From John Jay to Catharine W. Livingston, 1 July 1783
To Catharine W. Livingston
Passy 1 July 1783—
Dear Kitty
Your’s by Col. Cambray,1 dated the 28 Jany last, was delivered to us by that Gentleman about a fortnight ago, & tho several Vessels have since arrived, the only american Letter I have yet recd. by them is from Mr. Benson.2
I am surprized that no Letter from me has reached you since the arrival of Majr. Franks— I have written not only several but many: but I have been so used to Disappointments of this Kind during the war, that they give me less Chagrin than formerly, especially as the Restoration of Peace affords more various, more frequent and more safe Conveyances than we have had since I left You.
We have been for this month past in this Village, in apartments for which we are indebted to the friendly attention of Dr. Franklin— My Health was such as to render the air & confinemt. of a large City, during the Summer Months, improper for me— I have already experienced Benefit from the Change, for tho not well I am better— Mrs. Jay promises us a welcome Guest next Month—3 Maria is greatly altered for the better—she grows finely, but she suffers too much from her Teeth to be enoculated with Safety—
Sr. James is still here, but has not been near us. A Strange Whim! Why he stays, & what are his Views, I cannot even guess.4
Peters Trip to Poughkeepsie was unexpected, and I think unnecessary— I have written to Fœdy & your Father on the Subject,5 & it is my opinion that he should remain with the Family at Eliz. Town, & under their Direction until my Return, which I pray God may not be unnecessarily delayed— Your Sentiments on this Head correspond with my own—long & faithfully have I served my Country, and it would be cruel longer to neglect the concerns of my Family—my Happiness is bound up with theirs & never can be separated— I long for Leisure & Rest—indeed, unless I obtain it, premature old age, if old age at all, must be my Lott—
Mrs Izard will probably be at Pha. before this Letter, & carrys with her some fine Children— She sailed from Bordeaux—
I have lately recd. a Letter from your Cousin Ph. VB. Livingston—6 he was at Milan the 7 June, in much better Health than when he left us last Winter, tho he did not appear to have much to complain of then.
Mr Ridley & his Family are here and well—he lately left the Morris[e]s at Geneva in good Health & well placed—7 he deserves well of them— Mr. Hunt, a Relation of Mr. Ridley, will be the Bearer of this Letter—
Mr Morris’s Letters occasioned much Speculation on this Side of the Water, and I presume much Discussion on yours. I shall consider his Resignation as a public misfortune.8 Whether that Event takes place or not, assure him of my constant Esteem, Regard and attachment—and accept the same assurance from your afft. Friend
John Jay
Miss Kitty W. Livingston
ALS, MHi: Ridley (EJ: 4694). Addressed: “Miss Kitty W. Livingston / To the Care of the Hon’ble Robt. Morris / Philadelphia”. Endorsed.
1. The French volunteer Louis Antoine Jean Baptiste, chevalier de Cambray-Digney (1751–1822), served as a lieutenant colonel in the corps of engineers and was breveted colonel on 2 May 1783. André Lasseray, Les Francais sous treize étoiles (2 vols.; Paris, 1935), 1: 139–40.
2. Catharine W. Livingston to JJ, 28 Jan., AL, NNC (EJ: 8104); and Egbert Benson to JJ, 25 Apr. 1783, above.
3. For the birth of the Jays’ daughter Ann on 13 Aug., see JJ to RRL, 12 Sept., below.
4. See editorial note “Sir James Jay: Revisited” on pp. 275–77 [7 Dec. 1782].
5. JJ to William Livingston, 21 May 1783, above; JJ to Frederick Jay, not found. For Peter Augustus Jay’s stay in Poughkeepsie, see Egbert Benson to JJ, 25 Apr. 1783, above. For JJ’s further instructions, see JJ to Frederick Jay, 18 July 1783, JJ to Frederick Jay, 18 July 1783, NNC (EJ: 06341).
7. On 19 May 1783 Matthew Ridley left Paris for Geneva with his two charges, Thomas and Robert Morris Jr., and their newly engaged tutor, Nicolas Jean Hugou de Bassville. The Morris boys and their tutor remained in Geneva, while Ridley returned to Paris on 1 June 1783. See , 7: 623–24, 626n; 8: 729–30, 732n–733n. Hugou de Bassville (1753–93), a native of Abbeville, France, wrote on education before becoming actively involved in the French Revolution. In 1789 he served as an editor of the Mercure national, and published a memoir on the Revolution the next year. He received a diplomatic appointment to Naples in 1792 and was subsequently sent without official status to Rome, where his undiplomatic behavior led to his death at the hands of a hostile mob. See Frédéric Masson, Les diplomates de la Révolution: Hugou de Bassville à Rome; Bernadotte à Vienne (Paris, 1883); and “Nicolas-Jean Hugou de Bassville,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/55555/Nicolas-Jean%20Hugou-de-Bassville>.
8. On Robert Morris’s letters of resignation as superintendent of finance and their impact, see JJ to William Livingston, 21 May, and note 3, above. Morris did not leave office until November 1784.