Looked for Adanson each week since meeting him six weeks previous and left him a letter which probably was not received. Saw Adanson’s place on the other side of the river at Neuilly. Offers him a house for the summer; acceptance alone will be sufficient compensation. Discusses plans for his own future, saying that he was applying for a position to the Contrôleur Général, M. de Calonne [Charles-Alexandre (1734–1802)], who had already favored the family. Mentions possibility for educating Adanson’s daughter and the receipt of a stone from the Mississippi River said to cure nervous spasms, even epileptic ones. Adanson’s reply is on separate leaf, dated Paris, 1 8bre [Oct.] 1784. Apologizes for the silence following receipt of Aved’s former letter [not in this collection]. Reports that he now has regained his former liberty, so necessary for his serious and philosophical works and can devote himself to a friendship as sincere as Aved’s is for him, the only fault being the great distance between Chaumont and Paris. Notes that if Aved should move to Paris, the state of their fortunes should not differ too much if their’s is to be a pure and philosophical friendship! Reports that the stone of the Mississippi River is a jade whose only virtue is in one’s imagination.