1From John Adams to the Chevalier de La Luzerne, 17 October 1779 (Adams Papers)
printed : JA, Diary and Autobiography Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L. H. Butterfield and others, Cambridge, 1961; 4 vols. , 4:175–176 . John Adams, thanking La Luzerne for his letter of 29 Sept. (calendared above) congratulating him on his appointment as minister to negotiate the peace, confessed to some diffidence about his ability to undertake so difficult a task. He added,...