Robert R. Livingston to John Jay, 6 July 1780
Philadelphia 6 th July 1780
Dear John,
Having just heard of an opportunity to write to you by way of France I relieve the fatigue of an uninteresting debate in which our Friends Fell & Holton take the lead to let you hear from me. 1 If I have not been unfortunate you must at your arrival have found several Letters from me, some of them written in our first cypher which you tell me has become useless so that they are probably unintelligible to you. 2 I shall now confine myself to general subjects as my present cypher is not at hand. I have been here since the 4 th of Nov r . very much against my inclinations & know not how much longer I may be detained. M r . D– 3 is gone home, & as he has views upon your old seat he will hurry back to be in time & he assures me that I shall have leave to go immediately upon his return, & as I do not look the same way I think I shall indulge him. You have I dare say heard of poor Morris misfortune in the loss of his leg. 4 He bears it with magnanimity & is in a fair way of recovery. I feel for him & yet am led to hope that it may turn out to his advantage & tend to fix his desultory genious to a point in which case it can not fail to go far.
As I know the interest you take in what may contribute to my happiness, I venture to inform you of a domestick occurence by which it is greatly increased, the birth of a daughter. 5 I saw your son at headquarters about two months ago. He is a fine healthy boy and the Idol of his grandmother. Now I am speaking of her, I must tell you that she was so imprudent as to remove with her family to Elizabeth town, where she was vissited by the enemies whole army, who treated her with civility as I learn by a letter to M rs Morris from Caty. But their troops being very hardly treated by the New Jersey Militia on a second vissit they made to Springfield, which they burnt, they called a second time at the Gov rs , & were with great difficulty prevented from burning the house by M[iss]. L[ivingston], M rs . Livingston not being at home. 6 You are happy in being so far from this scene of trouble. The enemy by the reduction of Charlestown have obliged us to make large detachments from the main army and by returning with the greater part of their force have kept us in a continual motion, tho fortunately they are now again by the aid of the militia shut up in New York. And we are waiting in anxious expectation the arrival of the French armament in order to attempt some thing important. In the mean while we shall need great assistance from the court at which you now are to enable us to make some arrangement of our finances, from the disorder of which our greatest evils flow. These however are by no means remediless; they want attention, & some support from our allies to put them upon the best & most stable footing. I forgot to mention that I have rec d . within this few days your Letter from Cadiz. I was mortified to such a degree at not hearing from you while at Martinique that I could not bring myself to continue writing as I had done till you Last convinc–d me that I was not forgotten. I have seen M rs . Jays journal, feel her distress, admire her fortitude & offer her my congratulations upon her present agreeable situation. 7 You will offer my compliments to the Coll. and M r . Carmicheal, & receive my best wishes for your happiness. I am Dear John with the sincerest esteem Your friend and hum. serv t .
Rob t R. Livingston