I am profiting, my dear and respectable colleague, from a short stay here, to thank you for your letter of October 14, and for the copy of the new federal constitution which you sent, as well as the one which M. Grant had already given me in your name some time ago. I would have wished for some news of your health, but I learned it from M. le Veillard, who knows my interest in this health which is so precious for the world, and very precious for your friends; I see that if you are suffering from your ailments, they at least permit you to attend to your business, and to forget yourself, in thinking and working for the good of your fellow citizens and mankind.

The news we receive make me hope that the constitution that you have just completed will be accepted by the different states; it is by no means perfect, but where is the work of men deserving of that term? The people who were capable of liberating themselves, and who understand the need to set themselves good laws, will perfect them throughout the ages, and I hope that America will be a model to other nations for a long time.

We saw M. Payne since he returned from England; my mother, who could not talk with him except through an interpreter, is sorry that he does not know a little more French; as for me I saw him and will see him again with the greatest pleasure. His project for a bridge was approved by the Academy, and he is currently having his model brought back from London where he left it, in order to help M. Beaumarchais who would like to undertake the construction of a similar bridge in Paris, between the Arsenal and the King's Garden.

Otherwise, I've seen M. Payne less than I would have wished because I have been very busy this winter with the Parliamentary Assemblies. M. Jefferson will surely send you the Edict which has just been passed for non-Catholics: it is a good step towards tolerance because it is general, but we are not yet to the point of the excellent Virginia law, the only reasonable one which has ever been written with regard to religion. The one which we have just passed encountered many obstacles; a few fanatic elements united to defeat it, but it finally passed.

Everyone's thoughts are busy with the Estates General Assembly which has been announced for 1791: if it occurs it will be a great moment, for given the current state of enlightenment, it will naturally result in good measures.

Thank you for sending me for the second volume of the Philosophical Transactions of the American Society. Please allow me to ask you for the first volume, which I have looked for in vain, as the edition is out of print in Europe; if there is a new edition in America, please send me one.

Allow me to ask another question about the supposed discovery (made nearby Fort Harmar, where the Muskingum and the Ohio meet) of ancient fortifications and remains of buildings which would prove that the now deserted country had been long ago occupied by a nation educated in several arts. M. St. Jean de Crevecoeur sent me a map of it with an account by Messrs. Parsons and Sargent; I would like to know if this discovery is considered authentic in your country.

The good Abbé Rochon with whom I came to spend a few days here asks me to recall him to you; my relatives whom I left in Paris give their many regards; please don't forget to mention me to your grandsons, and accept, my very dear and respectable colleague, the homage of my respect and especially the tender attachment that I have devoted to you for life