1799. JEr. 46.] COUNT KUMFORD. 67 



Nothing could have afforded me so much satisfaction as 

 to have had it in my power to have given to my liberal 

 and generous countrymen such proof of my sentiments as 

 would in the most public and ostensible manner have 

 evinced, not only my gratitude for the kind attentions I 

 have received from them, but also the ardent desire I feel 

 to assist in promoting the prosperity of my native country. 



His affection for his mother, his daughter, and his 

 friend is seen in the following letter to Colonel Baldwin, 

 which he wrote the day before his daughter sailed for 

 America : 



Brompton, near London, August 24, 1799. 



I cannot permit my daughter to return to America 

 without charging her with a few lines for my oldest 

 friend and schoolfellow, the companion of my earliest 

 youth. In straining my recollection as much as possible, 

 in order to look back into that dark cloud that covers 

 the early period of my life, I can remember no person 

 distinctly, longer than yourself, except it be my mother. 

 I must therefore consider you as one of my oldest ac- 

 quaintances, and I have never ceased to regard you and 

 to love you as one of my best friends. A few months 

 ago I flattered myself with the hope of soon seeing you, 

 but events happened to frustrate those hopes. But though 

 my voyage to America is postponed, it is by no means 

 abandoned. On the contrary, I really think it very likely 

 that I shall pay you a visit next spring. 



My daughter will tell you what I am doing in this 

 country, and will acquaint you with my plans and wishes re- 

 specting her establishment in America. If you can further 

 the execution of my schemes, I have no doubt but you will 

 do it. There is nothing I have so much at heart as to make 

 my dear mother perfectly comfortable and happy during 

 the remainder of her life. 



F 2 



