But whilst I leave to its fate the libel of Mr. Pickering, with the
thousands of others like it, to which I have given no other answer than
a steady course of similar action, there are two facts or fancies of
his which I must set to rights. The one respects Mr. Adams, the
other myself. He observes, that my letter of October the 12th, 1823,
acknowledges the receipt of one from Mr. Adams, of September the 18th,
which, having been written a few days after Cunningham's publication, he
says was no doubt written to apologize to me for the pointed reproaches
he had uttered against me in his confidential letters to Cunningham.
And thus having 'no doubt' of his conjecture, he considers it as proven,
goes on to suppose the contents of the letter (19, 22), makes it place
Mr. Adams at my feet suing for pardon, and continues to rant upon it,
as an undoubted fact. Now I do most solemnly declare, that so far from
being a letter of apology, as Mr. Pickering so undoubtingly assumes,
there was not a word or allusion in it respecting Cunningham's
publication.
The other allegation respecting myself, is equally false. In page 34,
he quotes Doctor Stuart, as having, twenty years ago, informed him that
General Washington, 'when he became a private citizen,' called me to
account for expressions in a letter to Mazzei, requiring, in a tone of
unusual severity, an explanation of that letter. He adds of himself, 'in
what manner the latter humbled himself, and appeased the just resentment
of Washington, will never be known, as some time after his death, the
correspondence was not to be found, and a diary for an important period
of his Presidency was also missing.
Pages:
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677