To James Madison from James K. Paulding, 28 February 1827
From James K. Paulding
New york 28th. February 1827
Dear Honoured Sir,
Will you be pleased to accept a copy of a little Pamphlet which I have lately written.1 It was to answer our immediate purpose here, during the Session of our Legislature, and intended principally to apply to the circumstances & situation of the State of newYork. That it might do any service, it was necessary to stop far short of the extant to which I might have carried the application of the principles I have espoused. It only skims the surface, and can indicate to you nothing but what you have long been familiar with.
My only object in sending it, was that it might afford me a sort of excuse, to remind you of a person who once had the pleasure of being your guest, and of enjoying for a short period, the happiness of your fireside.2 It was among the most happy periods of my life, and I often return to it with a feeling of gratefull pleasure I can hardly express. It would add to this pleasure if I could know that I were not altogether forgotten by Yourself & Mrs. Madison, and that you accept with kindness this small testimony of my grateful recollection.
Be pleased to present me to Mrs. Madison, to whose kind attentions I shall always feel indebted, & for whose health & happiness, as well as yours, I shall ever feel the warmest solicitude. I am Dear & honoured Sir, Your friend & Servant.
J. K. Paulding
RC (NRU: Rush Rhees Library).
1. One of Their Constituents [James K. Paulding], Letter on the Use and Abuse of Incorporations, Addressed to the Delegation from the City of New-York, in the State Legislature (New York, 1827; 29483).
2. James Kirke Paulding (1778–1860), a preeminent early national U.S. writer, was a personal friend of JM. After JM’s second term ended in 1817, Paulding accompanied the Madisons on their way home from Washington to Virginia, and in the summer of 1818, he visited JM at Montpelier (Ketcham, “An Unpublished Sketch of James Madison by James K. Paulding,” 67 [1959]: 432–33). Paulding’s visit is mentioned in JM to Paulding, 23 July 1818, , 1:309, 310 n. 1.