Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

My dear Miss Jefferson I hope will not accuse me of neglect in not having thanked her for her letter & the canes which she has been so good as to send me. the truth is we have been in the country, where there was nothing happenned to entertain me sufficiently to write a very dull answer in return to yours & I could not even plead having for excuse of my stupidity which is really the case now—our time then was cheifly taken up in riding with my two younger Brothers, who were then with us for their holidays or walking or walking very good naturedly as fast as we could (when they were engaged at cricket), in order to knock up a very fat good sort of a woman who lives with us (by name [Mrs Hume?]), in order to keep the house in at the windows—after either of these pursuits I was [. . .] totally unfit to address l’amoureuse Mlle Jefferson as I never went near a gurgling stream or brook without trying to diminish the inhabitants of the watery deep by angling for gudgeons—we have been since in Richmond which is a charming place ten miles from London—to Mr Bouveries, uncle to L’d Radan—Miss B— is a great friend of ours she is going to be married next month to Sir James St Clair he is gone to canvass in Scotland against a disolution of Parliament, which may happen now or next year for what he knows—& she is busily employed in ordering gowns, [. . .] we only came here yesterday & back again tomorrow, with the Duke who often inquires after you—I wrote some nonsense to Botidoux last week about Boident, I hope I have not affronted her—if I have it is all your fault, so you must prepare to be well scolded Tuesday—Caroline desires her love—she has desired me to request a favor of you [. . .] which I’d be almost ashamed to ask you, if we did not judge of you by our-selves who wou’d be delighted to be of any service use to you, it is for you to ask the [String?] to buy a single black silk cloak, it is to cost 3 Guineas & a half—& a double one at 3 Guineas—they must send them to the Dukes to Weaver who will pay for them & send them to Tom as les demoiselles de Panthemont have too much ________ to send them to a garcon Tell Bot. I suppose we are as much engaged as you are with getting her corbeille de marriage—I long to hear of your arrival in America & we shall see the newspapers as full of the progress of slavery there when you arrive in America as they are now of that of liberty in France—excuse this scrawl & believe me ever