Ihavepurchasedlittleforyouinthebookway，sinceIsentthecatalogueofmyformerpurchases。Iwishfirsttohaveyouranswertothat，andyourinformationwhatpartsofthosepurchaseswentoutofyourplan。Youcaneasilysaybuymoreofthiskind，lessofthat&c。Mywishistoconformmyselftoyours。IcangetforyoutheoriginalPariseditioninfoliooftheEncyclopediefor620livres，35。vols。；agoodednin39vols，4to，for380#；andagoodonein39vols8vo，for280#。Thenewonewillbesuperiorinfarthegreaternumberofarticles：butnotinall。Andthepossessionoftheancientonehasmoreovertheadvantageofsupplyingpresentuse。Ihaveboughtoneformyself，butwaityourordersastoyou。IrememberyourpurchaseofawatchinPhiladelphia。Ifitshouldnothaveprovedgood，youcanprobablysellher。InthatcaseIcangetforyouhere，onemadeasperfectashumanartcanmakeitforabout24louis。Ihavehadsuchaonemadebythebest&mostfaithfulhandinParis。Ithasasecondhand，butnorepeating，nodayofthemonth，norotheruselessthingtoimpedeandinjurethemovementswhicharenecessary。For12louismoreyoucanhaveinthesamecover，butonthebackside&absolutelyunconnectedwiththemovementsofthewatch，apedometerwhichshallrenderyouanexactaccountofthedistancesyouwalk。Yourpleasurehereonshallbeawaited。
Houdonisreturned。HecalledonmetheotherdaytoremonstrateagainsttheinscriptionproposedforGenlW。’sstatue。
Hesaysitistoolongtobeputonthepedestal。ItoldhimIwasnotatlibertytopermitanyalteration，butIwouldrepresenthisobjectiontoafriendwhocouldjudgeofit’svalidity，andwhetherachangecouldbeauthorized。Thishasbeenthesubjectofconversationshere，andvariousdevices&inscriptionshavebeensuggested。Theonewhichhasappearedbesttomemaybetranslatedasfollows：”Behold，Reader，theformofGeorgeWashington。Forhisworth，askHistory：thatwilltellit，whenthisstoneshallhaveyieldedtothedecaysoftime。Hiscountryerectsthismonument：
Houdonmakesit。”Thisforoneside。Onthe2drepresenttheevacuationofBostonwiththemotto”Hostibusprimumfugatis。”Onthe3dthecaptureoftheHessianswith”Hostibusiterumdevictis。”Onthe4ththesurrenderofYork，with”Hostibusultimumdebellatis。”
Thisisseizingthethreemostbrilliantactionsofhismilitarylife。Bygivingouthereawishofreceivingmottosforthisstatue，wemighthavethousandsoffered，ofwhichstillbettermightbechosen。TheartistmadethesameobjectionoflengthtotheinscriptionforthebustoftheM。delaFayette。Analterationofthatmightcomeintimestill，ifanalterationwaswished。HoweverIamnotcertainthatitisdesirableineithercase。ThestateofGeorgiahasgiven20。000acresoflandtotheCountd’Estaing。Thisgiftisconsideredhereasveryhonourabletohim，andithasgratifiedhimmuch。IampersuadedthatagiftoflandsbythestateofVirginiatotheMarquisdelaFayettewouldgiveagoodopinionhereofourcharacter，andwouldreflecthonourontheMarquis。NoramIsurethatthedaywillnotcomewhenitmightbeanusefulasylumtohim。ThetimeoflifeatwhichhevisitedAmericawastoowelladaptedtoreceivegood&lastingimpressionstopermithimevertoaccommodatehimselftotheprinciplesofmonarchicalgovernment；