Engl will be compelled to either relinquish her commerce or her constitution of governm*, as I conceive that upon the freedom of y contending governmt stands ye direction of y° American commerce & the superiority wch will follow as a necessary consequence. These observations somewhat outrées to a female correspondent are made with a view of impressing her with an idea of the importance of the U. S. in their present situation & of the interest ye British minister will take in all measures in this country wch respect yo present contest; y vigilance of the English public officers in this country will be strictly required, and of course all hopes of leave of absence to Sir Jn° appear to me visionary.

As connected with this opinion, I understand by James that Grenville has given one of a like kind, viz., that the English minister wd not probably allow of Sir Jn°'s absence from his office at this critical period, & advises him to relinquish it, to seek a debt to y° late Mr Nelson, whose heir Sir Jn° is, to a demand agst ye governmt of £60,000 sterlg. I know not ye justice of the demand any more than y disposition of y° minister to discharge antiquated claims; but however forward his inclination thereto, yet yo multiplied embarrassments of war, in the present scarcity of money in Engl, will make it very uncertain as to the obtaining it, for wch reason I sha suppose it bad policy to relinquish an office wch I understand promises half pay for life in case of being superceeded; a place of £1500 p an is hard to be procured, and it requires good interest by friends, pretensions, & exertions to obtain it. As time creeps on age steals upon our faculties & powers, of course upon our exertions, and very few are able to engage in pursuits at sixty wch they were well calculated to undertake at forty. The prudence and caution of experience, without very bright & tempting prospects, will lead us not to relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty. Presently perhaps things in England may be in that state of confusion as may make a retreat eligible. The principles of y° French Revolution may take footing there. The disaffected, y disappointed, ye ambitious, y distrest, the well wishers to a revolution make a strong party in every government, & may become y° predominating one in England. All expectations from an old wd in that case be swallowed up in a new order of things, and offices & antiquated claims upon governmts might meet y° fate of ye sponge. A revolutionary spirit has gone forth; where it will stop, or how it will be directed; what further inroads it will make upon y established governmts of Europe time will unfold; but prudence seems to require that you sha not

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unnecessarily remove yourselves from your present eligible situation to engage in undertakings of perplexity & uncertainty wch must be probably begun by the sacrifice of an important office.

By your letters to Mr Winthrop you request the opinion of your friends, particularly mine, in regard to James, relative to his present pursuits and future prospects; how far his pursuits are consistent with his future prospects, or what ought to be his or your expectations in regard to them, it is difficult to say. His education, inclination, & habits are to determine these things. His education, if he attends to it, ought to qualify him for one of yo learned professions, wch if his inclination favours it, his habits, manners, & studies shd be directed to it. But there is such a connexion between all y° learned professions that success in any of them very much depends upon a well directed collegiate education in wch the rudiments of the sciences are to be deeply laid, in order to the making a distinguished figure in any of them. These rudiments, however, cannot be obtained without industry & close application to study. A favourable oppty now presents itself, wch if rightly improved must be of y° highest importance to him, whether he pursues either of the learned professions or not; but weh if neglected must be a perpetual source of mortification to him. Young men who go to college should have before them y° expectation of a learned profession, and not be suffered to justify their inattention to study by thinking they will take to other pursuits. For in such cases the mind is left without an object, and is thereby deprived of a necessary stimulus to exertion. But even this will prove a poor apology to their friends or to their own minds for their neglect and idleness. The oppy that James now has is a trial of his firmness and determination to improve himself, and it will be happy for him if he shall have no occasion to reproach himself hereafter. My own negligence for the

first two years I was at college has occasioned me more uneasiness than all the other circumstances of my life. To avoid such uneasiness, his own reproaches and those of his friends, James sha endeavour to improve his present oppty in the best manner. Dr. Johnston's* qualifications as a scholar, as a distinguished professional character, and a statesman, must bestow advantages wch few situations afford; y path of the Dr's literary acquisitions, matured by his long experience & practice, must be almost invaluable to a young man who has views to the bar. If James's application and improvement sha entitle him to the esteem and good offices of the worthy D', he will lead him to such objects & pursuits in regard to the study of the law as must be highly advantageous to him.

By these observations you may infer that I consider y bar to be y most eligible employment for him. The business of a lawyer requires a general knowledge of the sciences, close application, and a good natural genius. The last James has; a good voice & ye principal requisites of a public speaker he also possesses. His present acquirements, his industry, his love of books, his resolution & firmness to prosecute the studies of an ordinary profession to acquire fame in it, & thereby to introduce himself at a proper season into public employments, must be referred to y opinions of those who are better acquainted with him than I am. It is however my idea that if James wd resolutely pursue what I think he has capacity to obtain, he might in a few years become a man of importance & independence; for no one in my view is more important or can be justly considered more independent than he who has good professional, practical talents. The path to wealth, honour, & respect lies strait before him, and there is nothing wanting but resolution & y° first efforts to obtain what habit will soon render easy, familiar

* William Samuel Johnson, President of Columbia College, New York. - EDS.

& agreable. Young men are accountable for, and will be judged by, their habits. A plan of future life therefore sha be consulted with and pointed out to him; to be founded in reason, to be pursued with resolution, and to be rendered habitual. Order & method in the distribution of time must be brôt in aid of such a plan, wch should assign to business & amusement their proper places. As I have a regard for James, I sha like to hear the event of a serious consultation of his friends upon the plan of his future life, grounded upon his own matured reflections & their previous considerations, that by this ceremony he may be brôt to think it what it really is, an object y° most interesting to him. That his plan of future life may not be less a benefit to himself than useful to others; not less honourable than pleasing to his friends, nor less calculated to improve his own importance, wealth, & understanding than hereafter to reward his virtue is my sincere wish.*

So much of my letter has been taken up with James that I have scarcely time or room to acquaint you with ye esteem & regard we entertain for Augusta.† As we have had more of the pleasure of her company upon this than upon any previous visit, her amiable and engaging behaviour has stampt upon us the most agreable impressions. I think her deserving the affection & esteem of all her friends, particularly of her parents, as her apprehensions & anxieties for their safety & welfare seemed to shut out enjoyment, & to make a greater impression upon her than upon any other person I ever knew of her age. Sensibility, good sense, and discernment distinguish her, except in one point, agst wch she ought to be cautioned. The fear of growing fat induces her to make free

* James B. Temple, second son of Sir John Temple, was born June 7, 1776, graduated at Columbia College in 1795, entered the British army, afterward assumed the name of Bowdoin, and died Oct. 31, 1842. See Catalogue of Columbia College; New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. x. pp. 76, 78. — Ens.

† Augusta, youngest child of Sir John Temple, was born about 1780, married William L. Palmer, and died Aug. 18, 1852. — Eds.