I am thus far on my way home, I got to Annapolis as soon as Doctor Burke & Mr. Randalp,(2) I have the pleasure to tell you that I never saw such a prospect for Corn as the present crop, it is thought that there will be much more made than has been for many years past.
Mr. William Lee has directed his Brother to pay all the Gentleman in Virginia to whom he was indebted for Tobo. shipped to him at the rate of 331/3 per Cent. Colo. Mason has a Bill protested for about £1000,(3) all Mr. Lee's Shifts, his hiding himself to prevent being seen, and the manner in which the French Gentleman pursued him, the Questions put to Lee's Servants, their answers, and the assistance they gave in having him discovered are mentioned at length in the protest, when Lee could retreat no farther he denied he was the man, he directly went to Nantz & wrote Colo. Mason that he had directed his Brother to pay him, but antedates his letter three or four months, this Mr. Mason says he can prove, the above is what I have been told by several Gentleman that have conversed with Mr. Mason & has seen the papers. Something ought to be done relative to this man, if the above is true, & nobody here doubts it, Mr. Lee ought not to be employed any longer in the service of the United States.
If my prayers or wishes are of any consequence, you are restored to health long before this; pray Remember me to Sir James, Colo. Livingston, Mrs. Jay, and Lady Kitty and believe me to be with great truth, Your sincere Friend &c,
1 That is, Edmund Pendleton of Virginia, under whom Penn had studied law and at whose home he often stayed on his way to and from Congress. Edmund Pendleton,
The Letters and Papers of Edmund Pendleton, 1734-1803, ed. by David J. Mays, 2 vols. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1967), 1:94-95, 214, 298.
2 For Penn and Thomas Burke's temporary leave-taking of Congress, see North Carolina Delegates to Richard Caswell, August 5, 1779, note 2. Edmund Randolph of Virginia had presented his credentials to Congress on July 22 and voted for the last time on August 14, although his account for "27 days service" indicates that he may have served until August 17.JCC, 14:861-62, 967; Continental Congress Papers, Vi. He left Congress after less than four week's attendance because he found, as he had expected, that his "experiment" as a delegate was incompatible with his duties as the state's attorney general. He explained to Speaker Benjamin Harrison in an October 5 letter of resignation that "the interest of the commonwealth makes an advocate necessary in the courts of Appeals & Chancery, and in the general court, some of which will be sitting, with scarcely an interval of two months, from this time to the end of my delegation." He further cited "the dependence of my family on the fruits of my profession." Edmund C. Burnett transcripts, DLC, from an original then in the possession of Stan V. Henkels. The assembly accepted his resignation on October 26. Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia [October 4-December 24, 1779] (Richmond: Printed by J. White, 1827), p. 24.
3 For the events described here and the protracted legal battle between George Mason and William Lee over tobacco consigned to Lee in 1775, see Mason, Papers (Rutland), 1:240, 340-41, 439-41, 2:487-88, 491, 501-2, 537-38, 3:1155-56, 1162, 1168-69, 1171-73, 1202-3, 1267-70.