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My dear Sir: I wish you would tell me in writing, exactly what you did promise Watt about going to Europe last Spring. If it was
in writing send me a copy; if merely verbal, write it as accurately as you can from memory, and please send it to me at once. Yours as ever A. LINCOLN
[1] ALS, CSmH. No reply from Smith has been found, but his endorsement of approval appears on a copy of a letter from David P. Holloway to John Watt, March 14, 1862, which reads as follows:
``Understanding that you are about to go to Europe, I wish to engage your services for the Agricultural Division of the Patent Office, in the selection and purchase of seeds, commencing on the first of July next. You will receive full instructions about that time, informing you of the services required in detail. Your compensation will be at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per annum and your actual travelling expenses'' (DLC-RTL).
But see also Lincoln to Lorenzo Thomas, November 16, 1861, supra, and note.