From George Washington to Tobias Lear, 27 March 1796
To Tobias Lear
Philadelphia 27th March—96
My dear Sir,
Your letters of the 21st & 23d instant have filled us with pain and anxiety, from which, probably, we shall not be relieved before tuesday;1 tho’ we shall hope, on that day, to hear that both Fanny and Maria are much better, if not entirely recovered.
Upon receipt of the first of the letters abovementioned, I made immediate enquiry in what train the business respecting the arsenal on Potomack was in, and have since been informed by the (present) Secretary of War, that he has written to you on the subject.2 I wish sincerely that the sickness in your family had not prevented your journey to this City—& that it may not retard it much longer as the Departments at this juncture are so full of business as to require more attention, & urging in particular matters than the pressure of my own allows me to bestow. When you come we will make room for you to lodge in some manner or other as the only spare room we have will, I expect, be occupied by young Fayette & his Tutor.
I wish devoutly, in which Mrs Washington cordially unites, that this letter may find Fanny & Maria perfectly restored—My best regards to them and with affection I am always Yours
Go: Washington
ALS (letterpress copy), DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.
1. The following Tuesday was 29 March. The next mail to leave Georgetown after 23 March (on 25 March) was scheduled to reach Philadelphia on the 29th.
2. James McHenry’s letter to Lear of 25 March has not been identified. A later summary indicates that McHenry acknowledged receipt of Lear’s previous letter to Timothy Pickering and stated that the agreements transmitted by Lear had been given to Attorney General Charles Lee so that he could prepare the deeds (“Extracts from the official correspondence relative to the purchase of the Site at Harpers ferry—1796,” DNA: RG 156, Letters Received).