98 HAYS — DK AUGHT OF DECLAEATIOX OF INDEPENDENCE. [Ap. 1, 



the 8th July Mr. Jefferson wrote to Mr. Lee as follows. " I enclose 

 you a copy of the Declaration of Independence as agreed to by the 

 House aiidalso as originally framed. ' ' This was the Second copy which 

 he had made for Mr. Lee. Mr. Jefferson added ^' You will judge 

 whether it is better or worse for the Critics ^ On the suggestion 

 of Mr. Jefferson the Comparison was made by Richard Henry Lee 

 and his Brother Arthur Lee, who drew a black line upon the 

 original draught proposed by the Conunittee under every part rejected 

 by Congress ; and in the margin opposite placed the word out. 

 This document thus marked is the one possessed by the Am. Philo- 

 sophical Society. 



Sometime after the death of Richard Henry Lee his Grandson, 

 of the same name, wrote the memoirs of his Grandfather, having 

 obtained from his Father and Uncle all the papers and corre- 

 spondence of his Grandfather with the Eminent Patriots 

 of that day. These memoirs were published in Philadelphia by the 

 Grandson in 1825 with whom I was on terms of intimacy. Whilst 

 publishing he was requested to favour the Am. Philos. Society with 

 the original papers and Documents as soon as he had made use of 

 them. The request was granted and on the 17th June 1825 they 

 were put in possession of the correspondence which is bound up in 

 two Volumes, and on the 19th of August 1825 R. H. L. sent them the 

 original form proposed by the Committee, in the handwriting of 

 Mr. Jefferson, and with the marks thereon made by the two Lees 

 above alluded to. When received it was duly recorded by the 

 Society and Mr. Wm. Short & Mr. Edward Coles who were irttimate 

 Friends of Mr. Jefferson and the undersigned (who had been his 

 Correspondent for more than 40 years) Certified on the book of 

 records, that this Document was of the handwriting of Mr. Jeffer- 

 son; and Mr. George Washington Smith, to whom the delivery 

 was entrusted, certified that he received the whole from Richard 

 Henry Lee the Grandson, with directions to deliver them to the 

 A. P. Society and that he delivered them to the undersigned for the 

 Society. 



A copy of this proposed Declaration was published by the Grand- 

 son in the memoirs of his Grandfather the parts left out by Congress 

 being printed in Italics ; several Editions of this Italicised Copy of 

 1825 were published between that year and 1829, when it was 

 republished and Lithographed in similar form in the memoirs of 

 Thomas Jefferson which was first published in that year. 



