From William Nixon (unpublished)
Savannah Nov. 24th. 1786.
Honoured Sir

Your letter, which I had the honour of delivering to General Wayne, has fully answered your benevolent design, in favouring me with it, and a similar effect must have been produced by it in any part not only of America but of the civilized World. You may believe me, Sir, when I say that it was not the want of a deep sense of the obligations, which your Excellency was pleased to lay me under, that prevented me from acknowledging the great favour you’ve done me much sooner. I did not wish to trespass on your time or patience, with professions of gratitude merely I knew that a truely great and benevolent mind would be much better pleased at being simply told of the success of it’s benevolent exertions to do good, than with the most refined flattery. I am then to inform your Excellency, that General Wayne paid the very greatest respect to your recommendation, which his letter of August 10th. to the Speaker of the House of Assembly of Georgia fully shews an extract of which, with their resolution thereon, I herewith inclose, notwithstanding which, as a vestry of this parish was not held since I came here until about a fortnight ago, I of course was not appointed Minister of this parish until them. I now take the opportunity of the first ship which has sailed from this place for Philadelphia to inform you of these particulars and that I have a school, which brings in near three hundred pounds sterling a year, but this comes only from the pupils, for as yet there is no endowed or established school in this County. It is not improbable, that there will be a school endowed by the next Assembly, and perhaps I stand fairest to be appointed Master of it.

I’m informed by judge Burke of South-Carolina, that a report is circulated in Charleston that the Letter of recommendation which you favoured me with to General Wayne was not genuine, but forged by myself, at the same time that a consciousness of my own integrity makes me despise such insinuation, I still, for the satisfaction of my friends in Charleston, would be glad that you, by writing to judge Edanus Burk, Charleston, would put it in his power who is a worthy friend of mine, and one who wishes to do justice to every one, to set my Character in just point of view. I am, Honoured Sir, with the deepest Sense of the obligations, which you have done me the honour of laying me under, your much obliged and ever grateful humble Servnat

William Nixon

p.s. I’ve adopted or rather put in practice the method of teaching Latin specified in my Prosody, which I find answers, in practice, all my expectation, and is so well like here, that several grown up young Gentlemen, who do business by day, come to me to learn Latin by night and are making a very great progress.
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