ears to have been less agitated by the production of the letter,
than hurt that the inquiry concerning it had not first been made of
him in private. He postponed making any specific reply until he should
have time to examine the letter at his leisure; and observed on
retiring, that, after the treatment he had experienced he could not
think of remaining in office a moment longer.

In a letter to the President the same day he writes: "Your confidence
in me, sir, has been unlimited, and I can truly affirm unabused. My
sensations, then, cannot be concealed, when I find that confidence so
suddenly withdrawn, without a word or distant hint being previously
dropped to me. This, sir, as I mentioned in your room, is a situation
in which I cannot hold my present office, and therefore I hereby
resign it. It will not, however, be concluded from hence that I mean
to relinquish the inquiry. No, sir; very far from it. I will also meet
any inquiry; and to prepare for it, if I learn there is a chance of
overtaking Mr. Fauchet before he sails, I will go to him immediately.
I have to beg the favor of you to permit me to be furnished with a
copy of the letter, and I will prepare an answer to it; which I
perceive that I cannot do as I wish, merely upon the few hasty
memoranda which I took with my pencil....

"I here most solemnly deny that any overture came from me, which was
to produce money to me or any others for me; and that in any manner,
directly or indirectly, was a shilling ever received by me; nor was it
ever contemplated by me, that one shilling should be applied by Mr.
Fauchet to any purpose relative to the insurrection."

Washington, in reply, observes: "Whilst you are in pursuit of means to
remove the strong suspicions arising from this letter, no disclosure
of its contents will be made by me; and I will enjoin the same on the
public officers who are acquainted with the purport of it.... No man
would rejoice more than I to find that the suspicions which have
resulted from the intercepted letter were unequivocally and honorably
removed."

Mr. Fauchet, in the meantime, having learnt previous to embarkation,
that his despatch had been intercepted, wrote a declaration, denying
that Mr. Randolph had ever indicated a willingness to receive money
for personal objects, and affirming that he had had no intention to
say anything in his letter to his government to the disadvantage of
Mr. Randolph's character.

Mr. Randolph now set t