gality of seizing papers and letters, and retaining our persons
by force, under the pretence of searching for prohibited articles,
were vain, (for he justified himself on the Proclamation, and on the
information which he refused to shew,) we contented ourselves with
assuring him, that what he was then doing, he would afterwards have to
answer for, and left it to himself to do as he pleased.

It appeared to us that the Collector was acting under the direction of
some other person or persons, then in the hotel, but whom he did not
choose we should see, or who did not choose to be seen by us; for the
Collector went several times out of the room for a few minutes, and was
also called out several times.

When the Collector had taken what papers and letters he pleased out of
the trunks, he proceeded to read them. The first letter he took up for
this purpose was that from the President of the United States to me.
While he was doing this, I said, that it was very extraordinary that
General Washington could not write a letter of private friendship to
me, without its being subject to be read by a custom-house officer. Upon
this Mr. Frost laid his hand over the face of the letter, and told the
Collector that he should not read it, and took it from him. Mr. Frost
then, casting his eyes on the concluding paragraph of the letter, said,
I will read this part to you, which he did; of which the following is an
exact transcript--

"And as no one can feel a greater interest in the happiness of mankind
than I do, it is the first wish of my heart, that the enlightened policy
of the present age may diffuse to all men those blessings to which
they are entitled, and lay the foundation of happiness for future
generations."(1)

As all the other letters and papers lay then on the table, the Collector
took them up, and was going out of the room with them. During the
transactions already stated, I contented myself with observing what
passed, and spoke but little; but on seeing the Collector going out of
the room with the letters, I told him that the papers and letters then
in his hand were either belonging to me, or entrusted to my charge, and
that as I could not permit them to be out of my sight, I must insist on
going with him.

1 Washington's letter is dated 6 May, 1792. See my _Life of
Paine_ vol. i., p. 302.--_Editor_.

The Collector then made a list of the letters and papers, and went out
of the room, giving the letters and p