Life of Count Rumford. 285 



arrival in America ; and you will oblige me very much by lend- 

 ing me your friendly assistance in that business. 



" Either myself or my Daughter must have an undoubted 

 legal claim to the Personal Estate left by my late wife at her 

 death. But as, since my seperation from my family in the year 

 1774, I have, by my own exertions, acquired a sufficiency, not 

 only for my own comfortable support during my life, but also to 

 enable me to make a handsome provision for my Daughter, and 

 even to give her something to dispose of by will to any of her 

 friends to whom she may wish to leave tokens of her affection, 

 I have no wish to bring forward any claims, either for myself or 

 for my Daughter, relative to her Mother's fortune, or to call 

 those to any account who are in possession of it ; and for their 

 quiet and security I am willing to renounce in the most formal 

 manner all claims on that account, and to engage my Daughter 

 to do so also : provided, however, and this is a condition on 

 which I shall insist, that receipts and general charges are signed 

 on both sides. 



" This proposition was made, by rny direction, by my Daugh- 

 ter soon after my arrival in England, in a letter to her brother, 

 Mr. Rolfe. But as no answer has yet been made to it, I am 

 apprehensive that my Daughter's letter miscarried, or (what I 

 should be very sorry to be forced to believe) that Mr. Rolfe 

 does not chuse to be satisfied with this proposal. As the final 

 and irrevocable settlement of this business is a matter I have 

 much at heart, I wish you would undertake to settle it, and I 

 hereby authorise you to do so in mine and my Daughter's names, 

 and to sign in our behalf whatever may be necessary to put 

 the matter beyond all possibility of farther litigation or dispute. 

 Should it be necessary for you to take a journey to Concord to 

 do this, I should be much obliged to you if you would do so, 

 on condition, however, that you make the journey entirely 

 at my expense. 



" Should any attempt be made by Mr. Rolfe to bring forward 

 any demands for maintenance, &c., you will, I trust, without 

 much difficulty, be able to make him feel how very unjust and 

 improper such pretensions would be under any imaginable cir:um- 



