410. APPROBATION, Undeserved.—
I
have never claimed any other merit than
of good intentions, sensible that in the choice
of measures, error of judgment has too often
had its influence; and that with whatever indulgence
my countrymen * * * have been so
kind as to view my course, yet they would
certainly not know me in the picture here
drawn, and would, I fear, say in the words of
the poet, “praise undeserved is satire in disguise.
” Were, therefore, the piece to be prepared
for the press, I should certainly entreat
you to revise that part with a severe eye.—
To Amelot De La Croix. Washington ed. v, 422.
(W.
1809)
