I have recd. your note conveying an invitation from the Committee of Arrangement to a public dinner in commemoration of the public services of our Countyman James Barbour.

I regret that the State of my health does not permit me to join the friends & neighbours whom I so much respect, in the tribute they are about to offer, to a fellow Citizen & Countyman who distinguished by the varied & important services he has rendered to his Country, and whose private & social virtues are known to us all. As I cannot be present I can only assure those [who] will have that pleasure, that my feelings will be in sympathy with theirs on the occasion which brings them together.