To Benjamin Franklin from Benjamin Vaughan, 29 December 1776
From Benjamin Vaughan5
AL: Library of Congress
Decr: 29h:, 1776
B. Vaughan presents his best respects to Dr: Franklin and incloses him some papers for perusal at his leisure. He sends them for several reasons. To shew, first, that neither his head nor his heart have been unoccupied upon the subject of America; to prove in the next place, under what disadvantages every man enters upon the subject, without information from thence; and to enable him also to judge of the confidence which Dr: Franklin is to repose in him.6The letters are the result of thought, but were for the most part committed to paper in haste; particularly No. 1 which he begs (if read at all) may be read last.
Addressed: Dr: Franklin.
[A possible continuation is printed below under Sept. 19, 1777.]
5. As early as January, 1775, BF had referred to Vaughan as “my particular Friend” (above, XXI, 442), but this note is the first that is extant in a correspondence that went on for years.
6. “Him” in this clause must be BF. Vaughan’s particular reason, we assume, for wanting to win confidence with the enclosures, now lost, was that BF had then accepted him as his editor; see Vaughan’s letter below, Jan. 27.