12                          Judge Harold R. Medina

They have presumed hitherto however more delicacy to¬
wards the friendship between you and me than any other.

The last A'lission to France, and the consequent dismis¬
sion of the twelve Regiments, although an essential branch
of my System of Policy, has been to those who have been
intriguing and laboring for an Army of fifty thousand
iVIen, an unpardonable fault. If by their folly they have
thrown themselves on their backs and Jacobins should
walk over their bellies, as military Gentlemen express pro¬
motions over their heads, who should they blame but
themselves?

Among the very few Truths in a late Pamphlet there
is one that I shall ever acknowledge with pleasure, viz.
that the principal Merit of the negotiations for Peace was
Mr. Jays. I wish you would permit our Historical So¬
ciety to print the Papers you drew up on that Occasion.

I often say that when my Confidence in Mr. Jay shall
cease, I must give up the cause of Confidence and re¬
nounce it with all Men.

With great Truth and regard I am now and ever

shall be your friend and humble servant.

John Adams

I have saved for the last the piece that I like best. Jay and his
wife Sally Livingston Jay sailed from the neighborhood of Phila¬
delphia for Spain on October 20, 1779. This turned out to be
one of his most unhappy and frustrating experiences. Mrs. Jay
had requested General St. Clair to ask Washington for a lock of
his hair so that she might take it with her as a keepsake. The lock
of hair arrived with the following, entirely in Washington's own
hand:

General Washington presents his most respectful com¬
pliments to Mrs. Jay—Honoured in her request by General
St. Clair, he takes pleasure in presenting the inclosed, with