From John Adams to Thomas Barclay, 3 April 1787
To Thomas Barclay
Grosvr. sqr. April 3d. 1787.
Dear sir—
I have recieved in due time with great Pleasure all your Letters & Dispatches: But the Reason why I have not answ’d. them regularly, was the uncertainty where you was to be found indeed I have been buisy in other things, & nothing from you seemed to require any other answers, than acceptance & payment of your Draughts, which has been punctually done,
Give me leave my dear sir to congratulate you most sincerely upon your fortunate Journey’s & Voyages & your happy success in the negotiations with the Emperor of Moroco—
I wish very heartily we could ask you to go to Algiers & Tunis & Tripoli; but without further orders from Congress & further Provisions of Money, all attempts must cease—
Inclosed is a list of your Draughts, from my Books and another from my Bankers—1 I hope by this opportunity to send you all my accounts, & pray you to adjust them— I am afraid I have spent more than the generosity of my Country have allowed me, instead of laying up for my Children— I hope soon to hear of your arrival in Paris or London, which would be still more agreable— with great esteem & regard— / I am &c
J.A.
LbC in WSS’s hand (Adams Papers); internal address: “Hon: Thos. Barclay Esqr.”; APM Reel 113.
1. Not found, but see Barclay’s final reckoning of the accounts as submitted to the commissioners with his letter of 13 July, below. Still uncertain whether to send his accounts to Barclay, JA repeated his query upon returning to the United States the following year, as described in John Adams’ Accounts in Europe: 1785–1788, for which see the appendix to this volume.