Your Letter of the 25 Sep. came to my Hands in England on the 8 Decr last,1 and since my Return I have recd yours that of the 7 Nov. wh. tho containing only three Lines I prefer to most of yr. others Letters—perhaps you have forgot it

“It is now within three minutes of the Time when the mail is made up & sent of[f]. I cannot therefore do more than just to assure you of the Continuance of my Love. Adieu. Yours,

G. M.[”]2

That these ^this^ letter was ^so^ short I ascribe to Procrastination—that it was written at all, I ascribe to your Heart— Your Head evidently had no Concern in it, for if consulted, it wd have intimated that they who live near a Post Office cannot well ^find a ^^no^^ good^ excuse for singular Brevity, in the mails being to be sent off in a few Minutes after they set down to write, unless indeed the ^some circumstances just^ occurred ^should^ make the Subject of the Letter— But be that as it may— I wd. rather receive one little Effusion from your Heart, than twenty from your Head, tho’ I [illegible] ^hope^ to derive much future Pleasure from each ^both^. We shall have much to say to each other, & I think neither ^both of us^ will be gainers by it— Why I think so, must not be discussed in Letters, whose Seals will not be respected—

You suppose that Ill Health induces me to resign—you are mistaken— It seldom happens that any Measure is prompted by one single motive, tho’ one may ^among^ others may ^sometimes^ have more ^dicisive^ weight and more dicisive ^&^ Influence— Many Motives induce me to resign them but among the ^of those^ many there is one that is irresistable ^wh predominates^ & that is this— When I embarked in ^the^ public ^Life service I^ thought said and I said it very sincerely, that tho’ I [illegible] ^quitted^ private Life with Regret & shd. be happy to return to it when the objects wh called me from it shd. be attained— You know what those objects were and that [upon their being obtained?] ^on the Peace^ they ceased to operate— To be consistent therefore I must retire— This Motive is irresistible— Superadded to this Consideration are those are the Education of my Son, the Attention I owe to the unfortunate part of my Family, and the Happiness I expect from rejoining my Friends—pecuniary Considerations ever held a secondary Place in my Estimation— I know how to live within the Limits of any Income however narrow; and my Feelings are Pride is not of a Nature to be hurt by my ^my^ returning to the Business to wh. I formerly followed—my Feelings are to be affected not by the Extent of the Sphere in wh. I may move, but the Manner in wh. I may move in it, whether it be great or ^or whether it be^ little— These ^but professions^ of this Sort are common & Facts only can give ^unequivocal^ Evidence of their Sincerity—

I have passed between three & four ^sad^ Months in England bad weather & bad Health almost the whole Time—on my arrival a Disentery & Fever brought me low, & a sore Throat wh. still plagues me succeeded— Bath has done me good, for it removed the Pain in my Breast wh. has been ^almost^ constant for Eighteen months— I had many excellent Opportunities of writing to my Friends from London & Bristol, but I was enjoined to be bewa abstain as much as possible from Pen & Ink—

It is natural that you shd expect to find some News in this Letter— I will tell you a little, tho it is po probable that yr. Sagacity may has prevented its being unexpected— The Institution of the order of Cincinatus is does not in the opinion of the opinion of the wisest Men whom I have heard speake on the Subject, either do Credit to those who founded, ^formed & patronized^ or to those who suffered it—Neither the Reputation of Genl. Washington nor the Dignity of Congress were increased by these extraordinary measures

I am indebted to our excellent Friend R. Morris for a very obliging Letter—3 He shall soon hear from me—in the mean time he is to ^let him^ share with you in this—adieu Yours sincerely