On May 5th, I798, General Thaddeus Kosciusko placed a substantial fund in the hands of Thomas Jefferson, and made a will authorizing Jefferson to employ the fund in purchasing the liberty of Negroes and in teaching them to be defenders of their liberty and country, and of the good order of society, and in whatsoever may make them happy and useful.' Kosciusko then departed to Europe where he watched with an expectant eye the conflicts between France and Austria, in the eager hope that these might afford an opportunity for the resurrection of his beloved Poland. On June 28th, i8o6, Kosciusko, who was then living in Paris, executed a will by which he directed Jefferson to pay $3,704 out of his funds to the son of the United States Minister to France, who bore the engaging if uneuphonious name of Kosciusko Armstrong.2 The General died on October I5th, I8I7, at a time when the elderly Jefferson was harassed by his own pecuniary difficulties and could hardly face with enthusiasm the ambitious undertaking so bequeathed to him. On January 5th, i8i8, Jefferson wrote to William Wirt and explained the predicament which arose out of the creation of the fund. Where was the will of this non-resident alien to be probated?