From John Jay to Sarah Livingston Jay, 18 January 1783
To Sarah Livingston Jay
Rouen 18 Jany 17831
My dear Sally
A little Letter I wrote you this morning,2 contained a promise of another by Tomorrows Post, and to perform it I am now retired to my Rooms
I fear your Expectations respecting the speedy Recovery of my Health are too sanguine— As I lost it by almost imperceptible Degrees, the Restoration of it will doubtless be gradual, and I shall think myself happy if I regain it on those Terms. If my Endeavours succeed, I shall be grateful; if not, I shall be resigned— I hope you will always consider these matters in their true Points of View, and not permit vain Hopes or causeless Fears to distress either you or me— The more easy & happy you are, the more I shall be so also, and consequently the better prospects we shall both have of future Health. I am better than when I left you, tho’ not much— The weather has been and still is very unfavorable—but it must change soon, & thank God it cannot change for the Worse—
If the Letter from the Marqs. came by the Post—that is, if there are post Marks on the cover, send it to me, if not, keep it till I return, & observe the same Rule as to all other Letters you may recieve for me—3
This Town is daily amused with contradictory Reports respecting Peace—they are anxious about it, and with Reason, for the uncertainty of its taking Place, holds Commerce suspended, and injures the mercantile Interest greatly.4 I am pleased with this City and the people of it—they are industrious and hospitable—their manufactures are very considerable & very proper for our Country, with whom they will certainly have a great Trade unless it be fettered & embarrassed with superfluous Regulations and ill-judged Restrictions—5 I suspect the Trade of this Country stands in need of Revision very generally—6
Present my Compts. and best wishes to Mrs. Ridley & your neighbours— I am glad the Servants behave well—they shall be rewarded for it—kiss our little Girl for me, and believe me to be my dear Sally Your very afft. Husband7
John Jay
Mrs. Jay
ALS, NNC (EJ: 8033).
1. JJ’s trip to Rouen inadvertently caused him to miss the opportunity to be present at the signing of the preliminary treaties held at Vergennes’s office on 20 Jan. In his diary JA commented: “Thus was this mighty System terminated with as little Ceremony, and in as short a Time as a marriage Settlement.” See , 3: 106.
2. Letter not found.
3. Lafayette’s letter of 26 Dec. 1782, above, which had been received by SLJ and forwarded to JJ by the marquise de Lafayette under cover of a letter of 17 Jan. 1783. See Adrienne de Noailles, marquise de Lafayette to JJ, 17 Jan., ALS, NNC (EJ: 6749), and SLJ to JJ, 17 Jan. 1783 (two letters), ALS, NNC (EJ: 6495, 6496); and : 598.
4. Goods shipped in war would bear inflated insurance and freight costs. If not sold prior to news of peace, they would face competition from a flood of lower-cost goods rushed to market as soon as it was declared. Uncertainties about the peace also led to speculation on the price of American produce sold in European markets. See the anonymous letter of 10 Apr. 1783, in , 7: 689–96; and , 19: 586, 686–87, 691, 693.
5. JJ was probably commenting on the manufacturing done by the chevalier John Holker, father of John Holker Jr., formerly the French Consul General in the United States. Of English birth, Holker Sr. had been exiled to France for his support of Charles Stuart. He manufactured textiles in Rouen and contracted to supply goods to the American army. See , 3: 30. SLJ’s letter of 17 Jan. (EJ: 6496), cited in note 3, was addressed to JJ “Chez Monsieur Holker”.
6. On American efforts to effect this revision, see Gouverneur Morris to the Chevalier de Chastellux, 7 Oct. 1783, and “Ideas of an American on Commerce between the United States and French Islands,” 31 Oct. 1783, , 8: 593–95, 681–99.
7. SLJ replied to this letter on 21 Jan. 1783, below.