From John Adams to Philippe Jean Joseph Lagau, 13 February 1783
To Philippe Jean Joseph Lagau
Paris. 13th. February. 1783—
Sir,
I have recd. this morning the letter you did me the honor to write me the 31st. January, & knowing nothing of Mr: Harras I opened the letter to him according to your express desire. The letter enclosed I shall send by the first opportunity to America. The letter to Mr: Harras I shall seal again & send to the Hague—but I know nothing of such a person—.
The Bill of exchange you speak of I have never recd. nor before heard of. I suspect you may have been imposed on—1
I am very anxious abt. a young American of 15. or 16. years of age, who was to have passed thro’ Hamburg to the Hague, in Decr: or Jany: but I’ve heard nothing of him— He was at Stockholm the beginning of Decer: since wh: I have heard nothing of him. If you have heard any thing of him at Copenhagen, Hamburg, or elsewhere, you will oblige me much to let me know it—
I am, Sir, / yr:—
LbC in Charles Storer’s hand (Adams Papers); internal address: “Mr: Hagau. Chargè / des Affaires du Consulat / de France— / Hamburgh.—”; APM Reel 108.
1. In his letter of 31 Jan. (Adams Papers), Lagau, chargé d’affaires of the French consulate at Hamburg, forwarded a letter to an otherwise unidentified Charles Harras. That letter presumably contained the bill of exchange that JA mentions here. For the circumstances that led Lagau to supply Harras with a substantial amount of money and the denouement of the affair, which confirms JA’s suspicion that the French diplomat had “been imposed on,” see Lagau’s letters of 14 and 28 Feb. and letters exchanged by Dumas and JA of 18 and 23 Feb., respectively, all below.