havenothingtogiveyouinexchange。ThequietofEuropeatthismomentfurnisheslittlewhichcanattractyournotice。Norwillthatquietbesoondisturbed，atleastforthecurrentyear。PerhapsithangsonthelifeoftheK。ofPrussia，andthathangsbyaveryslenderthread。AmericanreputationinEuropeisnotsuchastobeflatteringtoitscitizens。Twocircumstancesareparticularlyobjectedtous，thenonpaimentofourdebts，andthewantofenergyinourgovernment。Thesediscourageaconnectionwithus。Iownittobemyopinionthatgoodwillarisefromthedestructionofourcredit。Iseenothingelsewhichcanrestrainourdispositiontoluxury，andthelossofthosemannerswhichalonecanpreserverepublicangovernment。Asitisimpossibletopreventcredit，thebestwaywouldbetocureit’silleffectsbygivinganinstantaneousrecoverytothecreditor；thiswouldbereducingpurchasesoncredittopurchasesforreadymoney。Amanwouldthenseeapoisonpaintedoneverythinghewishedbuthadnotreadymoneytopayfor。IfearfromanexpressioninyourletterthatthepeopleofKentuckethinkofseparatingnotonlyfromVirginiainwhichtheyarerightbutalsofromtheconfederacy。IownIshouldthinkthisamostcalametousevent，andsuchanoneaseverygoodcitizenonbothsidesshouldsethimselfagainst。Ourpresentfederallimitsarenottoolargeforgoodgovernment，norwilltheincreaseofvotesinCongressproduceanyilleffect。Onthecontraryitwilldrownthelittledivisionsatpresentexistingthere。OurconfederacymustbeviewedasthenestfromwhichallAmerica，North&Southistobepeopled。
Weshouldtakecaretoo，nottothinkitfortheinterestofthatgreatcontinenttopresstoosoonontheSpaniards。Thosecountriescannotbeinbetterhands。Myfearisthattheyaretoofeebletoholdthemtillourpopulationcanbesufficientlyadvancedtogainitfromthempiecebypiece。ThenavigationoftheMississippiwemusthave。Thisisallweareasyetreadytoreceive。IhavemadeacquaintancewithaverysensiblecandidgentlemanherewhowasinSouthAmericaduringtherevoltwhichtookplacetherewhileourrevolutionwasworking。Hesaysthatthosedisturbancesofwhichwescarcelyheardanythingcostonbothsidesanhundredthousandlives——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。