To Benjamin Franklin from James Bourdieu, 30 October 1784
From James Bourdieu6
ALS: American Philosophical Society
Paris le 30. 8bre. 1784.
Monsieur
J’ose Espérer que vous voudrés bien me Permettre de vous renouveller ma recommandation en Favreur de M.M. de Vaux, Frêres, de Bruxelles, dont J’ay eu l’honneur d’Etretenir votre Excellence, et qui Se Proposent d’aller S’Etablir Incessament a New-yorck; Vous avez eu la bonté de me Promettre de vous Intérésser á eux; Ils attachent, ainsi que moy, le Plus grand Prix á Cette Distinction, et Je Suis bien Certain que, lors qu’on les aura Connus en Amerique, on aura Lieu de Se Féliciter d’avoir Fait leur acquisition.7
Je Suis, avec Tout le respect Possible, Monsieur de votre Excellence Le Tres humble & tres obeissant Serviteur
James Bourdieu
Notation: James Bourdieu 30 Oct. 1784.—8
6. The London merchant and associate of Henry Laurens who had come to Paris in the spring: XLII, 87.
7. The brothers were most likely Charles-Philippe de Vaux (1760–1793) and his older brother Charles, sons of a court official who served under the governor of the Austrian Netherlands (who was rumored to be Charles-Philippe’s biological father). The brothers visited Paris in April, 1784, and Charles-Philippe, at least, returned that fall. On the morning of Nov. 21, he called on BF, who was breakfasting with several guests. According to de Vaux, when BF rose to greet him, his chair hit the table with such force that it knocked off a kettle and an assortment of fine porcelain, which shattered into “mille pièces” on the floor. Without so much as a backward glance, BF led the mortified de Vaux to the far end of the room, seated him on a couch, and conversed pleasantly. De Vaux returned the next day and received the letters of recommendation that BF had promised. In the end, neither brother went to New York. Charles was condemned to death for dueling in 1785, and Charles-Philippe’s service under General Dumouriez led to his execution in Paris in 1793: Eugène Cruyplants, Dumouriez dans le ci-devant pays-bas Autrichiens (2 vols., Brussels and Paris, 1912), 11, 832–7.
8. Also on the verso of the sheet is the following, presumably written by the supplicant himself: “Mr DeVaux, a L’hotel du Parc Royal rue Du Colombier faubourg St. Germain”.