391To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 16 May 1803 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn.—ansr. his last —mention my lands—shall request Mr. G. Jeff. to advertise them—shall endeavour to return to Virgia. Springs—uncertain if I shall find him at Mont. if [so shd.] be happy to see him there once more—Taylor to recieve the 500 a month—as to the political part of his letter—always my opinion on this subject—founded on my knowlege of the Spa. Govt—happy in the result—do not give...
392To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 25 October 1803 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn.—as to Catlett—& my land to be rented &c.—& to write to me at Richd. if not too inconvenient—if not dissuaded by him shall rent—as to the report of Strobels failure FC ( DLC : Short Papers); partially dated; entirely in Short’s hand, consisting of an entry in his epistolary record. Recorded in SJL as received from “Prestwood” on 5 Nov. On his return from Kentucky, Short stopped off at...
393To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 10 November 1803 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn.—ansr. his of 6.—as to land—Catlett &c.—shall employ Price & consult with Mr G. Jeffn.—hope he will also give his directions when at Monti.—as to [Britony]—Durrets lease—Mr Barnes I shall stop at Semmes’s—letter to be still kept for me—shall leave this in a few days & only stop at [Mt. Vernon]—anxious to get into winter quarters before the cold sets in—as to the vessel going to France, I...
394To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 17 January 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
Jefferson.—Ansr. his of 12—change of time &c—has not changed my determination that this shd be no inconvenience to him—of course at liberty to act as he pleases on it—the only inconvenience to me not to be able to direct myself the vestment—state of France—of sea & of my affairs with G.J. may perhaps make me stay another year—pleasure of my residence in my own country shall often regret it—the...
395To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 15 February 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn.—As to papers he sent me— Price is to give him directions as to Durret &c— Anthony —If he shall not receive the back rents to give Price a list—he to acot. with Mr. G. Jef.—The affair of the etiquette—the gaz. of U.S.—the no advertisements explained—inclose the paper from J V Stap—Gerry’s letter to me left at N. York—My first object was to enquire after Harvie as have no ansr. from him...
396To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 19 July 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn. Pr.—ansr. his of 9th—Change as to Barnes —pity no place cd. be found for him &c.—the payments made by B. were March & May—As to the Cahusac, an acct shall be sent &c—as to Laf. & the location, & the idea of his negotiation with an Amer. in business at Paris—plan of Ballston springs & Boston & province of Maine—in winter perhaps to Charleston—the longer I stay here the greater my...
397To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 5 November 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure of writing you from New York on the 19th. of July, which letter I observe you recieved—I have since then been so constantly under way that I have omitted until now, acknowleging the reciept of your two favors of July 22. & Sep. 20. & for which I beg you to accept my thanks—The last inclosed a plat of the land tenanted (for which I am particularly indebted as it is the only...
398To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 21 November 1804 (Jefferson Papers)
I have to beg pardon for having so long delayed to answer your favor of the 10th. inst. covering a draught on the bank here for 500. d.—It was recieved in due course & carried to your credit in the acct. subsisting between us. It is my intention if the weather & circumstances should be favorable to make a tour to the Southward this winter, & I shall certainly take Washington in my way were it...
399To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 14 February 1805 (Jefferson Papers)
Your letter of the 8th. inst. was recieved here on the 11th. inclosing an order on the Bank of U.S. for five hundred dollars, & which I accordingly carry to your credit. Under the desire you formerly communicated to me I am endeavouring to bring up our acct to the present time—I am a bad hand at business of this kind & it therefore costs me more trouble perhaps than it would another—When the...
400To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 26 February 1805 (Jefferson Papers)
Jeffn. Pt.—inclose acot. up to Feb. 12. 05—bal. 8787.69.—to return me acots. inclosed after examining & correcting them—not to incommode himself—but desirable for me, & only to receive what in Arrer. to lessen his due to me—get Man. Compy —difficult to judge when here—impossible to direct when absent FC ( DLC : Short Papers); entirely in Short’s hand, consisting of an entry in his epistolary...
401To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 6 November 1807 (Jefferson Papers)
Since my last of Oct. 3. from N. York, (which, I hope, was recieved) I have come to this place. I have not yet fixed my winter-quarters here, but probably shall do so, for the same reasons as heretofore, the greater convenience of accomodation. If any change of views however should have taken place since I last had the pleasure of hearing from you, & you should advise my endeavoring to place...
402To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 25 November 1807 (Jefferson Papers)
I have postponed from day to day answering your kind & friendly letter of the 15th. because I expected every day would fix the point of Monroes return or stay. The papers now tell us he has really taken leave—of course his return certain.—This would in some degree diminish my original sin of Virginianism—which I suppose would, if necessary, be objected, by those who are fearful or not...
403To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 29 December 1807 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure of acknowleging on the 25th. ulto. your favor of the 15th. Since then I have seen that Mr Bowdoin has left France. Not knowing whether the interposition of Bonaparte, mentioned by you, had produced its effect, I supposed, if it had not, that Mr. B’s departure indicated its not being counted on for the present. It appeared to me at the same time that Mr B’s return left a...
404To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 27 January 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure of writing to you on the 25th. of Novr. —& also on the 29th. of Decr.—The object of the present is simply to enquire, so as to ascertain whether those letters were recieved—I very well conceive that your extreme & multiplied occupations, should not have left you time to answer them under the present pressure of affairs—& this is by no means to ask it, if it should be...
405To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 26 March 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I have been so often disappointed that I was determined not again to announce my visit to Washington, until I should have set out—I left Philadelphia yesterday, & shall arrive on tuesday or wednesday—Since the roads have been in a travelling condition, I have been detained from day to day by various business with persons at New York & therefore out of my control—It was important to be done...
406To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 21 April 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
The memda. shall be attended to with care & with pleasure— The fine weather will carry me first to Congress hall & then to Rep’s— I find medicinal waters useful to me in this climate & those of Ballston peculiarly so—But if I should be able to give them up it will give me a great deal of pleasure to visit Monticello—I wish however it were in my power to impart to you a conviction, which I have...
407To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 28 April 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
You will find inclosed the chain & seal. Chaudron had several—fresh from Paris as he told me, & tout ce qu’il y a de plus nouveau . He and myself selected half a dozen that we thought the handsomest which I brought to Mrs. Elwyn, & out of them she chose the one sent—By means of this epuratory process I hope it will merit the approbation of the person for whom you destine it. Candor obliges me...
408To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 20 June 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I ought perhaps sooner to have acknowledged the receipt of the 20: d. for the watch-chain—It gave me pleasure to find it was agreeable to your taste, & I hope therefore it was so to the person for whom you designed it. I thank you for having sent my letter to Price—but he has given no answer or sign of life since—I hope however he will follow the instructions contained in it, & discontinue...
409To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 8 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I write on the first moment of recieving yours of the 6th. The injunction there as to preliminary steps shall be obeyed. Mr. Lewis left this yesterday morning for Washington—of course you have the result of the Osage—I hope the decision will not be that I am to go in the vessel you allude to—It has been said that it is a small vessel—I have never seen any thing respecting it except the...
410To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 10 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
On the 8th. I answered your favor of the 6th.—Since then I have not heard from you—& this day being Sunday, no letters are to be had from the post-office, so that if there should be one there I shall not get it until to-morrow—of course too late for to-morrow’s mail, which goes off before the hour of distribution. I have been at work with all possible activity in huddling up my affairs—not a...
411To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 14 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure of writing you on the 8th. & on the 10th. in answer to yours of the 6th. I have looked with anxiety for your second letter—It has not yet arrived, although this morning’s mail must have come, it being now 3. o’clock—I have been working incessantly to arrange my affairs, and at the same time to obey your summons to Washington, if my presence should be deemed necessary—I...
412To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 15 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Your second favor (July 13) is just recieved, & I am extremely happy to be freed by the present determination, from the apprehensions of the schooner—It is one of my real misfortunes to be so bad a mariner & to have such need of a good & easy vessel. It had a serious influence on my return to America, & kept me a long time in France beyond the time I had fixed. I observe that you would prefer...
413To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 23 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
As the time of my departure is delayed as mentioned in your favor of the 20th. I should not so immediately have troubled you again, if it were not that I wish thus early to say, before any arrangement be made as to the vessel, how sollicitous I am that it should be a commodious & safe one, & therefore as large as the nature of the case will admit of. My marine indisposition is a thing...
414To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 27 July 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I wrote on the 23d.—Will now trouble you with only a few words, & these I should spare you if it were not for my anxiety as to the vessel on which I am to go. Since my last I have seen Mr Erskine on his return from Washington—In the course of conversation he mentioned in my presence, that Government had some intention he understood of sending the next time one of their armed vessels—As it is...
415To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 7 August 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I take up my pen to answer your favor of the 2d.—It will be in time to go by the Tuesday’s mail from Washington. Your letter came to me from the post office—& must have gone there under cover to some one—as there was no postmark on it, nor your frank, and yet it came free—It contained Mr Madns. letter which I here return agreeably to your request. The concurrent disposition of you both in...
416To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 10 August 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Since my letter of the 7th. I have had incidentally a conversation with a person acquainted with the Baltic, apparently with a view to the operations of the belligerents in that quarter. Such subjects being constant topics at table, no suspicion whatever could exist as to the real motives. He stated that at the end of October, such quantities of ice begun to float in that sea, particularly in...
417To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 27 August 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favor of the 19th. was recieved here too late to answer it in time for yesterday’s mail from Washington—The next mail being tuesday, I write now to secure this being at Washington in time for it. I was extremely gratified by your letter, as it relieved me from the anxiety of the direct voyage, & the little vessels. It gave me great pleasure also to learn that the final arrangements would...
418To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 31 August 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I wrote on the 27th. to which I beg leave to refer—I mentioned the reason of not proposing the subject in question to Richd. R.—I know no one to whom to offer it, although I am persuaded there are many very proper who would be delighted with it. I am extremely anxious that their political principles should be proper & acceptable from a variety of considerations; & this confines my choice,...
419To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 4 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
My letters to you not recieved at the date of yours of the 29th. were of the 27th & 31st. ulto.—Several parts of them are anticipated by your’s. The announce as to the Aviso was inserted in the papers four days ago by the post-office. Several applications were immediately made to the Navy agent here & to the Collector by the owners of vessels, who did not know which would be the department, as...
420To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 11 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favor of the 6th. was recieved yesterday—Without advancing so far as to leave the least room of suspicion of my object I find that Mr Biddle’s plan is to pursue the commencement he has made in the practice of the law & would not quit it—Of the other two one has an office under the State that he apprehended he should lose, but now having lost that apprehension in a great measure, it is...
421To James Madison from William Short, 14 September 1808 (Madison Papers)
This moment brings me your favor (private) of the 9th., & leaves me just time enough to acknowlege its receipt so that my letter may be in time for friday’s mail from Washington to you. The papers &c. which you thought would be here to-day have not yet arrived. I shall attend to them with great sollicitude. It would have been extremely agreeable to me to have had the pleasure of seeing you &...
422To James Madison from William Short, 18 September 1808 (Madison Papers)
I had the pleasure of addressing you on the 14th. in acknowledgement of yours of the 9th. I should not have troubled you now but for a letter from Mr. G. to the Collector which he directed him to communicate to me. The purport of it was, in answer to some demand of the Owner of the Aviso, that I was to decide between the ports of L’Orient & Havre, when on the coast of Europe, unless some...
423From William Short to Jacob Wagner, 20 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I received yesterday morning your favor of the — covering the copy of Mr M’s note to you—Agreeably to your suggestion I wrote (by the same days mail) to avoid delay, to Mr G:——I have no preference as to place as I there informed him—I pointed out two places which wd. probably be most convenient.—It is only necessary that the fund to draw on shd. be on the other side of the atlantic on account...
424To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 28 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Since my last to you of the 18th. instant Mr Gibbon has arrived here with the despatches that were to be committed to me for France—& with a part of the papers destined for me—others have followed successively & I now hold all that were intended to be given me—The vessel was ready on the 26th. agreeably to contract & after that day demurrage begins. We should have sailed probably yesterday,...
425To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 30 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I ask your permission to present to you a particular friend of mine, Mr Geo: Harrison of this City. He purposes making an excursion to Washington & will be accompanied by his Lady. Mr Harrison’s own respectability & situation would have insured him the opportunity of paying his respects to you in person—But it is peculiarly my desire to be the chanel of introducing to you a most estimable &...
426To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 30 September 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
Mr Hare who is going to Washington wishes to have the honor of being introduced to you. I am extremely happy that he furnishes me this occasion of testifying the sincere regard I have for him, as I value him highly & have long considered him among my first & most worthy friends here. He is also an officer & a distinguished member of the Philosophical Society over which you preside. It is with...
427To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 2 October 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
A letter which I address this day to the Sec. of State from hence will explain the present state of your aviso, & that we are now only waiting for the tide; the wind being adverse—I came here last evening having waited only for yesterday’s southern mail—Had there been no delay at all the vessel wd. have sailed from hence on Wednesday last—As it is it will sail to-day—the delay has been...
428To Thomas Jefferson from William Short, 25 November 1808 (Jefferson Papers)
I have the pleasure of addressing you from the country seat of a friend where I have come to spend seven or eight days, in order to repose myself from the fatigues of my sea and land voyage, before entering on those of preparing for the one now commencing. I should have returned to Paris to-day but for a cold attended with a slight fever which confines me here— This will last I hope but a few...
429To James Madison from William Short, 29 November 1808 (Madison Papers)
I shall confine myself for the present to a communication by a private letter. Immediately on my arrival at Paris I came here into the country to pass some days with a friend, in order to repose myself from the fatigues of my voyage. Before my return I was attacked by a severe cold which was attended with a slight fever which I feared would become a serious & lengthy indisposition if I did not...
430To James Madison from William Short, 29 March 1809 (Madison Papers)
Madn. P.—March 29. [1809, Paris]—make use of occasion announced by Gel. A though precarious—catarrh—& pain of writing—do not address Sec. of S—he not known yet—state of information here—zero—his nomination only known. Anxious to write so as to explain the cause of my delay here—my letters by Union sent by A —Wait on Ct. R. —postpone details for another occasion—the advantage of first seeing...
431William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 10 April 1809 (Jefferson Papers)
You will be surprize d to see by the date of my letter that I am still at Paris . I hope when you shall have seen how this has been gradually occasioned that you will approve it. I hope also that it will be approved by your successor to whom I wrote on the subject not long ago by an occasion which Gen l Armstrong made use of, being the first he has had since the departure of the Union . It was...
432To James Madison from William Short, 12 April 1809 (Madison Papers)
Madn. P. Ap. 12. [1809, Paris]—Wrote him 29h. ulto. (private)—first occasion—Armstrong’s [ illegible ] did not know—anxious he shd. know cause of delay as soon as the fact—disagreeable personally (on acct. of uncertainty) & particul[arl]y since mild weather & departure of Romf—Fortunate to find Romff. here & why —first interview—wishes me to see him often—acquaintance to ripen into friendp &...
433William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 27 May 1809 (Jefferson Papers)
Your letter of the 8 th of March was delivered to me by M r Coles . I write this answer by precaution, as it is not certain that I shall not return with him. It will depend on the answer which Gen l Armstrong will recieve from this Gov t on the subject of his communications to them in consequence of the despatches by M r Coles . Should the answer be such as to shew that it would be unadvisable...
434To James Madison from William Short, 15 September 1809 (Madison Papers)
Although my official relation to you has been suppressed, I think it proper to communicate to you the letter I have recieved from Count Romanzoff, of which a copy is annexed. You will see that it is an answer to mine addressed to him by order of the Sec. of State & conformably to your instructions. On the subject of Ct. Pahlen’s mission I immediately sent him the assurance he wished & referred...
435To James Madison from William Short, 7 February 1810 (Madison Papers)
The present is merely to acknowlege the reciept & thank you for the kind expressions of your letter of Dec. 3. I shall add nothing more to this letter hoping very soon to have the satisfaction of renewing to you in person the assurance of my sentiments. I informed the sec. of State last summer on receiving his letter that I should return this spring. If there had not been an hope of some...
436William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 7 February 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
Jefferson — Feb 7. to enclose that of M r Bott a — announc g my return—on acc t of public affair & mail— & Breck’s death—& had known it sh d
437To James Madison from William Short, 19 June 1810 (Madison Papers)
I have already acknowleged & thanked you for your favor of recieved in France. I came to this country with the intention of embarking in the April packet from Falmouth. I was dissuaded from this, & have since been disappointed in the vessel I expected from hence whither I came to embark. I am now waiting for the return of a Ship which is recommended to me as a peculiarly good one. In the mean...
438William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 19 June 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
You will be surprized at recieving a letter from me from this place—I did not contemplate being here & still less being in Europe as late as this— My very great anxiety to be again in America to attend to some of my affairs which required something to be immediately done, as the friend with whom I left my power to represent me at Philadelphia , M r Breck , had died without naming a substitute—...
439William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 1 November 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
I have delayed, much longer than I had intended, to answer your favor of the 21 st Sep. & to thank you for your wonted kindness in attending to the commission I took the libert e y of troubling you with— It was executed as you expected & ready for me here, whither I came after whiling away the sickly Season in the Jersey & at Morrisville , which you know is become the seat of Gen l Moreau .— I...
440William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 31 December 1810 (Jefferson Papers)
I had the pleasure of writing to you on the 1 st of Nov. — & I took the liberty at the same time of inclosing a letter for Price , as being the best, if not the only certain means of getting a letter to him. I hope that was recieved by you—but it has not procured of Price the answer I had counted on. I had hoped it would have conquered his aversion to writing—After so long an interval, I no...