4120. JEFFERSON (Thomas), Offices refused.—[continued].
President[John] Adams
said he was glad to find me alone, for that
he wished a free conversation with me. He
entered immediately on an explanation of the
situation of our affairs in France, and the
danger of rupture with that nation, a rupture
which would convulse the attachments of this
country; that he was impressed with the
necessity of an immediate mission to the
Directory; that it would have been the first
wish of his heart to have got me to go
there, but that he supposed it was out of the
question, as it did not seem justifiable for
him to send away the person destined to take
his place in case of accident to himself, nor
decent to remove from competition one who
was a rival in the public favor. * * * I
told him I concurred in the opinion of the impropriety
of my leaving the post assigned me,
and that my inclinations, moreover, would
never permit me to cross the Atlantic again.—
The Anas. Washington ed. ix, 185.
Ford ed., i, 272.
(March 2, 1797)
