“ [whom] he thought innocent and in the present moment [of] some importance to the Publick, came forward.

"You declare very explicitly that you never did, by yourself or by any other, have a Sentence of yours, inserted in a Newspaper, without your name to it. And I, with equal frankness declare that I never did, either by myself or by any other, have a Sentence of mine inserted in any Newspaper Since I left Philadelphia. I neither wrote nor corrected Publicola. The writer in the Composition of his Pieces followed his own Judgment, Information and discretion, without any assistance from me.

"You observe “That you and I differ in our Ideas of the form of Government is well known to us both.” But, my dear Sir, you will give me leave to say, that I do not know this. I know not what your Idea is of the best form of Government. You and I have never had a serious conversation together that I can recollect concerning the nature of Government. The very transient hints that have ever passed between us, have been jocular and superficial, without ever coming to any explanation. If you suppose that I have or ever had a design or desire, of attempting to introduce a Government of King, Lords and Commons or in other words an hereditary Executive or an hereditary Senate, either into the Government of the United States, or that of any Individual State, in this Country, you are wholly mistaken. There is not such a Thought expressed or intimated in any public writing or private Letter of mine, and I may safely challenge all Mankind to produce such a passage and quote the Chapter and Verse. If you have ever put such a Construction on any Thing of mine, I beg you would mention it to me, and I will undertake to convince you, that it has no fair meaning . . .

"I thank you, Sir very Sincerely for writing to me upon this occasion. It was high time and you and I should come to an explanation with each other. The friendship which has subsisted for fifteen years between us, without the smallest Interruption, and untill this occasion without the slightest suspicion, ever has been and still is, very dear to my heart. There is no office which I would not resign, rather than give a just occasion for one friend to forsake me. Your motives for writing to me, I have not a doubt were the most pure and the most friendly and I have no suspicion that you will not receive this explanation from me in the same candid Light . . .”

Jefferson replied on August 30: “ I recieved some time ago your favor of July 29 and was happy to find that you saw in it’s true point of view the way in which I had been drawn into the scene which must have been so disagreeable to you. the importance which you still seem to allow to my note, & the effect you suppose it to have had tho unintentional in me, induce me to shew you that it really had no effect. Paine’s pamphlet, with my note, was published here about the 2 ^d. week in May. not a word ever appeared in the public papers here on the subject for more than a month; and I am certain not a word on the subject would ever have been said had not a writer, under the name of Publicola, at length undertaken to attack m ( ^~ r) Paine’s principles, which were the principles of the citizens of the U. S. instantly a host of writers attacked Publicola in support of those principles. he had thought proper to misconstrue a figurative expression in my note; & these writers so far noticed me as to place the expression in it’s true light. but this was only an incidental skirmish preliminary to the general engagement, & they would not have thought me worth naming, had not he thought proper to bring me on the scene. his antagonists, very criminally in my opinion presumed you to be Publicola, and on that presumption hazarded a personal attack on you. no person saw with more uneasiness than I did, this unjustifiable assault and the more so, when I saw it continued after the printer had declared you were not the author. but you will perceive from all this, my dear Sir, that my note contributed nothing to the production of these disagreeable peices. as long as Paine’s pamphlet stood on it’s own feet, & on my ”