DEPOSITED BY THE

LINONIAN AND BROTHERS LIBRARY

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

'/v/ //A'/t//.-

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE,

dFrom ©rtsinal documents,
MOST OF WHICH ARE NOW PUBLISHED FOR THE
FIRST TIME.

BY
EDWARD E. HALE
AND
EDWARD E, HALE, Jr.

JS V'

BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1887.

Copyright, 1886,
By Edward E. Hale.

John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.

PREFACE.

WHEN Benjamin Fkanklin died, in 1790, he left to
his grandson, William Temple Franklin, the largest
collection of his papers. He had always been careful in
the . preservation of those letters and other documents
which he thought of importance. Among them was the
correspondence, official and private, which he maintained
in France. Indeed, had our Diplomatic Service been or
ganized in his day as it is in ours, many of these papers
would have remained in Paris, as belonging to the archives
of the American Legation.
Temple Franklin, as he is generally called, took the idea
that in his grandfather's papers he had a mine of wealth ;
and at various periods of his life he tried to sell them or
parts of thera. He so far succeeded as to make a bargain
with the publisher Colburn, in London, who brought out
two editions together in 1818, — one in quarto and one in
octavo. A good deal of disgust was created in America
that these editions were not placed favorably on the Amer
ican market. Colburn subsequently issued what he called
new editions, which are simply the old editions with new
titlepages. In these editions Temple Franklin, and the
editor lent him by Colburn, reprinted many of Franklin's
more important publications. They also printed Jor the
first time a large number of letters, taken from the collec
tion which Dr. Franklin had bequeathed to his grandson.
Colburn soon found that Temple Franklin could not be
relied on as an editor, and furnished the clerk who has

Vl PREFACE.
been spoken of, to quicken his sluggish methods in dealing
with his material.
It is believed that Temple Franklin then wanted to
print a much more complete collection. Certainly, the
collection which he does print is far from complete. It
was evidently not made on the principle of selecting the
most interesting or the most important documents. He
seems to have reserved those of the later years of Frank
lin's stay in, Europe, with reference to a second series, for
which Colburn had perhaps given him some hopes, to be
published when the success of the first was assured. Ko
other explanation can be given for the c'nission of the last
half of the correspondence. For some reason it is clear
that the letters of dates after 1780 have been much less
used than those before.
It has indeed been charged that Temple Franklin had
political reasons or prejudices, which prevented him from
using as he might have done the material ip his hands.
But Mr. Bigelow has shown that this charge is unfair.
What happened was that the English public did not care
much for Temple Franklin's work. It did not meet with
such a sale as justified Colburn in attempting the second
series, which till the day of his death Temple Franklin
thought possible.
After the publication of this collection Temple Franklin
went to Paris. He married there, and died soon after, on
the 25th of May, 1823.
The manuscripts meanwhile, which had been partially
edited, were left in London. Dr. Sparks returned from
London, where he was preparing his great edition of
Franklin's works, with the impression that after its use
for the edition of 1818, the collection had been irrevocably
lost. But in fact the papers all lay, for more than seven
teen years, in loose bundles "on the top shelf of an old
tailor's shop in St. James." They were then rescued by a
gentleman who had been a fellow-lodger with Temple

' PREFACE. vii
Franklin in the house where these papers were. At
different times he offered them to the British Museum, to
Lord Palmerston, and to the several ministers who repre
sented the United States in England. When this offer was
made to Mr. Abbot Lawrence, he introduced the owner to
Mr. Henry Stevens. This gentleman made a slight exam
ination of them, bought them, and afterwards made them
a special object of his antiquarian zeal. He spent much
time in arranging them in the convenient form in which
they now are, — in collating and binding them. He spent
more than a thousand pounds in repairing, copying, and
binding the paper^'^and in the additions which he made
to them.
According to Mr. Stevens's careful account, there are in
this collection two thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight
different papers. Of these, about twenty-four hundred and
thirty pages have never been printed until now. Eleven
hundred and ninety-five had been printed, not always
accurately, in Sparks, and five hundred and forty-six in the
" Diplomatic Correspondence," of which two hundred and
forty-six were also in Sparks. It will thus be seen that a
larger part of the collection had never been printed. As
has been said, the part of the collection least drawn upon
was that which followed the year 1780.
After the invention of the type-writer, Mr. Stevens
added greatly to the value of the collection for students,
by having type-writer copies made of all the papers.
They are thus easily read, and there is no danger of injury
in unnecessary reference to the manuscript originals.
Such was the collection which, in 1881, Mr. Stevens
offered to the American government. Mr. Blaine, then
Secretary of State, instructed Mr. Theodore F. Dwight, the
accomplished librarian of the State Department, to ex
amine the collection in London. Mr. Dwight did so, and
his report, dated November 30 of that year, covering a
statement of the history of the collection, was sent by Mr.

viii PREFACE.
Blaine to Congress, with an earnest recommendation that
the papers should be purchased for the nation. This com
munication was referred to the Joint Committee on the
Library, which considered the subject with care, and re
ported favorably, by their chairman, Hon. George F. Hoar.
The papers were bought for $35,000, and the next winter
arrived in Washington.
This is not the place for an analysis of the whole of this
really invaluable collection of materials for American his
tory. I had an opportunity of examining it, a few weeks
after its arrival. I soon satisfied myself that it was impos
sible, in auy single collection, to lay before the world the
additional materials which it afforded for our history. My
first idea had been that a large collection of the really im
portant papers might be made, on the general plan of the
" Diplomatic Correspondence," edited by Dr. Sparks for the
government, and published in 1829-30. But it is clear
that such a collection would be imperfect in itself, and, to
be understood, would require constant reference to other
collectioris, some of them difficult of access. I am quite
sure that the method adopted in the book now before the
reader is the better method. That is to say, it is better
that different editors shall attack, if I may so speak, diifer
ent parts of the collection, and bring forward for the use of
the public such documents, before unpublished, as are of the
most value. I undertook therefore, with the full sympathy
and confidence of the gentlemen who had the papers in
charge, the editing and publishing of those which relate to
Franklin's life of nearly nine years in France. I proposed,
not simply to reprint the new documents, if I may so call
them, of this collection, but also the papers from other
collections which would in any way illustrate that critical
part of our history, which is so nearly independent of our
history at home in the same years.
There are very many such papers, which have never been
published in other large collections.

PREFACE. ix
For many years past the American Philosophical Society,
of which Franklin was one of the founders, has had a large
collection of the letters addressed to him. This collection
has been used by Dr. Sparks and by the other American
authors who have treated Franklin's life with care. It is
of more value than ever, now that in the letter-books of the
Stevens Collection we have the drafts of very many of the
letters to which these are the replies, or which are written
in reply to these. The officers of the Philosophical Society
have arranged these letters in chronological order with good
indexes. They have with the greatest kindness rendered
me every facility in examining them and copying them.
It would probably be difficult to persuade the Society to
part with a treasure so interesting; but to students of
Franklin, it would be a great convenience if the Govern
raent could arrange to receive them, on deposit, in the Fire-
Proof Library of the State Department, and thus keep, side
by side, letters and answers.
Hon. George Bancroft, with that kindness and gener
osity which have distinguished his life, and won for him
the regard as well as the esteem of all younger students,
kindly threw open to me the whole of his matchless col
lection of manuscripts, with permission to make full use
of it. I have, of course, availed myself of permission so
generous. The formation of this collection has been the
joy, as it has been the duty, of his life. It forms a series
practically of the same value as the original documents
from which, at great expense, it has been copied. It in
cludes indeed, in many instances, original manuscripts,
which Mr. Bancroft has purchased from their former
owners. If our studies of the Treaty of 1783 prove to have
any new value for historians, they are indebted largelj'- for
it to Mr. Bancroft's cordial kindness in opening for us his
archives. He has, from first to last,- given us the advantage
of his advice, and ready answer to unnumbered questions.
The grandson and great-grandsons of President Adams

X PREFACE.
have made it their care to provide, for the manuscripts of
what one is tempted to call the " House of Adams," a fire
proof library, where that invaluable and unequalled collec
tion of journals, letters, and other manuscripts is preserved.
I know of no other collection in the world where the his
tory of a great nation can be so studied in the biography of
one family. From John Adams's notes, as his active life
begins, in the year 1755, till the year 1866, when the service
of liis grandson to America came to a fit close in the Treaty
of Geneva, here is an unbroken series of letters and papers,
bound and arranged and ready for the historian'. The
courtesy of the Messrs. Adams placed at our disposal all the
resources of this collection for the period covered by our
work, and the reader will see the use which we have made
of them.
The correspondence between America and France often
passed through Boston, and Franklin's intimacy with lead
ing men in that city led them. to keep up a close corre
spondence with him, in letters now private and now official.
The archives of Massachusetts therefore afford some docu
ments which the reader will find in their places.
Mr. Loring Austin, at my request, put into my hands the
very curious diary of his grandfather, the fortunate young
man who carried from Boston to France the great news of
Burgoyne's surrender.
Dr. Sparks, both before and after the publication of his
edition of Franklin's works, made it his duty to collect all
the letters of Franklin he could find in private or public
collections. His collection of manuscripts contains eleven
volumes of Franklin papers, of which he has only printed
a part. It contains also parallel collections, foremost
among which are copies of Lord Stormont's despatches
while he was watching the American commissioners in
•Paris. Through the kindness of Mrs. Sparks and the di
rectors of the Library of Harvard College, this collection
has been open to us, and we have used it freely.

PREFACE. xi
To publish all the new letters from Franklin which the
Stevens and Sparks and other collections put in our
hands, as a sort of appendix to Dr. Sparks's invaluable vol
umes, would have placed in the hands of all students the
material for history now thrown open to them, if they will
visit the several collections we have named. But, as I have
said, after full consideration, it seemed to me best to under
take the work of editing these letters more fully, even if
I failed to print much of the correspondence. The printed
additions made every year to the history of that time must
be considered by any one who pretended to edit Frank
lin's letters. The duty of the editor would thus become
so important that, after carefully studying the manuscripts
and consulting with gentlemen best informed, I determined
not to adopt the form of Dr. Sparks's work, nor to confine
myself chiefly to Franklin's own letters and despatches.
The plan of the book now in the reader's hand seemed
preferable. That is, I determined to examine anew the
whole mission of Franklin to France, using as best we
could the advantages which so many years had given since
the publication of Mr. Barton's and Mr. Bigelow's admir
able studies of it, — with the intention of printing all the
more important letters of Franklin not published hereto
fore, and also the most important unpublished letters of his
correspondents, which would throw light on the history or
on his life in France.
I have not hesitated to reprint in a few instances papers
which have been before printed, where we supposed this to
be quite necessary for the narrative. But such cases have
been very few. Our business has been to tell our story as
briefly and as clearly as we could, and to print such illus
trations as the new material offered, or as were not of
ready access in well-furnished libraries. It will be seen
that we have by no means confined ourselves as closely as
Dr. Sparks did to Franklin's own writings. Our effort is
not to show how he wrote or what he wrote, but to tell the

xu PREFACE.
story of his life as well as we can. Where we have a new
and interesting letter from him on a subject of importance,
we should be foolish indeed, if we omitted it or abridged it.
But next to such letters, as the reader will soon see, letters
from other persons, such as this immense mass of corre
spondence often affords, are more valuable illustrations
and narratives of the history than any statement made in
our time can be. We have derived great assistance, also,
from the wonderful index to the Congressional Documents,
completed within the last year under the direction of Mr.
Benjamin Perley Poore. Every American historian whose
work brings him later than the year 1774 will have to ac
knowledge similar obligation to this remarkable book. Our
indebtedness to it is peculiar ; for we have been very desir
ous not to include in this volume, unless there were pressing
necessity, any public document which had been published
in the same form elsewhere. With Mr. Poore's "Index,"
we feel quite sure that whatever is not mentioned there,
and is not in one of the printed volumes of private memoirs,
has never been printed.
We cannot profess that the new documents suggest any
revision of judgment on important matters of history,
where a verdict has been rendered before now. But we
believe the reader will feel that the questions relating to
French neutrality, to the treatment of prisoners, to pri
vateering, and especially those relating to the treaties with
France and with England, can be considered with more
certainty, now that we have all the important facts in
volved, as we did not have them until now.
I have spoken thus of "our plans" and "our work" be
cause from the first I have had the co-operation of my son
and namesake. Had I not been sure of it I should never
have undertaken the work now in the reader's hand. We
have examined together the collections which I have de
scribed; we have determined together. on the plan of the
book ; we have lived together while we carried it out, and

PREFACE. xiii
have had daily conference as to the details. In dividing the
subjects for the final selection and composition, we took each
the topics which interested him most. But in each chapter
each writer has had the benefit of the revision and over
sight of the other ; so that we are fairly responsible, each of
us, for errors and omissions, where they are found. My
son has taken the charge of the laborious oversight of the
copies made from the originals, and to him the reader is
indebted for the accuracy in these copies which I hope has
been secured. Our treatment of the spelling in the manu
scripts, and of other matters supposed to belong to orthog
raphy, will disgust the purists by its freedom. But people
of sense who wish to know more about the local color and
the method of Franklin's life in France will thank us that
we have not rendered their reading difficult, by compelling
them to translate bad English or bad French. If an incor
rect expression, or one now antiquated, seems to show any
thing characteristic of the person who wrote, we have
retained it. Thus we have printed one or two of Franklin's
notes in French, to show how good, and at the same time
how bad his French was. We have followed the text of
the Marquis de Lafayette's manuscript notes, because it
shows how far he succeeded in overcoming the difficulties
of the English language. But we know no reason for pre
serving the bad spelling, or any other error, of some un
known, careless copying clerk, who has long since gone to
his own place and rendered his own account of his mis
deeds. In a word, we consider it to be our business, in all
such affairs, to help and not to perplex the reader.
We find it difficult to name the persons to whose kind
ness the reader has been indebted for the counsel and con
tributions which have given to the book some of its best
features. First, to Mr. Theodore F. Dwight, whose careful
report on the Stevens papers secured them for the nation,
and whose administration of the library of the State
Department makes it a pleasure to work there, every

xiv PREFACE.
American is indebted every day, more than most men
know. We and our readers are especially indebted to
him. We have to acknowledge the kindness and inter
est of Mr. Frelinghuysen, who gave full permission to our
copyists to work, and of Mr. Bayard, who continued that
perraission. We have been indebted for original manuscripts to Mr.
Dupont de Nemours, the grandson of Franklin's friend ; to
iHon. Mellen Chamberlain ; to Mr. Loring Austin, who placed
1 1 in our hands the curious manuscript journal of his grand
father. Mr. B. F. Stevens, who is diligently collecting in
the archives of England and France such a series of mate
rials as may one day make it possible for Americans to
study their own history without going to Europe, has
kindly attended to every inquiry with which we have
burdened him. In Paris we have also had the sympathy
and help of Mr. W. B. Greene, M. T. Pingard, and M. G. A.
Barringer. And without attempting to name all who have cordially
helped forward our undertaking, we will, on behalf of our
readers, as for ourselves, thank Hon. John Bigelow, Hon.
George F. Hoar, Mr. Justin Winsor, Hon. John Jay, Hon.
Richard Bache, Mrs. E. D. Gillespie, Mr. Henry Phillips,' Jr.,
Mr. Kiernan, Mr. C. H. Hildeburn, Mr. W. H. Knapp, all
the officials of the Massachusetts Archive Rooms, of the
American Philosophical Society, the Boston Public Library,
and the Fellowes Athenaeum, of the Harvard College
Library, and of the Cornell Library.

In the choice of portraits of Franklin to accompany this
study of his life in France, the only difficulty or embarrass
ment is that of riches. Franklin did not dislike to sit for
his picture. On the other hand, also, as the reader of this
book knows, the French people and their artists were de
termined to have his picture, and to have it in various

PREFACE. XV
forms. A complete collection of the various portraits of
him made public while he was in France would include
almost two hundred different pictures ; perhaps would pass
that number. Many of these are in some sort familiar to
American readers, having been reproduced by Dr. Sparks,
Mr. Parton, or Mr. Bigelow, with their widely read biog
raphies. In our selection, we have preferred not to repro
duce these pictures, for precisely the reason that they are
so well known. We add four more, each in its way charac
teristic, and all of them of such merit that they must give
a very accurate idea of Franklin's appearance at this period
of his life.
The steel engraving by Mr. Wilcox is an admirable re
production of a very characteristic portrait ascribed to
Van Loo. This portrait was originally engraved by Alix,
a French engraver of some reputation, who died late in the
century. We have not been able to fix with precision the
date when his print first appeared. There is a certain
mystery about this picture, because a painting almost pre
cisely similar to it exists in the Historical Library in the
city of Philadelphia, which is known to be painted by
Charles Peale. We venture the suggestion that Peale
copied, either from the original by Van Loo, or from one of
Alix's prints. If the painting were made by Van Loo from
Franklin, the date is as early as Franklin's second visit to
Paris in 1769.
The full length picture is from a print published in
Paris, from a drawing by Louis C. de Carmontelle. The
original print has the following French version of Turgot's
epigram. " On I'a vu desarmer les Tirans et les Dieux."
The print beneath which is the representation of a cloud
and kite with a flash of lightning is from a portrait, prob
ably the earliest in point of time. It corresponds nearly to
the time of Franklin's first visit in France, and was origi
nally engraved by Chapman, an English engraver.

XVI PREFACE.
The profile picture, representing him in his favorite fur
cap, is from an interesting medallion iu terra cotta by Jean
Baptiste Nini, a sculptor in this line of considerable
repute in that time. It was taken within the first year
after Franklin's arrival in France as a diplomatist. In the
year 1885 a large store of these medallions was found in a
warehouse in Bordeaux, as fresh as on the day when they
were first baked. We are indebted to the kindness of a
friend at that place, for the medal which has been copied
for our readers.
Mr. Eichard S. Greenough, the celebrated sculptor, tells
me that he thinks Franklin's fondness for fur in his pic
tures, was due to his supposing that fur was used as a
professional badge by the early printers. EDWARD E. HALE.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
I. 1767-1769. Feankiin's First Visits to Ekance. —
The Economists  1
II. Eeauce asd the Teeaty oe 1763  20
III. Caeon de Beaumakchais  33
IV. Eeanklin's Commission  56
V. Eeanklin and the Eeench .  69
VI. Paeis Revisited ...,...,  84
VII. Lambeet Wickes and GnsTivus Conyngham . . 109
VIII. Seventeen Hundeed and Seventy-seven, — " The
Yeae of the Theee Gibbets"  140
IX. Seventeen Hundred and Seventy -eight. — Vol
taire AND Eeanklin  165
X. The Treaty op Alliance. — Cooper's Account op
D'Estaing  174
XI. The American Prisoners  194
XII. Hartley's Desires poe Peace  217
XIII. Seventeen Hundeed and Seventy-eight .... 228
XIV. John Paul Jones  253
XV. Seventeen Hundeed and Seventy-nine . . 271
XVI. The Peivateees feom Dunkiek  308
XVII. Captain Pieeee Landais  319
XVIII. The Ameeican Peisonees  342
XIX. Minister Plenipotentiary  363
XX. The Madrid Correspondence, 1780 .... 392
XXI. The Madrid Corebspondence, 1781  419
XXII. The Year op Yorktown  437
b

LIST OF POETRAITS.

Page
Franklin. On Steel. From a Painting by Van Loo,
engraved by Wilcox ... . . Frontispiece
Franklin. On Wood. From a Print by Chapman,
engraved by Andrew . . . . .... 1
Franklin. On Wood. From a Drawing by L. C. de
Carmontelle, engraved by Andrew  84
Franklin. From a Medallion by J. B. Nini  140
iJtgnettes.
Mirabeau . ...  8
Frederick of Prussia . .  24
Turgot .  37
Vergennes . . ...  39
Louis XVI  74
Marie Antoinette .  75
Necker . .  . . .... 76
Maurepas   76
Lafayette  . . . 79
Washington  98
Horatio Gates   161
Marat  387
D'Estaing  448
La Rochefoucauld .  446

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, LL.D.
(From a Print by Chapman.)

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTEE L
1767-1769.
THE Declaration of Independence made the United
States a nation. It was a nation which had power
to make war or peace, and to contract alliances.
The Continental Congress, which by misfortune was at
once the executive and the legislature of this nation,
addressed itself immediately to this business of making
alliance with any European power which could aid it
against England. By the agency of a secret committee,
of which Benjamin Franklin was the most important
member, it had opened correspondence with many persons
iu Europe. Among these was Dr. Arthur Lee, — a Vir
ginian who had been made a Doctor of Medicine by the
University of Edinburgh, had afterwards studied law, and
was at the time of the outbreak of hostilities agent in
London for Massachusetts. The secret committee had
also recommended that Silas Deane should be sent to
France, to try if it were possible to obtain assistance for
the colonies. Ahnost immediately after the Declaration
of Independence, Congress named these two, with Frank
lin, as its commissioners in Europe for making such
alliances as might be possible. Congress gave these
commissioners full powers for contracting treaties with
France and Spain. 1

2 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
It was the appointment of Franklin which gave to this
Commission its remarkable success. He was already
known in Paris, and for many reasons was a favorite
there. Where Lee and Deane lived as strangers, Franklin
lived among intimate personal friends. He had a good
working knowledge of the French language, which he had
studied as early as the year 1733, although he did not
yet speak it with ease. He had made two visits in Paris
before this time, — one in the year 1767, and one in 1769.
These two visits have generally been passed lightly over by
his biographers, and there is perhaps a certain reticence
with regard to them in his own correspondence. But
they are so important a part of his life, and they led so
directly to his acquisition of the social position which he
held in his long residence there, that they must not be
neglected here.
The first intimation which now exists in his correspond
ence of any intention of going to France is his mention
of an interview with Durand, who was at that time acting
ad interim as the French minister in London. Franklin
says that Durand, who was left as Minister Plenipoten
tiary, had treated him with great civility, had made him
visits, invited him to dine, " and so forth."
The reader will observe that this was in the year 1767,
just after Chatham's ministry had gone out and Grafton's
had come in. Townshend's new taxes on tea, glass, paint
er's colors, and paper were at this very time voted in Par
liament. Choiseul was in power in France, and had
already, on April 22, ordered De Kalb to go to America
to ascertain the wants of the colomes, the strength of
their purpose to withdraw from the British government ;
their resources in troops, citadels, and intrenched posts ;
their projects of revolt, and their chiefs.
It is at this time that Durand visits Franklin frequently.

SIR JOHN PRINGLE. 3
invites him to dinner, and provides for his cordial welcome
in Paris. " I fancy," says Franklin, speaking of these in
vitations, " that intriguing nation would like very well to
meddle on occasion, and blow up the coals between Britain
and her colonies ; but I hope we shall give them no oppor
tunity." Again, " Durand has given me letters of recom
mendation to the Lord knows who. I am told I shall
meet with great respect there ; but winds change, and per
haps it will be full as well if I do not. We shall be gone
six weeks. I have a little private commission to transact,
of which more another time."
This "private commission" was the arrangement for the
translation of his own works into French. This reference
to it, in a letter to William Franklin, is the only allusion
which slips through in Franklin's own writings to the
fact that there was a public commission also.
His companion in this journey was Sir John Pringle, a
distinguished and interesting man of science, well known
through Europe, who became, not long after, the President
of the Eoyal Society. Franklin calls him "my steady
good friend. Sir John Pringle." The year before, Franklin
and Sir John Pringle had travelled together very pleas
antly in the Netherlands and in Germany. In that year
Dr. Pringle had been made a baronet in recognition of his
scientific attainments.
He was chosen President of the Eoyal Society in 1772,
and remained in that post till 1778, when he left it for an
odd reason, which, as it happens, connects with Franklin's
hfe. George III., in the heat of his animosity against the
Americans, had determined that the lightning conductors
.on Kew Palace should have blunt knobs instead of sharp
points. Franklin, the inventor of conductors, had di
rected that the points should be sharp, so that an over
charge of electricity might be dispersed silently and

4 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
without explosion. As we shall have occasion to see, the
question of sharp and blunt conductors became a court
question, the courtiers siding with the King, and their
opponents with Franklin. The King asked Sir John
Pringle to take his side, and give him an opinion in favor
of the knobs. To which Pringle replied by hinting that
the laws of nature were not changeable at royal pleasure.
It was then intimated to him by the King's authority that
a President of the Ro^Jal Society entertaining such an
opinion ought to resign, and he resigned accordingly.^
This Sir John Pringle is Franklin's travelling compan
ion in his six weeks' visit in Paris. They leave London on
the 28th August ^ and travel post to Dover. The journey
is described in amusing detail, in a chatty letter from
Franklin to his bright friend, Miss Stevenson, which is
the only letter preserved, written while he was in France.
Modern travellers may be interested to know that he tells
Miss Stevenson that it cost him fifty guineas to come
into a position where he could write to her the French
news. They travelled post in France, as they had done
in England.^
1 A well-known epigram of the time preserves the memory of .this ri
diculous controversy, which would be otherwise forgotten : —
" While you, great George, for safety hunt.
And sharp conductors change for blunt.
The nation *s out of joint.
FranUlin a wiser course pursues,
And all your thunder fearless views.
By keeping to the point."
2 Not Aug. 8, as in a misprinted letter to William Franklin.
3 "We (juote here an entry in manuscript account-book : —
Sept. 3, 1767.
Cash Dr to Brown & Gollinson. My dft in fav of Panchaud for
money took up at Paris for expenses 32.7.2
Oct. 3, 1767.
Cash Dr to Smith, Wright, & Gray for my dft on them in fay of
Jere Lambert, red of him at Paris 30.0.0

HIS FIRST VISIT. 6
Franklin's reputation had gone before him. His elec
trical experiments had been carefully studied and re
peated. Even before he drew the Lightning from the
skies with the aid of his celebrated kite, the Abb^ D'Ali-
bard had done so, in a critical experiment, with an iron
rod, at Marly, just outside of Paris. This was a month
before Franklin's experiment with the kite at Philadel
phia. But Franklin had not heard of it when he tried
his in Philadelphia on the fifteenth day of June, 1752.
M. DAlibard subsequently repeated the experiment
in the presence of Louis XV., who gave him a pension for
life, in recognition of a service so interesting. With
entire frankness, D'Alibard always recognized the fact that
he conducted the experiment in accordance with Frank
lin's direction, and that the credit of the great discovery
was his. As the reader will see, he and Franklin main
tained intimate relations; they frequently corresponded
with each other. He published in the year 1752 a " The
ory of Electricity," and he attained some distinction as a
botanist, being, indeed, the first Frenchman to introduce
the system and nomenclature of Linn^us.
It would seem that none of these experimenters under
stood the great danger of the experiment. Louis XV.
was no coward in battle, but he would hardly have ex
posed himself, for mere scientific curiosity, to the immi
nent danger of being killed by lightning, had he known
how real that danger was. It may be doubted if the ex
periment has ever been repeated since the year 1753, when
Eichman, a Professor in Eussia, was instantly killed by an
electric spark from the rod which he was using.
But Franklin's welcome in France was not due simply
to his fame as an electrician. His journey had its pohti
cal significance. Durand, as the reader has seen, furnished
Frankhn with letters to " the Lord knows who." He

6 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
undoubtedly apprised his French friends of the importance
of conciliating the man who represented at this moment the
American colonies in England, in a mission much more
distinguished than the business " agents " of the several
provinces had ever attained. Franklin himself was mas
ter of that great rule ^ — "If you want your secret kept,
keep it." He managed so discreetly that while the Eng
lish journals mentioned the fact that Sir John Pringle had
gone to France, they do not seem to have said that Frank
lin went with him. In writing to his own son in New
Jersey, he says, cautiously, " Communicate nothing of
this letter but privately to our friend Galloway ; " and it
may be doubted whether he wrote from Paris to any one
in America.
What contributed most of all, as it proved, to the
warmth of his welcome, was the interest taken in his
writings on politics, or what we should call social econ
omy. At this moment, indeed, the absorbing passion in
France was for what they called political and rural
economy. In the midst of the rigmarole and gossip of
that immense body of correspondence which Grimm,
Diderot, and others sent, twice a month, to different
princes and noblemen of Europe, - there comes in, fortu
nately for us, at the date of the 1st October, in this
very year 1767, a curious essay on this passion. After
showing at some length that France always has some
" object of predilection " the writer says, " At the present
moment, political and rural economy, agriculture, the
principles of government, are the object of this national
passion." A society had been formed in Paris which brought
together political economists and agriculturalists. " The
two piUars of this society are the old Doctor Quesnay and
1 Edward Everett's rule.

DUPONT DE NEMOURS. 7
the Marquis of Mirabeau, known as the Friend of Men,
from one of his own books."
This is the account given in Grimm. The letter goes on
to say that a young man named Dupont, and the Abb^
Baudeau are the principal apostles of the school. This
M. Dupont de Nemours was, through his life, Franklin's
intimate friend, and the Abbe Baudeau appears again
and again in the correspondence. He visited Franklin
in 1772.
Dupont, who considered himself as formed by Quesnay
and Turgot, offended the Court and was exiled from Paris
to the Gatinais. Here he occupied himself with vn:iting
poetry, and agriculture. In 1783 he was recalled to Court
by Vergennes, and we shall meet him again in the nego
tiations of the treaty of peace. He was in the Constituent
Assembly in 1789, and was imprisoned after the fall of
the Girondists. In 1795 he came to the United States,
where his sons had come before him, probably by Frank
lin's advice. M. Dupont was, in fact, threatened with
exile by the ruling powers in France, who did not find
him sufficiently extravagant. To this emigration this
country owes the family of Duponts, who have distin
guished themselves here in war and in peace. The Du
pont powder of the sportsman, and of the army and navy
service, is made at the establishment which stiR bears the
name of Dupont de Nemours, Franklin's friend. ^
The chiefs of the," Economists" tried to make a sect of
their adherents, with its ritual, its jargon, and its mys
teries. So Grimm says, or his coadjutor. " Quesnay calls
himself the master, the others call themselves the elders.
Eural economy is called 'the Science' par exceUence.
They meet every Tuesday at Monsieur de Mirabeau's.
^ The reader is indebted to the present representative of the family for
some letters of Franklin never before published.

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

They begin with a good dinner, then they labor; they
chop and dig and drain; they do not leave an inch of
ground in France. And when they have thus labored all
day in a charming saloon, cool in summer, and well
warmed in winter, they part in the evening, well content
ed, and with the happy satisfaction that they have made
the kingdom more fiourishing." This society, or sect, published
"The Ephemerides of a Citizen," of
which Dupont was the editor. It con
tinued several years. Their views,
based on the theory that the farmer
is the only producer in society, are
well stated ia " Physiocratie," a book
by Dupont.
Grimm was so provoked with them
that he says he should be glad some
fine day to take Monsieur de Mira
beau, "with all his Tuesday," and
their mattocks, pickaxes, and carts,
and carry them to the Landes de Bordeaux, or some other
ungrateful soil, that they might learn the busiaess of
draining with other tools than tongues or pens.
He says they make a mystical science and a divine in
stitution of agriculture, of which they are the theologians ;
that Monsieur de Mirabeau's "Tuesday" would be the
Sorbonne of the laboring man, and that this Sorbonne, as
much as the other, would oppose what he calls "Philoso
phy." And Grimm closes his rather bitter account of
them by a prayer to the sovereign Distributor of all light,
that they might learn to read and talk intelligently, and
to know what they are talking about.
Very active among these people was James Barbeu-
Dubourg, who became FrankUn's intimate friend and the

mirabeau.

DUBOURG. 9
French editor of his works. He addresses Franklin as
" My master." He was at this time fifty-seven years old.
In early life he studied languages, and he knew Greek and
Hebrew well. At this time he was an excellent English
scholar. In 1761 he had published a Gazette of Medi
cine ; in 1767 he published the " Botaniste Fran9aise," in
two volumes. ^ In his youth Dubourg was connected
with Lord Bolingbroke. He translated his "Letters on
History," published 1752. In his old age he was more
closely connected with Franklin, and dedicated to him his
" Petit Code de la Eaison Humaine." ^
The Franklin correspondence contains many letters
from Dubourg, beginning with 1767 and continuing until
his death in 1779. We shall meet him as a party in
Deane's negotiations with Beaumarchais, and again in his
somewhat unfortunate speculations in tobacco.
With all this sect of "Economists" Franklin became
well acquainted. The Marquis de Mirabeau seems to
have been away when he left, but in a letter from Dupont,
he speaks of Mirabeau, who sends a message to Franklin,
expressing his regret that they had not met. Nor did
Franklin see Dupont personally on the first visit, but
Dupont writes to say that Dr. Quesnay had given him
Franklin's messages. " I am very much touched by your
goodness, now that I learn from Dr. Quesnay that you had
1 " It is one of the most agreeable elementary books in the language,
says the " Universal Biogi'aphy." He undertook to make a printed collec^
tion of illustrations of the Mushroom family, from drawings by Mile,
Biheron, and gave the name of this skilful artist to one of the genera.
This book brought him into controversy with Adamson, who was the cen
sor of it. It is much superior to that of D'Alibard, and one of the best on
plants in the neighborhood of Paris.
2 The iirst edition of this was published in 1774, the second in 1782,
at Franklin's imprimerie at Passy, the third in 1789. This last edition is
the most complete; that of 1782 is the most rare ; almost all the copies
were sent to America.

10 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
designed to see me, and inform yourself regarding me in
your late sojourn in Paris."
Some of the papers of Franklin which are best known
come to us through these gentlemen. Thus the letter on
" Swimming," so often cited, is a translation from a letter
to Dubourg, which Dubourg printed in French in his
second volume. In a letter to DAlibard, Franklin alludes
to Priestley's " History of Electricity," which he had sent
to the Frenchman. He says very handsomely : " Philoso
phy is already indebted to you as being the first of man
kind that had the courage to attempt drawing lightning
from the clouds to be subject to your experiments."
D'AHbard himself, with equal courtesy, in describing his
own experiment, had said : " I have obtained complete sat
isfaction in following the road which Monsieur Franklin
has laid down for us."
Of this first visit to France, as has been already said,
Franklin seems to have written to no one in America,
excepting his son, and he even cautions him against let
ting any one know that he was there. To Miss Steven
son he wrote the amusing letter which has been cited,
describing the travel in France, the customs of dress, and
his own presentation at Court. This was on Sunday, the
ninth day of September ; Franklin and Pringle were both
presented. This presentation was probably due to the
suggestion of Durand, which has been alluded to. Frank
hn says, " The King spoke to both of us very graciously
and very cheerfully. He is a handsome man, has a very
lively look, and appears younger than he is." It was
Louis XV., and he was, in fact, fifty-nine years old, — two
years younger than Franklin himself. In the afternoon
of the same day the two travellers were at the Grand
Convert, where the royal family supped in public. The
King's and Queen's chairs were so far from each other

WHIST AND QUADRILLE. 11
that another chair might have been introduced between
them. As Franklin and his companion looked upon this
spectacle, an officer of the Court was sent for them, and
" placed Sir John so as to stand between the Queen and
Madame Victoire. " The King took some notice of Frank
lin also. " That is saying enough ; for I would not have
you think me so much pleased with this King and Queen
as to have a whit less regard than I used to have for ours.
No Frenchman shall go beyond me in thinking my own
King and Queen the very best in the world, and the most
amiable. H So loyal was Franklin then to that king who
has since been called a brummagem Louis XIV. He says
himself that the Scripture proverb that diligent men
should stand before kings had been fulfilled in his case ;
that he had stood before George II. and George III. Louis
XV. was the third of the series, Christian VII. was the
fourth, and Louis XVI. the fifth.
It is not beneath the dignity of history to say that in
this one letter from Paris, Franklin mentions the impor
tant fact that in playing cards quadrille is out of fashion,
and English whist all the mode at Paris and at the Court.
Had any Daniel of that day been wise enough, and at the
same time brave enough, he would have told the King
what this omon signified. For in quadrille, as in ombre,
better known to us through " The Eape of the Lock," the
ace of spades, called "spadille," is always the highest
card, whatever may be the trump suit. He is an abso
lute monarch, as at the head of the soldier class. Let
the reader remember that spades are so called from the
Italian ' spada," and that they represent the soldier class
in society. The hearts, which on the Spanish cards are
chaHces, represent the clergy, the diamonds represent the
bourgeois, while the clubs are the weapons of the rustics.
When, therefore, the fashion of the Court changed so far

12 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. «
that the ace of spades could not always take the ace of
clubs, of hearts, or of diamonds, ^ the King of France
should have known that even the chief of the noblemen
was no longer supreme above the demands of clergy, mer
chants, and people. It was " English " whist which found
its way into the French Court, and it came as an omen of
constitutional government. In the manufacture of cards,
the ace of spades generally maintains even to this day the
distinction which it bore in the days of absolute monarchy.
On their return from this visit, contrary winds detained
Franklin and his friend a week in Calais, a week which
they would gladly have spent in Paris. They arrived in
London again on the 8th of October. From that time
there begin to appear in his voluminous manuscript corre
spondence the letters of the friends he had formed in
Paris. We shall meet many of these friends again when
he appears there as a negotiator.
He had failed, as has been said, to see Dupont. Dupont
writes to express his regret that they did not meet. He
goes on : "I had already known you as savant, geometer,
naturalist, — as the man whom Nature permitted to unveil
her secrets. But now, my friend. Dr. Barbeu Du Bourg
has been kind enough to send me many of your writings
relative to the affairs of your Country. I have taken
the liberty to translate some of them " (probably in the
"Ephemerides of a Citizen"). "At every page I find
the philosophical citizen, bringing his genius to bear for
the happiness of his brothers and the dearest interests of
humanity. These writings have made me regret more
than ever that I did not meet you while you were in
Paris. If, to our good fortune, you shall come here again,
1 Diamonds, had any one remembered it, represent the square blocks
of pavement in burghs, and are thus appropriate for "city-zens." They
eome to the front again when "city-zens" use them for barricades.

LETTER TO DUPONT. 13
promise me, I beg you, to repair my loss as completely as
may be possible." He sends to Franklin two books, —
one a collection of Dr. Quesnay's writings, and the other
his own treatise, " Physiocratie," which is a brief resum^
of Dr. Quesnay's principles. " It is," he says, " clear that
in the development of all the rights of man, we are to find
the base of the principle of a government always prosper
ous, — at once useful and safe for the nation governed, and
advantageous for neighboring countries, who will profit by
its love of peace and liberty, in the freedom of its com
merce, and the distribution of the multiplied products of
its agriculture."
To this letter Franklin makes the following reply. It
is interesting as showing the interest he took in the spec
ulations of the " Tuesday," and his close relation to the
founders of the School London, July 28th, 1768.
I received your obliging letter of the 10th May, with
the most acceptable present of your Physiocratie, which
I have read with great Pleasure, and received from it a
great deal of Instruction. There is sueh a Freedom from
local and national Prejudices and Partialities, so much
Benevolence to Mankind in general, so much Goodness
mixt with the Wisdom, in the Principles of your new
Philosophy, that I am perfectly charmed with them, and
wish I could have stayed in France for some time, to
have studied in your School, that I might by conversing
with its Founders have made myself quite a Master of
that Philosophy. ... I had, before I went into your
Country, seen some Letters of yours to Dr. Templeman, ^
that gave me a high Opinion of the Doctrines you are
1 An English physician, of great erudition, a man of science. He was
at one time keeper of the reading-room of the British Museum.

14 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
engaged in cultivating, and of your personal Talents,
and Abilities, which made me greatly desirous of seeing
you. Since I had not that good Fortune the next best
thing is the Advantage you are so good as to offer me of
your Correspondence, which I shall ever highly value,
and endeavor to cultivate with all the Diligence I am
capable of.
I am sorry to find, that that Wisdom which sees the
Welfare of the Parts in the Prosperity of the Whole
seems yet not to be Known in this Country. . . . We
are so far from conceiving that what is best for Mankind,
or even for Europe, in general, may be best for us, that we
are ever studying to establish and extend a separate In
terest of, Brittain, to the Prejudice of even Ireland and
our own Colonies ! ... It is from your Philosophy only
that the Maxims of a contrary and more happy Conduct
are to be drawn, which I therefore sincerely wish may
grow and increase till it becomes the governing Philos
ophy of the human Species, as it must be that of superior
beings in better Worlds. I take the Liberty of sending
you a little Fragment that has some Tincture of it, which,
on that account, I 'hope may be acceptable.
Be so good as to present my sincere Eespects to that
venerable Apostle Dr. Quesnay, and to the illustrious Ami
des Hommes (of whose Civilities to me at Paris I retain a
grateful Eemembrance) and believe me to be, with real
and very great Esteem, Sir,
Your obliged and most obedient humble servant,
B. Franklin.
Early in 1768 Dr. Priestley's " History of Electricity "
was published. On the 31st of January, Franklin sent
a copy to the Abbe D'Alibard, in Paris, with a letter in
which occurs the compliment to him which has been cited.

A SECOND VISIT. 15
He says, "The time I spent in Paris, in the inspiring
conversation and agreeable society of so many ingenious
and learned men, seems now like a pleasing dream, from
which I was only to be awakened by findiug myself at
London." In acknowledging this letter and the book,
D'Alibard writes a letter, in which we find the first inti
mation of a second visit to Paris. " Do you not remember,
sir, that you gave us reason to hope that in May you
would return to Paris, and pass some months on your way
to Italy. All your friends here, all, at least, whom I
know, often ask me if I have received any news from you,
and if you will keep your word. Pray let me know how I
shall reply. Last year you only put in an appearance in
Paris ; you came too late, and your sojourn was too short
to procure the pleasure we wish you to enjoy. Pray make
us some recompense for this privation."
The correspondence with Dubourg led, as has been
said, to the arrangement by which this gentleman super
vised the translation into French of Franklin's works.
His name appears on the titlepage as the only translator.
We shall meet him often again. He is the person to whom
Franklin introduced Silas Deane in 1776, and whose pre
judice against Beaumarchais for a time cooled Franklin's
interest in that agent of the French mmistry. Dubourg
had translated Dickinson's "Letters of a Pennsylvania
Farmer," probably at Franklin's suggestion ; for, as will
be seen, two of Franklin's papers were appended to it.
The year 1768 passed, however, without Franklin's car
rying out his wish to revisit the Continent. On the 27th
of February, 1769, Bertier^ writes: "To crown your work,
you should again make a journey to France. It is your
country as much as England is. You would be here in
1 Joseph Etienne Bertier, born 1710, died 1783 ; an intimate friend of
J. J. Rousseau, a "fanatic for science," author of "Letters on Electricity."

16 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the midst of Franklinists, a father in his ovm country,
where the country is inhabited by his children. I was a
Franklinist without knowing it ; now that I do know it,
I shall not fail to name the founder of my sect."
Accordingly, in July, 1769, ^ Franklin left London for
Paris again. Brief as is the account which he gives of the
first expedition, his letters give even less of this. In a
letter to Cooper, of Boston, he says : " I have just returned
from France, -vrhere I found our dispute much attended to,
several of our pamphlets being translated and printed
there, among others my 'Examination' and the 'Far
mer's Letters,' with two of my pieces annexed, of which
last I send you a copy. In short, all Europe, except
Britain, appears to be on our side of the question."
The silence which he maintains regarding it even sug
gests that he had some political plans in Paris, beside the
matters of personal business and amusement which en
gaged him. We learn from the correspondence afterwards
that he did arrange for the translation of some of his more
important works into French, and their publication in
Paris. After this time Dubourg's letters refer directly to
the business of translation and publication. The transla
tion itself had been confided to Lesqui, who is called a
Premonstrant, 2 of whose delays and, indeed, ill success
generally, Dubourg complains. But Dubourg was a com
petent editor and reviser, and Franklin's reputation in
France was, in good measure, due to his care and skill.
Of his own work he says, " I have considerably increased
my little Bible of Humanity, but they refuse me the appro-
1 From a Manuscript Account Book : —
Cash Dr to Brown & Collinson.
My draft in fay' of Eougemont reo'd of him at Paris.
^ This means that he belonged to the Premonstrant order of clergy, —
an order bound to "shew the way, ' premonstrare. ' "

TRANSLATION. 17
bation necessary for printing it. I am very sorry for this,
for I like it better than I did the first time." This is the
'' Petit Code," of which one edition was afterwards issued
from Franklin's own press. And he refers his publishing
difficulties to the restrictions "on the press in this good
country, where they wish to have everything go well, and
where they are afraid even of the shadow of evil."
Some of Dubourg's difficulties of revision are amusing.
He cannot find the word " orreries " in his Jllctionary. Is
it the same as " cadrans " ? " What do ' surf ' and ' spray '
mean?" "I do not find 'jostled,' which embarrasses me
less." The second visit to Paris occupied Franklin for the last
weeks of July and the first three weeks of August, 1769.
On the 1st of September we find him in England again,
having made, in the interim, his arrangements for the
translation of his larger works, and bringing with him,
probably, some copies of "Dickinson's Letters." Careful
readers may be glad to know that he took forty guineas
with him for this journey, beside what he drew in Paris.
This little detail of a traveller's expenses appears from the
note of his bankers, the Quaker house of Smith, Wright, &
Gray. Among the friends whom he made in Paris was Mile.
Biheron, the artist whose anatomical preparations in wax
were the first important manufactures in that line. She
crossed once and again to London, and seems to have seen
Franklin intimately. Her letters appear in the corre
spondence with him, and she occasionally carries letters or
messages as she comes and goes. It would seem that she
lived in the house of Mrs. Stevenson, in Craven Street,
where Franklin so long made his home.
In one of the last letters of this early series, Dubourg
sends the "corapliments of Dupont and the Marquis of
2

18 FRANIiLIN IN FRANCE.
Mirabeau," the pillar and apostle, according to the Grimm
Memoirs, of the School of Economists.
A second letter from Franklin to Dupont shows how
close was his intimacy with the Economists. London, October 2nd, 1770.
Dear Sir, — I received with great Pleasure the Assur
ance of your kind Eemembrance of me, and the Continu
ance of your Goodwill towards me, in your Letter by M. le
Comte Chreptowitz. ... I should have been happy to
have rendered him every Civility and Mark of Eespect in
my Power (as the friend of those I so much Eespect and
Honor) if he had given me the opportunity. But he did
not let me see him.
Accept my sincere Acknowledgements and Thanks for
the valuable Present you made me of your excellent Work
on the Commerce of the India Company, which I have
perused with much Pleasure and Instruction. It bears
throughout the Stamp of your Masterly Hand, in Method,
Perspicuity, and Force of Argument. The honorable Men
tion you have made in it of your Friend is extremely oblig
ing. I was already too much in your Debt for Favours of
that kind.
I purpose returning to America in the ensuing Summer,
if our Disputes should be adjusted, as I hope they will be
in the next session of Parliament. Would to God I could
take with me Messrs. Du Pont, Du Bourg, and some other
French Friends with their good Ladies ! I might then,
by mixing them with my Friends in Philadelphia, form a
little happy Society that would prevent my ever wishing
again to visit Europe.
With great and sincere Esteem and Eespect, I am.
Dear Sir,
Your most obedient and most humble Servant,
B. Franklin.

ADAM SMITH. 19
The intimacy thus formed between Franklin and the
Economists proved of the greatest importance afterwards.
It is interesting to observe that Adam Smith was but a
few months before him in forming the same acquaintance,
to which, indeed, the English-speaking world owes the
" Wealth of Nations." Smith had been residing in Toulouse,
with the young Duke of Buccleuch, to whom he was tutor.
They had then taken a journey in Italy, and returned to
Paris at Christmas, 1765. Here tbey remained for ten
months. Hume introduced them to Turgot, Quesnay,
Necker, D'Alembert, Helvetius, and Marmontel. For
Quesnay he had such regard that he intended to dedicate
to him the " Wealth of Nations," and would have done so
but for Quesnay's death in 1774. "He was a man," says
Mr. Smith, " of the greatest modesty and simplicity, and
his system of political economy, with all its imperfections,
the nearest approximation to the truth that has yet been
published on that important subject."
As a complement to this remark of Smith's, it is amus
ing to note that M. Dupont says of Turgot's " Eeflections
on the Formation of Eiches," that " all which is true in
the estimable book of Adam Smith, which is so hard to
read, may be found in this little treatise, and all which
Adam Smith adds to it faUs in exactitude, and even in
foundation.'' With all the founders of the Economic school, from
whose work, nine years after, the " Wealth of Nations "
was to be born, Franklin had formed intimate personal
relations in 1767.

CHAPTEE II.
FRANCE, AND THE TREATY OF 1763.
WHEN Franklin landed in France, in the year 1776,
to win Louis XVI. to an alliance with the United
States of America, he found a country which, although
not at that time at war with Great Britain, saw in the
island power, as she had for many centuries before, an
hereditary and most bitter enemy. That France and Eng
land should be thus forever at swords' drawn was the
effect of many causes, the chief of which occur to every
one. The Norman Invasion, the claims of the Edwards
and their successors to the kingdom of France, the relig
ious troubles rising from the Protestant Eevolution, and
afterwards, the ambition of Louis XIV. were among the
more important of the causes which had kept these two
countries almost constantly embroiled with each other.
From the time when James II. left England and WU
liam III. combined the Triple Alliance against Louis XIV.
down to the moment when, through the aid of Franklin,
peace was reached in 1783 between England, France, and
America, the ancient enemies were almost constantly en
gaged in hostile temper. Indeed, between 1688 and 1783,
very nearly half the time was spent in a fierce though
intermittent war, in which the treaties concluded at Eys-
wick, at Utrecht, at Aix-la-ChapeUe, and at Paris seem to
stand only as truces, to mark breathing-spaces when the
exhausted combatants fell back, perforce, to gain new
strength and fresh breath for another attack.

COLONIZATION OF THE NEW WORLD. 21
There was one reason during the eighteenth century
which opposed France to England which had not existed
in the centuries before. It was, to a certain extent, con
nected with that cause which Franklin came to Paris to
represent. The colonial supremacy of the world had, for
some time, been at stake, and the two foremost nations of
Europe had fought the question through.
The Discovery of America had given to Spain and Por
tugal an advantage over the other nations of Europe which
those two nations were not slow to improve. And that
these two Christian powers should not come into hostile
contact, the world was divided between them by the be
neficent Holy Father. Through the sixteenth century,
Spain and Portugal were the foremost commercial powers
in Europe. Spain drew exhaustless revenues from Peru,
from Mexico, and from the West Indies, while the East
Indies and Brazil enriched her smaller co-partner in the
ownership of God's earth. England possessed not a single
town outside her own shores, save Calais, and France was
far too much distracted by quarrels of Catholic and Hu
guenot within her borders to turn her attention to other
worlds. But, by the beginning of the eighteenth century
all this was changed. Spain and Portugal still held the
Pope's Bull. But the other powers of Europe had begun
to participate in the great work of colonization. The
history of the settlements of England in 1700 is familiar
to everybody. The twelve colonies in America, together
with some in the West India Islands, showed her power
in the New World, while the Carnatic and the Ganges
began to be dotted with the trading-posts whereby she
had asserted her supremacy over an older civilization.
And France, some years before England, had set her foot
hold permanently upon the continent of America. The
settlers of the little town of Port Eoyal in Acadia were

22 FRANKLnf IN FRANCE.
whiling away the winter months by mimic ceremonies
and light hearted shows some years before Jamestown
was in being. Soon the Jesuits were infected with en
thusiasm for American conquests. Their missions were
pushed out to Lake Huron, and their hardy missionaries
were to be seen even among the Iroquois in New York
and the Ottawas at Machillimakinac. The next step was
the discovery of the Mississippi, which set a stream of
French fur traders and coureurs des bois into the broad
West of America to follow the lead of the brilliant and
indomitable La Salle. And, just before the eighteenth
century dawned, Bienville laid out the old French town at
New Orleans. France claimed all west of the Mississippi,
and all north and west of the Ohio and the AUeghanies.
It was the lion's share of America. In 1700, America
was, on the map, far more French than English. The
latter had twelve colonies cooped in by the Alleghany
Mountains and the Atlantic, restrained at the Kennebec
by the French and Indians, and at the Altamaha by the
Spanish settlements of Florida. But France had open to
her the whole basin of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes,
and the Mississippi, — stretching away to the Eocky Moun
tains, with a probable access to the Pacific, — and held the
keys to this valley at Quebec and New Orleans.
In the West Indies, too, French colonization was becom
ing active. Trade with the islands flourished enormously.
The French trade began to drive the English and Spanish
from the market. It is said that the French half of San
Domingo (infinitely more prosperous than the Spanish
half) was by itself alone equal in value to all the English
West Indies. Martinique and Guadeloupe were overflow
ing with all sorts of wealth. In the East Indies, also,
France was at work. In that part of the world she was
for some years the chief commercial power; the Portuguese

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 23
and the Dutch were declining, the English were still
weak. In the Isle of France was La Bourdonnais. In
the Carnatic was Dupleix. These two men were doing
great things for France in India, and could their magnifi
cent schemes have come to a successful end, India might
to-day be French rather than English.
" A splendid present, an alarming future," says Martin,
of the situation. The two hereditary enemies shared the
commercial supremacy of the world, the Dutch being
hardly and grudgingly admitted to a part. But neither
France nor England was of the temper to allow the other
to advance at a dangerous rate. The wars of the eigh
teenth century, as far as we can note their results to-day,
were colonial wars, undertaken for colonial supremacy,
and having that supremacy for their reward. When
Franklin appeared at Paris, France had fought her rival
through four ruinous wars, and the terms upon which the
combatants had last sheathed their swords, had not been
such that France, the beaten party, felt content to lie
quiet. The Peace of Paris in 1763 had ended the most disas
trous of these struggles with her hereditary foe in which
she had for many a century been engaged. Thanks to
complications following certain disagreements between
Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa, thanks also to
the whims of the Pompadour and the ambitions of her
favorites, the rulers of Europe let slip the dogs of war to
range for seven long years up and down the length of this
world and over the breadth of two hemispheres. The
years between 1756 and 1763 were marked by some of
the most doleful contests by which the world has ever
been vexed. In Europe Frederick himself matched his
military stratagem and his never-failing resolution against
the overwhelming numbers of Eussia and Austria, while

24

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

England and Hanover engaged successfully the marshals
of Louis XV. In America, over the great part of the
Continent, from the Ohio to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Frenchmen and Indian were arrayed against British^
regulars, provincials, and the Iroquois ; and, following on
Louisburg, Ticonderoga, Duquesne, and Quebec stand as
reminders of that struggle whicli for years sounded on the
ears of our forefathers. And not
only on our own far-away land did
European quarrels bring disaster
and suffering. Even in the An
tipodes the schemes of the Prus
sian King and the intrigues of
the Parisian Court fanned into
sudden flame the innumerable
smoulderings of intrigue and
plotting by French or English
in the Carnatic. They offered
opportunity, not in vain, in which
Clive made for himself an undy
ing name, and wealth which seemed unending, over the
bodies of La Bourdonnais and Dupleix. At the same
time he laid for England the foundations of a govern
ment over the semi-barbaric tribes of Hindostan. On
the shores of Africa as well, and in the West Indies,
the English and French arms sought each other. Spain,
too, became involved in the general struggle. The far-
' The use of this word, universal in the American histories of the Eev
olution, is ridiculed sometimes in England as a provincialism. But it was
nniver.sal in the English literature of the time. It came in with the union
with Scotland, and the Scotch wiiters were numerous enough and efficient
enough to keep it in constant demand whenever both parts of the kingdora
were spoken of. Even Dr. Johnson constantly speaks of Britain. With
the passage of a generation the larger part of the island gained its old
name in English Uterature.

FREDERICK OF PRUSSIA.

THE TREATY OF PARIS. 25
reaching schemes of Pitt struck at her Indian possessions
East and West, and the loss of the Havana and of the
Philippines was the price she might have paid for declar
ing war against the chief maritime power of Europe.
Not only on land, but at sea as well, did these great
naval powers array their strength against each other, and
match their fleets. Titanic three-deckers and ponderous
frigates, in battles which lasted till little was left but
the floating hulks for victor or vanquished. And it was
now, for the first time, after the many fierce encounters
of this colonial war, that Great Britain rose, acknowledged
the greatest maritime power of the world.
Everywhere had France come forth from the struggle
humbled, defeated, overwhelmed. Her armies were beaten,
her navies shattered, her possessions overrun throughout
the world. Quebec, Louisburg, Pondicherry, Plassey recall
the reluctant steps by which she receded from her colonies
in America, India, in Africa and the West Indies, — while
not a few victories on land and sea caused her flag to
vanish from the ocean, and her prestige on European
battlefields to receive a crushing blow.
The war had been one for colonial supremacy. France
had been beaten, and it was in her colonial possessions
that she principally suffered. In North America, where
Champlain had discovered a field for the enthusiastic
labors of the heroic Jesuits, where Frontenac had pro
tected and strengthened New France and Montcalm had
heroically defended her, — Frai^ice ceded the whole of her
vast possessions, retaining for herself only two small
islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon, on which to dry fish.
England received Acadia, Cape Breton, the islands of the
St. Lawrence, and all Canada. These were possessions
absolutely necessary to her American empire, as will be
seen by any one who notes how very small a part of the

26 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Continent is included in the original thirteen colonies,
even adding Nova Scotia. England then possessed the
Continent from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. The re
mainder of America, so far as France had any-claim to it,
had already been ceded by her to Spain. Most of the
English colonies claimed by their charters to run west
ward to the South Sea. But these charters were written
when no man knew where the South Sea was, and such
claim as England founded on Dralce's discovery of New
Albion was now hardly maintained even by England. So
far as the Pacific coast of America was known it was gen
erally supposed to belong to Spain.
In the West Indies, France fared better. Guadeloupe,
Marie-Galante, D^sirade, Martinique, and St. Lucia were
restored to her. She had lost them in the war. But
England was to retain Granada, St. Vincent, Dominica,
and Tobago. In Africa, Goree was restored to France,
but England retained her conquest of Senegal. But
greater than these was the loss in India. There the
French flag was no longer seen, and French diplomacy
and intrigue were banished from the Indian courts to give
place to English intrigue and diplomacy. La Bourdonnais
and Dupleix had dreamed of splendid empires for France
in Hindostan. The Carnatic, the Deccan, Bengal, were to
come under French sway ; the English and tlie Dutch
were to be crowded to the wall ; India was to be ruled by
native princes under the hand of France ; and from the
vast storehouses of the East miraculous wealth should
rejoice the hearts of all Frenchmen. This magnificent
kingdom in the air, unsupported by aid from home,
crumbled at the touch of the genius of Clive. Dupleix
dreamed, and would have accomplished had it not been
for maddening circumstances. Clive dreamed little, and
did his work in spite of everything.

FRANCE DESIRES WAR. 27
A glance at the map, then, after the Treaty of 1763,
would have shown France possessed of a few dozen
islands, scattered here and there, with a few posts on the
outskirts of those continents which had been once over
run by her troops and traders, and ruled by her governors.
On the map of Europe boundaries were, practically, un
changed. But even here victorious England was able to
insult, if not injure, her prostrate foe. Dunkirk, the old
stronghold for French cruisers, pirates, and smugglers,
must lose its teeth. The harbor was to be filled up and
the fortifications to be levelled to the ground. An English
commissioner was to superintend these operations, and to
remain afterward that nothing should be done in the way
of rebuilding without his consent.
France felt this insult keenly. It is said of Vergennes, i
the minister, that he could never hear of that treaty with
out a shudder. It is not wonderful.
France was undoubtedly smarting to go to war with .
England. But was it natural that she should desire to
aid these American colonies to gain their independence ?
Eevolution against kings was no more a part of the
Bourbon creed in 1776 than in 1820, the days of the Holy
Alliance. Would Louis XVI. care to join a Eevolutionary
army, even against an inveterate foe ? And again, these
colonists were men who twenty years before had stood
shoulder to shoulder against the French regiments in
America, had marched with the Iroquois against Quebec
and Montreal. George Washington, their general, was
that very leader of the provincials who was associated
painfully in the minds of the French, by the Jumonville
affair, with that war which had ended in the expulsion
of the French from America. Such reasons as these
might well have turned the French people from the
American alliance. Yet the French people in all classes.

28 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
even the Court, for once, disagreed with the King, and de
sired war with England in aid of the American colonies.
Other influences than these were at work.
The French Eevolution was not the impulsive outburst
of a sudden popular whim. The long-growing discontent
and dissatisfaction, the new-born ideas of social equality,
of the rights of man, the theories put forth in the radical
utterances of Voltaire and the Encyclopedists were in
existence long before 1789. They existed in 1776, and,
because of them, was the Declaration of Independence
hailed by many in France as being the expression of the
greatest and highest truths. Their hearts went out in
great sympathy toward the upholders of these noble and
lovely doctrines. And such sympathy, such enthusiasm,
such feeling as this, was enough to utterly^ counteract and
destroy any small feelings of former distrust and rivalry,
any remnants of former hatred. France wished to aid
America. The King was almost alone in his nation in his
resolution to teep peace with Great Britain.
This was France when Franklin reached Bordeaux.
She was a nation hostile to Great Britain, by the long-
continued tradition of centuries, — an humbled nation
smarting to recover her lost prestige and to console her
wounded pride, — a nation whose heart was just beginning
to throb with new ideas, which saw these new ideas
trampled on, in danger of being crushed by this hereditary
and victorious foe. She was also a nation which saw in
the American trade an object worth striving for: It was
natural that the United States should turn to France first
among the nations of Europe.
The other nations of Europe were not so likely to wel
come an alliance with the new nation as was France.
The reasons which urged France were lacking with them.
Yet it was not impossible that they might take up arms

THE TEMPER OF EUROPE. 29
against Great Britain, and to that end Congress sent its
agents eventually to the Courts of Spain, of Austria, of
Prussia, of Eussia, and of Tuscany, and to the United
Netherlands. Spain was perhaps the most likely to join with France
in aUiance against Great Britain. Although by no means
sharing in the hatred of centuries, Spain had been suffi
ciently beaten and humbled by the Seven years' war to
regard England as an enemy rather than a friend; and
should France take up arms, Spain was bound to her by
the family compact and would be likely to follow her
lead. But the great difficulty was here : Spain owned
half the new world. Her colonies stretched over great
parts of North, South, and Central America. It was
hardly probable that she would aid the colonies of her
neighbor to free themselves. The precedent was too
dangerous. Austria was at this time the ally of France. The old
political system of Europe had been founded upon their
rivalry. The Seven years' war changed that system ut
terly. France and Austria fought side by side. The
courts of France and Austria also, though not bound to
gether by the tie of blood, were now bound by that of
marriage. Austria, in choosing between France and Eng
land, would naturally choose France. But it would be far
more likely that she would choose neither, that she would
stand neutral, even if France could be drawn into the
struggle. Her sympathies were strongly with absolutism ;
she cared little enough for maritime or colonial affairs,
and she had quite enough to do to keep her eye on Fred
erick on the north and upon the Turk on the south, with
out troubling herself with America.
Prussia, too, was unlikely to enter the contest, and for
similar general reasons. Prussia had been the ally of

30 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
England in her former struggle with France; but the
bonds of friendship had been loosened, and the old King
was beginning to consider the expediency of French rather
than English alliance.
Of the Northern States of Europe, it might be hoped
that Eussia would support some broad doctrine regarding
the freedom of the seas. Denmark and Sweden would
soon be interested in the same questions. Of the other
States of Europe mention need hardly be made. The
States of Italy were then, on the whole, too powerless
and divided to provide any sensible aid, had they been
so inclined. The two Sicilies were allied to France and
Spain through the family compact, but they would in all
probability see their safest path in neutrality. As for
Portugal, her sympathies were decidedly English ; and so
soon as she had to decide, she closed her ports to Ameri
can cruisers. Holland was the only European power
beside France from which an alliance could be reasonably
expected. The Dutch were old-time rivals of England,
were a commercial nation, were on the whole at this time
under French influence, and were bound by their own, his
tory to sympathize in the endeavors for American liberty.
As a matter of fact, Holland was the first power after
France to ally herself with the United States.
But if the French people longed for a war with Eng
land, their King, on the whole, disliked the idea of the war
which must follow alliance with America. It is true that
he felt keenly the exclusion of his country from the com
mercial system of the world, and would willingly have
lent his aid to anything which should tend toward weak
ening the enormous colonial and maritime supremacy
which Great Britain had obtained. Yet he disliked the
idea of aiding rebellious subjects. Louis XVI. was a firm
believer in the divine right of kings, and could not think

THE WAR PARTY TRIUMPHS. 31
with complacency of aiding those who should rise against
them. True, he hardly regarded George III. as a lawful
monarch. He was continually pressed by assertions that
it was useless for him to refrain from open hostilities, for
that England, whether she subdued her rebellious colonies
or not, would hardly wait for a pretext to seize the few
West India Islands that still remained to France.^ Yet
his sense of right forbade his breaking faith unprovoked.
He had no love for war ; he knew that France was in no
real condition for war. But Louis himself, with two or
three of his ministers, were almost the only men in France
who did not clamor for aid to the Americans and a war
with England.
Finally the war party triumphed. Turgot, who foresaw
the enormous expense that would be brought on a nearly
bankrupt country by a great war, and who foresaw also
the ultimate emancipation of the colonies, even should the
aid of France be withheld, and the King, who shrunk
from the idea of war in the abstract and disliked the
thought of breaking faith with his hereditary foe without
sufficient cause, were both overruled by the eager desire
of the Court for a war of revenge against England, which
should wipe out the shame of the treaty of Paris, and by
the universal enthusiastic sympathy for a nation strug
gling for freedom. War was in the air. France drifted u
from real neutrality to secret and unrecognized alliance,
1 " The English ministry beaten on the Continent may seek indemnity
at the expense of France and Spain.'' — Report of Bonvouloir. Ban
croft, viii. 331. "If England triumphs in America, it can be only at
enoimous expense, both in men and money. Now the only recompense
that the English think of for so great a loss is to seize the French sugar
islands. ... If the Americans are conquerors, the moment they are free
the English will be more than ever desirous of making good their loss by
the easy capture of our American possessions." — Beaumarchais to the
King. LomSnie, ii. 103.

82 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and from this unrecognized alliance she was rapidly
pushed into open and undisguised war. When Franklin
arrived in France she was in the second of these phases.
The King and ministers declared themselves neutral, and
yet cannon and military stores were withdrawn from the
royal arsenals and landed on the shores of America,
while a train of French officers offered their services to
Washington. It was the business of Franklin to turn
this second phase into the third, — open and undisguised
alliance with America, and aid no longer secret against
Great Britain. The change from real neutrality to secret
alliance had been effected largely through the efforts of
one man. The story of Franklin's stay in France would
not be in any way complete without the history of the
business house of Eodrique Hortalez and Company, and of
its director, Caron de Beaumarchais.

CHAPTEE III.
CAEON DE BEAUMARCHAIS.
THE name of le Sieur de Beaumarchais is not an un
familiar one to the reader of the French memoirs and
correspondence of the reigns of Louis XV. and his suc
cessor. " By turns a politician, an agent, a man of busi
ness, an author, an advocate, a libertine, he seizes on all
r61es at once, and thinks that he can fill each one satis
factorily," says an ill-natured chronicler.^ We hear of
him in all these capacities. A brilliant courtier, a favorite
of the family of Louis XV., he is often heard of in tales
of court intrigue ; the most brilliant comedy writer since
Moliere, his " Marriage of Figaro " would not escape the
notice of the journalists ; a shrewd political agent, in favor
with Maurepas, his connection with the romantic Cheva
lier d'Eon furnishes much material for speculation ; a man
of letters, a beau esprit, a copy of verses by him now and
I Bachaumont, xv. 186. The volumes ofthe "Memoires secrfetes pour
servir k I'histoire de la Republique des lettres," etc., are very rich in allu
sions to Beaumarchais at about this time. Though usually quoted as
"Memoires of Bachaumont," only the first five volumes were written by
that gentleman. The volumes which cover the earlier part of FrankUn's
stay in France were written by Pidansat de Mairobert, "a bold intriguer,
a caustic conversationalist, an oracle at the foj/ers of the comedy, a cour
tier ofthe lieutenants of the police, . . . who figures before us as a follower,
an imitator, a diminutive of Beaumarchais, but without his genius." A
man of this stamp could hardly speak of his greater prototype without
some prejudice ; and accordingly we find that every mention of Beaumar
chais in these volumes of Bachaumont is tinged by a hatred and a malice,
which do not impair their value if every aUowance be made.
3

84 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
then finds its way into the Memoires ; ^ a vigorous contro
versialist, his manifold disputes are much noted and com
mented upon by the sharp-eyed gentlemen, who have
together preserved for us what is probably the most care
ful and minute picture ever made of the manners and
literature of a time as little worthy of it as any that
naturally occurs to one. There is, however, one point in
the life of Beaumarchais as to which they are all in the
dark ; namely, his connection with Franklin, Deane, and
Lee. On this topic, although we find some notice here or
there, it is usually something set down with an utter mis
conception of the true nature of the manner in which
Beaumarchais took up the American cause at the court of
France, pressed it unceasingly upon the ministers and
King, and finally won round Vergennes, and by his means
the King, to sending secret aid to the Americans. So
whatever we can get from memoir- writers on this subject
will be of small importance to us. Fortunately, there
are other sources of information.
To begin, then, at the beginning. Although known to us
always as Beaumarchais, the courtier, the man of letters,
the adventurer, and so on, he passed the first twenty-five
years of his life as Pierre Augustin Caron, the watch
maker. His father, Andre Charles Caron, was a watch
maker before him, and a remarkably expert one ; and the
only son among six children was naturally marked out to
follow the trade of his father. And while he worked as a
watchmaker, he worked brilliantly and well, and made
1 We quote a few lines from his " Stances sur les Femmes," which we
do not remember to have seen copied in any English book.
"Retenez ce bon mot d'un sage,
(Des moeurs c'est le grand secret),
Toute femme vaut un hommage,
Bien peu sont dignes d'un regret."

BEAUMARCHAIS IN LONDON. 85
certain inventions and improvements which made him in
his own profession a person of some promise and conse
quence. But it was not his destiny to pass his life at
a watchmaker's bench. A lucky marriage gave him the
entree at Court, and his own family, "obscure, mais in-
t^ressante," fostered the literary genius that lay dormant
in him.^ The inborn push and spirit of the man did the
rest, so that in 1775 we find him a person of assured posi
tion both at Court and in the world of letters, — a man
known and talked of, admired and hated, and, in fact, one
of the prominent figures in the little world of Paris and
Versailles, social, political, literary, judicial, and otherwise.
He was just the man to pick up some wild or crack-brained
scheme, push it through every obstacle and difficulty with
theatrical determination, and arrive at the conclusion of
his labors covered with gratitude, hatred, and scorn from
the various parties concerned, — possibly, though not prob
ably, with some financial remuneration, — and last, and to
Beaumarchais not least, crowned with eclat, and invested
with the compelled admiration of all the world.
This man in 1775 became wild with enthusiasm for
America. During the summer of that year Beaumarchais
went often to London on certain business for the King of
France, unconnected with the subject of this memoir.
This business was only a blind as far as his real interests
were concerned; Beaumarchais wanted to know more
^ In this watchmaker's family verses were constantly made and handed
about, letters were written with care and read with admiration, and bon
mots were exchanged with clever abbis and gens des lettres. Diderot was
admired, and Eichardson was adored. This last, by the way, will supply
tbe curious with an amusing picture of the young Beaumarchais. "An
other Grandison," writes his sister Julie with care in her note-book ;
" his genius, his goodness, the same noble and superior soul, equally sweet
and honest ; he is the friend of men. Grandison is the glory of all who
surround him, and Beaumarchais their happiness."

36 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
than he did about the state of England at that time, and
her attitude toward her rebeUious colonies. He had
various channels of information, through which he pro
posed to hear both sides ; and being of an optimistic and
enthusiastic nature, without a particularly clear aud well-
balanced intellect, on hearing much that was contra
dictory he very naturally formed an incorrect estimate of
the state of parties. Lord Eochefort, one of his former
friends, being now Secretary of State for Foreign'' Affairs,
told him much that was interesting, though perhaps not
very well founded on fact. Another friend told him
more, — John Wilkes, whose house was at this moment
the centre of the Parliamentary opposition under George
III., and therefore the rallying place for all particularly
well-affected toward the American cause. At this time,
although Gage was shut up in Boston by a Continental
army, the Declaration of Independence had not yet en
tirely severed relations with the mother country. But
the idea of complete separation was everywhere.
Beaumarchais at once reached a conclusion in which
true and false were perhaps equally mingled. " Such a
nation," says he, "must be invincible;" and here he was not
far wrong. But he also says, " England is in such a crisis,
such a disorder without and within, that she would be
nearly on the brink of ruin if her neighbors and rivals
were but in a state to think seriously of it." "The least
check," he says further, " which the royal army shall re
ceive in America, increasing the audacity of the people
and of the opposition, may decide affairs in London when
one least expects it ; and if the King sees himself forced to
give way, I tell you with terror that I do not believe his
crown safer on his head than the heads of his ministers
on their shoulders." This is exaggeration ; it shows, how
ever, the present temper of the man.

BEAUMARCHAIS AND TURGOT. 37
Beaumarchais presented his views to the King, but did
not at this time urge any special action. This was in
September, 1775. Three months more changed his views.
He became convinced that France, if she had any regard
for her own safety, must attack England. He went to
London again and again, and returned each time with his
sympathies for America stirred to their greatest extent.
" The Americans will conquer," was the idea forever buzz
ing in his brain, — " the Americans will conquer, but how ?
It must be by the aid of France. France must give as
sistance, — if not openly, why then
in secret." These ideas continually
filled his mind, and excluded every
thing else. He had nothing in him
of the calm calculation of Turgot,
who had said in measured sentences,
" Whatever may or ought to be the
wish of the two crowns [of France
and Spain], nothing can arrest the
TURCOT. course of events, which sooner or
later will bring about the absolute
independence of the English Colonies. ... It is a very
delicate question to know if we can indeed help the
Americans to ammunition or money. . . . We ought to
limit ourselves to measures of caution, — to precipitate
nothing unless the conduct of England shall give us rea
son to believe that she really thinks of attacking us. . . .
As for us, the King knows the condition of his finances.
. . . For a necessary war resources could be found ; but
war ought to be shunned as the greatest of misfortunes,
since it would render impossible, perhaps forever, a reform
absolutely necessary to the prosperity of the State and the
solace of the people."
With Beaumarchais we see a different thought, — a rush

38 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
of passionate and plausible argument, which over-clouds
reason and substitutes for it enthusiasm.
On reaching home after one of these trips to London
Beaumarchais penned —
PEACE OE WAR. ^
To the King alone :
The King of England, the ministry, the Parhament, the
opposition, the nation, the English people, the parties
which tear asunder the State agree in giving up all hope
of bringing back the American Colonies without a severe
struggle. Lord North and Lord Germaine would will
ingly give up to Lord Shelburne and Lord Eocking-
ham, but the latter fear to accept; for they fear the
Americans are so much encouraged that they will not
now accept the conditions which they begged two years
since. Now, Mr. Arthur Lee, secret deputy of the Colonies at
London, is discouraged by the uselessness of his applica
tions to France for assistance. He offers a secret treaty of
commerce in exchange for secret help.
Consider everything. Sire. You will see that —
1°. If England triumphs, they will seek to make up the
cost necessary for such a struggle by seizing our West
India sugar islands.
2°. If America conquers, the English will try to make
up the loss of some of her American Colonies by acquiring
all of ours.
3°. If England gives up the Colonies without a blow,
the result is the same, save that England will be stronger
and the better able to make war.
I This document may be found in full in Lom:6nie's " Beaumarchais et
son Temps," ii. 99, as well as for the most part in Parton's Franklin, ii
181.

RODRIQUE HORTALEZ AND CO.

39

4°. If America and England are reconciled, the Ameri
cans, enraged against France by her present refusal to aid
them, threaten to join the English in the attack.
What to do? We can preserve peace only by giving
aid to the Americans ; two or three millions may save us
our sugar islands, worth three hundred.

?55?;i?^;\

VERGENNES.

Beaumarchais put his case very strongly, but the King
was unmoved. Vergennes, who at heart wished for war,
remained also unmoved. Beaumar
chais pressed him hard. So did the
English Cabinet. At length Ver
gennes, wearied out by the latter,
succumbed to the former. Beau
marchais at once formulated his
scheme. A commercial house sus
tained by government aid should
furnish the Americans money or
munitions. 3,000,000 livres would
do wonders.^
Vergennes decided to propose it
to the King. " But," he said to Beaumarchais, " the opera
tion must have essentially in the eyes of the English
government, and even in the eyes of the Americans, the
aspect of an individual speculation, to which we are
strangers. That it may be so in appearance, it must be
so to a certain extent in reality. We will give you
secretly a million. We will endeavor to persuade the
Court of Spain to unite in giving you another. With
these two millions you shall found a great commercial
establishment, and at your own risk and peril you shall
furnish to America arms and everything else necessary
to sustain war. Our arsenals will deliver to you arms
* One livre was twenty sous, aud corresponds to the present franc.

40 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and munitions, but you shall pay for them. You will
not demand money of the Americans, for they have none ;
but you can ask return in their staple products." Such
was the plan for secret aid. The King assented. The two
miUions were obtained, and Beaumarchais constituted
himself the managing partner of the great firm of Eod
rique Hortalez and Co.^ All this was in the spring and
summer of 1776.
As soon as the promise of the mUlion was given by
France, Beaumarchais wrote to Arthur Lee : " The difficul
ties which I have found in my negotiations with the minis
ter have led me to form a company which shall send as
soon as possible munitions and powder to your friends,
taking returns in tobacco at Cape Franqais." ^
Affairs would have run their course more smoothly had
Beaumarchais not written this letter, for very shortly
afterward Silas Deane,^ the recognized commissioner from
1 Mairobert, the "diminutif de Beaumarchais," knows not what to
make of the sudden good fortune of his much-hated master. " They say
to-day," he remarks about this time, "that the cause of the new fortune
of Sieur de Beaumarchais is the liking which the Count de Maurepas has
taken for him. He amuses this minister by his sarcasms, and is singu
larly beloved by him ;" and later (27th Sept.), " Sieur de Beaumarchais
is developing his vast schemes for the future. He has hired a very great
h8tel in the Rue du Temple, where he establishes a business house of
considerable importance ; he has very large funds at his disposition."
(Bachaumont.) There is also much speculation as to the cause of Beaumarchais's jour
neys to London, — which it is decided are caused by curiosity in regard to
the Chevalier D'Eon, — and much ill-natured comment on a magnificent
diamond ling, — worth 80,000 livres, which Beaumarchais asserted had
been given him by the Empress, Queen Maria Theresa.
^ Now Cape Hay tien.
8 Deane assumes in the Memoires a somewhat romantic appearance,
rather incompatible with the character of a Connecticut merchant.
"D'Ean," is the manner in which at least one Frenchman alludes to the
worthy agent. — Corr. Secrite, iv. 384.

ARTHUR LEE. 41
Congress arrived in Paris, and after a little, Beaumarchais
came to a complete understanding with him and at once
broke off any connection ¦with Lee, as far as the munitions
went. This was natural. Deane had been commissioned
by Congress for this very purpose. Lee had not. Beau
marchais, preferring to deal with an accredited agent,
dropped Lee and did his business with Deane.
This occasioned many difficulties, all arising from one
source, — Arthur Lee. This man caused a great deal of
trouble to his fellow-commissioners, first and last ; about
as much as did the backwardness of the French ministry,
the zeal of the British cruisers, the laxity of the over-
pressed Continental Congress across the water, and the low
state of American credit, all put together. One can hardly
¦write the story of the time with any sympathy for Frank
lin, Deane, or Beaumarchais, or even for abstract right,
without showering a good deal of abuse on Arthur Lee.
His was one of those characters which, though probably
reasonable enough to their possessors, seem to others to be
almost miraculous in their littleness and meanness. It is
no busiaess of ours to place vituperative adjectives to the
discredit of Arthur Lee, and it seems unnecessary ; for the
facts of the case as they are understood to-day are utterly
incomprehensible without a very low view of his char
acter. To state the good side first, however, — to our
knowledge it was never charged to him that he meditated
treason, as did Arnold ; that he was financially dishonor
able, as was charged against Silas Deane; that he neg
lected what he conceived to be his duty toward Congress,
as did Thomas Morris. The only charge that can be
truly made against him is that he was so blinded by lack
of the appreciation which he conceived to be deserved, and
envy against those who had been entrusted with duties
which he conceived to be his by right, as to suffer his

42 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ideas of truth to become quite confused, and to lie like a
trooper whenever he saw an opportunity to say anything
to the discredit of FrankUn, Deane, or Beaumarchais.
With the last of these, as we have seen, he had been in
timate. To this intimacy Beaumarchais owed very largely
his later financial embarrassments. He met this young
and enthusiastic Virginian, of one of the best famUies in
America, and at once fraternized with him.
Beaumarchais was in London on a semi-political errand.
Lee exaggerated his position. He supposed that he saw
in Beaumarchais a secret hut duly accredited negotiator
between the French Court and himself. Before the firm
of Eodrique Hortalez and Co. was formed, it is very probable
that Beaumarchais, either designedly or not, conveyed to
Lee the idea that the Court of France had determined
to give outright the supplies that were sent to Congress.
Lee never disabused himself of this idea. He sent letter
after letter to Congress affirming that the munitions were a
free gift from the King of France, though a disguised one.
Congress, having to choose between the fantastic letters of
the romantic man of business who signed himself Eodrique
Hortalez, requesting tobacco and other things, aud the
repeated and earnest assertions of Lee that no tobacco
need be forwarded, very naturally chose to follow the
course laid out by the latter. They sent no tobacco, and
answered no letters from Beaumarchais.
Mr. Parton says that Arthur Lee " knew that the French
ministry had changed their original plan of sending
money and stores direct to Congress, and that in conse
quence of this change Beaumarchais had set up a com
mercial house in order to accomplish the same end." This
is probably true. But there is no evidence known to us
to prove that Lee knew that any remuneration' was really
expected for them. He probably considered the house of

ARTHUR LEE'S TROUBLES. 43
Hortalez to be merely a blind to Lord Stormont, set up
without an idea of doing its work on business principles.
With this idea on his mind, which was a very natural
outcome of the magnificent promises made to him, in aU
probability, by Beaumarchais when they first met in Lon
don, and urged by very bitter hatred of Beaumarchais
and Deane, Lee looked on every attempt on the part of
the house of Hortalez to obtain a return for the cargoes as
a corrupt effort on the part of the confederates, Beaumar
chais and Silas Deane, to enrich themselves at the expense
of Congress. Lee seems to have been a man who having
fixed an idea in his head was absolutely unable to remove
it. He honestly thought, as we believe, that the King of
France meant to give Congress the necessary aid. He .-
was furious with Beaumarchais because that gentleman
preferred to treat with a recognized agent of Congress
rather than with himself. He was furious with Deane, *
who seemed to have robbed him of the chance of acquir
ing deserved honor by doing an important service to the
country he loved. He hated Franklin on his arrival, be- '¦
cause, on account of the wildly enthusiastic welcome
accorded the sage, he himself seemed to be reduced from
first or second place to third or even fourth. He was
angry with the French for not being sufficiently forward ;
with the Spaniards for being very backward. His own
undertakings had all been unsuccessful. If we consider
the effect of all this upon a wildly ambitious but still
very cramped, narrow, and envious nature we shall easily
evolve Arthur Lee's behavior. It was not excusable, but
it is not to be wondered at. The nature of the man com
pelled him to acts which had he seen them in their true
light he must have scorned. He was a man who longed *
to do something great, but who proved by his impatience
and wrong-headedness in a subordinate capacity that, had

44 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
he had the opportunity to distinguish himself by some
noble achievement, he could hardly have succeeded.^
It was on June 10, 1776, that Beaumarchais received
at the orders of Vergennes the sum of a mUUon livres
from the French treasury, and two months afterward
he received another million from the Court of Spain.
Some time subsequently he received another mUlion from
France ; and, first and last, two mUlions more were collected
by his friends. These five millions were to form the capi
tal stock of a great commercial house. Beaumarchais
was the house. But he modestly veiled his own per
sonality under the romantic and yet magnificent name of
Eodrique Hortalez and Company. Acting for this firm,
Beaumarchais hired an immense hotel in Paris (Hotel de
HoUande, — the Dutch ambassador had dwelt there in the
days of the Grand Monarque), and set up business upon a
great though somewhat eccentric scale.
In July, as we have said, Silas Deane arrived in Paris.
He had been commissioned by the Continental Congress
to treat with the French ministry. It was the mission of
this gentleman to make propositions to the French Court
for an alUance and a treaty of commerce, and to corre
spond and consult with the other agents of the United
States in Europe, — Dr. Dubourg, Arthur Lee, and the
rest, — in regard to the welfare of the Colonies.
Dr. Dubourg was the first of the agents to whom
Deane presented himself.^ He first presented Deane to

1 Franklin, three years later, seems to have judged his colleague fairly
enough. He says, in speaking of another matter : " Dr. Lee's accusation
of Captain Landais for insanity was probably well founded ; as in my
judgment would have been the same accusation if it had been brought by
Landais against Lee ; for though neither of them are permanently inad,
they are both so at times, and the insanity of the latter is the most mis
chievous." — Letter to Dr. Cooper, 12th Dec. 1780.
^ With cordial letters from Franklin. Dubourg, of whom we have

SECRET AID FOR AMERICA. 45
Vergennes on the 17th of July. Before Vergennes then,
Deane, as directed, laid the desires of Congress, asking in
particular for two hundred pieces of cannon, for arms,
munitions, clothing, and equipage for 25,000 men. Ver
gennes naturally refused to accede to this request. But
although he said that His Majesty had no idea of furnish
ing America with all these necessaries, he mentioned
Beaumarchais, as a merchant who might possibly meet
his views ou reasonable terms.
Beaumarchais at once wrote to Deane, as a pure man
of business, offering his co-operation. Deane wrote back,
enclosing him a copy of his commission and of the portion
of his instructions relating to the matter. He went on to
speak of the terms on which the arms and all were to be
sent. " A year," he said, " is the longest credit which my
compatriots are in the habit of taking, and the Congress
having engaged a great quantity of tobacco in Virginia
and in Maryland as well as of other goods, which shall be
embarked as soon as ships can be obtamed, I have no
doubt that considerable returns of staple product will be
returned to you in six months, and that the whole wUl be
paid for in a year." One or two more letters passed be
tween the two gentlemen. One thing seems perfectly
plain, the whole transaction was a business dealing. The
spoken already, had by this time, given up the practice of medicine, and
was devoting himself to the American cause with a zeal equal to that of
Beaumarchais, though without such marked success. He was, to a cer
tain extent, in the confidence of Vergennes, and therefore undoubtedly
knew of the plans of the French ministry in regard to furnishing secret
aid to America, and possibly longed to have a part of it pass through his
hands. In such a state of things it was not at all unnatural that this
quiet, learned, earnest old man of science should conceive a profound
mistrust for the gay and sparkling comedian whom he saw take into his
hands the 2,000,000 livres, which the worthy Doctor thought would come
to far better use if passed through his own. It was natural that Dubourg
should not labor to bring Deane and Beaumarchais together.

46 FRANKLUSr IN FRANCE.
house of Hortalez was to supply munitions, and be paid
in tobacco in a year's time, if possible.
Beaumarchais then set to work to get his munitions
together. It was a difficult piece of work. The busiaess
was one rigorously prohibited, and the prohibition was
not unlikely to be carried into effect ; for Lord Stormont,
the British ambassador, was lynx-eyed by means of his
numerous spies. ^ However, Beaumarchais seems to have
been equal to the emergency. His stores were to be
drawn, one will remember, from the royal arsenals. He
collected about the amount asked of Vergennes by Deane,
and sent them down to Havre and to Nantes, where Deane
had promised to provide American vessels to transport
them. The American vessels did not appear, and the
matter dragged wretchedly. But as autumn advanced,
the condition of things improved. Beaumarchais himself
fitted out three ships,^ loaded them with munitions, and
1 Stormont was apparently as busy about this time as were the commis
sioners. This gives a. hint of the kind of work which occupied him :
"A banker at Nantes was the agent for all that Messrs. Franklin and
Deane were sending to America, as well as of what came thence. This
unworthy man had the baseness to allow himself to be corrupted and to
betray the confidence of his principals, by giving up to the n^inistry at
London the last dispatches which he had received from Paris to send to
Philadelphia." — Corr. Secrfete, iv. 384. This is contemporary rumor, and
the reader will observe the changes which were in fact made in the Ameri
can agency at Nantes.
2 " The famous Beaumarchais, who for some time has been busying him
self in our political affairs, had been charged with the preparation of this
frigate [which the writer seems to think was sent out by royal authority],
and having received orders to despatch her with as much secrecy as speed,
started off for Havre incognito under the name of the Sieur Durand, an
iron-dealer ; but by a fatality which often disconcerts the schemes of high
politics, either through an indiscretion on the part of the man of much
business, or because he had been beti-ayed or found out, he was not a little
astonished to see himself honored in the rSle of comic author, on his passage
through Eouen, where the comidiens had advertised the 'Barber of
Se'ville,' aud had announced the presence of the author. The frigate

DU COUDRAY AND HIS OFFICERS. 47
was about to have them sent to sea, when down came an
order from the Court that the ships should not saU. The
largest, the " Amphitrite," had already saUed. Beaumar
chais finally obtained permission for the other two to sail,
and all seemed well. But things did not go as well as they
might have done ; for the " Amphitrite," after being seven
teen days at sea, returned to L'Orient. This happened
from a very pregnant cause of trouble during the Eevolu
tion on both sides of the Atlantic. On the suggestion of
Dubourg and Beaumarchais, ^ Deane unfortunately al
lowed himself to add to the miUtary stores sent over to
America a number of officers from the French army to
teach the Americans to make use of them. It was not a
successful scheme. Washington and the American officers
did not want the Frenchmen. The officers, having one
and all been promised a grade one higher than that which
they enjoyed in the French army, were almost always dis
appointed in what they found. In France they were the
most fearful nuisance to Franklin and the other Ameri
can agents, as will appear later. At present, it is enough
to say that Du Coudray, the chief officer of artillery, was
dissatisfied with his quarters on board the " Amphitrite,"
and compelled the captain to return, that he might get
better. The "Amphitrite" put in at L'Orient.
Here arose a fresh stir. Stormont began his complaints.
nevertheless set sail ; but as a heavy cannonading was heard shortly after
ward, and as nothing has since been heard of her, one is inclined to believe
that she was captured, or else sunk to the bottom by a couple of English
cruisers which have been seen in the bight." — Corr. Secrete, iv. 71.
1 Most probably, although Lom^nie, in his life of Beaumarchais, says
that Arthur Lee made the suggestion. ' ' I complied with Monsieur Beau
marchais's proposal of sending out a number of officers with the stores,''
said Deane some years later. ("Silas Deane in France," page 26.) And
Dubourg, as early as June 10, 1776, had done something about the mat
ter, as raay be seen in his letter of that date in the Sparks MSS. printed
in Parton.

48 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Vergennes revoked his permission to Du Coudray to go to
America. Beaumarchais wrote to ask why the "Amphi
trite " was not half across the ocean by this time, and Du
Coudray ¦wrote that he did not Uke his quarters.
Finally, however, after infinite difficulty Vergennes re
lented, and Du Coudray relented too ; and the " Amphi
trite " got to sea again, this time with the other smaller
ships in company ; and the little fieet, after a safe passage,
arrived at Portsmouth in New Hamp^hire.^ The three
ships brought over ammunition, cannon, muskets, clothes,
and boots for 25,000 men, — no small help to the Ameri
can people, who, as Lom^nie remarks, "being assembled
on the shore, clapped their hands."
It was in the middle of all this hurry and worry (Dec.
21, 1776) that Franklin arrived in Paris, and took up
his lodgings with Deane. It was high time that a strong
hand should take charge of affairs. Deane was heavily
overweighted ; Lee was busy as ever, but accomplished lit
tle that was good. It is true Hortalez and Co. were en
gaged in loading their ships for America; but Lord
Stormont was vigorously urging Vergennes, with all the
^ With Du Coudray sailed Thomas Conway who, to the misfortune of
America, became a general. Hence the following letter, which came to
Franklin at about the time that Thomas Conway was lauding in Ports
mouth : —
Sir, — I commence to read and write a little the english, but I know
not speak yet that language ; wherefor, I bold not, to go see you, neverthe
less I pray you of signify to me the a day and a hour where I can render
my homage to you. I am the wiffe of Thomas Conway, departed by
L' Amphitrite for to aid his Brother americains, end to share the glory
¦with them. I wait the honour of your answer with impatience
I am sir with the best great veneration your
humble servant d [ame] B. Conway.
A. 'Ville D'avray ce 14 Avril 1777.

FRANKLIN'S VOYAGE. 49
weight of an ambassador from a friendly power, to have
them unloaded ; and the French minister could do little
else than send vigorous orders and connive at all dis
obedience. . The. French government seemed losing faith
in the ultimate success of the American cause. Deane
was in despair, at his wits' end. He had heard nothing
from home, he was weighed down by his work, he was
continually worried by Lee, he was irritated almost be
yond endurance with the eccentricities of Beaumarchais,
who seemed to consider the whole affair a dramatic situa
tion. His hair must have turned white had not Franklin >,
appeared. *
On the 26th of September Congress had elected Frank
lin, Deane, and Lee commissioners to make a treaty of
alliance with France, and to represent the Colonies at the
Court of VersaUles. It was the 26th of October that
Franklin. left Philadelphia. The next morning he sailed
on the "Eeprisal," Captain Wickes, and on December 3
landed at Auray in Brittany, whence he reached Nantes on
the 7th. The voyage had been a short one, but a rough
experience for a man of seventy. FrankUn felt this voy
age more severely than any of his others, before or after.
The sailors' fare was by no means good for his health, and
although we doubt not that at the time he bore up in the
most uncomplaining manner, four years later he allowed
himself to insert in his journal the fact that he had to
hve chiefly on salt beef, the fowls being too hard for his
teeth. " Being poorly nourished," he says, " I was very
weak on my arrival." As for Captain Wickes, the tedium
of the voyage was relieved by the capture of two English
prizes, which had just left French ports. The English
cruisers also did their best to furnish excitement by fre
quently pursuing the sloop of war ; but at no time did they
come so near as to cause any real danger, though the crew
4

50 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
was several times beat to quarters. The voyage though
rough was safe, and on the 21st of December, as we
have said, Franklin reached Paris from Nantes.
Very nearly the first business which FrankUn had to
do in France, was to inform Congress of the true state of
the house of Eodrique Hortalez and Co., and of the nature
of the cargoes of aid which it sent. For Congress was,
as we have seen, very much embarrassed by differing re
ports. Deane was the recognized agent, appointed to treat
with the French for aid, and was undoubtedly cognizant
of the true commercial standing of the firm ; and Con
gress had received letters from hira and from Beaumar
chais, asking for the payment in tobacco which had been
agreed upon. But the payment did not come. For Ar
thur Lee, as has been said, was always busy writing to
Congress letters of an entirely different tone. " M. de Ver
gennes the minister, and his secretary [he writes], have
repeatedly assured us that no return is expected for the
cargoes sent by Beaumarchais. This gentleman is no man
of business ; he is known to be a political agent employed
by the Court of France." In face of these contradictory
reports. Congress, seeing some small ground for choosing
whether to pay for the munitions or not, very naturally,
though very wrongly, decided not to pay for them ; that
is to say, they did not pay for them. They were at a dis
tance ; they were by no means aware of the real state of
things ; they were urged by the personal friends of Arthur
Lee ; and they were pressed by other most urgent claims
for their time and money ; and it is perhaps not remarkable
that they decided to do nothing about the matter. ^
But one would imagine that FrankUn would have in
formed them of the true state of things. That he knew
1 " On the one hand. Congress would be unwilling to evidence a disre
gard for and contemptuous refusal of His most Christian Majesty ; so, on

FRANKLIN AND BEAUMARCHAIS. 51
#
whether payment was or was not expected cannot per
haps be determined; but it seems most likely that he
might have known all about it if he had chosen. Beau
marchais, Vergennes, and Deane would any one of them
have told him the truth on the matter. But Franklin
probably thought it none of his business^ (as indeed it
was not, except in a general sort of way). He probably
had no very great confidence in Beaumarchais, for he was
very intimate with Dr. Dubourg, who greatly mistrusted
the gay man of business ; and he probably at this time
saw no reason for taking the opposite side to Arthur Lee,
who was held in America in rather more consideration
than Silas Deane. So Franklin let that part of the matter
take care of itself, and applied himself at once to the busi
ness of the joint commission.
It is difficult to get at the truth of this matter. Even
so soon as the summer of 1781, only five years afterwards,
Franklin was, on the whole; in the dark on the subject.
In that year he wrote a letter to M. Durival, which we
will print here rather than later, for it serves to give
Franklin's views upon a confused transaction.

the other, they are unwilling to put into private pockets what was gratui
tously designed for the public good." — Committee of Commerce to the
Commissioners, May 16, 1778.
It is hard and perhaps useless to try to make sure whether Beaumar
chais did or did not make for himself large suras out of the.se transactions.
The opinion of those who knew the town (Mairobert in Bachaumont's
Memoires, especially) was that Beaumarchais was nothing more than a
very clever speculator, and that he lined his pockets well with the profits
of his enthusiastic paitisanship. " This man, '' says Abbi Georgel on the
subject, " was no stranger to the art of enriching hiraself ; " and again,
"Beaumarchais, who found in this secrecy and monopoly an immense
profit, would have preferred that our Court should continue neutral."
* " My colleagues [says Deane, later] determined that as it was an affair
undertaken solely by rae, they would not meddle with it, but left it with
me to conduct it through in the best manner I could. "

52 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. Passt, June 12, 178L
Sir, — I received the letter you did me the honor of
writing to me the Sth inst., and am perfectly of the same
sentiments with you respecting the exactitude and clear
ness necessary to he preserved in all money transactions,
in order to prevent confusion and misunderstanding when
they come to be examined by those who may succeed us.
Hitherto there seems to have been no regular method
adopted for our proceedings. We at first gave, as you
observe, simple receipts to M. D'Harvelay. Nothing more
was then required of us. Our banker has sometimes
given his receipts. Afterwards his receipts have been
changed for others given by myself with my colleagues, or
by me alone. Those again have been afterwards brought
back to be exchanged for others of a proposed new form,
and the last form has a blank in which is to be inserted
the name of some person, we know not who, to whom the
money is payable. From the want of explicitness in our
past proceedings, though hut of a few years' date, there
has already arisen a good deal of misunderstanding and
dispute between Mr. Deane and Mr. Lee relating to the
aids received through the hands of M. de Beaumarchais,
and misunderstandings may hereafter arise between this
Court and the Congress, relating to the subsequent aids, if
the intentions and engagements of the parties are not clearly
expressed and ascertained. To prevent this I shall very
cheerfully enter with you into any method that may be
effectual to clear and ascertain what is past, and be proper
to render all our future transactions in money affairs per
spicuous and indisputable. For this purpose it may be
well to review them from the beginning.
In 1776, being then in Congress, I received a letter
from Mr. Lee, acquainting me that M. Beaumarchais had
applied to him in London, informing him that 200,000

UNSETTLED ACCOUNTS. 58
guineas had been put into his hands, and was at the dis
posal of the Congress ; Mr. Lee added that it was agreed
between them that he, M. Beaumarchais, should remit
the same in arms, ammunition, etc., under the name of
Hortalez & Co. Several cargoes were accordingly sent.
Mr. Lee understood this to be a private aid from the Gov
ernment of France ; ^ but M. Beaumarchais has since de
manded from Congress payment of a gross sum as due to
him, and has received a considerable part, but has ren
dered no particular account. I have, by order of Congress,
desired him to produce his account, that we might know
exactly what we owed and for what ; and he has several
times promised it, but has not yet done it, and in his con
versations he often mentions, as I am told, that we are
greatly in his debt. These accounts in the air are unpleas
ant, and one is neither safe nor easy under them. I wish
therefore you could help me to obtain a settlement of
them. It has been said that Mr. Deane, unknown to his
colleagues, wrote to Congress in favor of M. Beaumarchais'
demand, on which Mr. Lee accuses him of having, to the
prejudice of his constituents, negotiated a gift into a debt.
At present, all that transaction is in darkness; and we
know not whether the whole, or a part, or no part of the
supplies he furnished, were at the expense of Government,
the reports we have had being so inconsistent and contra
dictory, nor if we are in debt for them, or any part of
them, whether it is the King or M. de Beaumarchais that
is our creditor. We once understood that the whole was
a gift, and wrote so to Congress ; as you will see by the
extract I send you of our letter. Perhaps we were misin
formed, and we wish to be set right.
1 His reason for so understanding was that Beaumarchais had probably
promised him this private aid, and then told him nothing to the contrary
after he had begun to transact business with Deane, who understood the
true nature of the arrangement throughout.

51 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The first two mUUons ^ granted to the Congress by his
Majesty we also understood to be a gift, as you will see
by the extract of another letter written by us immedi
ately after the transaction. As, from the circumstances of
the times, nothing of this kind was mentioned in any
writing from the Ministry to us, and perhaps no minute
was kept by them of the intention of the grant, it has
possibly slipped out of memory, and thence may arise the
present idea of the imperfection of those first receipts and
the propriety of changing them for others promising a re
imbursement. This, however, will occasion no dispute;
for if the Congress are authentically informed that we
mistook the King's intention in that grant, and that it
was really a loan and not a gift, I am persuaded they will
cheerfully agree to reimburse it as soon as they are able.
The information necessary for Congress will, I imagine,
be best given in an official memoir or account stating
from the beginning the several aids furnished to the
United States for which reimbursement was expected;
those by M. Beaumarchais if the Government was con
cerned in them, those by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
by the Minister of War, by the Minister of the Marine,
or any others authorized by Government. This amount
being presented to Congress and agreed to by thern, wUl
constitute the debt clearly ; and without this or some
equivalent proceeding to authorize me, I do not at present
see how I can take upon me to alter the nature of the
receipts that were given by my colleagues jointly with
me ; for that would subject me to the same censure from
1 The reader must not confuse these two millions with the two millions
fumished to Beaumarchais. These two millions, as will be seen by the ex
tracts following, were obtained in the winter of 1777, after Franklin had
arrived in France. Beaumarchais' two millions were fumished him in the
summer previous, for a special purpose, as we have seen, before Franklin
had been appointed a commissioner.

FINANCLA.L MATTERS. 65
my enemies as Mr. Deane has experienced. With great
esteem I have the honor to be, &c., B. Feanklin.
Enclosed with this is " Extract of Letter from the Com
missioners of the United States of America at the Court
of France to the Committee of Foreign Affairs at Phila
delphia," dated March 12, 1777 : —
" We entered accordingly into a treaty with that com
pany (the Farmers Genl.), which meeting with difficulty
in settUng the terms, we are informed that a grant was
made us of two millions of livres from the Crown, of which
500,000 was ready to be paid us down, an equal sum
should be paid the beginning of April, July, and October ;
that such was the King's generosity, he exacted no con
ditions or promise of repayment, he only required that
we should not speak to any of our having received this
aid." Extract of another letter from the same to the same.
Dated Oct. 7, 1777 : —
" We entreat that the greatest care may be taken that
no part of this information may transpire, nor of the as
surances we have received that no repayment will ever be
required from us of what has been already given us either
in money or mUitary stores."

CHAPTEE IV.
franklin's COMMISSION.
THE year 1776 ^ saw the most dramatic changes in the
fortunes of America. At the beginning, George III.
was the acknowledged King of America. America was in
rebellion against " the ministry,'' or affected to be. This
English King had an army of 10,000 men in Boston, a
smaller garrison in New York, and other garrisons in
other ports. On the 17th of March this army left Boston
for Halifax. No English soldier was left in New England.
Gen. Clinton had left New York on the llth of February ;
but Gov. Tryon remained there on a ship-of-war in the
harbor. His provisions and water were cut off by the
insurgents on the 14th of April
The American generals knew that New York was the
key to the whole position, if England seriously meant
offensive war. As soon, therefore, as General Howe left
Boston for Halifax with his fleet, the Continental Army
was moved to New York City, and some works, not incon
siderable, were begun for its defence. The defeated army
gathered at Halifax, and was largely reinforced. On the
28th of June Howe reappeared on the American coast.
• There is an amusing speculation by Theodore Parker, — who, in ridi
cule of modern analytical criticism of history, shows how clear it is that
the date July 4, 1776, is mythical, being derived from a latent superstition
of the Americans, connected with the mystical number 4. The Fourth of
March is the date of their second Constitution. Four months after comes
the Fowrfh of July. All this is clearly mythical. The date of the year is
as mythical. It is simply four fours, — 444 x 4= 1776.

THE THREE HOWES. 57
He had under him a force of 31,625 men, the largest army
which was ever collected in the region now occupied by
the United States, before the outbreak of the CivU War in
1861. With him came his brother, — ; the two to act as com
missioners for peace. They had been appointed on the
theory that an olive-branch was to be shown with one
hand, whUe invincible thunder-bolts were brandished in
the other. An older brother of these two Howes had been
killed at Ticonderoga, in Abercromby's ^ fatuous advance
of the year 1758. The Howes were the cousins once
removed of George III., — their mother, Sophia, being the
iUegitimate daughter of Sophia Kilmansegge and George I.
To this connection they owed their promotion in army
and navy ; and from this connection Great Britain reaped
such advantages as she reaped from placing WilUam
Howe in command of the forces which were to reduce
the Colonies to submission. The Lord Howe who was
killed at Ticonderoga bore the royal names of George
Augustus. The two commissioners, on their arrival, took
no action with the olive-branch until after the battle of
Long Island. In this battle General Howe showed real
military ability, and the American generals, it may be
said, without exception, showed their lack of training on a
large scale. Washington said, three months after, that
not one of them had seen two regiments together in line
of battle before the war began. The American army was
entirely outnumbered. It was outflanked and defeated.
After the retreat from Long Island, there seemed, if ever,
a favorable chance for negotiation ; and Lord Howe sent
General Sullivan, who had been taken prisoner in the bat
tle, to Congress with a verbal message. Sullivan was
directed to commit this message to writing. Its purport
' He was called "Nabbie Cromby" by the New England contingent

58 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
was that, whUe Lord Howe could not at present treat with
Congress as such, he wished he might have a conference
with some of the members as private gentlemen. Lord
Howe said that he and General Howe had full powers to
compromise the dispute on advantageous terms ; that many
things which Congress had never asked might and ought
to be granted to them. Sullivan added that Lord Howe
had told him that he would set the Act of Parliament
wholly aside, aud that Parliament had no right to tax
America, or meddle with her internal policy. Congress
replied by sending Franklin, John Adams, and Eutledge
as its committee to treat with Howe, directing them to
appear as a committee only, and in no sort as private
gentlemen. John Adams opposed this overture from the
beginning. Because he opposed it he was unanimously
chosen as one of the committee. They went to Staten Isl
and, and had a courteous interview with Howe, of which
they gave a report to Congress on the 17th of September.
No difficulty had really taken place from any etiquette as
to whether they were present as individuals or as a com
mittee. But the Americans could not and would not
assent to any terms which did not acknowledge independ
ence, and such terms Lord Howe had no power to grant.
In the conversation at Staten Island, Lord Howe spoke
gratefully of the honors paid to his brother hy the State of
Massachusetts. "He felt for America as for a brother,
and if America should fall he should feel and lament it
Uke the loss of a brother." Dr. Franklin replied, with a
smile and a bow, " My Lord, we will do our utmost en
deavors to save your lordship that mortification." Lord
Howe repUed sensitively, " I suppose you wUl endeavor to
give us employment in Europe." To this remark the
committee made no reply by word or look.i
1 John Adams's Works, iii. 79.

PLANS FOR TREATIES. 59
MeanwhUe Congress was already considering the ques
tions of negotiations with foreign powers. Even before
the Declaration of Independence a committee had been
appointed to consider that subject, of which John Adams
and Franklin were both members. " Independence " and
"foreign alliances" were terms used almost in the same
breath. Indeed, John Dickinson, in his speech pleading
for delay, — which is the only speech preserved of the first
day of July, — urges that a Declaration of Independence
at that moment would be disrespectful to the Court of
France, to whom they had already sent an envoy. Frank
lin says, in one of his later letters, that he always opposed
the making overtures to foreign nations for such treaties ;
that he thought the country was a virgin country, and
that she should be asked first, and should not make ad
vances. But, whatever his original feeling was, he gave
himself frankly to the effort in hand, and he and Mr.
John Adams drew up a form of a treaty which was sub
mitted to Congress on the 18th of July. ^ This form was
purely commercial, and contemplated no connection be
yond reciprocity in commerce, and a mutual assurance of
protection. Congress was not satisfied with this draft.
They enlarged the committee by adding E. H. Lee and
Wilson, with directions to form instructions for commis
sioners which should offer further proposals to foreign
governments, such as might induce them to negotiate. In
the final report Mr. Adams probably did not share.
On the 17th of September the committee reported the
instructions to the commissioners.^
1 Mr. C. F. Adams supposes that the greater part of the labor fell upon
John Adams.
' As these instructions seem never to have been printed except in the
"Secret Journals of Congress,'' which is now a rare book, we reprint the
essential parts of them here, with the additional instructions of October

60 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The plan for a treaty to be submitted to the considera
tion of the King of France contemplated only and simply
a commercial alUance. By articles one and two, it was
provided that the subjects of the respective parties should
be placed on the same footing in ports of the other nation
as were her own people as regards duties, etc. Article
third was on the fishery, and guaranteed to the King
of France the rights laid down to him in the Treaty of
Paris, 1763. The next two articles reciprocally bound
each party to protect vessels and persons belonging to the
other whenever in their dominions. The next (sixth)
bound the contracting parties in an endeavor to suppress
piracy. In the seventh the King of France promised to
defend ships and subjects of the United States in the
Mediterranean from any of the Barbary powers. The
eighth article contains almost the only concession Con
gress thought of offering to France in return for her
recognition, beyond what was then of great value, the
American trade. It provided that " if, in consequence of
this treaty, the King of Great Britain should declare war
against the most Christian King, the said United States
shall not assist Great Britain in such a war, with men,
money, ships, or any of the articles in this treaty denom
inated contraband." The next article (ninth) bound the
King of France never to invade New Britain, Nova Scotia,
Acadia, Canada, Florida, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, St.
Johns, or Anticosti, stating that it was the future destiny
of the United States to extend over the whole Continent.
Article ten forbade fishing to either party in the domin
ions of the other. The eleventh provided that the rights
laid down in the second article for United States citizens
should extend to any West India islands France might
16th, and an abstract of the proposed treaty. A knowledge of them is
quite necessary for understanding the position of Franklin in France.

INSTRUCTIONS. 61
conquer. The twelfth provided that the West India
exports to the United States should be taxed no higher
than those from France herself. The thirteenth, that
molasses so exported should have no tax at all laid
upon it. The next article (fourteenth) exempted United
States citizens in France from the action of the droit
d'aubaine. The remainder (articles' 15-30) were on the
rights of neutrals at sea and other kindred matters. Con
traband was defined, the maxim that free ships make
free goods and its converse was stated, the right of search
was mutually conceded in war, certificates and sea-letters
were provided for. Two articles forbade subjects of either
power to accept commissions as privateers, or letters of
marque, from a third power to be used against the other
contracting party, and forbade either party to allow a
foreign privateer to be fitted out in her ports against the
other. To this treaty were annexed forms of sea-letters
and passports to be used in time of war.
With this plan for a treaty was submitted the instruc
tions to the commissioners who were to attempt its nego
tiation. Instructions to [  ].
There is deUvered to you herewith a plan of a treaty
with his most Christian majesty of France, approved of in
Congress, on the part of the United States ; and you are
hereby instructed to use every means in your power for
concluding it, conformably to the plan you have received.
If you shall find that to be impracticable, you are here
by authorized to relax the demands of the United States,
and to enlarge their offers agreeably to the foUowing direc
tions. If his most Christian majesty shall not consent that
the inhabitants of the United States shall have the privi-

62 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
leges proposed in the second article, then the United
States ought not to give the subjects of his most Christian
majesty the privileges proposed in the first article; but
that the United States shall give to his most Christian
majesty the same privileges, liberties, and immunities, at
least, and the Uke favor in all things which any foreign
nation the most favored shall have provided, his most
Christian majesty shall give to the United States the
same benefits, privileges, and immunities which the most
favored nation now has, uses, or enjoys.
And in case neither of these propositions of equal ad
vantages is agreed to, then the whole of the said articles
are to be rejected, rather than obstruct the further progress
of the treaty.
The fourth article must be insisted on.
The seventh article ought to be obtained if possible, but
should be waived rather than that the treaty should be
interrupted by insisting upon it.
His most Christian majesty agreeing, nevertheless, to
use his interest and infiuence to procure passes from the
States mentioned in this article for the vessels of the
United States upon the Mediterranean.
The eighth article will probably be attended with some
difficulty. If you find his most Christian majesty deter
mined not to agree to it, you are empowered to add to it,
as follows : That the United States will never be subject,
or acknowledge allegiance or obedience to the king, or
crown, or parliament of Great Britain ; nor grant to that
nation any exclusive trade, or any advantages or privileges
in trade more than to his most Christian majesty ; neither
shall any treaty for terminating the present war between
the king of Great Britain and the United States, or any
war which may be declared by the king of Great Britain
against his most Christian majesty in consequence of this

INSTRUCTIONS. 63
treaty take effect until the expiration of six calendar
months after the negotiation for that purpose shall have
been duly notified, in the former instance by the United
States to his most Christian majesty, and in the other
instance by his most Christian majesty to the United
States ; to the end that both these parties may be included
in the peace, if they think proper.
The twelfth and thirteenth articles are to he waived if
you find that the treaty will be interrupted by insisting
on them.
You will press the fourteenth article, but let not the fate
of the treaty depend upon obtaining it.
If his most Christian majesty should be unwilling to
agree to the sixteenth and twenty-sixth articles, you are
directed to consent that the goods and effects of enemies,
on board the ships and vessels of either party, shall be
hable to seizure and confiscation.
The twenty-fifth article is not to be insisted on.
You wUl solicit the Court of France for an immediate
supply of twenty or thirty thousand muskets and bayo
nets, and a large supply of ammunition and brass field-
pieces, to be sent under convoy by France. The United
States engage for the payment of the arms, artillery, and
ammunition, and to indemnify France for the expense of
the convoy.
Engage a few good engineers in the service of the
United States.
It is highly probable that France means not to let the
United States sink in the present contest. But as the
difficulty of obtaining true accounts of our condition may
cause an opinion to be entertained that we are able to
support the war on our own strength and resources longer
than, in fact, we can do, it will be proper for you to press
for an immediate and expUcit declaration of France in our

64 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
favor, upon a suggestion that a reunion with Great Britain
may be the consequence of a delay.
Should Spain be disinclined to our cause, from an ap
prehension of danger to his dominions in South America,
you are empowered to give the strongest assurances that
that crown will receive no molestation from the United
States, in the possession of those territories.
You will transmit to us the most speedy and full intel
ligence of your progress in this business and any other
transactions that it may import us to know.
You are desired to get the best and earliest information
that you possibly can get of any negotiations that the
Court of London may be carrying on for obtaining foreign
mercenaries to be sent against these States the next cam
paign ; and if any such design is in agitation, you will en
deavor to prevail with the Court of France to exert its
influence in the most effectual manner to prevent the
execution of such designs.
You are desired to obtain as early as possible, a publick
acknowledgement of the independency of these States on
the crown and parliament of Great Britain, by the Court
of France.
In conducting this important business the Congress
have the greatest confidence in your address, abUities,
vigUance, and attachment to the interests of the United
States, and wish you every success.
To these the following additional instructions were
added, soon after: — In Congress, Oct. 16, 1776.
WhUst you are negotiating the affair you are charged
with at the Court of France you will have opportunity of
conversing frequently with the Ministers and Agents of
other European Princes and States residing there.

CREDENTLA.LS AND INSTRUCTIONS. 65
You shall endeavor, when you find occasion fit and con
venient, to obtain from them a recognition of our inde
pendence and sovereignty, and to conclude treaties of
peace, amity, and commerce between their Princes and
States and us, provided that the same shall not be incon
sistent with the treaty you shall make with His Most
Christian Majesty ; that they do not oblige us to become a
party to any war which may happen in consequence
thereof, and that the immunities, exemptions, privileges,
protection, defence, and advantages, on the contrary, there
by stipulated, be equal and reciprocal. If that cannot be
effected, you shall to the utmost of your power, prevent
their taking part with Great Britain in the war which His
Brittanic Majesty prosecutes against us, or entering into
offensive alliances with that King, and protest and present
remonstrances against the same, desiring the interposition,
mediation, and good offices, on the part of His Most
Christian Majesty the King of France, and of any other
States whose dispositions are not hostUe toward us. In
case overtures be made to you by the Ministers or Agents
of any European Princes or States for commercial treaties
between them and us, you may conclude such treaties
accordingly. By order of Congress. John Hancock, President.
At the same time Franklin drew and submitted to the
secret committee his sketch of a proposition for peace ¦with
England. The conditions begin with this remarkable
plan : —
England should renounce and disclaim all pretence of
right or authority to govern in any of the United States
of America. England was also to cede all her North
American possessions, Bermuda, and the Bahama Islands
6

66 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
to the United States, with all the adjoining and interme
diate territories claimed by her. In return for this ces
sion the United States should pay  dollars a year
for — : — years to England. And the United States were
also to grant a free trade to all British subjects through
out the United States and the ceded Colonies, and should
guarantee to Great Britain the possession of her islands in
the West Indies.
Probably the first reason stated by Franklin, in his
own memorandum of "Motives for proposing Peace,"
was the most important one in his mind in drawing this
remarkable plan. If any of the commissioners sliould be
captured at sea by a British cruiser, as very likely he
himself might be, on the impending voyage, the possession
of such a plan would be some protection under the law
of nations, — as to an Ambassador. He suggests in this
memorandum that their merchants and manufacturers
need peace as much as the Americans, and that the
landed interest, which then bore a large share of the
expense of government, would welcome the receipt of one
hundred thousand pounds a year for one hundred years.
It was thus that he would have filled the blanks in his
plan. He also suggests that such a plan would enable
him to go to England, and use the powerful influence of
his friends ; and that the knowledge in France that such
powers were given would help in the treaty to be made
there. He also says that the United States would receive
much more than one hundred thousand pounds a year
from the sale of the lands which they would acquire
from the treaty.
The journals, which are, however, fragmentary, do not
speak of any discussion of this plan. But it cannot be
doubted that, had the " Eeprisal " been captured by an Eng
lish cruiser, with Dr. Franklin on board, this plan would

OPINION OF EUROPE. 67
have been found by the commander of that cruiser ih the
same parcel with the instructions given to the commis
sioners for negotiation with any sovereign in Europe. ^
Fortified with such credentials from home, FrankUn
arrived in Europe. The enemies of America in England
immediately spread the report that he had escaped from
the ruin which was to follow his country. Some of his
correspondents, as will be seen, shared in this opinion.
Edmund Burke said, however, " I never will beUeve that
he is going to conclude a long life which has brightened
every hour it continued, with so foul and dishonorable a
flight." This is almost exactly at the time when Burke, —
if he were the author, as is supposed, of the historical re
view in the " Annual Eegister," — wrote of the opinion of
the Continent, in his review of the affairs of 1776 : —
" It is not a pleasing circumstance, though perhaps of
no consequence, that in all the countries of Europe in
which public affairs are a subject either of writing or of
conversation, the general voice has been rather in favor of
the Americans. Even Voltaire and Eousseau, who never
agreed in anything else, are said to hold the same opin
ions upon that subject."
To the surprise of EngUsh observers, all nations which
possessed colonies in America were eager to partake of
the new and unexpected commerce which was opened by
the war. The Portuguese were as eager as any other peo
ple, and were held bac'k only by the English influence at
their Court. Indeed, if it is remembered that French,
Dutch, and Danish islands in the West Indies had long
been supplied, as well as the English islands, with pro
visions, cattle, horses, and lumber from the insurgent
States, — so that the very existence of their people
' The manuscript of this interesting paper is lost ; we have, the copy of
it printed by Temple Franklin in 1818.

68 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
depended upon the trade with them, — it wUl be seen how
France, Holland, and Denmark were interested in com
merce with the new nation. England might be wUling
to have English planters' starve. But it was hardly to
be expected that French, Dutch, and Danish planters
should be left by their own governments at home to the
same fate.
If, then, Franklin brought with him from America but
little immediate encouragement, he met in Europe a pub
lic opinion and certain considerations of state not wholly
unfavorable to his wishes.
He arrived on the coast of France on the 29th of No
vember. He had crossed the ocean in the sloop-of-war
"Eeprisal," of sixteen guns, commanded by Captain Wickes,
for whom Franklin conceived a great regard. With so
important a charge Wickes did not seek an encounter with
enemies, but several times, when he thought there was
occasion, he beat to quarters, and Franklin was pleased
with his spirit and that of his men. On the 27th and
28th of November, off the French shore, he took two
prizes. On the 3d of December he set Franklin on
shore with' his grandsons, and they landed at Auray,
whence they went by post to Nantes, where they arrived
on the 7th of December.

CHAPTEE V.
FEANKLIN AND THE FEENCH.
ALTHOUGH, as we have seen, Louis and his ministers
were hesitating, the French people were quite ready
to burst into enthusiasm for America. They waited only
until the arrival of Franklin to take up the cause of the
" Insurgents " (as they called them) with the greatest zeal.
This event caused no Uttle sensation in France, and for
the moment the attention even of the memoir-writers and
letter-writers was diverted from the battles between the
Gliickists and the Piccinists, or the squabbles between the
Chevalier d'Eon and the Sieur de Beaumarchais. " Doctor
Franklin," says one, " arrived a little since from the Eng
lish Colonies, is mightily run after, much feted by the
savans. He has a most pleasing expression, very little
hair, and a fur cap which he keeps constantly on his
head. . . . Our esprits forts have adroitly sounded him as
regards his religion," he goes on, "and they beUeve that
they have discovered that he is a beUever in their own, —
that is to say, that he has none at aU." " The celebrated
Franklin arrived at Paris the 21st of December," says an
other, "and has fixed the eyes of every one upon his
slightest proceeding." All France was in truth ready to
welcome him. The philosophers and scientists, his old
friends of '67 and '69, greeted him again as one of them
selves. The enthusiasts for the rights of man welcomed
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

70 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The young nobility, either taken by the philosophic doc
trines of the time or burning for a war of revenge with
England, crowded about him beseeching for commissions
to serve in the American army. Merchants and ship-
captains from the seaports waited upon him with plans
for fitting out privateers, or for importing tobacco at an
enormous profit. It needed nothuig more to set all Paris
afire. Franklin and the " Insurgents " became at once the
fashion. " It is the mode to-day," we read about January
llth, three weeks after his arrival, " for everybody to have
an engraving of M. Franklin over the mantelpiece."
Everybody for the moment was full of Franklin, and
according to the custom of the time, the clever fellows
about the town, though probably caring little enough
which party got the upper hand in the struggle, addressed
themselves to their profession of turning out amusement
for " tout Paris." Verses on the " Insurgents " were passed
from hand to hand, caricatures "dans le gofit Anglais"
were drawn, stories and calembours about FrankUn and
about Lord Stormont fiew about from one dinner-table to
another. In fact, they haUed the occasion as rather a god
send. The winter had been a stupid one, there had been
very little fun going on, and the wits were not ill-pleased
to find something to turn a pleasantry or so for the edifi
cation of their circle. It was well along in February,
however, before some wag concocted the following politi
cal vaudeville, — rather the best copy of verses on the
subject which we have seen; of which the chronicler
says with some admiration that it contains in a succinct
form all the facts relative to the war. Although this is
a statement which we may see reason to doubt, that it
greatly amused the town and the court is not so hard to
believe.

LE CONTINENT DE L'AMERIQUE. 71

1.
" Pour amuser notre loisir
Sans blesser le decence,
II est naturel de choisir
Ce que Ton aime en France.
II faut done sur un nouveau ton,
Comme notre musique,*
Ne parler ici que du Con-
Tinent de I'Amerique. 2.
" Qu'a done fait certain General
Dans cette injuste guerre ?
Aux Insurgens fort peu de mal,
Beaucoup h, I'Angleterre.
Ces fiers ennemis de Boston,
De honte ou de colique,
Meurent h la porte du Con-
Tinent de I'AraMque. 3.
"II en cofite bien des ecus
A plus d'un Royaliste
Le tout pour ne voir que des ous
Que Ton fuit h, la piste.
Mais raalgre tant d'exploits, dit on,
Le Sire Britannique
N' aura jamais un poll du Con-
Tinent de I'Amerique. 4.
" Fit on jamais en pareil cas
Plus brillante retraite ;
Aussi ne le cache-t-on pas
Daus certaine gazette.
Chacun parlant du Washington
Et de sa politique
Trouve qu'il est digne du Con-
Tinent de I'Amerique.
An allusion to the Gliick and Piccini controversy.

72 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
5.
"Pourquoi voudroit-on abolir
Le droit de la nature ?
A Londres on fait bien jouir
Et meme avec usure.
La Liberty n'est pas un don
Qu' aisement on trafique ;
Laissons en done jouir le Con-
Tiuent de TAmerique."
There are good lines also in an " Epistle to the Insurg
ents," written six months later. In this there are some
points of a nature deeper than mere fanciful conceit, — this,
for instance : — "Ralsson nous un peu, je vous prie :
Quel droit avez vous plus que nous
A. cette liberty cherie,
Dont vous paroissez si jaloux ? "
Louis XVI. could not answer this question.^
In the first chapter of this book we have, in brief, Ulus
trated the hold which Franklin had early secured on the
regard of the naturalists of France and the circle of
political economists, whose views, really radical, gave large
material for talk, even in fashionable and literary circles.
Of his old friends of nine years before, most were stUl
Uving and gave him a cordial welcome. His works,
edited by Barbeu Dubourg, as we have seen, had been
published in elegant quartos two years before his arrival
as commissioner. Some of his smaller tracts had been
translated, and several compilations from " Poor Eichard "
appeared at once after his own landing. He had been
chosen into the Academy of Sciences hi 1772, and now
1 Corr. Secrfete, v. 187. The " Epistle " contains also this line : —
" Rome resuscite k Boston."
This is a curious foreshadowing of the Autocrat's —
" We are the Romans of the modem world."

THE TONE OF THE COURT. 73
began to he a regular attendant. Capefigue, indeed, writ
ing many years after, implies that he never went into
Paris except to attend its meetings. But this is an exag
geration probably. In the "Annual Eegister," published
in London this year, the historian, who is supposed to be
Burke, says, with a suppressed sigh, that outside of Eng
land, the opinion of all intelligent men seems to be on the
side of the insurgents. Among the correspondents of
Franklin in the early years of his French life may be
noted, beside the names which have been already cited,
those of his neighbor, the widow Helvetius, of the Baron
de Stael, the husband of Necker's daughter, of De Saus-
sure, Eochefoucauld D'Enville, Bernstorff, J. B. Beccaria,
Condorcet, MUe. Biheron, and Turgot, — as surviving the
oblivion of a hundred years, even to those who are only
general readers.
At the Court, to tell the truth, the subject, as may be
readily conceived, was a most delicate one. Undoubtedly
the large part of the courtiers were strongly in favor of
war. But Louis XVI. and his queen were for peace, and
the ministry as well, — that is, for peace at present; and
it would not do for the Court to adopt a warlike tone,
nor one particularly sympathetic toward the insurgents.
Lord Stormont was incessant in his complaints. It is
said 1 that as soon as he learned that Franklin had dis
embarked in France he sent a note to Vergennes, threat
ening to leave sans prendre conge if the " chief of the Ameri
can rebels " were allowed to set foot in Paris. Vergennes
replied, with diplomatic temporizing, that the ministers
had already sent a courier to meet Franklin on his way
1 In a letter from "Versailles (Corr. Secrfete, iv. 69). This correspon
dence, written by various hands, is usually taken as authority. Having
noted one or two errors, however, in ministerial rumors, we cannot be ab
solutely sure of its accuracy.

74

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

from Nantes, with orders to forbid him to come to Paris ;
" but being uncertain of the precise time of his departure,
and of the route which he has taken, we cannot be sure
that the intentions of the King will be carried out ; " and
he goes on to say that " if the Doctor were once in Paris,
the Government, notwithstanding its desire to comply as
far as possible with the views of the Court of London,
would not Uke to send him away, because of the scanda
lous scene this would present to
all France, should we respect
neither the laws of nations nor
of hospitaUty." Vergennes also
ventured to conceive that a sinj-
ple private individual, "almost
eighty," could have but Uttle in
fluence on the interests of France
and England.^ The worthy min
ister, however, knew well just
how much comfort these diplo
matic phrases would bear to the
British Ambassador, and, wiUing
to go a little further in order to
make it seem that France was still neutral, he forbade any
conversation in the cabarets of Paris either about the
insurgents or about the English. " You understand, how
ever," remarks our authority, " that this forbidding has only
the effect of kindling more zeal than existed at first."
Nevertheless, this much talking was in the wine-shops,
and not at Court. At Court, where the desires of the
King gave the sign, in public at least, and to some extent
in private, the tone was very reserved. "We do not dare
here at Court ^ to take part too much with the Americans,
1 Franklin had in fact just passed seventy.
^ That is, at 'Versailles.

LOUIS XVL AND AMERICA.

75

though they do at Paris, to the great disgust of the Eng
Ush minister." 1 Nevertheless, the subject could not be
entirely excluded. Witness the well-known bon mot of
Count Falkenstein, the Emperor incognito. When he ar
rived this spring in Paris, he was asked by an incautious
lady whether he sympathized with the insurgents. " Ma
dame," said the Austrian, "it
is my profession to be a roy
alist." So was it the profession bf
Louis XVI. to be a royaUst;
and he had not at this time en
tirely conquered his prejudices
against aiding a number of
rebels to their King. The
American cause looked dark
and the British were menacing.
Subsequently, when Princeton,
Trenton, and Saratoga were
added to the American side of
the scale, he gave way to the united voice of his ministry,
his court, and his people. »
' Corr. Secrfete, iv. 197. Exactly what was called " too much " by the
writer cannot easily be determined. A few months before, some one had
considered it not too much to permit himself to write the following verse
in a species of Christmas hymn, which we are told was sung at Court
shortly after the time of Franklin's arrival : —
"Vergennes, gobemouche,
Ministre sans talent,
Laisse I'anglais farouche
Battre les insurgens ;
Valet bas et soumis
De toute I'Angleterre
A George III. il a promis
Qu'on serait toujours de ses amis
Pendant son niinist6re." «
" SouLAVIB : MSmoires du reg'ne de Lowis X VI. iii. 436.

marie ANTOINETTE.

76

FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.

But at this time, however, his mmistry was decidedly
averse to giving any public aid to America, and appar
ently very eager to show England that the friendly feel
ings between the old enemies were
to remain unstrained through this
great test of the American Eevo
lution. Turgot was no longer in
the ministry. He had been dis
missed in May, 1776, — not before
he had given it as his opinion
that America would ultimately be
free, and as his advice that Louis
should not in any way assist her.
His place was filled by Tabou- nbokek.
reau, and afterwards by Necker
but neither of them had any very appreciable influence
upon the attitude of the Court in this crisis. The two
men who were the king's most trusted advisers were the
Count de Maurepas, President
of the Council of State, and
the Count de Vergennes, Min
ister for Foreign Affairs. As
for Maurepas, he was appar
ently uninfluenced by any se
rious considerations ; he gave
but little advice or counsel
What little advice he did give,
influenced by his new favorite,
Beaumarchais, was in the di
rection of secret aid rather than open alliance.
Gravier de A^ergennes, on the whole, held the decision
of the question in his hands as far as any minister could.
He was a man of great good sense, political wisdom, and
of a singularly temperate nature. A hard worker, and

MAUREPAS.

THE COURT POLICY. 77
raised to his present high position by his own worth, after
an experience in many courts of Europe, he was emphati
cally a man of business, a man who would look at a ques
tion calmly, wisely, from aU sides, and decide it unmoved
by prejudices or trifles. " Je cause avec M. de Maurepas ;
je negocie avec M. de Vergennes " was the mot of D'Aranda,
the Spanish minister, who knew them both well. He
was in aU respects a. man worthy to receive Benjamin
Franklin, and the two always had for each other great
respect and broad confidence.
A man like this would not be carried away by enthu
siasm; nor would the plausible talk of a clever favorite
urge him to do anything without consideration. Ver
gennes looked, reflected, and finally decided that an open
alUance with America was not at that time to be desired.
That decided, he applied himself with all his diplomatic
skUl and clever astuteness to maintain France in her
anomalous position. For this purpose it was necessary
that the tone of the French Court should remain very
strictly neutral.
The Court policy, therefore, was not particularly
friendly to FrankUn in the first months of his mission.
Social France received him as an idol; philosophical
France welcomed him as a co-worker in a great work;
military France greeted him- as an ally against an old foe ;
commercial France at once set him down as the means of
netting very considerable sums ; and all alike welcomed
him warmly. But the hands which swayed the political
destinies of France had at this moment no welcome —
that is, no open welcome — for the chief of the American
rebels. So far from welcoming him, we doubt not that
they wished that he had kept at home, rather than involve
them in such difficulties as those that he brought with
him.

78 FRANICLKT IN FRANCE.
We have noted in our chapter on the proceedings of
Beaumarchais and Deane the saiUng of Du Coudray and
many more French ofiicers for America to fight for the
cause of Uberty under the great Washington ^ in one grade
higher than that they now enjoyed ; lieutenants were to
become captains, captains majors, and so on. It seemed
as though half the French army wished to cross the ocean.
They were most enthusiastic.
How far the desire to fight the English once more was
the ruling motive, how much was real enthusiasm for
a revolted people fighting for liberty, and how far it was
merely the love of adventure, or the desire of bettering
themselves, it is difficult to say, and perhaps unnecessary.
Undoubtedly, all these incentives were infiuential, as
well as others less apparent. There is one example, at
least, of one moved by a generous feeling for an oppressed
nation that will rise at once to the mind of every one.
The services of the Marquis of Lafayette ^ will out-balance
in the minds of Americans to-day all and more than all
the annoyance and trouble caused by his less able and less
worthy co-partners.
But, leaving out the few cases ^ wherein the foreign
gentlemen and their companions did service for America
which she could not have missed, — on the whole, this
1 Whose name is met with in their letters to Franklin spelt in various
queer ways, and notably, " Vaginsthon."
2 Capefigue says that "it was said in the world of court and of gal
lantry that an exalted and unfortunate love made him quit Europe." But
no one will believe this, who has read the charming love letters which he
wrote to his young wife on his passage and immediately after his arrival.
Capefigue also says that the discipline of the Count de Saint Germain
" had so annoyed and fatigued the military spirit that many a gentleman
wished to pass into the foreign service."
' And in these cases the service rendered was genuine, true, and of the
finest quality, as any one will agree who runs over in his mind the names
of Lafayette, Steuben, De Kalb, Pulaski, Kosciusko.

FRENCH OFFICERS.

79

LAFAYETTE.

as

wholesale desire to cross to America to serve in her armies
was nothing but the most frightful annoyance to Frank
lin on the one side of the Atlantic, and to Washington
on the other. They crowded
about the Doctor, clamorous
for commissions ; they intro
duced friends even when
they were unacquainted with
him themselves ; they over
powered him with letters full
of the wildest protestations of
the most enthusiastic sympa
thy for his noble compatriots ;
they formed, in short, one of
the worst of the myriad petty
annoyances under which the
worthy Doctor cheerfully bore up for several years,
long, in fact, as the war lasted.^
And in America, if possible, matters were worse. Not
six months after the "Amphitrite" and Du Coudray
had reached America we find the following letter from
the Secretary of Congress to Franklin : —
Philadelphia, July 4th, 1777.
Sir, — I think it my duty as an individual to communi
cate some information to you which you may not perhaps
receive in a more formal or authoritative way. The con-
1 Franklin had countless letters from these brave officers and numberless
interviews with them. Almost everybody will remember his form for a
letter of introduction which he says he used to give when one person with
whom he was totally unacquainted introduced another for a letter of
recommendation to General Washington or to Congress. They became
rather an eveiyday affair to Franklin. Perhaps the most curious, and one
which seems to have roused the Doctor from his usual apathy, is one
endorsed "from Dom Bernard Benedictine, who wants me to pay his
gaming debts, and he will pray for success to our cause."

80 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
tracts made with the Cheval. De Borre, M. Du Coudray,
and several more have given infinite trouble, being incon
sistent with each other, and all of them, except the one
you signed with four engineers, inconsistent with the
honor of our American officers, who, though not formed in
regular standing armies, have the most just claims from
their services since the war began. It is not to be doubted
but that a multitude of foreign officers, by no means de
ficient of merit, are willing to come over and supersede
such of ours as have been constantly in the field, and have
borne innumerable hardships when our poverty in arms
and ammunition would have terrified the stoutest Euro
pean who had been accustomed to systematic campaigns.
Though we have now a standing army for tliree years or
during the war, yet the genius of the people of these
United States is far from relishing this monarchical
production ; so far, at least, as not to be willing, for the
sake of theory, to have foreigners placed in the highest
trusts. The merit of Brigadier-General Knox is great, and he is
beloved by his corps. How then could it be conceived
that M. Du Coudray 's treaty should not create the great
est confusion among our officers of artillery. But these
are not the only ones disgusted. Numbers of our Major-
Generals are injured by an antedate. The four engineers
who have arrived this week disavow in the most peremp
tory manner being under the command of Mr. Du Coud
ray, who is not of the Eoyal Corps of Engineers. Nor is
it usual or convenient that these two parties should be
under the same guidance.
Mr. De la Balme may be Inspector-General of Cavalry
without umbrage given to any of that corps.
Brigadier-General Conway resigns upon finding De Borre
ranking above him. The first might be ten thousand

COUNT BULCKLEY. 81
times more useful to us than the last. Mr. Holsendorf is
a fresh embarrassment in all respects.
I much fear that an instruction formerly passed in
Congress respecting foreigners who do not understand our
language wUl be construed as a patent for those who do.
It was not intended for that end, I assure you. Nothing
is more dreaded than such a construction.
I will not multiply words, but conclude by assuring
you of my most sincere esteem as. Sir,
Your friend and very humble servant,
James Lovell.
It is not impossible, however, that we may exaggerate
this desire of the French officers to serve in the American
army, — or rather, that we may imagine that there was no
other feeling at the time. The other side cannot be ex
pected to reveal itself so distinctly in Franklin's letters.
Those who wished to serve in the English army did not
write to ask his permission and recommendation. That
there were such is not improbable. In the " Correspondance
Secrete," written from Versailles in the winter of 1776, we
find that " Count Bulckley has asked permission to offer
his services to the King of England against the Americans.
He was answered that if his father (an excellent officer)
had made such a request, the King would never have con
sented to it ; but that as for him, he might do as he liked,
for nobody cared what he did." Who sent this extraor
dinary answer to the unfortunate Count is not stated. It
is the only instance of this sort, however, that we have
noted. But, to show that the feeling of admiration and rev
erence for Franklin was hardly universal throughout
France, let us here introduce, a little in advance of the
date of its publication, the sentiments of a clever soul,
6

82 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
who in some fifty or sixty quatrains represents himself as
having been drawn to America in search of the wonders
of the Abb^ Eaynal's book, and who, disappointed in what
he saw, roundly condemns almost everything American,
Franklin included. " Vous voyez leur mobile unique, —
Ce vieux Docteur inpartibus;
Dont I'insidieuse rubrique
Vous ^chautfe de ses rebus.
"Sur I'Ameriqne consternee
Pla9ant le bout d'un conducteur,
De I'autre a 1' Europe etonn^e,
II lance le feu destructeur.
"CameUon octogenaire.
Son esprit se ploie aistoent ;
De la {"ranee et de I'Angleterre
Le fourbe rit egalement."
In the same mood, a generation later, Capefigue, in his
memoirs of Louis XVL, calls Franklin " one of the great
charlatans of the nineteenth century," and in another place
says that he was very much occupied with the affairs of
his country and his own reputation, knowing France well,
where everything " qui est charlatanisme " succeeds.
There was another direction in which sympathy for
America appeared. We have glanced at the social, the
philosophical, the political aspects of Franklin's arrival in
France ; if we look at the influence of the American war
on the commerce of France, we shall see here too an im
mense feeling for the " insurgents," from motives of profit
and loss. This is indeed one of the most important points
of view from which to look at Franklin's stay in France, as
well as one of the most difficult and uninteresting. We
shall, as we proceed, have more or less to do with this
feeling, as we go with Franklin through the time he spent

FRANKLIN AND THE FRENCH MERCHANTS. 83
at the French Court. Here it may be enough to point out
the immense profits possible in the tobacco trade, m con
tracting to supply the American army with military stores,
and in fitting out privateers to prey upon the EngUsh
commerce. " Twenty thousand hogsheads of tobacco are
this instant wanted in this kingdom," writes Deane, just
before Franklin arrived; and again, "Tobacco is rising
very fast, being seven stivers in Holland." The trade was
a lucrative one, and many were the merchants who desired
to make some arrangements with the commissioners to im
port tobacco. So in regard to privateers. Deane had been
continually demanding blank commissions, that privateers
might sally forth from the French ports to prey upon
English commerce. There were many and varied schemes
on the carpet, — a contract with the farmers -general, for
instance, for a loan to be paid in tobacco ; a contract with
Eay de Chaumont for establishing a line of packets be
tween France and America; a contract with a Spanish
firm for the supplying of cannon, to be repaid in tobacco
(half as much tobacco again by weight as there was can
non). There were projects from Dunkirk for the buUding
and fitting out of privateers. There were, in fact, number
less commercial schemes, many of which will come up
before us as we go on. It will be enough here to point
out the commercial feeling for America, — by no means so
pure and uninterested as the devotion of Lafayette or the
enthusiasm of Voltaire, but yet an important element in
the general disposition of France.

CHAPTEE VI.
PARIS REVISITED.
AFTEE a diplomatic delay in the city of Nantes, whUe
he was waiting for advices from Deane, FrankUn
and his party rode by post to Paris. It was in this
journey, if in any, that the historian Gibbon refused to
spend the evening with him at an inn, while he also was
traveUing. The anecdote, which has been generally circu
lated, is probably true. Arriving in Paris Franklin took
up his quarters at the Hotel d'Hambourg, in the Eue de
I'Universit^, and there he remained from the 21st of
December, when he arrived, for some weeks. The party
then removed to the comfortable aud even elegant hotel
of Monsieur Eay de Chaumont, in Passy. Passy was then
rather a suburb of Paris than a part of the great city, as
it is now. Fortunately for America and for the comfort
of the commissioners, M. de Chaumont at this time owned
the Hotel Valentinois. In the general enthusiasm for
the American cause which was felt by so many French
men of high social position, M. de Chaumont pressed
Franklin to come and reside in his hotel Franklin did
so. He removed there with his grandsons, and from that
time till he left France, maintained a separate establish
ment in a part of the hotel, — M. de Chaumont with his
family residing in another part.-* M. de Chaumont would
' There is some confusion as to the exact date. Mr. Alexander, an inti
mate correspondent, addresses Franklin at the Hdtel Hambourg on March 7.
De Saxy, writing from St. Quentin as late as March 18, addressed hira at
HStel Hambourg. Dubourg, who knew the movements of the commis- '

m

» ^ *

FRANKLIN.
(From a Drawing by L. C. de Carmontelle.)
"On I'a vu desarmer les Tirans et les Dieux."

FRANKXm'S ESTABLISHMENT. 85
never accept any rent until the independence of the
United States was made sure. So far as appears, Franklin
accepted this arrangement as one out of many favors
which the present popularity of America won for her, —
probably with no fear but that time would bring its
revenges. It will probably be a convenience to the reader if we
bring together here some notes as to the domestic life of
Passy through the whole of Franklin's residence there,
which will in part supply the coloring, and indeed some
of the lights and shades for the whole history.
The establishment which he maintained was so gen
erous that Mr. John Adams, in a well-known letter, ex
postulated with him regarding it. But Franklin defended
very wisely the expenditure which Mr. Adams thought
profuse, and the scale of it was never changed. To a
foreign minister of to-day it would not Seem extravagant.
He kept a carriage and a pair of horses ; he had servants
enough to entertain handsomely any guests whom he
chose to receive. The correspondence now open to us is
full of curious little notes from his more intimate friends,
who avail themselves of the use of his carriage and horses,
as friends will in almost any stage of civilization.
Here is, for instance, an appointment, without date,
made by Madame Helvetius. The note is from the Ahh6
Morellet : —
sioners perfectly, wrote to the care of M. Chaumont at Paris on the 21st.
Arthur Lee, writing from Burgos as early as March 5, addresses "Mons.
Francis, dans le jardin." This is the Passy address, which, as the reader
will see, had been already given to Miss Shipley. It seems therefore that
the removal was probably made in the second week in March. Temple
Franklin, however, says distinctly that they removed to Paris early in Janu
ary. If this is not a misprint or an error in memory the business office must
have been retained in the H6tel de Hambourg till the second week in March.
But even Franklin's private letters are dated at Paris until that time.

86 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
"Monsieur, — Mad. Helvetius learns that the MUes.
Alexander will come to ask her to dine to-day. She is
engaged to dine at the Abbd Eochon's with his Sunday
party, so that she will not be able to receive these ladies.
She thinks that as you are at home you wUl come to her
rescue and receive the young ladies in her place, and then
she wUl come and join them with you after dinner. I
shall have the pleasure of accepting your agreeable invi
tation for Monday. It is always a great good-fortune
for me to see you. I am, with the most profound re
spect," etc., etc.
And again, from the same person, —
" My sister, my niece, and M. Marmontel, being about
to go into the country for the summer, have a great de
sire to visit you on Sunday morning, — a day on which
Madame Helvetius had asked them to dme. If you will
grant them this permission, I beg you to join another
kindness, which is to send your carriage only to bring
them to your house. Madame Helvetius will send them if
anything shall prevent you from lending yourself to this
arrangement. Do me the pleasure to let me know before
Sunday. You know with what satisfaction I always see
you. My family joins in this and in all the sentiments of
affectionate regard and respectful attachment which I
have for you always. I am, with all possible devotion.
Monsieur, your very humble and very obedient servant.
Thursday. If you have the goodness to send your car
riage, I beg you let it be at Paris before nine o'clock."
. A pleasant note from Miss Alexander asks Franklin to
carry a parcel into Paris for her father. Unless he brings
it in his own carriage it will be stopped at the gate of the
city. This is after FrankUn had the privUeges of an
ambassador.

CLERICAL DUTIES. 87
Williain Temple FrankUn, a boy in his sixteenth year
when they arrived at Passy, remained with his grand
father through the whole of his residence in France, and
acted strictly as his private secretary. Other gentlemen
were employed from time to time in the clerical ,duties of
the office ; among others John Quincy Adams is said to
have worked there with his father, when he was but
eleven years old.^
Congress, however, which was the executive of the
United States, never made any diplomatic appointment
for this period, of an officer to undertake the duties which
are now assigned to a Secretary of Legation. An interest
ing letter from Mr. Alexander, an English friend of Frank
lin, written on the first of March, implies that at that time
at least the new " Chancelry " was not in very thorough
business-like order. " Forgive me, dear Doctor, for notic
ing that your papers seem to lye a little loosely about
your house. You ought to consider yourself as sur
rounded by spies and amidst people who can make a cable
from a thread. Would not a spare half-hour per day
enable your grandson to arrange all your papers, useless
or not, so that you could come at them sooner, and not
one be visible to a prying eye?" This refers to the
establishment at the Hotel d'Hambourg.
. To Mrs. Juliana Eitchie, who had, apparently, addressed
hiai in the same strain while he was still in Paris, Frank
lin wrote the following amusing reply : — Pakis, Jan. 19, 1777.
Madam, — I am much obliged to you for your kind
attention to my welfare in the information you give me.
1 'We have not, however, found any handwriting which could be re
ferred to him in the rough drafts of that period. A letter to him begin
ning ." My dear Master Johnny " will be printed in its place.

88 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
I have no doubt of its being well-founded, hut as it ia
impossible to discover in every case the falsity of pre
tended friends who would know our affairs, and more so
to prevent being watched by spies when interested people
may think proper to place them for that purpose, I have
long observed one rule which prevents any inconvenience
from such practices. It is simply this, — to be concerned
in no affairs that I should blush to have made public,
and to do nothing but what spies may see and welcome.
When a man's actions are just and honorable, the more
they are known, the more his reputation is increased and
established. If I was sure, therefore, that my valet de
place was a spy, as probably he is, I think I should not
discharge him for that, if in other respects I liked him.
The various conjectures you mention concerning my busi
ness here must have their course. They amuse those
that make them, and some of those that hear them; they
do me no harm, and therefore it is not necessary that I
should take the least pains to rectify them. I ara glad to
learn that you are in a situation that is agreeable to you,
and that Mr. Eitchie was lately well. My daughter and
her children were so when I left them, but I have lost my
dear Mrs. Franklin, now two years since. I have the
honor to be, very respectfully, &c. B. Feanklin.
Very little, of course, could he expected from a private
secretary who was but sixteen years old. FrankUn him
self was a well-trained man of business, and everything in
the correspondence shows that the business of the country
went systematically on. But from this time to Temple
Franklin's death in 1823, he does not favorably impress
the persons who followed his work as an officer of this
legation, or as its historian. It seems as if he never took

DANGERS OF THE SEAS. 89
any vital interest in the affairs of his country. It would
be difficult to show a single detail in which he lifted a
finger or spoke a word in national affairs, unless he were
obliged to do so.
The detaUs of office Ufe and duty sometimes involved
very great anxiety for all concerned. There is one period
when at a time of critical interest more than twelve
months passed, without their receiving any instructions
from home. When instructions came they were predi
cated on a view of affairs which was almost antiquated
when they were received ; and in some instances they were
written by committees of Congress, who do not seem to
have known or cared what their predecessors had written.
Endless embarrassments arose from the appearance of
drafts on the Commissioners, which had been drawn really
on no account but that of the " Bank of Hope," but which
the Commissioners had to provide for, that the credit of
the United States might not be dishonored.
Such was the constant danger of the capture of vessels
which bore despatches, that every paper to or from Con
gress was copied four times. The originals always have
the grim endorsement — on the outside — " To be sunk if
in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy." If we
may judge from the present files it would seem that these
instructions had been fulfilled with more than half the
papers which passed the hands of the copying clerks.'
There were, therefore, many periods of profound anxiety
and of wearing labor during the feight years of Franklin's
residence in Passy. But there were long vacations, so to
speak, intermissions of anxiety and of work, when with
' The rates of insurance in London against captures by American
cruisers were once as high as sixty per cent. At the beginning of 1777
the rate was twenty-two per cent on freight from the 'West Indies. The
risk of capture by Biitish cruisers was, of course, much larger.

90 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
that good-natured light-heartedness which was an essential
part of his character, he was able to give himself freely to
the social duties which make the most important part of
the life of a successful diplomatist. At the very moment
of his arrival he found himself " the rage " in Paris. He
was received with the other commissioners by Vergennes,
the foreign minister, as early as Dec. 23, 1776, not as
ambassadors, but as gentlemen to whom Vergennes wished
to show respect.
We have from the French archives the report made to
the government by the police of Franklin's appearance.
It is dated January 15, — three weeks after his arrival in
Paris, — and is in these words : —
"Doctor FrankUn, who lately arrived in this country
from the English Colonies, is very much run after, and
feted, not only by the savants his confreres, but by all
people who can get hold of him ; for he is difficult to be
approached, and lives in a reserve which is supposed to be
directed by the Government. This Quaker wears the fuU
costume of his sect. He has an agreeable physiognomy.
Spectacles always on his eyes; but little hair, — a fur cap is
always on his head. He wears no powder, hut a neat air
(un air net); linen very white, a brown coat make his
dress. His only defence is a stick in his hand. If he sees
our ministers, it is at Paris ^ at night, and in the greatest
secrecy ; but he has frequent conference with the Sieurs de
Beaumarchais et le Eez de Chaumont. The first of these
is the tou-tou of Madame de Maurepas, and probably bears
some messages (le porteur des paroles)."
Our own readers will know how close were the rela
tions of Beaumarchais both with Maurepas and Franklin.
Capefigue, in his unfriendly account of Franklin, says
that " the retreat to which he condemned himself in the
1 That is, not at Court.

GEORGIANA SHIPLEY; 91
village, of Passy " helped to make up his reputation in a
world : disposed to mystery. "He shewed himself little,
like lall men who choose to exercise a mysterious influ
ence.'' This is the bitter remark of a partisan, whose own
views of government and poUey had not been favored
with success.
So soon as the arrival of Dr. Franklin was known in
Euro,pe, his old friends in every country addressed him.
It is amusing now to see how various were their views.
Ingenhausz, his scientific correspondent in Vienna, really
supposed that he had come to reunite the Colonies to
England. " I hope your return to our Continent has for
its object the happy reunion between the mother country
and the Colonies, which I so much the more hope is the
case, as I know it was your constant opinion that the
Colonieis should keep the seat of government out of their
country." The German naturalist, in his cabinet, did
not understand how times had changed, — and Franklin's
views with them.
A charming letter from Georgiana Shipley — afterwards
the mother of the brothers Hare, so well known to the
last generation of English scholars — came early in Feb
ruary. She even disobeyed the good Bishop of St. Asaph,
her father, by writing it. " London, Februarj' the llth, 1777.
" After near two years had passed without my hearing
anything from you, and while I looked upon the renewal
of our correspondence as a very unlikely event, it is easier
to conceive than express the joy I felt at receiving your
last kind letter ; the certainty that you are in good health
and spirits, and that you still remember your English
friends, is the greatest pleasure we can know during your
absence. How good you were to send me your direction;

92 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
but I fear I must not make use of it as often as I could
wish, since my father says it will not be prudent to write
in the present position of affairs. I am not of an age to be
so very prudent, and the only thought that occurred to me
was your suspecting that my silence proceeded from other
motives. I could not support the idea of your believing
that I love and esteem you less than I did some few years
ago. I therefore write this once without my father's
knowledge. You are the first man who ever received a
private letter from me ; and in this instance, I feel that
my intentions justify my conduct. But I must entreat
that you will take no notice of my writing when next
I have the happiness of hearing from you.
" You say you are interested in whatever relates to this
family ; my father, I think, was never better than he is at
present, both as to his health and spirits ;¦ my mother has
not been so well this last summer, but I flatter myself
that she has now perfectly recovered her late indisposition.
Emily has only one daughter, a charming little girl near
fifteen months old, whom her aunts reckon a prodigy of
sense and beauty. The rest of my sisters continue in statu
quo ; whether this proceeds from the men being difficult or
from their being difficult, I leave you to determine. I
often see many of your good friends ; need I add you are
the favorite subject of our conversation ? they all love you
almost as much as I do — as much I will not allow to be
possible. Dr. P. made me extremely happy last winter
by giving me a print of my excellent friend ; it is certainly
very like you, altho' it wants the addition of your own
hair to make it complete ; but as it is I prize it infinitely
now the dear original is absent. Pray have you met with
Smith's ' Wealth of Nations ' ? if not, I venture strongly
to recommend it to you. I have read only parts, but pro
pose shortly to read it regularly through. His sentiments

GIBBON'S "DECLINE AND FALL." 93
are liberal and the language clear and interesting. This
is the only book that has been published lately worth
mentioning, except Gibbon's ' History of the rise and fall
of the Eoman Empire.' It is written in a pleasing, ele
gant manner; his scheme is to unite antient and modern
history, an immense work which I wish he may have
application to accomplish. I have been at length for
tunate enough to procure ' The Economics,' which I have
read with great attention, as indeed everything else I can
meet with relative to Socrates, for I fancy I can discover
in each trait of that admirable man's character a strong
resemblance between him and my much-loved friend, —
the same clearness of judgement, the same uprightness of
intention, and the same superior understanding. I dined
lately with Sir Wm. Hamilton; he gave me an account
of a new electrical machine invented in Italy. It is
composed of beeswax, a plate of metal, and a plate of
glass. They are able to take a spark from it at ten inches
distance, but he could not inform me why these bodies
united to produce this effect. Were you in England how
happy should I be to have this as well as many other
things explained by you ; but I don't allow myself to en
tertain hopes on this subject, as I much fear there is no
reason to flatter myself with so pleasing an idea. Envy
is reckoned one of the foibles of our sex. Till lately I
thought I was exempt from it, but now I find a strong
inclination to envy your grandson the having it in his
power to shew you any kindness and attention. Did my
family know of my writing, my letter would scarce contain
the very many things they would desire me to say for
them. They continue to admire and love you as, much as
they did formerly, nor can any time or event in the least
change their sentiments. My paper now reminds me that
it is high time for me to conclude. Assure yourself that

54 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
every good wish for your happiness and prosperity attends
you from this house. Adieu, mon cher Socrate, conservez
vous pour I'amour de moi, et pour mille autres raisons,
plus importans. Je nevous en dirai pas d'avantage pour
aujourdhui, mais je veux esperer de vous entretien. plus k
mon aise avant qui soit longue. Pray write whenever a
safe conveyance offers. Since the receiving of letters is
reckoned very different from answering them, I must once
more repeat, nobody knows of this scrawl. 'A word to
the wise,' as Eichard says."
The letter is addressed, undoubtedly at Franklin's direc
tion, to " Mons, Monsieur Francis, chez M. de Chaumont,
k Passy, pres de Paris." It is clear that as soon as he
knew where his home was to be, he apprised those friends
in Europe from whom he wished to hear. A letter from
Thomas Walpole states so well the position of the friends
of Araerica in England, that we copy it as a key to the
subsequent correspondence with those friends. Walpole
had been closely connected with Franklin in an effort
which the war broke up to organize emigration into the
region bordering on Lake Erie. He was a rich London
banker, and we shall meet him again. The letter, written
February 1, begins with an allusion to the Erie enterprise.
" When the charges are finally settled, I shall send you
an account thereof, with a credit upon some House in
Paris for the balance. I hope this will be speedily, as I
am, and have been for some time past, very impatient to
get rid of a transaction where so many different persons
are concerned, that I might be left at liberty to act for
myself in it hereafter, according to my own inclination,
and to the circumstances of the times.
" If Lord Chatham was in a state of health capable of
comfort, I know nothing would give him so much pleasure
as your testimony of his conduct on the opening of the

THOMAS. WALPOLE. 95
important crisis to which the two countries have been
driven ; and I wiU communicate to him your observation
as soon as a fit opportunity offers. Lord Camden sends
you his best compUments, and laments heartily with me
that the restoration of peace is at so great a distance as
you seem to apprehend.
" All those who are friends to both countries think -they
have much reason to complain of the neglect with which
they have been treated by America, in not having been
made acquainted in some authentic manner with her real
views and circumstances at the opening of this unhappy
rupture, nor with a true representation of the events
which have followed; the want of which advices, it is
thought, has not been less prejudicial to the reputation of
America in the eyes of the rest of Europe than in the
public opinion here ; as the friends of both countries have
thus been deprived of all means of refuting the tales
which have been imposed on the world by the artifice of
Administration, and which have principally contributed to
the delusion of the people of England.
" But these considerations are of small importance com
pared to that of the Declaration of Independence, extend
ing itself, not only to the renunciation of all allegiance,
but even to all connection with this country, in preference
to any other. This measure, so taken, reduced the friends
to the liberties of America to the single argument of re
sisting the war against her upon local considerations of a
ruinous expense to the nation in prosecuting a plan of
conquest which, in its issue, must be considered as very
uncertain ; and, although we should be successful, would,
probably, in its consequences, prove more burdensome
than profitable. May I add, also, that shutting the door
so fast against a reconeUiation with this country may
make American aUiances with other powers more diffi-

96 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
cult or give these, at least, a considerable advantage in
negotiation ?
" These are the complaints of friends, and my reflections
upon them ; but all, I fear, too late for any useful correc
tion or possible reraedy, and all a person of my smaU
importance in these great matters dares to add is, that
he would think no office too mean, nor any endeavors
above his ambition, which could tend to put a stop to our
dreadful civil contentions.
" To expatiate farther upon them with you, sir, would be
as if I doubted of the benevolence of your disposition
being equal to your other great talents ; but the contrary
is so truly ray opinion, that I subscribe myself, with the
sineerest sentiraents of esteem and affection,
Dear Sir, Your very faithful, humble servant,
Thomas Walpole."
Franklin soon established in his own house at Passy a
little printing establishment, from which occasionally a
tract or handbill was issued. Frora this press the pre
tended " Independent Chronicle," with an account of In
dian scalping, was issued, and the little books published
here are araong the treasures raost desired by the
connoisseurs. Immediately after Franklin and his party were settled
at Passy they received encouraging news from home, from
which the accounts had been very dreary until this ar
rival Washington's army had been steadily retreating
across New Jersey, and it was well known that it was
becoming smaller and smaller. The tone of English nar
rative and criticism was becoming more and more exas
perating. In this darkness Franklin leamed through
England of Washington's success at Trenton and Prince-

TRENTON AND PRINCETON. 97
ton, in an account even exaggerated as to the English
losses. In the middle of March he received the rosy
account of these successes, which were sent him by the
secret committee. Baltimore, Jan. 9, 1777.
To the Commissioners :
Gentlemen, — Captain Hammond having been detained
longer than we expected furnishes us with an opportu
nity of giving you the information we have, since our last,
received from the army, through a committee of Congress
left at PhUadelphia, for we have yet had no regular
accounts from General Washington. On the 2d instant
General Washington, having received information that the
enemy were on their march to attack him at Trenton,
ordered two brigades of militia to advance and annoy
them on the road leading from Princeton to Trenton ; who,
falling in with the enemy about three miles from the lat
ter place, engaged them, but being overpowered by num
bers, made a retreating fight until they joined the main
body who were drawn up on the heights west of a bridge
that divides the vUlage of Trenton nearly in two parts.
The enemy attempting to force the bridge were repulsed
with loss by a body of men with artillery placed there to
receive them. In the meantime some batteries being
opened on the heights soon drove the enemy from that
part of the town possessed by them. Thus the event
ended for that evening. But General Washington, having
received intelligence that General Howe was in person
coming up to join his army with a strong reinforcement,
dhecting fires to he made on the heights to deceive the
enemy, decamped at midnight and made a forced march
in order to meet M. Howe and give him battle before
he joined his main hody. About three mUes short of
Prince Town, the van of our army feU in with 600
7

98 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
British infantry strongly posted behind a fence and upon
a hill, with artUlery. They were attacked, and after a
short engagement routed, having lost 200 killed and taken
prisoners; among whom one colonel, one major, several
captains and subalterns were slain, and about twenty offi
cers raade prisoners. The fugitives were pursued through
Princetown where our army halted a while. In this af
fair six pieces of artillery with abundance of baggage fell
into our hands. At Princetown
it was learnt that General Howe
was not with this party, but that
he remained at Brunswick with
three or four thousand men. There
being a considerable force in the
rear, and our men greatly fatigued
with their march, and their bag-
/ gage chiefly behind (it having been
WASHINGTON. ^But to Burfington), the General
proceeded to Sommerset Court
House that evening, a little westward of the road leading
to Brunswick, and about seven or nine miles from that
place. Here we understand he expected to be joined by a
body of 1500 or 2000 fresh troops, and that his intention
was to attack Mr. Howe in Brunswick.^ On Friday
morning when the enemy in Trenton missed our army,
they returned toward Princetown, but it seems they left
3000 Hessians behind them ; who following afterwards
were so fatigued with travel and want of food that num
bers were left on the road, and were straggling about the
1 This was "Washington's intention, as all the reports say. " But his
men had had no rest for two days, and after the affair at Princeton actually
fell down under the influence of sleep.',' In the Carter-Bro\\'n library at
Providence is a curious MS. note by the English General Clinton expressing
the surprise of the English that this attack did not take place.

SPECIAL DESPATCHES. 99
country in threes and fours. Many were taken by the
country people and brought in prisoners. Many came to
Trenton and surrendered themselves. The militia of New
Jersey were rising generally ; and it was thought few of
these Hessians would get back again. This is the present
state of our inforraation and we hourly expect a weU-
authenticated account of the whole, and of much greater
successes. We shall endeavor to give you the speediest
account of what shall further come to our knowledge from
good authority. The above relation is taken from a gen
tleman who was in the action and who, the Committee
write us, is a person of sense and honor. The General has
been too much engaged to write, and we suppose waits the
final issue.
We most earnestly wish you success in your negotia
tion, and are in perfect esteem, honorable gentlemen,
B. Haeeison.
E. H. Lee.
In secret Committee.
P. S. In the engagement near Princetown, we lost
fifteen privates, one colonel, and Brig.-Gen. Mercer, — a
very good officer and a worthy gentleman.
It seems desirable to rescue from obscurity these early
narratives,' with all the errors as to fact which they con
tain, because they show the materials on which our diplo
matists were forced to work, and reflect very perfectly the
opinion of the best-informed people at home.
On occasions requiring haste, the Continental Congress
often sent to Boston to ask the Government of Massachu
setts to forward their despatches by a special packet. On
> The Mass. letters have not, to our knowledge, been printed. The
Baltimore letter is in Lee's Memoirs.

100 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
such an occasion Franklin's old friends in the Government
of that State wrote to him letters, which served him as
official despatches from Congress might have done.
Such a despatch, reviewing the position of affairs, is the
foUowing letter from James Bowdoin : —
State op Massachusetts Bat.
Council Chamber, Boston, February 27th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — We have lately received from the secret
committee of Congress seven letters addressed to you, and
they request that we would forward them by the quickest
sailing vessel for France. In consequence of which we
desired the Continental agent here with all possible dis
patch to prepare one of the Continental vessels for sail
ing. She is now ready, and is commanded by Captain
John Adaras, whom we have directed, immediately upon
his arrival at Nantz, to repair by post to Paris, and to de
liver you the letters hiraself, and there receive your an
swer, and be governed by your directions touching his
return, and the port he is to come to. We wish they
may arrive in safety. If the captain should be directed
to return to any of the ports in this State, we shall expe
ditiously forward to Congress any dispatches you may
commit to our care. By the last accounts from Congress,
we have the pleasure to acquaint you that they were more
firmly united than ever, and that in their measures they
were decisive, determinate, and very spirited. They have
some time since resolved that eighty-eight battalions
should be raised for the defence of the Continent, the men
to serve for three years or during the war. Fifteen of
these battalions are to be raised in this State as their
quota; the assembly are taking every measure in then-
power to raise them, and hope we shall be able to com
plete them in season. The Congress have since agreed to

GOVERNOR BO'WDOIN'S LETTER. 101
raise sixteen more battalions, and have impowered Gen
eral Washington to appoint the officers. General Howe, in
November and December last, knowing that the time
for which our troops were engaged was near expiring, and
that they would most of them be on the return home, im
proved this opportunity suddenly to throw his troops into
the Jerseys. This manoeuvre threw the people of that State
into a panic. Their militia were scattered and could not
he raUied. This enabled the enemy to traverse the whole
extent of the Jerseys without much molestation, and
obUged General Washington to return to the other side of
the river Delaware. But thanks to heaven, who has re
markably interposed in our favour, the scene has greatly
changed; for General Washington, having received a
reinforcement, in the night of the 25th of Deceraber,
repassed the Delaware, attacked a large detachraent of
the enemy's troops at Trenton, and took most of them
prisoners ; and soon after, when a large body of the en
emy made an attempt to dislodge him from Trenton, he
in the night stole a march upon them, passed them, and
attacked and drove a large detachement of the enemy from
Princeton, who had began their march to join the body at
Trenton. He killed several hundreds and took many pris
oners and a large number of waggons. The enemy in the
Jerseys are now confined to Brunswick and Amboy, and
are said to be about ten thousand strong. We hear of
small skirmishes every day in which our people have the
advantage. We understand that great dissensions and
disputes have arisen between the British troops and the
Hessians For further particulars relative to the move
ment, operation, and state of our array and that of the
enemy, we must refer you to the public prints which we
herewith transmit. We esteem ourselves happy that gen
tlemen of such accomplishments and abilities have been

102 FRANIiLIN IN FRANCE.
appointed to represent this Continent, at this important
crisis, at the Court of France. We sincerely wish you
success in your negotiation, and from your well-known
attachment to the cause of America, and from the zeal,
activity, and vigilance you have discovered in her service,
we promise ourselves that we shall soon experience the
happy fruits of your exertions. The aid and assistance
of France in this country in some way or other is highly
necessary. We may otherwise by a further accession of
foreign troops be overborne. It is greatly probable that
unless a powerful diversion prevents, the enemy the ensu
ing suramer will have in America as great a force as with
all our exertions we can possibly cope with. We are un
der some apprehension of General Carleton's crossing the
lakes and attacking the important post of Ticonderoga,
and are forwarding troops thither to strengthen the gar
rison. Some warriors of the Six Nations have in course
of this week made us a friendly visit; and we have a
good prospect of their attachment to our interest.
The Indians, likewise, on the Eastern frontiers of this
State are friendly; and we have reports, attended with
some degree of probability, that the mercenary troops in
Canada are at variance with the British troops there.
We have just now received a letter from the com
manding officer at Ticonderoga, dated the 18th inst. He
writes that Cumberland Bay in Lake Champlain was stUl
open; that two Frenchmen arrived there from Canada
four days before, who bring intelligence of about one
hundred Indians with a few regulars being on their march
for that post, probably with a view of surprising some of
our parties ; and further say that the enemy are posted
as follows: —
150 at Montreal, where Gen. Frazer commands ;
100 at La Prairie ;

COOPER AND WINTHROP. 103
200 at ChamUle, where the now infamous Gen. Paoli
commands ;
550 at St Johns, including sailors and marines ;
300 at the Isle aux Noix, with a 12 guns redoubt ;
100 at Bojor VUle ; and
20 at Point au Fair. The remainder of the British
troops are billeted, two or three in a house, in the vicinity
of Montreal and Chamill^ ; and the Germans are all can-
tonned in and below Quebec.
By resolves of Congress transmitted to us, we observe
you are impowered and requested to procure for the Con
tinent, among other things, a great number of fire-arms.
The public service requires they should be sent as expe
ditiously as possible, and that a considerable part of them
should be appropriated to the use of this State ; in which
case it will be needful that such part should be directed
to be brought into some of our ports.
By the return of Captain Adams and all other oppor
tunities, we should be glad to be favored with such intelli
gence and information as you shall think the public ser
vice makes necessary to be communicated. James Bowdoin, Presid.
The following are from Eev. Sarauel Cooper and Prof.
John "Winthrop. Cooper was ridiculed in the English
ballads as " silver-tongued Sam ; " he was the minister of
Brattle St. Church. He deserves to be called a statesman
for the breadth and intelligence of his views. He was
afterwards in official correspondence with the French
government; and one, at least, of his sermons — that
on the constitution of Massachusetts — was widely circu
lated in Europe in different languages. The other letter
is from John Winthrop. He was Professor of Natural
Philosophy in Harvard College.

104 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. Boston, N. E., Feb. 27, 1777.
My Deae Sie, — I wrote you some time ago, acknowl
edging the receipt of your kind letter, dated from PhUa
delphia 25'" Oct. last, the day you embarked for Europe,
and read your affectionate leave to all our friends. We
often think and talk of you, and constantly follow you
with our best wishes. I have lately heard with particular
pleasure of your safe arrival in France, where I know you
meet with many friends, and where all orders of people
will treat you as you deserve ; and I can wish you nothing
better. May heaven preserve your life and health for the
sake of your country, for which I know your wishes are
at least equal to your abUities.
"Oh ! save my country. Heaven, will be your last."
You wiU doubtless have heard before this can reach you
— perhaps already, from those who can best inform you
— of the happy change in the face of our affairs since the
26th of Dec. last.
When our army was wasted greatly, when what re
mained was upon the point of dissolution, the time of
enUstment being expired, when Gen. Lee, upon whom we
placed large hopes, was snatched from us, when Wash
ington, whose prudence and firmness can never be too
much applauded, was driven with his handful of men
through the Jersies, beyond the Delaware, when every
thing upon which the states depended for the winter's
defence seemed to faU, — then a kind Providence, in whose
blessing in so righteous a cause you expressed so firm a
dependence, signally interposed on our behalf. Wash
ington was animated to form a great and daring design,
considering his circumstances. He attacked the conquer
ing and pursuing army. He saved Philadelphia. He
almost instantly cleared the West Jersies. He revived

COOPER'S LETTER. 105
the spirits of the states, though they remained firm at
the most pressing season, almost beyond example. Since
which, the British forces and their auxUiaries have been
cooped up at Brunswick and Amboy by scarcely anything
more than a mUitia, inferior even in numbers.
Desertions from the enemy are now frequent. They are
straitened for provisions and forage. Alarms and fatigues
and sickness have worn their men and impaired their
number. Frequent skirmishes, iu which we have constantly had
the advantage, have done the sarae. A large foraging par
ty, that lately ventured but a little way from Brunswick,
have been drove back with precipitation and considerable
loss. The states are now engaged in forming their new
army. There are difficulties, but not, we hope, insur
mountable. Washington begins to receive in considerable
numbers the new levies. Those from this quarter, that
are first in readiness, march to Ticonderoga. The lake has
not yet been frozen over, and it is beUeved we are for the
present safe on that side. Will France let such an op
portunity for her own advantage slip out of her hands ?
Can Britain give her an equivalent for the indepen
dence of these states ? Will the House of Bourbon not
exert itself to prevent any more foreign troops frora com
ing to America? Can we have no men-of-war to open
our ports and trade, and secure our raost necessary sup
plies? Will not France employ its influence in Canada,
and on the foreigners that are here ? Many of them
have already mutinied at New York, and are confined
in jails and guard-ships, or disarmed, or very narrowly
watched by Britons. We have reports of the same kind
from Canada.
Adieu, my dear sir ; for having such short warning of
this opportunity, I write in haste and fear of missing it.

106 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Eemember me to any friend you see where you now are.
Every blessing attend you. Pray write me.
With the greatest esteem and attachment.
Ever yours, Sam'l. Cooper.
The second letter is from John Wmthrop : —
Cambeidoe, N. E., Feb. 28, 1777.
Deae Sir, — I do most sincerely congratulate you on
your safe arrival in France. Though nothing ever gave
me greater pleasure than to hear you had undertaken a
comraission in which America is so deeply interested, and
which could not well have been executed without you,
yet, I must own, I was in great pain for your safety in so
long a voyage, and exposed as you were to pecuUar danger
from the enemy. The firmness of mind and ardent love of
your country manifested on this and every other occasion
must endear you to every American, and lay this continent
under obligations that can never be forgot. May the same
gracious providence which has hitherto protected you suc
ceed all your exertions in the glorious cause of liberty.
We promise ourselves everything from your abilities and
infiuence in the Court of France, and hope they will pur
sue such measures as wUl effectually disconcert the plans
of our enemies ; certainly they never had so fair an oppor
tunity of depressing and weakening their great rival. This
seeras to be the critical moment for them to step in ; and
if they act from national views, and with their usual pol
icy, I should think they would not let it sUp.
I have taken the Uberty to enclose a letter to Dr. Price,
upon a particular affair that he is solicitous about, and beg
you wUl be so good as to forward it.
I frequently entertain myself with the pleasing hope
that you wUl ere long return to America, and have the

VIEWS OF THE FRENCH CABINET. 107
high satisfaction of seeing your country flourish, under
your auspices, in freedom and independence ; and that the
circle here wiom you have honored with your friendship
will again be happy in your company.
The council write you by this conveyance so fully on
the present situation of our affairs that I have nothing to
add. With every sentiment that gratitude and respect can
inspire, I am, &c., &c.,
John Wlntheop.
It will be interesting to see at the same time by what
views the French Cabinet was guided in its first inter
views with Franklin. Of the papers submitted to it at
that time, all the more important have probably been pre
served in the French archives. There are now to be found
in those collections five papers of dates between the time
when Franklin sailed and the 1st of April, 1777, which
were evidently drawn for the instruction of the ministers.
On the llth of September, there is a paper entitled
" Problem touching the American Colonies." It is argued,
first, that it is for the interest of France that the Colonies
should become an independent power ; second, that France
should not maintain a neutrality in the contest. A short
memoir is attached to this article.
On the 2d of October, there is " A view of some of the
special motives which ought to induce France to form an
alliance with the new American Eepublic." The subject
is treated principally in a commercial point of view.
The next is, " Considerations on the legitimacy of the
succors which foreign powers may render to the English
American Colonies," — a long and a very able article by
Pfeffel, an eminent jurist. The subject is examined on
the ground of justice, history, and the laws of nations.

108 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
His argument is summed up in five points, in which he
considered the position established that France and Spain
may lawfully render assistance to the Colonies in their
contest with England.
On the 5th of January, 1777, " Eeflections on the neces
sity of rendering aid to the Americans in the war with
England," — a political- discussion of the subject, appar
ently drawn up by one of the ministers.
In the same month, " Considerations of a Frenchman on
the insurgents in America," — written apparently by a
mUitary officer,
January 7, 1777, "Eeflections on the state of American
affairs," — a well- written paper on the actual state of
things and their political bearings. It maintains the
position that France ought to aid the Colonies against
England.i 1 These memoranda of the contents of these papers are those made by
Mr. Sparks, and left by him in manuscript.

CHAPTEE VII.
LAMBERT "WICKES AND GUSTAVUS CONYNGHAM.
THE worthy Captain Wickes, who commanded the
ship wherein FrankUn came to France, employed
himself at once in refitting the " Eeprisal," in disposing of
his captured cargoes, and in securing his prisoners, who,
as he was pleased to think, would serve to rescue many of
his countrymen from English prisons. Of that, more here
after. He was also busy in examining ships. Ships were
to be bought for the Araerican navy, and Captain Wickes,
intent on making himself serviceable to his country, raade
the rounds of the seaports of France and examined such
likely ships as he heard of, whether on the stocks or al
ready launched. While occupied in this, he appeared at
Nantes at about the time that the great ship of the firm
of Eodrique Hortalez & Co., the " Amphitrite," had put in,
after leaving Havre, as will be remembered, on account of
General du Coudray, who was displeased with his accom
modations. Wickes, who had a clearer idea of the neces
sities of the American service than Silas Deane or
Beaumarchais, gave the artiUerist a bit of good advice.
" Leave some of your officers behind," was the counsel of
the sea-dog ; " they don't want 'em over there." But Du
Coudray did not follow his advice ; so Wickes was unable
to stop what hecame, as has been seen, a very fruitful
source of trouble to the American cause.
He did good service, however, in examining ships. At
Nantes he met with a sixty-gun ship, which he examined

110 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
with interest. But he reported to Franklin that it was
unsuitable for American waters, — too deep in draught.
Other ships, too, he examined, and of each he wrote a
report to Franklin. Indeed, it would seem as though that
gentleman, to understand all the particulars of the letters
with which the captain favored him, must have used his
late sea-voyage to great advantage in acquiring an exten
sive knowledge of maritime affairs. The questions which
were occurring every day were such as required the
greatest knowledge, prudence, and decision, to be sure of
a satisfactory settleraent, and though much was misman
aged and many events turned out unsatisfactorily, yet
when we consider what numbers of important questions
turned up, we are more inclined to wonder that everything
did not go to ruin. There was, at once, question of the
purchase of ships-of-war, of officers to command them, of
saUors to make up the crew, of merchants to fit thera out,
of cannon and stores to be bought, of cruises to be made
when the ships had got to sea. The Commissioners, none
of them previously famous for their knowledge of mari
time affairs, had to constitute themselves into a Navy
Department, which was to make something out of almost
no resources at all. And not only were there questions
of this sort, but questions of a far more intricate and diffi
cult nature, which even Captain Wickes could not clearly
comprehend, — questions of really far more importance, for
they affected the position of France as a neutral power
between the two belligerents. Were American ships-of-
war and privateers to be allowed in French ports ? Could
they issue forth from such ports, make prizes, return to
these sarae or other neutral ports safe from the enemy's
fleet, and sell their prizes to the highest bidder ? Could
the Araerican cruisers capture English seamen, carry them
into French ports, confine them in French prisons, and

•WICKES'S VIE"W OF FRENCH NEUTRALITY. Ill
finaUy exchange them for as many American prisoners in
England, who, on being exchanged, at once should step on
board the privateers which the French merchants were
fitting out with American commissions under American
colors? These were questions of much importance.
Wickes evidently thought that every one of thera should
be solved in the affirraative. According to public inter
national law, as understood to-day, every one of them
would be answered in the negative. But France was
friendly to America, and though Lord Stormont was loud
and continual in his really just complaints at the gross
breach of neutrality by France, that country remained
for a year or more in this peculiar position. American
cruisers were constantly to be found refitting in French
ports. As constantly were they ordered out of them at
twenty-four hours' notice. Then a letter was sent to
FrankUn, who was to write to Vergennes for some sort
of permit, — it mattered not just what sort ; time was
gained, the refitting was completed, and the cruiser sailed
out, captured prizes, and put into France again, where
they were sold ; and then the same thing occurred over
again. The "Alabama" question was no new thing in
history. As we say, Wickes thought, evidently, that all this
questioning was absurd. He seems to have found it im
possible to see why, if France was a friend to America,
American vessels could not fit out in her ports. In truth,
the position of France was not justifiable ; it could not be
maintained; and naturally, though not so quickly as
might have been thought, she drifted into open war.^
1 "Your friends are neither just or reasonable, if they complain of the
bounds that it is necessary to set to the enterprises of the privateers. . . .
We have exerted a patience which they had no right to expect. . . . 'We
cannot allow the privateers of any nation whatever to come in and go out

112 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Our readers will gain the best view of these maritime
affairs if they read for themselves the letters of this en
ergetic sea-captain, and see what things were happening
in the French seaports in these months of the winter,
spring, and summer of the year 1777. He will also see
what sort of work was expected of the Commissioners at
the Court of France, — not the most important part of
their work, but one of the detaUs. Nantes, January 14th, 1777.
Gentlemen,. — I have been waiting ever since I wrote
you last for the inventory of the St. John, and have not
received it yet, [and] therefore conclude M. Gourlade^
has sent it forward for Paris. Capt. Nicholson arrived
here yesterday, and produced your instructions to him
concerning the visiting and inspecting the ships at
L'Orient. But I think I have done everything that
Capt. Nicholson could do was he to go there, [and]
therefore have considered that it is better for Capt.
Nicholson to return immediately to Paris, and there to
assist you in pointing out the deficiencies of stores and
materials, agreeable to inventories. I think you had best
get Capt. Nicholson to make what addition he may
think needful or necessary to the inventories, and agree
with these gentlemen to furnish all stores and material
and fit the ship out fit for sea, as it will be in their power
of our ports as they would their own. This is a duty imposed on us by
treaties. Neither can we permit the sale of prizes. In every other re
spect we have shown the greatest compliance ; we have even gone further
than was reasonably to be expected." — Vergennes to Grand, Aug. 21,
1777, Dip. Cor.
1 Mr. Gourlade was a merchant at the port of Morlaix, recommended
to Franklin by Wickes as being a good man to transact business with.
He was the partner of Mr. Moylan, and with these two as well as with the
firm, Franklin had constant dealings.

CAPTAIN NICHOLSON. 113
to do it much cheaper and quicker than we could possibly
do it ourselves. My reason for mentioning tliis matter is
that it may be conducted with more secrecy than it could
be done, provided Capt. Nicholson or myself was to
attend the fitting this ship, as they have spies in every
port who would give immediate information to the Court
of Britain, whom we may reasonably suppose would give
orders for blocking her up, thereby rendering her useless.
I beg leave to recommend Capt. Nicholson to your
notice as a Gentleman of good family, who has been regu
larly bred to the Sea, and think him well qualified to com
mand a ship-of-war. He was very active in the beginning
of our unhappy difficulties in his country's cause, and
continued so until the necessities of his business obUged
him to go to London, where he has been ever since idle
for want of employment. This inconveniency I hope
you'll soon reraedy by employing him in the service of
the United States of America, and thereby put it in his
power to make good his lost time. As Capt. Nicholson
wUl be there to assist you, I hope it will not be necessary
for me to come to Paris. I ara now all ready fitted for
sea, only waiting to be informed by you whether our
prizes will be received and protected in French ports or
not, as I may take my measures. Accordingly you'll
please inform of this as soon as possible, as I only wait
your orders and answer to this, and then proceed on a
cruise immediately. I should be much obliged for all
other necessary information in your power. I remain,
with much respect, gentlemen.
Your most obliged humble serv't,
Lambeet Wickes.
P. S. If you think it necessary I should come to Paris,
I wUl set off immediately on receiving your orders.
L. W.

114 FRANKLIN m FRANCE.
¦What information was sent him in regard to prizes in
French ports can only be conjectured. He sailed on a
cruise and returned with booty, as we shall see.
Port Lewis, Feb'y 14th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — This wUl inform you of my safe arrival
after a tolerable successful cruise, having captured 3 sail of
Brigs, one snow, and one ship. The Snow is a Falmouth
Packet bound from thence to Lisbon. She is mounted
with 16 guns, and had near 50 men on board. She en
gaged near an hour before she struck. I had one man
killed. My first Lieut, had his left arm shot off above
the elbow, and the Lieut, of Marines had a musquet ball
lodged in his wrist. They had several men wounded,
but none kUled. I am in great hopes that both my
wounded officers will do well, as there are no unfavorable
symptoms at present. Three of our Prizes are arrived,
and I expect the other two in to-morrow. As I am in
formed that there has been two American Private ships
of war lately taken and carried into England, I think it
would be a good opportunity to negociate and exchange
prisoners, if it could be done, but I submit to your better
judgment to act as you think proper. I should be very
glad to hear from you as soon as possible, and should be
much obliged if you would point out some line or mode to
proceed by in disposing of prisoners and prizes, as noth
ing will be done before I receive your answer to this. I
hope you 'U excuse my being more particular at present,
from. Gentlemen, Your most obliged h'ble serv't,
Lamb't Wickes.
A list of the vessels and cargoes taken, viz. : —

wickes at L'ORIENT. 115
No. 1. A brig from Pool ^ bound to Cadiz, with a cargo
of codfish.
2. A brig, with wheat and flour, from Dublin bound to
Lisbon. 3. A brig from Shetland, with barley, bound to Cadiz.
4. SwaUow packet, bound from Falmouth to Lisbon, in
ballast. 5. A ship from Bordeaux bound to Londonderry with
brandy, claret, and hoops. Three of those are arrived, and
the other two are not far off.
L. W.
L'Orient, Febr'y 26th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I have this day received very extraor
dinary orders from the intendant of this port, demanding
me to leave this port in 24 hours. He says this order is
given in consequence of a positive order received this day
from the minister at Paris. I asked liberty to heave
down my ship, and repair her on my arrival ; but it has
never been granted. On being told that I must positively
depart in 24 hours, I told the intendant that it was not
in my power to depart in so short a time, as my ship was
not fit to proceed to America without heaving down and
repairing; and begged he would send carpenters off to
examine the ship, and take their report accordingly. This
he consented to, and sent them off. They returned and
told the intendant that they thought highly necessary
to careen and repair the ship before she departed for
America. He then positively refused to grant me liberty
to refit, unless the carpenter and caulkers would sign a
certificate that we should be in imminent danger of losing
the ship if not repaired. This certificate they could not
^ Liverpool. This city may be found as the Pool, on Continental maps
as late, at least, as 1807.

116 franklin in FRANCE.
sign, as they had not been to sea in the ship, and it was
not in their power to see the ship's bottom without heav
ing her down. He then told me I must depart imme
diately. We are now taking our water on board and
getting ready to proceed, but I shall not be able to sail
before Friday, the 28th, in the evening, and am in hopes
I shall have the pleasure of receiving your orders and
instructions on this head before that time ; but if obliged
to depart sooner, or before I receive your orders, I shall
run into Nantes, and there enter a protest, and ask liberty
to heave down and repair, though I am ordered by the
intendant not to go into any port in France. These are
very extraordinary orders, such as I little expected to
receive in France. I beg leave to congratulate you on our
late success in America, as I am informed we have gained
a very signal and complete victory over our enemies at
Trenton. You '11 see by my declaration made on my
arrival, that I then mentioned my ships being leakj^, and
begged liberty to heave down and repair. If this favour
cannot be granted, as it is absolutely necessary prior to
my departure, I should be much obUged if you would for
ward your dispatches, and send me off for America as soon
as possible. From, Gentlemen, Your most obliged h'ble serv't,
Lamb't Wickes.
L'Orient, March 3d, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I received yours of the 23d Feb'y by
Mr. De Francy, ^ which I am sorry came so late, as the
vessels are all gone. He wUl soon return, when I shall
give you as full an answer as I can to all your proposals.
We have got up to the place of careening, and are now
1 De Francy was in the employ of Beaumarchais, who probably had a
good deal of business at the seaports at about this time.

plans for cruising, 117
preparing for that business. Time is now our own, and
you may order or dispose of us as you think proper.
From, Gentlemen, your most obed't h'ble serv't,
Lamb't Wickes.
The carpenters had come aboard again, and signed
the required paper, whereupon permission to careen was
granted. L'Orient, 5th March, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I received two of yours of the 25th by
Mr. De Francy, who I am sorry came so late, as our sales
were complete before his arrival I have strictly attended
to your proposals, and shall give you as full an answer as
in my power. As to cruising in the Sound for the Baltic
ships, I am afraid that will not do ; as neither I nor my
officers are acquainted with those seas, nor have we any
proper charts for those seas. Another objection is the
certainty of being soon discovered, as there is such num
bers of vessels passing and repassing continuaUy ; the con
sequence of which would be dangerous, as the passages in
and out are narrow, and we should be either blocked in or
taken. But if you should think proper to order us on
this expedition, I think it would be highly necessary to
procure us admittance and protection in some of the prin
cipal ports in those seas. If this cannot be done, I think
it would not be advisable to venture there. The coast of
Guineay I think much safer and better; but there are
such difficulties 'attending it as cannot be got over. Our
ship wUl not carry water and provision enough for the
cruise, as it wUl be necessary to take four months' water
and provisions for that cruise, and we cannot take more
than two months' water and provisions. ,If you should
purchase the "Maurepas," I think this cruise would then

118 FRANia,IN IN FRANCE.
be advantageous, as the ships of war are small that are on
that coast, and the Guineay men, though they have all
more or less guns, are not in a condition to fight, as their
men are generally very sickly going off the coast. I join
with you in sentiments in regard to cruising on this coast,
as there is very Uttle prospect of any more success here.
I am informed by the officers belonging to the French
ships of war that arrived here two days ago from a cruise,
that there are three British ships of war cruising between
Cape Fiuisterre and Ushant, one of 64 guns, one of 50,
and one of 32 guns, two of which they saw, and were told
there was another. The French ships go out again on a
cruise to-day. I think if a very fast-sailing cutter could
be got, and stationed at Dunkirk, they might soon make
plenty prizes by running into the .Downs, and cutting
ships out frora there; provided they would be received
and protected in that port, untUl it suited you to send
them off for America or elsewhere; and take liberty to
recommend Capt. Hinson for that service, as he is a stout,
brave man, and I think well qualified for such an enter
prise. I ara very glad to hear you intend to provide for
Capt. Nicholson, as I think him deserving your confi
dence, and raake no doubt he will merit your esteem in
any station you may think proper to place him. If you
purchase the "Maurepas," and I am appointed to com
mand her, I know no obstacle in Capt. Nicholson's way,
as my officers would chuse to continue with me, and, of
course, there wUl be room for hira in the " Eeprisal." I
think you may get the " Maurepas " for 12,500£ sterling.
She is a very fine ship, and has the character of a very fast
sailer. I would recommend her purchase, if convenient.
Whatever may be the determination on these hints men
tioned in your last, I shall cheerfully comply [seal] with
any orders from you, if in my power, the officers [seal] not

WICKES AT L'ORIENT. 119
to sign a written parole, or give their word of honour. As
I have wrote you fuUy on this head, shall only say they
are all discharged. From, Gentlemen,
Your most obliged humble servant.
P. S. I shall take care not let any more officers on
shore at all.
L. W.
L'Orient, March 15th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I wrote you last post, informing you of
my disagreeable situation. ^ Also mentioned the proceed
ings of Mr. Gonnett, the Commissary of this Port. He
still continues to threaten to drive me out immediately.
If the threats and abuses of this busy person cannot be
stopped, I should be much obliged for your instructions,
and am in hopes you '11 either dispatch me immediately
for America, or procure me admittance in some other port,
where I shall be better received and kinder treated than I
have been here. You may rest satisfied that no proceed
ings of mine have meritted Mr. Gonnett's treatment, as I
have always behaved with all the complaisance in my
power to that gentleman, which I am afraid will be out of
my power to continue longer, as it vexes me very much to
be treated in this manner, and I would not submit to else
where. Please let me know what news there is from
America. From, Gentlemen, Your most obedient h'ble serv't,
Lamb't Wickes.
1 This letter, dated March 13, relates how he received orders to leave
the port at twenty-four hours' notice.

120 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
On account of this order from the commissary of
L'Orient, Wickes sailed for Nantes, but shortly returned
to L'Orient. L'Orient, 25th April, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I left Nantz Wednesday evening to come
here, and by a letter from you and one from Capt. John
ston, I find he arrived at Nantz. Soon after my departure
I returned an answer to Capt. Johnston, and desired him
to come immediately and join me, but have since received
a positive order from the Commissary of this port to
depart the port in 24 hours. In consequence of those
orders I write by this evening's post, desiring Capt. John
ston to join me at St. Auzeau as soon as possible. As
Capt. Nicholson is not yet ready, I think it wUl be the
best place to meet and depart from. You may depend
on my utmost attentions to your orders, and make no
doubt we shall be able to give you satisfaction if we are
not taken. There is three British ships of war cruising
in the bay, which have been seen last Monday evening.
A prize sloop arrived here yesterday, taken by Capt.
Thompson of the Brig " Eising States " from Boston. This
was the third prize taken by her since her departure from
America. This prize is from Lisbon bound to London,
loaded with fruit and wine. I shall leave this port, if the
wind and weather permits, and go immediately for St.
Auzeau, where I shall inform you of my further proceed
ings. From, Gentlemen, &c., &c.,
Lambert Wickes.
L'Orient, April 27th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I wrote you last post, acknowledging
the receipt of your letters by Capt. Johnston, and in
forming you of my intentions to proceed to Nantz, and

DIFFICULTIES OF WICKES., 121
there wait the arrival of Capt. Johnston. I am very sorry
to inform you of the mutiny that has happened- among
my people since my arrival. They have all refused to
go to sea untU they received their prize money. With
much threats, and a promise that the prize money should
he paid before they left Nantz, I have prevailed on them
to go to Nantz, but do not expect to get them from there
till they are paid, as the time they shipped for was one
year, which is now expired. I hope you '11 be punctual in
giving orders to Mr. Morris for paying them as soon as
they arrive, in order to prevent delays. I think this will
be necessary in order to prevent any dispute between me
and Mr. Morris. The people have promised to continue in
the ship, and behave well, provided they receive their mon
ey, and if not, I shall be under the disagreeable necessity
of proceeding directly to America with a few of the people
I can get to go with me, which will not exceed 30 or
40 men. I have this day received my certain orders
from Mr. Gonnett, commissary of this port, ordering me
out this day, and not to offer to cruise or make any prizes
on the French coast on any pretence whatever. These
orders were handed me to sign, which I refused to do;
and told the Commissary I would comply with them as
far as was consistent with my orders from the Honorable
Continental Congress of the United States of America. I
told him that I never had cruised on the coast of France,
or made prizes on said coast, nor would I do it. I should
be glad of your advice on these different subjects as soon
as possible.
I also take this opportunity to recommend Mr. Gour
lade to your honours' particular notice, and think him wor
thy of your utmost confidence, and hope for the future
you wUl render him every service in your power, as he
has been very active in rendering me every service in his

122 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
power. I have made him my confident in regard to
prizes and the signals to be made by them agreeable to a
request in a paragraph of your last letter to me. If they
should fall in here I make no doubt but that he wiU do
everything in his power to give you satisfaction, and hope
you will favor him with your instructions in regard to the
sale of the prizes that may come in here. Mr. Gonnett's
orders was in writing that he wanted me to sign ; but I
told him I could not sign them or receive orders from
him or Mr. Sartine or any other person except the Hon'ble
Congress or their Commissioners. I imagine you '11 hear
this from the minister at Paris, which makes me more
particular in my answer. From, Gentlemen, &c.,
L. W.
P. S. If you should have any other business to transact
I think Mr. Gourlade the most proper person you can em
ploy at this port. I have had occasion to take money of
Mr. Gourlade to pay the ship's disbursements, and he
would have advanced the money to pay the people, but I
did not like to give him a biU for so large a sum without
your orders.
L. W.
By this tirae, however, the " Eeprisal " was ready for sea,
and Wickes, tired of dodging from one port to another,
sailed off on a cruise, this tirae in company with Nichol
son on board the "Dolphin," and Johnson with the
" Lexington. " St. Malo, June 28th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — This will inform you of my safe arrival
at this port yesterday, in company with Capt. Sam
uel Nicholson of the sloop Dolphin. We parted from
Capt. Johnson the day before yesterday a little to the

HISTORY OF THE CRUISE. 123
east of Ushant. Now for the History of our late cruise.
We sailed in company with Captains Johnson and Nichol
son from St Nasair i May 28th 1777. The 30th fell in
with The Fudrion ^ about 40 leagues to the west of Bell-
isle, who chased us, fired several guns at the Lexington,
but we got clear of her very soon, and pursued our course
to the N° West in order to proceed round into the
North Sea. On our way thither we brought to several
French, Portuguese, and Dutch vessels, all of which we let
go as soon as we found who they were. Nothing more
happened tUl we arrived off the North end of Ireland,
June 19th, when we took two Brigs and two Sloops ; one
of each we sunk, the other, a small smuggling cutter, we
let go, and the other, a Brig from Newry, sent into port in
ballast. 20th took the sloop Jassans from White Haven,
bound to Petersburg in Ballast; sent her in. 21st took
Scotch ship frora Prussia bound to Liverpool loaded with
wheat ; took a small Scotch smuggler and sunk her. 22nd
took the John and Thomas from Norway bound to Dub
lin loaded with deals, the Brig Jenny and Sally from
Glasgow bound to Norway in ballast. Sent them forward.
22d took a Brig from DubUn bound to Irwin ; sunk her.
Took three large Brigs loaded with coals from White
haven bound to Dublin ; sunk them in sight of that Port,
after taking all the people out of them. Took the Brig
Crawford from Glasgo bound to St. Ubes in Ballast.
23d took the ship Grace, from Jamaica bound to Liver
pool, loaded with sugar, rum, cotton and tobacco, and the
Brig Peggy, from Cork bound to Liverpool, loaded with
Butter and hides, and sent them forward. 24th at 8 p.m.
gave the Brig Crawford to the Prisoners and sent them
forward to Whitehaven. We stood down the Irish
Channel. 25th took the sloop John and Peter from
* Same as St. Auzeau. ^ Foudroyante.

124 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Havre de Grace bound to Dungarvan in Ballast; gave
them their vessel and let them go. This day we passed
between ScUly and the Land's End. 26th at 4 p.m. took
a snow bound from Gibraltar bound to London loaded
with Cork; sent her forward. At 6 a.m. saw a large
ship off Ushant ; stood for her at 10 a.m. ; discovered her
to be a large ship of war standing for us; bore away
and made saU from her. She chased us tUl 9 p.m. and
continued firing at us from 4 tiU 6 at night; she was
almost within musket shot, and we escaped by heaving
our guns overboard and lightening the ship. They pay
very little regard to the laws of neutrality, as they chased
me and fired as long as they dared stand in for fear of
running ashore.
As I shall be under the necessity of getting the ship
refitted here, I hope you will furnish me with a credit for
what money I want here, as soon as possible. We can
get supplied with guns and everything necessary on tol
erably easy terms. I am in hopes you '11 soon hear of
Captain Johnston's arrival as I saw him clear of the ship
that chas'd us. I think you had best sell the cutter and
purchase some other vessel for Capt. Nicholson, as she
is only a pickpocket and will want a heavy repair if
fitted out again for another cruise. I shall look out and
see if there is any vessel in this port fit for a cruiser. If
I should find one, wUl let you know. As I had not the
pleasure of knowing Captain Johnston ^ before, I could not
give him a character sufficient to his merit ; and now beg
leave to recommend him as a very brave, active officer, and
worthy your honours' utmost attention. The prizes is
sent into I'Orient, Nantz, Bilbao, or St. Sebastian's, or
the first port they can reach.
from, Gentleraen, &c., L. W.
1 Johnson arrived in the " Lexington " at Morlaix, July 1, 2, or 3.

WICKES AT ST. MALO. 125
St. Malo, July 13th, 1777.
Gentlemen, — I received your favour of the 4th instant
ordering me to send our prizes to the address of Mr. Wil
liams at Nantz and give orders to our prize masters ac
cordingly. This order will be cheerfully complied with
by me. I should be very glad to know my future desti
nation, and whether I am to go out as soon as fitted for
sea, as I am told the ministers has ordered me out of Port.
I shall get my guns on board and proceed to sea as soon
as possible unless ordered to the contrary. Three of our
people have run away, and carried off a French pilot boat,
which they say I must pay for. Please advise me on
this head. I have wrote Captain Johnston desiring him
to address his prizes as you direct, and have also commu
nicated said orders to Captain Nicholson. As the Dol
phin is at present disabled in her mast I don't think it
prudent to send Capt. Nicholson and his officers to
Nantz in her, as she is very dirty and cannot escape if
chased. It will be attended with very little expense to
send her round as French property, and may be done
by Capt. Nicholson's, own French hands now on board,
only shipping a French captain and clearing her out as
French property, for which a bill of sale may be given to
Messrs. De Segray and Co. Please inform us how you
would have this matter conducted and depend on our
compliance from &c., &c.
L. Wickes.
In the next letter is a reminder of the immense num
bers of volunteers for America who were boring the life
out of the Commissioners.
"This letter," says Wickes, "wiU he made use of merely
as an introduction to your acquaintance, — as this gentle
man has no favours to ask, and wUl not be among the

126 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
number of your American adventurers, as he is well pro
vided for in France, and has no thoughts at present of
going to America." St. Malo, 12th Aug. 1777.
Gentlemen, — This wUl inforra you of my present un
happy situation. The Judges of the Admiralty have
received orders of the 6th inst. from the Minister at
Paris, ordering them not to suffer me to take any cannon,
powder, or other miUtary stores on board, or to depart
from this port on any consideration whatever without
further orders frora Paris. In consequence of these orders
they came on board on Saturday to take all my cannon
out and to unhang my rudder. I have prevented this for
the present by refusing to let them take rudder or cannon
without producing an order from the minister for so
doing. As I told them, my orders corresponded with
theirs in regard to continuing in port, but I had no order
to deliver anything belonging to the ship to them, which
I could not do without orders, and if the ministers
insisted on it, made no doubt but you would give your
orders accordingly, which would be readUy complied with
on my part when such orders were received. My powder
is stopped, and they have been contented by taking my
written parole not to depart until I receive their permis
sion. I ara told they have wrote to the minister inform
ing of my having taken my cannon on board clandestinely
at the night. If so, you may safely deny the charge, as I
took them on board at noonday, publickly, and did not
think I was to be called to an account for it, as I was
told that I might go on and get my ship fitted for sea as
fast as possible, in order to be ready to proceed on the
arrival of my orders and permission from Paris, which it
was supposed would come together. Please give me your
sentiments on these subjects as soon as possible, that I

READY TO RETURN. 127
may act conformably to them. This will be delivered
you by Mr. Et De Landrais Lebire, a partner of the house
of Messrs. Le Breton, De Blisson, Et De Landrais Lebire,
a very reputable house in this place, who wiU enter into
contract for supplying you with any quantity of large
cannon, anchors, saUcloth, and cordage you want. As
these gentlemen have now got at the port of L'Orient two
64 gun ships, 4 or 5 of 40 guns, which they propose
to employ in exporting those articles to America, I think
a contract with them will be more advantageous than
with anybody else in this country, but submit it to your
superior judgement. They tell me they can get these
goods shipped and ready to export by the Month of Octo
ber. These ships well manned will be able to fight their
way through any of the eneraies squadrons in Araerica.
As my situation in France is more disagreeable than ever,
I hope you'll get permission as soon as possible for me
to depart, as I ara now ready for sea, and have nothing to
take on board but ray powder. I received yours of the
5th instant, and am sorry you have not yet got any par
ticular accts from America, tho' in hopes all is well
there. Shall be much obliged for any news from that
quarter. You may put the utmost confidence in the above
gentlemen, as it is one of the first houses in St. Malo, and
I make no doubt but they wUl be very punctual in com
plying with their contracts. As my ship is now fitted
and ready for sea, I employ my time in exciting a uni
versal spirit of American commerce, which I am in hopes
will prove useful both to my country and countrymen ; if
so shaU be overpaid for any trouble I may have in
accomplishing these desireable ends of furnishing thera
with the necessaries they at present stand so much in
nee,d of. If I can be of any use to the United States here
shall cheerfully content myself to stay, but if not, hope

128 FRANKLIN m FRANCE.
you will obtain leave for my immediate departure, as I
am heartily tired of France, tho' treated with the
greatest respect by all the people of this port, except the
Admiralty officers, who seem rather to adopt the line of
Mr. Gonnet's conduct towards me, carrying it with a very
high hand. I can only say I am sorry our situation is
such as puts us under the disagreeable necessity of sub
mitting to such indignities as are exercised over us in the
Ports of France. I remain. Gentlemen, etc.
St. Malo, 31st Aug. 1777.
Gentlemen, — I this day received orders from the Min
ister of Marine at Paris, notified me by the Commissary
and Judge of the Admiralty to depart the port immedi
ately, and not to enter again on any consideration. I was
much surprised to receive those orders without a line
from you. I told them I would sail the first fair wind
and ara now preparing for sea as fast as possible, but shall
endeavour to gain time to receive your orders. As I appre
hend these orders wUl be very strictly executed here,
think it will be necessary to send yours by the first oppor
tunity, unless you can prevail on the minister to let us
wait your time, as I have now promised to saU the first
fair wind. I hope you will order me immediately to
America. We purpose sending the Sloop Dolphin round
with a French captain and crew, as I don't think it ad-
viseable to send Capt Nicholson's officers and men
round in her, as I am creditably informed that there is 10
or 12 sail of British ships of war and privateers cruis
ing off Nantes. If your orders are not already despatch'd,
hope you wiU despatch them as soon as possible. Please
give me all the news you have, both from England , and
America. I remain, gentlemen, etc.

FRENCH NEUTRALITY. 129
Wickes sailed for America from St. Malo the 14th of
September, with a fair easterly wind, in company with the
"Dolphin" (the French authorities would not allow the
ingenious scheme proposed by Wickes whereby she was
to be sent to Nantes), as we learn from a later letter of
Captain Nicholson's. But he never reached the United
States. His ship foundered off Newfoundland with all on
board save the cook. "He was a gaUant officer," says
Franklin, " and a very worthy man."
There is little question as to whether America, through
her commissioners and captains, from this time onward^
did or did not violate French neutrality. According to
the principles of international law as held to-day, here is
one of the simplest cases of breach of neutrality im
aginable. A modern vrriter sums up the obligations of /
neutral powers in the following words : ^ " It is a violation
of strict neutrality for a neutral State (1) to lend money,
or (2) to supply troops, or (3) to open harbors for hostile
enterprises, or (4) to allow the presence of any individual
or vessel pertaining to a belligerent State within his ter
ritory, when believed to be stationed there for the purpose
of carrying out a hostile undertaking; or (5) to knowingly
suffer its subjects to prepare or to aid in preparing or aug
menting any hostile expedition against a friendly power,
as, for instance, to build, arm, or man ships-of-war with
such purpose in view." Instance qf violation of every one
of these five articles may be found in the conduct of
1 This statement agrees on the whole with the general course of opinion
on the duty of neutral nations among recent publicists. Many, however,
would not go so far as this, — some holding a continuance of amicable
relations to be sufficient for neutrality ; others adding to this impartial
behavior toward each. See Calvo, Droit International, ii. 314. The
word impartial used in this way is liable to misconception. Would
France have acted impartially, for instance, had she allowed both Ameri
can and English the privilege of fitting out privateers in her ports ?
9

130 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
France. France (1) loaned 3,000,000 livres to the commis
sioners of the United States for the use of that nation ; (2)
she allowed large numbers of officers of her army, some of
them of great experience, to serve in the armies of the
United States ; (3) her harbors were open to Paul Jones,
Wickes, Johnson, and Nicholson, to refit in and thence to
pounce upon British coramerce ; (4) it was notorious that
the American commissioners were at all times busy with
warlike schemes against Great Britain ; and (5) Beaumar
chais was permitted to send stores from the royal arsenals
to be used against Burgoyne.
But it goes without saying, of course, that the opinions
of publicists to-day in the matter of international law,
are more advanced than was the practice of nations in the
last century. In that century the rights of neutral States
were constantly ignored by England, who, with her pre
ponderating naval supremacy, was enabled to carry out her
own code in time of war. It was the time of the Armed
Neutralities, — steps in the right direction, even though
dictated to a great degree by court intrigue and the
schemes of diplomatists. And if England were firm in
opposing any extension of neutral rights, it is natural that
neutral States should find it easy that their views on neu
tral duties should be obscured. On the general princi
ples of that time, France would not probably have felt
bound to proceed (in appearance at least) with such se
verity towards the Araerican cruisers. But beyond the
general principles of public law, France was at that
time particularly bound by treaty with Great Britain in
regard to these very points. The matters are stated with
perfect clearness in the treaty of coramerce between the
two powers, signed at Utrecht in 1713 and afterwards fre
quently reaffirmed. " It shall not be lawful," says Article
XV., " for any foreign Privateers, who ha,ve Commissions

TREATY OF UTRECHT. 131
from any other Prince or State in enmity with either
Nation to fit their ships in the Ports of one or the other
of the aforesaid Partys, to sell what they have taken, or
in any manner whatever to exchange either Ships, Mer
chandizes or any other Ladings ; neither shall they be al
lowed even to purchase victuals, except such as shall be
necessary for their going to the next Port of that Prince
from whom they have Commissions." And Article
XXXVI. declares that "no Shelter or Eefuge shall be
given ia their Ports to such as have made a Prize upon
the subjects of either of their Eoyal Majestys, and U per
chance such Ships shall come in, being forced by stress
of weather, or the damage (as far as it is not repugnant
to other Treatys made with other Kings or States) that
they go from thence and- retire elsewhere as soon as
possible." A clear view of these facts would of course have shown
Captain Wickes that the French government was not so
unjustifiable as he considered, when it ordered him out of
one port after another on twenty-'four hours' notice. It
could not have done less without precipitating an imme
diate breach with Great Britain. It probably did not do
everything that it could. This has been the general im
pression, and such a Une of conduct would be just what
we should expect of a power in the position of France at
that moment. The truth is that Wickes and his brother
captains were treated with the utmost leniency. The
great wonder is that Great Britain endured these flagrant
breaches of neutrality without a declaration of war. But
Vergennes was famous for his smooth tongue. An old
diplomat, familiar with the courtesies of almost every
court in Europe, he was probably as complete a master
of the soft answer as was needed by the circumstances.
But even he found it necessary to complain to the

132 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
American Commissioners. An extract from a letter
which he wrote them wUl render his position clear: —
" You cannot forget that at the first conversation I had
with both of you I assured you that you should enjoy
in France, with respect to your persons, every security
and corafort which we showed to foreigners; and as to
your commerce and navigation, we should grant every
faciUty compatible with the exact observation of our trea
ties with England, which the Kings principles would in
duce him rehgiously to fulfil. In order to prevent every
doubt with respect to the vessels that may participate in
the favors which we grant in our ports to nations in
amity, I pointed out to you the article of the treaty
which forbids the power of allowing privateers free access
into our ports, unless through pressing necessity, as also
with respect to the deposit and sale of their prizes. You
promised, gentlemen, to conform thereto.
"After so particular an explanation we did not press
the departure of the ship Eeprisal, which brought Mr.
Franklin to France, because we were assured it was des
tined to return with merchandise. We had quite lost
sight of this vessel, and imagined she was in the Ameri
can seas, when, with great surprise, we understood that
she had entered L'Orient, after taking several prizes.
Orders were immediately given that she depart in twenty-
four hours, and conduct her prizes to the only admiralties
that were authorized to judge of their validity. Captain
Wickes complained of a leak. Being visited by proper
officers, his allegation was found to be legal and admissi
ble, the necessary repairs were permitted, and he was
enjoined to put to sea again.
"After such repeated advertisements, the motives of
which you have been informed of, we had no reason to

VERGENNES TO THE COMMISSIONERS. 133
expect, gentlemen, that the said Mr. Wickes would prose
cute his cruising in the European seas ; and we could not
be otherwise than greatly surprised that, after having
associated with the privateers, the Lexington and the
Dolphin, to infest the English coasts, they should all three
of them come for refuge into our ports. You are too well
informed, gentlemen, and too penetrating, not to see how
this conduct affects the dignity of the King, my master,
at the same time it offends the neutraUty which His Maj
esty professes. I expect, therefore, from your equity, that
you will be the first to condemn a conduct so opposite to
the duties of hospitality and decency. The King cannot
dissemble it, and it is by his express order, gentlemen,
that I acquaint you that orders have been sent to the
ports in which the said privateers have entered, to se
quester and detain thera, untU sufficient security can be
obtained that they shall return directly to their country,
and not expose themselves, by new acts of hostility, to
the necessity of seeking an asylum in our ports.
" As to the prizes they may have taken, if they have
brought them into our ports, they have orders to go out
immediately, and the same conduct shall be observed
towards any capture of any nation whatever. Such are
the obligations of our treaties, which the King cannot by
any means evade. It will be highly proper for you to
make these intentions known, wherever you may think
it most expedient, so that new privateers, from the exam
ple of the misconduct of those against whom we are
obliged to be vigorous, may not expose themselves to the
hke embarrassments."
To this letter the commissioners returned an answer
excusing Captain Wickes and his fellows for returning to
L'Orient after their cruise, on the ground that he had

134 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
been chased by English men-of-war. They added that
orders had already been sent that they should return to
America. It was only a month before, that FrankUn had
written to some merchant at Nantes, —
" The prize cannot, as you observe, be sold and deliv
ered in your port, — it being contrary to treaties, and to
ordinances made in conformity to those treaties. But I
suppose it may be done in the road without the port or
in some convenient place on the coast, where the business
may be transacted and conducted with discretion, so
as to occasion no trouble to the ministers by applications
from the English Ambassador. I say I suppose this may
be done because I understand it has been practised in
many places on the coast of Brittany. But a formal or
der from the Minister to permit such a sale and deUvery
in any port of France is not to be expected whUe the
peace continues and the treaties consequently in force."
To tell the truth, the coraraissioners pressed these mat
ters about as far as they could go without endangering
their favor with the Court. Stormont was in no way
wrong in complaining of the American cruisers, nor was
Vergennes severe when he endeavored to keep Wickes
from perpetually refitting his ship for new cruises. It is
only the fact that the French government was practically
in a hostile position toward Great Britain that explains
these proceedings.^ Had they been really neutral, Wickes
1 The Earl of Shelbume in the House of Lords "denied in the most
positive terms [France] being ingenuous in her professions of friendship.
Have you insisted (said he) on Dr. Franklin and the other American
deputies being sent from France ? What answer have you received ? Have
you required the French Ministers to shut their ports against the Araeri-
cans as Portugal has done? Have you explicitly demanded that all
American privateers should be removed from the French ports, and
should not be permitted to revisit them either with or without their
prizes ?" Hansard, xix. 345.

GUSTAVUS CONYNGHAM. 135
and the rest would have been put under arrest and their
ships confiscated.
On one occasion the Americans pushed Vergennes too
far. Flagrant as were the breaches of neutrality perpe
trated hy Wickes, they were almost as nothing when com
pared with those of another of the famous figures in the
early naval history of the United States, — a man whose
reputation at this time was second to that of no one of
the American captains. Though his renown was more
ephemeral than that of John Paul Jones, for the short
time that he did sail the narrow seas there was no
name more famous in its way than that of Gustavus
Conyngham. About the beginning of March, in 1777, before the at
tention and vigilance of the Court at Versailles had been
aroused to the full extent, a merchant from Philadelphia,
WUliam Hodge by name, came to France and entered into
relations with the Commissioners, and with Silas Deane
especially. Arthur Lee was away in Spain. It had al
ways been one of Deane's favorite projects to fit out pri
vateers in the ports of France which should annoy the
British shipping. As we have seen, Vergennes, in his first
interview with the Commissioners, pointed out that this
sort of proceeding was inconsistent with the dignity of
the King of France, and could not be allowed. It is
probable that the Commissioners thought that the pro
ceedings of Wickes, Jones, Nicholson, Johnson, and other
privateer captains would he winked at, or at any rate that
proceedings would not be pressed against them with re
lentless vigor. It is not so probable that it was the
combined wisdom of Franklin, Deane, and Lee which con
ceived the idea of fitting out in the port of Dunkirk an
American privateer which should make prize of the Har
wich packet. How much Franklin had to do with the

186 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
affair is doubtful. Deane is the only one of the three
who appears in the documents, and it was evidently he
who saw to carrying through the details. It was a bold
scheme and a successful one. Mr. Deane and Mr. Hodge
purchased a lugger at Dover, through a certain Captain
Cruise, who went over there for that purpose. The boat
was brought to Dunkirk, and thither Mr. Hodge repaired,
taking with him a credit on Morel & FUs, the bankers,
from M. Grand, the banker of the Commissioners. The
lugger was equipped with the utmost secrecy, especial
pains being taken to conceal her existence, or at least her
purpose, from the French ministry, which had, at almost
this very date, enforced its statements to the Corarais
sioners in regard to their neutrality, by ordering Wickes
to leave the port of L'Orient within twenty-four hours.
It was then that that gallant officer, as has been seen, had
appeared there after a successful cruise, with several
prizes. When the lugger at Dunkirk was ready to saU,
Williara Carmichael was sent from Paris with instruc
tions for a cruise in the Channel and to the northward,
to pick up prizes, and particularly the Harwich packet
plying between England and Holland; and the lugger
went to sea under comraand of Gustavus Conyngham,
who had in his pocket a Continental commission as
captain. Conyngham succeeded well. He came across the mail-
packet after a day or two, and captured her with the
utmost ease. She was a valuable prize, — as valuable
on account of the excitement that her capture caused
throughout the English seaports as for any other reason.
On the capture of the packet, Conyngham turned back to
Dunkirk. In this he was wrong, as it turned out, but he
thought himself justified in so doing, on account of the
very great number of letters which he intercepted. On

excitement in ENGLAND. 137
his way back he captured a brig of some value, and
brought her also with his first prize to Dunkirk.
The affair stirred up at once a great excitement. The
English complained to the French Court, — and with
much reason, — and Conyngham was at once arrested and
his prizes confiscated. The English were at once promised
that everything should be done, — Conyngham should be
given up, the prizes should be restored, nothing of like
nature should be allowed again.
These assurances gave very great pleasure in London.
" The Post Office have received notice," writes George III.
to Lord North, " frora the agent at Dover, that news is
come by a letter from Captain Frazer at Dunkirk, that
Cunningham, the commander of the pyratical vessel that
seized the Prince of Orange packet-boat is thrown into
prison, and the said packet-boat and the other prizes
ordered by the Court of France to be restored. This is so
strong a proof that the Court of Versailles mean to keep
appearance, that I think the news deserves a place in the
speech you will make." Lord North accordingly gave it a
place. In speaking of the state of the country in regard
to the war in America, and the attitude of the French and
Spanish Courts, he informed the house that friendly assur
ances were received from the Court of France, and that
the war preparations which had been noted in Spain were
not of such a nature as to be alarming. He noted the
saiUng of the Newfoundland fieet from France without a
convoy, as a proof of the sincerity of the peaceful assevera
tions of France, and he went on to say that a recent proof
he had received that morning of the very friendly and
pacific disposition of the Court of Versailles put it beyond
doubt; which was, that the pirate who had made prize
of the Harwich packet was in confinement at Dunkirk
by order of that court, — "a circumstance too strong to

138 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
require any collateral information to support his former
assertion, that we had nothing to apprehend from that
quarter which was Ukely to interrupt us from prosecuting
our rebellious colonies to a state of constitutional obedi
ence." This statement was received by Shelburne and
the Whigs with much increduUty.
They were in this quite right; and apparently Lord
North's pleasing trust in the French Court was not so
widely spread through the commercial world as to render
it certain that the same incident would not occur again,
as in fact it did. Insurance rose ; French ships were used
to transport British goods, and the name of Conyngham
became a terror to the underwriters and merchants.
The packet-boat and the brig were given up to the Eng
Ush, which as Mr. Deane reraarks, "gave them a tempo
rary triumph." But Mr. Hodge and Mr. Deane took
counsel together once more, and purchased another vessel
for Conyngham, a cutter this time, a swift-sailing vessel,
which they equipped with fourteen six-pounders and
twenty-two swivels. The next step was to obtain the
release of Conyngham and his crew from prison, which,
strange to say, they obtained with but little trouble, upon
representations that he was to sail direct for America and
would not cause the Court of Versailles more annoyance.
Mr. Hodge gave bonds for his so doing. But that Court
would have preferred that he should not sail ; and when
it was represented to them that the owners of the new
cutter would lose greatly if they were not permitted to
make use of the vessel, which they had with great expense
purchased and fitted out, the Court proposed to purchase
the vessel. But this offer was not accepted, and so Con
yngham was allowed to saU from Dunkirk again, as
though on some trading voyage, as the Commissioners
subsequently remarked. But it was no tradipg voyage

CONYNGHAM'S CHARACTER. 139
which Conyngham and his crew had in mind. They no
sooner got to sea than they proceeded to make prize of
everything that they met ; they even threatened to burn
the town of Lynn, which they wished to ransom. Con
yngham did not, however, return to Dunkirk, nor to any
other French port, so that he caused no fresh embarrass
ments. Mr. Hodge, his surety, was, indeed, arrested and
sent to the BastUle, and Vergennes wrote a most severe
letter for Grand to show the Commissioners. But Mr.
Hodge was discharged on the representation of the Com
missioners that he was a person of character, and that
they could not " conceive ' him capable of any wiUful
offence against the laws of this nation ; " and on the whole
nothing more seems to have come of the matter.
We shall meet with Conyngham again, and may there
fore leave him here. If some degree of suspicion may
attach itself to his cruises^ there is none in regard to
matters with which his character is concerned. Con
tinued research only confirms the first idea of hira with
which the reader of his letters is impressed, — of a true
sailor, brave in battle, enduring in hardship, fond of his
wife, and devoted to his duty and his country.
1 It was hinted later that his cruises were conceived by Deane and
Hodge as private ventures to be paid for out of the public funds, whose
profits were to accrue wholly or in part to private persons. There are not
enough data to prove or disprove charges like these, nor have we even
seen them stafed ; there is, however, the suspicion of them.

CHAPTEE VIII.
1777.
WHENEVEE the erratic Arthur Lee was well in
Paris, the little American colony, if we may be
gin to call it so thus early, was torn with jealousies,
of which the origin is always to be sought in his crazy,
\l jealous, suspicious, furtive temper. While Congress and
its committees had seemed to act with a certain languor
about foreign alliances, — so that poor Silas Deane, after
he had been sent to Paris, wrote, once and again, that
he was distracted because nobody sent him any instruc
tions or even news, — there were, on the other hand,
nearly twenty agents of America in Europe making con
tracts, or trying to make them, or in sorae other fashion
to advance the rebel cause. There were American trav
ellers and adventurers, glad to ally themselves to these
people who held some sort of commission. And there
were the officers of merchant-vessels and privateers in all
the seaports, who made occasion to visit Paris and join
in the consultations of the agents of the new nation.
Among all these Arthur Lee went and came, whispering
whatever suspicion occurred to him at the moment. The
cat in the old fable was not more successful in making
mischief than was Arthur Lee. Franklin, as has been
said, forraed the opinion that Lee was crazy, — an opin
ion which was probably true ; and as Lee, once at least,
expressed the sarae opinion of Franklin, there can be no
harm in keeping Franklin's opinion upon the record. But
Lee was hardly able to do much mischief in the way

THE MEDALLION.
(From a Medallion by J. B. Nini.)

FRANKLIN'S HABITS. 141
of setting the Americans against each other, before the
autumn of 1777. He arrived in Paris from England the
day after Dr. Franklin did. He was present with Frank
Un and Deane when Vergennes received them, and early
in February left for Spain. On his return from Spain, he
arrived in Paris in May, but was sent by his colleagues
to Berlin early in June. It was while he was at that
court that his papers were stolen. He was not in Paris
again till the end of the summer, and then it is that his
proper mischief -making begins. Before that time it would
seem that the American agents and those who were inter
ested in the country's cause Uved together in tolerable
harmony, — their headquarters being naturally at Passy,
at the residence of their great chief.
It is interesting to observe that while most American
travellers and letter-writers of that time, accustomed to
the simplicity of affairs at home, speak of Franklin as if
he were in the thick of the pressure of a crowded life,
several of the French writers who had occasion to be well-
informed speak of his residence at Passy as if it were a
sort of diplomatic retirement. Condorcet, in his eulogy
on Franklin, delivered after his death, says he knew that
he was really an envoy, not to the ministers of France
but to her people. As a negotiator, he says, he " observed
much and acted little."
We have already cited the unkind language of Capefigue,
always a bitter and censorious critic when anything is
involved which is not colored with the Bourbon proclivi
ties. Capefigue says, again, of Franklin : " He showed
himself little, like all men who choose to exercise a myste
rious influence. But he raade people talk about him a
great deal When he left his residence at Passy, it was
to go to the Academy of Sciences, of which he was an
assiduous correspondent. There, in the midst of a pro-

142 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
grarame on electricity or a theory of physical experiment,
he dropped some words about his dear country — solemn
and sad — which would waken the sympathies of those
raen of science and literature who were the leaders of the
eighteenth century."
The sUence, almost complete, of the Grimm and Dide
rot letters with regard to Franklin in the year 1777 may
be accounted for by the delicacy of their position as the
correspondents of crowned heads. Still, there can be no
doubt that FrankUn was regarded as being " in retreat "
at Passy, and that Louis XVI. alluded to this reserve of
his, when, on his presentation at Court the next year, he
said that he had been greatly gratified hy Franklin's con
duct ever since he had been in his dominions.
The letter with which Franklin announced to Ver
gennes, on the 23d of January, that they wished for an
audience, was drawn by Franklin himself, and exists in
an elegant manuscript in his careful handwriting, as if he
had preserved it with a full sense of the importance of
the occasion.
Arthur Lee joined Deane and Franklui on the 22d of
December. On the 28th, without any secrecy, the Count
de Vergennes, minister of foreign affairs, received them
at Versailles. He told them that they should personally
enjoy protection in France, and should receive all the hos
pitalities which France could bestow on strangers. He
asked them to prepare a memoir on the situation of affairs
in the United States, — which they did,i — and by his advice
they had an interview with the Count d'Aranda, the Span
ish ambassador, who promised to send their papers to his
Court. Soon after, they despatched Arthur Lee to Spain
1 The memoir is printed in the " Life of Arthur Lee," vol. i. page 63.
It was dated on the 5th of January. It does not seem to have been any
where printed officially.

LETTER FROM MORRIS. 143
in person ; and thus Franklin and Deane were freed in a
measure, for some months, from his annoying intrigues.
Although the reception Franklin met was cordial, the
news from America was bad at ,the period of his arrival.
General Howe had driven the American army from New
York, and had reduced Fort Lee and Fort Washington,
General Washington was retiring, as if with the purpose
of covering Philadelphia, where the Congress had been sit
ting. But in the middle of March, the commissioners
received from Baltimore, to which place the Congress had
removed, more encouraging news.
Some iUustrations of the hopeful correspondence which
foUowed after the successes at Trenton and Princeton have
been printed in a former chapter. The following letter
from Eobert Morris proved to anticipate plans on which
they had themselves entered, and it was so far satisfactory
to them. Thomas Morris, who is referred to in it, was the
dissipated and unfaithful agent at Nantes whora the com
missioners so early found it necessary to remove.
Philadelphia, Jany. li"', 1777.
Honorable Gentlemen, — I have the honor to enclose
herein a copy of two resolves of Congress, passed the
19* and 29* Nov', by which the Secret Committee are
directed to import two hundred and twenty-six brass
cannon, and arms and equipage complete for three thou
sand horse. You 'U observe they are also directed to con
fer with the Canon Coraraittee as to how many they can
provide here of the field-pieces ; but we pay little regard
to that part, well knowing they wUl not be able to pro
cure proper metal for many of thera.
Therefore I must request, in the name and on behalf of
the Secret Committee, that you wUl contract imraediately
for these necessary supplies, and send them out to these

144 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
States by various conveyances as quick as possible ; in
deed, I hope you may procure some line-of-battle ships to
come out with them, and then there wUl be little danger
of their coming safe. I raost sincerely hope the Court of
France may be disposed to favor all our views, that they
wUl accomodate you with sufficient loan.s to pay for
them and all other stores we want from Europe ; for, al
though we have plenty of valuable produce, that would
soon provide you with funds if we could get it exported
safely, yet the difficulties and impediments we meet with
render it impossible to get it away half fast enough.
Nothing in our power shall be left undone, and Mr. Thos.
Morris will be ordered to supply you with money fast as
he receives it from the proceeds of our consignments.
Eobt Morris,
Chairman of the Secret Committee.
P. S. — These resolves would have been sent long since,
but our port has been long blocked up by British men-of-
war, and the confusion we were put in on the rapid march
through the Jerseys and near approach to this city by
the eneray put it totally out of our power to forward any
dispatches for some time past. E. M.
Vergennes entrusted his personal communication with
the ministers to Gerard, one of the chief clerks in his
office. Gerard spoke English well and was a fast friend
of the Colonies, and took a prominent part in their subse
quent relations with France. He was appointed the first
Minister to America after the recognition of independence,
and left Vaxis, on the first of April, 1778. In the archives
of the French foreign office, at the date of April 5, there
is a letter from Mr. Gerard, giving an account of a private
interview between Mr. Carmichael and an EngUsh agent,

"JENNY FRANKLIN." 145
respecting the terms of accommodation between England
and the Colonies.
On matters of a more private character, there are some
letters preserved from Franklin's correspondence, which
will illustrate different points in the history, and in some
instances explain matters which have been obscure in let
ters of his which have been published long ago. The first
of these, which is soraewhat mysterious, is probably writ
ten under a mask, and is the overture of some person who
wished to be engaged as a secret agent for inforraation.
Jenny Franklin to Br. Franklin.
Saint Malo in Brittany, Jany 26", 1777.
Noble Sir, — Notwithstanding our reciprocal unac
quaintance I make bold in the interim to presume the
liberty of doing myself the hon'' of troubling you w* the
subsequent lines. Sir : the case is this : the first of Feb
ruary, 1762, your brother Eobin Franklin (eldest son to
Mr. Luck Franclin and madam Mary Lamb, residenter of
the Parish of Doone in the Diocese of Limerick in Irelanfl)
was canonically married to Mademoiselle Geene (alias
Jeanne) Sedentfe of the parish of St. Oppertune in low
Painbeuf, in the Diocess of Nantes. Y' B*^ died in Nantes,
the Gentlewoman continuing still in the state of widowship
and actually lives in the city. She got one son by Mr.
Franklin, born November y"= 12* (1752). His name is
Lewis, a promising, good, well behaved young man, I
do assure you. The Gentlewoman, his mother (as finding
herself low in the circumstances of honest and decent live-
lyhood for herself and the son) humbly and sincerely en
treats your honour to consider the State of the young man
(your cousin) and consequently the poor mothers. She
stUl strongly confides in your human and generous succor
10

146 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and reUef in their present distress and indigency, "Where
fore never 'ill faU, nor I neither, to pray the Almighty God
for your honours conservation, success, felicity, and pros
perity in both spiritual and temporal. D"" Countryman, I
need not enlarge any farther upon the virtue of Charity to
you, for Im morally convinced you are well acquainted
and conversed in it, therefore act as a gentleman, and espec
ially towards your fiesh and blood. Worthy Sr; you 11
be pleased to address the answer to rae, for it will not cost
me but to pray for his Majesty, therefore you 'ill address
thus : (Au Eeverend Pere Pierre Duffy EecoUet Irlandois,
demeurant chez les tres Eeverend Peres Eecollets de St.
Malo, a St. Malo en Bretagne.) (For if you 'ill address it
to y® Madam y' cousin, she 'U be obliged to pay postage and
we are not, as before mentioned but with this advertise
ment, that you 'ill not forget to cross the superscription of
your letter from angle to angle thus beneath. Worthy
Honble S', no more offers worthy of your attention,
therefore [I] do desist and conclude in wishing your honour
a happy new year. So be it.
* Noble Sir. Your most obedent, humble servant.
Geene Genny (alias Jeanne) Franklin.
St. Malo, January the ae", 1777.
Jenny Franklin was not the only relative, real or imag
inary, who sought the honor of correspondence with a per
son so distinguished. A Frenchman who signs himself
" Avocat au Parlement de Berry" also inquires as to their
relationship. . April 16", 1777.
Sir, — The fear of disturbing you in your important
works has prevented me until now from presenting myself
to you, but urged by my family I dare to beg you to per
mit me to have the honor to see you, that I may learn

ROCHEFOUCAULD. 147
whether we are both really descended from the same origin,
as many of my relatives assure me. Perhaps this impres
sion springs from the desire which they have, as well as I,
to appertain to a great man. I have the honor to be,
while waiting your convenience, with very profound
respect, etc., etc., Franquelin.
And among these very early letters is one, in itself alone
of no importance, but which derives an interest from the
name of the author. It is a note from the Due de la
Eochefoucauld, with reference to Du Coudray and the other
officers who were on board the " Amphitrite."
I received this morning the enclosed letter, which I
thought it would be well, sir, for you to see, although you
were able to learn part of its contents at Versailles. If I
had known your address at VersaUles, I would have sent
it to you at once. I send it with mine to a gentleman
who has just promised me to give it to you if you return
this evening, or to have it taken to you if you do not
return. I beg you to show it to no one, and to send it to
me when you come back. If I learn any news of M. du
Coudray, M. le Blond, 1 shall have the honor of sending to
you immediately. I pray you receive my best wishes for
America, and the respect, estimation, and attachment with
which I have the honor to be, sir, your very humble and
obedient servant, The Duke de la Eochefoucauld.
Monday moming.
From this time until his death Franklin was in intimate
correspondence with the Due de la Eochefoucauld.
Franklin's English friends continued their correspon
dence with him more and more closely. David Barclay,

148 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
who was a party in the interesting and almost celebrated
effort for reconciliation made in December, 1774, on the
occasion when Dr. Franklin played chess with Lord
Howe's sister, renewed his correspondence. On the 2d
of May he wrote FrankUn the following letter : —
London, May 2, 1777.
Dear Sir, — We have striven to the utmost of our lim
ited powers for reconciliation between Great Britain and
America. If that has become impossible, let us, at least,
not relax our endeavors to obtain peace. Upon what
ground would it be possible to estabUsh peace ? By your
letter to Lord Howe, which has been lately published here,
as well as from all other accounts, and frora the nature
of things, the admission of American independence seems
an absolutely necessary preliminary. You know my prin
ciples well enough not to be ignorant that such a ground
work would be perfectly consonant to them. I never have
wished even for reconciliation upon any of the terms for
merly proposed of compromise, which raight seem to leave
the question of legislation undetermined, but with a view
to avoid the decision of that question in blood, leaving
even the pretensions to die away of themselves by lapse of
time, just as parental authority does in private life. The
thought of conquest has always seemed to me to be folly
in the extreme, and the lust of dominion I have ever held
to be a vice, in any nation, of the deepest die. I fear that
no interposition of private persons can now put a stop to
the fatal progress of things ; but, if it were possible to de
clare a suspension of arms, and to adrait the independence
of Araerica, raight not the two countries be reclaimed to
peace, and the greatest part of the advantages, mutually
subsisting, as they did not many months ago, still rescued
from ruin ? Convinced as I am of your sincere desire to

DAVID BARCLAY. 149
restore peace, as it was forraerly to prevent the rupture, I
should be happy to concur to that blessed end. I send
you a letter 1 that was intended for you a year ago or
more. I don't know whether any duplicate has reached
you. It has been returned. I send it now only as a tes
timony that I have always wished to restore harmony,
and to prevent this fatal war. I write in a great hurry for
an occasion of sending this to you, of which I have but a
few minutes' notice.
I am, with the greatest regard,
very affectionately yours, D. B.
WUUam Strahan, his London publisher, had written
him a friendly letter as early as January 23. Whether
Franklin's well-known letter to Strahan, " You are now my
enemy and I am yours," were ever more than a joke, it is
difficult to say. It is certain that Strahan entertains no
hard feelings. Writing on the 27th of May, he says : —
Your excellent friend in Pall Mall is in perfect health,
and as much yours as ever. So are Mr. (now Sir Grey)
Cooper, his lady and family. From honest Small I had a
letter dated exactly the same day yours was, viz., Feb. 4.
He appears to be in good health, but low-spirited, occa
sioned, doubtless, by his exclusion from that agreeable
society which he had so long enjoyed, and to which he
was so great an ornament. One paragraph I wUl tran
scribe : —
" A few months will now, I suppose, determine the fate
of America. I think Dr. Franklin has gone to Paris to
pave the way for a reconeUiation, through the mediation
* Probably from David Hartley. See Sparks's " Franklin," viii. 222,
where Franklin replies to Hartley.

160 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
of some men in power there, who may make proposals to
Lord Stormont."
I hope he is well informed, or will prove to be a true
prophet. As most of the London newspapers are to be had at
Paris, I wonder that you have lately seen so few of them.
Those you mention I could easily supply you with, did I
know how to convey them to you.
I do wish for peace, not on my own terms, but on reason
able terms. We have all reason to wish for peace. For,
happy were the times, — times that I hope will yet quickly
return, — when Englishmen and Americans (brethren in
every sense of the word) could with great truth and sin
cerity, as I now do, thus conclude their letter.
I am ever, my Dear Sir,
Affectionately yours,
William Strahan.
Such leisure as the summer afforded must have been
largely occupied in sitting to portrait painters, and other
artists who were modelling his likeness. No one under
takes to say how raany likenesses of Franklin were made
while he was in Paris. But they are to be numbered by
hundreds. The Boston collection of engravings contains
at least six which may be called original studies, besides a
great number of repetitions. The great Huntington col
lection in the Metropolitan Museum in New York con
tains the same number.
The first of these pictures to gain great celebrity is one
which has always been well known. It is by C. N. Cochin,^
and is that which represents Franklin very much as he
1 Sir Nicholas Cochin was a draughtsman and engraver, born 1715
died 1790. He was a member of the Academy of Painting, as was his
father, who was also an engraver.

GLUCK AND PICCINI. 151
describes himself in his letter to Mrs. Thompson. Beneath
thi? picture, which has been so often repeated, which was
then engraved by Saint Aubin, the pubUshers intended to
place the following verses : — •
C'est I'honneur et I'appui du nouvel hemisphere,
Les flots de I'Ocdan s'abaissent k sa voix ;
II reprime ou dirige k son gri le tonnerre.
Qui desarme les dieux peut-il craindre les rois ?
The French censorship suppressed these lines as blas
phemous. But it may be doubted whether the blasphemy
would not have been overlooked, like a good deal of other
blasphemy of those times, but for the disrespectful allu
sion to kings. The reader should remember that Frank
lin, only three years before, had communicated to the
Eoyal Society in England his paper on the stilling of
waves by the means of oil.^ And the theory that the sea
waves may be thus controlled was closely associated with
his name. The prohibition of the censorship was absolute.
The clever epigram is not to be found on any of the prints,
and though the picture has been repeated by many en
gravers, the verses have never been added to it, to this
day. It is rather a pathetic thing to say, of a year so near the
outbreak of the French Eevolution, that the great interest
at Court during the first months after Franklin's arrival
was the renewal of the war between the two great schools
of music, led on the one side by Gliick, and on the other
by Piccini. Strange to say, Marie Antoinette, with her
usual faciUty at taking the wrong side, appeared as the
patroness of Piccini It might have been supposed that
the German music would have won the suffrage of a
German princess. " A new revolution is prepared for us.
What tyranny to wish to be constantly changing our
^ This paper was read at the Royal Society, June 2, 1774.

152 FRANICLIN IN FRANCE.
pleasures. Must we change our musical system like our
political system." This refers to the recall of Turgot to
the cabinet. "We were hardly accustomed to the new
music before we are forced to give it up. Let us be united,
gentlemen, and use all our efforts to turn away the plague
which threatens at once the Chevalier Gliick and the re
public of music."
Such is Diderot's abridgment of the protest on one side,
with which all the journals were filled. On the other
hand, the queen wished to establish Piccini in France.
The Opera had offered him a considerable salary, and Mar
montel, then a high authority, had lent himself to Piccini's
party. The squibs, epigrams, pamphlets, and other pieces
published in this controversy are not to be counted.
In the midst of such a convulsion in Court, the Queen's
brother Joseph, the Emperor Joseph IL, visited Paris.
It is interesting in this connection to observe that the
correspondence uf Grimm, Diderot, and others — volumi
nous though it is — does not mention Franklin's arrival,
nor allude to hira in any way for nine months after his
arrival in Paris. It raust be conjectured that this silence
is due to the relation of the writers to the crowned heads
to whom they wrote, and to the prohibition at Court of
such allusions. We have already cited the expressions
in which, nine years before, these writers showed their
aversion to the Economists, who were Franklin's especial
friends. The Eraperor Joseph, when in Paris, expressed
a desire to see Franklin, although, as has been said, "his
trade was that of a royalist." The Abbe Niccoli, who
represented the grand Duke of Tuscany, was requested to
bring them together. He wrote to Franklin, and asked
him to take a cup of chocolate with him, at nine o'clock
Wednesday, the 28th of May. To this note Franklin
adds the memorandum that the intention was to give the

BURGOYNE'S SUCCESS. 153
Emperor an opportunity of an interview which should ap
pear accidental Turgot was present, and the Abb^. "The
Emperor did not appear, and the Abbd since tells me that
the number of other persons who occasionally visited him
that morning, of which the Emperor was informed, pre
vented his coming; that at twelve, understanding they
were gone, he came, — but I was gone also''
It is in this visit that the Count de Falkenstein made
the joke which we have quoted in another chapter about
his royalist proclivities. When his subjects proved so
loyal to the empire at the time of the French Eevolu
tion, it was said of him that he had inoculated Austria
with liberal institutions, so that she did not have to take
the revolutionary fever in the natural way.
The accounts received from America during the sum
mer were anything but encouraging. Indeed, there were
depressing circumstances in the affairs of the new nation,
such as never existed again. Burgoyne's plan had un
folded itself,— a plan which, according to all human
probabUity, would have succeeded but for Howe's faU
ure to co-operate with hiin.^
The preparations made to receive Burgoyne had been
so tardy that Schuyler, who was entrusted with the de
fence, had been obliged to retire from every post almost
without a skirmish. This retreat aroused to the utmost
the indignation of the people behind it, and he was bit
terly and unjustly condemned. The Massachusetts Coun
cil of War, on whom principally he had to rely for
1 After Lord Shelbume carae into office, he found the instructions to
Howe in a. pigeon-hole, where they had been placed because Germain did
not like the handwriting. Shelburne says that Howe never received these
instructions, and had this good excuse for his failure. Germain is the
Lord George Saokville who had been disgraced in the former reign for
cowardice at Minden. By such men was poor England served.

154 FRANKLLN IN FRANCE.
re-inforceraents, sent him sharp reproaches instead of
regiments. There are some very hard letters — written
probably by Gen. Artemas Ward — from this board,
and replies from Schuyler, equally sharp. Ward tells
Schuyler squarely that the raUitia will not turn out to
serve under hira. This difficulty was removed by the
appointment of General Gates to the command. Then
the Massachusetts CouncU began to implore their mUitia
officers to make new exertions. " The enemy will soon
enter the New England States, . . . unless our army in
those parts are, without a moment's delay, re-inforced
with such a number of men as will be sufficient to repel
thera. We exhort you, as you have any regard for your
country, to use your utmost and unceasing exertions that
the one-sixth part of your militia, ordered to be drafted
frora your brigade be immediately and with the utmost
despatch marched off to join our army in the Northern
Departraent." Under such repeated appeals the towns of Western
Massachusetts were stripped to their last man. In the
next generation, women told stories of their harvesting
such crops as had been planted, and the last veterans of
the Eevolution, who are personally remembered by the
New Englanders of to-day, were most probably the boys
of fifteen of the Hampshire settlements, who went out in
the last call " agin Burgine."
Such efforts were successful. The battles of Saratoga
were fought which Colonel Creasy rightly counts among
the ten great decisive battles of history. The Massachu
setts CouncU was able to turn from fear to congratulation
and forwarded to FrankUn the following all-important
letter. This they entrusted to the secretary of their own
Board of War, a young gentleman of Boston named Jona
than Loring Austin.

BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER. 155

State of Massachusetts Bay,
Council Chamber, Oct. 24, 1777.
Gentlemen, — The Brigantine Perch, John Harris,
Commander, by whom you will receive this letter, has
been taken up and fitted out for a voyage to France,
solely with a view of conveying to you authentic inteUi
gence of the success of the American Arms in the Northern
Department. We sincerely congratulate you upon this
occasion, and have the pleasure to inform you that by Ex
press we have just been favored with the most interesting
and agreeable intelligence frora Major General Gates. We
now inclose you a Copy of his letters, as also a Copy of
a convention by which Lieut : General Burgoyne surren
dered hiraself and his army, on the 17 Instant, into Gen
eral Gates Hands. The Prisoners, the Express informs,
amount to all Six Thousand, one thousand of which are to
return to Canada, — and the English are upon their march
towards this town. It seems our Army, since the last Ac
tion of the 7th, had entirely surrounded the enemy, taken
their Boats with much provision, and entirely cut off their
retreat, that Burgoyne had no way to escape but by one
violent effort to force his way through our troops or sur
render Prisoners of war: it seems he chose the latter. This
is a very important acquisition, and will d(^ubtless be at
tended with the happiest Consequences. It will naturally
tend to inspirit our Troops through the Continent and
to intimidate and dispirit those of the Enemy. Gen.
Vaughan, with about 4000 troops, is pushing up North
Eun. Fort Montgomery is taken by the enemy, but
we hope will soon be retaken, and a thorough check
given Gen. Vaughan by the trooJ)s Gen. Gates is for
warding for that purpose. We have little doubt that
Ticonderoga and Fort Independence wUl be in our hands

156 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
as we learn a body of Troops has been dispatched by Gen.
Gates to sumraon them to surrender.
We also forward you a Copy of a Letter from Gen.
Washington, of the 8th Instant to Congress, which we
have just received from the Honorable the President. A
copy of whose letter covering the same, we also transmit
to you. By these letters you will learn the situate of
the two Armies at the Southward. Our people, it seems,
remain in High Spirits, notwithstanding their late disap
pointment at Germantown, — and we hope soon to hear
that How's army will be Cutt off from any retreat, and are
in the same situation as that Burgoyne's is at present in.
The Newspapers accompanying this will furnish you
with further particulars as to the respective movements
of our Troops previous to Genl. Burgoyne's Surrender.
With these important despatches, young Austin pre
pared to sail. But the winds would not change at the
demand of his eagerness or theirs, and the little vessel
lay for a week ready for critical voyage before they had
a favoring breeze. Finally, as his journal tells us, on the
morning of a Friday, which does not seera to have been
unlucky, he started. His journal gives this account of
the voyage : —
"Friday morning October 31, 1777. Went on Board
the Brigt : Perch Capt. John Harris Commander with De
spatches from the Government of the Massachusetts Bay
to the Hon.*"'* Comra."^ of the United States residing at
Paris to acquaint them with the important news of the Sur
render of Gen'. Burgoyne and his whole Army to the Con
tinental Forces under Gen. Gates, and set sail from the
Long Wharf in Boston at 10 o'clock A. M. with a fine
wind at north, north west. With moderate breezes and

MR. AUSTIN'S ARRIVAL. 157
remarkably fine weather for the season, we made the
French coast in thirty days without anything remarkable
occurring." They arrived without detention in the river Loire on
the thirtieth day of November. The journal proceeds, —
" From Punbeuf we proceeded up the Eiver to  not
more than ten feet from the Edge of the Bank, and were
saluted frora an American privateer commanded by Capt.
Young on his hailing us and our acquainting him from
whence we carae and the news we had brought. Finding
I should not be able to get to Nantes in the vessel till
next morning, I accepted Captain Young's invitation to
go up in his boat and landed at Nantes about 8 o'clock on
Sunday evening the 30*, where I had the pleasure of
first publishing the news of our success in America, and
had the satisfaction of observing with what manifest joy
it was received, not only by the Americans there but by
the French in general. I went with Capt. Young, first to
Mr. Jon: Williams's apartments who received me very
kindly, and shewed me every civility, he acts at Nantes
as agent for the Continent, and is very highly respected
by the French, as well as by the Coram." who can place
the utmost confidence in him, and is in every respect a
very amiable character. From hence I went and paid
my respects to Mr. Morris and delivered hira as well as
Mr. Williams the letters I brought for them from
America, with the account of our situation there which
gave them particular pleasure.
" Pleased with being the bearer of such important news,
I was solicitous to communicate the same to our worthy
Comm." especially as they had received no authentic ad
vices for several months and accordingly set out from

158 FRANKLIN EST FRANCE.
Nantes before day the next morning, with a French guide
procured for me by Mr. Williams in a post chaise drawn
by three horses abreast, (which is the method of travel
ling here) and breakfasted with Mr. Williams' brother
John at Ancenis about 30 mUes from Nantes. As I
passed each town in the greatest haste being desirous of
delivering my letters to the Coram"., I could not observe
the buildings in the several places or even receive the
least necessary information I wanted, as my guide could
not speak a word of English and though I tasked my
imagination to convey to him my sentiments, yet I was
more perplexed to understand his answers.
" On Thursday morning arrived at Versailles a large fair
City in which is the pallace where the King chiefly resides.
I prevailed upon my guide to tarry here an hour and
accordingly improved that tirae in visiting several apart
ments of the pallace. Frpm Versailles I set out at 10
o'clock and arrived at Passy at the seat of the Coram." at
half after 11 oclock and delivered into their hands the
letters from America, which afforded them great pleasure,
tarryed there four days and in that tirae received every
civility frora Dr. Franklin, Mr. Deane and Mr. Lee, that I
could expect and was much pleased during my residence
there with the frequent congratulations of French gentle
men in the vicinity on the success of the American arms.
The account was soon forwarded to Court, and was re
ceived with every testimony of joy which were mentioned
in these remarkable words by the greatest personage
' Our Friends the Americans ' — as I understood.
" On Monday, the 8* December, went to Paris to reside
for a short time and took lodgings at the Hotel de Vaitban,
Bue Biclielieu. My chief inducement herein was to have
the pleasure of two American gentlemen who lodged in
the same Hotel, viz., Capt. Saml. Nicholson of Maryland,

THE GREAT NE'WS. 159
who then commanded a Continental Frigate huUt at
Nantes, and Wm. Carmichael Esq. of the same place, a
gentleman of an independent fortune, who had resided in
Europe several years and frora his knowledge of the
different Courts had rendered America signal services. 1
understood from him that it was what he offered to the
King of Prussia that induced that monarch to ask if
America had thrown sixes.
" Tuesday the 9th Went with Mr. C. to the Duchess of
 mother to the amiable Marquis of Fayette who is
in the American Army, who, with his lady, a very hand
some young lady interrogated me concerning the Mar
quis. I related to them through Mr. C. the esteem in
which he was held by G. W. and every American, the
bravery he had shown and the honor he had acquired,
which afforded them particular satisfaction."
Although Austin, in his journal, gives so little detail of
the critical moment of his arrival, he left a more minute
and interesting account behind him in conversation. It
was really as dramatic as the most eager reader could
wish it should be. His carriage dashed into the court
yard of the Hotel Valentinois, and Franklin and all the
commissioners came down to raeet him. " Sir, is Phila
delphia taken ? " cried Dr. Franklin to the messenger.
" It is, sir," said Austin, and the old man turned away.
" But, sir, I have greater news than that. General Bur
goyne and his whole army are prisoners of war ! "
[No man has ever carried more important news. That
happens, alas ! which always happens at periods of great
crisis, — that the persons most interested are far too much
engaged either to record their own impressions, or indeed
to state the details for which after-history is eager. Lee's
journal, generally diffuse to tediousness, does not express

160 FRANICLIN IN FRANCE.
emotion in one syllable. He does say that the Commis
sioners sent immediately an express to Versailles, and that
he himself wrote to the Spanish ambassador and the Prus
sian secretary. Beaumarchais and Sir George Grand, the
banker, drove immediately to Paris in a cabriolet a glaces,
one can guess with what object. They drove so fast that
the cab was overturned, and they both were wounded;
Grand broke his collar-bone.^ Besides the despatch from
Massachusetts, which the reader has seen, the Commis
sioners had received a copy of Gates's original letter, which
is, for hira, singularly modest. Albany, 19 October, 1777.
Sir, — I have the pleasure to send your Honourable
Council the Inclosed Copy of a Convention By which
Lieut. General Burgoyne surrendered Himself and his
whole Army on the 17* Instant into my Hands. They
are now upon their March towards Boston. General
Glover, General Whipple with a proper guard of Militia
escort them, and are to provide all such Necessary arti
cles as may be wanted upon the March. I am so extreamly
busy in pushing the Army forward to stop the Cruel Ca
reer of General Vaughan up Hudson's Eiver that I have
only Tirae to acquaint you that my Friend General Lin
coln's leg is in a fair way of doing well, and to testify
with what respect I am, Sir, &c., Horatio Gates.^
Austin also brought Washington's last despatch to Con
gress, which Hancock, then President, had forwarded for
the information of the Massachusetts CouncU. This was
after the battle of Germantown, and expresses Washing-
^ Bachaumont.
2 The original, which is all in Gates's own handwriting, is in the Mas
sachusetts archives.

JOY IN FRANCE. 161
ton's chagrin at his failure on that occasion. " Every ac
count confirms the opinion I at first entertained, that our
troops retreated at the instant when victory was declaring
herself in our favor." " We did not know till after the
affair was over how near we were to gaining a complete
victory, but we have since learned that preparations were
making to retreat to Chester." The impression which the
Massachusetts Council had, that
there was a good probabUity of
expecting Howe's surrender also,
was not the mere ebullition of suc
cess. Washington himself writes
to Putnam, who was in command
on the North Eiver, " Should Provi
dence be pleased to crown our arms
in the course of the campaign with
one more fortunate stroke, I think
HORATIO gates. .^^g shall have no great cause for
anxiety respecting the future de
signs of Britain." In fact, after the battle of Gerraan-
town, and after the defeat of the English in their attack
on Eedbank, General Howe withdrew within his lines
around Philadelphia. Here they strengthened themselves
as much as possible, " while we hover around to cut off
their supplies." It was to this state of things that
FrankUn aUuded when he said, in Paris, that General
Howe had not taken PhUadelphia, but that Philadelphia
had taken him.
Austin's news W9,s received in France with the same
public joy which would have welcomed a victory of the
French armies. On the 12th a meeting of the French min
isters was held, and on the 17th Gerard informed Franklin
and the others that the King was determined to acknowl
edge American independence and make a treaty. He would
11

162 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
take no advantage of the present situation to obtain terms
which otherwise would not be convenient, for the King
hoped that the treaty would be durable, and the friend
ship of the nations last forever. This could not be ex
pected if each nation was not interested in continuing it
as well as making it. The concurrence of Spain would
be necessary, and was expected. As soon as the courier
arrived from Spain the whole affair would be concluded.
But all this raust be a dead secret till the Spanish money
fleet arrived, — "the Brazil array and fieet" of Spain, — and
until she could make peace with Portugal. The Commis
sioners replied, and expressed their hope that the friend
ship might be eternal. They said that republics were
usually steady in their engagements ; to which the Secre
tary replied that France had been as steady to thera.
In the same despatch the Commissioners were able to
announce to Congress the promise of an additional aid
of three million livres, with the expectation of the same
sum from Spain. The French ministry had also granted
a frigate to carry their despatches.
The news of Burgoyne's surrender had been received by
the English government by way of Canada the day before
Franklin received it in Paris. The news was known in
the city, and in answer to questions in the House of Com
mons, the American Secretary .was obliged to announce it
there. Col. Barre raoved for full papers and accounts, but
the governraent refused to grant thera, and the House
sustained it. David Hartley, Franklin's friend, asked
leave to introduce resolutions " that it is unbecoming to
proceed any farther in the support of this fruitless, ex
pensive, and destructive war ; " but these resolutions were
rejected. The news of the Treaty of Alliance with France was
announced in London on Saturday the fourteenth day of

AUSTIN IN LONDON. 163
March. Mr. Austin's journal gives this notice of the
impression made there, for he was then in London i^ —
" On Saturday it was reported that France had acknowl
edged the independance of America ; on Monday the same
was announced in the papers; on Tuesday Lord Wey
mouth and Lord North acquaint the two houses that they
should the next day lay before them a message from his
Majesty. Stocks fell two pr. cent to-day. N. B. — Ee-
ceived a message from the French Embassador that if I
intended to leave England the sooner I did it, the better.
" Seventeenth. Went' to the House of Lords with Mr.
Vaughan and Dr. Priestly, to hear the debates in conse
quence of the message from the King, but no persons were
admitted. Dined with Mr. V., and in the evening went
to Drury Lane to see Hamlet. Entertainraent, Bel-
phegor, or The Three Wishes. Mr. Henderson in the
character of Hamlet.
"Eighteenth. Dined this day with the Earl of Shel
burne,''' in company with the Marquiss of Granby, now
Duke of Eutland, Lord Granby, Lord Ferrers, Colonel
Barr^, Lord Mahon, son-in-law to the Earl of Chatham,
Viscount Pitt, Mr. Dunning, &c. &c. Was very kindly
received by the Earl, and treated with every civility by
him and the other Lords. They were very inquisitive re
specting our real situation in America, the disposition of
the people in general, and in what manner we were pro
vided. I endeavored to answer all their Lordships' ques
tions by setting forth the many difficulties and distresses
Americans had undergone, the great affection that coun
try ever had for England, which was always considered
and mentioned as its home, the great exertions it had
' Mr. Austin travelled in England as George Brown.
^ To whom Dr. Franklin had introduced him.

164 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
made in its own defence during this unnatural war, and
the amazing supplies it had acquired during this contest ;
that I was satisfied they were now in a much better situa
tion to carry on a war with any enemy for six years tlian
they were eighteen months past, for six months ; and if
their Lordships would permit me to speak my real. senti
ments, I should not hesitate to say that they would never
relinquish their Independance but with their Uves. Their
Lordships might possibly think I exaggerated the answer,
but I endeavored to set America in as exalted and true a
light as possible. The general and most prevailing dispo
sition in all ranks is to conclude a peace with America
rather than use any coercive means. The importance of
that country is now too well known. The resentment
of England is now turned towards France, but they have
so far exhausted their strength in endeavoring to enslave
America, that they cannot avenge the insult offered." ^
' It is interesting to compare with the young 'Whig's journal, the
graver and sadder entries which Governor Hutchinson made in his. He
was at this time living in London, in what was to him exile : —
"16". — The pajiers to-day announce a French war, and say the F.
Ambassador has acquainted Lord Weymouth the F. King had entered
into a Treaty with the Colonies as Independent States. It is said Lord
Stormont has given the same intelligence. Mr. Morris, of the Customs,
called, and says Adm. Hill informed him L. Sandwich had ordered all the
Captains in the navy to their ships immediately.
"17"'. — Everybody is struck dumb! The declarations from France,
that they have entered into a Treaty with the Colonies as Independent
States, seems to make a war inevitable. I met Gen. Monkton. He is
in pain for Howe's fleet in the Delaware ; thinks the French force gone
out may be too strong for them. The message from the King is to be
communicated to-day. An address must follow, — whether for an imme
diate declaration of war is doubtful.
" The sudden agreement of France seems to be the effect of the new meas
ures here. Franklin's act [or art] probably carried him to require an imme
diate answer, — otherwise the Colonies would close w* England ; but this
is conjecture."

CHAPTEE IX.
1778.
VOLTAIRE AND FRANKLIN.
THE new year opened upon the Commissioners with
prospects far more hopeful than had welcomed them
the year before. On the other hand, there were jealousies
and doubts in the American Company which made their
life less agreeable than could have been wished.
The event which most engaged the attention of Paris in
the beginning of the year was the arrival of Voltaire. He
was in the eighty-fourth year of his life, and it proved in
deed to be the last.^ His proposed arrival had been much
discussed, had been announced, contradicted, and announced
again. A letter from Geneva, written in December, said,
" Voltaire will not go to Paris, but he is greatly pleased to
be urged to go. He would be glad to give this ^clat to
his glory, hut he also wishes to prolong his life, which is
but the continual thought of his. glory, and he knows that
at his age a journey to Paris would put his health in some
danger." But, as it proved, on the 10th of February, to
every one's surprise, Voltaire appeared in Paris. " The ap
pearance of a ghost, or that of a prophet, or of an apostle,
would not have caused more surprise and admiration than
that of the arrival of Mons. de Voltaire. This new prodigy
suspended for some moraents every other interest, the
1 He was born, or thought he was, February 20, 1694. The register
of his birth does not agree with his own statement, however.

166 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
noise of war, the intrigues of lawyers, the tracasseries of
the Court, even the great quarrel between the Gliickists
and the Piccinists. Encyclopaedic pride humbled itself.
The Sorbonne raved, all literature was moved, the Parlia
ment kept silence, and all Paris rushed to throw itself at
the feet of its idol. Never would the hero of our time
have enjoyed his glory with more ^clat if only the Court
had honored him with more favorable, or less indifferent
regard."^ The King asked coolly if the order which for
bade his return to Paris had been rescinded. Some kind
friend immediately told Voltaire of this ; but the King
meant no harm, and the visit passed on smoothly.
Our little colony of Americans all noticed Voltaire in
their way, and the presentation of Franklin to the older
philosopher was dramatic. Austin's diary gives a most
tantalizing account of Voltaire's personal appearance : ^
"Walking the gardens of the pallais Eoyale, saw the famous
Mons. Voltaire, so famed for his writings. He has been
lately recalled from exile by the King, with leave to tarry
at Paris for twentyrfive years. He is at present the Idol
of the people, and though near eighty years of age, his
Faculties are very bright. His person is a mere skeleton.
Several of his comedies have been lately revived at the
Comedie Francais, at some of which he has been present
and received the greatest applauses."
Austin was wrong in supposing that the King recalled
Voltaire; but the remark shows the drift of opinion in
Paris, outside the Court, at that time. The Grimm-Diderot
correspondence shows distinctly that the Queen would
have been glad to do something gracious, in the drift of
public sentiment. It also gives a single instance where
the King was almost compelled to give his orders or his
1 The Grimm-Diderot correspondence for February, 1778.
2 April 11, 1778.

ENTHUSIASM OF PARIS. 167
permission for a bust of Voltaire. But the precise atti
tude of the Court is distinctly explained in the foUowing
report from Mercy, the Austrian ambassador, to Maria
Theresa, at the date of March 20, 1778 : —
"The arrival of the poet Voltaire brought about the
greatest extravagance ui the homage which people here
wished to show to this dangerous bel esprit. They would
have wished to see him called to Versailles, and that the
King should give him a distinguished reception. The
queen was very anxious for this ; but His Majesty refused
very squarely, and declared that she should not honor in
any way a man whose ethics had occasioned so much
trouble and inconvenience." To this statement Arneth,
the editor, adds : " Every one knows the enthusiasm which
seized Paris on the arrival of Voltaire ; the Court, com
pletely divided in opinion, no longer took any part. The
queen, if one may believe the various accounts of the
times, wished to show hira sorae attention ; the king for
mally opposed."
Mr. Adams's first sight of Voltaire was at the theatre,
on the 27th of April. " In the evening went to the French
Comedy, and happened to be placed in the first box, very
near to the celebrated Voltaire, who attended the perform
ance of his own 'Alzire.' Between the acts the audience
called out Voltaire, and clapped and applauded hira the
whole time. The old poet arose, and bowed respectfully
to the audience. He has yet much fire to his eyes and
vigor to his countenance, though now very old."
Lee's journal fails us at this date, but in afteJ life he
used to say that the Commissioners asked to be presented
to Voltaire, and that he granted their request. "As they
entered the room he 'raised himself feebly up in his hed,

168 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and in a momentary glow of enthusiasm, repeated some
beautiful lines frora Thompson's ' Ode to Liberty,' com
mencing ' Oh liberty, thou goddess ever bright,' etc."
The lines are not Thomson's but Addison's. They are
to be found in the letter to the Earl of Halifax.
" 0 Liberty, thou goddess heavenly bright,
Profuse of bliss, and pregnant with delight !
Eternal pleasures in thy presence reign,
And smiling Plenty leads thy wanton train ;
Eas'd of her load. Subjection grows more light.
And Poverty looks cheerful in thy sight;
Thou mak'st the glootny face of Nature gay
Giv'st beauty to the Sun, and pleasure to the day."
All the " 6clat " and " glory," of which the memoirs are
so full, were crowded between the 29th of February and the
30th of May, on which day poor Voltaire died. One says,
" Poor Voltaire ! " because so much was pressed upon an
old raan of eighty-four by the enthusiasra and audacity of
Paris, that the wonder is that he lived through the four
months, rather than that he died at the end of them. It
was not strange that the public sentiraent of Paris liked
to associate him and Franklin. Condorcet,^ the biog
rapher of Voltaire, says well enough, "In Paris at this
time was the celebrated Franklin, who, in another hemi
sphere, had been, like Voltaire, the apostle of philosophy
and toleration. Like hira, he had often used the weapon
of pleasantry for the correction of human folly, and had
learned to regard human perversity as a folly, more ter
rible indeed, but still to be pitied. He had honored phi
losophy in the realm of physics, as had Voltaire in that of
poetry. Franklin had delivered the immense regions of
America from the yoke of Europe, and Voltaire had deliv-
1 John Adams describes Condorcet thus: "A philosojAer with a face
as pale, or rather as white, as a sheet of paper, — I suppose from hard
study."

FRANKLIN AND VOLTAIRE. 169
ered Europe from the yoke of the ancient theocracies of
Asia. Franklin was desirous to see a man whose glory
had for so long a time filled both worlds, and fortunately,
Voltaire expressed a wish to see him. Voltaire, although
he had lost the habit of speaking English, tried to main
tain the conversation in that language, but soon re
suming his own, said, ' I could not resist the desire of
speaking for a moment in Mr. FrankUn's language.' ^ The
American philosopher presented his grandson, and asked
his benediction for him. ' God and Liberty,' said Voltaire,
' this is the only benediction which is fit for a grandson of
Mr. Franklin.'"
Voltaire himself fixes a date for this anecdote in a letter
to the Abbd Gaultier, of Feb. 21, which became cele
brated in a discussion regarding Voltaire's receiving the
sacraments.^ He wrote to the Abbd, "I will say to you
the same thing which I said when I gave the benediction
to the grandson of the illustrious and wise Franklin, the
man of all America most to be respected. I only pro-
^ nounced the words ' God and Liberty.' All who were
present shed tears of tenderness. I fiatter myself that
you will share these principles."
The dates are thus fixed in the few months of the close
of Voltaire's life, in which we may place the few inter
views between him and Franklin. The most interesting
of these, and that most frequently referred to, is their
meeting at the Academy of Sciences. Franklin had been
chosen a member of the Academy in 1772. There are one
or two notices of his works in the enormous collection of
1 Another version is perhaps prettier : " Excuse me, my dear ; I have
the vanity to shew that I am not unacquainted with the language of a
Franklin." 2 The Abb^ Gaultier was the priest who, in fact, confessed Voltaire, and
received from him the celebrated Confession of Faith, which declared that
he died iu the Catholic religion in which he was born.

170 FRANIvLIN IN FRANCE.
their memoirs. There can be no doubt that he took part
in the informal conversations at their meetings, and that
he attended thera quite regularly when in Paris. The
sneer of Capefigue, quoted in a former chapter, shows that
he joined freely in the discussions. But we cannot find
that he presented any formal paper there of sufficient
importance to be recognized as a contribution to their
memoirs, or of such a character as he himself presentea
once and again to the Eoyal Society in London. At that
time the Academy did not issue, as it now does, comptes
rendus giving an account of these more informal conver
sations. It seems that Voltaire attended the meetings, as well
as FrankUn. His first appearance at the Academy of
Letters, which is generally called "the Academy," as if
par excellence, was deferred, on account of the failure of his
health, until the 30th of March. He was then received at
the Academy with every possible display of enthusiasm.
As we have occupied ourselves somewhat with the details
of the costume of the period, we will venture to say that
Voltaire wore his great periwig, nceuds grisdtres, " which
he dresses every day himself, and which is exactly like
what he wore forty years ago, long lace ruffles and the
superb fur robe of zibeline martre, presented to him by the
Empress of Eussia, covered by a beautiful crimson velvet,
but without any gold embroidery."
The Academy was at this moment without a President for
the next three months, and instead of drawing lots, as was
the custom, the members by acclamation appointed Vol
taire. Every one who had any right was present, except
ing the Bishops, who stayed away, a little ostentatiously.
Voltaire took the charge imposed upon hira with spirit,
and at the AprU meeting, laid out the plan of the new

THE PHILOSOPHERS EMBRACE. 171
dictionary. He took the letter A for himself, hecause he
said it would be the longest sub-department, and insisted
upon dividing the other letters among the other members
at once. After this difficult task was done, he said, " I
thank you, gentlemen, in the name of the alphabet."
"And we thank you," said the bright Chastellux, who was
afterwards half an American, " in the name of letters."
It was at a meeting of the Academy of Science, however,
and not at one of the Academy of Letters, that Voltaire
and Franklin met in public. The reader sees that they
had met in private before. Condorcet gives an account
of the scene, but that of Mr. Adams, in his diary at the
27th of April, shows how it appeared to an American : —
" Voltaire and Franklin were both present, and there
presently arose a general cry that M. Voltaire and M.
Franklin should be introduced to each other. This was
done, and they bowed and spoke to each other. This
was no satisfaction ; there must be something more.
Neither of our philosophers seemed to divine what was
wished or expected; they, however, took each other by
the hand. But this was not enough ; the clamor contin
ued, until the explanation came out. 'II faut s'embras-
ser, k la Franqaise.' The two aged actors upon this great
theatre of philosophy and frivolity then embraced each
other, by hugging one another in their arms, and kissing
each other's cheeks ; and then the tumult subsided, and
the cry immediately spread through the whole kingdom,
aud I suppose, all over Europe, 'Qu'il ^tait charmant
de voir embrasser Solon et Sophocle ! ' "
The last public association of Franklin and Voltaire
was on the 28th of November of the same year. Of the
curious ceremonial which then took place, at a Free
mason's Lodge in Paris, — the Lodge of Nine Sisters, — its

172 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
officers afterwards published an account in detaU.
Greuze, then one of the Court painters, was initiated at
the beginning of the meeting, and the Lodge then
marched to its hall, to assist in the eulogy of Voltaire,
¦ Madame Denis, the niece of Voltaire, accompanied by
the Marchioness of Villette, whom he called his "Belie
et Bonne," and at whose house he died, were then intro
duced. Brother Lalande, the astronomer, addressed Mme.
Denis. Brother Coron delivered an address, and Brother
de La Dixmerie read a circumstantial and complete eu
logy. After the exordium of this address, the orchestra,
led by Brother Piccini, played a touching morceau from
the opera of " Castor," set to appropriate words, and after
the first part of the address, played a similar passage
frora "Eoland."
This method of lighting up a discourse which might
else prove a little heavy, has fallen out of use, but might
be tried to advantage in another century.
When the address was ended a clap of thunder was
heard, " the sepulchral pyramid disappeared, great light
succeeded the gloom which had prevailed till now, an
agreeable symphony sounded in the place of the mourn
ful music, and an iraraense picture of the apotheosis of
Voltaire was disclosed. The picture represented Cor
neille, Eacine, and Molifere above Voltaire as he leaves his
tomb. Truth and Beneficence present hira to them.
Envy pulls at his shroud, in the wish to hold him back,
but is driven away by Minerva. Higher up may be seen
Fame, publishing the triumph of Voltaire."
Before this extraordinary picture, Lalande, Greuze,
Mme. de Villette produced" crowns, with which they
crowned La Dixmerie the orator, Gauget the painter, and
Franklin. These three then laid their crowns at the feet
of the image of Voltaire.

ROUSSEAU'S DEATH. 173
After more verses, a contribution, and a subscription-
paper, the brethren passed into the banqueting hall,
where covers were laid for two hundred guests. The
ordinary healths were drunk; and to the first was
joined the health of "the thirteen United States, repre
sented at this banquet by Brother Franklin."
Jean Jacques Eousseau, whose work in literature had
impressed France and Europe as no other author but
Voltaire had done, died on the second of June the same
year ; but the last years of his life had been spent in com
parative obscurity, and it does not appear that he and
Franklin ever met in person.

CHAPTEE X.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE.
THEOUGHOUT the spring and summer of 1777, it
had seemed as though France could not remain
neutral. The situation between the Courts of VersaiUes
aud St. James was a most delicate one. The English
ambassador, voicing the sentiment of England, complained
bitterly of the open breaches of neutraUty. The aid sent
by Beaumarchais, and the reception of the Commissioners,
were, as we have seen, grounds of well-founded complaint.
The perpetual remissness in regard to Captain Wickes and
the different privateersmen, who were in reality hardly
checked at all in their proceedings, the open boldness
shown in the fitting out of Conyngham's expeditions, the
constant scheming of the Commissioners at Paris (witness
the case of the attempted burning of Portsraouth navy-
yard in England by a raan who said he was hired by
Silas Deane), — all these contributed toward straining the
relations between the two Courts. But as the summer
passed and the autumn began, there was, for a time, a
breathing space. Wickes was no longer in European seas,
Johnson, Hammond, and Nicholson were in English pris
ons, Conyngham had made the English waters too hot for
hira, while English men-of-war, blocking the French and
Dutch ports, were ready to nip in the bud any attempt to
imitate his startUng career. The Coraraissioners at Paris
were as active as ever, but seemed to bring nothing to

THE EFFECT OF THE NEWS. 175
pass. Neither Spain nor Prussia would do anything to
encourage the Americans. The news received from Amer
ica, after the affairs of Trenton and Princeton, was on
the whole of a dark character, and in no direction was
there much that should make England jealous of the
assistance given by France to the Colonists ; for even
the friends of America in the French ministry were dis
couraged, and the disposition for an alliance was less,
almost, than it had ever been. Sb, as the autumn
passed, the situation at Paris grew quieter at the ex
pense of American hopes. France was more strictly
neutral, for there was no one to infringe upon her neu
trality. Lord Stormont's occupation was alraost gone ; ^
Vergennes was able to direct his attention to European
complications ; the Commissioners at Paris, their plans all
coming to naught, were in a most despairing condition, —
when the news of Burgoyne's surrender changed the
aspect of everything.
The news had the effect of almost iramediately bringing
the King's advisers to a decision in regard to the Ameri
can alUance. The United States, according to their views,
1 Not wholly, however ; witness this note from him, quoted by Cape
figue at the date Nov. 3, 1777: —
"At Rochefort there is a vessel with sixty guns, at L'Orient an India-
man pierced for sixty. Both these vessels are intended for the rebels.
They will be laden with various cargoes, and freighted by MM. Chaumont,
Holten, and Sabatier. The ' Heureux ' sailed from Marsailles, under an
other name, Sept. 26. She goes straight to New Hampshire, although
she pretends to go to the ['West India] Islands. She has been permitted
to take 3,000 muskets and 2,500 pounds of sulphur, — merchandise as
necessary for the Americans as it is useless in the islands. This vessel is
commanded by M. Lundi, a French officer of distinction, once a lieutenant
of M. de Bougainville. The 'Hippopotamus,' belonging to M. Beaumar
chais, had on board 40,000 muskets and raany munitions of war for the
rebels. There are about flfty French vessels laden with munitions of war
and various merchandise for the rebels."

176 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
had by this brilliant victory made good their claim to de
facto independency; there was no probable prospect of
their being brought again under the domination of Great
Britain. If the United States was a nation, it was for
the best interests of France that as close a commercial con
nection as possible should exist between the two powers ;
for American comraerce was regarded, even at that time,
as of exceeding value, and to obtain it, it was necessary
that a commercial treaty should be entered into. To that
end overtures were at once made to the Commissioners.
The news of Burgoyne's surrender came on the 4th of
December, and was imraediately communicated to the
French Court. A day or two afterwards, Gerard, the
secretary of the Council of State, called upon the Com
missioners to congratulate them upon the event, and to
hint that the present would be a favorable time to bring
forward again the proposition for a treaty. On the 12th
an informal conversation took place between Vergennes
and Gerard and the Coraraissioners, and on the 16th Gd-
rard again called at Passy and inforraed the Commissioners
that the King, " after long and careful deliberation on then
affairs and their propositions, had determined to recognize
their independence, and to make with them a treaty of
commerce, and a second treaty for an eventual treaty of
alliance." For the treaty of commerce the Coraraissioners, as we
know, had been furnished with instructions, and with a
draft which was accepted as a basis for negotiations. For
the treaty of alliance Vergennes proposed a draft. The
negotiations were carried through with the utmost good
faith and despatch ; for Vergennes and Franklin had for
each other the most profound respect and confidence, and
found it hy no raeans difficult to come to an understand
ing. Each party endeavored to make the treaties upon

THE COMMERCIAL TREATY. 177
grounds of the utmost reciprocal advantage, that by this
means they might be the more lasting.
The treaties were signed the 6th of February, and were
at once sent to America for ratification by Congress.
Pending this ratification they were kept secret, or rather
were supposed to be kept secret, for the news leaked out
very soon,i although no official notification was made of
them untU the 13th of March.
The treaty between France and America was a treaty
of amity and comraerce. It made no reference to Great
Britain nor to an alliance against her. It mentioned the
United States as an independent nation, and agreed that
there should be peace and amity between the contracting
parties. It conceded to America the same rights in France
as the most favored nation ih the matter of imposts and
duties ; it enunciated the doctrine that free ships made
free goods, suspended the droit d'aubaine in France as far
as Americans were concerned, defined contraband, made
arrangements for consuls and so forth. This was the
treaty which was afterwards acknowledged to England.
On the same day on which this treaty was signed, a second
treaty, for eventual and defensive alliance, was concluded.
In the preamble of this treaty it was set forth that " His
Most Christian Majesty and the United States, having to
day concluded a Treaty of Amity and Commerce, . . . have
thought it necessary to consider the means of affirming
those relations and of rendering them useful to the safety
and tranquilhty of the two parties, more especially in case
' Lord Stormont, when this rumor got about, went to Maurepas to
complain of such a thing being possible, adding, " that the news was
admitted in the carriages of the King." Maurepas, according to the anec
dote, gave the minister no further satisfaction than the assurance ' ' that
the news was denied in the carriages of the Queen," — a remark which
seems a step beyond that flippant minister's usual levity. — Flassan,
vii. 296. 12

178 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
England, on account of the relations and correspondence
following the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, should break
the peace with France, whether by direct hostUity or by
hindering her commerce and navigation, in a manner con
trary to the Law of Nations and to the Treaties existing
between the two crowns." In such a case His Most Chris
tian Majesty and the United States resolved to join their
plans and efforts against the enterprises of their common
foe. Of course, it was perfectly well understood by every
one that England would break the peace, both by direct
hostilities and by troubling navigation, as soon as the first
treaty became public. However, this treaty of alliance —
by far the most iraportant of the two — was modestly put
forth as an arrangement for a possible contingency. The
treaty of commerce remained a secret. Had England re
mained at peace with France, it would have had no effect.
It was for an eventual alliance. The contracting powers
agreed, in case of war, to make common cause, with the
object of sustaining the liberty, sovereignty, and indepen
dence of the United States ; and the King of France agreed
not to lay down his arms until that independence was ac
knowledged by England. He also agreed to make no
conquests on the continent of America (Louisiana and
Florida excepted). The American possessions of the con
tracting parties were respectively guaranteed to each other,
and provision was made for the admission of other parties
to the alliance.
Such was the alliance between France and America.
The two parties entered into comraercial and friendly con
nection, and agreed to defend that connection by joint force
of arms if needful. Such an alliance had not at first been
thought of. John Adams had desired a mere commercial
connection, — "that is, make a treaty to receive her ships
into our ports; furnish us with arms, cannon, saltpetre,

PRINCIPLES OF THE ALLIANCE. 179
duck, steel." ^ He wanted no political nor miUtary con
nection. In the same way the treaty which the original
instructions to the Commissioners directed them to propose
to the Court of France contemplated no military aid, no
joint undertakings, no political connection. It agreed that
in case of war the United States would not aid England
against France ; it would have exacted a declaration that
France would not acquire by conquest any of the remain
ing British Colonies on the Continent. The Treaty of
Commerce signed February 6 was substantially the one
meditated by Congress. The Treaty of Alliance was
essentially different.
" Thus," remarks an old-line writer on diplomacy, " did
the policy of the Minister who directed the French Cabinet
prevail over the good sence and the desire for justice of
Louis XVL, to make him sanction that dangerous maxim
which proclaims the lawfulness of insurrection against the
abuse of power." ^ We quote the remark as opening a new
point of view from which to consider the alliance between
France and the United States. But did Louis XVL, in
allying himself to the rebellious colonies of Great Britam,
thereby set the seal of his approval upon the principles
whereby the Colonies conceived themselves States ? Not
at all. The United States in 1778 had become a new
nation, by right say we, but not only de jure, — a new
nation de facto? It was out of the power of any nation of
* Quoted from Adams's 'Works by Tkescott, " Diplomacy of the Rev
olution," p. 21, where the best statement of the whole raatter may be
found. '^ Chcell, iii. 373.
° The French Court, in a M^moire subsequently put forth, states that
the King considered that " the law of nations, the traditions of diplomacy
and the example even of England itself, authorized him to regard the
Americans as independent de facto from the date of July 4th, 1776, and
that he had more reason so to regard them Feb. 6, 1778." Flassan,
Diplomatic Franyaise, vii. 176.

180 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Europe to deny that the Colonies, which had made good
their independence for two years, and had brought affairs
to such a point that there was no probabUity that they
would again come under the domination of Great Britain,
— that the United States had entered the corapany of
nations. This was a fact, though the nations did not at
once feel called upon to recognize it as such. Louis XVI. '
did recognize it. Allowing the United States to be a
nation, it followed that it was to be treated as other na
tions, — that is, that its internal affairs should be matters
of concern to itself alone. Louis XVL, in this alliance,
no more recognized the truth of the principles whereon
the Independence of the United States was based, than
did the United States recognize the justice and propriety
of his own political system. The new nation by no means
conditioned her friendship upon a recognition of the prin
ciples of the Declaration of Independence, and Louis XVI.
in his alUance by no means gave in his adhesion to them.
He recognized the fact that the United States were a na
tion in fact. It mattered not to him whether they ought
to be so or not.
The treaties were signed on the 6th of February, but
were not immediately acknowledged. England was slow
to get the news. They were not prepared for the alliance..
Three days before the treaty was signed,' Hartley was so
far from believing it possible that he wrote: "Let nothing
ever persuade America to throw themselves into the arms
of France. Times may raend. I hope they will. An
American must always be a stranger in France. Great
Britain may for ages to come be their horae." Three days
afterward George III., in writing to Lord North, speaks of
a war as nothing raore than one of the chances of the
future ; "should a French war be our fate " is his expression.
On the 18th he thinks that " most probably the two nations

GEORGE in. ON THE SITUATION. 181
will be involved." A week later he notices that the French
have stopped the Iceland and Newfoundland fishermen,
" which," he goes on, " carries the appearance of immediate
war." But there were rumors of a treaty ; Lord North's
agents in Paris kept him well informed of everything that
went on which was in any way known to the public.
"The papers , communicated by Mr. Thornton are very
curious," writes the King ; " those from Edwards and
Forth convince me that France will inevitably go to war ;
it therefore becoraes highly necessary to consider whether
Lord Stormont should not soon complain of the open as
sistance now given by France to the rebels, . . . and demand
a categorical answer whether they have signed a treaty
with the rebels." For sorae tirae there was nothing more
than rumor. On the 13th of March the Vicomte de Noailles
transmitted to Lord Weymouth the information that his
master had concluded a treaty with the United States.
On the 27th Lord Stormont arrived in London.
On the 17th the King's ministers gave the information to
Parliament. Lord North in the Commons and Lord Wey
mouth in the Lords at once moved a most loyal address,
expressing to the King their resentment at the behavior
of the King of France, and assuring him of their utmost
devotion and support. In each House an amendraent was
offered, advising that the incapable ministers, who had
brought the King's business into such an unfortunate state
of things, should be dismissed. In each House the govern
ment was sUent under the most vigorous attacks of the
opposition, and in both the address was voted without any
such qualification.
The various protestations of loyalty and devotion having
been gone through, the ministry proceeded at once to push
work upon the army and navy, but raore especially on
the latter. For it seemed on the whole generally under-

182 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
stood that the war between France and England was
to be in great measure naval. We Ijelieve that at this
tirae there was no plan to send a French array into
America. But it was well known that D'Estaing had
proceeded to Toulon, and that the resources of France
were being taxed to their utmost to despatch a power
ful fieet under that gallant commander to the aid of
the new allies. Therefore the British navy must be put
in better condition.
" A war with France," remarks an English author, " can
never be unpopular in this country ; '' and into this war,
which was presented to them as a causeless and shameful
aggression on the part of France, the people of England
threw themselves with spirit. Eecruiting was carried on
with vigor for both branches of the service ; it was " the
warmest impress almost ever known," says the same
authority ; operations were at once begun in all the dock
yards, and the King hiraself made a special journey to
Chatham, Sheerness, and Portsmouth to encourage and
quicken the preparations for the navy. In a short time
there were two hundred and twenty-eight vessels ^ in com
mission. Of these, fifty were to guard the English seas,
while no less than a hundred and thirty were assembled
on the coast of America; and in addition to these. Admiral
Byron was busUy at work preparing to sail in pursuit of
D'Estaing and the French.
Meanwhile D'Estaing at Toulon was busy in fitting
out the fieet which should bring to America the first
avowed and open aid. He sailed frora Toulon on the
12th of April, two months before Admiral Byron could
get to sea in pursuit, with twelve ships of the line beside
frigates. 1 85 ships of the line, 88 frigate.s, and 55 sloops. Campbell's " Lives of
the Admirals," v. 400.

COOPER'S ACCOUNT OF D'ESTAING. 183
Dr. Cooper of Boston wrote to Franklin a full and
curious account of his movements in the form of
A Letter from a Gentleman in America to his friend
in France. Aug. 1778.
Sir, — According to my promise, I now set down to
give you a particular and faithful account of the arma
ment of his Most Christian Majesty, under the orders of
the Count de Estaing, during his continuancy on the coasts
of the United States of America. You know, sir, with
what exultation I received the news of the corapletion of
our happy alliance with France, regarding it at once as an
iUustrious raark of the wisdom and magnanimity of her
monarch, and a precious pledge of the safety; the liberty,
and glory of my country. The immediate fruit of this
alliance was the powerful aid sent us by that great and
amiable prince, in the squadron of the Count D'Estaing,
consisting of eleven ships of the line, six frigates, and a
number of land forces.
We were not more happy in this powerful aid than in
the choice of the commander, and the distinguished confi
dence placed in him by his sovereign, — a leader who with
uncommon ardor and intrepidity, and great military
knowledge, unites a vigilance and circumspection, a quick
decision, and a perfect command of himself in the most
trying moments, that mark the great man, and are of the
utmost importance in such a comraand as he was en
trusted with. I assure you, ray friend, were you as well
acquainted as I ara with the delicacy and hazard of many
circumstances in which the Count was called to act, it
would increase your high estimation of his talents, and
you would be sensible, even more than you now are,
how much the common cause of France and America is

184 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
indebted to them: the inestimable fruits of the aUiance
might at least have been greatly injured, had the service
to which he was appointed been committed to a common
hand. Hence arose the asperity with which the Count
D'Estaing has been treated in some British publications.
Such a protection of the new alliance could not hope to
escape the virulence of its mortal enemies : and he who
draws upon himself marks of particular hatred, from those
who most hate an honourable cause in which he is engaged,
raay wear thera in triuraph as a sanction to his peculiar
merits in that cause. But the merits of the Count are
not known even among ourselves in their fullest extent ;
because many are ignorant, as it is proper they should be,
of some circurastances in which they appeared to the
greatest advantage. Everybody is indeed sensible that
under the auspices of his prince he has rendered the raost
important service, and given new life to the great cause
of America; but every one is not a sufficient judge of
those critical moments, and adverse accidents, which hu
man wisdom cannot foresee, nor huraan power control, by
which great talents are often tried, and rendered more
illustrious to a discerning eye.
The Count took his departure from Toulon on the 13th
of April 1778. In the Mediterranean he was encoun
tered with such contrary winds that it was not in his
power to pass the Straits of Gibraltar till the 17th of
May. The calms and light winds that afterwards attended
him on the ocean prevented the arrival of his fleet at the
mouth of the Eiver Delaware before the 7th of July.
After having chased on shore the " Mermaid," an EngUsh
frigate of 32 guns, the squadron of France entered that
river, which is full of shoals, without a pUot ; the naviga
tion of which is very difficult, even to the people of this
country. The Admiral seized the first moment that offered,

D'ESTAING ON THE COAST. 185
to acquaint the Congress and General Washington of his
arrival, and the orders he had received from the king his
master to act in concert with the force of the LTnited
States against the power of Britain. Before his letter
could reach that respectable body, they had sent an ex
press to him, acquainting him with the advice they had
received from Dr. FrankUn and Mr. John Adams, depu
ties of the United States in France, that an English squa
dron consisting of eleven ships of the line had sailed from
England destined for these coasts ; and at the same time
to lay before him a list of the British naval force then
assembled at New York; which was composed of five
ships of 64 guns : one of 70, six of 50, two of 44, with a
number of frigates, and other armed vessels. Advices so
important and so well authenticated, must have greatly
embarrassed and shook an ordinary commander, and led
him, in the room of offensive plans, to consult for his own
safety. The Count paid a serious attention to them, and
acted his part with prudence, but with great firmness.
Before he received these advices he was informed that the
British forces had evacuated Philadelphia, and after their
defeat at Monmouth, retired to New York where their fieet
lay. The Count determined to follow them there, without
waiting even for a fresh supply of water, — much wanted
after so long a voyage, — or for those refreshments that
were become necessary to the health of his men. Having
anchored in the evening, after being eighty-seven days at
sea, he set sail again the next morning, despatching at the
same time the best frigate he had in his squadron to
convey Monsieur Gerard, the King's Minister Plenipoten
tiary, and Mr. Silas Deane to Congress ; who might other
wise have been in danger from the British cruisers then
in the river. A pilot taken from the Delaware had prom
ised the Admiral that he would convoy his squadron into

186 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the middle of the Harbour of Sandy Hook, where he might
easily obtain a supply of fresh water. The Count in
dulged the pleasing hope of this ; tho he knew it
would bring him before New York, and the whole force
of Admiral Howe, already collected there. But the
doubts, the fears, the mistakes of the pilot, before he had
reached Sandy Hook, and finally his absolute refusal to
perform what he had undertaken, threw the Count into
an embarrassment more easily conceived than expressed.
Not a person had come to him from the shore, — that part
of the Jerseys had not then the reputation of the greatest
zeal for the common cause; nothing presented itself to
the squadron of our allies, unacquainted with our coasts,
but an inaccessible shore. They were ignorant how far the
British posts which they saw extended ; these posts were
supported by the fleet ranged within Sandy Hook. The
Count, too humane to command what could not be executed,
perceived it necessary to reconnoitre the coast in his own
person. For this purpose he threw hiraself into a small
boat, and found the communication of the river of Shrews
bury ; the navigation of which was so extremely difficult
as to cost hira an officer, many sailors, and a nuraber of
boats, and to bring Col. Laurens into the most imminent
danger of being drowned ; who was charged with letters
from General Washington, and who proved upon this
occasion that his patriotism and his courage could face
the dangers of the sea with the same firraness that he had
met the enemies of his country in the field.
The quantity of water and other refreshments that the
fleet of France could obtain in so difficult and hazardous
a situation afforded a very sraall relief; but while there
were any hopes of penetrating to the ships of the enemy
the general officers and captains of the squadron bravely
disregarded the dangers of their stations, — a station where

D'ESTAING OFF SANDY HOOK. 187
the English fleet never dared to remain ; where the strong
gales constantly blew upon the shore, and by burying the
isthmus of the Hook in the waves would almost change
it into an island. Both officers and men were supported
under all their wants and all the fatigues of the service
by the hopes of delivering America from the tyranny of
the British flag. The pilots, which the care of Cols.
Laurens and HaraUton had at length procured for the
Count, being called together, left no room for delusion.
These experienced men unanimously declared that it was
impossible for the squadron to enter. In vain did the
Admiral offer them an uncommonly large and generous
reward; they gave back the money after it had been
counted out to them, and convinced him that the condi
tion upon which it was offered was out of their power.
The difficult navagation in the Eiver Shrewsbury
greatly endangered the detachment from the squadron
that was on shore. The communication between that de
tachment and the fleet was sometimes cut off for whole
days together. The biscuits for four months, which the
ships brought frora France was now consumed ; their
water was almost spent ; they had blocked up New York
and the British squadron there eleven days, — when Gen
eral Washington, authorized by Congress to concert mili
tary measures with the Count D'Estaing, between whose
sentiments there was a perfect agreement, pressed the
Count to repair to Newport, the garrison of which was
augmented at the very raoment when raany conjectured
it would have left the place.
Strong signs of an approaching storm obliged the Count
to weigh anchor; so that he must have left this hazardous
station had not the expedition against Newport engaged
him to do it. The fleet experienced all that anxiety which
must be supposed to possess the bosoms of men who find

188 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
themselves at sea with a very insufficient quantity of
water. When it appeared off Point Judith, then was the
favourable moment to have entered Newport. Accord
ingly, the ships were in order for this, and expecting the
pilots, when Genl Sullivan acquainted the Admiral that he
was not prepared to act, and desired the attack might be
suspended. The Count did not hesitate in complying with
this request, — tho he knew that it is a capital advantage
in naval opera.tions to surprise an enemy by the celerity of
their execution ; that a delay might increase the obstacles
to their design and afford the British commanders an op-
pertunity of burning the men-of-war and other vessels,
when it should be evident they were become useless to
themselves. I do not, however, blame Genl Sullivan
for not having made raore early preparations ; he had
done all on his part that time and circumstances would
permit, and is allowed to be an active as well as a brave
officer. The Count did everything that could indicate his
extreme desire to accomplish the views of the American
general. He stood upon no ceremonies ; he gave him a
faithful account of the embarrassments of the squadron,
from the want of water and provisions, and acted upon
all occasions with a most engaging frankness and conde
scension. The attack being suspended, the Count D'Estaing took
measures to raake himself master of the East and West
passages of Conanicut and Ehode Island. The "Fan-
tasque " and the " Sagittaire " entered the latter, and obliged
the enemy to burn the " Orpheus," the " Juno," and the
" Lark," of 32 guns ; the " Cerberus," of 28 ; the Brigan
tine the " Pigot," and two transports. At the same time,
the frigates " L'Alcmene " and "L' Amiable," having entered
the East passage, the " Kingfisher," of 20 guns, the " Spit
fire," of 10, and the " Lamb," of 6, were also burnt.

THE FRENCH FLEET AT NEWPORT. 189
On the 8th of August the French squadron entered
Newport, through the fire of all its batteries, and made
preparations for landing 4000 men to act in conjunction
with the troops of Genl SulUVan, when the enemy set fire
to the " Grand Duke," a ship of two tier and sunk before
the town, the " Flora," of 32 guns, with about 15 trans- ¦
ports. The Britons had reason to regret so large a de
struction of their vessels. On the 9th, Genl Sullivan
acquainted the Count D'Estaing that the enemy, aston
ished by his entrance into Newport, had abandoned their
posts on the north part of Ehode Island, and had given
him an oppertunity of easily landing his array from the
Continent in that quarter ; and that, without waiting for
the day that had been agreed upon, he had already made
his descent upon the Island, tho, having at that time but
2000 men with him, he should want immediate aid.
The Count, tho' again disappointed, and not in the
most favourable situation for a sudden and unexpected
operation, knowing that even moments are to be improved
in war, took every measure instantly for the service of
the common cause, and ordered the seamen and soldiers
he had landed on Conanicut to follow him to Eh : Island.
In that moment, and without any previous intimation, the
fleet of Admiral Howe was discovered approaching the
harbour of Newport. It consisted of 36 sail, 14 of
which were of 2 tier of guns, and came to anchor before
E. Island. This arrival answered the hopes of the
enemy, and frustrated the enterprise of the allies against
Newport. The zeal of the Count D'Estaing to accommo
date himself to the disadvantageous circumstances of this
expedition, which he could not avoid, rendered him less
prepared for such an event. His squadron was divided
for the service of different stations : two ships of the line
were without; two others in the west channel; three

190 FRANICLIN IN FRANCE.
frigates, which were all he then had, and a brigantine,
were at a distance in the East channel. It had not been
in his power to fortify the Island of Conanicut without
disarming his ships. This' island was an advantageous
post that the British Admiral might have taken posses
sion of with his troops. The Count must then have found
himself between two fires from the land, to one or other of
which his ships would have been greatly exposed at a time
when he might expect to combat a squadron furnished with
bomb-vessels, fireships, and everything necessary to render
it vastly superior in strength to his own. In this hazard
ous situation, the Count andhis officers, ¦without complain
ing of those events which had brought thera into it, and
which certainly could not be imputed to them, prepared
with alacrity and ardor to encounter the difficulties with
which they were surrounded. Fortunately, on tlie morn
ing of the 10th of August, a fresh wind from the North,
which rarely happens at that season, gave them an opper
tunity to go out and meet the British squadron. Uncertain
as they then were of the exact force of this squadron, which
had been joined by a ship of 74 guns frora that of Admi
ral Byron, and which they had reason to apprehend was
rauch superior to their own ; uncertain whether the favour
able wind raight not change and leave their ships exposed
to the British batteries, which had wounded thera in their
entrance, they were determined to pursue their hopes of
coming up with the enemy. Accordingly, they cut their
cables, and passed in a single defile through a much se
verer and better served fire than the former. Admiral
Howe cut his own cables, also, but it was to fiee. Every
effort was raade by the French Admiral to overtake him ;
and on the llth, when the Count had approached the
rear of the British fleet and was preparing to attack it,
a wind arose that by separating the two squadrons at

D'ESTAING SAILS FOR BOSTON. 191
once deprived him of a promised victory, and America
of the brightest prospect she had beheld during the war.
In this storm, which lasted three days, the Admiral's
ship, the " Languedoc," tot^-Uy dismasted and her rudder
broken, found herself alone upon the sea and reduced
almost to an immovable mass. The " Marseilles," of 74
guns, suffered at the same time greatly, tho' not equally
with the "Languedoc." The "Cesar," of the sarae
force, was also separated from the fleet, and had a severe
and bloody engagement with a British man-of-war, the
fruits of which she was prevented from reaping by the
approach of several ships of the enemy. Such events in
naval affairs human prudence indeed cannot prevent, but
the firmness of the Count D'Estaing knew how to support
and repair. Ha,ving collected the greater part of his
squadron, the necessity of immediately making for sorae
port where he might obtain adequate supplies, and his
shattered ship be repaired in the best and most expedi
tious manner, appeared indispensable. This could not be
expected at Newport ; Boston was upon all accounts the
most convenient place for such a purpose ; and to that
harbour the wishes of the whole fleet in their present exi
gencies were directed. But the Count D'Estaing had given
his word to return to Ehode Island ; and was desirous to
explain to our forces there the situation of the fleet and
the measures it unavoidably obliged him to take. He
hoped at the same time that his appearance again before
Newport, tho' he could remain there but a very short
time, might disconcert the enemy, and facilitate either an
immediate attack upon the place, if it was practicable, or
an early retreat of our forces. In vain was it suggested
to the Count that such a step could be of no iraportant
service to the American army, and would only increase
the difficulty of repairing to Boston. In vain was he

192 FRANIiLIN IN FRANCE.
reminded that part, at least, and probably the whole of
Byron's fieet had arrived on these coasts. He fulfilled
his word, and in doing so he performed the last service it
was in his power to render to the Army of the United
States employed against Newport. Had he reraained
there, from the vast superiority of the united British
squadron, the raising the siege of that place might
have been accompanied with the loss of his whole fleet.
Upon his arrival at Boston, such was his condescension,
such his zeal for the common cause, that he offered to
go with his handful of troops and serve in person under
General Sullivan.
The uncommon prudence of the Count D'Estaing while
he remained upon these coasts, amidst all his well-known
courage and martial fire, happily served to estabUsh and
cultivate the new alliance at a very critical time. It em
ployed his ships in the best manner, and for the most
essential services that circumstances would allow. It
brought them all collected to these shores, after a long
and difficult voyage, while those of Admiral Byron were
scattered, and arrived one after another. It conducted
thera in safety through many dangers uppn a coast new
to the Count and his officers, and on which the Britons
lost the " St. Alban " and other ships of importance. It
finally eluded Admiral Byron, who with a superior force
watched the departure of the French fieet to the West
Indies, and without being able to give it the least disturb
ance, lost the " Shrewsbury " on the shore of Cape Cod.
Thus did the vigilance and firmness of the Count D'Estaing,
after he had done so much for the comraon cause in this
quarter, preserve his squadron for the most important ser
vices in another. Upon these I do not mean to enter,
confining myself to those performed here in 1778.
The very sound of his coming to our aid occasioned the

SERVICES OF D'ESTAING. 193
evacuation of PhUadelphia by the British army ; his pres
ence suspended the operation of a vast British force in
these States by sea and land ; it animated our own efforts ;
it protected our coasts and navigation, obliging the enemy
to keep their men-of-war and cruisers collected, and facUi-
tated our necessary supplies from abroad. By drawing the
powerful squadron of Admiral Byron to these seas, it gave
security to the Islands of France in the West Indies, an
equilibrium to her naval power in the Channel, and a
decided superiority in the Mediterranean. These services
of the Count D'Esta;ing, however his subsequent ones may
be thought to surpass them in brilUancy, can never be
forgotten in France and America; the annals of both
nations will do justice to them, and consecrate to fame
the distinguished charaicter and actions of this great
commander.

13

CHAPTEE XL
THE AMERICAN PEISONEES.
THE first correspondence in regard to the exchange of
Prisoners is well known. We publish it again that
it raay be read in connection with papers not hitherto
printed. The Commissioners to Lord Stormont. Paris, Feb. 23, 1777.
My Lord, — Captam Wickes of the Eeprisal frigate,
belonging to the United States of America, has now in his
hands near 100 British seamen, prisoners. He desires
to know whether an exchange raay be made with him
for an equal number of Araerican seamen, now prisoners
in England. We take the liberty of proposing this mat
ter to your lordship and of requesting your opinion, if
there is no impropriety in yonr giving it, whether such an
exchange will probably be agreed to by your court. If
your people cannot be soon exchanged here, they wUl be
sent to America. We have the honour to be, etc.
Stormont paid no attention to this letter. The Commis
sioners did not entirely give up the hope of doing some
thing. They drafted another letter to Lord Stormont, but
it does not appear that it was ever sent.

COMMISSIONERS TO STORMONT. 195
Api-il, 1777.
To tlie right honourable Lord Stormont:
Sie, My Loed, — Our last letter, to which we have not
the honor of your answer, was on the subject of the ex
change of prisoners ; we conceive it must be the wish of
every friend to humanity to alleviate as far as possible the
calamities of war, by treating those who have the misfor
tune to be made prisoners, agreeable to the rules established,
and generally observed by civUized nations ; and it gives
us much concern to find that many of the subjects of the
United States who have been made prisoners of war by
his Britannic Majesty's forces have been treated in a man
ner which is inconsistent with those rules, and unbecoming
the character which the British nation hath hitherto
maintained. Many prisoners taken at Quebec and on the
seas have been crueUy treated, loaded with irons, and
after suffering the severest indignities and insults, sent to
the coast of Africa, and to the East Indies, to wear out
life in servitude, beyond a possibility of the least relief or
succor from their families and friends. We are far from
believing that His Britannic Majesty or his Ministers have
ordered or will countenance such a cruel mode bf treating
prisoners of war as must not only justify the severest retal
iation, but render it necessary. We flatter ourselves there
fore that you will represent this conduct to your court, and
use your infiuence to obtain the return and exchange of
those unhappy men, and to prevent such treatment of
prisoners hereafter as cannot but produce the most dis
agreeable consequences. We attend your reply, and
meantime have the honor to be, etc.
Another of the same tenor was, however, sent, which
Stormont acknowledged in the following well-known
words : " The King's Ambassador receives no applications
from rebels, unless they come to implore his Majesty's

196 franklin in France.
mercy." The Commissioners, justly irate, closed the cor
respondence by returning this paper to him. " In answer
to a letter," they wrote, " which concerns sorae of the most
material interests of humanity, and of the two nations.
Great Britain and the United States of America, now at
war, we received the enclosed indecent paper, as coming
from your Lordship, which we return for j'our Lordship's
more mature consideration."
It is not surprising that the EngUsh did not, for various
reasons, incline at this period to treat with the Commission
ers for an exchange of prisoners. On theoretical grounds,
rather roughly hinted at by Lord Stormont in his concise
epistle already quoted, it was held that the Americans con
fined in England were not prisoners-of-war. They were
every one of them confined upon a writ issued by some
magistrate for high treason, and while they were held as
such no offers for a cartel could succeed. The ministry
were not at present inclined to allow that the Americans
had a right to be treated as belligerents, nor that prisoners
made from them could stand in the character of prisoners-
of-war. This position, it now goes without saying, was un
tenable, and it was soon abandoned. The Americans were
belligerents, whether they were recognized as a nation or
not ; and the view that the American prisoners were guilty
of high treason was dropped. On practical grounds, too, we
may imagine that the British did not see the wisdom of an
exchange at this raoment. They had their prisoners safe
under lock and key at Forton Prison, Portsmouth, and
Mill Prison at Plymouth. As their ships-of-war and pri
vate armed vessels brought in captured sailors, they turned
them at once into a safe place, where they would do
no harra. The Americans, on the other hand, made their
prisoners at sea, and brought them into French ports.' As
long as they kept them on board ship, they were prisoners-

THE AMERICAN PRISONERS. 197
of -war ; when they set them ashore, they were no longer
so. Now, it is easy to see that the Americans could not
keep more'than a very small number of prisoners on board
their ships, and the French would by no means permit
them to be lodged on shore. The only thing for the
Americans to do with them was to exchange them or to
let them go. Very naturally, under these conditions, the
first of these alternatives was refused thera, and the second
was accepted. They discharged large nurabers of prisoners,
— usually ou a pledge that the prisoner discharged would
be responsible for the release of an American prisoner.
The British Admiralty naturally refused to take cognizance
of such pledges, and the British seamen were practicaUy
set free with no equivalent. This seemed very hard to
Franklin, but it was nothing more than the fortune of war.
But as soon as an alliance with France had rendered it
possible for the Americans to stow their prisoners some
where, or at least to keep them safely, with raore ease than
when their cruisers were exposed to the vigorous surveil
lance of the neutral power, the English becarae more ready
to treat on the subject. We shall see the first cartel-ship
did not reach France till a whole year after the treaty, but
it does not appear that this delay was owing to other
causes than are usual in a business of this sort.
There were not very many of these prisoners, — less
than a thousand,^ we should say, — but they made a good
deal of stir, and form an important element in Franklin's
' Franklin states the number to have been 410, in a letter dated Feb. 13,
1780. Jones, writing in Holland in November, 1779, fixed the number as
about 500.
To this we must add 100 exchanged in March, 1779, 100 exchanged
in August, 1779, about 60 who escaped Sept. 7, 1778, and about 60 more
who e.scaped with Conyngham, Nov. 3, 1779, — which would give 730 as a
minimum at this time. Franklin, in a letter dated Jan. 25, 1779, says,
" It seems they [the English] cannot give up the pleasure of having at the

198 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
achievements in France. With real pity for the sufferings
of these men, which were extreme,^ and considering prob
ably that it was useless to apply to persons in* power, he
wrote to Hartley in the fall of 1777, stating with some
warmth the plight of the prisoners and asking if he would
not take into his hands the distribution among those who
needed it most of a sum of money, or failing that, if he
would not engage somebody else to do so ; and somewhat
later he writes : —
Having received no answer to the above nor to another
letter sent by the same conveyance to another person, I
conclude they have miscarried; and we have requested
the bearer, Mr. Thornton, to visit your gaols, and bring
us a true account of the situation of the Araerican pris
oners, beUeving it too much to request of you during the
session of Parliament. When you see his account, you
will judge in what manner the relief I requested you to
make can best be given, and whether you can make any
use of this account in Parliament favourable to these
end of the war 1000 Americans to hang for high treason." The number
was probably somewhere between the two figures.
1 "As to the prisoners who were kept in England, their penury and
distress was undoubtedly great and was much increased by the fraud and
cruelty of those who were entrusted with the government and supply of
their prisons. For these persons, who indeed never had any orders for ill-
treatment of the prisoners or countenance in it, having, however, not been
overlooked with the utmost vigilance, besides their peculiar prejudices and
natural cruelty, considered their oflSees only as lucrative jobs, which were
created raerely for their emolument. 'Whether there was not some exag
geration, as usually there is, in these accounts, it is certain that, though
the subsistence allowed them by government would indeed have been
sufficient, if honestly administered, to have sustained human nature, in
respect to the mere article of food, yet the want of clothes, firing, and
bedding, with all the other various articles which custom or nature render
conducive to health and comfort, became particularly insupportable in
the extremity of the winter." — Annual Register for 1778, p. 78.

HARTLEY ON THE PRISONERS. 199
unhappy people. The French officers among them are
highly exasperated, and are daily exasperating their coun
try by their representations of your barbarity. I enclose
you a Uttle specimen that has been communicated to me.
Hartley, ever anxious to do anything which might
lessen the breach between the two countries, which he
fondly hoped himself to help heal, was wUling and ready
to co-operate. He writes Christmas-day, 1777 : —
" A correspondence set on foot with a view of procuring
relief to the unfortunate prisoners on each side, and of
setting a new example of benevolence in the world, — to
civUize even the laws of war when the case wUl admit, —
is not only irreproachable, but stands in the highest de
gree of humanity and merit. Such a proposition recom
mends itself to a reception with a double share of good
will and alacrity, not only for the humanity of the im
mediate object, the softening the rigours of captivity, but
likewise for the further and more enlarged view of conse
quences by introducing one act of communication between
this country and America which shall not be a matter of
exasperation. Mutual acts of generosity and benevolence
may soften animosities, and by disposing the respective
parties to a favourable opinion of each other, may contri
bute to bring forward some reasonable plan of accommo
dation. Upon these views and principles I have raade
appUcation to Lord North that the two parties shall
mutually send or employ a commisary to take care of the
unfortunate prisoners. I did my endeavour to recom
mend it to Government as a national act of generosity and
Hberality, to be avowed as such, in preference to any pri
vate subscription for their relief, however large or munifi
cent, from a full conviction (whatever may be the fate of

200 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
war) that acts of national kindness and generosity alone
can make any impression upon the heart of America. I
am now expecting with anxiety the event of my applica
tion, which I will subjoin to this as soon as I receive it.
Mr. Thornton's visit to the prisoners wUl be very much
to your satisfaction. You wiU have heard of a very large
private subscription for the immediate reUef of the pris
oners, which does honour to the humanity of individuals.
If government will consent to the proposed permanent
establishment in their favour I shaU consider it as an
auspicious omen."
Later in the winter he writes again, There was still
no talk of exchange ; for the French aUiance now close at
hand was still thought far off by the administration, and
they were in no mind to give up the advantages which
they had in the matter. Golden Square, Febi-uary 3, 1778.
Deae Sie, — The enclosed letters will explain them
selves. Mr. Wren is a very worthy man (I believe a
dissenting rainister) at Portsraouth, who has devoted his
attention in the raost charitable manner towards the re
lief of the prisoners at Forton. When Mr. Thornton went
to Forton I advanced him £50, according to your desire.
If you approve the continuance of his plan, I can easily
transact it here in concurrence with Mr. Wren. I sup
pose by Mr. Wren's letters that the whole of the dinners -
raay corae to 4 or 5 guineas a week. If, therefore, you
will transmit 100£ to rae by any banker or merchant, we
shall have 8 or 10 weeks in hand, and when that is ex
pended I will transmit to you the account. Mr. Thorn
ton's visit and donation to the poor prisoners was most
acceptable; for it was before the subscription was very
popular, and gave them, I believe, about 40 or 50£. In

FRANKLIN TO HARTLEY. 201
tobacco, tea, sugar, &c., they are very comfortably appointed
now. I will write again soon ; I have not time to write
more by this packet, but I cannot quit this paper without
subjoining one earnest caution and request. Let nothing
ever persuade America to throw themselves into the arms
of France. Times may mend. I hope they will. An
American must always be a stranger in France; Great
Britain may for ages to come be their home.
Yours most affectly, D. H.
This letter was written only three days before the
Treaty of Alliance was signed, and some time after the
Treaty of Commerce had been signed. Neither, however,
had been acknowledged. In March the treaties were
publicly acknowledged, and war began between France and
England. About this time (April 29) Hartley visited
Paris, with the idea of talking with Franklin on the topic
of Peace. It is, however, not improbable that he told
Franklin that the ministry had held out to him expecta
tions of arranging an exchange of prisoners. On his return
the following correspondence began : —
Franklin to Hartley. Passy, May 25, 1778.
Deae Sie, — I am glad to learn by the newspapers that
you got safe home, where I hope you found all well
I wish to know whether your ministers have yet come
to a resolution to exchange the prisoners they hold in
England, according to the expectations formerly given you.
We have here above two hundred, who are confined in the
" Drake," where they must be kept, as we have not the
use of prisons on shore, and where they cannot be so
conveniently • accommodated as we could wish. But as
the liberal discharge we have given to near 500 prisoners

202 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
taken on your coasts has wrought no disposition to simUar
returns, we shall keep these and all we take hereafter,
till your counsels become more reasonable. We have ac
counts from the MUl Prison at Plymouth that our people
are not 'allowed the use of pen and ink, nor the sight of
newspapers, nor the conversation of friends. Is it true ?
Be so good as to mention to me whether the two little
biUs I gave you on Nesbit and Vaughan are accepted and
paid, and the sums of each, as I have omitted to make a
note of thera. Permit me to repeat my thankful acknowl
edgements for the very humane and kind part you have
acted in this affair. If I thought it necessary I would
pray God to bless you for it. But I know he will do so
without my prayers. Adieu, and believe me ever
B. F.
Hartley to Franklin. Golden Square, May 29, 1778.
Dear Sie, — Yours received this moraent of the 25*
instant by Mr. Parker. I will apply for the exchange of
the prisoners without delay and will press the point as
much as I can ; which in truth I have done many times
since I saw you, but official departments move slowly
here. A proraise of 5 months is yet unperformed. The
enclosed letters came to me but yesterday, though they
are dated April 7th. Mr. Wren writ me that several of
the prisoners have similar requests to make. The two
bills which you sent me were upon Nesbit 15£ 15s. M.,
drawn by Wm. Parsons, which I sent to my banker, and he
sent me for answer that he had offered the bill at Nesbit's
and that they returned for answer, "Ignoramus." The
other bill is upon Vaughan, for 21£, which has not yet
been sent for acceptance.

PROPOSED EXCHANGE. 203
Hartley to Franklin. Golden Square, June 5, 1778.
Dear Sie, — I hope we shall at length get forward with
the exchange of the poor prisoners which has been so
many months in negociation. I ara authorized by the ad
ministration and the board of Admiralty to make the
following proposition ; That you should send to rae the
number and rank of the prisoners which you have on
your side to deliver, upon which an equal number shall be
prepared on this side for the exchange. It is proposed
that each party shall send their prisoners to Calais, and
that the exchange be made there. The port of Calais is
chosen as the most unexceptionable for the admission of
an English ship upon such an occasion.
Be so good as to send me your answer upon this propo
sition, which I will lay before the Board of Admiralty, and
will contribute all that is in my power to facilitate the
exchange. Franklin to Hartley. Passy, June 16th, 1778.
Sie, — I received yours of the 5 th instant, acquainting
us that the ministry have at length agreed to an exchange
of prisoners. We shall write to Captain Jones for the
list required, which will be sent you as soon as received.
We understand there are at least two hundred. We desire
and expect that the nuraber of ours shall be taken from
Forton and Plymouth, ui proportion to the number in each
place, and to consist of those who have been longest in
confinement, — it being not only equitable that they should
be first, but this method will prevent all suspicions that
you pick out the worst and weakest of our people, to give
in exchange for your good ones. If you think proper to

204 franklin IN FRANCE.
clear your prisoners at once, and give us aU our people,
we give you our solemn engagement, which we are sure
wiU be punctuaUy executed, to deliver to Lord Howe in
America, or to his order, a number of your sailors equal
to the surplus, as soon as the agreement arrives there.
There is one thing more which we desire may be ob
served. We shall note in our lists the names and num
bers of those taken in the service of the King, distinguish
ing them from those taken in the merchant's service ; that
in the exchange to be raade you raay give adequate num
ber of those taken in the service of the States, and of our
merchants. This wiU prevent any uneasiness among your
navy men and ours, if the seamen of merchantmen are
exchanged before them. As it will be very troublesome
and expensive, as well as fatiguing to them, to march our
people frora Brest to Calais, we may endeavour to get
leave for your ship to come to the road of Brest to re
ceive them there ; or, if that cannot be, we must desire
from your Admiralty a passport for the ship that is to
convey them from Brest to Calais. If you have any of
our people still prisoners on board your ships of war, we
request they may be put into the prisons, to take their
chance of exchange with the rest.
Ha/rtley to Franklin. Golden Square, Jnly 10, 1778.
Dear Sie, — I only write you one Une just to tell you
that I have received no answer yet from the Admiralty
relative to yours of June the 16'? I have applied sev
eral tiraes, but I suppose they are employed about other
matters. You may be assured that no reiteration shall be
wanting on my side, but I cannot command an answer.
The affair which happened off Brest and its consequences
has, I presume, occupied the attention of the Admiralty.

PROPOSALS FOR A CARTEL. 205
I shall do my best to obtain aU the objects mentioned in
yours of the 16th. I wish it may be with success. I
shall write again to you soon. BeUeve me always to be
a friend to Peace and to the rights of mankind, and most
affectionately yours. Hartley to Fra/nklin. Golden Square, July 11, 1778.
Deae Sie, — I have the following answers to make to
you from the Board of Admiralty in relation to yours of
the 16*'' June. The Prisoners to be exchanged from hence
will be taken from Forton and Plymouth in proportion to
their numbers in each place, and to consist of those who
have been the longest in confinement. As to the distinc
tion of the seamen taken in the merchant service or in the
service of the States of America, there is no such distinction
in the prisons of Forton and Plymouth. They are all de
tained there under commitraents from some Magistrate as
for High Treason ; therefore no other distinction can be fol
lowed in their exchange but seniority as to their confine
ment. As to the passport for the ship which is to convoy
the prisoners from Brest to Calais, I am authorized to say
that it will be granted, if you will give me assurance that
our ship going to Calais shall have free entrance without
molestation and free [blank] with the Prisoners in ex
change. There is but one point more in yours which I
have not yet proposed to the Board of Admiralty, viz.,
the general clearing of our Prisons at once, upon your
engagement to deUver an equal number in America to
the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy or his order. I
shall recommend this step very strongly to the Board,
and for that reason I chose to make it a separate propo
sition, and not to erabarrass it with other detaUs. I have
several times proposed such a step to different members

206 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
of the administration, long before you made it as a request
to me. I shall now make a written proposition of it in
form. To a letter of 14th July (a copy of the above), is added :
I wish everything that may tend to soften the minds
of the parties to each other to procure peace. You know
the terms I would recommend. I am convinced that the
people of the two countries are not alienated from each
other, and in my opinion nothing could be a compensation
to either of them if they should ever become so. I wUl
never remit the utmost of my poor endeavours to restore
peace. Franklin to Hartley. Passy, July 13, 1778.
Dear Sie, — Inclosed is the list of our prisoners, which
by an accident was long in coming to us. There are supposed
tobe about 15 more reraaining in the hospital, whose names
we have not yet obtained, and about as many who being
recovered of their wounds have been suffered to go home
to England. If you continue m the opinion of making
the exchange at Calais, you wUl send us the papers neces
sary to secure the vessel that shall transport the men
from the ports where they are to that place against cap
ture; as the marching thera thither would be attended'
with great inconveniences, and many of them might desert
on the way, from an apprehension of being put on board
men of war on their arrival in England.
Franklin to Hartley. Passy, Sept. 14, 1778.
Deae Sie, — I now send you the passport required. I
postponed answering your last in hopes of obtaining it

ARRANGEMENTS FOR A CARTEL. 207
sooner, but tho' it was long since agreed to, much busi
ness in the Admiralty Department here has, I suppose,
occasioned its delay. The port of Calais was not approved
of, and I think the ports mentioned (Nantes or L'Orient)
are better for you as well as for us, not only as being
nearer to Plymouth, but as many of your sailors would
probably have found opportunities of deserting in the
long march from Brest to Calais, they being afraid of the
press. I understand that upwards of 80 more of your
people have been brought by ours prisoners into France
since the list I sent you, but I cannot now send you their
names. You have not mentioned whether the proposition
of sending us the whole of those in your prisons was agreed
to. If it is, you may rely on our sending imraediately all
that come to our hands for the future ; or we will give
you your option, an order for the balance to be delivered
to your fleet in America. By putting a Uttle confidence
in one another, we may thus diminish the miseries of war.
To make the expense of these exchanges more equal, if
another cartel ship should be hereafter necessary, we
hereby promise to send to England at our charge ; and
so it may continue to be done alternately as long as the
men continues.
The affair hung fire in the most vexatious manner.
Franklin had hoped to make a general clearance of the
prisons before winter. He wrote, as follows, to some pris
oners in answer to a letter he received from them : —
Passy, September 19, 1778.
Gentlemen, — Altho' we have not written to you
directly for some time, you may be assured we have not
been unmindful of your interests, your comfort, or your
liberty. We have been engaged a long time in negotiating

208 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
a cartel of exchange. This work we found to he attended
with many difficulties, but at last have obtained assurances
from England that an exchange shall take place. We
have also obtained, from the government of this kingdom,
a passport for a vessel to come frora England to Nantes or
L'Orient, with American prisoners, then to take in English
prisoners in exchange. We now sincerely hope that you
will obtain your liberty. We cannot certainly say, how
ever, that all shall be immediately exchanged, because we
fear we have not an equal number to send to England ;
those to reraain, if any, will be those who have been the
latest in captivity and consequently have suffered the
least. While the British Government refused to raake agree
ment of exchange, the Commissioners here never discour:
aged their countrymen from escaping from the prisons in
England,^ but on the contrary, have lent small sums of
money, sufficient with great economy to bear their expenses
to sorae seaport, to such as have made their way hither.
But if the British government should honourably keep to
their agreement to make regular exchanges, we shall not
think it consistent with the honor of the United States to
encourage such escapes, or to give any assistance to such
as shall escape. Such escapes hereafter would have a
tendency to excite the British administration to depart
frora the cartel, to treat the prisoners that reraain with
more rigour, and to punish those that escape, if re-taken,
with more severity.
On the other hand, we have now obtained permission of
this government to put all British prisoners, whether
taken by Continental frigates or hy privateers, into the
King's prisons ; and we are determined to treat such pris-
1 On the 7th of September fifty-seven of the prisoners had escaped
from Forton. — Annual Register for 1778, p. 200.

THE AMERICAN PRISONERS. 209
oners precisely as our countrymen are treated in England,
to give them the same allowance of provisions and accom
modations and no other. We therefore request you to
inform us with exactness what your allowance is from
government, that we may govern ourselves accordingly.
We have the honour to be with much respect and
affection, Your countrymen and very humble servants.
To the American Prisoners in Forton, Plymouth,
or elsewhere in Great Britain.
He received the following letter from Forton : —
Forton Prison (Gosport), Octr 2d, 1778.
Sie, — Having been buoyed up with the hopes of an
exchange for six or seven months, we began to surmise
the reason why it was so long delayed was owing to
a non-conformity on the part of the British Ministry.
Yet they disclaim the charge, alledging that they have com-
plyed with every requisite on their part, and that the com
pletion of it rests wholly with you ; yet, as we put no
great confidence in them, we wish to hear the truth from
yourself, which will give us infinite satisfaction. The re
membrance of our sufferings last winter not being yet
erased from our minds, raises grea^ anxieties in us as the
ensuing winter approaches. We wish not to be continued
another winter, if terms for our relief can be accommo
dated. We, the subscribers, are therefore commissioned
by the rest of our brother prisoners (officers and men) in
the name and behalf of the whole to address you on this
(to us) very interesting subject, humbly begging a speedy
and official answer, as also your speady interposition if any
thing can be done to relieve us from our most disagreeable
situation. 14

210 FRANIvLIN IN FRANCE.
In the greatest confidence of your favour, we have the
honour to subscribe ourselves your most obed' hble servts.,
Lt. Col. Winbeet.
Joseph Lunt.
Edwaed MacKellah.
Franklin to Hartley. Passt, Oct. 20, 1778.
Dear Sie, — I received your favour of the 9th instant
with a copy of the letter from the Admiralty Office, rela
tive to the proposed exchange of prisoners, in which the
precise number of those we have here is desired. I cannot
at present give it you, they being disposed in different
ports ; and indeed it will always be difficult to be precise
in it, the number continually changing by new prisoners
brought in, and some escaping. I think the list I formerly
sent you was near 200 [N. B. (by Hartley). In July they
were about 258 and some mast men], — according to the
list then sent, which I transmitted to the Admiralty in July
last ; since which, sixty odd have been brought into France
from the North Seas by Capt. McNeil, and some by
others of our cruisers ; and I just now hear that we have
near an hundred raore in Spain, taken by one of our priva
teers in two New York packets, one going thither, the other
returning, 88 of which are officers of your army. I wish
their Lordships could have seen it well to exchange upon
account; but though they may not think it safe trusting
to us, we shall make no difficulty in trusting to them.
And to expedite the exchange, and save the time that ob
taining a correct list would require, we raake this proposi
tion, — that if their Lordships will send us over 250 of our
people, we will deliver all we have in France. If the
number we have falls short of the 250, the cartel-ship

FRANKLIN AND HARTLEY. 211
may take badk as many of those she brings as the defi
ciency amounts to, delivering no more than she receives.
If our number exceeds the 250, we will deliver them all
nevertheless, their Lordships promising to send us imme
diately, a number equal to the surplus. We would thus
wish to commence, by this first advance, that mutual con
fidence which it would be for the good of mankind that
nations should raaintain honourably with each other, tho
engaged in war. I hope this wUl remove all obstructions
to a speedy completion of the business, as the winter ap
proaches, and the poor prisoners on both sides may suffer
in it extremely. Franklin to Hartley. Passy, Nov. 29, 1778.
Dear Sir, — I have heard nothing from you lately con
cerning the exchange of the prisoners. Is that affair
dropt? Winter is coming on apace. I understand that
your charitable contribution is near expended, and not
likely to be renewed. Many of those unfortunate people
must sufi'er greatly. I wish to have a line from you, in
forming me what may be depended on. I ara as ever,
B. F.
Hartley to Franklin. London, Dec. 10, 1778.
My Dear Friend, — I reed two days ago notice of
the admiralty that the last terras which I transmitted
from you were accepted and agreed to, and that his
Majesty had consented. I was likewise told that I raight
expect in a few days to receive special notice of the place
and time of the exchange. As soon as I receive any such
notice, I wUl not delay a moment in advertising you. I
hear, as you do, that the subscription for the prisoners is

212 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
nearly exhausted. I have had several interviews with the
Gentlemen who have had the management of that subscrip
tion and I have pressed very strongly upon the renewal,
notwithstanding the present prospect of exchanges, as
more prisoners may come or unexpected delays may
happen. Yours affectly, D. H.
P. S. Sometimes I write longer letters than this.
Franklin to Hartley. PA.SSY, Jan. 25, 1779.
Dear Sie, — la long time believed that your govern
ment were in earnest in agreeing to an exchange of pris
oners. I begin now to think I was mistaken. It seems
they cannot give up the pleasing idea of having at the end
of the war 1000 Americans to hang for high treason.
You were also long of opinion that the animosity against
America was not national or general ; but having seen the
exterminating proclamation of the Commissioners approved
by King, Lords, and Comraons, and that not attended
with any marks of popular disapprobation, perhaps you
too begin to think you were mistaken. I thank you for
writing those excellent letters to your constituents. I like
all but your reflections against the King of France for
assisting us. In my mind, the coming to the relief of an
innocent people under the bloody oppression your minis
ters were exercising over them, and exposing himself and
nation to a war on their account, was not only what any
prince had a right to do for the sake of common humanity,
but was a magnanimous and heroic action, that is admired
at present by the wise and good through aU Europe, and
will hand his narae down with glory to posterity. Our
different ways of thinking in this particular wUl not,

FRANKLIN AND HARTLEY. 213
however, diminish our private friendship, nor impair the
sentiments of sincere esteem and respect with which I am
ever, dear sir. Yours, B. F.
Franklin to Hartley. Passy, Feb. 22, 1779.
Dear Sir, — I received your favor of Jany 23, con
taining the answer you had received from the board of
sick and hurt, in which they say they are taking measures
for the immediate sending to France the number of
Americans first proposed to be changed, etc. I have
heard notliing since of the measures taken. The prison
ers grow more' and more uneasy with us. They are told
that we neglect them. We sent the passport required in
September last. We were soon after assured that a trans
port was actually taken up and victualled for 100 men, to
be sent to France with so many prisoners. That vessel
has never appeared. We rely'd on the agreement to ex
change, and the promise of doing it speedily. And we
advised our people thereupon not to attempt escapes.
We seem to have been deceived or trifled with : but per
haps it is rather owing to the multiplicity of business the
board has on its hands, and your important occupations
not permitting you to follow it with such frequent solici
tations as are necessary to keep up its attention to this
particular affair. I have therefore thought of sending
over a person for that purpose, impowering him to stipu
late in my behalf what may be proper to remove little ob
stacles readily, without the delay attending letters. By
this means I would save you some of that trouble which
your goodness and humanity might otherwise continue
to lead you into. I would only desire you at present to

214 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
procure a safe conduct for the person ; his name is Edward
Bancroft. He is a gentleman of character and honour, who
will punctually observe such restrictions respecting his
conduct when in England as it may be thought reasonable
to lay him under. If this is or is not obtainable I beg
you will signify it by a line directed for him at M. Le-
veauxs. Merchant in Calais ; and that as soon as possible,
that he may not be fruitlessly detained long there in ex
pectation of it.
This proposal to send Dr. Bancroft would have, without
doubt, much facilitated raatters. The method of exchange
by means of commissaries is, we believe, generally in use
to-day. But Hartley seems to have entirely misconceived
the object. As we understand it, Bancroft was to reside
at London as commissary for the American Government,
who might obviate the difficulties naturally experienced
in continually sending over to Paris on every point. But
Hartley imagined that Bancroft's mission was merely to
superintend the actual exchange ; and rightly enough con
ceived that so simple a business needed no especial super
intendence. So he wrote to Bancroft to that effect, and
also to Franklia. Hartley to Franklin. London, March 30, 1779.
Dear Sie, — Yours of March 21st received. I have in
my own private thoughts been very much displeased with
the affair of the exchange of prisoners. I had, before the
receipt of yours, made some strong remonstrances upon
the subject, and yesterday I went again to the Admiralty
with my coraplaints. Mr. Stephens, the Secretary, did
assure me, upon his honor, that the delays had been una
voidable; that the transport was beat back twice or I

THE CARTEL SHIP ARRIVES. 215
think three times, between the Downs and Plymouth;
that so far from any wish of delay, they had appointed a
lieutenant to comraand the cartel ship and not a trading
owner, who might be tempted to make a job of delay.
He gave me such full assurances of the intentions of
government that I really hope they mean to proceed with
the quickest dispatch. You may be assured I wUl do
everything in my power to press them on. Every inci
dent, both great and small, concur, in my opinion, to
make peace most desirable. I know full well that our
wishes are in perfect unison, and I assure you that my
thoughts and labours are constantly employed upon that
subject. If any favourable moment should happen, even
of any chance of talking about peace, I am constantly
upon the watch. The principles alone upon which I
shall act (if ever I should have the opportunity of putting
my good wishes into action) are confidence, certainty,
national safety, and honour.
P. S. The following note just this raoraent received
from the Admiralty : —
"Mr. Stephens presents compts to Mr. Hartley, and
acquaints hira that the Milford Cartel ship sailed the
25*'' instant from Plymouth with American prisoners
for France."
The prisoners arrived in due course and were acknowl
edged in a postscript 1 to one of FrankUn's letters to
Hartley. " The first cargo of prisoners is arrived and exchanged ;
I have not heard that the MUford is sailed. There have
been abundance of high winds lately which perhaps have
^ 'Which Mr. Sparks curiously enough left unprinted, though he printed
the letter. See vol. viii. p. 345.

216 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
prevented. Accept my thanks for your unwearied pains
in that affair. Let me know, if you can, whether it is in
tended to send another hundred iramediately. In that
case I would assemble from the different prisons those
who are to be returned for them that the cartel ship may
find thera ready, and not be obliged to wait for them.
We have still a greater number in Spain.
" P. S. I suppose the money put into your hands for
the prisoners is expended. Please to let me know ; and
also inform me whether two smaU bills I gave you were
ever paid."

CHAPTEE XIL
hartley's DESIRES FOE PEACE.
FEANKLIN and the United States had in the EngUsh
Parliament throughout the Eevolutionary War, at
least one sturdy friend, who, had his powers been equal
to his desires, would have performed wonders in behalf of
the rebellious Colonies. The name of David Hartley is
familiar to all readers of Franklin's letters of this period,
as one who, through good and bad report, was ever ready
and wUling to lend his aid, such as it was, to any efforts
that might be on foot for a reconciliation between the two
parties of the " most unnatural war," as he himself aUudes
to the struggle. He was a member of ParUament, one of
Franklin's old friends in London, and the reader will re
member that it was through his efforts that some end was
reached in the business of exchanging those wretched
Americans who were languishing in Forton and Mill
prisons. But Hartley, as is weU known, was not one
of the leading powers in Parliament. On the whole iden
tified with the opposition, yet upon fair terms with Lord
North and the ministry, he could have been listened to
with pleasure by neither, if we raay judge of his eloquence
from the snatches of speeches which are preserved for us
in the lively pages of Hansard, or from the innumerable
and lengthy letters with which he favored the American
Minister at Paris. Hartley was decidedly not one of those
who have the God-given faculty to be a leader of men ;

218 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
but what he could do he was wUling and eager to perform.
And after Franklin had been in France no very great time,
after Burgoyne's defeat and during the negotiations for the
French Treaty, he thought that it would be not impossible
that some accommodation might be reached.
" You know," he writes, " that from the beginning of
these unfortunate disputes I have always kept my eye
upon every possible change of reconeUiation and peace.
I have wished to have had some specific propositions from
America. It has been a great argument against all propo
sitions which have been made in Parliament, ' How do we
know that if we were content to receive such or such
propositions upon your recommendation, that America
would accede to them ? What assurances on that head
can you give ? ' The objection has weakened the effect of
proposals for peace even in the minds of many people who
were well disposed, and who would perhaps have stretched
a point if they could have been assured of peace in conse
quence. The events of war do so affect the claims and
pretensions of parties that we lose every fixed point. Dum
loquimur tempus fugit. We should therefore settle some
point of departure. Even in the buying of an horse, if all
things are afloat, a man does not know himself what he
would give or what to offer ; but if a price is fixed, the
difficulty is reduced to the difference between the buyer
and the seller. If I stretch a point, I shall have the finest
horse in the country. I know his pedigree to be good, and
why should I let him go into the hands of a stranger who
would neither know his value nor use him well ? I can
easily suppose that objections raay occur to raaking ex
plicitly the first propositions. So it is in all treaties ; but
still there may be found reasonable and impartial people
to conceive soraething like • the terras that the parties
might meet upon in the nature of preliminaries. Perhaps

HARTLEY DESIRES A CONFERENCE. 219
a friend raight suggest a proposition, to lay a foundation in
good-wUl, even previous to prelirainaries, viz., that when
ever or whatever terras are finaUy settled, it shaU be
understood that the two countries shall always be mutu
ally naturalized, that every person born in either country
shall be considered as a natural born subject throughout
Great Britain and America, as before the troubles. If
preliminaries could be so far adjusted as once to settle a
suspension of hostilities, there stUl are strong raarks left
of a secret lurking affection between the parties, which
might smoothen the way to a full and final accommoda
tion. If the points of independence and of the commer
cial system could be accorded between the parties, as
preUminaries iu the gross, I should hope that all minute
points might be easily and amicably adjusted.
" It frequently happens between contending parties that,
meaning the same thing, they lose their object from want
of understanding each other. Let them have a talk to
gether. There is no risque in the case ; if they fail, they
are but where they were ; while they keep aloof and shy,
they can have no idea how the first concession on either
side would open the heart of the other. If it comes to
a parly, common friends may easily join their hands.
" There was a tirae when Araerica wished nothing in
consistent with the dignity and wellfare of the state from
which they derive their origin. I hope the same disposi
tions still continue. Some events which have recently
happened give a very high idea of their national character.
The present hour is very important. Perhaps you may
have seen in the public papers that we are to expect some
propositions to settle the troubles in America. Nothing is
yet known with respect to these propositions. But if any
idea of the dispositions of the other side could be con
veyed in trust, some material good towards the great

220 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
object of peace might result, if the difference (supposing
any) should be thought surmountable. The baUance must,
in my opinion, be very great between the scales if peace,
thrown in on either side, would not make the other kick
the beam, more especially if fundamentals can be once
settled. The constancy of your attention to every chance
of procuring peace and of forwarding the cause of human
ity will always ensure to so respectable a character the
truest regard and affection from their friends. This comes
from a sincere friend of peace and of peacemakers, and
much yours."
We have no direct answer from Franklin to this note.
He was, perhaps, busier than Hartley. At any rate, we
generally find three letters of the Englishman to one of
the American. ' As a rule, however, Franklin's one letter
is better reading than all three of Hartley's put together.
Hartley was, we grieve to say, an intolerable proser.
Later, however, Franklin did write. Passy, Feb. 1, 1778.
My dear OLD FRIEND, — You desired that if I had no
propositions to make, I would at least give advice. I think
it is Ariosto who says that all things lost on earth are to
be found in the moon ; on which soraebody remarked that
there must be a great deal of good advice in the moon.
If so, there is amongst it a good deal of mine, formerly
given and lost in this business. I will, however, at your
request, give a little more, but without the expectation
that it wUl be followed ; for none but God can, at the
same time, give good counsel, and wisdom to make use
of it.
You have lost by this mad war, and the barbarity with
which it has been carried on, not only the government and

FRANKLIN GIVES ADVICE. 221
commerce of America, and the public revenues and private
wealth arising from that commerce, but what is more,
you have lost the esteem, respect, friendship, and affection
of all that great and growing people ; who consider you at
present, and whose posterity will consider you, as the
worst and wickedest nation upon earth. A peace you may
undoubtedly obtain by dropping all your pretensions to
govern us; and by your superior skill in huckstering
negotiation, you may possibly make such an apparently
advantageous treaty as shall be applauded in your ParUa
ment. But if you do not, with the peace, recover the
affections of that people, it will not be a lasting nor a
profitable one; nor will it afford you any part of that
strength which you once had by your union with them,
and might, if you had been wise enough to take advice,
have stUl retained.
To recover their respect and affection, you must tread
back the steps you have taken. Instead of honouring and
rewarding the American advisers and promoters of this
war, you should disgrace them, with all those who have
infiamed the nation against America, and all the ministers
and generals who have prosecuted the war with such
inhumanity. This would show a national change of dis
position, or a disapprobation of what had passed.
In proposing terms, you should not only grant such as
the necessity of your affairs may evidently oblige you to
grant, but such additional ones as may show your gen
erosity, and thereby demonstrate your good-will. For
instance, perhaps you might by your treaty retain all
Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Floridas. But if you would
have a real friendly, as well as able ally in America, and
avoid occasions of future discord which will otherwise be
continually arising on your American frontiers, you should
throw in those .countries ; and you may call it, if you

222 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
please, an indemnification for the needless and cruel burn
ing of their towns ; which indemnification wiU otherwise
be sometime or other demanded.
I know your people cannot see the utiUty of such
measures, and will never follow them. I have, however,
complied with your desire, and am, as ever.
Your affectionate friend, B. Franklin.
At the very time of the signing of the Treaty of
AUiance, before the rumor of it had reached London, the
ministry had resolved upon schemes of conciliation. On
the 17th of February Lord North brought m his two bills,
one declaratory regarding taxation, and the other appoint
ing coraraissioners, with considerable powers, to treat with
Congress, the provincial assemblies, Washington, and
others. The scheme was received with jeers from the
opposition, and with dejection by Lord North's own sup
porters. But Hartley deterrained to make the best of it.
He wrote the next day to Franklin : — London, Feb. 18, 1778.
My Dear Sir, — I hope in God that no fatal step is
yet taken between America and the Court of France^
which will defeat the hope of a reunion between Great
Britain and America. I told you that better times would
come. They are come. I hardly can describe to you the
substance of what passed in the house of commons last
night. Lord North laid before the house an explanation
of his propositions, in which he has done justice to those
dispositions for peace and for a settlement of America
which he expressed in the course of a negotiation upon a
1 The treaties between France and America were signed on the 6th of
this same month.

LORD NORTH'S OPINIONS. 223
subordinate point (I mean the affair of the prisoners).
There are no specific propositions before the house, but
only his explanation of the intent of two bills which are
to be brought in. One of the bills is expressly to relin
quish the ParUamentary taxation. The other is to appoint
Commissioners to treat with any persons whatsoever and
upon any topics. I think we understood that they are to
be, or in effect at least to be, plenipotentiaries. In short,
if the bUl corresponds to what has been announced, it wUl
give full powers to the Coraraissioners for a cessation of
hostilities, treaty, peace, and perpetual union with Araerica.
The order for bringing the bill passed, nemine contradicente.
I hope in God that it is not come too late. In my opinion,
I do attribute in a great degree the present change of
measure in Lord North to the effect of your wise and
temperate counsels and of your friendly, I must add your
magnanimous, affection to this country, which were con
veyed to him on a late occasion. He was possessed of a
very high opinion and respect for your person and charac
ter, and so I found him upon the opening of our conferences.
But when I expressed to him the reality of your character,
and that you had stood in the gap to prevent the rupture
to the very last point of defence, and that the only hopes
of peace rested upon your prudent and temperate manage
ment, the manner of his coraraunication with rae was
totally altered to a full and friendly confidence. He al
lowed me to read to him ray letter to you of the 25th of
Deer., which Mr. Thornton brought over to you. He gave
me full assurances that I should not be interrupted in any
correspondence with you. He told me that I could not
serve my country more essentiaUy than by cultivating
every intercourse that might forward peace. He expressed
his full approbation of my going to Paris to have a con
ference with you. In short, in everything he expressed

224 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the sineerest dispositions tovy^ards Peace, and by his conduct
yesterday he has avowed them to the public. If it be stUl
in your power to [blank] the fatal act of final separation,
I am confident that peace is now practicable. If this be
StUl in your power, I know no sentiraent of the heart that
can rival the reward due to yours. That good old man
may corapose his heart to a blessed rest who leaves behind
him peace to his country and to mankind.
Acting on this perraission of Lord North's, Hartley
visited Franklin. He arrived on Sunday, the 19th, and
seeras to have stayed until the next Thursday. He was
instructed to ask whether America would not, to obtain
peace, grant some superior advantages to Britain and enter
into an alUance offensive and defensive ; and also, should
war be declared against France, if we had obliged ourselves
to join her against England. Unfortunately, conversation
is not preserved for us as are letters. We have no record
of what was said by him or by Franklin ; but it is im
probable that anything passed of iraportance. Franklin,
if we can judge from the tone of his letters, was by no
means willing to withdraw a foot from his standpoint, —
the moraent being as it was the very tirae of the whole
war (before Yorktown) when it seeraed most probable that
America, with the aid of her two allies, France and Time,
would be able to make her own terms of peace.
John Adaras, however, considered Hartley as a spy, and
Franklin hiraself wrote to Vergennes that he should avoid
such interviews in the future. He thought they were
liable to misrepresentation, and that they were evidently
intended to make a breach between France and America.
Vergennes thanked him for this loyalty.
On his return Hartley formulated his ideas as to terms
in one or two letters : —

HARTLEY'S VIE'WS. 225
London, May 15, 1778.
Dear Sie, — I send you the heads of negotiation which
have occurred to me as the most probable foundations for
peace. What the opinions or plans of other persons may
be, I do not know ; but the enclosed are the principles
which I would recommend, if my recommendation might
have any effect.
That America should be declared independent.
That Great Britain and America shall engage mutually
not to enter into any treaty offensive to each other.
That an open and free trade shall be established between
Great Britain and North America.
That a mutual naturalization shall be established be
tween G. B. and N. A.
That a foederal alliance shall be negotiated between
G. B. and N. A, by persons authorized for that purpose to
treat with the Congress in America.
And later on he writes, after remarking that the unsatis
factory answers to the Commissioners have not been sur
prising on the whole, —
I remember a phrase of yours in a letter some time
ago, that a little time given for cooling, on both sides, would
have excellent effects. I always did, and do still, agree
with this sentiment; and if I were to raediate between
the two countries, it should be upon a principle con
formable to that sentiment. My first proposition should
be, —
To withdraw all the fleets and arraies.
2dly. To proclaira a cessation of all hostUities, both by
sea and land, for 5 years.
3dly. All prisoners on either side to be discharged
immediately. 15

226 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
4th. A free and-open trade, without any molestation on
either side whatever.
5thly. All mutual intercourse and mutual naturalization
to be restored as forraerly between Great Britain and
North America.
6thly. A treaty of peace, alliance, and commerce to be
negotiated between the two countries.
In answer to Hartley's views upon this topic, Franklin
sent the following : — Passy, Sep. 3, 1778.
Deae Sir, — I received duly your favours of July 14
and August 14, I hoped to have answered them sooner
by sending the passport. Multiplicity of business has, I
suppose, been the only occasion of delay in the Ministers
to consider of and make out the said passport. I hope
now soon to have it, as I do not find there is any objection
made to it. In a former letter I proposed to you that the
exchange would, in my opinion, be preferable at or near
Brest, and I expected some time your answer on that
point. But perhaps you have not received my letter ; you
say nothing of it.
I wish with you as much for the restoration of Peace
as we both formerly did for the continuance of it. But it
must now be a peace of a different kind. I was fond to
a folly of our British connections, and it was with infiidte
regret that I saw the necessity you would force us into of
breaking it. But the extreme cruelty with which we have
been treated has now extinguished every thought of re
turning to it, and separated us for ever. You have thereby
lost limbs that will never grow again.
We, too, have suffered greatly ; but our losses wUl soon
be repaired by our good government, our industry, and the
fertUity of our country. And we now see the mischievous

FRANKLIN'S FAREWELL TO ENGLAND. 227
consequences of such a connection, and the danger of their
being repeated if we should be weak enough to enter into
it; we see this to plainly ever to listen in the least to
any such proposition. We may therefore, with great pro
priety, take leave of you in those beautiful Unes of Dante
to the late mistress of his affections.-^
1 Exactly the lines which Franklin meant can only be conjectured, for
he did not append them to the draft of this letter. They may be those
which Longfellow has translated: —
** Thou from a slave hast brought me Into freedom.
By all those ways, hy all the expedients.
Whereby thou badst the power of dping it"

CHAPTEE XIII.
1778.
THE arrival of Mr. John Adams on the Sth of April,
1778, introduced a new element into American affairs
in Paris. It may be said, indeed, that Mr. Adams's ap
pearance anywhere generally added vivacity to the enter
tainment ; and his stay in Paris for the interesting though
not very eventful year before he returned to America, is
no exception to that remark. Arthur Lee was running
backwards and forwards as the year went by, and always
made as much mischief as was possible for a man who
was conceited, honest, and half crazy. Mr. Adams's nar
rative and his letters give a most interesting and valuable
account of the period of his stay in France. Eager to be
of use to his country, he took measures to provide the
journals of France and other countries with information
favorable to the Araerican interests. He studied French
assiduously, and soon became able to join intelligently
in conversation with his French friends. He generally
speaks of Franklin with respect, but for the showy French
admiration of Franklin he had the amused contempt not
unnatural for a New Englander ; and in some passages he
does not conceal his impression that Franklin was carried
away by a love of admiration and flattery.^ His sharp
1 "That he was a great genius, a great wit, a great humorist, a great
satirist, and a great politician, is certain. That he was a great philosopher,
a great moralist, and a great statesman, is more questionable." This was
written late in Mr. Adams's life, and the word "philosopher" is to be
taken in its more modem meaning as a student of intellectual philosophy.

JOHN ADAMS ON FRANKLIN. 229
letter to Samuel Adams, written in the summer of this
year, has been often printed. Like much of what he
wrote, it contains expressions colored more or less by the
prejudice of the moment, yet John Adams was well enough
satisfied with it to cite it in his owu digest of his journal,
when he revised that journal in his later years. This
letter was a public document, and as such it was printed by
Sparks in the "Diplomatic Correspondence." A private
letter of December in the same year is more explicit.
John Adams to Samuel Adams. Paris, Dec. 7, 1778.
The other [B. Franklin] you know personally, and that
he loves his Ease, hates to offend, and seldom gives any
opinion till obliged to do it. I know also, and it is necessary
that you should be informed, that he is overwhelmed with
a correspondence from all quarters, most of thera upon
trifling subjects and in a more trifiing style, with unmean
ing visits from Multitudes of People, chiefiy frora the
Vanity of having it to say that they have seen him.
There is another thing which I am obliged to mention.
There are so many private famUies, Ladies, and gentlemen
that he visits so often, — and they are so fond of hira, that
he cannot well avoid it, — and so much intercourse with
Academicians, that all these things together keep his
mind in a constant state of dissipation. If indeed you
take out of his hand the Public Treasury and the direction
of the Frigates and Continental vessels that are sent here,
When Mr. Adams was crossing the ocean with Marbois, he wrote of Frank
lin, "He is a great philosopher, but as a legislator of America he has
done veiy little." And again, " I said that Mr. Franklin had great merit
as a philosopher, his discoveries in electricity were very grand, and he
certainly was a great genius, and had great merit in our American affairs."
Here the word "philosopher" is used as we might use "physicist" or
"man of science."

230 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and all Commercial affairs, and entrust them to Persons
to be appointed by Congress, at Nantes and Bourdeaux, I
should think it would be best to have him here alone
with such a Secretary as you can confide in. But if he is
left here alone even with such a Secretary, and all mari
time and Commercial as well as political affairs and money
matters are left in his Hands, I am persuaded that France
and America will both have Eeason to repent it. He is
not only so indolent that Business will be neglected, but
you know that although he has as determined a soul as
any man, yet it is his constant Policy never to say " yes "
or " no " decidedly but when he cannot avoid it. . . .
Mr. Adams had been appointed as the successor to Mr.
Deane, who was recalled to Araerica by a resolution of
Congress, passed Noveraber 21, 1777, which he received in
March, 1778. Franklin sent to the President of Congress
a letter by him, in wliich he said, "No reasons being
given that have yet appeared here, it [the recall] is appre
hended to be the effect of some representations from an
enemy or two at Paris and at Nantes." Franklin then
passed a very honorable testiraony to hira as a " faithful,
active, and able minister." To Deane himself he wrote in
a letter well known in the controversy which followed, —
a letter which any man might be proud to leave to his
children. Vergennes wrote to him a similar letter and
sent him the portrait of the King. Deane came home in
the Languedoc, the fiagship of D'Estaing, with him. On
leaving France he wrote to Franklin the following letter :
Silas Deane to Franklin. Aix, April 8, 1778.
Dear Sie, — I find that I shall have little time to
spare, and can therefore only inform you that we arrived

DEANE TO FRANKLIN. 231
here the 6th without accident, — our Friend, the day after;
and that we hope to go forward in two or three days.
The greateful sense which I retain of the many civUities
shewn me by our friends at Paris and at Passy makes rae
regret my having been obliged to set out without bidding
them adieu in person. Perrait rae, therefore, to ask you,
as you often see thera, to make my apology at a proper
time for what may otherways appear uncivil in me. I
wish it in particular to the Due de Eochefaucault, to
Mad* La Duchesse d'Anville, Mons. Turgot, and Mons.
Francia. You must excuse my giving you this trouble, as
I cannot be willing to have thera think rae wanting in
that respect which is their due and which I shall ever
retain for thera.
Accept, ray venerable friend, my warmest thanks for
the friendship and confidence you have honoured me
with from the first of our acquaintance, and for the honor
able testimony you have given of me to the Congress.
Disagreeable as it is to have enemies, I must consider it,
on the whole, as the most fortunate circumstance of my
life ; since by their raeans my countrymen and posterity
wUl know that you were my friend, and that the part I
acted in the important station I had the honor of being
placed in with you had your approbation. I can never
while I live cease to wish for the happiness and prosperity
of my country, and that your life and health may be con
tinued to you for a long time to come, that you may have
the pleasure of seeing and enjoying the fruits of your
labours for our common country. Be pleased to present
my compliments to your son. I have the honor to remain,
with the greatest respect and esteem. Dear Sir,
Your most obed' and very hum' Serv*,
S. Deane.

232 FRANIvLIN IN FRANCE.
We are able to contribute to the discussion, which can
not he said to be yet closed, as to the wisdom of Mr.
Deane's course in France, the following letter from Mr.
Adams himself to a correspondent in Nantes, and also a
letter from hira to James Lovell, in Philadelphia. They
are as honorable to Mr. Adams as they are on the whole
creditable to Mr, Deane.
John Adams to William McCreary. Passi, Sept. 25, 1778.
If I had been strongly against Mr. Deane, I should
certainly avow it and make no secret of it at all. I have
never been used to disguise my sentiments of Men whom
I have been against in public Life, and I certainly should
not begin with Mr. Deane, who is not and never was a
Man of Iraportance enough to make rae deviate from a
Eule that I have observed all my life, vizt., when obliged
to be a Man's Enemy, to be openly and generously so.
John Adams to James Lovell. Passi, Sept. 26, 1778.
In a letter from Mr. Simeon Deane to his Brother,
genuine or forged I know not, it is said that the two
A  s are strongly against you. The Merabers of Con
gress who were with me any Time knew very well that I
have been for hira. They also knew very well that some
Instances of his Conduct were very mysterious to me, and
that, as then informed, I disapproved them ; but I believe
no body knows any one Member of Congress who did
approve them, at least I don't recollect one, altho all
treated him and his Character with great tenderness. I
mean his extravagant Contracts with foreign officers, made
without the least Authority, — made, indeed, at a time
when he had no Commission from Congress. The letter-

LETTER FROM JOHN ADAMS. 283

writer says he knew not to what lengths the two A-

intend to push their " Factions." I don't know what he
means by their Factions, but I suppose they would pursue
their Integrity and their Duty to their Constituents so far
as to vote for Mr, Deans settling his accounts, either with
Congress, or somebody appointed by Congress.
Mr. Adams's own views, as they develop from time to
time, on the quarrels in the American colony may be
gathered from the following letters to Mr. McCreary : —
John Adams to William McCreary. Passi, May 14, 1778.
The Gentleman you allude to, I hope has been more
upon his Guard, because from a long Acquaintance with
his Character and Conduct, I know he has Abilities and
Merit, and from all that I have seen of hira here, I am
convinced that he is actuated by great zeal and Anxiety
for the public good. A fatal Misunderstanding between
some characters of importance has given rise to Eeflections
upon each other's Conduct that must have hurt the Eepu-
tation of our Country. The Gentleman you allude to
thinks that our affairs have been Mismanaged, and the
public Interest imprudently dissipated, and that many
Persons have been improperly admitted to the public
Purse. Another Gentleman, who has had the principal
Direction of the Purse, complains of Eeflections upon the
French Nation and Government, Custoras, Manners, &c.
I wish there was no ground for any of these Eeflections.
But one Thing I know : that an iraraense sum of Money
is gone, that a great sum of Money is still due. And
another thing I know: that I am at a loss to discover
what America has received as an equivalent for all these
Sums and Debts.

234 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. Passi, July 31, 1778.
I am extremely sorry that any of our Americans should
express themselves so unkindly of their Commissioner
here. I hope they had not Eeason. I am really surprised
to find that a failure in a punctual Eeturn of a visit, or in
giving an answer to a Letter of no Importance to the Pub
lic, should give so much Miff as it does. I can say with
Truth, that if the Commissioners should make it a rule to
return all Visits and answer all Letters, no Part of the
Public Business would be done. Passi, Sept. 7, 1778.
But be not deceived, Mr. McCreary. There are inter
ested Combinations in this Country. Americans, French
men, and I fear Englishmen, too, are concerned in them.
These People have Spies, Tools, and Emissaries all about,
who are taught and employed to fill the Heads of Ameri
cans with discontent. Let them go on. So sure as there
is a futurity, so sure these Combinations will be brought
to Ught. And the Truth will finally be made to appear, to
the full justification of the innocent, faithful, and dis
interested servant of his Country, and to the Confusion
and Disgrace of the mere Lovers of theinselves, who think
to obtain opportunities of making private Fortunes by
exciting Prejudices against Persons who are sinking and
sacrificing theirs in this Camp, and who have been doing
so for fifteen years.
Long periods passed during this year in which the Com
missioners had no advices from home. But there was no
such thrilling news at home as the surrender of Burgoyne.
The most iraportant matters which the Commissioners
themselves had to attend to were the naval affairs on the
English coast, and the preservation of the pecuniary credit of
America. To these subjects we shall give separate chapters.

SHELBURNE'S SPEECH. 235
The impression made in England by Burgoyne's sur
render drove Lord North to what he called his " concUia
tory " propositions of 1778 ; and there was a considerable
period in the winter and spring when it seemed as if there
might be good sense enough in England to make peace on
the basis of independence.' FrankUn himself vreites to
Hartley, " Seriously, on further thoughts, I am of opinion
that, if wise and honest men, such as Sir George Sa-
viUe, the Bishop of St. Asaph, and yourself, were to
come over here immediately with powers to treat, you
might not only obtain peace with America, but prevent
a war with France."
Hartley must have received this letter when he offered
the resolutions of which we have spoken.
Benjamin Vaughan thought Lord Shelburne's speech
so important that he sent his own sketch of it to
Franklin in the following letter : —
Minutes taken mem oriter /rom Z*^- S's Speech,
March 5th, 1778.
March 5, 1778. Not a time to talk about ministers in
consistency, but to explain our views.
The war raust end, and troops be withdrawn, but no
independence alluded to ; for when that happens, England's
sun is set. We raust go back to as rauch of the connec
tion as we can, and have "one friend, one eneray, one
purse, and one superintendence of commerce." The mutual
checks would be of mutual use. Commercial treaty of no
avail, either to England or France, — witness Bacon's inter-
cursus magnus, which in years was called [blank] entered
1 The second volume of Hutchinson's Diary contains many indications
of such hopes.

236 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
into a [blank] ; and Mr. Methuen's history of these [blank]
Portugal Treaty. [Blank] treaties and of [blank] com
mercial treaties. To make this go down we in general
[blank] with Congress, we must [blank] give Canada,
Scotia, the lakes, Newfoundland, Cape Breton, The Floridas,
and the Mississippi, to be governed loj Congress, by name.
In Congress there are many honest and sagacious men. If
we are left with these stations, they [the Congress] will
have us waiting for their dissensions then to interfere ; and
we on our part shall have extent enough to swallow up
our present force — which must not occupy where it is.
The paltry governors ' and low views of patronage must be
given up ; they never were useful, never could be well as
sorted. America will have the capital of our raerchants,
and a harmless king, who might save a worse power being
looked for among theraselves ; and this, also, joined by a
thousand uses, privileges, and ties. And when I made such
proposals, I would seek dignified language, and soften all
urabrageousness. I know what is to be urged on the other
side, but I would say with Bacon, revenge is not infinite,
and vindictive war goes not beyond the injury.
As I assent heartily to the matter of two of the bills,
and shall let the other pass, I must explain the vote. I
don't like the preamble. (He went into a short discussion.)^
I shall, when I vote thus, shew that I foresaw the effects.
When France comes abreast with us to congress, let us
suppose that they state our merits in columns, side by
1 Had formerly planned to leave them to the election of the people
themselves in projected new .settlements, as persons could be brought to the
bar to prove. But Mr. GrenviUe overruled. He found great difficulties
to get lit country gentlemen, sea officers, or land officers to accept of
governments. ^ Talked about a rejection of an article in the Treaty of Utrecht by
Parliament which L*. Bolingbroke had presumed to treat for, though
relating to an act of Parliament.

ANECDOTE FROM BACON. 237
side ; for it is lawful to leam method, even from a rebel
(Dr. Franklin). In one column will come the offers of
France, as we may conceive, fair and large. In the other
wUl come the bill, as we see it offered by the minister, —
by the minister who starved, who tomahawked them, and
who bribed their servants to cut their throats ; who spread
Catholic despotism along one frontier, and plunder and
prohibition on the other; who violated governments, re
fused petitions, and broke faith, &c., &c. And what hold
has America on our country ? Is it in ParUament, which
echoes and changes as its leaders give the word and change ?
Is it in ministers, who are seen [doubtful] even when
bringing inquiry upon the enormity of the cost ? Is it in
the faith of ministers ? There are countries where the
word of ministers would be taken ; in France and Austria
a Choiseul and a Kaunitz have refused to break theirs for a
king, and [the time] has corae when the king has thanked
them. But now to look at home. We have been told we are
on the eve of war, and yet not one step taken to prepare.
We have just reprobated our navy. And what is the
number of our allies ? We have meraorialized away the
attachment of Holland ; we have detached Portugal ; and
no one knows our standing in Germany. It is no longer
the country of independent Barons; it is getting into 7
or 8 successions, and Germany and Prussia swallowing up
the few that remain.
When I read of the petition just voted by the city, I
thought they might have summed up their intentions in
the sayings of the Spanish Statesman in Bacon, to Philip :
" For your majesty's comfort, you have upon earth but two
enemies: one the whole world,, the other your own min
isters." Yet when I hear of the many millions assembled
against us and the few for us, I know what is to be done

238 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
by vigour. When Scotland was still separated, I remem
ber the effect Clarendon states as produced by one man's
vigour, Cromwell, upon Europe. Ministers may injure and
kings be delayed beyond redemption ; but yet I say this,
that we may not sink our spirit along with our hope.
When the mention of independence comes from min
istry, it is, in vulgar language, the thief that first robs and
then fires the house in order to cover his escape. If
America is independent, we must demand of rainisters the
blessings they have lost; for they received everything
peaceable and safe. I well reraember the attorney and
solicitor generals testified under their hands the calm that
had intervened. It is one cause of my objections to inde
pendence, that it will be impracticable to avoid having
rendered to us shocking personal accounts.
(N. B. Much extraneous matter occurred which is
omitted. The Lords Mansfield, Harford, Denbigh, and Lord
Bute's son. I verily believe the believe [sic] was meant
to unite some at home and divide America. It faUed in
the first, partly from its humility, impracticability, or
[blank] ; and when this was seen, it fell down upon the
minister, and has become a derelict in both houses. Peo
ple did not know their part ; and had it been balloted,
might have been lost. Yet we are really tired of the war
— and of the ministry.)
The English government, indeed, was at last fully im
pressed with the idea of the necessity of a recon cilia tio'ri
with her Colonies. But as often happens in English
diplomacy, the administration had taken this view too
late, and could not even yet see how far they must go to
secure their wishes. Various messengers were despatched
to Franklin in Paris. One of these was David Hutton,
a charitable Moravian gentleman, whom Franklin had

CHARLES DE WEISSENSTEIN. 239
known well in England, and who was supposed to have
personal access to the King and Queen. Hartley, as we
have seen, came over. There were also other agents more
or less distinctly avowed. Williara Pulteney, a member
of Parliaraent, was one ; and a Mr. Chapman, a member
of the Irish Parliament, was another. Of all such over
tures the most extraordinary was one made in an anony
mous letter which was " thrown into one of our grates " '
the first week in July. This letter affected to be from
Charles de Weissenstein, and was dated at Brussels the
16th of June. It is too long to print at full length, but
the whole is curious and remarkable. It considers inde
pendence as irapossible. " Our title to the empire is in
disputable. It wiU be asserted either by ourselves or
successors whenever occalsion presents." Franklin was sure
that this letter came from the King. He said " that there
were in the letter infallible marks by which he knew that
it came from the King, and that it could not have come
from any other without the King's knowledge. Many
other hints have been dropped by Franklin to rae of
some mysterious correspondence between the Kiag and
him personally." 2
This extraordinary letter proposed that the answer
should be given, at an hour named, to a gentleman who
should be waiting for it in Notre Dame, who should drop
a piece of crumpled paper on the fioor as an evidence of
whom he was. The letter closed with the following pas
sage, in which a very ingenious reader may possibly find
a sign of the King's hand : —
" And now, Sir, I will take my leave of you, confiding
in your personal honor and that of the country which
1 This phrase is Mr. Adams's. It probably means that the letter was
thrown into one of the grated gateways of the house at Passy.
2 The Life and 'Works of John Adams, voL iii., 178.

240 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
you represent, that, if you do not choose to accept my
offers, and are not in earnest to bring about this recon
ciliation, or if you have entered into negotiations with
England by other means, you will instantly destroy these
papers, and make no use of them disadvantageous to liim
whom I have employed on this errand nor to me. In
case you send any terms, do not be impatient to know
what has been done with thera. There are many circum
stances of time and opportunity which must be raanaged,
and which cannot be previously foreseen. Sufficeth it
that you can but stand in the same place as you do now,
whatever part ministry or parliaments take.
Your humble servant, and a well-wisher to all men of
science and liberal mind, and a friend of liberty,
Charles de Weissenstein."
Of the plan itself with which the letter closed, the
following extraordinary proposal made the sixth article :
" As the conspicuous public part which some American
gentlemen have taken may expose them to the personal
enmity of some of the chief persons in Great Britain, and
as it is unreasonable that their services to their country
should deprive them of those advantages which their
talents would otherwise have gained them, the following
persons shaU have offices, or pensions for life, at their
option, according to the sums opposite their respective
names : — Messrs. Adams,Hancock,
Washington, Franklin,
&c., &c., &c.
In case his Majesty or his successors shall ever create
American Peers, then these persons, or their descendants.

FRANKLIN'S ANSWER. 241
shall be amongst the first so created, if they choose it,
Mr. Washington to have immediately a brevet of Lieuten
ant General, and all the honors and precedence incident
thereto, but not to assume or bear any command without
a special warrant or letter of service for that purpose from
the King."
As this letter was addressed to Franklin personally, it
was agreed that he should answer it personally, and he
did so. Mr. Adams says, " He sent them an answer in
which they have a dose which will make thera sick." And
Mr. Sparks says, "The whole letter is one of the best speci
mens of the writer's peculiar clearness and vigor of thought
and felicity of style." It is written with the expectation
that it would be read by the King. The following passages
will give an idea of the directness of the answer. " The
very proposing of a correspondence so to be raanaged, in a
manner not necessary where fair dealing is intended, gives
just reason to suppose you intend the contrary. Besides,
as your court has sent Commissioners to treat With Con
gress, with all the powers that could be given them by the
crown under the act of Parliament, what good purpose can
be served by privately obtaining propositions from us?
Before those Coraraissioners went we might have treated,
in virtue of our general powers (with the knowledge, ad
vice, and approbation of our friends,) upon any propositions
made to us. But, under the present circurastances, for us
to make propositions, while a treaty is supposed to be
actually on foot with the Congress, would be extremely
improper, highly presumptuous with regard to our con
stituents, and answer no good end whatever."
The letter closes with the following vigorous state
ment, which must have been read with satisfaction by
George III. : — 16

242 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE,
"This proposition of delivering ourselves, bound and
gagged, ready for hanging, without even a right to com
plain, and without a friend to be found afterwards among
all mankind, you would have us embrace upon the faith
of an act of Parliament ! Good God ! an act of your
Parliament ! This demonstrates that you do not yet know
us, and that you fancy we do not know you. But it is not
merely this flimsy faith that we are to act upon ; you
offer us hope, — the hope of places, pensions, and peee-
ages. These, judging from yourselves, you think are
motives irresistible. This offer to corrupt us. Sir, is with
me your credential, and convinces me that you are not a
private volunteer in your application. It bears the stamp
of British court character. It is even the signature of
your King. But think for a moment in what light it must
be viewed in Araerica. By places, you mean places
among us, for you can take care by a special article to
secure your own to yourselves. We must then pay the
salaries in order to enrich ourselves with these places.
But you will give us pensions, probably to be paid, too,
out of your expected American revenue, and which none
of us can accept without deserving, and perhaps obtaining,
a sv^-pension. Peerages ! Alas ! Sir, our long observa
tion of the vast servile majority of your peers, voting
constantly for every measure proposed by a minister, how
ever weak or wicked, leaves us small respect for that title.
We consider it as a sort of tar-and-featJier honor, or a mix
ture of foulness and folly, which every man among us who
should accept it from your King would be obUged to
renounce, or exchange for that conferred by the mobs of
their own country, or wear it with everlasting infamy."
Mr. Adams thinks that this letter was never sent. Mr.
Sparks found both letter and answer in the French

AMERICAN EXCHANGE. 243
archives, and printed Franklin's answer.-^ A translation of
the Weissenstein letter is in the Sparks manuscripts. On
the day and hour appointed at Notre Dame, an Irishman,
named "Col. Fitz something," appeared at the place ap
pointed and reraained for two hours, tracked all the time
by the police, who had been directed by Vergennes to keep
an eye upon him.
At the very same time Franklin communicated to Ver
gennes the following paper, bearing on a financial ques
tion as to the difference between English and French
exchange : — Franklin to Vergennes.
It seems to have been insinuated, either thro' mistake
or ill-will to the United States, —
1. That their merchants have combined to depreciate
the bills drawn on France.
2. That their trade with England is as great as before
the war.
I have known two instances when bills of exchange on
England have fallen more than 15 per cent lower than the
present price of bills on France.
The first was in 1739, when, an expedition being pro
jected against Carthagene, the government of England
ordered 3,000 men to be raised in America and transports
with provisions, &c., to be furnished, for the amount of
which expense bills were ordered to be drawn on the
Treasury at London. This adventitious quantity of bills
coming into market, and being raore than the common
course of the commerce required, occasioned the lower-
1 He thought the letter important enough to copy it in his own hand,
and it is from his manuscript that we copy the passages above. The whole
letter would fill fifteen or twenty of our pages.

244 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ing of their price 42| per cent below the rate before
accustomed. The like happened a few years after, when, on a prospect
of short crops of corn in Europe, orders were received in
America to purchase and send over vast quantities, and to
draw bills and seU them in the country in order to raise
money for the purchase. This sudden addition to the
quantity of bUls produced a fall of 46 per cent in their
price. And this must always happen in some proportion
when the quantity of any article in commercio exceeds the
present demand.
And when it is considered that the merchants of America
are numerous, and dispersed thro' 13 different provinces at
great distances from each other, such a combination wUl
appear as improbable as that the farmers in France should
combine to raise the price of wheat.
With regard to the English Commerce, there is none
certainly but what is contraband, and there can be no
temptation to such contraband but for particular com
modities that are cheaper here than in France. The
quantity, therefore, cannot be great. Such contraband is
found difficult to prevent in all countries. It is carried on
at this tirae between France and England. But there are
many commodities much cheaper in France, such as wines,
silks, oil, modes, &c., which will be of great consumption
in America ; and when correspondencies are once settled,
and the people there become acquainted vnth the manu
factures of France, the deraand for thera will increase,
those raanufactures will of course be iraproved in good
ness and cheapness, and the trade continue to augment
accordingly. It is difficult to change suddenly the whole current of
connections, correspondencies, and confidences that subsist
between merchants and carry them all into a new channel;

THE MORAVIAN MISSION. 245
but time and a continuance of friendship will make great
alterations.^ Mr. Sparks published in the fifth volume of Franklin's
works the curious passport sent to all the American cruisers,
ordering them to exempt from injury the packets which
the Moravian brethren from year to year despatched to
their station in Labrador. The draft of this passport for
the year 1778 goes into some additional details, which
make it worth preserving. 28 June, 1778.
To all Commanders of Armed Vessels belonging to the United
States of America :
Gentlemen, — Whereas the religious society commonly
called the Moravian brethren, has established a mission
on the northern part of the Labradore coast, for the good
purpose of civiUzing and converting to Christianity the
barbarians who live there, and by that means put an end
to their custom of plundering, murdering the people of
our fishing vessels and others passing in those seas ; and
whereas, those missionaries and their famUies depend for
subsistence in that unfertile country on the supplies an
nuaUy sent them and on the friendship of the natives, which
is maintained by little presents of iron ware, all furnished
by charitable subscriptions in England, — the interruption
of which supplies might hazard the loss of those pious
missionaries, and ruin an enterprise beneficial to huraanity,
— I do therefore hereby [inforra you] that the sloop "Good
Intent," burthen about 75 tons, Capt. Francis Mugford,
carrying in the present voyage about 5000 bricks for
building chimneys, with provisions and necessaries for the
' Our copy of this letter bears this endorsement : " Passy, 6 July, 1778.
The above paper was delivered to M. de Rayneval, to be by him communi
cated to Ct. Vergennes, in order to correct some wrong ideas of that
minister.''

246 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
missionaries and their assistants, and some ironmongery
and tin ware for the Indians, — the crew consisting of the
Captain, Mate, three men, and a boy ; and the passengers,
one man and three women, — is the vessel employed in the
above service for the present year. And I request if the
said vessel should be met with by any of you, that you
would not consider her as a merchantman, proper to be
made a prize of, but rather concur benevolently in pro
moting so good a design, by permitting her to pass freely,
and affording her any such assistance which the casualties
of the sea may have rendered necessary ; in which I am
persuaded your conduct will be approved not only in your
breasts, but by the Congress, by your owners, and by all
mankind. Wishing you all success and prosperity, I
have the honour to be, gentlemen.
Your raost obedient humble servant,
B. Feanklin,
One of the Plenipotentiary Ministers of the
United States at the Court of France.
Paris, June 22, 1778.
We are able to print for the first time a curious joumal
of Franklin's, containing his own studies regarding his
own health, written out in the autumn of this year.
They have a certain value as indicating the beginning of
the decline of health, which is often alluded to, after the
year 1780. It will be observed that a postscript to this
paper was written in January of that year.
Passt, Oct. i, 1778.
As my constitution appears to have undergone some
considerable changes within the lafet 3 or 4 years, it may
be of use to make some notes of the changes past, and to
continue them, in order to ascertain what are hurtful or
beneficial.

NOTES ON FRANKLIN'S HEALTH. 247
I had enjoyed continued health for near 20 years,
except once in two or three years a slight fit of the gout,
which generally terminated in a week or ten days, and
once an intermitting fever got from making experiments
over Stagnate waters.
I was sometiraes vexed with an itching on the back,
which I observed particularly after eating freely of beef.
And sometimes after Ibng confinement at writing with
little exercise, I have felt sudden pungent pains in the
flesh of different parts of the body, which I was told were
scorbutic. A journey used to free me of them.
In 1773, being in Ireland, I was, after a plentiful din
ner of fish the first day of my arrival, seized with a
violent vomithig and looseness. The latter continued,
tho' more moderate, as long as I staid in that kingdom,
which was 4 or 5 weeks.
On my return I first observed a kind of scab or scurff on
my head, about the bigness of a shilling. Finding it did
not heal but rather increased, I mentioned it to my friend,
Sir John Pringle, who advised a mercurial water to wash
it, and some physic. It slowly left that place, but appeared
in other parts of my head. He also advised my abstain
ing from salted meats and cheese, which advice I did not
much follow, often forgetting it.
In 1775 I went to America. On the passage I neces
sarily eat more salt meat than usual with me at London.
I immediately entered the Congress, where, and with the
Committee of Safety, I sat great part of that year and the
next 10 or 12 hours a day without exercise. We lost 3
members in those years by apoplexies, viz., Mr. Eandolf,
Mr. Bory, and Mr. Lynch. I had frequent giddinesses. I
went to Canada. On the passage I suffered much from a
number of large boiles. In Canada my legs swelled, and
I apprehended dropsy. BoUs continued and harrassed me

248 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
after my return, but the sweUing of my legs passed of.
The boUs, however, left round them a kind of dry scab or
scurviness, which being rubbed off, appeared in the form
of white bran. My giddiness left me.
In my passage to France, Nov. 1776, 1 lived chiefly on
salt beef, the fowls beeing too hard for my teeth. But
being poorly nourished, I was very weak on my arrival ;
boils continued to vex me, and the scurff extending all
the small of my back, on my sides, my legs, and my arms,
besides what continued under my hair. I applied to a
physician, who ordered me Belloste's pills ^ and an infusion
of a root called [blank]. I took the infusion awhile, but
it being disagreeable, and finding no effect, I omitted it.
I continued longer to take the pills ; but finding my teeth
loosened and that I had lost 3, I desisted the use of them.
I found that bathing stopped the progress of the disorder.
I therefore took the hot bath twice a week, two hours at a
time till this last summer. It always made me feel com
fortable, as I rubbed off the softened scurff in the warm
water; and I otherwise enjoyed good health.
I stated my case to Dr. Ingenhousz, and desired him to
show it to Sir John Pringle and obtain his advice. They
sent me from London some medicines ; but Dr. Ingen
housz proposing to come over soon, and the affair not
pressing, I resolved to omit taking the medicines till his
arrival. In July the disorder began to diminish, at first slowly,
but afterwards rapidly ; and by the beginning of October
it had quitted entirely my legs, feet, thighs, and arms, and
my belly, a very little was left on my sides, more on the
small of my back, but the whole daily diminishing.
1 Augustin Belloste was a physician of some distinction fifty years
before, — " physician to the Duchess of Savoy," and author of " Le
Chirurgien de I'Hopital." Paris, 1695.

NOTES ON FRANKLIN'S HEALTH. 249
I observed that where there was no redness under the
scurff, if I took it once off it did not return. I had hardly
bathed in those 3 months, I took no remedy whatever,
and I know not what to ascribe the change to, unless it
was the heat of the summer which sometimes made me
sweat, particularly when I exercised. I had five boUs
just before the amendraent commenced, which discharged
a great deal of matter. And once my legs began to swelj,
but that went off in a few days, and I have been otherwise
extremely well and hearty.
The second instant, October, I ate a hearty supper,
much cheese, and drank a good deal of champagne. The
3d I ate no breakfast, but a hearty dinner, and at night
found my back itch extremely near the shoulders, which
continues to-day the 4th. I ate some salted beef at din
ner yesterday, but not much. I wish the cool weather
may not bring on a return of the disorder.
Oct. 4. The itching continues, but somewhat abated.
Oct. 6. Drink but one glass of wine to-day ; the itching
almost gone. I begin to think it will be better for me to
abstain from wine. My Dinner to-day was mutton, boiled,
and fowl, with a good deal of fruit.
Oct. 12. I have lately drank but little wine. The
itching has not returned ; the scurff' continues to diminish.
But yesterday I observed my ancles swelled. I suppose
my having used no exercise lately may be the cause.
Jan. 14, 1779. The swelUng above mentioned con
tinued some few weeks, being greatest at night, my
complexion at the same time not fresh. At length the
itching returned, and a new set of eruptions of scurfy
spots appeared in many, parts of my body. My back had
never been entirely cleared, and the scurf began to in
crease there and extend itself. But it is not yet so bad as
it has been, and it seems to spare the parts that were

250 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
before affected, except in my back. The swelling has left
my legs, which are now as dry and firm as ever, and I
feel myself otherwise in perfect health, and have as much
vigour and activity as can be expected at ray age ; so that
I begin to be more reconcUed to this troublesome disorder,
as considering it an effort of Nature to get rid of pec
cant matter, that might if not discharged, break up my
constitution. Feb. 28, 79. The disorder on my skin has continued
augmenting. On Monday, the 15th, I dined and drank
rather too freely at M. Darcy's. Tuesday morning I felt
a little pain in my right great toe. I bathed that day in
the hot bath, which I had long omitted. A regular fit of
the gout came on, which swelled my foot exceedingly, and
I have had a little in my left foot. It is now going off,
and I hope to get abroad in a day or two. No remarkable
change in other respects. In this fit I had very little
appetite, which I do not remember to have been the case
in former fits.
Jan. 16, 1780. I have enjoyed good health ever since
the last date. Towards the end of the summer most of
the disorder in my skin disappeared, a little only remain
ing on my left arm, a little under each breast, and some
on the small of the back. I had taken at different times
a good deal of Dr. Pringle's prescription; but whether
that occasioned the amendment, or whether it was the
heat of the suraraer as I supposed in October, 1778, 1 am
uncertain. The disorder seems to be now increasing
again, and appears upon my hands. I am otherwise well ;
my leg sound. To-morrow I enter on my 75th year.
Franklin hiraself says, in a letter describing his private
life of this year, to his friend Mrs. Hewson, in England,
that he " dines abroad six days in seven. Sundays I

THE FOURTH OF JULY. 251
serve to dine at home with such Americans as pass this
way ; and I then have my grandson Ben, with some other
American children, from the school"
With the aid of Mr. Adams's diary, of Mr. Lee's, and of
Mr. Austin's, it would be almost in our power to give a
list of these dinner-parties for whole weeks. Mr. Austin
gives the foUowing account of the dinner on the Fourth
of July : —
"July 4 [1778]. By invitation went to dine with the
Commissioners, where found all the Americans who Uve
at or near Paris, with a number of French gentlemen, in
all about fifty. Amidst the frequent congratulations of
this happy anniversary, and the pleasing aspect of our
affairs, we were sumraoned to dinner. An elegant enter
tainment was prepared, — the table decorated with a
variety of flowers in a pleasing manner. The American
flag, the Cap of Liberty, and many of the useful arts were
represented at this cheerful banquet. Each guest drew
from a basket a handsome posy of flowers, having an in
scription upon it. Joy and festivity crowned the day. A
number, say thirteen, toasts were drunk after dinner." ^
Mr. Adams, in alluding to the same party, says : " We
had the honor of the company of all the American gentle
men and ladies in and about Paris, to dine with Dr. Frank
lin and me at Passy, together with a few of the French
gentlemen in the neighborhood, — M. Chaumont, M. Bril-
lon, M. Veillard, M. Grand, M. Baudouin, Mr. Gerard,
the Abbds Chalut and Arnoux, &c."
On the 31st of October Vergennes invites all three of
the- Commissioners to dine with him, by way of celebrating
' Mr. Austin says, at the end of his journal of a year, that in that
time, on the continent ot Europe he had not onfie seen what he calls
a " table. " Boards were brought and placed on trestles or fixed stands, —
to be removed when the feast was finished.

252 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the ratification of the treaty. As this year went forward,
Vergennes had new means of information from America
quite independent of the Commissioners and their de
spatches. The Baron de Kalb had been already in regular
correspondence with him. So soon as the independence
of the nation was recognized by France, the King com
missioned Conrad Alexander Gerard ^ as his minister to
PhUadelphia. Gerard sailed, with D'Estaing and Dane.
Frora the tirae of his arrival he wrote very full despatches,
and it would seem that he had better luck in transmission,
with the faculties of the French navy behind hira, than
the Foreign Coraraittee had had with their despatches.
Vergennes received a letter from him almost every week,^
and the collection makes a very curious and valuable
series of authorities for a history of that period. Although
the sessions of Congress were secret, he does not hesitate
to give an account of what passed, and of the state of
parties, and of the method of doing business. He describes
the British and Spanish intrigues, and gives the detail of
the Americans' reasons for refusing to ratify the Conven
tion at Saratoga. Plans were discussed with him for an
invasion of Barbadoes, for an attack on Halifax, and another
Canadian expedition, which he details.
Of Vergennes's repUes, which are also preserved in the
French archives, the raost important point to be observed
is his statement that, while France would not interfere to
prevent another invasion of Canada, such a movement
would not be agreeable either to France or Spain.
^ He is not to be confounded with Joseph Matthew Gerard de Rayneval,
whom we shaU meet in the Foreign Office at the final negotiations for
peace. 2 There are thirty-five letters between July 15 and the end of the year.

CHAPTEE XIV.

JOHN PAUL JONES.

THE reader has already seen that the work-rooms of
the Commissioners at Passy were anything but a
quiet cabinet of diplomacy. There were few matters of
business which did not, sooner or later, find their way
there ; and, as has been said, the naval affairs of the young
repubUc, whether at the hands of privateers or of the
officers commissioned in the navy of the United States,
were prominent.
Among those officers John Paul Jones had earned him
self a favorable reputation by the pluck and energy which
he had shown on the American coast from the first moment
of the establishraent of a naval force by Congress. He
had, however, been disappointed by some arrangements of
rank made in Philadelphia in the spring of 1777, and had
gone there in person to try to rectify them. His personal
address was always agreeable, and though he did not gain
the place in the order of captains which he wanted, he
did obtain wliat he also wanted, — a commission to sail to
France and cruise on the European coast. After some
disappointments and many delays, he saUed on the 15th of
November in the "Eanger," a vessel of eighteen guns,
which for four months he had been fitting for sea.^ He
hoped to carry out the joyful news of Burgoyne's surren-
1 He took command of her in July, when he displayed the stars and
stripes for the first time on shipboard.

254 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
der, but, as the reader knows, he was anticipated. On his
passage out he sighted and escaped from the " Invincible,"
an English seventy-four. He took two fruit-vessels from
Malaga, and sent them into French ports. His passage
was only twenty days, and on the 5th of Deceraber he
announced his arrival to the Commissioners. He proposed
at once "to surprise the defenceless places" of the enemy,
and his knowledge of the English and Scotch coast enabled
him to suggest details for such proposals. Frora this time
for more than two years, Jones and his plans and his per
formances fill a considerable place in Franklin's corre
spondence, as they filled a large part of his time. He
soon learned that Franklin was a sure friend ; and although
at one time he feared that this friend was alienated from
hira, this was his mistake, as he hiraself acknowledged.
There are more than twenty letters frora FrankUn to him
in 1778 and 1779, only a few of which have been printed
in the Diplomatic Correspondence.
He had hoped that the " Indian," a fine ship building on
American account at Amsterdara, would be assigned to
him. But it had been arranged that she should be trans
ferred to the King's navy. Other proposals were made
to him which satisfied him for the time ; and as early as
January 16, 1778, the Coraraissioners notified him that he
would probably have to make another cruise in the " Ean
ger.'' He could not help, however, advising Sartine, the
minister of the navy, and the Count d'Estaing as to what
this Adrairal should do on his arrival. And it is but fair
to say that had D'Estaing arrived in the Delaware a few
days earlier than he did, — as Jones hoped he would, —
the war raight have been finished there and then.
He was proud afterwards of saying that the " Eanger "
received, in February, 1778, the first salute ever given by
a foreign power to the American flag. This was on the

JONES IN THE "RANGER." 255
14tli of February, and he regarded it as an acknowledgment
of American independence.
On the 10th of April he sailed in this cruise, and on
the 21st saw, for the first time, the English ship-of-war
" Drake," of twenty guns. But a well-planned attack on
her was prevented by a sudden gale. The next day he
landed at Whitehaven, where he hoped and meant to burn
the shipping, and where he did some damage and greatly
alarmed the neighborhood. Standing over to the Scotch
shore, he landed again, in the hope of taking the Earl of
Selkirk prisoner. The Earl was absent ; but Jones's men
took the family plate from the castle without offering other
violence. The next day Jones met the "Drake" again.
He engaged her and took her. With his prize he returned
to Brest, where he arrived after a cruise of only twenty-
eight days. He at once took measures to purchase from
his crew the plate of the Countess ot Selkirk, whom he
had known when a boy ; and after some years the Earl of
Selkirk received the plate and acknowledged it.
The credit which he had gained by the capture of the
"Drake" was reason enough to encourage the Commis
sioners to intercede with the French Court to obtain for
him the command of the " Indian." FrankUn wrote him
on the first of June to say, " I have the pleasure of inform
ing you that it is proposed to give you the command of
the great ship we have built at Amsterdam. By what you
wrote unto us forraerly I have ventured to say in your
behalf that this 'proposal would be agreeable to you. You
will immediately let rae know your resolution. . . . She is
at present the property of the King. You will have the
commission and flag of the United States, and act under
their orders and laws." This plan was held to for sorae
time. It was proposed to join with the "Indian" the
" Prince de Nassau " and the '' Providence." By this plan

256 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Jones was diverted through the summer, but, to his great
annoyance, it was never carried out. Sartine found more
difficulty than he had perhaps expected, in placing an
American commander, however distinguished, over the
heads of French officers. The ratification of the treaty
raade war sure, and the French fleet would probably need
all its seamen. But various propositions were made to
Jones, which led him to remain in France and to let
Lieutenant Simpson take the "Eanger" home. He had
been displeased with Simpson's conduct. In the gossip of
Nantes it was reported that he was turned out of the
American service; and at this he was so indignant that he
sought to have Simpson court-martialled. But proper
explanations soothed these wounds to his pride. And the
Commissioners, to relieve him, sent him the following
letter : — Passy, Feby. 10, 1779.
Sie, — As your separation from the " Eanger " and the
appointment of Lt. Simpson to the command of her will
be Uable to misinterpretations and misrepresentations by
persons who are unacquainted Vith the real cause of those
facts, We hereby certify that your leaving the " Eanger " was
by our consent, at the express request of his exceUency
M. de Sartine, who informed us that he had occasion to
employ you in some public service ; that Lt. Sirapson was
appointed to the command of the "Eanger" with your
consent, after having consented to release him from an
arrest under which you had put him.
That your leaving the " Eanger," in our opinion, ought
not and cannot be any injury to your rank or character in
the service of the Ud. S., and that your commission in their
navy continues in full force. [Signed by all the Commissioners.]

"LE BON HOMME RICHARD." 257
But Jones sighed, as well he might, in' his forced inac
tivity. In October he wrote to the King himself. " Thus
have I been chained down to sharaeful inactivity for nearly
five months," he said. " I have lost the best season of the
year, and such opportunities of serving my country and
acquiring honor as I cannot again expect this war ; and to
my infinite mortification I am considered everywhere an
officer cast off and in disgrace for secret reasons."
It does not appear that the King ever received the
appeal from which these words are taken. But this letter
and other entreaties and complaints of his were of so
much avail that M. Chaumont persuaded Sartine to give
orders for the purchase of a ship for Jones. The result was
that on the 4th of February, 1779, the "Due de Duras," a
ship fourteen years old, was bought and given to him.
He considered that he gained this success by going to
Paris himself. At his request, therefore, she was called
" Le Bon Homme Eichard," in memory of Poor Eichard's
saying, "If you would have your business done, come
yourself. If not, send." He still had to have cannon
cast for the ship's battery, and succeeded in enlisting
sailors readily, the American seamen at Nantes "being
generally pleased," he says, " with the character of the
Poor Eichard." He now made .his plans to do exactly
what he had proposed to do the year before, — to make
some descent upon the EngUsh coast, and to destroy the
Baltic fieet, which would be protected by a single frig
ate only. It was also proposed at Court that Lafayette
should join him, and command a body of select French
troops. The " AlUance," a new frigate built in Araerica,
had lately arrived, and she was to join the squadron, with
the "Pallas," the "Vengeance," and the cutter "Cerf."
All these last-named vessels " belonged to the King."
On the 30th of April, 1779, the "Eichard" was ready
17

258 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
for sea, if only her battery could be provided. But the
plan for a railitary force was abandoned. The French
government was projecting a general invasion, and on the
2 2d of May Lafayette wrote to Jones to apprise him of
this change. Jones's little expedition was a mere trifle to
such important movements. Jones announces to Franklin
his own disappointment at the failure of this plan in the
following letter. L'Orient, May 26, 1779.
My Deae Sie, — Since I had the honor to receive your
kind and polite letter of the 19th I have waited with
impatient expectation of seeing the Marquis here. The
"Bonhomnie Eichard," the "Alliance," the "Pallas," the
" Scerf," and the " Vengeance " are now ready in the Eoad
for erabarkation of the troops. I have sent officers and
men to Brest for the " Leveller," and I expect the appear
ance of that vessel every hour. This little armament was
not, I may say, begun before the 12th of this month.
Since then the people concerned in it have been employed
night and day, and I have flattered rayself with hopes of
success and honor.
Judge then of ray disappointraent when, instead of
seeing the Marquis, I have rec'' a letter frora hira, which
tells rae that the " King's disposition concerning our plan
is entirely changed, and that instead of meeting me, he is
now going to take coramand of the King's Eeg* at Saints."
Extraordinary as this change is, it is not my place to
inquire into the reasons of it, — and the expense of the
armament raay perhaps exceed the usual araount, — yet I
am certain that the alteration cannot be imputed to any
want of activity on my part. Indeed, it is my opinion
that no season would be so fit for our purpose as the pres
ent ; for supposing the fleet should sail frora Brest about
the 1st of June, the eneraies' attention would be fully

PAUL JONES AND FRANKLIN. 259
engaged, and I think they would find employment enough
without attending to the little arraaraent at L'Orient.
I am ready to follow any plan you please to adopt, or
if any thing is left to me, you may depend on my best
endeavours, either in Europe or America, — in both I
think I can see openings. It would have added greatly
to my happiness to have been joined in command with a
character so amiable as the Marquis, and I am unwilling
to drop the expectation of his coming here. His letter
was but this moraent brought to my hands, and to save
the post I am obliged to shorten my letter.
I have the honor to be, with honest affection and esteem
in all changes, honored and dear sir, your very obliged
friend and obliged servant,
Jno. p. Jones.
It was while the plan of a joint expedition was still
entertained, that FrankUn wrote his wise letter pn the
management of such expeditions, with a series of instruc
tions as to defenceless towns and prisoners.
"Although the English have wantonly burned many
defenceless towns in America, you are not to follow this
example, unless when a reasonable ransom is refused ; in
which case your own generous feelings as well as this
instruction will induce you to give timely notice of your
intention, that sick and ancient persons, women and
chUdren, may be first removed."
In reply to Franklin, Jones said : " The letter I had the
honour to receive from you to-day, would make a coward
brave." A letter written by Franklin to the Marine Board of
Congress about this time, will iUustrate the embarrass
ments which were thus brought upon Franklin and the
Commissioners : —

260 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. Passt, 2d June, 1779.
To the Marine Committee of Congress:
Gentlemen, — I received the honor of yours by the
Marquis de la Fayette, who arrived safe and well in the
"Alliance" freguatte, which you were pleased to put under
my orders.
There had been a conspiracy on board to seize and run
away with the ship to England. Thirty-eight of the crew
concerned in the plot were brought in under confinement,
and the captain was rauch embarrassed with them and
suspicious of many more. We could not try them here
for want of officers sufficient to make a court-martial.
The French Admiralty could not take cognizance of their
offence. The captain objected to carrying thera back, as
both troublesome and dangerous. In fine, we got leave to
land and confine them in a French prison, where they
continue till farther orders.
Captain Landais desired much to have his ship sheathed
here with copper ; but having neither orders nor money in
my hands for that purpose, I was obliged to refuse it.
There was a great raisunderstanding between him and his
officers, and a great discontent among the officers them
selves, who were in want of clothing and money. The
ship, too, tho' new, wanted great repairs, all her iron-work
being bad. The agent, M. Schweighauser, required my
orders about everything, and I had letters from him, from
the officers, or from the captain, by almost every post.
My total unacquaintedness with such business made it
very perplexing to me. I have got thro' it at last, and
I hear the officers are more contented ; but I hope to have
no more such affairs on my hands. Being inforraed by the
officer who came up frora the captain with the despatches
that she had not hands sufficient to raan prizes if she
should be sent on a cruise ; that the captain did not care

LETTER TO MARINE COMMITTEE. 261
to supply the deficiency with Frenchmen ; that if she were
again at Boston, now that her character for a swift sailor
and that of the captain for a good officer were established,
of which the seamen were before doubtful, there was the
greatest probability that she would be fully manned imme
diately ; and as Mr. Adams wished for an opportunity of
going home, and I heard that some ships were bound to
North America from Nantes to whom the convoy of a
frigate quite to the American coast might be convenient, —
I determined to send her back directly, and accordingly
offered her as convoy to the trade. But as Mr. de la Motte
Picquet was about to sail frora Brest with a squadron be
fore our frigate could be fitted, and as he offered to take
care of all outward bound ships who should join hira at
Brest, the offer I raade was not accepted. All the Ameri
can ships went from Nantes to join his fleet. She was,
however, still to go with M. Adams ; but receiving the
enclosed letter from Mr. de Sartine, Minister of the Ma
rine, who at the same time offered to man her completely
if I compUed with his request, I thought it right to oblige
him, as the inconvenience would be only a little longer
delay to Mr. Adams in getting home, and by her extremely
swift sailing, of which they relate wonders, she might, in
the proposed cruise, take prisoners enough to relieve, by
the now established cartel, the rest of our unfortunate
countrymen still in the English prisons. I accordingly
acquainted M. de Sartine that I would, agreeable to his
desire, order her to L'Orient, where she now is a part of
Capt. Jones's little squadron, which is ready to sail, if not
already sailed, on the intended expedition.
After all this was thus arranged, Mr. Arthur Lee wrote
to me to urge the sending her with the merchant ships,
and to carry over some despatches of his and Mr. Izard's
that were of great importance ; but as those ships were by

262 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
this time sailed, and the French frigate with the new min
ister and Mr. Adams was to sail in a week or two and
might carry those despatches, the contents of which I was
not acquainted with, I did not see the necessity of retract
ing the promise I had made to the minister, and thereby
deranging the expedition.
As our ships-of-war that arrive here require an amazing
expense to outfit thera, and the prizes they bring in often
occasion law suits and all the embarrassment and soUieita-
tion and vexation attending suits iu this country, 1 must
beg the Coraraittee would be so good as to order the several
Navy Boards to send no raore to be out fitted here without
sending effects to defray the expense; and that if our
arraed ships should be still ordered to cruise in these seas,
a consul or consuls raay be appointed in the several sea
ports, who will thereby be more at hand to transact mari
time business expeditiously, will understand it better,
relieve your Minister at this Court from a great deal of
trouble, and leave him at liberty to attend affairs of more
general importance.
With great esteem and respect, I have the honour
Gentlemen, &c., &c.-'
The squadron at last sailed from Groix on the 14th of
August. Jones had been chafing and raging for more
than fifteen months, and was at last at sea, in nominal
command. The " Alliance," the American frigate attached
to his squadron, was a fine vessel, but was, alas, under the
command of Landais, who was nearly if not quite crazy,
and who Ulustrated every day to Jones the hopelessness
of any attempt to command a crew of one nation by an
officer selected from the service of another. Besides the
1 In more than one instance, mutinous crews carried ships into Eng
land, by such conspiracy as threatened the " Alliance."

BATTLE 'WITH THE "SERAPIS." 263
five vessels already named, the " Monsieur," a privateer of
forty guns, and the " Grandville," of fourteen, joined the
squadron. Landais soon showed symptoms of insubordi
nation, and at one critical time, when Jones wished to
land on the Scotch coast, he had disappeared. It was on
this occasion that Jones threatened Leith, an event which
Walter Scott speaks of araong his earliest recollections.
But a sudden change of wind, and the absence of Landais,
compelled the squadron to withdraw.
They took many coasting vessels and colliers and some
more valuable prizes. But the expedition had failed of
Jones's main purpose, a descent on the English or Scotch
coast, and was on its return to the Texel, as ordered in
the original plan, when, on the 23d of September, Jones fell
in, off Scarborough on the eastern coast of England, with
the Baltic fleet of merchantmen, under convoy of the
" Serapis " and " Countess of Scarbdrough." There were
in all forty-three sail. Jones had been joined the day
before by the " Pallas " and the " Alliance." The " Cerf "
and the " Vengeance " had left hira long before.
Of the memorable action which followed we have
Jones's official account, written at the Texel, October 3,
his account in his letter to King Louis, the official
account by Pearson, the English commander, and a care
ful account by Dale, afterwards a captain in the navy,
who was then a lieutenant under Jones. These accounts
differ from each other as little as could be expected, con
sidering the difference in the points of view. The action
began at seven in the evening. Pearson was near enough
to hail the " Eichard," and said, " If you do not answer,
I will fire." No answer was heard. He did fire the
broadside of his lower deck, and at the sarae tirae the
" Eichard " fired hers. She had six heavy guns, two of
which burst at this discharge. The men on that deck

264 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
refused to work the remaining guns. Jones brought his
ship close to his adversary, and even tried to fasten the ves
sels together. But they fell apart. Firing had ceased, and
Pearson hailed again to ask if the " Eichard " had struck.
"I have not begun to fight," was the ominous reply.
From this moment the " Eichard's " main deck was
abandoned, and the ten guns of Pearson's main-deck
battery swept that deck through and through. But the
" Eichard " was higher than the " Serapis ; " and from her
upper decks, even from her tops, a destructive fire was
poured in on the English vessel. The two ships came to
gether again and becarae entangled, "but neither party fairly
boarded the other, though Pearson once atterapted to.
The critical last moment came, when a grenade from the
" Eichard's " tops exploded some cartridges left for service
on the " Serapis," and sorae twenty of Pearson's men were
blown to pieces. Captain Pearson struck the flag with
his own hand.
Meanwhile Landais, in the " Alliance," was saUing
round and round, hurting his companions, as they said,
raore than his eneraies. His contribution to the history
is in these very unsatisfactory lines, which have not, till
now, been printed. He was commonly charged, among
the Americans, with treason, but it proved that he was
insane.Journal of Landais's Cruise in the "Alliance," dated
Oct. 4, 1779.
On Saturday, the 14 August, we were the ships " Bon
Homrae Eichard," " Alliance," " Monsieur," and " Pallas,"
Armed brigs "Vengeance" and " Grand- ville," and the
" Cerf " cutter, in company under Groa. We all weyed
Anchor and put to sea early in the morning. . . .

LANDAIS'S NARRATIVE. 265
[Under date Sept. 23''.] Early this morning saw the
" Bon H. Eichard " and " Vengeance.'' At 2 in the after
noon, saw two ships leewards of us lying to off the land.
They appeared to be men-of-war. Saw also a fleet stand
ing for Scarboro'. Made signal and gave chace to the former,
and came down to them in the evening. They proved to
be the "Serapis" of 44 guns, Capt. Pearson, and the
" Countess of Scarborough " of 22 guns, Capt. Piercy. An
engagement immediately took place.
The "Serapis" I afterwards towd off the land, as she
was disabled and had drifted within 4 railes of Flamborough
head, while 3 of our boats with part of our crew were
assisting on board the " B. H. Eichard." All that I suf
fered in the engagement was in my sails and rigging, with
a few shots in our hull ; and this was of but very little
damage. 25. The " B. H. Eichard," being evacuated, sunk.
After this we made the best of our way to this
place, received a pilot on board yesterday, and got up
to-day. We are now the ships "Alliance" and "Pallas," and
brig "Vengeance," in company with the "Serapis" and
"Countess of Scarborough," prizes.
The "Alliance" alone took 1 letter of marke, 22 guns, 2
sloops, and a brig either empty or in coals.
1 brig with the " Pallas," empty.
With the "B. H. Eichard," 2 Shp., 4 Brigs, "Scrap.,"
and "C. of S.," 226 prisoners in off. and men.
This is light language in which to describe an action in
which, according to the best accounts, Landais's friends
suffered from hira much more than his enemies.
Meanwhile Cottineau, in the " Pallas," had engaged the
"Countess of Scarborough," and had taken her. "The

266 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE. .
' Alliance,' as I am informed," Jones writes grimly, " had
fired into the ' Pallas ' and killed some men."
When raorning dawned after the battle, which was fought
at night, it proved that the " Eichard " was sinking. The
" Serapis " had lost her main-mast and mizzen top-mast,
which fell just as her comraander struck her colors with
his own hand. She had fought through the latter part of
the action at anchor, so near were they all to the English
shore. The merchantmen had escaped while the battle went
on. The fleet was the Baltic fleet, returning to England.'
The crew of the "Eichard" were transferred to the
"Serapis." The "Eichard" herself sank after the trans
fer had been made. The victorious squadron pursued its
way to the Texel, and arrived there on the 2d of October.
Here were to begin again all the difficulties of belligerents
in the territory of a neutral state, which, iu the beginning,
Wickes and Conynghara had experienced in France. Hol
land had not yet recognized the independence of America.
She was even bound with England by the treaty of 1678
"to break with any aggressor against her." But on the
other hand, the raerchants of Amsterdam — and one may
say the public opinion of Holland — were in favor of
America. Among the papers of Laurens, whom the Eng
lish government had taken prisoner on his way to Holland,
had been found the draft of a treaty of amity and com
merce with the Dutch. Jones was destined to endure three
months more of waiting — in Holland now — before he
could again take the sea.
Franklin wrote to him from France, in acknowledgment
of his official despatch, —
" For some days after the arrival of your express scarce
anything was talked of at Paris and VersaUles but your
1 Not sailing to the Baltic, as Mr. Thackeray supposes in "Denis
Duval."

JONES LEAVES HOLLAND. 267
cool conduct and persevering bravery during that terrible
conflict. You may believe that the impression on my
mind was not less strong than that" of others ; but I do
not choose to say in a letter to yourself all I think on
such an occasion."
In the same letter he tells Jones how much the French
government is displeased with Landais, and that he had,
on the day he wrote, called Landais to Paris to give an
account of himself. If he refuses to come, Jones is to put
him under arrest. In another chapter the reader will see
what foUowed in the inquiry which was made in Paris
regarding Landais's behavior.
Jones's correspondence with the Dutch officials and with
the French ministry at this period of his detention in Hol
land has been already quite fully published from Miss
Taylor's collection of his own papers. The reader will
have to follow, for two or more years of the history, the
entanglements which resulted from Landais's insubordina
tion and the difficult ways of Dutch neutrality,
Jones himself finally left Holland in the " Alliance " on
the 27th of December.' On the 16th of January, 1780, he
ran into Corunna, where the Spanish authorities received
him with great kindness. He sailed again, after refitting,
and arrived at Groix (L'Orient) on the 10th of February.
He wrote to Paris, begging leave to refit the " Alliance,"
to sheathe her, and procure new canvas and cordage. This
Franklin absolutely forbade. Jones soon found his way
to Paris, where he became a Uon for the time. He had
placed on the "Alliance" the cannon intended for the,
" Eichard," which had arrived too late for that vessel
A cartel frora England enabled him to man her with
four hundred American seamen, lately prisoners. But
after all, Landais took her to sea, as will be seen in
another chapter.

268 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The following letters from Franklin to his friends in
Massachusetts give his review of the naval operations of
the summer. Passy, Oct. 17, 1779.
Honourable the Commissioners of the Navy for the Eastern
Department, Boston:
Gentlemen, — I received the letters you did me the
honour of writing to me the 30th of July and 18th of
August last, by the " Mercury " packet-boat and by a French
cutter; the other despatches Capt Sampson was entrusted
with came aU safe to hand, and I should have despatched
him sooner if I had not found it necessary to detain him
in order to send by him to Congress some advices of
importance which could not be sooner obtained.
The cruise of our little American squadron under com
mand of Comraodore Jones, intended partly to intercept
the Baltic trade, has had some success, tho' not all that was
hoped for. The coasts of Britain and Ireland have been
greatly alarraed, apprehending descents, it being supposed
that he had land forces with hira. This has put the enemy
to much expence in marching troops from place to place.
Several valuable prizes have been made ot merchant ships,
particularly two, — one frora London, 300 tons and 84 raen,
with 22 guns, laden with naval stores for Quebec ; the other
frora Liverpool bound to New York and Jamaica, of 22
guns and 87 men, laden with provisions and bale goods.
These two are safely arrived at Bergen in Norway ; two
smaller prizes are arrived in France, and a number of Col
liers have been burnt or ransomed. The Baltic fleet was
met with, and the two men-of-war who convoyed them, viz.,
the " Serapis," a new ship of 44 guns, and the " Countess
of Scarborough," of 20 guns, are taken, after a long and
bloody engagement, and are brought into the Texel But
the merchant ships escaped during the conflict, for which

FRANKLIN'S REVIEW OF THE YEAR. 269
the " Alliance " and one of the other ships are blamed,
whether justly or not may be enquired into. Our Commo
dore's ship was so shattered that she could not be kept
afioat, and the people being all taken out of her, she sunk
the second day after the engagement. The rest of the
squadron are refitting in the Texel, from which neutral
place they will he obliged soon to depart with their prizes
and prisoners, near 400. I wish they may arrive safe in
France, for I suppose the English will endeavour to inter
cept them. Jones's bravery and conduct in the action has
gained hira great honour.
I condole with you on the loss of your armament against
Penobscot ; but I suppose the sugar ships since taken and
brought into your port have more than compensated the
expense,' tho' not the disappointment of the well intended
expedition. The Congress write for naval stores. I have
acquainted them that I have lately been informed that
stores for fitting out two 36 gun frigates, which we bought
here and sent out two years ago, are still lying in the ware
houses of Mr. Canabas at Cape Franqois, having been
forgotten there or never sent for. Perhaps you may obtain
them. The Quebec ship, if we can get her safe home, will
afford large supply.
I am much obliged to you for the newspapers. I shall
direct Mr. Schweighauser to send you an account of the
advances made to the officers of the " Alliance," if he has
not already done it. With great respect, &c., &c.
Franklin to Austin. Passt, Oct. 20, 1779.
Sie, — I received your several favours of June 10, July
12, and 27. It gave me pleasure to hear of your safe arri-
* Hutchinson, in his Diary, says they did.

270 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
val in your native country ; and I am obliged to you for
the inteUigence your letters contain, which I hope you will
continue, and for the newspapers. This campaign in
Europe has not been so active as was expected, owing to
contrary winds and other accidents, which a long time
prevented the junction of the French and Spanish fieets,
and afterwards the meeting with that of the English. But
soraething may yet be done before winter. The American
flag has, however, disturbed the British coasts, inter
rupted their home trade a good deal, and alarmed them
with apprehensions of descents in different places. Our
little squadron under Commodore Jones has also lately
taken two of their men-of-war, and brought them into
Holland with near 400 prisoners, which will be a means,
I hope, of delivering the rest of our countrymen who are
confined in English prisons. Here is nothing worth your
acceptance that one can propose to you. I wish you suc
cess in any business you may undertake, being with much
regard, sir, &c.
My grandson presents his respects.
A careful letter by Franklin, written perhaps with a
little asperity, to the Board of Admiralty as late as March,
1781, resumes very intelligibly the naval moveraent of
this summer. It has been printed by Mr. Sparks, and it
does not seem necessary to repeat it here.

CHAPTEE XV.
1779.
WHEN Temple FrankUn printed, in the year 1818,
the six volumes of Franklin papers, which have
tUl now been the principal storehouse open to general
readers, he hoped to publish six volumes more, and re
served for those volumes most of the letters of the later
part of his grandfather's residence in France. We have
now corae to the period from which his extracts were more
scanty ; and, as we have access to the whole collection, ours
will, in consequence, be more full To bring into one
chapter the narrative of Paul Jones's career, we have fol
lowed his movements through the year 1779. The reader
must now return to the beginning of that year for the
other matters of political interest.
Early in the year Lafayette returned to France, with
the hope of quickening the interest of the French Court in
America, — a hope which was not without foundation.
He had sailed from Boston early in January. Franklin
and he always understood each other. The following note
from Franklin shows the report he brought of himself
from America : — Passt, Feb. 19, 1779.
The Marquis de La Fayette is returned, covered with
laurels.^ He and his suite speak very handsoraely of the
Americans and the present condition of our affairs. All
' Lafayette's first letter to Vergennes after his return is dated Feb. li,
1779.

272 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the letters from persons in different bodies — the Congress,
the army, the government of separate states — are full of
his praises. By his bravery and good conduct he appears
to have gained the esteem and affection of that whole
continent. With Lafayette returned sorae of the French officers,
who had been disappointed in obtaining high positions in
the American army ; and as the year passed, more of them
followed. Congress eventually advanced a considerable
sum to pay their passage and expenses back to France.
But such views do not appear to have reversed, in the
least, that current of public sentiment which flowed as
strongly as ever in favor of America. As the year ad
vanced, the French government proposed a descent, in
considerable force, on the English coast. It seems as if it
would have been attempted but for a failure of the Medi
terranean fleet to corae round through the Straits of Gib
raltar in tirae, and for the sickness which the crews
contracted on the coast of Spain on this short voyage.
Indeed, the difficulty and delay of all maritirae move
ments in this war present to readers in our day constant
subjects for surprise.
The following letter wUl show how important the
legitimate commerce between America and France began
to be, and the interesting subjects which presented them
selves in its infancy: — Passt, Jan. 26th, 79.
To Messrs. J. Lloyd, Daniel Blake, P. N. Fendall, Jo. Boss,
J. Wharton, Lawrence Brooke, W. Blake, W. Thompson,
M. Maese, Cha. Ogilvie, at Nantes:
Gentlemen, — We had yesterday the honor of your
letter of the 21 of this month.
You desire to know what port or ports is or are made
free pursuant to the treaty. We beUeve that none have

EUROPEAN TRADE. 273
as yet been determined on. At present all the ports of
France are open to American vessels of all denominations,
and we are at present rather doubtful whether it would be
politick in us to apply to have any distinction made. If
the appointraent of free ports would relieve us frora the
payment of duties of import or export, we should apply
immediately. But as we apprehend, this advantage would
not be the consequence ; the limits of the free port would
be prescribed, and the sarae duties raust be paid upon re
moving goods within or without those limits as are now
paid upon imports and exports. Goods, however, might
be brought into such free ports from abroad, and there
landed and stored for a time, and then exported without
paying duties ; but whether this would be any great ad
vantage to our trade at present, you are better judges than
we. We shall be glad of your advice upon this head ; and
if you think of any advantages of considerable moment
that would arise, we shall be always ready to apply for
such an appointment. We are sorry it is not in our power
to give you any acceptable information respecting the
eighth article of the treaty, which relates to the Barbary
corsairs. All we can say is, that we have applied to the
Ministry upon this head some months ago, and received
satisfactory expressions of the dispositions of this govern
ment to do everything that is stipulated in that article
of the treaty. But some things reraain to be determined
by Congress, to whom we have written on the subject, and
we must necessarily wait their instructions.
There are two enquiries to be made, viz. : which of all
the nations who now trade with France is the most favor'd ?
and what duties are paid by that nation ? These duties,
and these only, we suppose, we are to pay ; and as soon as
circumstances will permit, — two of us having been for a
fortnight very Ul and one of us continuing so, — we shall
18

274 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
apply to the Ministry for an ^claircissement upon this head
which we will endeavour to communicate to you as soon
as we shall obtain it.
We have received an answer to our last application for
a convoy, frora their excellencies the Count de Vergennes
and M. de Sartine. But the answers convinced us that
M. de Sartine was under some misinformation or mis
understanding relative to the business, which obliged us
to write again. As soon as we shall be honor'd with an
answer, we will communicate the result of it to you
[for the Commissioners, by B. Franklin].
This is the last iraportant letter signed by Franklin as
one of the "Commissioners.'' Congress at last wavered
in its absurd policy of sending three men to watch each
other, and made him Minister Plenipotentiary. He an
nounces this appointment in the following letter: —
Franklin to Jona. Williams, Junr.
Passt, Feb. 13, 1779.
Deae Cousin, — I have the pleasure of acquainting
you that the Congress have been pleased to honor me with
a sole appointraent to be their Minister Plenipotentiary at
this Court, and I have just received my credentials. This
mark of public confidence is the more agreeable to me as
it was not obtained by any solicitation or intrigue on my
part, nor have I ever written a syllable to any person,
in or out of Congress, magnifying my own services or
diminishing those of others.
William Greene, Esqr., present Govr. of the State of
Ehode Island, has sent me some bills of exchange, amount
ing to 1,080 livres, which he desires may be laid out in the
following, articles : 1 piece dark calico ; 1 piece bedtick ;

LETTER TO VERGENNES, 275
best silk handkerchiefs, and linnen do. ; Hollands, cam-
bricks, muslins, sewing-silk ; and one box of window-glass,
7 inches by nin^. I send you the commission, and desire
you to forward the things by the first good oppertunity,
drawing upon me for the money.
I am told you have laid aside your thoughts of going to
America at present, so that you will not have the oppor
tunity you wished for of settling your accounts there.
No resolution has been yet taken by the Commissioners
here relating to your proposition of settling them by arbi
tration at Nantes ; and tho' I could now perhaps do by
myself what is necessary to finish the affair in that way,
yet as the transactions were in their time, it seems to me
most proper that they should consent to it.
I am ever your affectionate uncle, &c., &c.
He begins his independent diplomatic career by propos
ing to Vergennes the plans which he and the majority of
Congress would favor for the use of Count D'Estaing's
fleet. These plans have never, until now, appeared in his
correspondence. Franklin to the Count de Vergennes.
Passt, Febmary 25, 1779.
Sie, — As the enemy seems determined upon another
campaign, I beg leave to communicate and submit to
your excellency's consideration some sentiments of Con
gress on certain operations in North Araerica, which they
conceive to be practicable, and highly advantageous to the
interests both of France and the U. S.
While the English continue to possess the ports of Hal
ifax, Ehode Island, and New York, they can
1. Eefit the ships of war they employ in those seas.

276 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
2. Defend more easily their fishery, a great nursery of
searaen and source of wealth.
3. Interrupt more effectually by their cruisers the
commerce between France and America, which would
otherwise be so advantageous to both ; and also the sup
plies of provisions of various kinds, which the French
islands might draw from the Continent.
Without a naval force, and in the present situation of
their finances, the reduction of some of those ports must
be extremely difficuU, if not impossible.
If troops should be intended for the defence of your
sugar islands, and the reduction of those of the enemy in
the ensuing winter, it is suppos'd that a part of them, 4
or 5000, convoy'd by four ships of the line and a few
frigates, might be advantageously employ'd this summer,
first, by reducing (in conjunction with the troops of the
northern states) Bhode Island. This, it is conceiv'd, will
require no long time ; and being done, those states, eas'd
by that means, will find themselves at liberty to afford
some aid of men, transports, provisions, &c., in reducing
Halifax ; and there is no reason to doubt their hearty good
will to concur in such an enterprize, the success of which
would free their coasts frora the grievous restraints under
which both their coramerce and their fisheries at present
labour. The inhabitants of Nova Scotia, too, except those
in the town of Halifax, are known to be generally well
affected to the American cause, being raostly settlers who
formerly emigrated from New England.
Halifax being reduc'd, the small forts on Newfoundland
would easily follow, and by this means the enemy's
fishery, not only for this year would be broken up, but
render'd so precarious from the interruptions by our arm'd
vessels, or so expensive by the force necessary to defend
their fishermen, that it must soon be discourag'd, dimin-

LETTER TO VERGENNES. 277
ish'd, and at length abandon'd, — their naval strength of
course much lessened, and that of France in proportion
augmented. It is supposed that the troops, being after these north
ern operations refreshed in New England, and well sup-
pli'd with fresh provisions, might proceed at the approach
of winter for the West Indies, in good health, and fit for
such service as raay be required there.
The Congress had thoughts of attacking Canada this
summer, and requesting some aid of ships and men for
that purpose ; but as their paper money is not current in
that country, where hard mouey alone can procure provis
ions, which must for want of such money be brought at a
vast expense frora the United States, and being salted is
not so good for the men, it is uncertain whether that expe
dition wiU be attempted. There is, however, to encourage
it, a good disposition in the inhabitants; and if it succeeded,
the fur trade and a great vent for her manufactures would
be opened to France, her fisheries would be more easily
protected, and the frontiers of the States being secured,
their agriculture might again be pursued in those parts,
and the general strength eraployed where the interest of
the alliance might require it.
The Congress have made no raention to rae of their
views with regard to New York. Perhaps they hope that
the enemy will abandon it or that they shall be able to
reduce it by Gen. Washington's Army.
The Commissioners here had before the treaty the hon
our of making in a memorial to your ExceUency the fol
lowing proposition by order of Congress, viz.: "that in case
it is agreed that the conquest of the British sugar islands
he attempted, the United States shall, on timely notice,
furnish provisions for the expedition to the amount of two
mUlions of dollars, with 6 frigates manned, of not less

278 FRANICLIN IN FRANCE.
than 22 guns each, with such other assistance as may be
in their power, and as becoming good allies." As soon
as they shall be by the aids above mentioned happUy
freed from the embarrassments occasioned by the lodg
ments of the enemy on their coasts, it wiU be in their
power to assist much more amply in such an expedition
than they can at present; and I may assure your Excel
lency that they will do their utmost to fulfil the expecta
tions given by that memorial, tho' the losses in their
marine, and the depreciation of their currency, since, may
render it more difficult.
I need not intimate to your Excellency the great
utility, if such joint operations or expeditions should be
agreed to, of appointing Commanders of conciliating tem
pers, and if possible, who know and esteem each other,
and are acquainted with both the languages. By this
means the Uttle misunderstandings apt to arise between
troops of different nations raight be prevented or soon re-
mov'd and thence a greater probability of success in their
enterprizes. I have the honour to be, with the utmost esteem and
respect, &c., &c.
Meanwhile Gi^rard, Vergennes' confidential subordinate,
now at Philadelphia, wrote him from that city on the 12th
of February, 1779, that he found a false view of the
Treaty of Alliance prevalent in Congress. Many members
considered France pledged to render more assistance than
the treaty warranted. Against this view Gerard remon
strated in form ; and he writes that after consideration his
views were adopted, though a small opposition held the
other view, among which, as it is alraost needless to say,
was Mr. Sam. Adaras. Previously to this he had been
asked to detach a part of the squadron for the recon-

PRESENTATION AT COURT. 279
quest of Georgia, but he had decUned to interfere. And
he alludes to a long discussion in which a project of seiz
ing the Mississippi valley and Canada had been brought
forward, to say that he disapproved of this scheme.
Franklin's first invitation, as Minister, to join with the
other members of the diplomatic corps is in the following
note, which perhaps deserves to be preserved as the first
document of the sort in our diplomatic correspondence: —
Vergennes to Franklin. A Versailles, le 7 Mars, 1779.
J'ai I'honneur de vous prevenir. Monsieur, que le roi ne
recevra pas Mrs les Ambassadeurs et Ministres etrangers
mardy prochain ; au moien de quoi votre presentation ne
pourra avoir lieu que le mardi, 16 de ce mois.
J'ai I'honneur d'etre tres parfaitment. Monsieur, votre
tr^s humble et trfes obeissant serviteur,
De Vergennes.
Franklin's gout prevented his presentation at Court, in
his new capacity, until the 23d, of March. It is de
scribed in the following letter : —
Franklin to John Adams.^ Passt, April 3"* 1779.
SiE, — I received the letter you did me the honour to
write to me of the 24'? past. I am glad you have been at
Brest, as your Presence there has contributed to expedite
the Operations of Capt. Landais in Befitting his Ship. I
think with you that more has been raade of the Con-
1 Mr. Adams was on board the "Alliance," awaiting her sailing. Mr.
Sparks prints his cordial answer to this cordial letter, which he does not
seem to have seen.

280 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
spiracy than was necessary ; but that it would have been
well if some of the most guUty could have received a
proper punishment. As that was impracticable under our
present Naval Code, I hope you wUl on your Eeturn ob
tain an Amendment of it. I approve of cloathing the
Midshipmen and petty Officers, agreable to their Bequest
to you, and hope you have ordered it, without waiting to
hear frora rae ; and I now desire that whatever else you
raay judge for the good of the Service, our Friends and
Circumstances considered, you would in my Behalf give
Directions for; as the great Distance makes it inconve
nient to send to me on every occasion ; and I can confide
in your Prudence, that you will allow no Expence that is
unnecessary. My Gout continues to disable me from walking longer
than forraerly ; but on Tuesday the 23"'? past, I thought
myself able to go through the Cereraony, and accordingly
went to Court, had my Audience of the King in the new
Character, presented my Letter of Credence, and was re
ceived very graciously. After which I went the Bounds
with the other F.oreign Ministers, in visiting all the Eoyal
Family. The Fatigue, however, was a little too much for
my Feet, and disabled me for near another week. Upon
the whole I can assure you that I do not think the good
WUl of this Court to the good Cause of America, is at all
diminished by the late little Eeverses in the Fortune of
War ; and T hope Spain, who has now 49 Ships of the
Line, and 31 Frigates ready for Service, will soon, by
declaring, turn the Scale.
Eeraeraber me affectionately to Master Johnny, and
believe me, with great Esteem, Sir,
Your most obedient,
and most humble servant, B. Franklin.

FIRST AMERICAN LOAN. 281
This letter is interesting as showing the cordial terms
on which these two colleagues parted. Before the month
ended Dr. Franklin addressed the following note to
" Master Johnny," — who is the second President Adams,
and who, as the reader will remember, was travelling with
his father. Franklin to " Young Mr. Adams." Passt, April 21, 1779.
Dear Mastee Johnny, — I am glad you have seen
Brest and the fleet there. It must give you an idea of
the naval force of this kingdom, which you will long
retain with pleasure.
I caused the letters you inclosed to me to be carefully
delivered, but have not received answers to be sent you.
Benjamin, whora you so kindly remember, would have
been glad to hear of your welfare; but he is gone to
Geneva. As he is destined to live in a Protestant coun
try, and a republic, I thought it best to finish his educa
tion where the proper principles prevail.
I heartily wish you a good voyage and happy sight of
your mama, — being really your affectionate friend,
B. F.
Before FrankUn was presented as Plenipotentiary, he
began upon measures for placing the first American
loan. Franklin to Vergennes. Passt, March 9, 1779.
Sie, — It is with great reluctance that I give your
excy. any farther troubles on the subject of a loan of
money. But the bearer, Mr. Grand, who is much better
acquainted with the nature and manner of such operations
than I am, being of opinion that the sum we want might

282 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
with your permission and countenance be procured in
France, I beg you would be so good as to hear him
upon the subject, both of the necessity of obtaining such
a loan, and of the means of accomplishing it.
I am ever, &c.
Lee was still making all the trouble which a man half
crazy could raake. There are several letters from him,
in different phases of courtesy. FrankUn was obliged to
ask for the papers of the Commission somewhat peremp
torily. When Lee assails Williams's honor, Franklin
meets him squarely in the following letter : —
Franklin to Lee. Passt, March 13, 1779.
Sie, — Finding by a note of yours on the back of M.
Williams's accts. dated Oct. 6, but which I never saw till
lately by accident, expressing that you are "perfectly
satisfied from his own accts. that M. Williams has now
and has long had in his hands upwards of an hundred
thousand livres belonging to the public, which have not
been employed in the public use, &c.," I have resolved to
have those accounts carefully examined by impartial per
sons skilled in such business ; and if you have any other
objection to them than what appears in your note, or any
other reasons than what appears upon the face of his
accts. for believing such a sum in M. WiUiams's hands,
I beg you will furnish me with them, that I may commu
nicate them to the examiners. I wish justice to be done,
and that you had shown your note either to M. Adams
or me when you made it ; the matter would not have been
so long neglected. The money, if due, ought to be re
covered immediately. I have the honour to be, &c.

LETTER TO WILLLAMS. 283
P. S. The persons I have requested to examine the
accts. are the American merchants now at Nantes, with
our deputed commercial agent, M. Schweighauser.
The subject is continued in this letter to his cousin: —
Franklin to Jona. Williams. Passt, March 16, 1779.
Dear Jonathan, — Agreeable to your desire I have
requested the American gentlemen residing at Nantes to
examine your accounts. I have added Mr. Schweighauser,
he having been appointed by my former colleagues to
manage our affairs there, and may be supposed interested
particularly to do justice to the Congress. And the others,
I imagine, can have no interest in favouring you, as per
haps you may stand in their way respecting business.
Inclosed you have copies of my letter to the gentlemen,
and of another on the same business to Mr. Lee. If I
had known of his going to Nantes, I should have desired
him to state his objections to the accts. there ; but I did
not hear of his being there till a day or two before his
return. I have yet no answer from him.
I showed your letter of Feby. 20, relatuig to M. Simeon
Deane's goods, to M. Adams, who thought the proposition
reasonable. I send by this opportunity an order to M.
Schweighauser to deliver to you the case which remains ;
and if you will send me the original invoice and the form
of the bills you propose, I shall sign and return them, —
if no objection arises on signing them that does not at
present occur to me.
I suppose you settled the affair yourself with Mercier' s
agent, as he took the papers from me, saying that he was
going to Nantes. This was before I received yours of
Feby. 23, relating to that business.

284 FRANICLIN IN FRANCE.
I received the bond for CoUas's coramission.
The following bills, drawn before the 12'" of December
in favour of William Denine, were j)resented and accepted
on the 19 of Febry. last, viz. : dollars 600, 12, 600, 30,
120, 12, 120, — in aU 1,494 doUars. These may possibly
be a part of those you mention. I shall order payment to
be stopped till I have examined the indorsements, tho' 1
ara not sure that I can well refuse payment after having
accepted thera. We shall strictly examine such drafts in
favour of Denine as may appear hereafter, till you let us
know farther.
I return Dr. Cooper's letter, with thanks to you for
communicating it. I am much obliged to that good man
for his kind expressions of regard to me.
The tobacco which came in the " Bergen e," and all the
tobacco which comes to us from America, is to be delivered
directly out of the ships to the Agents of the Farmers-
General in the ports where it arrives. I had sent orders ac
cordingly before the receipt of your notice of her arrival.
I am ashamed of the orders of my countrymen for so
rauch tea, when necessaries are wanting for clothing and
defending !
I have been long ill and unfit to write or think of writ
ing, which occasioned my omitting to answer before your
several letters since the 16 of February. I omitted also
answering a kind letter from M. Eidley, who, I suppose, is
now gone. If not, present my respects to him, and best
wishes of a prosperous voyage and happy sight of his
friends. I am getting better, and hope our correspondence
wUl now be more regular.
I am ever yr affectionate uncle, B. F.
In June Lee writes in this formal fashion : " Mr. Lee
will be obliged to Dr. Franklin if he will order an authen-

AURORA BOREALIS. 285
ticated copy to be made for him of the letter from the
Commissioners to the Count de Vergennes, on the agree
ment with Hortalez & Co., dated Passy, Sept. 10, 1778,
with a copy of his Excellency's answer, which Mr. Lee
does not remember to have seen." And that correspond
ence closes when Lee, in the most tart manner possible, ,
asks for a renewal of his passport. Franklin's opinion of
him was summed up in the words, " I am persuaded, how
ever, that he means well for his country, is always an
honest man, often a wise one ; but sometimes, and in some
things, absolutely out of his senses." ' In another place
he writes, " In sowing jealousies and suspicions, in creating
quarrels and misunderstandings among friends, in malice,
subtlety, and indefatigable industry, he has, I think, no
equal." Mr. Vaughan, in publishing the notes on the Aurora
Borealis, which may be found in the fifth volume of Mr.
Sparks's coUection, says, " If I mistake not, the paper was
read at the Eoyal Academy of Sciences, at their first meet
ing after Easter, 1779." It was undoubtedly written at
that time, and was probably a subject of conversation at
the meeting. But, as has been said, none of Franklin's
papers have been printed by the Academy, as regular
memoirs presented at their meetings.
The foUowing letters explain theraselves, and show the
variety of interests which occupied the Plenipotentiary,
" who can neither stand nor go : " —
Franklin to Montaudoin. Passt, March 17, 1779.
Deae Sie, — I received your favour of the 4"^ inst., by
M. David with much pleasure, as it informed me of the
1 Diplomatic Cor., iv. 139 ; and Works, ix. 535.

286 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
welfare of friends I love, and who are indeed beloved by
everybody. I thank you for your kind congratulations,
and for the prayer you use in my behalf. Tho the form is
heathen, there is a good Christian spirit in it ; and I feel
myself very well disposed to be content with this world,
which I have found hitherto a tolerable good one, and to
wait for heaven (which will not be the worse for keeping)
as long as God pleases. In short, I should have no objec
tions to living with you and Mrs. Montaudoin in France
another century. I don't complain much even of the
gout, which has harassed me ever since the arrival of the
commission you so politely mention. There seems, how
ever, some incongruity in a plenipotentiary who can neither
stand nor go. With the sineerest esteem, respect, and
affection, I ara, &c.
Franklin to Dumas {^American Agent in Holland^
Passt, March 18, 1779.
Dear Sie, — I received duly yours of the 3 inst. My
indisposition seeras to be wearing off, and I hope will
perrait me to go abroad in a few days.
Mr. Neufville's first propositions were so much out of
the way that I could not accept them. He required a fifth
part of the loan to be sent over to him annually during
the first five years, in the produce of America for sale,
and the money to reraain in his hands as a fund for paying
off the debt in the last 5 years. By this means he would
have had the use of our raoney while we were paying
interest for it. He dropt this demand on my objecting to
it, and undertook to procure a subscription on reasonable
terms. I wish him success ; but as the English give at
present higher interest than I am permitted to offer, I have
little dependance on that subscription. Let me know what
you hear of it from time to time.

FRANKLm TO SYKES. 287
M. Adams is gone to Nantes to take his passage for
America in one of our frigates. Mr. A. Lee has retired
from Chaillot to Paris, and his brother has come on a visit
from Frankfort. He talks of a Congress to be held in
Germany, and seems to want rae to advise his attendance
there incogn. I know nothing of it, or of any use he can
be there, and therefore can give no advice about it. He
talks of 20,000 men at liberty by the German peace to be
hired by the English against us, and would be employed
in preventing it. What do you think or learn of these
circumstances ?
The present situation of affairs in your country is inter
esting. Unacquainted as I am with your parties and
interests, I find it difficult to conceive how they wUI
terminate. Franklin to Sykes.^ Passt, March 18, 1779.
SiE, — I return you enclosed Mr. Haywood's letter, and
am much obliged to you for coraraunicating it, as it ac
quainted me of the welfare of some friends whom I much
esteem, — Mr. and Mrs. Naeme, — and at the same time
informed me of that most ingenious invention of Mr.
Haywood's for raaking globes, which I much admire. Mr.
Whitchurch never delivered that he did me the favor to
design for me. Perhaps it was broke by some accident, or
lost. Please to present my thankful acknowledgements,
however, and assure Mr. Haywood of my respects. I have
the honour to be, sir, &c., &c.
I shall take the liberty of calling to see your warehouse
the first convenient opportunity.
1 There is a funny note from Sykes. He has mended Franklin's spec
tacles, but cannot find his handkerchief.

288 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
[On a separate paper.]
P. S. If those plaister globes are heated hot in an oven,
— after the bread is taken out, — and then washed over
with melted hot white wax, by means of a soft hair brush,
the wax will penetrate \ of an inch, and so toughen the
surface ; may afterwards be polished by rubbing it with a
silk handkerchief ; it will look Uke marble ; and may at
any time be washed if files or smoke, &c., should dirty it.
B. F.
Mr. Sykes is requested to send this to Mr. Haywood.
Franklin to Chardon [Maitre des BequStes].
Passt, ce 19 Mars, 1779.
Monsieur, — J 'ai lu avec admiration votre requisitoire
sur le procfes du Capitaine McNeil. Heureux sont les rois
qui ont des magistrats aussi savants et aussi habile que
vous. Monsieur, pour ^clairer leur justice. J'en sens tout
le bonheur pour la nation Am^ricaine que j'ai I'honneur
de repr^senter en cette cour; elle sgaura. Monsieur, qu'elle
y est traitde en frfere, et que vous Ty defendez en ami.
Agreez I'hommage de ma reconnaissance, et les sentiments
distinguds avec lesquels j'ai I'honneur d'etre. Monsieur,
Votre trfes humble et
trfes obeissant serviteur, B. F.
Franklin to Sayre. Passt, March 31, 1779.
Sir, — I have just received your favour of the IO"' inst.
from Copenhagen. The account you give of the disposition
of the Swedish Court is very agreeable. I saw in the
news-papers that a deputy of Congress was at Stockholm ;
did you obtain the audiences you mention on assuming
that character ? The information you did not choose to

LETTER TO SAYRE. 289
venture by the post from Copenhagen may he safely sent
from Amsterdara.
I ara not, as you have heard, the sole representative of
America in Europe. The comraissions of Mr. A. Lee, Mr.
Wm. Lee, and Mr. Izard, to different courts still subsist. I
am only sole with regard to France. Nor have I power
to give any employ worth your accepting.
Much has been said by the English about divisions in
America. No division of any consequence has arisen
there. Petty disputes between particular persons about
private interests there are always in every country ; but
in regard to the great point of Independence there is
no difference of sentiment in the Congress; and as the
Congress are the annual choice of the people, it is
easy to judge of their sentiments by those of their repre
sentatives. The taking of Savannah makes a noise in England, and
helps to keep up their spirits ; but I apprehend before the
summer is over, they will find the possession of that Capi
tal of Georgia of as little consequence as their forraer posses
sions of Boston and Philadelphia; and that the distempers
of that unwholesome part of the country will very much
weaken, if not ruin that army.
The principal difficulty at present in America consists
m the depreciation of paper currency, owing to the over-
quantities issued, and the diminished deraand of it in
Commerce. But as the Congress has taken measures for
sinking it expeditiously, and the several governments are
taxing vigorously for that purpose, there is a prospect of
its recovering a proper value. In the meantime, tho an
evil to particulars, there is some advantage to the public
in the depreciation, as large nominal values are more
easily paid in taxes, and the debt by that means more easUy
extinguished. 19

290 FRANKLESr IN PRANCE.
Franklin to Lloyd. Passt, May 4, 1779.
Dear Sir, — I received the letter you did me the
honour to write me of the 10th past. As you seem to
have some reliance on my advice in the affair you men
tion, I ought to give it candidly and sincerely. And it
must therefore be, not to accept of the offer made you.
If you carry your family to America, it is, I suppose, with
the intention of spending the remainder of your days in
your own country. This cannot be done happily with
out maintaining the general good opinion of your country
men. Your entering by that door will unavoidably
subject you to suspicions ; those suspicions will render
your situation uncomfortable, I think therefore you had
better conclude to stay where you are till peace, tho' under
some present inconveniences. The circumstances of such
a family will always justify this, wherever you shall
arrive, in America. Please to make . my affectionate re
spects acceptable to your araiable lady, and believe me,
with sincere esteem, dear sir, &c., &c.
Franklin to J. Adams. Passt, May 10, 1779.
Sie, — I received the honour of yours of the 29th past
from Nantes. I hope you are before this time safely
arrived at L'Orient. Mr. de la Luzerne is making diligent
preparation for his departure, and you will soon see him.
He and the Secretary of the Embassy are both very agree
able and sensible raen, in whose conversation you will
have a great deal of pleasure in your passage. What port
the ship will be ordered to I have not yet learnt. I sup
pose that may be partly left to the captain's discretion, as

LETTER TO BACHE. 291
the winds may happen to serve. It must certainly be
most agreeable to you to be landed in Boston, as that will
give you an earlier sight of your family ; but as you pro
pose going immediately to Congress, being landed in Phila
delphia will have some little advantage, as it saves half
your journey. I shall take care to procure the order to
the captain from Mr. Sartine which you desire, tho' I
should suppose showing the original letter of that minister,
which you have, would be sufficient.
No public despatches are arrived here since you left us.
The anniversary of the signing of the treaty was observed
with great festivity by the Congress at Philadelphia.
From Holland I have just received the resolution of the
States General of the 26th, to convoy their trade, notwith
standing Sir Joseph York's memorial, and to fit out directly
32 ships of war for that purpose, which is good news and
may have consequences.
I have the honour to be, with great regard, Sir,
Your most obedient
and most humble servant, B. F.
Franklin io Bache [his son-in-law]. Passt, June 2, 1779.
Dear Sir, — I have received yours of June [? Jan.] 16.
You observe that you seldom hear from me ; I have the
same reason to complain, but I do not complain of you. It
is the loss of ships, and the sinking of despatches when
chased, that cuts our correspondence to pieces.
Yours of Oct. 22, gave me a good deal of satisfaction
in informing me of the adventures of your family, your
return to PhUada., welfare, &c.
You desire me to set the price of the printing-house
sold to Virginia ; but I have received no account of the

292 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
particulars whereof it consisted. Did they take the cases
as well as the types ; aud what were the number ? There
was a large mahogany press that cost me 25 guineas, and
a small one that cost 12 guineas; did they take those?
and did they take all the letters, flowers, &c., &c.. Except
the five cases of money types which you say the Congress
have taken ? If so, you may make out the account in this
manner. As, the price of the types in England was, for
sorae, 55 a pound, some 156, and sorae a shilling, and the
fiowers, of which there was a great quantity, 51, and it
will be difficult now to corae at the weight of the several
sorts, I suppose it may be equitable to estimate the
whole weight at 18d., and the cases at 31 each, all ster
ling, and then allow me such an advance, in sterling also,
as European goods sold for at the time. I hope, indeed,
they did not take the presses, for I should be unwilling
to part with them, as they were made under my own in
spection with improveraents ; and also a stone belonging
to the press, and a nuraber of iron chases or frames for
fixing the pages, and many other things which I know
not whether they have taken or not, which may be valued
by any printer.
The scripts letters which the Congress have taken cost
me double the price of comraon letters of the same sizes;
the long pica and long primer bill I reraeraber amounted
to forty pounds sterling. What I gave for the larger sort
I have forgotten, but suppose about ten pounds. You
raay therefore settle that in the same manner as to the
advance, &c. And when you are paid you may send [end
of record]. Franklin to Jay. Passy, June 2, 1779.
Dear Sie, — I received a few days since, by way of St.
Eustachia, the duplicate of a letter you did me the honor

LETTER TO JAY. 293
to write me of 3d January. But the Act of Congress of
Dec. 23 which you mention is not come to hand. Col.
S. Duicks, whora the Secretary names to you, called here
in his way to Holland, and brought me a recomraendatory
letter from Govr. Trumbull ; but neither himself nor that
letter mentioned anything of his business in Holland, ex
cept to see his friends ; so that I yet know of nothing to
the purport of that act. The other, of Jan. 1, is come to
hand. Besides the reasons given in it for deferring the ex
pedition to Canada, there is one that would weigh much
with me, and that is our want of sufficient quantity of
hard money. The Canadians are afraid of paper, and
would never take the Congress money. To enter a coun
try which you mean to make a friend of, with an array
that must have occasion every day for fresh provision,
horses, carriage labour of every kind, having no accepta
ble money to pay those that serve you, and to be obliged
therefore, from the necessity of the case, to take that ser
vice by force, — is the sure way to disgust, offend, and by
degrees make enemies of the whole people; after which
all your operations wUl be more difficult, all your motions
discovered, and every endeavour used to have you driven
back out of their country.
I need not recommend the Chevalier de la Luzerne to
the President of Congress. His public character will rec
ommend him sufficiently to all the respect and considera
tion due to the Minister of so great and good a prince as
the King of France, our ally. I shall only mention that
his private character here is an excellent one, and that he
is connected by relation to some of the greatest and best
people of this country. I hope that his residence with us
will be made agreeable to hira. I have written largely to
the Committee. By our last advices from Holland the
English interest diminishes there ; and frora England they

294 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
write that the daily apprehension of a war with Spain
begins to have a serious effect in disposing people generally
to wish for peace. Great preparations are making here in
all the seaports ; and this summer will probably produce
some important action. With great respect and esteem,
&c., &c. Franklin to Hopkiiison. Passt, June 4, 1779.
Dear Friend, — I received your kind letter of the 22d
October last, which gave me great pleasure, as it inforraed
me of your welfare, and of your appointment to the hon
orable office of treasurer of loans. I think the Congress
judged rightly in their choice ; and exactness in accounts
and scrupulous fidelity in matters of trust are qualities
for which your father was eminent, and which I was per
suaded were inherited by his son when I took the liberty
of naming him one of the executors of my will, — a liberty
which I hope you will excuse.
I am sorry for the losses you have suffered by the
Goths and Vandals, but hope it will be made up to you
by the good providence of God, and the good-will of your
country, to whom your peu has occasionally been of service.
I ara glad the enemy have left something of my gim-
crackery that was capable of affording you pleasure. You
are therefore very welcome to the use of my electrical and
pneumatic machines as long as you think proper.
I enclose you a little piece or two of Oxford wit which
I lately received, hoping they may afford you a few
minutes' amusement. Present my respects to your good
mother and sisters, and believe me ever, &c.
P. S. Perrait rae to recoraraend the new Minister, Mr.
le Chevalier de Luzerne, to your civiUties, as a gentleman

LETTER TO ROCQUETTE AND OTHERS. 295
of most admirable character, aud a hearty friend of the
American cause. If you can in any respect be service
able to him, you wUl much oblige me.

Franklin to Messrs. J. Bocquette, J. Elsvier, and Brothers
Bocquette. Passt, June 13, 1779.
Gentlemen, — I received your favour of the 7th in
stant, enclosing two notes of the United States, for 1000
dollars each, for my inspection, which I return inclosed.
I have not yet seen the resolution mentioned therein, but
by what I can recollect from the face of the notes thera
selves, I judge that the dollars for which the notes are
given were of paper money borrowed, and that the inter
est will be paid and the principal repaid in the same
paper, which is now in state of great depreciation. If be
fore the time of payment it should fall still lower, the
possessor of the notes will be so much the loser; if on
the contrary they should rise in value, — of which, from
the measures taken for that purpose, there is great ap
pearance, — the possessor will bein proportion a gainer.
The interest will be paid every year, but is payable only
at the loan office in America, from whence the bills
issued, and to that end they must be produced there, that
the payment may be indorsed. These bUls have therefore
been improperly brought to Europe, being of less value
here, as they must return to have their effect ; and being
sola bills, payable to the bearer, they have not the same
security from the dangers of the sea that bills of exchange
usually have ; for they may not only be lost or destroyed
by accidents, but if taken, the enemy will reap the benefit
of them. The insurance of them back is therefore a pro
portionate diminution of thek value. At what value they

296 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
are at present current in America, I cannot inform you,
that depending on the fiuctuating state of the paper there ;
nor do 1 know where they can be so well negotiated as the
place where they are payable.
1 have the honour to be, &c.
Franklin to Jona. Williams.
Dear Cousin, — The bearer, Mr. Genet, Junior, a young
gentleraan of excellent character, goes to Nantes with an
intention of spending a little tirae there in improving
himself in the English language by conversing among our
countryraen. I desire you would introduce him to their
acquaintance, and I recoraraend him warmly to all your
civUities, which I shall esteera as done to myself.
I am ever Your affectionate uncle, B. F.
This is the Genet subsequently so notorious in the
early years of our national history.
Franklin to Dubourg. Passt, Aug. 13, 1779.
Dear Sie, — Having begun the affair of our loan by
the means of our friend M. Ferdinand Grand, banker,
Eue Montmartre, he is in possession of all the particulars
relating to it, and can fully satisfy the curiosity of the
person whp enquires thro' you. I need only mention in
answer to your Sth query, that the raoney borrowed being
to be laid out in France for arras, amraunition, soldiers'
clothing, &c., that it will not answer our purpose to take
any raoney but such as is current in France, and the
American paper has no business here. Those who have

letter to epp. 297
brought any of it into France — except bills of exchange
— have committed a folly, in exposing their property to
two risques for nothing ; as it must go back again to find
its value.
With regard to your proposition concerning your prop
erty in America : I should be glad to assist you in it, but
I do not conceive it practicable. First, because the Con
gress has no lands in its disposition ; the vacant lands are
all in some or other of the particular states; they dispose
of them by general rules ; and an application to them for
a deviation from those general rules in favour of a par
ticular person will hardly be attended to ; for they will
apprehend that having done it in favour of one they
will be urged to do it for many, which would be attended
with many great public inconveniences.
I am ever, my dear friend, &c., &c.
Franklin to Mr. Charles Epp [Brocureur at Altorf,
Switzerland]. Passt, Augt. 27, 1779.
Sie, — I received the letter you did me the honour to
write to me concerning your inclination to remove to
Aiiierica. In so great a country as is at present possessed
by the thirteen United States, extending through such
different climates, and having such a variety of soils and
situations, there is no doubt but you might, if you were
there, find one to your raind. Lands in general are cheap
there, compared with the prices in Europe. The air is
good, there are good governments, good laws, and good
people to live with. And as you would probably make
a good citizen, there is no doubt of your meeting with a
welcome among them. But since you are in easy circura
stances where you are, and there is no immediate neces-

298 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
sity for your removing, I cannot advise your making such
a voyage with a family at this time, when, if taken by the
enemy, you might be subject to many inconveniences.
I have the honour to be, sir, &c., &c.
Franklin to Stadel. Passt, Oct. 20, 1779.
Sir, — I received the letter you did me the honour of
writing to me, enclosing a project of raising a regiment
for the service of the United States, of which you desire
my sentiment. The Congress, I believe, have never had
any intention of raising troops in Europe and transport
ing thera to Araerica : the expense would be too great for
thera, and the difficulty extreme, as the English command
the seas, and would often intercept their transports. And
having myself no orders relative to such an object, that
raight authorize me to encourage the project, I cannot
give the least acceptation that it would be accepted. We
are nevertheless obliged to the officer for his friendship in
making the proposition, and I request that my thanks, in
behalf of my country, may be presented to him. I have
the honour to be. Sir, &c., &c.
Franklin to Commercial Committee of Congress, Phila.
Passt, Oct. 21, 1779.
Gentlemen, — I received the honour of yours dated the
21st of July, containing an extract from Mr. Pollock's
letter^ to you, in which he mentions his drafts on Mr.
Delap for 10,897 dollars, and his expectation that in case
of any difficulty I will see those bills paid. I should cer
tainly do everything in my power to support the credit of
1 Oliver Pollock was the spirited American merchant in New Orleans
who rendered material service, in the early days, to the new-born nation.

LETTER TO PIZEAUX AND GRAND. 299
the States, and every person acting under their authority ;
but I have been so exhausted by great and unexpected
drafts and expenses, that I ara glad those bills have never
been proposed to rae, as I could not have taken upon
myself to pay them. And I beg that you would not in
future have any dependance of that kind upon me with
out knowing beforehand from me that I shall be able to
pay what is desired. I hope you will excuse my giving
this caution, which is forced from me by the distress and
anxiety such occasional and unforseen demands have
occasioned me.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, &c., &c.

Franklin to Holker. Passt, Oct. 28, 1779.
Deae Sie, — Inclosed I send you a packet I have just
received from Morlaix, containing some of the papers you
requested me to recover, and a receipt for the rest. You
will see what Mr. Diot says about the trunks of clothes.
It will be best, I imagine, for the person who desires to
have thera, if he knows which they are, to describe thera
to Mr. Diot or some other person, and order them to be
bid for at the sale. I received a quantity of apple jelly,
but no letter. If it was for me, 1000 thanks to Good
Made. Holker, I am ever, my dear friend, &c., &c.
Franklin to Messrs. Fizeaux & Grand.
Passt, Oct. 29, 1779.
Gentlemen, — I have advice from England that 8
boxes of printing characters are sent from London, to
your care for me. If they are arrived, I request you would
ship them to -Eouen, addressed to Mr. Holker here. I

800 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
suppose you have Dutch vessels frequently going there.
Their value is about 100£ sterling, which I desire you
to get insured. Whatever charge you are at, I shall re
pay with thanks. I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
Franklin to M. Des Landes. Passy, Nov. 23, 1779.
Sie, — Not understanding well enough the French lan
guage and the technical terms used in the description of
your observatory, I cannot form frora the description such
an idea of its situation and circurastances as might enable
me to answer the questions you propose to me. But as
my learned and ingenious friend Mr. Le Eoy,^ member of
the Academy of Sciences, is perfectly well acquainted
with the subject, I have put your papers into his hands,
and request the favor of him to give you the information
you desire. Franklin to Joshua Johnson? Passt, Dec. 29, 1779.
Sie, — I am much obliged by your kind attention in
sending me from time to tirae the Araerican newspapers
that have corae to your hands. Please to accept my
thankful acknowledgements.
I have the pleasure now to acquaint you that tho' my-
application, at your request, for arms or a loan of money
for your province in particular was not attended with
success, — the opinion here being (as I think I forraerly
wrote you) that all such applications should regularly
come to the Congress, — yet an aid being now lately
granted to that body for the whole, there is no doubt
1 See chapter i.
* A merchant in Nantes. His daughter was afterwards Mrs. J. Q. Adams.

LAFAYETTE'S S'WORD. 301
but Maryland wUl obtain its share of what shaU arrive
in America.
If I have not corresponded with you so punctually as
you might expect, and as I could have wished to do, I
pray you to excuse me ; I have had too much business,
with too little help. The constant expectation of a secre
tary, who had long been voted but did not arrive, pre
vented my engaging such assistance as I wanted, and I
have not been able by increased application fully to sup
ply the deficiency.
I do not understand that by the treaty of alliance be
tween France and America, an Araerican taking a house
aud settling in France to carry on business is exempted
from the duties and services that would have been required
of a native of France inhabiting the same house. The
droit d'aubaine is indeed abolished in our favour, but in
other respects I should suppose that Americans settled
here, as well as Frenchmen settled in America, must,
while they live as inhabitants, be subject to the laws of
the respective countries, of which they at the sarae tirae
claim and enjoy the protection. I am sorry however that
you find this so inconvenient as to induce you to quit the
kingdom. Particular circumstances may have occasioned
the quartering of soldiers on the inhabitants last year,
which in time of peace may rarely happen.
Lafayette spent most of the year 1779 in France en
gaged in constant efforts, which were generally success
ful, for the American cause. At the order of Congress,
Franklin had a beautiful sword made, and presented it
to him in their name. The correspondence on this subject
has been long since published. As the reader has seen,
there was at one time a plan that Lafayette should lead
a French force in a descent on England from Jones's

302 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
squadron. But so soon as the larger plan was brought
forward, his hopes in this direction were disappointed.
He wrote freely to Franklin through the year, and his
letters are always interesting. The series closes with his
announcement, in December, of the birth of the boy who
would be called George Washington.^
Franklin wrote to the Massachusetts council the follow
ing letter regarding him and other French officers : —
Passt, June 4, 1779.
Honble. Tlie Council of the Massachusetts Bay :
Honble. Gentlemen, — The Commissioners at this
Court received the letters you did them the honour of
writing to them, recommending the Marquis de la Fayette.
I immediately sent it to be perused by the Ministers who
desire to have a copy of it. He was very favourably re
ceived by his Majesty and has had given him a regiment
of dragoons. He retains the warmest zeal for the Ameri
can cause, and affection for the people ; and has been con
tinually raoving soraething or other with the Ministry for
the advantage of America, ever since his arrival. The
Chevalier De Eamondis too retains the most grateful sense
of the attention paid hira by your governraent during his
illness under the loss of his arm ; several other officers
speak highly in favour of our country on account of the
civilities they received there, which has a very good effect
here, and evinces the wisdom of the conduct you are ac
custoraed to pursue with regard to strangers of merit. I
thought it right to acquaint you with these circumstances,
and I do it with more pleasure, as it gives me an oppor
tunity of assuring you of the great respect with which I
have the honour to be, &c., &c.
1 Bom 1779, died 1856.

LETTER TO LAFAYETTE. 308
P. S. If the Chevalier de la Luzerne, who is going to
America to succeed M. Gerard as Minister from this Court
should happen to put into Boston, you will find him every
way deserving of the civilities he may receive independent
of his public character. He is much esteemed and respected
here, has great connections, and is a hearty friend to the
cause of Liberty and America.
These are Franklin's last notes to Lafayette in this
visit : — Passt, Jan. 18, 1780.
M. Le Maftfs De La Fayette :
Deae Sie, — Being unavoidably detained from going to
VersaiUes to-day as intended, I must beg of you when you
present those officers to Mr. de Vergennes, to say for me
what I should have said if I could have been present, —
that I have been made well acquainted with their great
merit and the high reputation they have acquired in our
country by their valour and their good conduct ; and that
I am persuaded that, if his Majesty should think fit to hon
our them with any marks of his favour in consideration
of their services to the United States, it will be extreamly
pleasing to Congress, and to the people of America. I am
ever, with the greatest. esteem and affection.
Dear Sir, &c., &c.,
Franklin to Lafayette. Passt, Oct. I, 1779.
Deae Sie, — It is a long time since I did myself the
honour of writing to you ; but I have frequently had the
pleasure of hearing of your welfare.
Your kindness to my grandson in offering to take him
under your wing in the expedition is exceedingly obliging
to me. Had the expedition gone on, it would have been

304 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
an infinite advantage to him to have been present with
you, so early in life, at transactions of such vast importance
to great nations. I flatter rayself too, that he might pos
sibly catch frora you some tincture of those engaging man
ners that raake you so much the delight of all that know
you. Accept, however, my warmest and most grateful
acknowledgements. I send you enclosed a newspaper containing the par
ticulars of Wayne's gallant attack of Stoney Point. This is
good news. But it is followed by some bad, the loss of
our little squadron from Boston at Penobscot, which it is
said our people were obliged to blow up. I hope Count
D'Estaing's arrival in America will give us revenge. Six
thousand troops are ordered to the West Indies to secure
your conquests, and, I hope, make raore. But I do not
hear of any intention to send any to our country. I have
no orders to request troops, but large ones for supplies, and
I dare not take any further steps than I have done such a
proposition without orders. Accept in behalf of the Con
gress ray thankful acknowledgeraents for your zeal to serve
America. Occasions may offer which at present do not
appear, wherein your bravery and conduct raay be highly
useful to her.
May every felicity attend you is the wish of, dear sir,
yours, &c., &c. Franklin to Lafayette. Passy, Nov. 10, 1779.
Dear Sir, — My answer to the questions contained in
the letter you have honoured me with must be very short.
I can only say that I know nothing of the reasons. I can
therefore give no opinion, having no materials on which to
form it.
A vessel from North America, arrived at Cadiz, reports

LAFAYETTE TO ADAMS. 305
that Count D'Estaing's fleet arrived off the Capes of Vir
ginia the 14th of Septeraber, since which date we hear
nothing of him ; and this account seems not very certain.
American news there is none but what was in the Eng
lish papers. They talk of Clinton's going with a strong
force to Charles-town. But possibly D'Estaing's arrival
may prevent that, and I hope much good frora his visit to
our coasts. There are four strokes for hira to make, — New
York, Ehode Island, Halifax, and Newfoundland, if he is
really gone there ; but perhaps he went to Jamaica.
General Prevost has certainly desired to be recalled ; he
complains much of having been neglected, and not fur
nished with the re-inforceraents, and other aids and neces
saries that he had required, and that had been promised to
him. We are in the way of fiUing England with discon
tented generals and admirals.
Many, many thanks for your kindness to my grandson
and may God's blessing ever attend you. With the sin
eerest esteem and affection, I am. Dear Sir, &c., &c.
Lafayette's last letter to Franklin, resuming what he
had done in France, was written February 29, 1780. It
is printed in Sparks's collection.
Early in the year 1780 Lafayette addressed the follow
ing letter to Mr. Adams : — Paris, Februaiy 7, 1780.
Dear Sie, — As I came but this morning from Ver
sailles it was not in my power sooner to answer to the
letter you have honored me with, and this duty I now
perform with the more pleasure that it is of some impor
tance to the interest of America.
Since the first day when I had the happiness of making
myself, and of being considered in the world, as an Amer
ican, I have always observed that among so many ways
20

306 FRANKLUJ IN FRANCE.
of attacking our liberties, and among them the most un
generous ones, treachery and falsehood have ever been the
first weapons on which the British nation have the most
depended. I am glad it is in my power generaUy to assure you
that the raany reports propagated by them, and alluded to
in your letter, are not founded upon truth. These con
tracts with petty German princes have not, I believe,
taken place. And if any such merchandise was sent to
America it would at most consist of a few recruits.
The troubles in Ireland, if there is the least common
sense amongst the first patriots in that country, are not,
I hope, at an end, and it seems they now begin to raise
new expectations.
The Eussian troops so much talked of in their gazette
I take to be more recruits for the thirty thousand Eus-
sians that Mr. Eivington had three years ago ordered to
embark for America.
These intelligences, my dear Sir, be counteracted by let
ters to our friends in America. But as the respect we
owe to the free citizens of the United States makes it a
point of duty for us never to deceive them, and as the
raost candid frankness must ever distinguish our side of
the question frora the cause of tyranny and falsehood, I
intend paying to-raorrow morning a visit to the minister
of foreign affairs, and from him get so minuted intelli
gences as wUl answer your purpose.
With the most sincere Eegard and friendly affection, I
have the honor to be, dear Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant, Lafayette.;
P. S. On my return from Versailles, my dear Sir, where
I will settle the affair of ^^ — that I had undertaken, I wUl

"E PLURIBUS UNUM." 807
impart you a project privately, relating to one that is not
inconsistent with my sentiments for our country —
America. In one of the French letters of this summer, from an
unknown man who wishes to emigrate, — letters so numer
ous and so effusive that they are very tedious, — appears
the national motto, " E pluribus unum." It has been re
membered that these words first appear in Virgil's account
of a salad-dressing, in his little poem " Moretum." This
French letter is perhaps their first application to the
union of the thirteen States.
We know now that the J'rench officers in America sent
home, in some instances, statements almost disloyal to the
country which coraraissioned and fed them.
As early as December, 1777, De PortaU had written
that he doubted the American success. " The Americans
have been used to idleness, to drinking tea and rura, to
smoking, &c. : they will not hold out in such a war. It
will not do to think of sending a French force to act in
concert with them. They have a violent antipathy to the
French ; they would sooner go over to the British army
than fight with the French." Such is Hutchinson's di
gest of the letter of an officer in the American service.*
It was no misfortune to Araerica that the EngUsh took
the ship which carried it.
^ Hutchinson's Diary, ii. 309.

CHAPTEE XVI.
THE PEIVATEEES FROM DUNKIEK.
THE old town of Dunkirk was always a breeding-place
for smugglers, privateers, and even for pirates. For
centuries it had been famous as a seaport. Even in the
time of the crusades did fleets fit out in Dunkirk. Later,
being fortified and made a place of great strength, it was
constantly besieged and captured, now in the hands of
one party, and now of another. Successively occupied
and fortified by Flemish, Spanish, French, English, and
French again, the sailors of Dunkirk made for themselves
a mighty reputation as terrors of the narrow seas. Forti
fied into a place of iraraense strength by the genius of
Vauban, and withstanding all the attacks of the Triple
Alliance in the war, Dunkirk succumbed to the diplomats,
and according to the treaty of Utrecht, its great fortifica
tions were pulled down and thrown into its harbor; and
although at each successive outbreak of war the walls
were again lifted up, in the successive treaties of Aix
la Chapelle and of Paris the clauses which condemned
them to destruction were reaffirmed. But although Dun
kirk was not now a place of importance in war, the sailors
still swarmed about her docks and quays. They were of
all nationalities, English, Scotch, Irish, Dutch, and French,
and knew all the neighboring coasts, on which they fol
lowed the hardy and dangerous trade of smuggling. One
may imagine that this population would be keenly alive

COFFYN TO FRANKLIN. 309
to those prospects which would open up at the hope of
a war between England and France. Before this, indeed,
had the privateers been busy at Dunkirk. It was from
Dunkirk that Conyngham sailed in the "Surprise," and
afterwards in the " Eevenge." Two worthy business men,
Franz Coffyn and John Torris, on the lookout for their
own profits as well as for those of the Commissioners,
were Franklin's agents at the port. Shortly after the
signing of the Treaty of Alliance, it occurred to Coffyn
that all the raw material drifting about Dunkirk might
be utilized ; and on the 12th of April he wrote to
Franklin : —
HoNOUEED SiE, — The warr which was expected to be
declared soon after the notification made by the Count of
Noailles to the British of the Treaty concluded between
France and America having not yet taken place, this
keeps in suspense diverse merchants who were inclined
to fit out privateers to annoy the trade of the comraon
enemy; but as no French Commissions can be granted
before the declaration of war, I know that sorae of these
merchants would be glad to obtain Comraissions from
Congress to fit out their vessels under the colours of the
United States, provided it should be allowed to bring the
prizes into the French ports. I take the liberty to request
your opinion on these two points, whether such comrais
sions can be granted by the Hon'ble Coraraissioners, and
whether the prizes taken in virtue of the same could be
brought into the ports of this kingdom and sold for the
captors. At great length he goes on to propound a scheme
which occurs to him. Here is one Christopher Ferron, a
noted Irish smuggler (and there' are many more of his
stamp about the port), who knows the coasts of Ireland,

310 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Scotland, England, and Holland better than he knows the
four corners of his bed. Why not utilize all this mate
rial by fitting out privateers, filling them up with these
English, Scotch, and Irish who would fight under Amer
ican comraissions, and if taken would cause no trouble
to any one, for they would all swear that they were
Araerican? They could not take French commissions,
for they could not pass as Frenchmen ; but under Amer
ican colours they would do good service.
We find no notice afterwards of any direct result from
this note. But though no use was at this time made of
the suggestion, at a later time the same idea was put into
effect by Torris. It was in the spring of 1779, that the
" Black Prince " privateer was fitted out, commissioned
(24th of May), and sent to sea under Stephen Marchant
with a mixed crew of various nationalities, who knew the
narrow seas well, and were prepared to give a good account
of themselves if attacked by a man-of-war. The captain
took an oath of allegiance to the United States, but it
does not appear that the crew joined in this protestation
of loyalty.
The "Black Prince" did well both in the matter of
prizes and of prisoners ; though, being a small vessel and
parting with her crew to man prizes, it was deemed in
expedient to retain the prisoners, and they were let go on
giving a paper in which each one promised to see that an
Araerican prisoner was exchanged in his place. But to
these paroles the English authorities paid not the slightest
regard, as was indeed natural. The captured sailors had
no authority to proraise the release of an Araerican sea
man in case they were let go free ; and indeed if they had
not chosen to give such papers, they would probably in
most cases have been allowed to go, all the same, on
account of the difficulty of retaining them until the

THE "BLACK PRINCE." 311
privateers made port. Franklin felt much outraged at
their course, as we may see from the following letter.
Passt, Feb. 9, 1780.
To Capt. Patrick Dowlin of the "Black Prince" at Mr.
Chancey's, Mercht in Boscow:
SiE, — I received yours of the 27th past. I congratu
late you on the success you have had against our enemies,
of which I had the pleasure of hearing before by the copy
of your journal sent me by Mr. Diot. The prisoners you
have brought in will soon procure us the liberty of as
many of our countrymen, who have long been confined in
the gaols of Great Britain. It is therefore an essential
piece of service to the United States ; and as the English
pay no regard to the written paroles formerly taken from
the men who were prisoners to the "Black Prince'' and
set at liberty, I think it right that you should trust no
more to the honour of that nation, which has refused to
return us a single raan or account of those paroles, and of
¦others taken by the " General Mifflin " and the " Hancock "
privateers to the araount of 220 men ; and for the future,
I desire that you would secure your prisoners as well as
you can, and lodge them in French or Spanish gaols, by
which means you will have the satisfaction of relieving
many poor captives and recommending yourself to the
favour of Congress. I wish you a prosperous cruise, and
have the honour to be. Sir, Yours, &c.
The first cruise of the " Black Prince '' was so successful
that it was resolved to fit out a consort to cruise in com
pany. The , " Black Princess " was commissioned in the
summer of 1779,* and in the fall of that year the same
' "These successes have determined the proprietors to fit out another
cutter of GO ft. keel and 20 ft. beam, mounting 16 3-pounders, 24 swivels

312 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
owners added the, " Fearnot." Exactly who these owners
were does not appear. Torris seems to have been the chief
man concerned. Coffyn had undoubtedly some share.
John Diot, of Morlaix, was also interested. The crews
and captains were generally taken from the Irish and Eng
lish smugglers which crowded the port. Stephen Marchant,
the first commander of the " Black Prince,'' and Edward
Macatter, the comraander of the " Princess," were, we be
lieve, Irishraen frora Boston. Patrick Dowlin and Luke
Eyan, of the " Black Princess " and the " Fearnot," ^ were
Irishraen from Dunkirk
These successes could not last forever. The "Black
Prince," after several cruises, came to an untimely end, as
we learn from a letter to Franklin from Torris : —
Apr. 15th, DuNKlUQUE.
Honoured Sie, — With unexpressible grief I have the
honnour to acquaint your Excellency with the loss of our
poor " Black Prince," CaptS Dowlin. She has suffered all
the hardships she ever could frora the French these few
weeks past. The self-conceited and weak commissary of
Alorlaix has forced my correspondant there to disembark
the 22^ to 25"" ult"., all her men that would cruise no
longer, altho' they had 32 days more to compleat their
engagement ; the crew was reduced to 53 men, which hin
dered Mr. Dowlen to venture north about. He sailed from
Eoscoft for this Harbour the 6"' inst. The 7"" he took
and sent for Cherbourg the " Flora," Dutch Brig, Hendrick
Eoudenberg master, because she appeared by her bUls of
and small arms, with 65 men, all Americans and Irish, under the command
of Capt. Edward Macatter, of Boston. This cutter will be called the
' Black Princes.5,' and is intended to cruise in company with the ' Black
Prince.' " — Coff'yn, to Franklin, July 30, 1779.
1 Or "Feamaught." In both ways may it be seen in the manuscripts.

THE SECOND "BLACK PRINCE." 313
lading and the said Captain's report, her cargoe of flaxseed,
&c., belonged to Merchants in Dublin. The 8"' she came
up with an English King's Cutter, but was obliged to leave
her off, being close chaced by a frigate stretching out from
the land, which forced her to leave the Brig. The 10'"
she was again close chased by the same frigate under Eng
lish flagg. Little or no wind, at 2 P.M. Came under the Land
at Estaples, hoisted French colours and fired signals of
distress for the assistance of the Forts at 4 p.m., being
within pistolshot of the Frigate which still kept up her
English colours. The Fort of Beek fired on her; then
the poor "Black Prince" stranded, and the frigate, in 2|
fathoms water, brought down her English colours, shewed
French do., and sheered off. All the crew and materials
are saved.
Torris was by no means utterly discouraged at this. ' It
is not improbable that the " Black Prince " had cleared
several tiraes her own value before she was lost. He at
once set about fitting out another, to bear the sa,rae name.
" The same commission will do for Macatter, the captain,"
he writes to Franklin, " as the nariie is not to be changed."
The luck of the old "Black Prince" followed the new,
and she made a most successful cruise.
Franklin to Macatter. Passt, Augt. 2, 1780.
SiE, — I congratulate you on the success of your late
cruise. I see by the EngUsh newspapers that you have
much alarmed the enemy's coasts and done great damage
to their commerce. Your bringing in so many prisoners
is another considerable service, and you may depend on
having your generous intentions fulfilled in the exchange
and deliverance of so many Americans. Therefore if the

314 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
British cartel ship is not gone, I wish they may be put on
board her, a receipt being taken for them by the commis
sary, that they are sent on account of America, which
receipt will be remitted to me. I have the honour to
be, with much esteem for your activity and bravery,
sir, &c., &c.
The cruises of these privateers gave rise to various ques
tions, and disputes of some interest. Franklin's position
in them was that of one ground betwixt two millstones.
Both enemies and friends denounced the scheme. The
English called the whole set pirates, and offered to hang
them wherever they might be found. The French com
plained bitterly that these privateers with American
commissions were not subject to the same rules and
restrictions as were French privateers.
On the former point Torris writes to Franklin, on the
9th of August, 1779: —
" I do myself the honour to write you the great uneasiness
I am under for the fate of the poor 21 raen of her crew [the
' Blk. Prince's ' ], taken the 22* June of Morlaix by the
Quebec Frigate, on board of her 6 prizes, and who were
landed in Guernsey. Your Excellency has had their names;
several are born Araericans, others Irish ; but they are all
sworn subjects to the United States. I read in the Kentish
' Gazette ' that these people were sent to Penzance, to be
there tried by the high courts of Admiralty for Piracy,
because they were Irishmen, or subjects to great Britain.
Messrs. Jn° and Tho* Kirwan, of London, to whorn I send
a ransom bill for recovery, a Prize to this American priva
teer, answered me that the ' Black Prince ' is looked upon
there as a Pirate ship, because she is manned with their
own subjects."

LETTER TO VERGENNES. 815
With Vergennes and Sartine Franklin had several dis
cussions on different points suggested by these privateers.
The reader of the following letter will remeraber that it
was at just this tirae that Katharine of Eussia had pro
pounded the principles of the First Armed Neutrality, of
which the chief was that " free ships make free goods,"
and that France and Spain, as well as various other
European nations, had concurred therein.

Franklin to Vergennes. Passy, June 18, 1780.
Sie, — I received the letter your excellency did me the
honour of writing to me the 17 of this month, together
with the letters inclos'd, of Mr. de Sartine and of the
Ambassador of HoUand, concerning the ship "Flora," which
had been brought into Cherbourg by the " Black Prince,"
privateer. Your excellency will see by the enclosed paper
that I had already given orders for the release of the ves
sel with payment of damages, before M. the Ambassa
dor's complaint was made. And by my letter to the
owners may be seen what my sentiments are with regard
to the principle about to be established by neutral powers.
This single cargo I nevertheless condemn'd to the use of
the captors, excepting what should be reclaira'd on oath by
the subjects of Holland. My reasons for doing so were, —
1. Because the law has been settled in America that
enemy's property, found in neutral ships, might be taken
out of the same, paying the freight that would have been
due if the ships had compleated their voyages, together
with all costs and damages. Of this there has been already
several instances ; and foreign owners have been so well
satisfy'd with the handsome treatment their ships met with.

316 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
when carried into our ports on such occasions, that I never
heard of any complaint.
2. Because the EngUsh have always condemn'd and
confiscated American property found in such ships, of
which there have been, as I am inform'd, many instances
in America ; and neither the Dutch captains or owners
have ever complain'd of this as a violation of the flag of
their nation, nor claim'd its right of protecting our goods
in their ships, but have deliver'd thera up to the English
on receiving their freight.
3. Because a treaty has long since been offered in behalf
of the United States to Holland, in which there was an arti
cle that free ships should make free goods ; but no notice has
been taken of that offer. And it was understood that, till
such a treaty was entered into, the old law of nations took
place, by which the property of an enemy was deem'd a
good prize wherever found. And this vessel, charg'd with
English property, being brought in, on the captain's volun
tary declaration that it was such, before the intention of
the Neutral Powers to change that law could be known, it
was thought that the captors' right to the cargo could not
fairly be refused.
I hope these reasons and the orders I have given will
be satisfactory to his excellency the Ambassador of their
High Mightinesses, whom I highly esteem and respect.
I ara perfectly convinc'd of the wisdom of your excellency's
reflections on the subject ; and you will always find me
pursuing a conduct conformable to those just sentiments.
With regard to the observation of Mr. de Sartine on the
" inconveniences resulting from Araerican privateers fitted
out as the ' Black Prince ' is by Frenchmen, and yet not
subject j;o the same forras and laws with your privateers,"
I beg leave to observe that, by the express words of the
Commission granted to them, they are directed to submit

THE CASE OF THE "BLACK PRINCE." 817
the prizes they shall carry into any port in the dominions
of a Foreign State to the judgement of the Adrairalty
Courts estabUshed in such ports or states, and according to
the usages there in force. Several of our first prizes brought
into France were, if I mistake not, so judged; and it was
not upon any request of mine that such causes were after
wards referred to me, nor am I desirous of continuing to
exercise that jurisdiction. If, therefore, the judgement I
have given in the case of the " Flora " is not approved,
and the Council of Prizes will take the trouble of re
examining and trying that cause, and those of all other
prizes to be brought in hereafter by American cruisers, it
will be very agreeable to me, and from the very terms
above mentioned of the comraission, I think it will also be
agreeable to Congress. Nor do I desire to encourage the
fitting out of privateers in France by the King's subjects
with American commissions. I have had many applica
tions of the kind which I have refused, advising the
owners to apply for the commissions of his Majesty. The
case of the " Black Prince " was particular. She had been
an old smuggler on the coasts of England and Ireland,
was taken as such, and carried into Dublin ; where her
crew found means to break prison, cut their vessel out of
the harbour, and escaped with her to Dunkerque. It was
represented to rae that the people, being all English and
Irish, were afraid to continue their srauggling business,
least, if they should be again taken, they might be pun
ished as British subjects for their crirae at Dublin ; and
that they were willing to go privateering against the Eng
lish ; but speaking no other language, they iraagined they
might, if taken, better pass as Americans, if they had an
American commission, than as Frenchmen, if under a
French commission. On these grounds I was applied to
for a commission, which I granted, believing that such

318 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
a swift vessel, with a crew that know so well aU the ports
of the enemy's coasts, might greatly molest their coasting
trade. Her first success occasioned adding the "Black
Princess," by the same owners ; and between them they
have taken and sent in, or ransom'd, or destroy' d, an amaz
ing number of vessels, I think near 80. But I shall con
tinue to refuse granting any more commissions, except to
American vessels ; and if, under the circumstances above
represented, it is thought, nevertheless, inconvenient that
the comraissions of the " Black Prince " and " Princess "
should continue, I wUl immediately recall them.

CHAPTEE XVIL
CAPTAIN LANDAIS.
Franklin to the Navy Board for the Eastern Department.
Passt, 15 Mar. 1780.
Gentlemen, — I acquainted you in a former letter that
there were great misunderstandings between Capt. Lan
dais and the other officers of his ship. These differences
arose to such a height, that the Captain once wrote me he
would quit the command rather than continue with them.
Some of them leaving the ship, that disturbance seem'd
to be quieted. But there has since arisen another violent
quarrel between him and Captain Jones. These things
give me great trouble, particularly the latter, the circura
stances of which I ara under a necessity of communicating
to you, that measures may be taken for putting properly
an end to it by a Court Martial, if you find that step
necessary. Soon after the arrival of our little squadron in the
Texel, I had a letter from Commander Jones, coraplaining
highly of Capt. Landais, and mentioning that he was ad
vised to put him under arrest in order to take his trial
hy a Court Martial, for which, however, there was not a
sufficient number of officers in Europe, but he would do
nothing in it tUl he heard from me. I had another from
Captain Landais coraplaining of Commodore Jones, and
begging me to order an inquiry into the matter as soon

320 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
as possible. I received also a letter from the Minister of
Marine, of which the following is an extract, viz. : —
" I am persuaded. Sir, that you are not less raoved than
I am by the great number of the killed and wounded of
the French volunteers on board the " Bon Homme Eich
ard " in her combat with the English ship, the " Serapis."
This occurrence is the more grievous, in that it appears
that, if the Araerican frigate, the " Alliance," had seconded
the " Bon Horarae Eichard," in giving battle at the same
time, the advantage gained by Commodore Jones would
have been more prorapt, would have cost less raen, and
would not have put the " Bon Homme Eichard " into such
a state as to sink about thirty-six hours after the battle.
The captain of this frigate, having conducted himself in
this extraordinary manner, I do not doubt, Sir, that you
will command him to repair hither to give an account of
himself ; and in case you shall discover that it was owing
to him that the victory was so costly, I doubt not that
you will consider it proper to inform Congress of it, that
it may remove this captain frora its naval list."
Upon this, and with the advice of a very respectable
friend of Capt. Landais, M. de Chaumont, who thought
sending for him to come to Paris in order to an enquiry
mto his conduct would prevent many inconveniences to
the service that might attend a more public discussion, I
wrote to him, Oct. 15, acquainting him with the principal
charges against him, and directing him to render himself
here, bringing with him such papers and testimonies as
he might think useful in his justification. I wrote at the
same tirae to Comm'e Jones to send up such proofs as he
might have in support of the charges against the Captain,
that I might be enabled to give a just account of the
affair to Congress. In two or three weeks Capt. Landais
came to Paris, but I received no answer from Com'e

LETTfeR TO THE NATY BOARD. 321
Jones. After waiting some days, I concluded to hear
Capt. Landais on the 15 of November without longer
delay; and that the impartiahty of the enquiry might be
more clear, I requested the above-named, a friend of Capt.
Landais, and Dr. Bancroft, a friend of Comm'e Jones, to
be present.
With this I send the minutes that were taken on that

occasion

1

The justification Capt. Landais offers in answer to the
charge of disobedience of the Commodore's orders, seems
to call upon ,me for an explanation of what relates to
those I had given Capt. Landais. The armament was
made at I'Orient; M. de Chaumont was present there
and had the care of it. I was necessarily at a great
distance, and could not be consulted on every occasion,
and I was not on the following : A convoy being wanted
for some merchant ships to Bordeaux, and our squadron
being ready, and there being time sufficient, it was em
ploy'd in q,nd performed that occasional service. The
"Alliance" and "Bonhomme Eichard" afterwards, at
sea, ran foul of each other in the night, and all return'd
to I'Orient. The state of the crew, as well as that of
the ship, making it at first doubtful whether the " Bon
homme Eichard" might not be long detained in port, I
was apply'd to for the conditional order I gave on the
28th of July to Capt. Landais. I could not foresee that
he would think a cruise, for which he was to take on
board six months provisions, and during which he was to
be under the orders of Comm'e Jones, was accomplished
by the little trip to Bordeaux and the return above men-
tion'd, and that he was therefore no longer under those
orders. Nor could I imagine that a conditional order for
cruising alone, in case the " Bonhomme " could not be
1 This is, unfortunately, lost.
21

322 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ready in time, would, if she was ready, and they sail'd
together, be construed into an exemption from that subor
dination, in a squadron, which regular discipline and the
good of the service requires ; otherwise, I should certainly
have removed those misapprehensions by fresh and very
explicit orders. How far Capt. Landais is justifiable in
these interpretations and his consequent conduct, must be
left to his proper judges.
The absence of Commodore Jones and of all the wit
nesses (so that none of them could be cross-examined)
have made this inquiry very imperfect. You wiU per
ceive that contradictions appear in the evidence on both
sides in some very raaterial points. These, with my
ignorance in the manoeuvring of ships engag'd and their
possible operations under saU, the variety of circumstances
that wind, tide, and the situation afford, make it as im
practicable for rae to forra, as it would be improper for me
without authority to give, a judgement in this affair. I
will only take the liberty of saying in favour of Capt.
Landais that, notwithstanding the mortal quarrel rose
between them at sea, it does not appear to me at all prob
able that he fired into the " Bonhomme Eichard " with
design to kill Capt. Jones. The enquiry, tho' imperfect,
and the length of it, have, however, had one good effect,
in preventing hitherto a duel between the parties, that
would have given much scandal ; and which I believe wUl
now not take place, as both expect justice from a court
martial in Araerica.
I have the honour to be, Gentleraen, &c..
It wUl be seen from this letter that, of all the trouble
which Franklin had received from the various sea-cap
tains of the United States Navy, that brought on him by
Pierre Landais outweighed all the rest. Indeed, Captains

LANDAIS TO FRANKLIN. 323
Wickes, Conyngham, and Jones, although they occasioned
some annoyance to Franklin, did so in the most innocent
manner imaginable, each one of them having for the
Doctor very great reverence, esteem, and affection. With
Landais it was different. He was of a different disposi
tion in many ways. He was no countryman of Frank
lin's. He was a tremendous stickler for his own honor
and his own rights. " I find him," wrote Franklin to
Jones, of Landais, "so exceedingly/ captious and critical,
and so apt to misconstrue as an intended injustice every
expression in our language he does not iramediately under
stand, that I am tired of writing anything for him or
about hira, and am deterrained to have nothing further to
do with him."
And this affair was particularly vexatious. Franklin's
sympathies would have led him to side with Jones, and
this perhaps had the effect of rendering him too lenient
with Landais. At least, it gave a very troublesome turn
to the whole business. It is difficult now to corae to a
judgment. Unquestionably, Landais was to blame. The
question seems to be just how far was he in the wrong ?
And this probably can never be settled with absolute
certainty. At all events, the matter was not settled in
the winter of 1779-80. Landais remained in Paris, doing
we know not what. On the 10th of February he wrote to
Franklin as follows : —
Please your Excellency, — I have been, ever since
, January 15'", waiting for the favour of your answer to the
letter I had the honour to send you the same day ; and for
the copy of the letter from Monsieur de Sartine to you,^
in consequence of which you ordered me to come to Paris,
which you was so obliging to tell rae you would send me,
1 From which was quoted the passage on p. 320.

324 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
as I do want it for to write my justification to that minis
ter. I beg if you would send it, with your order to stay in
Paris till the time you '11 procure me a proper passage to
go to Araerica, while the frigate " Alliance " wUl be there,
for to be tryed by a Court-martial, being the only judges
that I can have on such occasion.
I have been detained here for nothing, I find,'these three
months past. When I came from Holland I expected some
justice should be done, and I should be sent back (with the
deserved glory of having, by my conduct in the engage
ment of the 23* Sep. last, not only prevented the " Bon
Homme Eichard " of being taken by the " Serapis," but
also reduced "and made strike the last ship, &c.,) to take
the comraand again of the " Alliance," and that the malig
nant should be punished for his having calomniated me ;
but it has been quite the contrary. To what is it owed to ?
The coraraand of the frigate has been took from me; and
when I parted from Texel for Paris, according to your
order, I brought with me only the necessary papers for my
justification, and few clothes ; and left on board the frigate
four trunks, containing my clothes, linen, bed, books, sea-
charts, maps, mathematics, optics, astronomies-instruments,
all the Ships papers, my own private papers and great
many plans, as I must go as soon as possible for to crave
justice; and since I cannot go there without the most
necessary of those things, I hope you will procure me with
the money necessary to buy them, having been deprived
of those I had in following your order. Beside, I want
some money, as I told you the last time, for my dayly
expenses. I beg as a favour you would send me the answer
by the bearer.
I am with respect.
Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,
P. Landais.

FRANKLIN'S REPLY. 325
To this epistle Franklin sent the following reply : —
Passt, Feb. 12, 1780.
SiE, — You are pleased to blame me for your long stay
in Paris. I have not heard of any opportunity you have
had of going to America; and if you had been there, you
must have waited as long for the arrival of the "Alliance"
before you could have had the courtmartial you desire.
There seems, then, to have been no time lost.
When you desired me formerly to order your things to
be taken out of the " AlUance," I answered that if you
chose to have them taken out, it was proper for you to give
such orders, and appoint some friend in Holland to receive
and take care of them for you. The ship lay there a long
time after. I now acquaint you that she is probably at
L'Orient, where you may take the same step if you
approve of it.
You received money for your expences to Paris from
Mr. Neufville. You have since had a considerable sum for
your expenses here of M. de Chaumont, and wiU undoubt
edly receive more if necessary for that purpose ; but as to
furnishing you with money to buy things you say you have
lost, and which you might have had and raay probably
stUl have for asking, I do not see the necessity or the
reasonableness of it.
If you call on Monday morning for the remaining papers,
and bring with you those I have already certified, that I
may have them all tacked together under one seal, you
wUl then be possessed of the whole you ask.
I am, sir, &c , Benjamin Feanklin.
Just what was done does not appear, — probably noth
ing; for about a month later the foUowing exchange of
notes took place: —

326 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Landais to Franklin. Paris, March 11, 1780.
Please your Excellency, — You called me by your
order from the command of the American Frigate " Alli
ance," which the Honorable Congress had confided the
coramand of to me, upon some accusations that none but
a Court-martial can judge, and you have given the said
comraand to my accuser. You have kept me here these
four months past, I don't know what for. As it could be
said in America 't is my fault if I had not the same com
mand again by not having not askt it should be given me
back, may be that it was offered to me. I therefore beg
as a right, your ExceUency, give me the command of the
" Alliance " again, or give me your refusal of doing it in
writing from your hand, that I may have it to show
to Congress. I know the Officers and crew of the " Alli
ance" wishes for me, and hate their present unlawful
Coraraander. I beg as a favour you '11 be so good to send me a positive
and clear answer upon the subject.
Franklin to Landais. Passt, March 12, 1780.
Sie, — I received this day the two letters you did me
the honour of writing to me, dated the 10th and llth
instant. Having already twice answered very clearly and expli
citly your demand about your things, it seems unnecessary
to say anything farther on that head. I have written long
since to Capt. Jones to deliver them to any person you
may authorize to demand and receive them. If you please,
you may give that authority to the agent you mention.
I have also already often answered your demand of my
procuring for you a passage to America.

LETTER TO LANDAIS. 827
M. de Chaumont, having had the payment of all expences
in equipping the squadron, will, I suppose, have the pay
ment of the prize money. None of it will pass thro' my
hands. After the continual quarrels between you and the people
of the " Alliance " from the time of your taking coramand
of her at Boston ; after the repeated written complaints
made to me of the officers, and by the officers of you, dur
ing all the time from your arrival in Europe to your de
parture on your last cruise ; after having acquainted me in
writing with your resolution not to continue in the com
mand with such officers, and expressing the same disposition
in discourse to Mr. Chaumont ; after being, as you say, 4
months in Paris, in all which tirae you never gave the
least intimation of a wish to return to her, nor desired
anything of me relating to her but to have your things out
of her, — it is really surprising to be now told that the
officers and crew like you for their Captain, and that they
hate their present commander, — of whom, however, they
have not made to me the slightest complaint, — and to have
now, for the first time, a demand frora you of being replac'd
in that ship, made only when you know she is just on the
point of sailing. The demand, however, may perhaps be
made chiefiy for the sake of obtaining a refusal, of which
you seem more earnestly desirous, as the having it to pro
duce may be of service ^o you in America. I will not,
therefore, deny it to you, and it shall be as positive and
clear as you require it. No one has ever learnt from me
the opinion I formed of you from the enquiry made into
your conduct. I kept it entiirely to myself. 1 have not
even hinted it in my letters to America, because I would
not hazard giving any one a bias to your prejudice. By
communicating a part of that opinion privately to you it
can do you no harm, for you may burn it. I should not

328 FBANKLDI IN FRANCE.
give you the pain of reading it if your demand did not
make it necessary. I think you, then, so imprudent, so
litigious, and quarrelsome a man, even with your best
friends, that peace and good order, and consequently the
quiet and regular subordination so necessary to success,
are, where you preside, impossible. These are matters
within my observation and comprehension ; your military
operations I leave to more capable judges. If, therefore,
I had 20 ships-of-war in my disposition, I should not give
one of them to Captain Landais. The same temper which
excluded him frora the French Marine would weigh equally
with rae. Of course I shall not replace him in the
" AUiance." I am assur'd, however, that as captain of a merchant-
ship you have two very good qualities, highly useful to
your owners, viz., economy and integrity. For these I
esteem you, and have the honour to be, Sir, &c.
Benjamin Feanklin.
P. S. I have passed over all the charges made or insin
uated against me in your letters and angry conversations,
because I would avoid continuing an altercation for which
I have neither time nor incUnation. You will carry them
to America, where I must be accountable for my conduct
towards you, and where it will be my duty, if I cannot
justify myself, to subrait to any censures I may have
merited. Our correspondence, which cannot be pleasant
to either of us, may therefore, if you please, end here.
On receipt of this sufficiently explicit letter, Landais
went down to L'Orient to take coramand of the "AlUance."
We have not much evidence as to what he did there. We
may imagine, however, that by this time Landais had got
very well acquainted with another man of much' the same

LANDAIS TO FRANKLIN. 329
stamp as himself, -^ Mr. Arthur Lee, — who was at this
time at L'Orient, waiting for a chance to sail for America,
where he was anxious, among other duties, to give the value
of his own personal presence to the furtherance of his
attacks on FrankUn and others. In Landais he undoubt
edly thought he saw a man most unjustly treated, and at
once went to work to help him.^ This, however, we can
only surmise from various expressions in letters written at
about this time, sorae of which will come in later. How
ever this may be, Landais was at L'Orient for about two
months, when he again wrote to Franklin : —
May it please youe Excellency, — I have been
waiting ever since I came to L'Orient for your order to me
to retake command of the Frigate "Alliance," thinking
you would have reflected how she was taken from me.
I should look upon myself culpable to remain a tame
spectator, while my authority on board her is usurped by
another. Since I have been placed to that command by a
resolve of the Honble Congress, it appears to me upon
consideration that nothing can authorize your Ex. to this
proceeding of displacing rae. I ara persuaded that even
the Congress themselves would never pretend to exercise
a power so arbitrary as to overthrow their officers without
trial, were their reasons ever so well founded, rauch less
on a parcel of scandalous charges intended to cover the
ignorance and misbehavior of a man who would freely
sacrifice the reputation of the officers and men of a whole
fleet to establish himself.
I consider it ray duty to return to my station on board
her. I know of nothing that I have done that can justify
' That this view was not extraordinary one may see from reading the
opinion delivered by John Adams, printed a few pages later, from which we
must recognize that there was some sense in Landais's position, though the
method of pressing his claim was not the best one.

830 franklin in prance.
your detaining me from this. I am responsible to them
that intrusted the ship to my charge to return her to them
again. If you have any express authority for depriving
me of my coramand, I must beg a copy of it, and I will
pay due obedience to it ; otherwise I must consider myself
as Capt. of the ship, and I beg that Dr. Franklin will not
encourage anybody to interfere with me in ray duty, but
give me all the assistance in his power. It appears, more
over, that I am considered as Capn of the " Alliance " by
the Admiralty office of the United States, by the letter
I have the honour to enclose your Excellency a copy. I
must beg a speedy answer to this ; and if your Ex°^ is still
determined to withhold me frora my station, you must be
answerable for any disagreeable consequences that may
take place, which I should wish to avoid.
I am, &c., P. Landais.
L'Okient, May 29, 1780.
Franklin answered as follows : — Passt, June 7, 1780.
Sie, — I received yours of the 29"^ past, and after the
manner in which you quitted the ship, my clear and posi
tive refusal of replacing you contained in mine of March
the 12th, and my furnishing you with a considerable sum
to enable you to go to America for a trial, I am surprised
to find you at L'Orient, when I thought you had long since
been on your voyage ; and to be told that " you had been
waiting ever since your arrival for my orders to retake the
comraand of the ' AlUance,' " when I had never heard of
your being there, or given you the least expectation of the
kind. The whole affair between us will be laid before our
superiors, who will judge justly of the consistency and
propriety of your conduct and of mine. I waive, therefore,
any farther dispute with you. But I charge you not to

LETTER TO PAUL JONES. 381
meddle with the " Alliance " or create any disturbance on
board her, as you will answer the contrary at your peril
I am. Sir, Yours, &c., Benjamin Feanklin.
Franklin also wrote to Paul Jones, who was at that
time on board the " AUiance " at L'Orient : — •
Passt, June 12, 1780.
Deae Sie, — Saturday morning last I received a letter,
signed by about 115 of the sailors of the "AlUance," de
claring that they would not raise the anchor nor depart
from L'Orient till they had six months' wages paid them
and the utmost farthing of their prize raoney, including
the ships sent into Norway, and until their legal captain,
P. Landais is restored to them, — or to that effect, for I
have not the letter before me. This mutiny has undoubt
edly been excited by that captain, probably by making
them believe that satisfaction has been received for those
Norway prizes deliver'd up to the English, which God
knows is not true, the Court of Denmark not having yet
resolved to give us a shilling on that account. That he is
concern'd in this mutiny he has been foolish enough to
furnish us with proofs, — the sailors' letter being not only
enclosed under a cover directed to me in his handwriting,
but he has also in the same writing interlin'd the words,
their legal captain, P. Landais, which happen to contain
his signature. I went immediately to Versailles to demand
the assistance of Government ; and on showing the letter,
by which his guilt plainly appear' d, an order was iraraedi
ately granted and sent away the same evening for appre
hending and imprisoning him; and orders were promis'd
to be given at the same tirae to the Comraissary of the
Port to afford you all kind of assistance to faciUtate your
depart. M. de Chaumont being with me, and assisting

332 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
warmly in obtaining these orders, we thought it best at the
same time to give directions that those saUors who have
signed his letter should not be favour'd with receiving any
part of the money order' d to be advanced in part of what
it is supposed the " Serapis " and " Countis " may be sold
for, unless to such as express their sorrow for having been
so misled and wilUngness to do their duty. And that they
may be known, their letter was sent down to M. de Mont-
plaisU ; but care should be taken that it be return'd, as it
contains the proofs above mentioned against Landais, who
will probably be try'd for his Ufe, being considered by the
Ministers as an emigrant without the Kmg's permission,
and therefore still a Frenchman, and when found in France
still subject to its laws. When that advance was ordered,
it was suppos'd the vessels might have been got away with
out waiting for the sale, and that the people who had a
right to share them, receiving this in part to reUeve their
present necessities, might have appointed sorae agent to
receive and remit the rest to them in America ; but the
delays have been so great that the time of sale now ap
proaches, and perhaps the produce may be known before
you can be ready to depart with the " Ariel," and if ready
money is paid, the division may be made at once. If any
unforseen difficulties should arise to prevent this, I see no
other way but to separate those who cannot trust to their
Country to do them justice, and put them on shore, and
let them wait for their shares at their own expense ; for
't is unreasonable to keep the ship here at so monstrous an
expense to the public for their private advantage or humors.
As to wages, I have no authority or means of paying wages
here, and I believe that all maritime states pay their ships
at home ; for it cannot be supposed that pay-offices are to
be kept in every part of the world to which ships may
happen to go ; besides it cannot be known here what their

LANDAIS TO FRANICLIN. 333
families or attorneys have received for them. I see you
are likely to have a great deal of trouble. It requires pru
dence. I wish you well thro' it. You have shown your
abUities in fighting. You have now an opportunity of
showing the other necessary part in the character of a
great chief, — your abilities in governing. Adieu.
Yours sincerely,
B. F.
Landais to Franklin.
Please your Excellency, — I wrote you a letter of
the 29'" May and duplicates, and have received no answer.
I beg'd your Excellency would inform me by what authority
I was kept from my ship. I enclosed a copy of a letter
from the Secretary of the Hon"° Navy Board, Philadelphia,
the purport of which was, to take in a few goods for his
use, as the ship was ordered home by Congress. My offi
cers and crew inform me they have also wrote to your
Excellency, begging that their lawful coraraander might be
restored to them again, as they knew of no other commander
but me. They inform me that no answer has come to their
hands. I have also, with the advice of the principal Americans
and the desire of my officers and crew, taken the comraand
yesterday, as was my right, and ara determined to keep her
and carry her to America, as required by Congress in the
letter frora the Secretary of the Hon"'* Navy Board that
I enclose to you. I therefore beg you will have the offi
cers and crew paid their prize money and send me your
despatches, that I may fulfil the orders of Congress. On
my going on board my officers and men received me very
cheerfully, and acknowledged me to be their lawful com
mander, and no other till they see a resolve of Congress
for another captain.

334 FRANIvLIN IN FRANCE.
I am ready to sail whenever you will he pleased to pay
my people and send me your despatches.
L'Okient, 14 June, 1780.
The enclosed letter from John Brown, Secretary, is
directed to Landais as Captain of the "Alliance," and
says : " The Board of Admiralty of the U. S. having given
orders that the Continental Frigate " Alliance " should re
turn to this port," — and goes on to ask Landais to bring
with him when he sails certain freight. It was written
some time before this.
On receipt of this FrankUn at once wrote these two
letters : — Versailles, June 16, 1780.
Captain Landais :
SlE, — I am much surprised to learn that you have,
contrary to the express orders contained in mine of the
7th instant, taken on yourself the command of the frigate.
I do hereby repeat those orders, and charge you to quit the
ship immediately. I am, sir, yours, &c.,
Benjamin Feanklin.
Versailles, June 16, 1780.
To the Officers and Seamen ofthe "Alliance" Frigate:
Gentlemen, — Having judg'd fit for the service ofthe
United States to appoint Comme Jones to the command
of the "Alliance" in her present intended voyage to
Araerica, I hereby direct you to obey him as your cap
tain, till farther orders shall be given by the honourable

Congress.

I am, gentlemen. Your friend and humble servant,
Benjamin Feanklin,
Min. Plen. for the U. S.

JONES TO PRANKLDSr. 335
This performance of Landais was a master-stroke on his
part, and his enemies were confounded at it. They at
once wrote to Franklin. " I think it my duty as an Amer
ican citizen," says Jonathan Nesbit, " to give you my
opinion on this affair, — which is that Landais has been
instigated to take the present measure by some designing
person, (an enemy to his country) whose design it is to
throw everything into confusion, and to prevent if possi
ble the supply now going to America from getting there
in due time." And he goes on to ask pardon for intruding
his own private affairs upon Franklin, and to say, that if
Landais is continued in coraraand of the "Alliance," he
shall not believe it safe for the " Lucerne," under his care,
to go under her convoy. Francis Wharton also wrote,
pointing out Lee as the enemy to his country, in much
clearer language. Paul Jones also wrote as follows : —
L'Orient, June 13* 1780.
Sir, — On my arrival here ^ I found that Captain Lan
dais, encouraged, as I believe, by Mr. Lee and Mr. Gillan,
had raised a party spirit on board the " Alliance." I have
been, however, a considerable part of the time since ray
return, and have always been well received and duly
obeyed. As I found that my commission and authority
had been called in question, I had a copy of my comrais
sion as well as your orders read on board yesterday for
the satisfaction of every Person ; and I soon afterwards
discovered that Captain Landais had written the within
letter to lieutenant' Degge, which he had read to the
crew, and which I communicated last night to the Com
mandant. This day I came ashore in the forenoon to
make some necessary arrangements with the Command-
1 He had been to Versailles.

336 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ant, respecting the despatch of the "Ariel." In my
absence from the "Alliance," Captain Landais went on
board, declaring that he came to take command of the
ship, and was determined to support hiraself by force
against any person who would dispute his authority. I
thought it the most prudent method to make the within
written appUcation to the Commandant of the Marine,
who, with the Commandant of the Eoad, advises me to
send an account of the matter to your Excellency by
express, and to wait your orders in consequence, in con
currence with the orders of Government.
Several of the brave officers who served with me in the
" Bon Homme Eichard " have already been treated with
indignity on board, and my first lieutenant, Mr. Dale, this
moment tells rae that himself and some others have been
turned ashore. Before I came ashore this forenoon, the
crew being assembled, I deraanded whether any one of
them could say a word to my disadvantage. They an
swered they could not. There was then every appearance
of general contentment and subordination. I am certain
the people in general love and would readily obey me. . . .
My conduct of the affair will, I hope, meet with your
Excellency's approbation. I have strictly followed the
advice I have received from the two commandants here.
I have communicated to them the verbal orders you gave
me at parting to ask their assistance in case it should be
wanted; but they cannot, they say, act without written
orders from you in concurrence with the court.
I have the honour, &c.
Franklin at once took steps in the matter. He applied
to the French governraent for orders to stop Landais at
L'Orient by force if necessary. Jones too carae to Ver
saUles to press the application, — and rather unadvisedly

FRANKLIN TO WHARTON. 337
perhaps ; for in the state in which affairs then stood, pos
session was nine points of the law; and Landais having
possession of the ship, proceeded to get the " Alliance " to
rights as soon as possible, and to have her towed out into
the road, that she raight set sail at any moment. Here
he was checked by the orders of the commander of the
French fort, under whose guns he lay, which were at this
moment to blow the "AlUance" out of the water if she
should atterapt to set saU. This, however, was a day or
two later. Jones, who had hurried to Versailles, had by
this time returned to L'Orient, and busied himself to pre
vent any such catastrophe. Landais, however, was firm.
He was the rightful comraander, he said, he waited only
for his prize money, and then he would set sail for Amer
ica. Arthur Lee proffered his advice to Jones, who was
on shore, — " though I," remarked Jones, " had never even
hinted that his opinion or advice would be accepted. He
has, however, pulled off the masque, and I am convinced
is not a little disappointed that his operations here have
not produced bloodshed between the subjects of France
and America, — poor man."
Franklin says, in writing to Wharton about Landais, " I
have no doubt but your suspicion of his adviser is well
founded. That genius must either find or make a quarrel
wherever he is. The only excuse for him that his con
duct will admit of, is his being at times out of his senses.
This I always allow, and am persuaded that if sorae of
the many enemies he provokes do not kill him sooner, he
will die in a mad-house. As to Capt. Landais, I have no
other powers relating to the " Alliance " than what are
imply'd in my Ministerial office. He was instructed
strictly by the adrairalty in America to obey my orders.
He disobeyed them. It is not necessary to discuss these
matters here. We are accountable at home. I am heart-
22

338 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
ily sorry that you have been so long detained. I have
done everything in my power to prevent it. You can
have no conception of the vexation these maritime affairs
occasion me. It is hard that I who give others no trouble
with my quarrels, should be plagued with all the per
versities of those who think fit to wrangle with one
another. I wish you a good voyage at last, and that I
could mend your company.
Adieu. I am ever, Y. aff, B. F.
The matter had by this time about come to an end. A
few days after Franklin writes to Jones : —
Passt, June 27, 1780.
6 P.M.
Deae Sie, — I have this minute received yours of the
23rd. The letter you mention having sent me by the last
post, inclosing the necessary papers to explain circum
stances, is not come to hand, so that I ara much in the
dark about your present situation. I only learn by other
means that the " Alliance " is gone out of port, and that
you are not likely to recover, and have reUnquish'd the
comraand of her ; so that affair is over. And the business
is now to get the goods out as well as we can. I am
perfectly bewildered with the different schemes that have
been proposed to me for this purpose by Mr. Williams,
Mr. Eoss, yourself, and Mr. de Chaumont. Mr. WUliams
was for purchasing ships. I told him I had not the
money ; but he still urges it. You and Mr. Eoss proposed
borrowing the "Ariel" I joined in the application for
that ship. We obtained her. She was to carry all that the
" AlUance " could not take. Now you find her insufficient.
An additional ship has already been asked, and could not
be obtained. I think, therefore, it wUl be best that you

LANDAIS SAILS.. 339
take as much in the " Ariel " as you can, and depart with
it. For the rest I must apply to the government to con
trive some means of transporting it in their own ships.
This is my present opinion. And when I have once got
rid of this business, no consideration shall tempt me to
meddle again with such matters. Benjamin Feanklin.
And a few days afterward the " AlUance," Captain Lan
dais, saUs for America with this parting shot : —
"Alliance" at Groa, 7th July, 1780.
May it Please Your Excellency, — I have waited
tUl now for your order for saiUng as you announced me
another letter, in yours of the 24"" June, to come by the
next post ; but since you have wrote me nothing, and that
you charged me in that letter with the prejudicial delay
of the sailing of the "Alliance," and given no hopes of
having my people righted, I have prevayled upon them to
go to our own country to seek justice.
I have for my own part been treated very ill, and my
purser has been put into prison, but I hope we will have
satisfaction for the injuries, and I now acquaint you that
I am getting under sail to go to America.
I have the honor to be, &c.,
P. Landais, Captain ofthe "Alliance."
On the voyage home, as is well known, the erratic
captain showed such signs of insanity that his officers
disarmed him, and brought him home in confinement
thus justifying Franklin's constant opinion as to his
unbalanced intellect. And it may be proper to close the
account of the episode with the calm views of John
Adams on the matter.

340 franklin in france.
June 26, '80.
I have read over all the Papers in the bundle left with
me, numbered to thirty-seven. I have also read the three
queries stated to me.
These queries I apprehend can legally be answered by
Congress or a Court martial, and therefore it would be
improper in me to give any answer to them, because the
papers will appear before Congress or a Court martial,
who can judge of them better than I. They will also hear
Captain Landais, which I cannot do. My opinion there
fore would have no weight either before the one or the
other tribunal. Or, supposing it to be admitted to be
read and to have any weight, it ought not to be given,
because I cannot be legally either a witness or a judge.
I cannot, however, think that the instructions of the
Navy Board to Captain Landais to obey the orders of the
Minister plenipotentiary, contain authority to remove
him, without his consent, from the command of a ship
committed to him by Congress, because the Navy Board
themselves had not as I apprehend such authority. Since
those instructions were given, as I was informed at Bos
ton, Congress have given to the Navy Board power, upon
any misbehavior of an officer, to suspend him, stating to
Congress at the same time a regular charge against him.
But I do not find among these papers such authority
given to anybody in Europe, nor do I find that any regular
charge against Captain Landais has ever been stated to
Congress. There has seldom if ever been in France a sufficient
number of officers at a time to constitute a courtmartial,
and our code of admiralty laws is so inadequate to the
government of frigates for any time in Europe, that it is
presumed Congress in future wUl either omit to put
frigates under any direction in Europe, or make some

JOHN ADAMS'S OPINION. 341
addition to the laws of the admiralty adapted to such
cases; for there is an end of all order, discipline, and
decency, when disputes arise and there is no Tribunal to
decide them, and when crimes are committed or alledged
and there is no authority to try or punish them.
I have not observed among theSe papers any clear evi
dence of Captain Landais consent to leave the command
of the ship ; and therefore, upon the whole, rather than
bring the present disputes about the "Alliance" to any
critical and daugerous decision here, where the Law is so
much at a loose, and there can be no legal Tribunal to
decide, I should think your Excellency would be raost
likely to be justified in pursuing the mildest measures, by
transmitting all the papers and evidence to Congress or
the Navy Board for a trial by a Court Martial, and order
ing the coraraanding officer of the "Alliance" with the
Stores and Convoy as soon as possible to America.
I give this opuiion to your Excellency to make what
use of it you think proper.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your
most obedient and humble servant,
John Adams.
Paris, June 26, 1780.

CHAPTEE XVIII.

THE AMERICAN PRISONERS.

" T SEE by your newspapers," writes Franklin to Hartley
-*- during the summer of 1779, " that Capt. Cunningham,
one of our cruisers, is at length taken and carried prisoner
into England, where it is proposed to try him as a pirate,
on the pretence that he had no commission. As I am
well acquainted with the fact, I can assure you that he
really had a Congress commission. And I cannot believe
that mere resentment, occasioned by this uncommon suc
cess, will attempt to sacrifice a brave man, who has always
behaved as a generous eneray, — witness his treatment of
his prisoners taken in the Harwich pacquet, and all after
wards that fell into his hands. I know I shall not offend
you recommending him warmly to your protection."
This was, of course, the famous Captain Gustavus
Conyngham of the cutter " Eevenge," from Dunkirk, whose
proceedings had made such a noise for a time the year
before, as will be remembered. He had cruised about,
through the fall and winter, capturing some prizes and
sending thera where he could until the spring, when he
was captured by the enemy and carried into New York as
prisoner. The word " pirate " was applied to him, as may
be remembered, by no less authorities than King George
IIL, and Lord North, and indeed by very many of the
English at this tirae. The charge could not be sustained
against him, any better than could the charge of treason

LETTER TO CONYNGHAM. 348
be maintained against all American sailors taken in arms
against the English. Captured in arras against the Eng
lish ships of war, Paul Jones was also called a pirate. That
Conyngham had a coraraission in his first cruise cannot
be doubted, although he unfortunately lost it at Dunkirk
when put into prison there. And as the Americans were
de facto belligerents, their commissions necessarily relieved
their captains from the charge of piracy. As to whether
the lugger which took the Harwich packet and the " Ee
venge " are to be regarded as public men-of-war or as pri
vateers, there is some doubt. We find, however, in the
Stevens Collection, the following sketch of a letter to
Captain Conyngham : — [No date.]
SiE, — The interest which the pubUc has in the vessel
you command, makes us regard her as a continental ship
of war. Mr. Hodge and Mr. Eoss have therefore no right
to direct or control you, neither had Mr. Deane alone any
right to dispose of the prizes you made, as Mnsr. Lagonese
informs us he has done. You wUl give us an account for
the future of your plans and proceedings ; and the individ
uals who may be concerned in her, — for we know not
who they are, nor how far they have contributed, — will
have their share when they prove their right.
There seems little doubt, however, that private persons
were concerned in the fitting out, particularly Mr. Deane
and Mr. Hodge who was put into the BastUe for it. But
at the time of Deane's recall, it seemed to be an unsettled
question as to whether the private persons who were con
cerned in the enterprise, and who expected to share in the
profits to accrue from the sale of prizes, did or did not
provide any of the funds for the fitting out of the vessels.
These were matters which were dark even when contem
porary, and time has pushed them farther into obscurity.

344 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The question has little enough to do with Conyngham's
position. Whether a naval officer or a privateersman, he
had his Congress commission as his warrant, and proba
bly was never in any serious danger of being tried for a
pirate. However this may be, Conyngham could hardly have
been worse treated, had he sailed on no coramission but
his own sweet wUl and fiung out the Jolly Eoger, like
Ned Teach of Bristol in former days, instead of the new
American fiag.
Franklin, on hearing of his imprisonraent, at once wrote
to Digges, as well as to his friend Hartley. Passt, Augt 20, 1779.
Deae Sie, — I hear Capt. Cunningham is confined in
England a prisoner. I desire you would take care to sup
ply him with necessaries, that a brave man may not suffer
for want of assistance in his distress. I ordered payment
of your bill, but it has not yet appeared.
I am ever Your affectionate B. F.
As the fall advanced, the news that Conyngham was
taken became more widely known. Jonathan Nesbit and
Franklin exchanged letters on the matter. L'Orient, Sept. 22*, 1779.
Sie, — By the Brig " Eetaliation," Capt. KoUoch, which
left Philadelphia the 10'" August, I have received letters
informing me that Capt. G. Conyngham, late commander
of the Cutter "Eevenge," had the misfortune to be taken last
spring by the " Galatea " and sent into New York, from
whence he has been sent to England with a design to have
him tryed for Piracy. They pretend to say that he took
the Harwich Packet without having any commission, which

LETTER TO NESBIT. 845
your exceUency must know to be false, — as I believe you
were in Paris at the time that his Commission and orders
were delivered him. The Commission under which he
acted as Captn of the " Eevenge " is dated, I apprehend,
after the taking of the Harwich packet.^ It is on this cir
cumstance, no doubt, that the charge of piracy is founded.
His first commission was taken from him in Dunkirk after
.he was put in gaol, and sent up to Paris, and I think was
lodged in the hands of Mons'' le Comte de Vergennes. I
have to request that your Excellency will do everything
in your power to prevent this poor fellow from suffering.
Considering the smallness of his vessel and the difficulty
he labored under when he first left France, he has done a
great deal for the service of his country. He has done so
much harm to the enemy that he can expect no mercy at
their hands, and if they can find any pretence whatever,
they will certauily destroy hira. Capt. KoUoch inforras
me that he was sent home in irons. I should certainly
have heard from him was he not already confined. I once
more take the liberty to recoraraend the unhappy raan's
case to your excellency's particular attention.
I have the honor to be w"" great respect,
Jonathan Nesbit.
To Mr. Nesbit. Passt, Sept. 29, 1779.
Sie, — Capt. Conyngham has not been neglected. As
soon as I heard of his arrival in England, I wrote to a
friend to furnish him with what money he might want, and
to assure him that he had never acted without a comrais
sion. I have been made to understand in answer that there
1 Nesbit is here wrong. The first commission was dated March 1,
1777, the second May 2 of the same year. The Harwich packet was
taken on May 7. Cooper's Naval History, i. 114, 115.

346 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
is no intention to prosecute him, and that he was accord
ingly removed from Pendennis Castle and put among the
comraon prisoners at Plymouth, to take his turn for ex
change. The Congress, hearing of the threats to sacrifice
him, put 3 officers in close confinement to abide his fate,
and acquainted Sir George Collier with their determination,
who probably wrote to the British Ministers. I thank you
for informing me what became of his first commission. I
suppose I can now easily recover it, to produce on occa
sion. Probably the date of that taken with him, being
posterior to his capture of the pacquet, raade the enemy
think they had an advantage against him. But when the
English government have encouraged our sailors intrusted
with our vessels to betray that trust, run away with the
vessels, and bring them into English ports, giving such
traitors the value as if good and lawful prizes, it was
foolish imprudence in the English commodore to talk of
hanging one of our captains for taking a prize without
commission. I have the honour to be, with great esteem, sir,
B. Feanklin.
So also did Thomas Wharton write to urge that some
thing be done for Conyngham, and to him as well did
Franklin write that the Captain's interests were being at
tended to. This was toward the end of September.
October passed and nothing was heard from the prisoner,
save occasional notice in letters from Hartley and Digges,
until toward the middle of November, when Franklin
began to hear rumors and accounts, which were soon con
firmed by a letter from the worthy and gallant Captain
himself. Amsterdam, Nov. 18,ti» 1779.
De Sie, — I have the pleasure to inforra you that
on the 3d instant, with about 50 of our unfortunate

LETTER TO CONYNGHAM. 347
countrymen, broke out of Mill prison. I brought 3 offi
cers with me. I came by the way of London, it being the
safest. At London we meet with our good friend Mr.
Digges, who did everything in his power to serve me and
all his countrymen that chance to fall in his way.
Happy we to have such a raan among that set of tyrants
they have in that country. The treatment I have re
ceived is unparalleled. Irons, dungeons, hunger, the hang-
mans cart I have experienced. I shall set off from here
the 19"" for Dunkirk. There I shall be glad to hear
from you. I shall always be ready to serve my country,
and happy should I be to be able to come alongside some
of those petty tyrants. I find something of the effects of
my confinement. In a short time will be able to retaUate.
I should at this time go out with Capt. Jones or in the
squadron, could I have heard frora you. I should be glad
to go for the Continent if a good opportunity served.
In this I shall take your advice,, and act accordingly.
The cash Mr. Digges suppUed me with, and some necessa
ries I got at Plymouth the amt could not procure; the
friend we have at Plymouth is obliged to act with the
greatest caution. Mr. Eedmond Conyngham, in Ireland,
has ordered me sorae little supply through the hands of
David Hartley of London, a mortel enemy of America by
all accounts. From your most obet. and very hurable
servt., G. Conyngham.
Franklin to Capt. Conyngham. Passt, Nov. 22, 1779.
SiE, — It gave me great pleasure to hekr of your escape
out of prison, which I first learnt from 6 of the men
who broke out with you and came to France in a boat.
I was then anxious lest you should be retaken, and I am
very glad indeed to hear of your safe arrival at Amster-

348 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
dam. I think it will be best for you to stay awhUe at
Dunkirk, tiU we see what becomes of the little squadron
from Holland, for which it is said the English are lying
in wait with a superior force. The Congress resented ex
ceedingly the inhuman treatment you met with, and it
ordered three English officers to be confined in the same
manner, to abide your fate.
There are some Frenchmen returned to Dunkirk who
were put by you into one of your first prizes, which was
afterwards carried into England. I wish you would ad
just their claims of wages, prize money, &c., and put them
in a way of getting what may be due to them.
I write to Mr. Coffyn by this post, to supply you with
necessaries. You will be as frugal as possible, money
being scarce with me, and the calls upon me abundant.
With great esteem I have, &c.
Capt. Conyngham to Franklin.
Texel Road, Deoembr 1, 79.
Honourable Sie, — I wrote you last from Amsterdam.
At that time informed of my going to Dunkirk ; but ineet-
ing with Com*. Jones prevented me, and supposing the
"Alliance" will be ordered horae as soon as she raay get to
France. The hurry I was obliged to leave England could
not get my account with me. Mr. Digges was to send it
to Dunkirk as soon as he could get it from Plymouth. I
hope ere this you have a settlement from the Geoine of
the prizes left in care of Mr. Lagoanese & Co. Should be
glad to know tbe result in that quarter. The two west
india men that was given up by the Court of France,
they paying the captors. I must think we have an un
doubted right to be paid for the packet and Brig of  .
The Brig had a valuable cargo. In reality they should [pay]

CONYNGHAM'S NARRATIVE. 349
for the confinement we were under. I shall acquaint you
of the manyfavours I received since I became a captive.
1", in New York, that Sir George Collier ordered irons on
my legs, with a centry on board the ship. Mr. CoUier going
on an expedition ordered me to jaole, there put me into
the conderaned room. The first night a cold plank my
bed, a stone for a pillow. 2* night allowed a something to
lay on ; in this horrid room was kept for eight days with
out the least morsel of bread, or anything but water, from
the keeper of the prison. After many notes, &c., sent to
the jailer, at last he made his appearance. After expos
tulating of the impropriety of such treatment he told me
he had such orders, but would take it upon himself to re
lease me on my giving him my strongest assurances I
would not make my escape. I readily consented, — it not
being in the power of man to get out of the condemned
room. By all accounts this [is] the first instance of this
jailers humanity. A creature after Clinton's own heart.
In the prison of New York I continued till that tyrant
Collier returned. A stranger to his mode of war would
be certain he was from Gambia, or that quarter. Then I
was told to get ready to go on board the prison-ship, was
moved to a separate apartment in the prison ; then a pair
of criminal irons put on my legs, weight 50 pounds ; at the
door, put into the hangman's cart, — all in form as if bound
to the gallows. I was then put into a boat and took
alongside of the " Eaisonable " [and] then showed a paper,
signed Coram*. Jones, ordering me to be sent to England
in the packet. In those Irons I was brought to Penden
nis Castle. Then not contented, they manacled my hands
with a new fashioned pair of ruffels fitted very tite. In
this condition I was kept there 15 or 16 days, then brought
to Plymouth and lodged in the black hole for eight days,
before they would do me the honour of committing me on

850 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
suspicion of high treason on his majesties high seas ; then
put into Mill prison, where we comraitted treason through
his earth and made our escape. This, Sir, is an account of
their favors, insults excepted. I must acquaint your ex
cellency that the poor unfortunate prisoners in Plymouth
are in a most distressed situation. The donation, when I
left that, had been at 6* per week. I am afraid could
they not be exchanged soon, will be obliged to enter in
their service. They cannot live on the Government al
lowance. I hope to have the favour of a letter from you.
I am, sir. Your most obdt. Servt.,
G. Conyngham.
So much for the after-adventures of Conyngham. He
remained with Jones for the winter and spring, but did
not sail on the " Ariel " with that officer for Araerica. Why
he was not recognized in some manner, we cannot say.
The latest note we have of him is that he was re-captured
by his old enemies the next year.
By this tirae two exchanges had been made, raaking a
few raore than two hundred American prisoners released in
this manner. As many raore had probably been released
in the summary manner raade use of by Conyngham.
There were perhaps five hundred left in prison. To ex
change these, Franklin had only about a hundred prisoners
at Brest and L 'Orient. But he had paroles given by over
two hundred English prisoners who had been released at
sea, and he anticipated that a large number of English
would be brought in by Paul Jones ; and here he was not
disappointed. The business continued through the winter^
dragging on in a most unsatisfactory manner. Hartley
was busy in Parliament, and could not give his time to
the matter. So the later letters in the correspondence are

LETTERS TO HODGSON. 851
directed to Mr. WilUam Hodgson, a London merchant who
had before this time given great assistance to Franklin in
this very matter. To William Hodgson.
I send you enclosed copies of the engagements of a
number of prisoners we have discharged at sea. The orig
inals shall be sent when required. One of Commodore
Jones's little squadron, which parted with hira on the
coast of Ireland, is returned, I hear, with a number of
prizes and some hundreds of prisoners. If the Comraodore
himself gets safe into France with his prizes, there will be
another very considerable number. I have not yet received
the accounts I have wrote for from Spain, but expect them
daily. M. de Sartine seems disposed to grant a passport to the
cartel for Morlaix, but desired me to make the proposition
to him in writing, that he might lay it before the King.
I did so a few days since, hut have not received an
answer. With the highest esteem, I am ever, my dear friend,
B. F.
P. S. Oct. 10. We have just received advice of the
safe arrival of ^ Commodore Jones in the Texel, with 400
prisoners. If therefore the Board would send their cartels
thither with an equal nuraber, it would save a great deal
of misery to your poor people, which their confinement in
the ships tUl they can be lodged in French prisons must
occasion. To the Same. Passt, Oct. 19, 1779.
Dear Sie, — Having just received the passport desired
for the cartel to make use of the port of Morlaix, I take

852 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
this first oppertunity of sending it to you, in hopes of
releasing by more expeditious voyages, the poor prisoners
on both sides, before the severity of , winter comes on.
Besides those released on parole, we have no more English
prisoners than you have American. On those releases we
have relied, on the honour and huraanity of the Board, and
I ara persuaded that we shall not find ourselves deceived.
You will always find me ready in every step that may
soften the rigours of war, to give the first demonstrations
of that confidence which naturally opens by degrees the
way to peace.
With great esteem and affection, I ara ever, dear sir, &c.
B. F.
To the Same. Passt, Jan. 20, 1780.
Deae Sie, — I am much obliged by your kind letter,
informing me of the good disposition of the Commissioners
for the sick and wounded. I believe they would do all
things what is humane, just, and honourable, but I have not
so good an opinion of the Lords of the Admiralty, from
whom Mr. Hartley had never been able to obtain a yes or
no on the plain question, whether the written paroles or
engageraents of English prisoners set at liberty by our
cruisers were to be coraply'd with. By the resolution
which you inforra me is now taken, not to send any more
men to Morlaix than there shall be assembled there to ex
change them with, I perceive they have determined that
such paroles are not to be regarded ; I must therefore give
notice to our people to trust no more to them, but to bring
and lodge all their prisoners in French jaUs. How much
huraan misery might be saved by continuing the other
method. I thought confidence, if it had not begot confi
dence, would at last have produced justice; but I was

LBTTER TO HODGSON. 353
mistaken. The English navy has had the service of more
than 200 seamen so released ever since May last. Had
like confidence been placed in us, or even had those en
gagements been executed, I should have sent over di
rectly frora Holland in Dutch bottoms, without writing
for a passport, the prisoners brought in by Comraodore
Jones, which exceeded 500, and without waiting for the
agreement raade a long time after between the French and
English Embassadors for their exchange. ¦ It is surprising
on how slight grounds Englishmen can think themselves
disengaged frora their paroles given to Araericans. There^
is a Captain Tatnall who, with all his ship's company, was
released at Boston, on his promise to obtain in England
the release of a Capt. Eobinson and his company, who
were an equal number. On his arrival in England, he
found Capt. Eobinson already exchanged, and therefore, as
Mr. Hartley informs me, judges himself quit of his engage
ment ; and it seems we are then to have no men in
exchange for those given for Capt. Eobinson and his
people. Probably we shall have none neither for those
brought over upon British faith with two flags of truce
from Boston. Coram. Jones released on their written
paroles, they being in bad health, John Brownell, master's
mate, and Samuel Wightman, Lieutenant of marines, both
of the " Serapis," soon after their arrival in Holland. Their
paroles with raany others are in my hands. I have not
yet been able to obtain an account of the prisoners we
have in Spain. There are 48 at L'Orient, and 36 or 38 at
Brest, which may all soon be rendered at Morlaix, if a
cartel should arrive there. Inclosed I send a second pass
for that place. I trouble you with it, as I apprehend that
Mr. Hartley, who wrote for it, may be out of town. I am
persuaded, too, that if 'you can procure any favourable
change in the sentiments of their Lordships of the Admi-
23

354 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ralty relating to parole prisoners, of which I should be glad
to hear, it will be a pleasure to your benevolent mind.
I rejoice to learn the friends I esteemed and loved "when
in England continue well. Be pleased to remember me
to them affectionately. With great esteem,
I am ever, dear sir, &c.
B. F.
To the Same. Passt, Feb. 14, 1780.
Dear Sie, — I have this moment received your favour
of Jany 28. I had written to you the 20"^ of the same
month and enclosed a second pass for Morlaix. I hope to
hear of its being come to hand, tho' it was not when you
wrote. I have written also lately to Mr. Hartley and Mr.
Digges on the subject of our prisoners. I shall give orders
this day for the sending away in the English Cartel, the
" Happy," now at L' Orient, 48 English prisoners, brought in
there by the " Black Prince." If all our people are directly
sent over, it may be depended on that an equal number of
English shall be returned. Our agent at Morlaix is Mr.
Pilot, merchant there. If I do not hear before next post
that my letter to you came to hand I shall send a copy.
I shall also send you a 100£ bill, to be disposed of in re
lieving the most distressed among our confined country
men who were to have been exchang'd for the English
carried into Holland ; and I have not yet learnt how that
matter came to be mismanaged. At present I have only
time to add, that I am, with great and sincere esteem, &c.
/ RE.
Franklin to M. de Sartine. Passt, Feby. \i, 1780.
Sie, — Enclosed is the order your excellency required
of me in the letter you yesterday did me the - honour of

LETTER TO SARTINE. 355
writing to me, relating to the English prisoners brought
into I'Orient by the " Black Prince " and other American
privateers. I beg leave to mention to your Excell'y that there are
still remaining in the English prisons 410 Americans,
some of whom have languish'd there near three years.
They tad great hopes of obtaining their liberty in ex
change for those taken by the squadron under Comraodore
Jones, a great part of which were taken by the "Alliance"
and delivered to Mr. le Duo de la Vauguyon, under a
kind of promise made by him to M. Jones that they
should be exchanged for Americans. I have not heard
that anything has been done in that respect, and I fear
they will be in despair if not speedily releas'd. I there
fore intreat your Excellency to take that matter into
consideration, and favour me with as many English
prisoners as may serve to exchainge these poor people,
when they shall be brought over in the cartels expected
at Morlaix.
The "Black Prince," the "Black Princess" and the "Fear
not," American privateers, are, I suppose, now on a new
cruise, and will, I hope, bring in more English prisoners ; I
hope the same also from the " Alliance " now at Corunna.
If we once had our prisoners from England, several other
privateers would iramediately be mann'd with them, and
probably give as much trouble to the English as those
above mention'd.
There were 38 English and Irishmen said to be con
cern'd in the conspiracy on board the "Alliance" when the
Marquis de la Fayette came over. They were left in
prison at Brest. I do not see any probability of these
being ever brought to a trial ; and perhaps the best thing
that can be done with them is to exchange them for
honester men. If your excellency approves of it, I will

356 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
give the same orders relating to them, when you send any
prisoners from that port. With greatest respect, I am, &c.
Benjamin Franklin.
Sartine to Franklin. Versailles, February 21, 1780.
I have received. Sir, with your favour of the 13"^ of this
month, the letter which you wrote to the Agent of the
United States at L'Orient, and I have hastened to forward
it to the Comraissary of the Marine in that port. I doubt
not but that it will arrive with sufficient promptness that
the Agent may deliver to the Captain of the English Car
tel the prisoners made by the "Black Prince," Privateer,
under the American flag.
In regard to the reclamation which you address me in
regard to the 478 prisoners delivered to the Duke de la
Vauguyon, I shall have the honor of answering in a later
note. The following note to Vergennes relates to the same
affair : —
Note for his excellency Monsieur le Comte de Vergennes.
16 May, 1780.
When the "Alliance" frigate arrived in France, Mr.
Franklin was desirous of employing her in annoying the
English trade, and obtaining prisoners to exchange for the
Americans who had long languished in the prisons of
England. A cruise with a small squadron, under Commodore
Jones, round the coast of Britain being about that time
intended, M. Franklin was requested by his excellency
the Minister of Marine to join the "Alliance" to that
squadron. He cheerfully complied with that request ; aud

NOTE FOR VERGENNES. 357
in his instructions to Capt. Jones he encouraged him by
the hopes of his being useful to his country in deUvering
so many poor prisoners from their captivity.
As the squadron acted under American commission and
colours, was commanded by an American chief, and thence
understood to be American, our countrymen in the British
prisons rejoict to hear of its success, and that 500 English
were made prisoners in the cruise ; by an exchange with
whom they hoped to obtain their liberty, and to return to
their families and country.
The " Alliance " alone took vessels containing near 200
of those English prisoners. The "Bonhomrae Eichard,"
which was mann'd chiefly by Americans, took in the
" Serapis " a great part of the remainder.
The Arabassador of France at the Hague applied to
Comm'e Jones for the prisoners, in order to execute a
cartel enter'd into with the Ambassador of England.
Comm'e Jones declined delivering them 'without orders
from Mr. Franklin. The Ambassador did Mr. F. the
honour of writing to him on the subject, acquainting him
that Mr. Jones had urged the exchanging them for
Americans, and promising to use his endeavours for that
purpose. Mr. Franklin thereupon immediately sent the orders
desired, expressing at the same time his confidence in the
Ambassador's promise.
The prisoners were accordingly deliver'd; but they
were actually exchang'd for French.
His excellency M. de Sartine afterwards acquainted
Mr. Franklin that he had not EngUsh prisoners enough
at I'Orient to fill an English cartel then there. Mr. F.
gave orders that 48 he had in that port should be de
Uvered up for that purpose, 38 others at Brest to be
employed in the same manner.

358 franklin in prance.
Mr. Franklin was afterwards informed by M. de Chau
mont, that M. de Sartine had assured him that other
English prisoners should be furnished to exchange for
those so given up, in Holland and in France.
Mr. Franklin wrote accordingly to England, and a
cartel vessel was thereupon ordered from Plymouth to
Morlaix with 100 Americans. As soon as Mr. F. was ac
quainted with this, he appUed thro' M. de Chaumont
to M. de Sartine for an equal number of English; who
readUy agreed to furnish them, and promised to send orders
immediately to march 100 frora Saumur to Morlaix.
The cartel arrived, landed the 100 Americans, but was
sent back empty, with only a receipt from the comraissary
of the port, no English being arrived for the exchange.
Mr. F. has since received letters from England ac
quainting him that he is charged with breach of faith,
and with deceiving the Board which had the charge of
managing the e>xchange of prisoners ; and a stop is put to
that exchange in consequence.
The poor American prisoners there, many of whom
have been confined two or three years, and have bravely
resisted all the temptations, accompanied with threats,
and follow'd by ill usage, to induce them to enter into
the English service, are now in despair, seeing their hopes
of speedy liberty ruined by this failure.
His excellency M. de Sartine has kindly and repeat
edly promised by Mr. de Chaumont, to furnish the number
wanted, about 400, for exchanging the said Americans.
But it is now said that the king's order is necessary to
be first obtained.
Mr. Franklin therefore earnestly requests his excellency
M. le Comte de Vergennes, to support the proposition in
Council, and therefore obtain liberty for those unfortunate
people.

LETTER TO MR. WREN. 359
Meanwhile the miserable condition of the prisoners was
in a small measure alleviated through the efforts of Frank
Un and his English friends. Franklin himself sent some
money, an(J. some was subscribed and put by Mr. Hodgson
into the hands of Mr. Wren, a dissenting minister at Ply
mouth, and into the hands of friends at Portsmouth.
To Mr. Wren FrankUn writes as follows : —
Passt, Feb. 26, 1780.
Eevd. Sir, — Your great attention to the wants of our
poor captived countrymen, and your kind and charitable
care of thera in their sickness and other distresses, I have
often heard spoken of by such as have escaped and passed
through this place, in the strongest terms of grateful
acknowledgement. I beg you to accept among the rest
my sincere and hearty thanks, and ray best wishes for
your health and prosperity.
I have put a little money lately into the hands of Mr.
Digges, and now some into those of Mr. Hodgson, for the
relief of the most pressing necessities of the remaining
prisoners. These gentlemen will, I suppose, request your
assistance in the disposition of it. I should have done it
when I heard the subscription was near exhausted, if I
had not been flattered with the hope that they would
sooner have been exchanged, — first on account of the
solemn paroles in writing given by nurabers of English
men taken by our vessels and set at liberty, aud then
against those carried into Holland ; but the paroles, after
long indecision, I am lately told are rejected, and the ex
change I proposed in Holland was refused, at first on the
expectation of retaking them in their way to France, and
tho' afterwards agreed to, it was through another channel,
and for other prisoners. These delays have not been
owing to any neglect of mine, as the prisoners of Forton

860 franklin in prance.
in a letter to me of the 3d instant inform me they are
frequently assured. On enquiring I did not find that we
had actually here a sufficient nuraber of English to an
swer another cartel, unless the British government would
have allowed the paroles. I kept the " AlUance " in Europe,
and joined her to the Uttle squadron under Capt. Jones,
principally in hope of obtaining more prisoners to com
pleat the exchange, and I can now inform our people that
this latter view wUl be accomplished, the Minister of Ma
rine here having given me assurances that the cartels
bringing over Americans shall immediately have the same
number of English in exchange to the amount of 500.
We have also two or three privateers out, who have al
ready brought m near 100, and are daily making more
prisoners ; so that I hope their confinement of our people
now nearly at an end. I 'shall be happy to see them at
liberty in France, and wiU assist them what I can in re
turning to their native country. I have some reason to
think the delays were rather occasioned by the weakness
or irapatience of those prisoners who basely deserted the
cause of their country, and entered with their eneraies ;
this naturally gave hopes that more might do the same,
and that the longer confinement the greater would be the
defection, probably and thence the determination relat
ing to the paroles was kept back, and I had no positive
answer till within these two weeks.
The prisoners not having signed their above-mentioned
letters with any names, but requesting me to answer it
in a letter to you, occasions my desiring that you would
be so good as to communicate to them the contents in
such manner as you shall judge best.
With very great esteem and respect, which I shall re
joice in an opportunity of demonstrating, I have the
honour to be, &c., &c. B. F.

LETTER TO HODGSON. 361
Franklin to Hodgson. Passt, April 11, 1780.
Deae Sie, — I received your favours of the 10'" and
28'" of March. The method you propose of managing
the money for the prisoners is perfectly agreeable to rae.
You desired in your last that I would explain how it
happened that no prisoners went back in the last cartel.
I did not tiU this day well understand it myself, or I
should have answered sooner. When our little squadron
brought near 500 English prisoners into the Texel, I
would have exchanged them then for Americans, but I
was told that would not be agreed to in England, as there
was a chance of retaking them in their passage to France.
But a cartel being treated of, as I understand, by the am
bassadors of England and France at the Hague, the
French Ambassador applied to Commodore Jones for
those prisoners to be exchanged then; who would not
deliver them up without my orders, and a promise of ex
changing them for Americans. The Ambassador there
upon wrote to me requesting such orders ; which I sent
accordingly, expressing my reliance that an equal num
ber, 472, of other English would be delivered me at Mor
laix to be exchanged there for Araericans. After this, at
the instance of Mr. de Sartiue, I gave orders to our agent
at L'Orient to deliver a number of other prisoners we had
there to the ca,ptain of the "Happy" cartel, in exchange for
so many Frenchmen, with the same reliance as above
mentioned. As soon as I received your information that
the cartel was sailed from Plymouth with 100 Americans,
I applied for 100 English to be rendered at Morlaix for
the exchange, and was told that orders should be that day
given to march them thither from Saumur for that pur
pose. I imagined it had been done, and the exchange

862 franklin IN FRANCE.
made, tUl I heard the contrary from you. To-day I learn
that they were not arrived whUe the cartel was there ; and
I have now desired of M. de Sartine that two hundred
may be immediately sent over, — one to pay for the 100
Americans received, and the other to exchange a fresh
parcel. His verbal answer is that the request is just,
and shall be complied with ; and he will write a letter to
me to-raorrow, which I may send over to be shown to the
Board of Sick and Hurt, that will explain the matter, and
clear me frora any charge of bad faith. He added that
he would also take the first opportunity of sending the
reraainder to equal the nuraber delivered in Holland, in
order to exchange for Araericans, — having no scruple of
doing this by advance, the Board having shewn the great
est honour and exactitude in all their proceedings. I am
sure it has been my intention to do the same ; and I shall
alwas act accordingly. Tho I am not insensible of the
injustice towards us of the Boston cartels formerly men
tioned. I shall write to Mr. Hartley, from whom I have
just received copies of the French certificates, &c., per next
post after I receive the letter from M. de Sartine. In the
meantime I wish you would be so good as to communi
cate to hira the contents of this with my respects.
I should be glad to hear sorae more particulars about
Mr. W., and the reasons of discarding him. I hope the
rest of that worthy society are well and happy.
With great esteem I am, dear sir, &c.
B. F.

CHAPTEE XIX.

minister plenipotentiaey.

ALAEGE print, widely circulated in America, repre
sents a beautiful lady crowning Dr. Franklin with
laurel, as he sits in the midst of an elegant assembly of
ladies and gentlemen, prominent among whom are Louis
XVI., and Marie Antoinette. The authority of this pic
ture — which is recent — is in the following passage in
Madame Carapan's memoirs : —
"Elegant fetes were given to Dr. Franklin, who united
the renown of one of the most skilful naturalists, with the
patriotic virtues which had made him erabrace the noble
r61e of Apostle of Liberty. I was present at one of these
fetes, where the most beautiful of three hundred women
was designated to go and place on the philosopher's white
locks a crown of laurel, and to give the old man two
kisses on his cheeks."
It will be observed that Madame Cam pan does not say
that the King and Queen were present, and there is no
reason to suppose that they were. In the " Memoires," —
which relate specially to the Court, as distinguished frora the
Governraent, or frota life in Paris, or general politics, —
very Uttle reference is made to American politics, and
almost none to Franklin or his associates. Within a few
years past the correspondence of Maria Theresa with her
unfortunate daughter, and with Mercy, the Austrian min
ister, has been printed in full. It is a most melancholy

364 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
disclosure of the frivoUty of the life of this undisciplined
young woman, then in the first excitement of her career
as wife of a king who adored her, and who supposed
himself to be an absolute monarch. In 1780 — the year
to which we have now come — she was twenty-five years
old, and had been ten years married. Poor Mercy writes
of her to her mother : " Any impression made upon this
august and charming princess is so fleeting that, with
all the esprit possible, — with all possible judgraent and
good faith, — she is constantly torn out frora her true
self, even though she knows she is led into error." In
these very years, the garabling at Court, where she was
herself partner in a faro bank, was such as terrified him
and Maria Theresa; and Marie Antoinette herself de
scends to fiat falsehood iu pretending to her mother that
she has suppressed it.
In this year the Governraent of France, having laid
aside its plans for invading England, determined to send
out' Eochambeau, with an allied army, to Araerica. To
this force Marie Antoinette alludes once or twice in her
letters to her raother, — and these make all her references
to the Araerican Eevolution.
In the correspondence between mother and daughter,
the first reference to the American struggle is made by
Maria Theresa, in a letter in which she tells her daughter
that she must now pay more attention to affairs of state : '
"These reflections of a good old mamma and sovereign,
have led me to give new instructions to Mercy. I have
told him that he raust inform you about public affairs,
and arrange with you what views you must take with
your rainisters. These are the most important objects, —
which I speak of only in passing. The dissensions be
tween the Turks and Eussians, those between Spain and
1 February 3, 1777.

MARIE ANTOINETTE. 365
Portugal, as well as the war in America, may very easily
cause a conflagration, into which I might be drawn in
spite of myself."
Marie Antoinette never alludes to the American war,
nor to the envoys, until the 18th "of March, 1778, when
she says : "The King has directed that the King of England
shall be told that he has inade a treaty with the Ameri
cans. Mylord Stormont received on Sunday the orders
of his Court to leave France. It seems as if our raarine,
about which much has been done for a long tirae, wUl
soon be in action. God grant that all these movements
may not bring on war on land ! " ^he goes on to speak
of fhe duel between the Count d'Artois and the Duke of
Burgundy. Two years after, on the 16th of March, 1780: "We
were arranging to send eight or ten thousand good troops
to America, at the end of the month, — they are to be
collected in Brittany, — but I believe that this news will
defer the embarcation. We cannot risk this great force
without being sure of the sea, — it would be frightful to
sustain more misfortunes there; I own to you I cannot
think of it coolly. I hope Mme. de Starkemburg will
be pleased with what I have done [for her] brother; I
have procured. a place for him in this expedition. This
brother was Prince Emmanuel de Salm."
On the 13th of April she says, "The troops destined
for the islands are on board, and only await a favorable
wind." This was Eochambeau's expedition. Her allu
sion to the islands may not be bad geography, for they
went by way of the West Indies. " God grant that they
arrive happily." And on the 13th of July she writes,
" The loss of Charleston is very annoying, on account of
the advantage which it will give to the EngUsh, and their
boasting about it ; it is perhaps worse on account of the

366 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
bad defence of the Americans, — nothing can be hoped
from such bad troops." These are her only allusions to
the alliance. Her mother died on the 29th of November,
1780, and this curious and valuable correspondence comes
to an end at that date.
Early in the year 1780, Franklin received the orders of
Congress to procure some medals for officers who had dis
tinguished themselves in its service. These medals are
frequently alluded to in the letters, and are well known
to numismatists. Gerard returned from Philadelphia,
where Luzerne took his place. And on the 4th of Feb
ruary, 1780, Mr. John Adams, with Mr. Dana and Mr.
Thaxter, arrived in Paris, having landed at Corunna. He
had been sent out with a commission to negotiate a peace
whenever England might propose it. The suggestion had
been made by Gerard to Congress, and renewed by Lu
zerne. Both of these gentlemen, and Vergennes, from
whom it carae, expected that Franklin would be named.
Here Congress disappointed them, as Mr. Adams says, and
he adds that in giving him a comraission to negotiate a
treaty of coraraerce with England, Congress went farther
than the French Court meant or desired. Mr. Adams
remained in Paris with his two sons until July, when he
repaired to Amsterdam, and began upon his negotiations
there. While in Paris he was not, as before, a colleague
with FrankUn. He was engaged in a curious discussion
vrith Vergennes, as to his reception at Court and the pub
licity which should be given to his commission, in which
Vergennes offended him by a tone of presumption, which
even so skilful a diplomatist could not avoid, with the na
tion whose strength he did not yet know.
At the beginning of the year, Paul Jones came up to
Paris, as has been said. He was received with enthu
siasm everywhere, especially at the opera. By ,a curious

life at passy. 367
bit of stage effect, a wreath of laurel was arranged over
the seat assigned to him at one of the theatres, which was
made to descend at the proper moment upon his head.
The English journals had so persistently called him by
bad names, and represented him as the black pirate of
romance, that surprise was excited by his courtesy of
bearing. " This brave cruiser,'' says Grirara, " who has
given so many proofs of the strongest heart and the most
determined courage, is none the less a man of the world,
of great intelligence and sweetness. It is a curious thing
that he makes many verses, full of grace and tenderness,
— that the sort of poetry which seems to have most charm
for his genius is elegy and eclogue. The Masonic Lodge
of the Nine-Sisters has engaged Houdon to make his bust."
And this bust was exhibited at the Salon the next year.
In an earlier chapter the reader has seen how intimate
were the friendly relations between Franklin and his
neighbor Mad. Helvetius. Tt is at the beginning of the
year 1780 that there was circulated in Paris the funny
account of FrankUn's visit to the Elysian Fields, and his
meeting with her husband the philosopher. To these
years of comparative confidence we are to refer some of his
best minor essays on subjects not referring to politics. The
"Story of the Whistle" was addressed to Madame Brillon,
whorn FrankUn used to call the " brillante aimable." The
family of M. Brillon lived near hira, and he was very
intimate there. The " Dialogue with the Gout " is another
of these bagatelles, as he called thera. He amused him
self with his types, and was beginning to experiment with
the copying press, — r- since so largely used in duplicating
correspondence. The American public officers received it
through him.
From his press, perhaps, were circulated in Paris Frank
lin's "Twelve Principles," to which he had reduced the

368 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
whole system of the Economists. They still make a good
epitome of that system, with its good sense and its errors.
They could have been printed on a small broad-side, and
probably were so circulated in Paris ; but we have found
no copy in that form.
From the tenor of all Franklin's correspondence of the
year 1780, that which has been printed heretofore and
the letters now open to us, it is clear that the year was a
more agreeable year than either of those which had passed
before. Success in the great contest was only a matter of
time. With the departure of Lee, and with Franklin's
own appointment as Plenipotentiary, the pettinesses of
domestic quarrel were over. He was known and beloved
in Paris, and had won the respect of circles which at first
distrusted hira. A writer of the tirae says that his like
ness was everywhere. He himself sends to Mrs. Jay in
Madrid one of the prints, probably that with Turgot's
famous verse, "Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyran-
nis," and says it is one of five or six which have been
published. Nogaret, a Frenchman, who sent him a trans
lation of this verse, says the print had made the fortune
of the engraver.
With these explanations we may print with hardly any
other comraent, sorae letters for the year ; not for their
illustration of serious or contested points of history, but
for the broken lights which they give us as to his own
personal life or some custom of the time.
Franklin to Jonathan Williams. Passt, Jan. 9, 1780.
Dear Jonathan, — I received your letters, with the
samples of Cloths, but the shirt and stockings are not
arriv'd. Having no kind of judgement in such commodi-

•

LETTER TO ADAMOLL 369
ties, I can make no choice. You have the precise and
particular orders of the Committee of Congress relating to
the soldiers' dress, to which you must conforra as exactly
as possible. I do not chuse to make a contract with you
for the Cloathes at fix'd prices. That method could be
subject to many malevolent reflections. It is better that
you should buy the materials and employ the work-folks
on the best terms you can for the publick, and content
yourself with the commission of 1^ p cent, which I agree to
allow you, in consideration of its being a business cdnsist-
ing of so many particulars as to require a good deal of
attention, and take up a great deal of your time in the
execution, and in keeping the accounts. I depend much
on your integrity and dUigence in this affair, and I flatter
myself that you will so conduct it as to do honour to
yourself and to me. Mr. de Chaumont will acquaint you
what quantity of hats, shirts, stockings, and shoes are to
be furnished. As the funds come to hand quarterly, I
can only pay quarterly. You will therefore make all
your purchases on those terms, to be paid -J in May,
another in August, a third November, and the fourth in
February, 1781. Your bills drawn on and after the 15"*
of each of those months, for those quarterly payments, at
10 days' sight will be punctually honoured.
The provision is to be for 15,000 men.
My love to the good girls. I am ever
Your affectionate uncle, &c.,
Franklin to M. Adamoli, [Bue des Vieux Augustins,
Hdtel de Chartres]. Passt, Jan. 29, 1780.
SiE, — I received the letter you did me the honour of
writing to me the 22 instant, with a copy of the verses
24

370 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
in which I find myself mention'd but too advantageously.
Please to accept my thankful acknowledgements.
I do not perfectly comprehend your plan of finding the
different relations of weights, measures, &c., by means of
compass. But I believe the English Society of Emulation
makes no distinction of nations in the premiums they
offer. I should however think that as there is a Society
of the same kind existing in France, it might be well to
propose it first to thera. But of this you can best judge.
The English society has lately offered a reward for the
discovery of a fixed universal measure. I enclose a copy
of the papers ; and have the honour to be with great
regard. Sir, &c.
The following memorandum in French, of the date
of Feb. 17, 1780, introduces to us the matter of the
medals : —
Liste des medailles accord^es par les ifitats Unis de
lAm^rique depuis le commencement de la guerre jusqu'en
1780, — six medailles : —
K'oms. Actions. Annks.
Son Excellence le Pour la prise de
General Washington. Boston, 1776.
Son Excellence le Pour la prise de
General Gates. I'Armee de Bur
goyne a Saratoga, 1777.
Son Excellence le Pour la prise de
Gdn^ral Wayne (bless^). Stony Pointe, 1779.
L'honorable Lt. Col. Pour la prise de
de Fleury. Stony Pointe, 1779.
L'honorable Lt. Col. Pour la prise de
Steward (tu^). Stony Pointe, 1779.
L'honorable Lt. CoL Pour la prise du
Lee. Fort Paulus Hook, 1779.

LETTER TO FLEURY. 371
Passt, Jan. 29, 1780.
M. le Colonel Fleury, Hotel de Picardy, Bue de Seine :
SlE, — Having as yet had no medal struck here, I am
not acquainted with any artist of that sort. If you can
find one, and bring him to me, I will endeavour to agree
with him to get it done as soon as may be ; but I cannot
imagine it possible in so short a tirae as you mention. I
cannot state any certain sum till I have talked with the
artist. I thought to enquire of Mr. Tillet, Hotel des
Monnoies, who must be acquainted with such artists.
He is your neighbour, and I wish you would request
him, as from me, to recommend one.
With the greatest esteem, I have the honour to be, &c.

Franklin to Fleury. Passt, Feb. 26, 1780.
SiE, — I am sorry you were disappointed in meeting me
at Versailles. In all your bUlets, except that of yesterday,
you omitted mentioning where you lodged ; otherwise I
could have acquainted you that I should not be at Court
on the day you expected me.
I suppose you will acquaint the Congress or General
Washington with your reasons for desiring a prolongation
of your furlow. As you have not communicated them to
me, I know not what to say in order to enforce them ; I
can therefore only forward your request, and pray that
it may be favourably considered, which I shall do. I
imagine, however, that the Congress have so high an opin
ion of your merit as an officer, and the iraportance of hav
ing you in actual service, that the request will not be
lightly granted. With great esteem, &c.

372 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Franklin to John Adams. Passt, April 22, 1780.
Dear Sir, — The letter your excellency did me the
honour of writing to me yesterday, gives me the first
information of the resolution mentioned as taken by the
State of Maryland relating to their money in England.
If there is no mistake in the inteUigence, which I ap
prehend there raay be, and such a power as is suppos'd
should come to my hands, I shall then take your Excel
lency's recommendation — which has great weight with me
— into consideration. At present I can only say that I
shall not name my nephew Mr. WiUiams ; for tho' I have
a great opinion of his abiUty and integrity, and think that
by his early declaration and attachment to our cause, and
activity in its service, he has a good deal of merit with
the States in general, I know of none that he has with
Maryland in particular; and as the other four are natives
of that state, I think the choice ought to be from among
thera. Mr. Williams will however be very sensible of
the honour done him by being put into the nomination.
With the greatest respect, I have the honour to be
Your excellency's most obedient
and most humble servant, B. F.
[Upon a separate paper.]
Mr. Franklin presents his compts. to Mr. Adams, and
requests he would send him by the bearer the book of
treaties, which he has just now occasion to consult, but
wiU return in a day or two.
Franklin to Messrs. Van de Perre and Meyners
[Merchants at Middltburg, Holland]. Passy, April 23, '80.
Gentlemen, — I duly received the letter you did me
the honour of writing to me the 6th instant. I took the

LETTER TO BACHE. 373
first opportunity of communicating it to Commodore
Jones, and I send you enclosed the answer I have re
ceived from him, by which you will perceive that he
absolutely denies his having used any force to obtain
from your captain the declaration he made that the cargo
was English property ; but asserts that the said declara
tion was voluntarily made, the captain supposing hira and
his ship, the "Alliance," to be English. However this may
be, I shall communicate your demand to the Congress,
and as we have good laws, and regular courts of Admi
ralty in all the States, for the trial of such causes, I have
no doubt of your obtaining that justice which your cause
shall appear to merit. You will see by the enclos'd
papers an instance of the regard to Justice shown by the
Congress to the subjects of Portugal, a nation which has
been not only unfriendly to us, but whose king, in the
beginning of our troubles, issued a very severe edict
against us. There is, therefore, no probability that like
justice will be refused to the subjects of their High
Mightinesses, whom the United States highly respect, and
with whom they desire to maintain a good understanding,
with a friendly and free commerce between the two
nations. I have the honour to be, with respectful
consideration, &c.
Franklin to Bache [his son-in-law]. Passt, June 3, 1780.
Dear Son, — I seldom hear from you or Sally, but I
have lately had the satisfaction of hearing of you, that
you and yours were all well the beginning of April last.
I send you in a parcel by this opportunity some of the
correspondence between Ben and rae. He was well a few
weeks since, and very kindly notic'd where he is by sorae

374 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
respectable people. I continue, thanks to God, well and
hearty, and am ever •
Your affectionate father.
My love to WUl and the Uttle ones.
Franklin to Bobt. Troup [Secretary to the Board of
Treasury]. Passt, Aug. 10, 1780.
Sir, — I received the letter you wrote me by order of
the Board of Treasury, dated Sept. 29, 1779, requesting
me to procure medals to be struck here, agreeable to the
several resolutions of Congress you enclosed to me. I
have got one of them finished, that in silver for Colonel
Fleury, and two others with the sarae devices relating to
Stony Point, one for Major General Wayne in gold, and
one for Major Stuart in silver. They are well done by
the King's raedallist, but the price is high, each die cost
ing 1000 livres. Col. Fleury 's is deliver'd to his order
here, he being return'd to America. The other two will
go by the first good opportunity. I shall also forward the
engraving of the others as fast as possible. Be pleased to
present my respects to the Board, who I wish had fur
nished me with the devices proper for the other medals ;
the difficulty of pleasing myself with regard to them
occasioning some delay.
I have the honour to be. Sir, &c.
Franklin to S. Huntington [President of Congress].
Passt, Aug. 10. 1780.
Sie, — Having but just been acquainted with this op
portunity, which goes directly, I have only time to write
a few Unes, and only leave to send a letter, without any
pacquets of newspapers.

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 375
•
Count D'Estaing is gone to Spain to take the command
of the united fieet.
The iniportant alliance of the neutral powers for the
protection of trade is nearly compleated. It has met
with some delays and obstructions in Holland thro' Eng
lish infiuence, tho' the plan is raore particularly to the
advantage of the state, wch subsists by coraraerce and
carriage. The Eraperor is gone to Eussia on a visit to that
Empress. The disposition of this Court towards us continues as
favourable as ever, tho' some displeasure had lately been
unluckily given to it, which perhaps will be explained to
you by M. le Chevalier de la Luzerne.^
The departure of the supplies obtained here last spring
have raet with delays frora various unforeseen causes.
Some are, however, gone in the "Alliance;" more will go in
the "Ariel," Comme. Jones, and the rest being the greatest
part in a large ship we have chartered.
There is, in all, clothing made up for 10,000 men, 15,000
stand of arms, 2,000 barrels of gunpowder, some cannon,
and a good deal of cloth, &c., unmade up. I hope all will
safely arrive before winter.
The "Ariel" will sail next week with my fuller de
spatches. I have furnished Messrs. Jay and Adams with the
moneys you ordered, and more since, those sums being ex
pended and no supplies arrived to them.
I have paid the interest bills to M. Beaumarchais. I
continue to pay punctually your loan interest bills, and I
have to prevent their being protested ; promised payment
of those bUls arrived in Holland, drawn on Mr. Laurens,
' The reference is to Mr. Adams's difficulty with Vergennes. See the
letter at the end of this chapter.

376 franklin in France.
who has not yet appeared. I am anxious to support
the credit of the Congress. They will not suffer me to
lose my own, but if these extra demands are multi
plied upon me and no supplies sent, I must become a
bankrupt, for I cannot continually worry the Court for
more money.
The privateers, " Black Prince " and " Black Princess,"
with Congress commissions issued here by me, and mann'd
partly by Americans, have greatly harassed the English
coasting trade, having taken in 18 months near 120 saU.
The Prince was wreck'd on this coast, the men saved.
The Princess still reigns, and in a late cruise of 20 days,
between June 20 and July 10, took 28 prizes, some very
valuable. I must repeat my motion that the Congress would ap
point consuls in the principal ports, to take care of their
maritime and commercial affairs ; and beg earnestly that
no more frigates may be sent here to my care.
Much clamour has been made here about the deprecia
tion of our money, but it is a good deal abated. I wish,
however, to be furnished with authentic informations of
the intentions of Congress relative to that matter.
Mr. Adams is gone to Holland, for a few weeks. Mr.
Dana remains here.
I am told complaints are likely to be made against me
by Messrs. Lee and Izard, and Capt. Landais, If such
should be laid before Congress, I wish to receive copies of
them ; and knowing the uprightness and cleanness of my
own conduct, I have no doubt of answering them to sat
isfaction. I hear you have already had sorae sheets of
the kind from Mr. Lee.
Be pleased to present my dutiful respects to Congress,
and assure them of my most faithful services.
I have the honour to be, with great respect, &c., &c.

AMERICAN DRAFTS. 377
P. S. The " Fier Eodrigue," with her convoy frora Vir
ginia, are all safe arrived, except one vessel that foundered
at sea, — the men saved.
The letters from FrankUn home will be better understood
hereafter by reading thera in connection with the informa
tion given to him by James Lovell, Secretary to Congress.
[Aug. 15, 80.] Lovell notifies him that bills were to
be drawn upon him to the amount of 100,000 dollars.
" The breaches upon our forces at the southward by the
possession which the enemy have there, made this disa
greeable step necessary for the express purpose of sup
porting Gen. Gates iu that department."
[Sep. 7, 1780, same to the same.] Stating the case a little
more fully, and promising not to do so again, with the
information of cession by New York of her western lands,
and a tax laid of 3,000,000 in silver.
[In Congress, 19 May, 1780.] Besolved, That bills be
immediately drawn on the Honble. Doer. B Franklin for
25,000 dollars, payable at 60 days' sight.^
That the money arising from the sale be appropriated
and applied solely to the bringing the army into the field
and forwarding their supplies in such manner as the exi
gency and nature of the service may require.
[August ^th.] Besolved, That the Board of Treasury
be directed to prepare bills of exchange of suitable denom
inations upon the Honble Benjarain Franklin, Minister
Plenipotentiary at the Court of Versailles, for one hundred
thousand dollars in specie.
That the bills be made payable at ninety days' sight.
[August 15.] Detailing the raanner of cashing the bills,
and the mode of expenditure of the returns for " the pur
chase of provisions and other supplies absolutely necessary
for the subsistence of the southern army."
' They drew on Jay for the same sum at the same time.

378 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Franklin to Boss. PAS.ST, Sept. 18, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I received your favour of the llth with the
accounts, bill of lading, &c., of the goods you have
shipped. If you remember right, I promised only to
assist you in the freight, but you have drawn upon me
for almost an equal sum over and above, on an account of
charges, commissions, &c. These kind of encroachments
are disagreeable, as well as inconvenient. I have, how
ever, accepted your bills ; but do not try me any more in
that way.
I never could understand the delay in payment of the
prize raoney, &c. I never had anything to do with that
money ; and as it seemed to have some connection with a
quarrel between two of my friends, M. de Chaumont and
Capt. Jones, I did not incline to meddle with the affair,
because I would not be drawn into the dispute. It would
have been right, I think, if Capt. Jones had appUed
directly to M. de Sartine.
With great esteem, I have the honour to be, &c., &c.
Franklin to Digges. Passt, Oct. 9, 17S0.
Dear Sir, — I received the china portrait of Washing
ton in good order, but no other you mention. Nor has
the picture of the good bishop ever yet appeared. I begin
to be in pain about it, having heard nothing of it from
any place on this side of the water, and I have more than
one reason for setting a high value on it.
Your favour of the 20 and 29th past came duly to
hand, and are very pleasing. Inclosed is ray answer to a
letter from some persons recommended by you.

ADAMS AND VERGENNES. 379
I have already written to you about Goddard's bill, and
I sent you Jones's, which I hope you received.
I have been made happy by visits from your two
friends. I send this by them, and hope they will have a
prosperous journey. They are worthy and amiable men.
There is no news here at present but what comes in
your newspapers. I am, with great regard, &c., &c.
Mr. John Adams remained in Paris till midsuramer, as
has been said. He was commissioned to negotiate peace.
with England. When he notified Vergennes of his arri
val, and proposed to consult him regarding his mission,
Vergennes replied by saying that he could do this better
when he had received a copy of Mr. Adams's instructions,
which M. Luzerne would undoubtedly send him from
Philadelphia. This was certainly very careless, if not
very^ arrogant language on the part of Vergennes. It
intimated, only too directly, that the French Government
regarded the Eepublic as simply a tool of its own manu
facture, and that the affectation of American independence
was only kept up as a convenience of European diplo
macy. This letter did not make Mr. Adams's relations
with Vergennes easy from the beginning. But Mr.
Adams avoided a quarrel, and as the suraraer came on,
was in the habit of communicating directly with him, and
sending to him private information which his American
correspondents had sent him. One of these letters was
made by Vergennes the occasion for discussing the ques
tions which turned up under the depreciation of currency :
Must the foreign creditors be satisfied with payments
at the rates which the local legislatures placed on paper
money ? Mr. Adams, in a careful paper, argued that they
must be. Vergennes indignantly referred the whole sub
ject to Franklin, who in his turn referred it all to Congress.

880 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
It is this difficulty to which Franklin aUudes in his letter
to Huntington which the reader has seen.
Mr. Adams felt, to the day of his death, that Franklin
did not show a proper American spirit in this matter, and
that all through the subsequent negotiations he was sub
servient to the French interest. " He began," ^ as his
grandson says, " to entertain doubts of his sincerity."
With Mr. Adams's controversy with Vergennes, we
have nothing here to do. It made his position in Paris
disagreeable, and he soon left for Amsterdam, where Con
gress soon coraraissioned him, in the place of Laurens.
But it is necessary for us to note the date of his change
of view regarding Dr. Franklin, that we may call to our
readers' attention the date, which can now be fixed quite
certainly, when his distrust of Mr. Adams began to ap
proach Mr. Adams's for him. On the SO"* of August,
1780, he wrote explicitly to Vergennes in these word^ : —
Passy, August 30, 1780.
Sir, — It was indeed with very great pleasure that I
received the letter your Excellency did rae the honour
of writing to me, communicating that of the President
of Congress, and the resolutions of that body relative to
the succours then expected ; for the sentiments therein
expressed are so different frora the language held by Mr.
Adams in his late letters to your excellency as to make
it clear that it was frora his particular indiscretion alone,
and not frora any instructions received by him, that he
has given such just cause of displeasure, and that it is
irapossible his conduct therein should be approved by his
constituents. I am glad that he has not admitted me to
any participation of those writings, and that he has taken
the resolution he expresses of not communicating with
' Life and Works of John Adams, i. 320.

THE SHIP "MARS." 381
me, — or making me of use in his future correspondence ;
a resolution that I believe he will keep, — as he has never
yet communicated to me more of his business in Europe
than I have seen in the newspapers. I live upon terras
of civUity with hira, but not of intimacy. I shall, as
you desire, lay before Congress the whole correspondence
which you have sent me for that purpose. With the
greatest and most sincere respect, I am Sir, &c. &c.
W. Temple Franklin to Jon. Williams. Passt, 25 Oct., 1780.
Dear Jonathan, — My Grandfather is laid up with
the gout, and cannot write. He directs me to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 17th inst. He is entirely
unacquainted what the freight you propose is worth, but in
order to assist the ship " Mars " in returning to Boston, he
is willing to advance twelve thousand tons of the military
stores now in the arsenal at Nantes. If Mr. Austin thinks
fit he may take more. The 12,000 livres is intended to be
on acct. of said freight ; the remainder to be paid by Con
gress when they shall have settled with state of Massa
chusetts what they are to pay per ton.
This is all my grandfather can do, and he desires me to
add that he hopes you wiU not by any fresh propositions
endeavor to get more money from him.
We have not as yet an ans. from the Farmers-General
relative to the order desired of them for the transport of
the saltpetre.
Your communicating this letter to M. Austin wUl ren
der my writing to him unnecessary. Please to make him
my complts.
Inclosed you have the order you desired for Mr.
Schweighauser.

382 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
P. S. M. Chaumont, who is present, desires me to make
you his complts.
To the following letter we have heretofore only had
Vergennes' answer : —
Franklin to Vergennes. Passt, Nov. 19, 1780.
Sie, — I lately received from America the enclosed let
ters, and resolutions of Congress. Such unexpected drafts
give me pain, as they oblige me either to give your excel
lency of such applications or to support their which would
much [sic] . But your excellency will see the pressing neces
sity that has driven the Congress into this measure ; they
could not suddenly by any other means raise the money
necessary to put their troops in motion and to co-operate
with those of the king ; and I hope his majesty, to whose
goodness we are already so indebted, will in the course of
the next year enable me to pay these bills. None of them
have yet appeared ; their tiines of payment are two and
three months after sight, and they will probably be, many
of them, long on their way, as America bUls often come
round by the West Indies.
With the greatest respect I am, sir, &c., &c.
A formal meraorial of Congress shows how humiliating
was their attitude.
The United States of America, in Congress assembled, to their
Great, Faithful, and Beloved Friend and Ally, Louis the
l&th. King of France and Navarre.
Great, Faithful, and Beloved Feiend and Ally, —
Persuaded of your Majesty's friendship and of your ear
nest desire to prosecute the war with glory and advantage
to the alliance, we ought not to conceal from your Majesty

MEMORIAL PROM CONGRESS. 383
the embarrassments which have attended our national
affairs, and rendered the last campaign unsuccessful.
A naval superiority in the Araerican seas having en
abled the eneray, in the midst of last winter, to divide
their army and extend the war in the Southern States,
Charlestown was subdued before a sufficient force could
be assembled for its relief.
With unabated ardor and at a vast expense we prepared
for the succeeding campaign, — a campaign from which, in
a dependence on the co-operation of the squadron and
troops generously destined by your Majesty for our assist
ance, we had forraed the highest expectations. Again the
enemy frustrated our measures. Your Majesty's succours
were confined within the harbour of Newport, while the
main body of the British array took refuge in their for
tress and under the protection of their marine. Declining
to hazard a battle in the open field and regardless of their
rank among civilised nations, they descended to wage a
predatory war. Britons and savages united in sudden
irruptions on our northern and western frontiers, and
marked their progress with blood and desolation.
The acquisition of Charlestown — with the advantages
gained in Georgia, and the defeat of a small army, cora
posed chiefly of militia, which had been hastUy collected
to check their operations — encouraged the British com
mander in that quarter to penetrate through South Caro
lina ; and the ordinary calamities of war were embittered
by implacable vengeance. They did not, however, long
enjoy their triumph. Instead of being depressed, impend
ing danger served only to rouse our citizens to correspond
ent exertions; and by a series of gallant and successful
enterprises they compelled the enemy to retreat with
precipitation and disgrace.
They seem, however, resolved by all possible efforts, not

384 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
only to retain their posts in Georgia and South Carolina,
but to renew their attempts on North Carolina. To divert
the reinforcements destined for those states, they are now
executing an enterprize against the sea-coast of Virginia ;
and from their preparations at New York, and intelligence
from Europe, it is manifest that the four Southern States
will now becorae a principal object of their hostilities.
It is the voice of the people and the resolution of Con
gress to prosecute the war with redoubled vigor, and to
draw into the field a perraanent and well appointed army
of 35,000 regular troops. By this decisive effort we trust
that we shall be able, under the divine blessing, so effectu
ally to co-operate with your Majesty's marine and land
forces as to expel the coramon enemy from our country,
and render the great object .of the alliance perpetual.
But to accomplish an enterprize of such magnitude, and
so interesting to both nations, whatever may be our spirit
and our exertions, we know that our internal resources
must prove incorapetent. The sincerity of this declaration
will be manifest from a short review of our circumstances.
Unpractised in mUitary arts and unprepared with the
means of defence, we were suddenly invaded by a formi
dable and vindictive nation. We supported the unequal
conflict for years with very little foreign aid but what
was derived frora your Majesty's generous friendship.
Exertions uncommon even among the most wealthy and
most established governments necessarUy exhausted our
finances, plunged us into debt, and anticipated our taxes ;
while the depredations of an active enemy, by sea and
land, made a deep impression on our commerce and our
productions. Thus encompassed with difficulties, in our
representation to your Majesty of the 14th of June, 1779,
we disclosed our wants, and requested your Majesty to
furnish us with Clothing, arms, and ammunition for the

MEMORLAL FROM CONGRESS. 385
last campaign, on the credit of the United States. We
entertain a lively sense of your Majesty's friendly dispo
sition in enabling our Minister to procure a part of those
supplies, of which, through unfortunate events, a very smaU
proportion hath arrived. The sufferings of our array from
this disappointraent have been so severe that we must
rely on your majesty's attention to our welfare for effec
tual assistance.
The articles of the estimate transmitted to our Min
ister are essential to our Army, and we flatter ourselves
that through your Majesty's interposition they will be
supplied. At a time when we feel ourselves so strongly impressed
by the weight of past obligations, it is with the utmost
reluctance that we yield to the emergency of our affairs
in requesting additional favours. An unreserved confi
dence in your Majesty, and a well grounded assurance
that we ask no more than is necessary to enable us effec
tually to co-operate with your Majesty in terminating the
war with glory and success, must be our justification. It
is well known that when the King of Great Britain found
himself unable to subdue the populous states of North
America by force, or to seduce them by art to relinquish
the alliance with your Majesty, he resolved to protract
the war, in expectation that the loss of our commerce
and the derangement of our finances must eventually
compel us to submit to his domination. Apprized of the
necessity of foreign aids of money to support us in a con
test with a nation so rich and powerful, we have long
since authorized our ministers to borrow a sufficient sum
in your Majesty's dominions, and in Spain, and Holland,
on the credit of the United States. We now view the
prospect of a disappointment ; as the late misfortunes in
the Southern States, and the ravages of the northern and
26

386 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
western frontiers have in a very considerable degree im
paired our internal resources. From a full investigation
of our circumstances it is manifest, that in aid of our
utmost exertions, a foreign loan of specie, at least to the
amount of twenty-five millions of Uvres, will be indispen
sably necessary for a vigourous prosecution of the war.
On an occasion in which the independence of these
United States and your Majesty's glory are so intimately
connected, we are constrained to request your Majesty
effectually to support the applications of our Ministers
for that loan. So essential is it to the common cause,
that we shall without it be pressed with wants and dis
tresses which may render all our efforts languid, precari
ous, and undecisive. Whether it shall please your Majesty
to stipulate for this necessary aid as our security, or to
advance it from your royal coffers, we do hereby solemnly
pledge the faith of these United States to indemnify or
reimburse your Majesty according to the nature of the
case both for principal and interest, in such manner as
shall be agreed upon with our minister at your Majesty's
Court. We beseech the supreme disposer of events to keep
your Majesty in his holy protection, and long to continue
to France the blessings arising from the administration
of a prince who nobly asserts the rights of mankind.
Done at Philadelphia the twenty-second day of No
vember in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and eighty and in the fifth year of our
Independence by the Congress of the United States
of North America.
Your Faithful Friends and Allies.
Samuel Huntington, President.
Attest, Chas. Thomson, Sec'y.

LETTERS TO MARAT AND SEARLE.

387

In his reply to FrankUn, Vergennes says of this appeal,
"You can easily imagine my astonishment at your re
quest. . . . Nevertheless, sir, I am very desirous of assist
ing you out of the embarrassed situation in which these
repeated drafts of Congress have placed you, and for this
purpose I shall endeavor to procure for you for the next
year the same aid that I have been able to furnish in the
course of the present."

Franklin to Marat. Passy, Nov. 24, 1780.
Sir, — I received your obliging invitation to attend
your curious experiments, on some
days between the 21 and 30th of
this month ; but as I am laid up
with the gout, and see no pros
pect of being able to go to Paris
within that time, I can only re
tum you my thanks. If you have '
any description of those experi
ments written, I should be glad
to see it, unless inconvenient to marat.
you. With great regard, I have the honour to be. Sir,
&c., &c. Franklin to Searle. Passt, Nov. 30, 1780.
Dear Sie, — I received your kind letter of the 20th, and
am very sensible of your friendship. Arnold's baseness
and treachery is astonishing. I thank you for the ac
count you give me of his preceding conduct, which I
never knew before, and shall make a proper use of. I
have just received a very particular account of his plot,
which is too long to transcribe by this post, but you will

888 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
see it by next. In the meantime Mr. Adams wiU com
municate to you an extract of a comfortable letter to me
from New Port. General Washington was at Bergen
near New York the 19th October. I hope your fears that
there may be Arnolds at Paris are groundless. But in
such time one cannot be too much on one's guard, and I
ara obUged to you for the caution.
With great esteem, &c. &c.
Franklin to Alex. Small.^ Passt, Dec. 7, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I wrote you a few days since, enclosing a
copy of the translations of your paper on the gout. It
was M. Turgot, who, admiring, got it translated and
printed, and gave away numbers of copies to his friends
and others, where I think it may do good. He is a
brother sufferer in that distemper. I wish to see a copy
in which you have made corrections. Send me at least
the corrections. I will send you per next opportunity, for
your amusement, a dialogue I have lately written on the
sarae subject. Let me know how to direct to you.
I thank you for the extract from the " Berne Memoirs ;"
I shall add them, by way of note, to your paper on
hospitals, &c.
I ara glad to hear that Mrs. Stevenson and Mrs. Hew
son are well. Be so good as to forward the enclosed to
thera. My best respects to our friend. When you write again
1 Alexander Small was an eminent English physician, spoken of al
ready. He was brother of Col. Small, — the same who recognized
Warren at Bunker Hill. In July, 1780, he passed through Paris, and
Franklin then had some correspondence with hira, as "an old friend."
This matter of the gout was then a subject of correspondence. See Sparks's
Franklin, viii. 481.

LETTER TO LAFAYETTE. 889
please to let me know if Mr. Steele is stUl in England,
and send me if you can one of his tracts containing the
manner of noting the modulation of the voice in speaking.
I am ever, with sincere esteem and affection, dear Sir, &e.
Franklin to Lafayette. Passt, Dec. 9, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I received your very kind letter of the 9th
of October, dated at the light carap on Passaic Eiver. It
is the only one of yours that has yet come to ray hands.
1 lament with you the circurastances that prevented the
placing a stronger naval force in North America last
summer, and the consequences of that faUure ; but am
nevertheless very sensible of the advantages that attended
the arrival of that we have. The Minister you left in the
Marine Department here is since changed ; ^ but the good
disposition of the Court towards us reraains the same.
The faults common fame ascribes to him are that he spent
too much money on his fieet, and that too little was done
by it. I hope his successor wUl furnish you the addition
you wish for.
There has been a kind of fatality attending the affair of
sending out the clothing. A number of unforeseen and un
accountable accidents have delayed and prevented it frora
time to time. Part of it is, however, at length gone ; and
the rest in a fair way of going soon, with the arras, pow
der, &c. You may depend on my procuring and forward
ing all I can that is necessary for the operations of our
Army. I congratulate you on your escape from Arnold's
treachery. His character is, in the sight of all Europe,
already on the gibbet, and will hang there in chains for
ages. * The Marquis de Castries was Sartine's successor.

390 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
I wish you had been more particular relating to the plan
you 'mention ofthe Eastern States; as I do not understand
it. You being upon the spot can easily obtain and send me
all the authenticated accounts of the enemies' barbarity
that are necessary for our Uttle book ; or what is better,
get soraebody there to write it, and send me a copy that I
may adapt the cuts to it. I have found an excellent en
graver for the purpose.
My best wishes always attend you, — being with the
most perfect esteem aud affection, dear Sir, your, &c.
P. S. My grandson presents his respects.
In this year the neutral powers of the North of Europe,
were solicited by the Empress of Eussia to unite in the
rules regarding neutrals which have since become so im
portant a part of international law.
The American Congress readily gave its assent to these
rules in the resolutions which follow : —
Extract from the Journals of Congress, October 5, 1780.
Congress took into consideration the Eeport of the Com
mittee on the motion relating to the propositions of the
Erapress of Eussia, and thereupon came to the following
Eesolutions : —
Her Imperial Majesty of all the Eussias, attentive to
the freedom of Coraraerce, and the Eights of Nations, in
her Declaration to the belligerent and neutral Powers,
having proposed regulations, founded upon principles of
Justice, Equity, and Moderation, of which their most
Christian and Catholic Majesties, and most of the neu
tral Maritime Powers of Europe, have declared their
approbation, —

EXTRACT FROM JOURNALS OF CONGRESS. 391
Congress, willing to testify their regard to the Eights of
Commerce, and their respect for the Sovereign who hath
proposed, and the Powers who have approved the said
regulation, Eesolve —
That the Board of Admiralty prepare and report in
structions for the commanders of armed vessels commis
sioned by the United States, conformable to the principles
contained in the Declaration of the Empress of All the
Eussias on the rights of neutral vessels.
That the Ministers Plenipotentiary from the United
States, if invited thereto, be and hereby are respectively
empowered to accede to such regulations, conformable to
the spirit of the said Declaration, as may be agreed upon
by the Congress expected to assemble in pursuance of the
invitation of Her Imperial Majesty.
Ordered, that copies of the above Eesolutions be trans
mitted to the respective Ministers of the United States
at Foreign Courts, and to the Honourable the Minister
Plenipotentiary of France.

CHAPTEE XX.
THE MADRID COEEESPONDENCE. — 1780.
TN the Summer of 1779 Congress practically decided to
-*- send an envoy to Spain, who might negotiate a treaty,
and perhaps a loan. Arthur Lee had undertaken this
business two years before, but had been stopped on the
way. Now, however, though the time was hardly more
propitious, it seemed necessary to take some step. Spain
and France had concluded a convention which was on
the whole dangerous to the Eepublic. France was to
undertake the invasion of Great Britain or Ireland, but,
most important, the two Courts bound themselves to con
tinue the war till Gibraltar should be given up. It seemed
to be the desire of the two Courts that America should
join the alliance, and certainly the United States was
forced to do something. But the views of the three na
tions were confiicting. Spain desired to exclude the
United States from the free navigation of the Mississippi,
or even frora any navigation of it. She saw in the inde
pendence of the United States, a precedent to be followed
by her own Araerican colonies. France was not unwill
ing that the United States should remain a mere strip by
the Atlantic seaboard. The United States, on the other
hand, wished for a free share in the Newfoundland fish
eries ; and her pioneers had already seized possession of
the banks of the Ohio, and were overrunning the north
west territory.

THE MADRID CORRESPONDENCE. 398
Congress was at this time considering bases of a possi
ble peace: territory to stretch from the Atlantic to the
Mississippi, from Florida to Canada and Nova Scotia ; free
navigation of the Mississippi ; freedom of the Newfound
land fisheries. The New Englanders would have the fish
eries insisted upon ; Jay, and the State of New York
thought that they should not be a sine qua non. Gerard,
the French minister, intimated that it was not according
to the policy of France that the United States should
have a share in the fisheries. Congress was about to ask
the King of France for a new loan, and the right of fishery
was not insisted upon. The appointment of a minister to
Spain brought up the question of the Mississippi The
United States was wUling to guarantee Florida to Spain,
provided the Mississippi could remain open. At the sarae
time the minister was to expose to the King of Spain the
miserable financial condition, and ask for a loan or a guar
antee. John Jay was chosen minister, against Adams,
who was afterwards chosen to negotiate a treaty of peace
with England.
We now present a great part of the correspondence
between Franklin, at Passy, and John Jay, and Carmi
chael his secretary, in Spain. It gives an interesting pict
ure of the American legation at Madrid, as of the relations
between France, Spain, and America.

Jay to Franklin. ¦ ¦ Cadiz, 26 Jany. 1780.
Dear Sir, — You have doubtless been amused this
month or two past with various conjectures about the
fate of the " Confederacy." She left Chester (on the Dela
ware) the 18'" Oct., bound for France; was dismasted and
split her rudder the 7"' Nov. off the banks of Newfound-

394 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
land. On the 23'* following, the officers of the ship being
all of opinion that the condition of her rudder forbid our
proceeding to Europe, we steered for Martinico ; and arriv
ing there the 18 Decf, we sailed frora thence the 28'" fol
lowing iu the " Aurora," and expected to have proceeded
with her to Toulon ; but on arriving here the 22 inst., we
heard of the success of the Eneray in the Mediterranean,
and of several cruisers near this coast whora we had
fortunately escaped.
The further prosecution of my voyage having thus
become improper, I gave notice of my appointment and
arrival to Don Joseph de Galvez, the secretary of state
for the departraent of the Indies, in a letter of which the
enclosed. No. 1, is a copy; and also to Count de Vergennes,
in a letter of which the enclosed. No. 2, is a copy. M.
Carmichael is the bearer of the former, and M. Gerard
will be so obliging as to take charge of the latter.
While at Martinico I drew a bill upon you for some
seventy half-johans in favour of Mr. Bingham,^ of which
1 gave advice by letter from thence, and enclosed a copy
of the resolution of Congress which authorized that
measure. Although I had letters with me to gentlemen in other
ports of Spain, yet it unluckily happened that I had
none to any person here. You may imagine therefore
that I was at first a little embarrassed on the article of
money ; but it gives me pleasure to inform you that the
polite and unsolicited offers of Chevalier Eoche and M.
Penet, have made me easy on that head for the present.
By their means I obtained 3,912 livres tonrnois from
Messrs Quintinkeret and Compy, for a bill on you for
4,079 livres tonrnois, — that being, it seems, the difference
of exchange.
1 WiUiam Bingham was agent for the United States at Martinique.

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 895
The bill is dated the 25'" inst., and is made payable at
the expiration of sixty days from the date, which they
tell me is the manner of drawing bills here.
American credit suffers exceedingly in this place from
reports that our loan office bills payable in France have
not been duly honored, but have been delayed payraent
upon various pretexts, one of which is that it was neces
sary for a whole set of bills to arrive before the money
could be paid.
How far you may be in capacity to answer the demands
made upon you, I cannot deterraine ; but many considera
tions induce me to intreat you by all means punctually
to pay the bill in question. Private honour forbids that
these gentlemen should by an act of kindness to me ex
pose their friends to inconveniences ; and public credit
demands that the reputation of Congress be not destroyed
by the protest of bills drawn under their immediate au
thority for the necessary support of their servants ; and
I might also add that if this bill should fail, there will
be an end put to my credit. On the consequences of such
an event it is neither necessary or pleasant to dwell.
I have in ray possession several letters, or rather packets,
directed to you, and am much at a loss what to do with
them. Be pleased to direct me. There are many things
I wish to say to you, but you must, ray dear sir, excuse
my postponing them to another opportunity. I have been
so confined since my arrival by preparing letters for
Madrid, France, and America, that I have not yet been
two hours out of my chamber.
God bless you, my dear sir, and long continue to you
the blessing of health and cheerfulness.
P. S. Be pleased to present my compliments to Mr.
Adams. I shall do myself the pleasure of writing to him

396 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
by the next opportunity. When we left PhUadelphia,
Mr. and Mrs. Bache, with their chUdren (which are really
fine ones), were in perfect health.
Carmichael to Franklin. [Cadiz] 25 Jany, 1780.
Sir, — I have the honour of informing you of our arrival
at this place this day in the Frigate " L'Aurore " from Mar
tinico, to which island the officers of the "Confederacy"
thought proper to proceed, in consequence of the loss of all
our masts, and the damage our rudder received on the edge
of the banks of Newfoundland.
We left Martinico the 28'" of December, and have had a
most agreeable passage, and most fortunately escaped the
enemy, who are now superior on this coast. While in the
West Indies we received no accounts from America, of
what had passed suice we left Philadelphia, but what were
very confused. Admiral Arbuthnot, with six ships of war
and sixteen regiments, arrived at Barbadoes the middle of
December, so that the force of the enemy on the Continent
cannot be very great. They had in those seas, when we
quitted them, near thirty sail of the line and with the troops
which arrived at Barbadoes were in condition to attempt
the conquest of some of the Islands.
I should have thought myself happy in being in such a
situation as to have profited daily by the experience which
the world, even in your life time, allows you to possess ;
but unfortunately, circumstances, which I hope to have the
honour of explaining to you in person, prevented it. I
write at the sarae tirae to Dr. Bancroft, who wUl commu
nicate in cypher anything that you may think improper
to trust to the comraon conveyance. The honor which
you have done me in vrriting to me while I was in

CARMICHAEL AND JAY. 397
America induces me to hope that you will take me under
your protection in Europe,^ and from time to time, by let
ters, give me that advice and instruction which I wished to
receive in person. I take the liberty of intreating you to
mention me in such a manner to all those who do me the
honour of remembering me, as a grateful mind would be
solicitous to express. Your good host ought to be at the
head of the list. Mr. Adams hath undoubtedly given you
copies of all the public letters with which Mr. Jay is
charged. Altho' I have not the honour of being personally
known to the first mentioned gentleman, I shall be happy
to cultivate that good understanding which the public in
terest would require, independant of the esteera which his
character would entitle him. If my friend Billy has an
inclination to visit Madrid, he will always find an apart
ment arid a cordial acception.
P. S. I must beg you to be so obliging to forward a
credit of two hundred pound sterling to me at Madrid, to
the house in which M. Gardoqui is concerned. Our credit
is so low here, from circumstances which I cannot explain,
that I cannot negociate bills drawn for the interest of raoney
borrowed in Araerica and payable in Paris; which bills I
bought at the same rate as those of French agent, Mr.
Holker, were sold for.
If you cannot take the liberty of inclosing under cover
to the French minister at Madrid, address me at the Post
Office under the name of Monsr. Clement.
Franklin to Jay. Passt, Feb. 22, 1780.
SiE, — Tt gave me infinite pleasure to hear of your ex
cellency's safe arrival in Spain. Knowing that the " Con-
1 Carmichael, it will be remembered, had been in Europe before, having
been of use to the Commissioners on various occasions.

898 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
federacy" had sailed the 28'" of October, we began to
despair of ever hearing raore of her. I received your ad
vice of the bill drawn on me for four thousand and seventy
nine livres tonrnois, at sixty days' date, which I ordered
to be immediately paid as you desired.
I have lodged a credit for you at Madrid, for 24,000
livres, deducting this bill. You will be so good as to fur
nish Mr. Carmichael with 4,800 Uvres of it, which he has
desired of me.
Inclosed is a letter of introduction to the Marquis
d'Yranda, with whom the credit is placed, and whose ac
quaintance and friendship may be otherwise of use to you.

Franklin to Carmichael. Passt, Feb. 22, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I received with great pleasure yours of
the 25 January, and shall write to you fully by the first
good opportunity.
I cannot recollect the name of the correspondent you
mention, but have ordered a credit of 24,000 Uvres tonr
nois to be lodged in Madrid for Mr. Jay and you, which,
I suppose, you will divide in proportion to your appoint
ments. Inclosed are the letters. I do not seal that for
Mr. Jay, as I have just heard that possibly he may not
be gone to Madrid, as I imagined, with M. Gerard, — and
you may have occasion to show it to M. le Marquis
D'Yranda. Carmichael to Franklin. Madrid, Feb. 19, 1780.
Sie, — I cannot let M. Gerard leave this without a
letter for you, altho' probably he can give you much
better information of the state of affairs here than it is

CARMICHAEL TO FRANKLIN. 399
in my power to give. I did myself the honor of writing
to you from Cadiz, and informed you of Mr. Jay's inten
tions of sending me to this city. A letter from himself,
which M. Gerard will deliver, will inform you of the
steps he hath taken with this court and that of Versailles.
I can only add that the manner in which I have been
received gives me great hopes that we shall not negotiate
with this court at such a distance as we have hitherto
done. I was presented, on Thursday last, to the Count of
Florida Bianca ^ and Don Joseph de Galvez, and am to
receive an answer to Mr Jay's letter on Monday next;
in the meantime, I am at liberty to assure him that the
King had ordered the Count de Florida Bianca to receive
any overtures he had to make on the part of the United
States. Some news which I have received here of the
continued favorable dispositions of the Court €)f France
give me great pleasure. T hope this Court will follow an
example by which we profit so much. I have pitied your
situation for some time past, exposed as you have been to
so many imprudent demands, and to so many malevolent
attacks. The news which I heard from France makes me
hope that you will be as easy in that country as you have
been invulnerable in America. In consequence of a re
solve of Congress I beg you to procure me a credit here.
I did not reflect that Congress could not by a fiat give
a value to paper in Europe, when the miracle became
contested in America. If, however, it can be done, it will
be very agreeable, because it is necessary. We have no
other news here than the departure of Eodney from
1 Florida Bianca, the Spanish Minister, was not averse to the idea
of a ti'eaty. He would have 'given much could he have concluded one
that should have redounded highly to his credit ; and was therefore not
likely to stickle on formalities if there were chance of accomplishing
anything.

400 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Gibraltar, — some call it an escape ; you may give what
sense you please to the word. I intreat you to reraember
me to Dr. Bancroft, to whom I have already written, and
to your grandson. Madrid, 13 March, 1780.
... I was informed that, altho' it did not suit the
king's dignity or that of Congress that Mr. Jay should
appear in his public character until the object of his
mission and the interests of Spain had been fairly dis
cussed and decided on, yet that we should be received and
treated as strangers of distinction ; and as such might
appear at court. Accordingly, I have made use of that
permission, and was present at the Besomanos on occa
sion of the birth of the prince, and ranged myself in the
circle of foreign ministers. I have seen nothing but what
appears to be reasonable in the conduct of the minister
with whom I have had the honor to converse ; yet I can
not help laraenting every circurastance which retards the
business on which we are sent. . . . Madrid, 29 Mar., 1780.
... I cannot help repeating the satisfaction I feel in
the candid conduct of ministers of this court, which will
enable M. Jay iramediately on his arrival to enter upon
the execution of the business on which he is sent. The
court seems determined to prosecute the war and is
taking measures to provide the funds necessary to support
it. It appears to be, however, rather a war of the court
than of the nation. There is reason to suspect that our
enemies are not idle here, and that their communica
tions pass by the way of Lisbon. Should you have an
opportunity of obtaining any information on this head,
M. Jay will be much obliged to you for it. . . .

LETTER TO CARMICHAEL. 401
Franklin to Carmichael. Passt, March 31st, 1780.
Dear Sie, — I received by Mr. Gerard your kind letter
written at Philadelphia. His safe return has given me
great pleasure.
As soon as I received yours of Jan. 25 from Cadiz, I
ordered a credit of 1000 louis d'or to be lodg'd for Mr.
Jay and you, by Mr. Grand, with his banker at Madrid.
He wrote by the next post. It does not appear by
yours of March 13 that you had then been acquainted
with this, or received my letter. This surprised me, and
I enquired bf Mr. Grand about it, who tells me that a
letter from his correspondent, of March 12, mentions the
receipt of the order ; and he supposes that M. D'Yranda
would soon find you out.
The Marquis de Lafayette is gone again to Araerica.
He took leave at Court in his American Uniform. He
carries with him a warra heart for our Cause and Country.
Dr. Bancroft is just returned here from L'Orient, where he
has been to assist in getting one of our Frigates out, the
" Alliance." He will probably write to you by the next
post. I thank you for your intelligence of Mr. Lee's phil
ippics against me. Such they were intended. But when
I consider him as the. most malicious eneray I ever had
(though without the smallest cause), that he shows so
clearly his abundant desire to accuse and defame me, and
that all his charges are so frivolous, so ill founded, and
amount to so little, I esteem them rather as panegyrics
upon me and satires against himself.
I am glad to understand by yours of Feb. 19 and Mar. 13
that you had met with so agreeable a reception at Madrid.
The more so as I once imagined that the long delay of
that Court in acceding to the Treaty had a dubious appear-
26

402 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
ance. Here I have every proof of the sineerest goodwUl
to us and our Cause. It is true I do not obtain all I
have been directed to ask for. The Committee of Com
merce sent me over an invoice of goods amounting, I guess,
to more than twelve millions of livres. I have been
obUged to abridge it greatly, the sum granted me not suf
ficing. I send, however, sorae of the most necessary ar
ticles, viz., 15,000 compleat dresses for soldiers, 15,000 new
fusUs, and 1,000 barrels of gunpowder. If Mr. Jay can
obtain a sum frora Spain, it may help to supply the de
ficiency. You have reason, as you say, to pity my situa
tion. Too much is expected from me, and not only the
Congress draws upon me, often unexpectedly, for large
sums, but all the agents of the Committee of Commerce,
in Europe and America, think they may do the same when
pinch'd, alleging that it is necessary to the credit of the
Congress that their particular credit should be supported.
From the desire here of carrying on the War without levy
ing new taxes, and the extraordinary expenses of the navy,
so much money cannot be spared to us as is imagined in
America ; but essential aid will be given us this campaign,
either by an actual junction of force or concert of opera
tions in the United States, or by a powerful diversion in the
West Indies, — a very considerable armament of ships and
troops being on the point of departure for those countries.
Mr. Adams is at Paris, with Mr. Dana. We live upon
good terms with each other, but he has never communi
cated anything of his business to rae, and I have made no
enquiries of him. Nor have I any letters from Congress
explaining it. So that I ara in utter ignorance. Indeed,
the Congress seem very backward in writing to me. I
have no answer to a long letter I wrote by the Chevalier
de la Luzerne, nor even an acknowledgement that it came
to hand ; pray can you tell me the reason ?

FRANKLIN TO CARMICHAEL. 403
Friday, AprU 7. Having met with some interruption I
did not finish my letter in time to go by the last post.
Mr. Grand has since read me part of a letter from M. le
Marquis D'Yranda in which he mentions his having seen
you; and his willingness to serve Mr. Jay and you, but
that you appeared somewhat reserved. We concluded
that you had not received M. Grand's letter which went
at the same time with mine (of which I enclose copies)
because he had acquainted you with his having recom
mended you to the Marquis, and had given you such a
character of him as would have induced you to have con
versed freely with him.
Messrs. Lee and Izard are gone to L'Orient in order to
embark in the " AlUance '' together, but they did not travel
together from hence. No soul regrets their departure;
they separately carae to take their leave of me, very re
spectfully offering their services to carry any despatches,
&c. We parted civilly, for I have never acquainted them
that I knew of their writing against me to Congress, but
I did not give them the trouble of my despatches. Since
Mr. Lee's being at L'Orient he has written to Mr. Grand
requesting a certificate from hira in contradiction to sorae
thing you said of hira in a paper delivered to Congress. I
suppose Mr. Grand will explain this to you.
I retain my health a merveille ; but what with bills of
exchange, cruising ships, supplies, &c., besides the business
of my station, I find I have too much to do. Your friend
Billy (who presents his respects) is a great help to me, or
I could not possibly go through with it.
Carmichael to Franklin. Madrid, 22nd April, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I have at length the pleasure of being re
lieved from much anxiety by the receipt of your letter of

404 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
the 31st of March and 7th of April I endeavoured to recol
lect every circurastance of ray conduct since I left France,
and altho'' 1 found in this scrutiny that I had left many
things undone which I ought to have done, I brought my
self in not guilty, biased perhaps by that sort of partiality
we usually feel for ourselves. Your letters have un
doubtedly met the fate of several addressed to me here by
others, either under a fictitious or my real name. My im
patience to hear frora you hurried me to the post-office
every day the courier arrived, and I carefully read the
list of letters there, but M. Clement never made his
appearance. The Ct. de Mo'ntmorin soon after my arrival introduced
me to the Marquis D'Yranda, who has been very polite to
rae, and to whom I am not otherwise reserved than in for
bearing to go so often as he hath desired me. He informed
me that he had received direction to supply M. Jay, but
not mentioning my name, I was constrained to make use
of other sources. I am afraid the gentleraen you mention
left you with respect in their eyes and rancor in their
hearts. If this should be the case I hope the fable of the
Viper and the File will be renewed. I should be glad to
know frora M. Grand the nature of Mr. Lee's letter to
him, because as the last-mentioned gentleman soraetimes
sees things in a different light frora anyone else, it is not
improbable that M. Grand may be led into some error.
I have not with me a copy of the paper, which, in conse
quence of the request of many gentlemen in the House, I
laid before Congress, but I recollect the substance of it,
viz., that Mr. Lee has rendered himself disagreeable to the
Court and individuals of the French nation, and even sus
pected by the forraer, and that I derived my knowledge of
this frora those who were connected with the Court, and
named the Messrs. Grand on this occasion. This and

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 405
much more, M. Gerard and M. Holker confirmed by papers
delivered either to Congress or members of that body,
which, &s that written by me, are in private journals or files
of Congress.
I have heard with much satisfaction an account of the
generous conduct which France continues to observe to
us. Our necessities are certainly great, and our reliance
on our ally is in proportion to these necessities.
I always wished to have it in my power to revisit
France, and the obliging manner in which you express a
desire to see me hath increased ray wishes. Perhaps if
your business should either advance rapidly or meet with
unexpected delay, M. Jay may consent to spare me a few
weeks, in which case I do assure you that I would raost
wiUingly ride post night and day. Several vessels have
lately arrived from America in the ports of Spain, &c. I
have not yet received Dr. Bancroft's letter. Pray present
him my compUments, as also to Billy, whose copies set
me an exaraple I am afraid I shall never he able to imi
tate, M. and Mrs. Jay are neither in the best state of
health. They desire me to make the proper compliments
for them to you. Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 27 April, 1780.
Dear Sie, — Your favour of the 7th inst., together with
a duplicate of that of the 22d Febry. last, which I have
never seen, are corae to hand, and give me all that satis
faction which attends the removal of apprehensions of
neglect frora those we regard and esteem.
I am much obliged by the readiness with which my
hills were accepted ; and ara happy to find that the reports
respecting the fate of others are as false as they have been
injurious. At Martinico the loan office bills sold at a

406 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
considerable discount ; and indeed it was no easy matter to
sell them at all. I shall take the earliest opportunity of
setting them and others right about that matter. *
On my return from Aranjuez, where I propose to go
to-morrow, I shall transmit the papers you mention, with
some others equally interesting. 1 can easily believe that
your difficulties have been great and various. They were
often the subject of conversation in America, and I am
sure your friends as well as country will rejoice in the
late iraportant success of your negotiations. The French
Court, by continuing steady and true to the object of their
treaty with us, will obtain those [objects] which induced
thera to make it. Their conduct towards us hitherto has,
I confess, attached me to the whole nation in a degree
that I could not have thought myself capable of ten years
ago. In my opinion Britain is to be conquered in America,
and that it would be more for the interest of her enemies
to confine their offensive operations to that point, than
enfeeble their efforts by attention to many lesser objects.
Let America be supplied with raoney, clothes, and aramu-
nition, and she will, by expelling her enemies and estab
lishing her independence, do raore essential injury to
those imperious islanders than they have sustained for
centuries. I have sent the letters and packets I brought for you
from Araerica to Mr. Joshua Johnson at Nantes by
M. BoutUlier, a young gentleman of that place, and have
desired Mr. Johnson to send them to you by the first safe
conveyance. What aids this Court raay be pleased to afford us is not
yet ascertained. I hope they wUl be such as may be pro
portionate to the common interests, their dignity, and our
wants. The Minister, I am told, is able, and we know the

JAY AND CARMICHAEL. 407
king is honest; on this ground I place rauch dependence,
for I can hardly suppose that either of them will omit
embracing this golden opportunity of acquiring glory to
themselves, and honor and advantage to their nation,
of completing the division and ruin of the British Empire ;
and that by measures which will in so great degree con
ciliate the affections as well as esteera of America.
Mrs. Jay has enjoyed more health within this fortnight
than she has been blessed with for three months past.
She presents her respects to you, and begs that your next
letters to me may enclose for her one of the best prints of
yourself, which we are told have been pubUshed in France,
but are not yet to be had here.^ I believe there is uo
man of your age in Europe so much a favourite with the
ladies. I am, dear sir, yours, John Jay.
P. S. I have not received letters to the Marquis
DYranda, but have seen him, and given M. Carmichael
an order on him for the sum you mention.
Carmichael to Franklin. Aranjuez, May 22, 1780.
Dear Sir, — I have deferred writing to you since my
last of the 27th ulto. in hopes of profiting by the Ct. de
Montmorin's courier ; but as it is not certain when one will
be despatched I venture to inform you by the ordinary
post that Sir J. D.^ presented a meraorial to the Ct. de
Florida Bianca, containing certain propositions tending to
an accommodation of the present differences between the
belligerent nations. On application to the Count de
Vergennes, you will undoubtedly be furnished witji a
' Franklin complied with this request. ^ Sir John Dalrymple.

408 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
copy of his memorial, and from the perusal of it wUl be
able to judge whether it doth not merit the derision with
which it appears to have been received. The author is
probably at Paris. I take the liberty of advising you
that M. Jay means to transmit copies of it to Congress,
which perhaps you raay think proper to do.^
As the writer seeras to found his hopes of success on
your interference and wisdom, I leave him with pleasure
in your hands. Considering all things, the operations for
this campaign have been pushed with much vigour in this
Country. I shall not mention American news, because I
am informed that you have received much later advices
than have reached us. You will oblige me very rauch by
permitting my friend and namesake to copy a letter
which you wrote to a lady of the Moulin Jolie.^ Several
people of distinction here are desirous of seeing it, and
I own candidly that it wUl give me much pleasure to
have this proof of your confidence. M. Jay and family
are at Madrid, and therefore I cannot present to you those
corapliments on their part which I intreat you to make
to those for me who do me the honour of remembering
me. Yours, &c., &c.
Jay to Florida Bianca? 19 June, 1780.
M. Jay presents his respectful compliments to his
exceUency the Count de Florida Bianca, and takes the
1 Dr. Sparks prints it in vol. viii. p. 547.
2 Franklin, in reply to this, sends the letter (see Sparks, ii. 177),
and goes on : " The Moulin Joli is a little island in the Seine about two
leagues hence, part of the country seat of another friend, where we visit
every summer, and spend a day in the pleasing society of the ingenious,
leamed, and very polite persons who inhabit it."
' This brings up a subject which was perhaps the hardest the American
Commissioners abroad had to handle. The Congress habitually drew bills

SIR JOHN DALRYMPLE. 409
liberty of , enclosing a copy of a note he has just received
respecting a bill drawn upon him for 333 dollars-. From
this his Excellency will perceive the painful situation M.
Jay is in. He forbears making any refiections on it, be
ing persuaded that his Excellency's wisdom and Uberality
render them unnecessary. Florida Bianca to Jay.
The Count de Florida Bianca will make no difficulty of
paying the note of 333 dollars of which Mr. Jay makes
mention in his note of yesterday, as much because it is
for a sum of such small value as that he is pleased to be
able to assist him in an extremity. But he must repeat
to Mr. Jay that it will be impossible for hira to have the
same pleasure with regard to other sums without consult
ing the will of the king.
As the terms proposed up to the present moment have
not been regarded as acceptable by Congress, others
must be found ; and Mr. Jay will of course consider it
necessary to consider seriously that he may communicate
to the Count de Florida Bianca all that his wisdom and
his circurastances may suggest to him.
Aranjuez, 20"' June.
In the midst of a business letter from Jay to Franklin,
all about bills and so forth, we get this little bit, with its
modest postscript : —
on their foreign representatives when they knew they had no balance of
cash abroad, but hoped that their agents would be able to effect loans
with either the French or Spanish governments which would enable them
to meet the bills. They sent, in theory, American produce to Europe con
signed to their agents, but practically these cargoes did not make a large
stock to draw on. , We shall meet later a good many letters which refer to
this " drawing on the Bank of Hope," as Franklin termed it.

410 FRANIiLIN IN FRANCE.
Mrs. Jay is much pleased with and thanks you for
the print you were so kind as to send her. It is a strik
ing likeness. I find that in France great men, like their
predecessors of old, have their bards. Yours seem to have
mounted high-mettled Pegasus, and to have been inspired
(if Brydone's doctrine be right) by electricised muses.^
Your strictures are just, tho' a little severe. While there
are young Telemachuses and fascinating Calypsos in the
world, fancies, and pens, and hearts will sometimes run
riot, in spite of the Mentors now and then to be met with.
P. S. Mrs. Jay had a daughter born the 9 inst. They
are both well. Benevolent minds enjoy events grateful to
others ; I cannot forbear telling you this little piece of
news. Brydone, aUuded to above, had written books of travel^
and papers on electricity. He is the " reverend pilgrim "
who receives immortality from Scott, in " Marmion."
Carmichael to Franklin.
St. Ildephonso, Aug. 12, 1780.
Dear Sie, — I did rayself the honour of answering yours
of the 17th of June,^ by a courier from the French
' The allusion is probably to Turgot's line, —
Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis.
Grimm gives the line of Turgot, without Turgot's name. He calls at
tention to a line in the Anti-Lucrice, by Cardinal de Polignac, —
Eripuitque Jovi fulmen, Phoeboque sagittas.
This line was suggested by Manilius's line, —
Eripuitque Jovi fulmen vlresque tonandi,
Et sonitum ventis concessit, nubibus ignem, —
the nominative being " doftilis solertia," in a previous line.
There are two notes on the verse of Turgot, by Franklin and Nogaret, a
French correspondent, in Sparks, viii. 537.
2 Printed in Sparks, viii. 471. " Sir John Dalrymple," writes
Franklin, "has been here some time, but I hear nothing of his political

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 411
ambassador, but not having the copy of my letter to you
with me here, I cannot recollect the date. . . .
I have been assured by the gentlemen I mentioned to
you in my last letter that no such manuscripts exist in
the Escurial as those mentioned by Sir J. D. . . .
The print you sent to Mrs. Jay hath served to excite
curiosity. I know no present that I can make to the
princess de Masserano and several others that will be so
agreeable. When we are in love with the talents and repu
tation of any one, we wish to know something of his physi
ognomy, and to have frequent occasions of contemplating
it. If, therefore, my namesake will send me a few copies
of the same print, he may command my services to pro
cure him anything in a similar way in this country.
Jay to Franklin. St. Ildefonso, 8 Sept. 1780.
Deae Sie, — My last to you went under cover to Mons.
Grand frora Madrid ; I have not been favoured with any
letters from you since the one inclosing a letter of credit
in my favor from M. Grand to M. d'Yranda.
M. Deane has been long advised, and I have not yet
received a letter from him. I cannot account for this.
Intelligence from America might have been useful. I
have received but one, and that an unimportant public
letter, since I left Philadelphia ; you cannot conceive how
operations. The learned talk of the discovei-y he has made in the
Escurial Library, of Forty Epistles of Brutus, a missing part of Tacitus,
and a, piece of Seneca, that have never yet been printed. He has not
been with me, and I am told by one of his friends that though he wished
to see me, he did not think it prudent. So I suppose I shall have no
communication with him, for I shall not seek it. As Count de Vergennes
has mentioned nothing to me of any memorial from him, I suppose he has
not presented it, — perhaps discouraged by the reception it met with in
Spain. So I wish, for curiosity's sake, you would send me a copy of it."

b

412 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
little information and how few letters reach me from our
country. Whenever you write to me, send your letters
either to the French Arabassador or under cover of M.
d'Yranda. The post is the raost precarious of all con
veniences. No letters suspected to be for or from me
pass safely by it ; many are suppressed, aud the remainder
inspected. Our affairs go on heavily. The treaty is impeded by
the affair of the Mississippi,^ and the fate of my bills is
not yet decided. I have been permitted, indeed, [to ac
cept] to the amount of about 14,000, and this circumstance
gives me more hopes for the rest than anything else. The
fact is, there is little coin iu Egypt. This entre nous.
Cumberland is still here ; his hopes and fears are
secret. He went from hence a few days ago, and is soon
expected back again ; to what poUcy are we to ascribe
this ? I ara told we have nothing to fear. It raay be so,
but my faith is seldom very exclusive. If we have noth
ing else to fear, we have always danger to apprehend
from such a spy, so situated, so surrounded by inquisitive,
comraunicative, and some say, friendly Irishraen. In
short, I wish you could hear me think. But that, like
most other wishes, is vain, and I must leave time to
inform you of raany things which at present must not be
written. Be so kind as to deliver the enclosed letters.
Jay to Franklin. St. Ildefonso, 22 Sept. 1780.
Dear Sie, — I have lately written to you several letters
Enclosed is a copy of one to Count de Vergennes,^ which
1 The Spaniards desired to insist on retaining the sole right to the
navigation of the Mississippi.
' In the letter to Vergennes, which seems too long to print. Jay states
the facts of his negotiations in regard to money, and asks if France cannot

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 413
Count de Montmorin, who also writes to him on the same
subject, is so obliging as to send together with this, by a
courier to Bayonne. The papers you have heretofore reed
from me, with those now sent, will enable you to under
stand it; and I am persuaded your abilities and influence
wiU be exerted to promote the success of the application
contained in it. It appears to me absolutely necessary
that the bills drawn on me ^ be saved at ill events. If,
contrary to my ideas of the wisdom and affection of
France, she should not lend us money for the purpose,
we must endeavour to borrow it of individuals, tho at a
higher than usual interest, — nay, on any terms rather than
not get it. Almost anything will be better than a protest ;
for, exclusive of disgrace, which is intolerable, the con
sequences of it would cost Congress more than the expense
of saving their credit, be it what it will.
Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 5 Oct. 1780.
Dear Sir, — Although you have not informed me that
you had reed, my letter from St. Ildefonso, yet I find it
has not only come safe to your hands, but that Mr. Grand
(to whom I wrote a few lines by last post) is actually
engaged in obtaining the object of it. I thank you for
this in both the capacities of American and friend. How
far the responsibUity of the King of Spain raay be a raeans
of opening the chests of your money holders, I know not ;
but that nothing on my part might be wanting, I applied
assist him in paying these bills. The King of Spain has guaranteed the
payment of some; will the King of France guarantee the payment of the
rest ? In reply Vergennes wrote that he feared nothing could be done,
that the King's resources were strained, that he was at that moment lend
ing a million to the United States through Franklin.
' By Congress.

414 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
lately to be furnished with some evidence of it, and to be
informed of the manner in which it should be given.^
The answer was that proper instructions on this head
should be sent to the Spanish Ambassadors in France aud
Holland, and that they would on application give this
responsibiUty in due form to such persons as might con
sent to lend money on the credit of it in those countries,
and that the Ministry would do the same there with respect
to those in Spain. By this opportunity I ought to add
nothing further than that I am your affect, friend, &c.
P. S. I have received Mr. Deane's two last letters and
written him two others. If the paper he sent by the
courier in August be the original, he has in my opinion cut
his business short, for to this day all my inquiries about
it have proved fruitless. Franklin to Adams. Passt, 20 Oct. 1780.
Sie, — Understanding that in case of M. Lawrence's ab
sence, you are charged with the affairs of procuring a loan
in Holland, I think it right to acquaint you that by a
letter from Mr. Jay, on the 12th inst., from Madrid, we are
informed that the King of Spain has been so good as to
offer his guarantee for the payment of the interest and
principal of a loan of money for the use of the United
States. Mr. Grand thinks that no considerable use can be
made here of that guarantee on account of the consider
able loan M. Necker is about to raake, but that possibly
it may have weight in Holland. Orders wUl be sent to
the Spanish Ambassador here by the next post, respecting
this matter.
J The King had offered his responsibility to facilitate a loan for $150,000
for three years. See Jay's letter to the President of Congress, Dipl. Corr.
vii. 300.

FRANKLIN AND ADAMS. 415
I regret much the taking of Mr. Lawrens. His son, I
un,derstand, sailed a fortnight after him for France ; but
he has not yet arrived.
The " Ariel " has been at sea, but meeting with a terri
ble storm which carried away all her masts has returned
to port to refit.
P. S. By a forraer letter from M. Jay, I find the sum
to be one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for which the
King of Spain would be answerable, payable in the space
of three years. Adams to Franklin. Amsterdam, Oct 24, 1780.
SiE, — I have this raoraent the honour of your letter of
the twentyeth of Ihis month and it is as cold water to a
thirsty soul
I have been busily eraployed in making enquiries, in
forming acquaintances and in taking advice. In hopes of
Mr. Laurens's arrival, and wishing hini to judge for himself,
I have not decided upon some questions that necessarily
arise. I am not able to promise anything, but I am led to
hope for something. The contents of Mr. Jay's letter will
certainly be of great weight and use. I am assured of the
good will of a number of very worthy and considerable
people, and that they will endeavour to assist a loan.
Let me intreat your Excellency to comraunicate to me
everything you may further learn respecting the benevo
lent intentions of the Court of Madrid respecting this
matter. I will do myself the honour to acquaint you with
the progress I make. I was before in hopes of assisting
you soraewhat, and your letter has raised those hopes a
great deal, for the English credit certainly staggers here a
little. The treatment of Mr. Laurens is truly affecting. It wUl

416 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
make a deep and lasting impression on the minds of the
Araericans, but this will not be a present relief to him.
You are no doubt minutely informed of his ill usage. Can
anything be done in Europe for his corafort or relief ?
I have the honour to be, with respectful compliments to
all friends, sir, your most obedient servant,^
John Adams.
Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 25 Oct. 1780.
Dear Sie, — Your very agreeable and friendly letters I
have reed, and shall take an early opportunity of answer
ing fully. I have no reason as yet to think a loan here
will be practicable. Bills on me arrive daUy. Be pleased
to send me a credit for residue of our salaries. America
rises in the general estimation here.
Tell Mr. Deane I have reed, four of his letters and
written three to hira. He may expect to hear frora me
again soon.
Prince Masserano sets out for France early in the morn
ing. I had intended to devote this afternoon and evening
to writing by him, but have been prevented by company.
It is now late at night, and I can say little. I ara rauch
indebted to the politeness of this nobleman, and except at
his table, have eaten no Spanish bread that I have not
paid for since my arrival in this city. This circurastance
will, I fiatter myself, recomraend hira to your particular
attention, which I have reason to think would be very
acceptable, for the respect and esteem which he frequently
expresses for you. The Duke of Crillon who accompanies
the Prince has also been polite to us, and I fancy they
will both receive pleasure from finding me sensible of
their attentions. The Princess appears to me to have
I See Dipl. Corr. v. 365.

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 417
much merit. I regret her absence, and the more so, per
haps, as it will not be supplied. She is a lady of much
observation and discernment. God bless you, my dear
sir. Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 30 Oct. 1780.
Dear Sir, — The pleasure given me by your letter of
the 2d instant may more easily be conceived than ex
pressed. I am greatly obliged by your attention to my
embarrassments. In my last on that subject which you
received was a copy of my letter to Count de Vergennes,
from which it appeared that the sura I should have occa
sion for would probably be considerable, and far exceed
25,000 dollars. BUls to the amount of 100,000 dollars
have arrived. A loan cannot be effected here. What the
Count will do is as yet uncertain, and may long continue
so. I should have replied to your letter before, but as
I daily expected to hear from Count de Vergennes, I waited,
with a view of mentioning the import to you. The in
closed copy of a note I received from Count Montraorin
contains all the advice I have on that head. My situation
continues unpleasant, and though my endeavours are not
wanting to better it, future events are far too uncertain to
be relied upon. To be active, prudent and patient, is in
my power, but whether I shall reap, as well as sow and
water, God only knows.
I have often been told of the former supplies and asked
how they were to be reimbursed. My answer has uni
formly been that I knew neither the amount or terms
and that I wished to be furnished with an account of
both, &c. As yet, I have not been able to obtain it.
Some mistake must have given occasion to any of the
bUls drawn on me being returned without acceptance.
27

418 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
The fact is that though I often delayed, with consent of
the holders, yet I never refused to accept any of them.
I have written several letters to Congress requesting
them to forbear drawing further bills tUl proper funds
should be established for their payment. Mere contin
gent assurances, or flattering inferences drawn from flat
tering expressions, ought never to be considered as a
sufficient foundation for such serious measures.
Cornwallis, it seems, has cropt some of Gates's laurels,
and Mr. Laurens is iu the Tower. European politicians
will, I suppose, tho' often deceived in the same way, again
think America on her knees in the dust. Had Ternay^
been supported, the earapaign would have had a different
termination. Much money and spirit has been wasted by
this disappointment. Of the latter, indeed, we shall never
be in want, and I should be happy if the like could be
said of the former.
The conduct of France towards us has been friendly,
and though I cannot forbear to think she has been too
inattentive to this object, my gratitude towards her is not
impaired by it. I regret it as a misfortune, not blarae it
as a designed omission. I wrote to you last week, and
now inclose a duplicate of another letter. You may rely
on my reimbursing you the advances on account of our
salaries, out of the first remittances I receive.
I have often congratulated my country and myself on
your being at present in France. I once expected to have
seen you there, and to have profited by the lessons which
tirae and much experience have brought you. Miracles
have ceased, and my constitution does not proraise length
of days, or I should probably desire you when you ascend
to drop me your mantle. That you may long retain it, is
one of the prayers of, &c.
1 The Chevalier de Ternay was a French naval ofScer.

CHAPTEE XXI.
THE MADRID CORRESPONDENCE. — 1781.
Franklin to Carmichael. Passy, Jan. 27, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I have before me your favours of Oct. 25,
Nov. 5, and Dec. 21. I do not know whether the Duke
de Crillon whom you recommend is come to Paris. That
letter came whUe I was Ul, and I have not since heard
anything of him ; but I wUl enquire for him of the Prince,
to whom it was not tUl yesterday that I was able to pay
my respects, and to thank the Princess for their civilities
to my compatriots at Madrid. You desire, as she had not
the print she requested, that I should show her the origi
nal to advantage. It happened unluckily otherwise, for
by the mistake of my man, who, it seems, had enquired
for the Princess instead of the Prince, I was shown into a
dressing-room where a lady was at her toilet; and not
knowing at first who it was, and expecting the Prince, I
was a little puzzled till he came. They speak of you with
great regard.
I wish to know whether the clothing you mention in
yours of Nov. 5 is gone, and what the quantity. When
I heard of the taking of clothing for 15,000 men by the
combined fleet, from the English, I thought our friends had
a fine opportunity of supplying our wants in an essential
not immediately necessary to themselves ; I hope it was

420 PRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
all sent to America. Eeports are just now spread here,'
but I do not learn how they came, that M. Galvez has
succeeded at Pensacola. This gives me the more pleasure,
as when Spain has done her own business, in recovering
Florida, she may perhaps think of helping us to recover
Georgia and Carolina. But I own, too, that my expecta
tions of great aids from that nation are not much stronger
than yours. As yet they know us too little, and are jeal
ous of us too much. Their long delay in entering into
treaty with us, in pursuance of the secret article, is to me
a mark of their not being very fond of a connection with
us ; in which I think they much mistake their true inter
est, and neglect securing great and permanent advantages
to their country.
I thank you for your information relating to the bat
teries opened against me in America. I since hear that a
motion has been made in Congress by a Carolina member
for recalling me, but without success ; and that A. Lee has
printed a pamphlet against me. If my enemies would
have a little patience they may soon see me reraoved
without their giving theraselves any trouble, as I am now
75. I know not what they can raean by saying that I
opposed the settling of Mr. Deane's accts. I have no in
terest to induce such opposition, and no opposition has
been raade. The Congress appointed Mr. Johnson of
Nantes to audit them. He refused the service, and Mr.
Deane was till very lately absent.
I am glad you have met with such civUity from the
Marquis d'Yranda. Frora the character Mr. Grand gave
me of him, I wish both you and Mr. Jay may cultivate
his friendship. He has conceived that Mr. Jay is too re
served towards him. Qu'il parait toujours fort boutonne,
was, I think, the expression in a letter Mr. Grand read to
1 These reports were true. See Bryant and Gay, iv. 7.

FRANKLIN AND JAY. 421
me. Tho' I did not sooner answer Mr. Jay's and your
letters relating to your appointments, I took care imme
diately to order the credit desired, and I have since
accepted the bill you mention ; so that I hope you are now
easy as to your particular affairs, which 1 wish you may
always be, enjoying withal every other kind of happiness.
P. S. As I read Spanish a little, I wish you would
send me the Gazette of Madrid by the court couriers, and
any new pamphlets that are curious. There is also a
book that I desire to have, but it being in two volumes
folio, you cannot easUy find an opportunity of sending it.
It is the Bibliotheca Hispana Nicolai Antoni.
Jay to Franklin: Madrid, 21 Febry, 1781.
Dear Sie, — Your favour of the 15 ult. with the pack
ets mentioned in it arrived in good order. I regret your
long silence, though I am strongly tempted to rejoice in the
cause of it. A fit of the gout, it is said, often prolongs life.
Affairs here begin to wear a better aspect. I have been
promised three millions of reals, that is, one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, which, though very inadequate to
the demands upon me, is still a great consolation, es
pecially as men who are at the pains of planting and
watering trees, seldom let them perish for want of a few
drops extraordinary.
A few days after the date of ray last, the Marquis
d'Yranda, without my request, sent me the amount of
your credit on him for the balance of our last year's sal
aries. I thank you for accepting my last bUl. As yet no
letters from Congress later than October have reached me ;
nor do I hear anything of remittances, about which I am
the more anxious, as I wish to replace the sums you have

422 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
been so kind as to advance me, and to avoid similar appli
cations in future. It is hard to be constrained to press
one's friends for aids which it may be inconvenient to
them to afford ; such, however, has been and stiU is my
case. I scarcely know how to desire you to make further
advances on account of our salaries (four months of which
is now due), and yet I find mysfelf under a necessity of
doing it. My expenses here, notwithstanding the most
rigid ceconomy, are very great. . . .
Ever since ray arrival I have been particularly cautious
to avoid offending any person, of any rank, and to en
deavour to please all without becoming the property or
sycophant of any. My disagreeable situation was not
unknown to him,' but the inferences he drew from it
proved fallacious. I never find myself less disposed to
humility or improper compliances than when fortune
frowns. I have uniformly been very civil, though not
confidential towards the Marquis, nor has anything harsh
ever passed between us. He is a man of business, abili
ties, and observation (and what is of much importance
here) of money. He keeps the most, and indeed the only,
hospitable house here, and persons of the first rank and
fashion are found at his table. His consequence at court
is unequal to his desires, and, I think, to his capacity of
being useful. In a word, he had a good share of sagacity,
arabition, and pride. I think it probable that we shall be
yet on more farailiar terms, for though I will never court,
yet I shall with pleasure cultivate his acquaintance.
Carmichael to Franklin. Madrid, 28 February, 1781.
Dear Sir, — The Prince Maceran's courier brought me
your favour of the 27th ulto. I am so sensible of the
^ Jay has been speaking of the Marquis d'Yranda.

LETTER PROM CARMICHAEL. 423
honour and pleasure of your correspondence not to regret
it.' Yet when I tell you with sincerity that every letter
which I receive from you adds to my desire of meriting
your esteem, and consequently that of others, you will not, I
hope, think your indulgence thrown away upon me. I am
much pleased that you have seen the Prince and Princess
of Maceran. They were extremely kind to me, and their
notice was productive of that of others, as well natives as
foreigners of distinction. The manner in which, you in
form me, they are pleased to speak of me is so far flatter
ing as it will convince you that I was neither wanting in
sensibility or attentions in return for this notice. I think I
know so well the characters of your enemies — and indeed I
may venture to call them the eneraies of their country —
that I cannot well be deceived in their plan of operations.
A. Lee is to reside at Philadelphia this winter ; his pam
phlet, altho' I have never seen it, is, as I judge, a prelude
of that he means to prosecute, by a thousand hints and in
sinuations, to new Members of Congress to wound your
reputation. His brother, E. Henry, is endeavoring by
indefatigable pains and a consummate hypocrisy to recover
his consequence in the State of Virginia ; there is a
change in the delegation of the Province of Maryland
favourable to their projects. In Massachusetts, S. A. and
some others have relinquished all apparent power in the
State to preserve it in Congress.
In N. Hampshire new members are introduced, one of
whom quitted the army for this purpose, and is strongly
united to the party which opposes General Washington,
yourself, and, I may say, the liberal men of the Continent.
They will work underground until they think the time
ripe for the denouement of the plot. Will you permit me
to tell you that frequent letters from you to Congress will
1 The sense is imperfectly expressed.

424 FRANIiLIN IN FRANCE.
blast all these fine-spun clash and malicious schemes,
which, if successful, must ultimately tend to the destruc
tion of the confidence that our friends in Europe have
still in us. A part of the articles mentioned in my
letter of the 5th of November is shipped, but not hav
ing yet received the invoices, I cannot precisely tell the
amount, &c. . . .
I have enquired for the Biblioteca Hispania you men
tion. It is very rare, and I am asked 22 pistoles for the
only copy I have found, in 4, and not 2 volumes folio, as
mentioned by you. It will be very easy for me to execute
your orders respecting curious pamphlets, for I have as yet
seen none ; this is not a mushroom soil for brochures. . . .
P. S. March 10th. The Embassador not having
despatched his courier at the time I wrote the above, I
have kept it, in preference to trusting it to the ordinary
conveyance. I have received a letter from EUbridge
Gerry, dated at Marble Head, which gives me a very agree
able account of the situation of our affairs. His letter is
of the 10th of Jan'y. The Boston papers of the 18th of
the same month destroy the hopes our enemies enter
tained in consequence of Eivington's long account of the
revolt and dissatisfaction of part of the Continental
Army. Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 1=' Apr". 1781.
Dear Sir, — Notwithstanding my repeated and warm
est applications to the Count de Florida Bianca, I have as
yet been able to obtain only 24,880 doUars of the 150,000
expressly promised in Deceraber last. He has, on the con
trary, assured me that this promise could not be complied
with in less than six months ; it therefore becarae neces-

JAY TO PRANKLIN. 425
sary to communicate my embarrassments to the Embas
sador of France, and to request his friendly aid and
interposition. You wUl perceive by the inclosed account
that the bills I have accepted and which still remain to
be paid (exclusive of those at two months sight, for the
payment of which you authorized me to draw upon you)
amount to 231,303, of which
89,083 wiU be payable this month,
96,288 in May,
18,027 in June,
9,025 in July,
15,086 in August,
3,794 in September.
231,303
The Embassador was very sensible of the pernicious
consequences which would follow a protest of these bills,
and I must do him the justice to say, interested himself
warmly in endeavouring to extricate me from that neces
sity. He has had different conferences with the Count de
Florida Bianca on the subject, and yesterday he promised
the Embassador positively to pay the 89,083 dollars
which will be due in April in the course of six months, in
six equal payments, reckoning from next May ; but as
this money still left me without relief as to the April bills,
he engaged the Marquis d'Yranda to advance the sums
necessary to pay them, and which I shall accordingly
receive from him. Thus, my dear sir, I have been, as it
were, reprieved, by the kind offices of the French Embas
sador, from the necessity of protesting any of the bills
due this month. But every ensuing month will bring
¦with it new danger and solicitudes, and particularly the
montli of May, in the course of which I shall be called
upon for no less than 96,288 doUars ; I am in a cruel

426 PRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
situation, and without the least expectation of succour
except from France.
I therefore think it necessary to inform you of the deli
cate state of our affairs here, by express, and to intreat
you to use your utmost endeavours to provide me by his
return with funds adequate to the bills accepted, which at
present amount to 142,220, without including either those
which may yet arrive or the 89,083 due this month, and
for the payment of which I expect to reimburse the Mar
quis d'Yranda with the money promised by the Minister
on the monthly payments before mentioned. The Marquis
d'Yranda, whora I saw yesterday at the French Embassa
dor's, has further agreed, at the Embassador's request, to
furnish me with the further sum of 142,220 doll, as I
shall have occasion for it, provided Mr. Grand will accept
his drafts to that amount. It is therefore of the last im
portance that arrangements for this purpose be imme
diately taken with that gentleman, and that I receive by
the return of the express his order on the Marquis to fur
nish me at least with the sum of 142,220 dollars, without
which it will be impossible for me to pay these bills. The
Ambassador will also write by this courier, and I have
little doubt but that your Court will generously interpose
on this as they have on several occasions, to prevent
events prejudicial to America in particular and the com
mon cause in general. I am also constrained to add that
our situation here is daily becoming more disagreeable
frora the want of our salaries ; to be obliged to contract
debts and live on credit is terrible. I have not to this day
received a shilling frora Araerica, and we should indeed
have been greatly distressed had it not have been for your
good offices. Endeavour, I beseech you, to provide us with
supplies on this account, and deliver me if possible from
the many disagreeable sensations which such a variety of

LETTER TO JAY. 427
unpleasant circumstances naturaUy create. Eemember
that new bills are still arriving. Be pleased to communi
cate this letter to Mr. Laurens, who 1 am persuaded will
cheerfully afford you all the aid in his power. I have di
rected the courier to wait your orders, and then to return
without further delay.
P. S. You will perceive from the inclosed account that
I shall be under the necessity of drawing upon you for 10
or 1200 dollars on account of the 25,000 before it will be
possible to hear from you on the subject.
I have requested the favour of your grandson to execute
some little commissions for me, and you wUl obUge me by
furnishing him with money for the purpose.
Franklin to Jay. Passy, April 12, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I have before me the several letters you
have honoured me with, dated Feb. 21, March 11, and
April 1.
I was much pleased to learn that you have obtained a
promise for 150,000 dollars ; your refiection on the conse
quence is just. As this sum must be used in payment of
the bills drawn upon you, and probably no part of it can
be appUed to your subsistance, I desire that you would
draw upon me for half a year of your salaries, at 30 days'
sight ; and for the future, while I stay here, draw quar
terly, until you receive remittances or can obtain a dis
posable grant or loan. I mention this the first thing in
my letter, to make you as soon as possible easy on that
head. I thank you for showing me the copy of the resolution
relating to the Empress of Eussia, tho' I had before re
ceived it, and it was already communicated to her Impe-

428 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
rial Majesty, who I am informed is much pleased with it.
Mr. Dana, lately secretary to Mr. Adams, has received a
commission appointing him minister to that Court. He
is on his way thither incog., and proposes to appear in
that country merely as a traveller, -till a proper time may
arrive for avowing his character. So you will please not
to raention it. Mr. Adaras has, I believe, received a com
mission lately to supply the place of Mr. Laurens in Hol
land. I know not whether he has yet declared it. He
has sorae tirae since opened a loan there, at the house of
Neufville for two millions of florins, — about 4 millions
of livres ; I have not heard with what success, but hope
it wiU fiU.
I have always found Mr. Grand here an able and hearty
friend in our affairs. I am therefore glad that you are be
coming better acquainted with his friend at Madrid, as
together they may on many occasions be more serviceable
to us.
I thank you for communicating to me the letter of the
Secretary of Congress, on our finances. It gives light
which I had not before, and may be useful here.
Negotiations for peace are talked of. You will see all
I know of them in a letter of mine to Congress, which I
leave open for your perusal, and desire you to forward
with your next despatches.' I give you the opportunity of
perusing that letter for another reason : I have in it de
sired a dismission from the service, in consideration of my
age, &c. And I wish you to succeed me here. No copy
of the letter is yet gone from France, and possibly this
which I send you may arrive first ; nor have I mentioned
my intention to anyone here: if therefore the change
would be agreeable to you, you may write to your friends
in Congress accordingly. This thought occurred to me on
1 This letter was dated March 12, 1781. See Sparks, ix; 1.

LETTER TO JAY. 429
hearing from the Princess Masserano, that you and Mrs.
Jay did not pass your time agreeable there ; and I think you
would find this people of a more sociable turn, besides that
I could put you immediately into the society I enjoy here,
of a set of very amiable friends. In this case Mr. Car
michael might succeed you in Spain. I purpose to rec
ommend these changes myself in another letter.
Your express arrived here on Sunday last at 3 o'clock.
I communicated your letter that evening to Mr. Laurens.
We agreed in the necessity of supporting the credit of
Congress by paying the bUls, tho' his zeal for supplying
the army made him feel a reluctance in diminishing the
6 mUlions of livres I had lately granted for that purpose,
and which was either to be laid out in clothing, &c., here,
or drawn for by General Washington, as you will see by
my letter to Congress. I have myself experienced too
much of the distressed situation you are in not to pity
you most sincerely ; I have, therefore, this day authorized
Mr. Grand, in writing, to pay the bills of the Marquis
D'Yranda that may be drawn to furnish you with the
sum of 140,220 dollars. I confide that these drafts wUl
not come but by degrees, as the occasion calls, from your
acceptances between May and September, — my receipts of
money being gradual ; and it may be depended on that
the bills will be duly honoured.
Mr. Laurens is worrying the ministers for more money,
and we shall, I believe, obtain a farther sum. But the
necessary supplies of railitary stores will demand all, and
more than we shall get ; I hope, therefore, that you will
not relax in your applications for aids from Spain, on ac
count of the sums to be furnished you by me, since it wUl
be hardly possible for me to assist you farther. My
grandson will execute with pleasure your coramissions.
Present my respectful compliraents to Mrs. Jay.

430 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
P. S. I inclose you copies of a number of letters lately
taken and brought in here. I wish you could send copies
of them by different conveyances, as the contents of some
are important. Franklin to Jay. Passy, June 30, 1781.
Sir, — You acquaint me that bills have appeared, drawn
on you in March last, and ask very properly if this can be
reconciled to the obvious dictates of prudence and policy.
It cannot. And if you are unable to pay them, they
must be protested ; for it will not be in my power to help
you. Aud I see that nothing will cure the Congress of
this madness of drawing upon the Pump at Aldgate, but
such a proof that its well has a bottom.
Jay to Franklin. Madrid, 13 July, 1781.
Deae Sie, — I have received your favour respecting the
Pump at Aldgate.
I have since (two days ago) received letters from Con
gress assuring rae that no further bills shall be drawn
upon me.
These despatches have given me so much business that
I ara obliged to desire Mr. Carmichael to write you the
news, and to assure you without further addition to this
letter, that I am most smcerely, your aff. obliged friend
and servant. Jay to Franklin. July [?J, 1781.
... I cannot forbear considering the approaching win
ter as a very critical season. It is said that Eussia and
the Emperor have offered their mediation, and that it wUl

JAY TO FRANKLIN. 431
be accepted. It is further said that France wishes for
peace. For my own part I fear that France has very lit
tle to expect from the friendship of these mediators, and
unless appearances deceive me, every nation in Europe,
except Prussia, wish better to England than to France.
It appears to me expedient to delay the progress of this
mediation, and in the meantime to endeavour strenuously
to form a close defensive alliance between France, Spain,
HoUand, and America. If France and Spain could be
prevaUed upon to adopt this idea speedily and heartily, I
am persuaded that the Dutch might, in their present tem
per, and to obtain certain guarantees, easily be brought
into the measure. Such a quadruple alliance, followed by
a vigorous campaign, could give us a peace worth our ac
ceptance. As to the present campaign, I do not expect
great things from it. My expectations from the expedi
tion against New York are far from sanguine.
I wish to see some great stroke struck, some great plan
wisely concerted, and vigorously executed. Had a French
fleet of decided superiority to the enemy, been on our
coast early in the spring, and co-operated with General
Washington thro'out the suraraer, Halifax, New York,
and Charlestown would before winter have changed mas
ters, and then we should have been ripe for peace.
As to this Court, I do not apprehend that they are
tired of the war, or that they have the least objection to
another campaign. They want Jamaica, they want Gib
raltar, and Mahon would be a trump card in their hands.
If their activity was equal to their perseverance, and they
possessed the talent of drawing forth and using all their
resources, they would be very formidable. But take
Spain as she is. If she could once be prevailed upon to
pass the Eubicon, that is, to acknowledge and engage to
support our independence, she would give Great Britain a

432 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
mortal wound, and render essential service to the com
mon cause. How far France views the affair in the same
Ught I know not, nor can I clearly comprehend the policy
of the system she seems to hold relative to it.
The Embassador is well attached to the American cause,
and [holds] such proper views of its iraportance, as well as
the manner of supporting it, that I have often wished him
at Versailles. There is, nevertheless, a sort of mysterious
reserve about him upon this subject ; nor am I informed
whether any, and what steps have been taken by him and
his Court to influence Spain to an alliance with us. I
have, however, full confidence in the friendship of France,
and the late aids she has granted to America give us
reason to rely on the King and his principal ministers.
There is some reason to hope that this Court begins to
think more seriously of a treaty with us than heretofore.
A few weeks will enable me to judge better of their views.
In politics I depend upon nothing but facts, and therefore
never risque deceiving myself or others by a reliance on
professions which may or raay not be sincere.
The Duke of Crillon is still at sea.' I am tempted to
wish that expedition had not been undertaken. If it fails
it will do harm, and I see but little prospect of its suc
ceeding. ... As I have reason to think this letter wUl go
unopened to your hands, I have written with less reserve
than usual Franklin to Jay. Passy, Aug. 20, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I have before me several of your late let
ters, which, though not formally, have been substantially
answered, by the payment of your bUls.
' The allusion is to the attack on Minorca, which succeeded the next
winter. Crillon was made Duke of Mahon.

PRANKLIN TO JAY. 433
I got our banker to examine the Marquis's account,
who explained it to me, and satisfied me that it was right.
There are intricacies in the affair of exchange which
neither you nor I well understand, and we are therefore
under necessity of placing confidence somewhere. If you
are still in doubt about any particular, I will get hira
to give me his explanation in writing, and send it to
you. We have for convenience in accounts, generally reck
oned louis as pounds sterling, the difference being a trifie.
It is, however small, against the Congress, and therefore
what we have no right to from their expressed allowance.
At the final settlement of our accounts, it will be easy to
give Congress credit in one article, thus, for the difference
between louis received and pounds sterling at — p louis on
pounds sterling. In truth, I do not exactly know what
the difference is, and I am told it varies with the
exchange. I have taken to my account the fifty louis you left in
my hands. My grandson, I suppose, informs you what
he has expended by your orders.
In yours of the 31 of May, you complain of the want
of regular intelligence. I sympathize because I suffer
with you. I receive indeed, a number of letters from Mr.
Lovell, but they are very short, and mostly to acquaint me
that he cannot write fully, because the Committee of Cor
respondence are not easily got together. To many of my
letters I have never received any answer. The Congress
have wisely put their finances into the hands of one intel
ligent person ; I wish they would do the sarae with their
correspondence, by appointing a single secretary for for
eign affairs. I know nothing of what passes in America,
but what I learn from their newspapers or the English,
or from the ministers here, who are more early informed
28

434 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
than I am, even of what relates to myself ; and it was
from M. de Vergennes that 1 first learned the Congress
had refused to grant my request for dismission from their
service.' In yours of May 31, you informed me that bills upon
you had lately arrived, dated in March, and I answered
that if you could not pay them they must be protested, as
it would not be in my power to help you. I had not
then time to give you the reasons, which are, that this
Court, being fatigued and displeased by my repeated ap
plications for more raoney, to pay new and unexpected
deraands of bills, drawn not only on me, but on you, and
Mr. Laurens, and Mr. Adams, &c., had ordered their min
ister at Philadelphia to remonstrate against this irregular
proceeding, and the Congress had promised him not to
draw any more. This was, I think, in March, and on
being helped out of ray last difficulty, I have promised
M. de Vergennes not to accept any bills drawn on me
after the first of AprU, if such there should be. And he
has acquainted me explicitly that if I do accept such bills,
I am not to expect any assistance from him towards pay
ing him. . .
I have just received a Commission joining yourself, Mr.
President Laurence, Govr. Jefferson, and me, with Mr.
Adaras, and directing us to repair to such place ^ as may
be appointed, for conferences upon peace, and to negotiate
and agree upon the terms in behalf of the Congress ; also
' The letter of Huntington, the President of Congres.s, announcing this
refusal to Franklin, was dated June 19, in answer to his of March 12. -^
Dip. Corr., iii. 220.
^ It was not until the next summer, after the North Ministry had fallen
in England, that Franklin, Jay, and Adams met at Paris, to negotiate tbe
treaty of peace. Laurens only reached Paris in time to sign the prelim
inary articles. Jefferson remained throughout in America.

FRANKLIN TO JAY. 435
another commission, empowering us to accept in behalf of
Congress the mediation of the Emperor of Gerraanv and
Empress of Eussia. These commissions are accorapanied
by a set of instructions. If you have not received the
same let me know, and I will send a courier with copies,
though the occasion does not at present seem pressing.
Franklin to Jay. Versailles, Sept. 4, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I received a few days since a very obliging
letter from you. I have it not with me here, and therefore
cannot mention the date. I shall answer it particularly
by the next opportunity. This serves chiefly to cover the
communication of two letters which I have received, one
from Mr. Adams, relative to the proposed mediation, the
other from some merchants who possess Congress drafts
of a late date. I have declared my opinion of those
drawn on Mr. Laurens, that we have nothing to do with
them, and that I can give no expectations of their being
paid. I believe I sent you a copy of M. le Comte de
Vergennes's letter, in which I am explicitly told that I
shall not be assisted to pay any drafts made after the 1st
of April. You will see that the promise of drawing no
more upon you has not been kept, and you will judge
for yourself whether it will be right for you to accept
these new bills ; but I ought to acquaint you that I see
no prospect at present of my being able to help you in
paying them. I just now hear that Mr. Adams is very ill.
I think it would be of service if you and I could meet.
Cannot you make a trip to Paris, or will you meet me at
Bordeaux ? Mr. Laurens is not likely to be at liberty to
join us, and it is perhaps a question whether Mr. Jefferson
will cross the seas, — he refused the appointment of com-

436 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
ing with me, — and I shaU not wonder if Mr. Adams should
return before the treaty commences; in which case the
business wUl rest much with us two. I have many rea
sons for desiring to converse with you, besides the pleasure
it would give me.

CHAPTEE XXIL
the year of YORKTOWN.
A S the year 1781 begins, which was, practically, to
-^-^ close the contest in America, we have such a journal
as Franklin kept admirably well, — enough to show the
nature of his daily life, and enough to make us regret
that there is no more. But with him, alas, as with all
other men in affairs, the great rule of journal-vsTiting
' applied which John Adams laid down so well, — that one
keeps a journal when he has little or nothing to tell;
and when one has much to do and to tell, he has no time
for his journal.
The indorsement on this manuscript, which has never
been printed tUl now, is simply
Part of a Journal.
Dec. 18, 1780. Gave an order to Major Broughton of
Marblehead, a returning prisoner, for 5 louis, to help him
down to a seaport.
Certified Capt. Jasme La Cause's commission and other
American papers.
Wrote to Mr. Hodgson, London, that I had received his
account of the expenditure of the 100£ on the prisoners,
and promised him 150£ more.
Gave a letter of recommendation of I'Abbe Eobin to
Mr. WUliams of Boston ; and sent it after him by an officer,
who is to go if he can in the "Ariel." Sent by the same
person some newspapers to Congress.

438 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Consented, in conversation with Mr. Grand, that Mr.
WUliams, on being put in possession of the policies of
insurance of the ship "Marquis de la Fayette," for 200,000
livres, should draw on me forthe freight to that amount.
Mr. Chaumont writes, pressing an advance of the money
on security. •
Eeply'd that if the security was such as the Congress
banker approved of, I would advance the sum.
Heard that transports are taking up here for America,
and that bank bills in England had been counterfeited to
a great amount.
Dec. 19. Went to Versailles. At M. Vergennes much
was said to me in favour of M. de Chaumont's demand.
It was owned that he had been wrong in demanding as a
right what he ought to have asked as a favour ; but that
affairs among friends should not be traijsacted with rigour,
but araicably and with indulgent allowances. I found I
had been represented as unkindly exact in the business.
I promised to do all in my power to make it easy to
M. de Chaumont. He carae to me in the evening after
my return, — with much heat against M. Grand, which I
endeavoured to allay, as it was really very unjust. Offered
him to accept his bills drawn on me, as the operation thro'
Mr. Wms., at Nantes, would take too much tirae to suit
his exigencies. He said he would consult with his banker.
Exclaimed much against the judgment at Nantes, &c.
Eequested Mr. Grand to transfer out of the public cash
the amount of the several balances of my private accounts
with the Congress, and give me credit for the same in my
particular account.
Dec. 20, 1780. Certified, or as they call it here legal
ised, the papers relative to the taking a Portuguese ship
by the " Mars," of Boston, and sent them to the Port'
Ambassr.

FRANKLIN'S JOURNAL. 439
Accepted M. de Chaumont's drafts, dated Nov. 10,
for the 200,000 Is. freight at 4 usances, and he gave me
his engagement to return the money in case the ship
" Marquis de la Fayette " did not arrive at I'Orient to take
in our goods.
Prince de Montbarry, Ministre de la Guerre, resigns.
His successor not yet known.
Dec 21. Wrote to M. de Chaumont pressingly for his
account with the Congress, that it may be settled now
Mr. Deane is here. M. de Segur succeeds the P. de
Montbarry. Dec. 22. Eeceived an account between Mr. Chaumont
and Mr. Deane, which includes Congress article [mutUated]
copy it, as it raust be sent to Mr. Deane.
Dec. 23. Hear by letters from I'Orient of the depart
ure of Capt. Jones in the " Ariel " the 18 th.
Dec 24. Eeceived Goulade and Moylan's account of
fresh expenses, upwards of 20,000 Is., by Capt. Jones.
2 Young Englishmen, Scot and WUliams, would go to
America ; discouraged them.
Dec 25. Gave an order to Mr. Grand to remit 150£
sterling to Mr. Wm. Hodgdon, London, for the relief of
American prisoners.
Eeceived inforraation from a good hand, that the G. Pen-
sionaire had been with Sir J. Y.,' and acquainted him that
an answer would be given to his Memorials, but that it
could not be precipitated contrary to the Constitution ; it
was necessary to have the advice of the provinces. The
S. Ht.2 has behaved well in the resolutions for arming.
The Duke A. G. C, the Pensionary of Amsterdam, a brave
steady man.
Dec. 26. Went to VersaiUes to assist at the ceremony
1 Sir Joseph Yorke, English Minister in Holland.
* Stadtholder.

440 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
of condolence ou the death of the Empress Queen.' All
the foreign Ministers in deep mourning, flopp'd hats, and
crape, long black cloaks, &c. The Nuncio pronounced
the compliments to the King, and afterwards to the Queen
in her apartments. M. de Vergennes told me of the war
declared by England against Holland Visit at the new
Ministers of War and Marine; neither of them at home.
Aluch fatigued by the going twice up and down the palace
stairs, from the tenderness of my feet and weakness of
my knees ; thereupon did not go the rounds. Declined
dining with Mr. de A^'ergennes, as inconsistent with my
present mode of living, which is simple tUl I have re
covered my strength. Took a partridge with M. de
Chaumont. No news yet of Count d'Estaing.
Dec 27. Wednesday. Much talk about the new war.
Hear of the hurricane in the West Indies. English fleet
under Adm. Darby put into port. Wrote to J. Williams,
at Nantes, to send advice to Araerica by every possible
opportunity of the English declaration against Holland.
Dec 28. Thursday. Mr. Grand had some time since
carried an advance of my salary for one quarter 15,000 Is.
out of the public monies, to my private account ; and I
afterwards gave him a receipt for that sum, which should
have been mentioned before.
Dec 29. Friday. Went by particular invitation to
the Sorbonne, to an Assembly of the Faculty of Physick
in the College Hall, where we had the'^o^'e of my friend
M. Dubourg, and other pieces. Suffer'd by the cold.
M. de Chaumont has [mutilated] J. WilUams's draft on
me for 48,000 Is. on account of the Cloth, but declined,
I know not why, presenting it. I ought to give him a
[mutilated]. Dec. 30. Saturday. Breakfasted at Mad. Brillon's.
^ Maria Theresa died November 29.

FRANKLIN'S JOURNAL. 441
Eeceived of M. Grand 4,800 Is. on private account, which
was put into the hands of W. T. Franklin to pay bills and
family expenses.
Dec. 31. Sunday. Much company at dinner ; among
others M. Perrier and M. Wilkinson, ingenious mechan
icians, M. Eomaine, of Hackensack in the Jerseys.' No
news. Jan. 1, 1781. Monday. News that an expedition is on
foot against Jersey and Guernsey ; some frigates, with
transports and 2,500 men, having sailed from GranvUle
the 26th past.
Mr. Dana is returned from Holland, which he left the
beginning of last month. Mr. Adams remains there, who
writes me, Dec. 1, that there is little or no hopes of a loan.^
Jan. 2. Tuesday. Went to Versailles. No Foreign
Ministers there but one or two ; the rest having been
there yesterday. Visited the new Secretary at War who
was very polite. Wrote at M. de Castries's, Minister of the
Marine. Not strong enough to go up to M. de Maurepas.
Visited M. le Eoy, and dined with M. and Made, de
Eenneval.^ News of disappointment of the Jersey expedi
tion. Wind and tide contrary [mutilated] the offices in
part. Jan. 3. Wednesday. Letters from Holland. The
Dutch seem not to have known on the 28th past that
war was actually declared on them. Informed here that
the English Court had sent copies of the papers taken
with Mr. Laurens to the Northern Courts with aggravated
complaints against the States General ; and that the
States had also sent their justification. . Important news
expected by the return of the courier.
1 Theodorie Dirck Romayne ; afterwards minister at Schenectady, a
founder of Union College.
2 Dip. Coit. v., 382. ' Gerard de Rayneval.

442 PRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
Jan. 4. Tltursday. Learnt that the States had given
orders for building 100 ships of war. Gave an order on
Mr. Grand on paying Sabbatier's balance, the sum 3,526 Is.
18. 6., being for carriage of the clothing.
Jan. 5. Friday. Signed recommendation, to the Min
isters, of M. de la Neuville, officer formerly in the
American service.
Jan. 6. Saturday. Accepted a nuraber of loan office
bills this day, and every day of the past week. No news
yet of Count D'Estaing, which begins to give great uneasi
ness, as his fleet was not provided for so long a voyage.
Jan. 7. Sunday. News of the safe arrival of Count
D'Estaing at Brest. More accounts of the terrible hurri
cane in the West Indies. Accepted a vast number of
loan office bills. Some of the new drafts begin to appear.
Jan. 8. Monday. Accepted many bills. Hear from
Holland that thej^ had but just received news of the
declaration of war against them ; and that the English
church was burnt at the Hague, unknown by what
means. Jan. 9. Tuesday. Count D'Estaing arrives at Passy.
Hear of ships arrived at L'Orient from America. No
letters corae up. Indisposed, and did not go to Court.
Jan. 10. Wednesday. Letters arrived from Philadel
phia. Eeports there of advantages gained to the south
ward ; and that Leslie had quitted Virginia. Informed
that my recaU is to be moved in Congress. News that
the troops have made good their landing in Jersey, and
taken all but the Castle.
Jan. 11. Thursday. Gave Mr. Dana copies of the
letters between M. de Sartine and me concerning Mr.
Dalton's affair. Proposed to him to examine the public
accounts now, while Mr. Deane is here, which he de
clined.

IC- /
si-^

FRANKLIN'S JOURNAL. 443
Jan. 12. Friday. Sign acceptation of many bUls ; they
come thick.
Jan. 13, 1781. Saturday. Learn that there is a
violent commotion in Holland.
That the people are violently ex
asperated against the English, —
have thrown some into the canals ;
and those merchants of Amster
dam who have been known to fa
vour them dare not appear in the
streets. That the return of the
Empress to Eussia brings good ac
counts of the favourable disposi
tion of the Empress. d-estaing.
Jan. 14. Sunday. Mr. Grand acquaints me that he
learns from Mr. Cotin, Banker of Mr. de Chaumont, that
the " Marquis de la Fayette " will be stopped by creditors
of M. Chaumont, unless 50,000 crowns are advanced, and
submitted it to my consideration whether I had not bet
ter buy the ship. Vexed with the long delay on so
many frivolous pretences, and seeing no end to them,
and fearing to embarrass myself still farther in affairs
that I do not understand, I took at once the resolution
of offering our contract for that ship to the govern
ment, to whom I hoped it might be agreeable to have
her as a transport, as our goods would not fill her, she
being gauged at 1200 tons. Accordingly I requested
Mr. Grand to go to Versailles, and propose it to M. de
Vergennes. Jan. 15. Monday. Signed an authority to Mr. Bond-
field to administer the oath of allegiance to the United
States, to Mr. Vaughan.
Accepted above 200 bills, some of them new.
Mr. Grand calls in his return from Versailles, and

444 PRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
acquaints me that Mr. Vergennes desires the proposition
to be reduced to writing. Mr. Grand had accordingly
made a draft, which he presented for my approbation.
Jan. 16. Tuesday. Went to VersaUles, and performed
all the ceremonies, tho' with difficulty, my feet being still
tender. Left the pacquets for Mr. Jay with M. de Eenneval,
who promised to send them with the next courier.
Presented Mr. Grand's paper to Mr. de Vergennes, who
told me he would try to arrange that matter for me. I
acquainted Mr. de Chaumont with the step, who did not
seem to approve of it.
Heard of the iU success of the troops in Jersey, who
were defeated the same day they landed, — 150 killed, 200
wounded, the rest taken prisoners.
Jan. 17, 1781. Wednesday. My birthday [crossed
out]. Accepted raany bills and wrote sorae letters.
Jan. 18, '81. Thursday. Mr. Grand inforras rae that
he has been at Versailles, and spoke with M. de Vergennes
and M. de Eenneval [Eayneval]. That the Minister
declined the proposition of taking the vessel on account
of the government, but kindly offered to advance rae the
150,000 Is. if I chose to pay that sum. He brought me
also the project of an engagement drawn up by M. Cottin,
by which I was to promise that payment, and he and Co.
were to permit the vessel to depart. He left this paper
for my consideration.
Jan. 19. Friday. Considering this demand of Messrs.
Cottin and Jauge as an imposition, I determined not to
subrait to it, and wrote my reasons.
Believed an American captain with 5 guineas, to help
him to rOrient.
Jan. 20. Saturday. Gave a pass to a Bristol mer
chant to go to Spain. He was recommended to me as

FRANKLIN'S JOURNAL. 445
having been a great friend to American prisoners. His
name [blank].
Jan. 21. Sunday. Mr. Jauge comes to talk with me
about the ship ; and intimated that if I refused to advance
the 150,000 Is. I should not only be deprived of the ship,
but lose the freight I had advanced. I absolutely refused
to comply.
Jan. 22. Monday. Mr. Grand informs me that Mr.
Williams had drawn on me for 25,000 livres to enable
him to pay returned acceptances of M. de Chaumont. I
ordered payment of his drafts. Eeceived a letter from Mr.
Williaras, and wrote an answer ; which letters explained
this affair. Letter from Mr. Chaumont informing me he
had received remittances from America. I congratulated
hira. Jan. 23. Tuesday. Went to Court, and performed all
the round of levees, tho' with much pain and difficulty,
thro' the feebleness of my knees. Mr. Vergennes is ill,
and unable to hold long conferences. I dined there and
had some conversation with Mr. Eenneval, who told me I
had misunderstood the proposition of advancing the
150,000 livres, or it had not been rightly represented to
me. That it was not expected of me to advance more for
M. de Chaumont ; that the advance was to have been made
with M. Vergennes, &c. I see clearly, however, that the
paper offered me to sign by Messrs. Cottin and Co. would
have engaged me to be accountable for it. Had some
conference with the Nuncio, who seemed inclined to
encourage American vessels to come to the Ecclesiastical
State, acquainting me they had two good ports to receive
us, Civita Vecchia and Ancona, where there was a good
deal of business done, and we should find good vente for
our fish, &c. Hear I [blank].
Jan. 24. Wednesday. A great number of bUls. Visit

446 PRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
at M. de C.'s in the evening ; found him cold and dry.
Eeceive a note from Mr. Searle, acquainting me with his
arrival [or dismissal ?] from Holland on Saturday last.
Jan. 25. Thursday. Hear that M. de Chaumont pays
again, being enabled by his remittances [blank] bills.
Holland begins to move, and gives great encouragement
[blank]. Mr. de L. comes to see me, and deraands
breakfast ; cheerful and frank. Authorize Mr. Grand to
pay the balance of Messrs. Jay and Carmichael's salaries ;
and Mr. Digges's bills.
Jan. 26. Friday. Went to Paris to visit Princess
Dashkaw ; ' not at home. Visit Prince and Princess
Masserano. He informs me that he
despatches a messenger [to Madrid] on
Tuesday. Visit Duke de Eochefoucault
and Made, la Duchesse D'Enville.
Visit Messrs. Dana and Searle ; not at
home. Leave invitations to dine with
me on Sunday. Visit Comte D'Estaing ;
not at home. Mr. Turgot ; not at home.
Accept bills.
Jan. 27. Saturday. Write to Ma- ^"^ bqchefoucauld.
drid and answer all Mr. Jay's and Mr. Carmichael's letters
received during my illness.
Jan. 28. Sunday. Mr. Dana comes ; Mr. Searle
excuses himself. Invite him for Tuesday.
Jan. 29, 1781. Monday. Hear of the arrival of the
" Duke of Leinster," with Mr. Eoss, at Philadelphia, which
gives me great pleasure, as she had much cloth, &c., for
the Congress. Despatched the letters for Madrid.
Here the Journal abruptly stops. It illustrates the
difficulties of Franklin's position, which always had the
' Katharina Eomanouyna Daschkova.

BECCARIA AND FOUENIER. 447
commercial entanglements belonguig to a consulate,
mixed in with the financial embarrassments of a bank
rupt nation, and the diplomatic difficulties which properly
belonged to his station. The letters which follow will
explain themselves, or are explained by the Journal.
Franklin to Bev'd P^re Beccaria.^
Passy, near Paris, Feby. 19, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I received lately, through the hands of your
ambassador, the several ingenious pieces of your writing,
which you did me the honour to send rae. At present I
ara so engaged in public affairs that I cannot give the
attention I wish to philosophical subjects, which used to
afford me so much pleasure. It grieves me to hear of the
long continuance of your illness. Science suffers with
you. I beg leave to recommend the bearer, M. Steinsky,
to your civilities. He is professor of Physics at Prague.
With great and unalterable esteem,
I have the honour to be, Eeverend and Dear Sir,
Your most obedient and most hurable servant,
B. Feanklin.
Franklin to Mr. Fournier, jeune?
A Passy, ce 2 Mars, 1781.
En examinant les matrices. Monsieur, je ne trouve pas
celui que du (p) dans le mot capable de votre epreuve.
II y'manque aussi une longue s & une longue / & la point,
1 6. B. Beccaria, the electrician, — not the moralist, who was C. B.
Beccaria. Franklin himself had translated Beccaria's book, " Dell'
Electrisrao Artifizialo."
' We print this letter as an illustration, from a large number, of the
interest with which Franklin kept up the private printing-office at Passy,
the work of which is now so much valued by collectors.

448 PRANKLIN m FRANCE.
la virgule, & I'apostrophe, &c. S'il vous voulez me les
envoyer, vous m'obUgerez. J'ai I'honneur d'etre.
It has been elsewhere observed that Franklin took a
great interest in the new contrivance, introduced in Eng
land, for copying manuscripts upon thin paper by a copying-
press. He had sent one of these machines to Turgot, the Econ
oraist. After the intrigue which removed him frora the
French cabinet, just before Franklin's arrival in France, he
lived in retirement until his death, on the 20th of March,
1781. Franklin had resumed his early friendly relations
with hira, and it will be reraerabered that to Turgot we owe
the line, " Eripuit coelo fulraen, sceptruraque tyrannis."
Here is a note to his brother, regarding one of the copy
ing-machines. Other letters show that, at the same time,
he introduced the machine to Jefferson at home, and
into the foreign office of the Congress. The original note
is in French. Franklin to the Marquis Turgot. Passy, April 25, 1781.
Monsieur le Maequis : — I have the honor to send you
by the bearer a book which belongs to the library of your
brother, who had the kindness to lend it to me.
A little before his death, I ordered in London for hira
a machine of a new invention for copying letters or other
MSS. It was taken to his house, and placed in the
room next that where he slept. As I have never been
paid for this machine, and as it may be of no use to you,
as I should, also, he glad to oblige one of my friends by
giving it to him, — I will ask you to be kind enough to
order that it raay be sent, with the accessories, to M.

EXPERIMENTS WITH INK. 449
I'Abb^ Morellet, Batiment neuf des Feuillants, Eue St.
Honor4 Accessories to the Press.
A ream of very thin silk paper.
4 sheets of oiled paper.
4 parcels of powder to make the ink.
2 bottles.
[A bit] of green woolen cloth.
Several sheets of card board and a little English book
with directions for using the machine.
As an illustration of personal habits, — of hand, and in
deed of thought, — it may be well to print here, from a sep
arate scrap of paper, the words which came to Franklin's
mind one day, when he was trying experiments with copy
ing ink. The slip, in his own writing, has been preserved.
But the reader will observe that if any thing can be
written without thought that it is to be printed a century
after, it is such a bit of experimental writing.
July, 11, 1781, at noon.
My ink with a little loaf sugar.
So the pure limpid stream, etc.
So when some angel, by divine command.
With rising tempests shakes a guilty land
(Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past).
Calm and serene he drives the furious blast.
And pleased the Almighty's orders to perform.
Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm.
The same ink without sugar.
It must be so. Plato, thou reasonest well.
Else, whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire.
This longing after an Eternity ? Or whence this secret dread
Of falling into nought ? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction ?
'T is the divinity that stirs within us ;
'T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter.
29

450 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
On the 17th of March, by appointment with Vergennes,
Franklin met him, for an explicit understanding what
aids Congress might expect from France in the course of
the year 1781. Vergennes assured him anew of the
King's good-will, but said that Franklin himself must
know how great were their expenses ; these would prevent
the loan of twenty-five million livres which had been
asked for. Nor could the King permit an American loan
to be sought in the general market in his dominions, be
cause such a loan might prejudice those he was himself
under the necessity of obtaining. But, as an evidence of
the King's friendship, he had determined to give the
States six raillion livres, not as a loan but as a free gift.
This was to be independent of the three millions which
Franklin had before obtained to pay the drafts for interest,
&c., for the coming year.
In sending news so favorable to Huntington, the Presi
dent of Congress, Franklin took the occasion to offer his
own resignation. The reader has seen that he had learned
from America, on the 10th of January, that his recall was
to be moved for in Congress. Such was one result of the
feeling that he was not up to the highest mark in pressing
France to the support of America, — or that he was in
French interest, rather than American. But in his letter,'
there is no sign of disappointment or bad temper. He
pleads his age, his late Ulness, and the confining pressure
of the public business. "The constant attendance pre
vents my taking the air and exercise which my annual
journeys formerly used to afford rae, — and which contrib
uted rauch to the preservation of my health." At the same
[time] he proposes to remain in Europe until the peace, —
perhaps till his death,^ and offers any service he can render
^ Sparks, ix. 4.
2 Oddly enough, Mr. Sparks calls this a request to retum home,
which is exactly what it is not.

LETTER TO ADAMS. 451
to his successor. He stiU hoped for the arrival of Mr. Wil
liam Palfrey, the consul-general, whose unexplained loss at
sea deprived the national service of a very valuable officer.
In a letter of this time to Mr. Carmichael, who had'
written from Madrid to warn him against American
intrigues and enemies, he says : " Having in view at
present no other point to gain but that of rest, I do not
take their malice so much amiss, as it may further ray
project, and perhaps be some advantage to you. Lee
and Izard are open, and so far honorable enemies ; the
Adamses, if enemies, are more covered.' I never did
any of them the least injury, and can conceive no other
source of their malice but envy."
This letter to Congress brought the opposition in Phila
delphia to an end, so far that Congress, as we have seen,
refused to receive his resignation, and named him as
one of the five commissioners for negotiating a peace ;
in which capacity he served, as the reader knows. We
reserve to a separate chapter notes of the various pro
posals of peace, by mediation, — and by direct overtures
from agents of Lord North, or other members of the
Administration in England.
When Congress learned that Mr. Laurens had been
taken prisoner, they appointed Mr. Adaras, already in
Holland, to conduct their negotiations there. Mr. Adams
had been disappointed in his hopes for opening a loan in
Holland. He did not, at first, get money enough to pay
the expenses of the proposals. In the following letter
Franklin acknowledges Mr. Adams's notification of his
new commission. Passy, May. 11, 1781.
Sir, — I am honoured with your excellency's letter of
the 27th past, acquainting me with your appointraent as
1 Mr. Sparks omitted these names.

452 PRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Minister Plenipotentiary to the States General, on which
please to accept my corapliments and best wishes for
success in your negotiations.
We have just received advice here, that M. la Motte
Piquet met with the English convoy of Dutch ships taken
at St. Eustatia, and has retaken 21 of them. The men-
of-war that were with them escaped, after making the
signal for every one to shift for himself.
A vessel is arrived at L'Orient from PhUadelphia which
brings letters for the Court down to the 25th of March.
Mine are not yet come up. M. de Eenneval,' from whom
I had all the above intelligence, tells me they contain no
news of importance. I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
Franklin to Francis Dana. Passy, May 11, 1781.
Dear Sir, — I received your favour of the 1st instant,
and imraediately applied to Mr. Grand, our banker, to
furnish you with the credit you desired at Amsterdam.
He acquainted me that having a correspondent at Peters
burgh, could give you a direct credit there ; and that the
Chancellor, Count Osterraan, being an old friend of his, he
would write and recommend you. I accepted his proposi
tion of a direct credit at Petersburgh, supposing that
would be more convenient to you than receiving the
money in Holland ; but I declined his letter to Count
d'Osterman till you should desire it, as you did not propose
immediately to assume your public character ; and I
requested him to recoraraend you for the present only to
his banker, as a gentleraan travelling for curiosity, &c.
Mr. Grand writes to you by this post, and sends his
letter of credit. On second thoughts, if you should have
occasion for a part of the money in Holland, you can
1 Rayneval, — always so spelt by Franklin.

LETTER TO HANCOCK. 453
draw on me for the sum you want, and I will honour
your bUl ; in which case you will receive so much less on
the Petersburgh credit. I should have answered your
letter sooner if the course of the posts had permitted
it. But you know the letters received here from
HoUand on Monday, cannot be answered tUl the Friday
following. I most heartUy wish you a good journey, and all the
success imaginable in your negotiation, — being with great
esteem. Dear Sir, &c., &c.
Franklin to " His Excell'y, John Hancock, Esq., Govr. of
the Mass. Bay." Passy, May 14, 1781.
Sir, — Permit me to repeat my congratulations on your
election to the Government of your country, and my best
wishes for your health and happiness.
A privateer of this country having taken an English
packet bound to New York, with her despatches, some of
which may be of particular use to your State, that your
excellency should see, as they relate to the enemy's posts
and proposed operations in its neighborhood, and others,
which tho' of a more general nature are interesting to
Massachusetts Bay as a part of the whole United States,
I have had copies taken of them for you, which I enclose.
Other copies have gone by different conveyances to
Congress. With great and sincere esteem and respect, I have the
honour to be, sir. Your ExceUency's, &c.
1 Hancock was the first Governor of Massachusetts. Franklin, or his
clerk, does not observe that the word "Bay" has been dropped from
the name of the newly organized Commonwealth.

454 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
Franklin to Col. John Laurens. Passy, May 17, 1781.
Dear Sie, — Inclosed is the order you desire for
another hundred louis. Take my blessing with it, and
my prayers that God may send you safe and well home
with your cargoes. I would not attempt persuading you
to quit the military Une, because I think you have the
qualities of mind and body that promise your doing great
service, and acquiring honour in that line. Otherwise I
should be happy to see you again here as my successor,
having sometirae since written to Congress requesting to
be relieved, and believing, as I firmly do, that they could
not put their affairs in better hands. I shall ever be.
Most affectionately yours, &c.
On the 19th of May, Franklin had closed a letter to
John Adams by this rather significant paragraph : " Your
ExceUency has done me the honor of announcing to me
your appointment. I hope soon to return the compli
ment by informing you of my demission. I find the
various employments of merchant, banker, judge of admir
alty, consul, &c., &c., besides my Ministerial function, too
multifarious and too heavy for my old shoulders, and
have therefore requested Congress that I may be relieved ;
for in this point I agree even with my enemies, that
another may easily be found." As he supposed by this
time that John Adams and Samuel Adams were among
these " enemies," this parting shaft was aimed home.
Questions regarding the expenditure of the King's gift
of six million livres began to arise immediately. The
French government were not pleased when they learned
that Col. John Laurens and others proposed to spend
much of it in Holland. They intended apparently that it
should be spent in America, and had been careful, indeed.

JOHN LAURENS. 465
to stipulate that it should be confided there to Washing
ton, or spent on his order. Vergennes says distinctly
that he does not mean that Committees of Congress shall
finger it. Certainly it was not very gracious in the crowd
of American agents, when Franklin had obtained this
timely gift, to say that they would not spend it in the
purchase of French stores, but would go with it to Hol
land, where they could use it more to their advantage.
This is, however, what they did say. Vergennes writes a
very tart letter on this subject. " I do not know whether
Mr. Laurens purchased the clothing in Holland on ac
count of Congress ; I only know (and you were inforraed
of it at the same time) that this officer was to employ for
his purchases in France part of the six millions, and that
the residue of this sum was to be sent to America." In
point of fact, Colonel Laurens did take with him to Amer
ica two mUlion and a half of the six mUUons ; one and
a half million was sent to Holland, and the reraainder
(and raore) was spent in Paris for stores. FrankUn re
sented the suggestion made by WiUiara Jackson, an aid
of General Lincoln's who had accompanied Colonel Laur
ens to Europe, that Laurens had obtained the gift of the
six milUon livres. " The six million," as he wrote to
Jackson, " was a free gift from the King's goodness (not
a loan to be repaid with interest), and was obtained by
my application, long before Colonel Laurens's arrival.
What Colonel Laurens did obtain, — and a great service I
hope it wUl prove, — was a loan upon interest of ten mil
lions, to be borrowed upon the credit of this court in
Holland. I have not heard that this loan has yet pro
duced anything, and therefore I do not know that a single
livre exists, or has existed in Europe, of his procuring for
the States. On the contrary, he and you have drawn
from me considerable sums, — as necessary for your ex-

456 PRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
penses, — and he left me near forty thousand livres to
pay for the " AlUance," and moreover engaged me in a debt
in HoUand, which I understood might amount to about
fifteen thousand pounds sterling, and which you con
trived to make fifty thousand pounds." '
This letter was written to Colonel Jackson at Amster
dam, and must have shown to him and to Mr. Adams,
who was also there, that Franklin, while good-natured,
understood his rights, and knew what his responsibUities
were. In the midst of these complications came the news
that the great shipment of twenty-eight cannon, with
large quantities of saltpetre and gunpowder, with supplies
of clothing also, which had been sent, under convoy of the
" Alliance," in the " Marquis de Lafayette," had all been
lost in that vessel.^ In a letter to Congress of July 11,
Franklin says he is soliciting supplies of clothing, arms,
&c., to replace this loss. Tn the same letter he loyally
praises Col. Jackson's true zeal for the service.
On the sixth of June, meanwhile, Eobert Morris had
been able to write him that he had been appointed
Superintendent of Finance. From that moment, as the
Araerican reader knows, order carae in the place of chaos,
and Ught began to dispel darkness. On the 26th of
July, Franklin begins a systematic correspondence with
him, and explains in sufficient detail the condition of
finance in his bureau, of which the sum is, — as it was
so apt to be, with the exchequer of America, in Paris or in
PhUadelphia, — " You have nothing to draw upon."
On the 19th of June, the President of Congress in
formed him that his resignation was not accepted, but
that, on the other hand, he had been appointed, with four
other gentlemen, as a commission for the negotiation of
1 Franklin to Jackson. Sparks, ix. 52.
2 She sailed March 29th.

FRANKLIN TO ADAMS. 457/
peace, and that another commission authorized the same
persons to accept the mediation of the Emperor of
Germany and the Empress of Eussia. In writing to his
true friend Carmichael, FrankUn mentions these commis
sions with pride. " I must buckle again to business, and
thank God that my health and spirits are of late improved.
I fancy it may have been a double mortification to those
enemies you have mentioned to me, that I should ask as a
favor what they hoped to vex me by taking from me, and
that I should nevertheless be continued." ^
Writing to Adams he mentions such news as he has
received. ^Franklin to Adams. Passy, Augt. 12, 1781.
Sir, — Since my last, of the 6th inst., there have been
several arrivals in France from America. I have let
ters from PhUadelphia of the 20th June, tho' none from
Congress. The advices are, that General Greene has
taken all the enemy's outposts in S. Carolina and Georgia,
and that their possession in those provinces is reduced to
Charlestown and Savannah. In North CaroUna, they
also have WUmington. Their great force is now under
Comwallis in Virginia, where they are ravaging and burn
ing as usual, M. De la Fayette not being in force to re
press them ; but Gen. Wayne was on his march to reinforce
him, and had passed Annapolis.
I have received the letter from your excellency, en
closing a Ust of the bUls you have lately accepted. I
think you did right in accepting them, and hope they are
the last that Congress wUl draw, tUl they know you have
funds to pay them.
I have the honour to be, with respect, sir.
Your ExceUency's, &c.
1 Spabks, ix. 77.

458 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
And later he announces his new appointment in this
letter : — Franklin to Adams. Passy, Augt. 16, 1781.
SlE, — I have the honour to inform your excellency
that I yesterday received despatches from Congress, refus
ing for the present the dismission I had requested, and
ordering me upon au additional service, that of being
joined with yourself and Messrs. Jay, H. Laurens, and T.
Jefferson in negotiations for peace. I would send you a
copy of the commission, and of another which authorises
us to accept of the mediation of the Emperor and Empress
of Eussia, but that I suppose you may have them in the
enclosed packet. I shall he glad to learn from your ex
cellency, what steps have already been taken in this im
portant business. With great regard, &c., &c.,
On the 12th of Septeraber, he had the pleasure of vn:it-
ing to Eobert Morris, that he had obtained a promise of
the sum he wanted to pay for the purchases made in
Holland. But still he was " terrified " by the prospect of
bills drawn by Congress on what we should call, "the
Bank of Faith." At that time the loan in Holland, from
which Col. Laurens had hoped so much, " has, of late, some
appearances of success." The King complied with his wish
of replacuig the suppUes lost in the " Marquis de Lafay
ette," and the Ministry took every method of showing Con
gress and all its representatives in Europe that Franklin
was an agent in whom they had entire confidence. " The
Count de Vergennes," he writes, "read your instructions
while I was with him, and expressed his satisfaction with
the unreserved confidence placed in his court by the

FRANKLIN TO ADAMS. 459
Congress, assuring me that they would never have cause
to regret it, for that the King had the honor of the United
States at heart, as well as their welfare and independence.
Indeed, this has already been manifested in the negotia
tions relative to the plenipotentiaries, and I have had so
much experience of his Majesty's goodness to us, in the
aids afforded us from time to time, and of the sincerity of
this upright and able minister, who never promised me
anything which he did not punctually perform, that I
cannot but think the confidence well and judiciously
placed, and that it will have happy effects."
If Carmichael gave him the impression that the
Adamses were his enemies, he permitted that irapression
to die out. On the 13 th of September he wrote to Fran
cis Hopkinson a letter which has been printed, with blanks
for the two names. We are able now, from the original
manuscript, to insert these names. Franklin said: "At
present I do not know of more than two of such enemies
that I enjoy, viz., Lee and Izard. I deserve the enmity of
the latter, because I might have avoided it by paying him
a compliment, which I neglected. That of the former I
owe to the people of France, who happened to respect
me too much and him too little, — which I could bear, and
he could not."
To Mr. Adams, a little later, he wrote : —
Franklin to Adams. Passy, Oct. 5, 1781.
Sie, — I congratulate your excelly on your recovery.
I hope this seasoning wUl be the means of securing your
future health, by accommodating your constitution to the
air of that country.
Here are advices from Admiral de Grasse, which left

460 FRANKLm IN FRANCE.
htm the 13th of August coming out of the Straits of Ba
hama, with 28 sail of the line, bound to Chesapeak Bay :
unless he should meet at sea a call to New York from
General Washington. He took with him from the islands
3,600 land troops, which with his marines make near 6,000
men capable of acting either against CornwalUs or in the
siege of New York ; and the 8 saU under M. de Barras at
Boston joining him wiU make a sea force superior to any
expected of the enemy in those seas, so that we may hope
for sorae good news from that quarter.
Since the letter your excellency honoured me with, of
the 25th of August, I have learnt nothing new of the me
diation. It seems to be at present in a state of stagna
tion. Any further proceedings in it that may come to my
knowledge shall be immediately communicated to you.
This Court appears attentive, not only to the interest of
the United States, but to their honour. England seems
not yet tired enough of the war to think seriously of an
accommodation, and till then our new commission will
hardly afford us much employment, or make it necessary
for us to appoint a secretary in its service. I send, how
ever, enclosed a copy of the minute of Congress relating
to that appointment. I have not heard of Mr. Dana's ar
rival at Petersburg : if your excellency has received any
coraraunicable advices frora him, I shall be glad to see
thera, and to know whether he is likely to continue there.
Enclosed is a letter for him, and another for yourself.
They appear to me to have been opened ; but they are
in the state I received them under cover from Mr. Nesbit
of L'Orient.
A letter from America that has been shown me men
tions a resolution of Congress to exchange General Bur
goyne for Mr. Laurens; but I have never seen that
resolution. Do you know anything of it? I have a

THE CATASTROPHE 461
letter from Mr. Burke on the subject of that General,
which I am at a loss to answer.
I received Mr. Thaxter's letter relating to the mast
contracts, and communicated it to Mr. Vergennes, who, I
suppose, will write about that affair to M. de la Luzerne.
Is it possible that a contract of supplying that article from
any of the United States can be executed? I have no
conception of the means.
I am glad to hear that the loan from Holland is likely
to succeed; for without it, those obtained here for our
service will not afford payment of the list, shown me the^
other day by M. Grand, of your acceptations falling due
in November, December, January, and February next,
amounting to $217,932|. It is a demand I had no
previous knowledge of, and therefore I hope it is not
expected of me to answer it. I have accepted the bills
mentioned in yours of the 24th past, as drawn by you
upon me on that day ; but the great sum above mentioned,
it wiU be out of my power to accept it, if you should draw
for it, no provision being made for it in our last grants.
With great respect, I have the honour to be, &c., &c.
The summer then closed, with more prosperous out
look and circumstances for the veteran minister than
had waited on the months of the springtime of the
year. Meanwhile the advices from America seeraed more
favorable. A catastrophe to the English arms in the United
States was impending, such as is a fit warning for nations
which are willing to be governed by courts or oli
garchies. George III. had named Lord George Germaine his secre
tary for war, — simply because, as Lord George SackvUle,
he had been pronounced by a court-martial unfit for any

462 FRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
miUtary command; and George III. wished to condemn
this act of a court held under his predecessor, George II.
George III. had appointed General Howe to the com
mand in America, because he was the illegitimate de
scendant of George I., and therefore his own cousin.
Howe had failed, thanks to his own indolence, and to
Germaine's incapacity, if one choose to keep out of view
the impossibility of success, even for a Clive, in view of
the problem given hira to solve. Clinton had been ap
pointed his successor, because he knew America, was on
the ground, and was second in command.
But Clinton was no favorite at Court. The Earl of
Percy, afterward Duke of Northumberland, had retired
in disgust from the whole thing. Earl CornwalUs, an
officer of great ability, was a favorite at Court, and had
his own plans.
Now that we have the whole correspondence, it is
melancholy to see how the Home Government, that is.
Lord George Germaine, treated these men. One can
believe the extraordinary story of Lord Shelburne, that
the essential despatches on which Burgoyne's campaign
turned, were kept for years in a London pigeon-hole,
because Germaine did not like the hand-writing. Clinton
and CornwalUs would send home different plans. And
each of them would hear in reply, that his plan was
wholly appiroved. Of all which the result was, that
Cornwallis, having had a certain measure of success in
the Carolinas, cut loose from his base there, and under
took a march northward through Virginia, with the expec
tation of meeting Clinton. CUnton, however, had not the
slightest intention of meeting Cornwallis. He considered
him as insubordinate, — as in fact he was, with the ex
cuse that he had independent orders from home.
Napoleon's bon-mot, of the next generation, was fully

YORKTOWN BESIEGED. 463
verified in the issue. " Nothing is worse for an army
than a bad general," he said, '" unless by misfortune it is
under two good ones."
Cornwallis expected to force Clinton's co-operation.
Clinton refused to be forced. Cornwallis advanced as far
as Hanover in Virginia. Here he received Clinton's final
refusal. Cornwallis then determined " to obey orders
even if he broke owners." He retired to York, near the
mouth of James Eiver, because Clinton had so directed
him, — and there expected a fleet from New York to take
him to that place.
Lafayette was skirmishing in front of him with an
inferior force. To the day he died, in 1834, Lafayette
had the happy feeling that his handling of this force
compelled Cornwallis' retreat. In truth, it was due to the
arrival at Hanover of Clinton's imperturbable refusal to
march on land to meet him. CornwalUs turned, fortified
himself at York, and so the end came.
The moment Washington heard of his retreat he moved,
days before Clinton in New York took the alarm, and
by rapid marches across New Jersey, struck the head of
Chesapeake Bay. Here he piled his men into every ves
sel which would float, and appeared in front of Yorktovm,
to the joy of Lafayette and Wayne, who had followed
Cornwallis there. Despatches had been promptly sent to
the French Admiral, the Count de Grasse, in the West
Indies. Fortunately these despatches met him, and his
squadron closed the opening of Chesapeake Bay.
The moment Clinton did take the alarra, he forgot pride
and insubordination, and attempted with a large force, to
come to the relief of his petted and spoUed second in
command. But he was too late. The great drama was to close
with a denouement worthy of the occasion, of the actors,

464 PRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
and of all the acts which had gone before. On the 17th
of October, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered his whole army
and munitions, aU his prisoners of war, and the naval
forces under his command, in one act of capitulation.
Clinton learned of the great ruin as he arrived outside the
bay, and returned to New York.'
The French commanders at once sent the great news to
Paris, by their fastest frigate. For once, the officer de
spatched with the intelligence brought his news with no
rumor in advance. It seems to have reached Paris on
the morning of the 20th. On the 19th FrankUn had
written to Vergennes the following letter : —
Franklin to Vergennes. Passy, Nov. 19, 1781.
Sie, — I have the honour of sending to your excellency
some advices I have just received. As the letter from
Virginia was received at Newcastle, a town on the Dela
ware, 40 miles below Philadelphia, and probably after the
dates of your letters from thence, perhaps you may not
have heard before that M. de Barras had joined M. de
Grasse, and that Northern troops under the Generals
Eochambeau and Washington had joined the Marquis de
la Fayette, and invested Cornwallis at York.
I am, with great respect, &c., &c.
It will be observed that he only speaks of the junction
of the French squadrons, and of the completion of the
investment. Vergennes had the pleasure of sending him,
the next day, the news of the victory. To this Franklin
replies thus : —
1 Among the officers of his fleet was the young Prince, William Henry,
afterwards William IV., who thus made an unfortunate debut in the busi
ness of ruling empires.

VICTORY. 465

Franklin to Vergennes. Passy, Nov. 20, 1781.
Sie, — Your very obliging letter communicating the
news of the important victory at York gave me infinite
pleasure. The very powerful aid afforded by his Majesty
to America this year has rivetted the affections of all that
people, and the success has made millions happy. Indeed,
the king appears to me from this and another late event
to be le plus grand faiseur d'lieureux that this world
affords. May God prosper him, his family and nation, to
the end of time ! I am, with respect, &c., &c.
From this moment all was gratulation. The news, not
unnaturally, reached England by way of France. " How
did Lord North take it ? " " As he would have taken a
cannon-ball in the heart," Lord George Germaine replied
to that question.
The French and American authorities published the full
accounts they received. They translated for the widest
circulation Washington's Order of the Day.
Extracts from the General Orders ofthe Day for
Oct. 20, 1781.
The General congratulates the army on the glorious
event of yesterday.
The generous proofs which his Most Christian Majesty
has given of his attachment to the Cause of America,
while it undeceives those among our enemies who have
been raost blinded, ought to convince them of the conse
quences of the alliance, so fortunate and decisive, and
ought to inspire aU citizens of the United States with
sentiments of the most unchangeable gratitude.
80

466 PRANKLIN IN PRANCE.
The most numerous and most powerful fleet which ever
appeared in these waters, commanded by an admiral
whose good fortune and abiUty promised the greatest suc
cess, an army selected with the greatest care both for
officers and soldiers, — these were remarkable pledges of his
affection for the United States. The union of these power
ful forces assured to us the briUiant success which we
have now obtained.
The General avails hiraself of this occasion to beg his
ExceUency the Count de Eochambeau to receive the ex
pression of his lively gratitude for the counsel and assist
ance that he has always received from him. He wishes
also to express his most cordial thanks to the generals
Baron de Viomenil, Chevalier de Chatellux, Marquis de St.
Simon, and Comte de Viomenil, and to Brigadier General
de Choisy (who held an independent command) for the
adrairable manner in which they worked for the success
of the common cause. He hopes that the Count de
Eochambeau will be kind enough to testify at once to
the army which he commands the high opinion which
the General has formed of the distinguished merit of the
officers and soldiers of the different corps. He begs him
to present in his name to the regiment of Gatinois and of
Deux-Ponts the two bronze pieces of artillery which they
took from the eneray, and he hopes that they will keep
these pieces as a memorial of the courage with which, sword
in hand, they captured the enemy's redoubt on the night of
the 14th, and that they may thus serve to perpetuate the
remembrance of an occasion in which officers and soldiers
vied with each other in the display of the most distin
guished courage.
If the General should specially thank all those who de
served his thanks he would have to name the whole army.
He is obliged by his wishes, his duty, and his gratitude.

THOMAS NELSON. 467
to express to the major-generals Lincoln, the Marquis de
Lafayette, and Steuben, his acknowledgraents for the ar
rangements which they made in the trenches, to Gen. Du
PortaU, and to Col. Quevenal, for the abUity and skUl
which was displayed in .the laying out of the works, to
Gen. Knox and to Col. Daberville for the care and in
defatigable attention with which they accelerated the
transport of the artillery and munitions, as well as for
their judicious use of them, and the activity which they
showed in the batteries. He begs the officers whom he
has just named to convey his thanks to the officers and
soldiers of the corps which they respectively command.
The General would show himself guilty of a singular
ingratitude, such as he hopes he may never be guilty of,
it he neglected to express in the most distinct terms his
thanks to his Excellency Gov. Nelson, for the assistance
which he 1ms personaUy received frora hira, as well as
from the mUitia which he commanded, which deserves for
its activity, its courage, and emulation, the most distin
guished applause.'
The iraportance of the blow now struck by the United
States will be an ample compensation to all the army for
the danger and fatigue which it has borne with so much
patriotism and firraness.
^ This passage is worth preserving from its relation to the domestic
politics of Virginia. Thomas Nelson, Jr., one of the signers of the Dec
laration of Independence, was the Governor of Virginia at this time, as
successor to Mr. Jefferson. The new constitution required that all his
public measures should be approved by the Council. This was impossible
at a time when, in consequence ot the invasion of the State, the Council
could not be kept together, and Nehson acted on his own responsibility.
He was afterwards tried for this usurpation, and acquitted honoi'ably. It
is undoubtedly with a knowledge of his position that Washington speaks
thus cordially. Lord Cornwallis occupied Gov. Nelson's house at York-
town all through the siege, and it was struck by the balls of the successful
armies.

468 FRANKLIN IN FRANCE.
That the public joy may be general among all our
troops, the General orders that all soldiers now in con
finement shall be set at Uberty, and shall rejoin their
respective commands.
Divine service wUl be celebrated to-morrow in all the
brigades or divisions. The Commander-in-Chief recom
mends aU the army which is not on duty to be present,
with that serious attention and that profound gratitude
which we owe to repeated and striking marks of the pro
tection of Providence. By his Excellency,
George Washington, &c., &c.

INDEX.

INDEX.

Adams, John, meets Lord Howe, 68 ;
di'aws first fcirni of treaty, 59; sees
Vultaii'e at tlieatre, 107; arrives in
Paris, 228; views of Franklin, 228;
letter to S. Adams, 229; on the
Weissenstein letter, 239; to W.
McCreary, 232, 233, 234; to James
Lovell, 232; returns to America,
287; letter to, 290; his letter in
Landais's case, 340; his second com
mission, 306; controversy with Ver
gennes, 360-375, 379; in Paris, 378;
to Franklin, 415; replaces Laurens,
428; at Paris, 402; ill, 435; ap
pointed to Holland, 451.
Adams, John, captain of a despatch-
. boat, 100.
Adams, John Quincy, as a boy of
eleven, 87; letter to, from Franklin,
281.
Adams, Mrs. J. Q., 300.
Adams, Samuel, 220; on the first
treaty, 278; alluded to, 423.
Adamoli, letter from Franklin, 309.
"Alabama question" in 1777, 111.
Alexander, Mis.«, 80.
Alliance between America and France,
174.
"Alliance," frigate, 257-260, 262, 264-
328, 334, 337,"353-357; Sartine's let
ter, 320.
Alzire, Voltaire's play, performed,167.
"¦Amphitrite," frip;ate, sent with mu
nitions to America, 47; at Nantes,
109.
Antoni Nicolai, Bibliotheca Hispana,
421, 424.
"Ariel," frigate, dismasted, 375, 415;
sails, 439.

Aurora Borealis, 285.
"I'Aurore," French frigate at Cadiz,
396.
Austin, Jonathan Loring, sent to
Paris, 154; bis journal, 156, 163,
160, 251.

Bache, Richaud, letter to, 291.
Bacon, Lord, cited by Slielburne, 237.
Bancroft, Edward, named as commis
sioner to prisoners, 214; at Paris,
407.
Barr^, Colonel, in Parliament, 162.
Barclay, David, 148.
Barbeu-Dubourg, James, 8, 12, 15, 44.
Beaumarchais, Caron de, 33, 117, 375.
Beccaria, G. B., letter from Franklin,
447.
Beccaria, J. B., 73.
Bellosto, his pills, 248.
" Bevgene," cargo of tobacco, 284.
Bernstorff, 73.
Bertier, Jos. Etienne, 15.
Biheron, Mile., modeller in wax, 17,
73.
"Black Prince," privateer, 310-312,
314, 355, 356, 376.
" Black Princess,"' privateer, 311,
355-376.
Blake, Daniel, letter to, 272.
Blake, W. letter to, 272.
"Bcin Homme Richard," frigate, 257.
Borie, his death, 247.
Bowdoin, James, writes from Boston
to Franklin, 100.
Brillon, Madame, 440.
" British," use of the word, 24.
Brooke, Lawrence, letter to, 272.

472

INDEX.

Broughton, Major, of Marblehead, 437.
Brown & Collinson, banlcers, 4, 16.
Brownell, John, prisoner, 353.
Brydone, "the reverend pilgrim,"
410, 411.
Bulckley, Count, asks permission to
join English army, 81.
Burgoyne, 160 ; exchanged for H.
Laurens, 460; his campaign, 402.
Burgundy, Duke of, duel with Count
d'Artois, 305.
Burke, Edmund, on Franklin and the
American War, 67.

Cabinet of France, its views, 107.
Calvo, " International Law," cited,
120.
Canipan, Madame's "Memoirs," 363.
Canada, attack proposed, 277.
Capefiguc's Memoirs of Louis XVI.
cited, 82, 90, 141.
Carmichael, William, 130, 159; letters
to Franklin, 39G-308, 400, 403.
Caron de Beaumarchais. See Beau
marchais.
Carleton, General, his campaign, 102.
Charleston, loss of, 365.
Chastellux quoted, 171.
Chatham, Lord, his delicate health,
94.
Chaumont, Ray de, 83, 84, 378, 438.
Chronicle, Independent, printed at
Passy, 90.
Chreptowitz, Count, 18.
Choell, cited, 179.
Clinton, General Henr.v, 5G; 462, 463.
Clothing and stores, 375.
Colonial supremacy, 21.
Cooper, Dr. Samuel, 16; letter on
D'Estaing's campaign, 183; letters,
104, 284.
Consuls, 376.
Conyngham, Captain Gustavus, 136;
his expeditions, ]74, 345; letters to
Franklin, 309, 340-348.
Condorcet, 73; his eulogy, 141; his
biography of Voltaire, 108.
Conway, Thomas, general in American
army, 80.
Congress, Continental, opens corres
pondence with Europe, 1; its drafLs

on Franklin and Jay, 377 ; begging
memorial to Vergennes, 382.
Cochin, Nicholas, his print of Frank
lin, 150.
Coffyn, Franz, engages in privateering,
309, 312.
Cornwallis, Lord, 462 : surrendera,
464. '
Cottineau, Captain, 265.
Commission for peace, 434.
Court of France, 70.
Crillon, Duke dc, 419, 4-32.
Cunningham. Sec Conyngham.
Currency, papei-, 2E9.

Dale, Lieutenant, 203.
D'Alembert, Jean Ie Eond, 19.
D'Alibard, Abbe, 5, 14.
Dalton's affair, 443.
Dalrymple, Sir John, 407, 409, 411.
Dana, Francis, lands al Corunna, 366;
letter fi-om Franklin, 452.
Dante to his mistress, cited by Frank
lin, 227.
D'Aranda, Count, receives Franklin,
142.
D'Artois, Count, his duel with Duke
of Burgundy, 305. '
Daschkova, Pi-incess Katharina Eo
manouyna, 446.
Deane, Silas, named commissioner, 1,
44, his negotiations reviewed, 52;
writes on trade, 83; at Philadelphia,
140, 185; recalled, 230; letter to
Franklin, 230; his character, 232; re
ferred lo, 411, 414, 410, 420, 439, 443.
De Borre, Chevalier, an officer in
American army, 80.
Declaration of Independence, 1, 56.
D'E.staing, Count, 182, 183, 275, 304;
goes to Spain, 375 ; arrives at Brest,
442.
De Francv, clerk of Beaumarcliais,
116, 117".
De Grasse, Admiral, 459.
De Kalb, sent to America, 2.
De la Balme, inspector of cavaby, 80.
De la Dixmerie, his address, 172.
Denine, William, 284.
Denis, Madame, niece of Voltaire, 172.
De Saussurc, 73.

INDEX.

473

Dickinson's letters, 17.
Dickinson, John, speech on Indepen
dence, 59.
Diderot, 5.
Dinner on 4th of July, 251.
"Dolphin," cruiser, "l22.
Dowlin, Patrick, commands "Black
Prince," 311, 312.
"Drake," frigate, captured by Jones,
her crew, 201, 255.
Dubourg, J. Barbeu, 8, 12, 15, 44; let
ter to, 296; his death and eulogy,
440.
Du Coudray, appointed in American
army, 47; criticised by Lovell, 79.
Dumas', agent in Holland, 286.
Dunkirk, privateers from, 308.
Dunning, Lord, 163.
Dupont de Nemours, 7, 8, 12, 18.
Durand, French minister adinterim, 2.
Dutch politics, 441; loan, 461.
D'Yranda, Marquis, 403, 407, 420, 421,
425, 429.

Elysian Fields, visit to, 367.
E pluribus unum, 307.
Epp, Charles, letter to, 297.
European Trade, 273.
Everett, Edward, his rule, 6.
Exchange on France, 243.

Falkenstein, Count de, incognito
title of Joseph IL, 153.
Falmouth packet "Swallow" taken,
114.
Farmers-general, 381.
"Fearnaught" or "Fearnot," priva
teer, 312, 355.
Fendall, P. N., letter to, 272.
Ferrers, Lord, 163.
Ferron, Christopher, Irish smuggler,
309.
"Fier Rodrigue," 377.
"Figaro, Mariage de," 33.
Fleury, Colonel, letters to, 371.
"Flora" captured, 312.
Florida Bianca, 399-408 ; letter to Jay,
409, 424.
Forton, prisoners at, 200 ; their letter,
209.

"Foudroyante," English frigate, 123.
Fournier, letter from Franklin, 447.
France defeated in Seven Years' War,
25.
Franklin, Benjamin, visits France in
1767, 4; visits France in 1769, 16;
his plan for a treaty with England,
65; his books translated, 67; ap
pointed Commissioner to France, 1 ;
arrives at Bourdeaux, Nantes, and
at Paris, 84; removes to Passy,
84 ; as described by police, 90 ; first
letter to Vergennes, 142; his
Journal of December, 1780, and Jan-
nary, 1781, 437; paper on stilling
storms, 151; letters to Hartley,
201, 203, 206, 207, 210, 211, 212,
213, 220, 222, 225, 226, 235; reply
to the Weissenstein letter, 241 ;
letter to Vergennes on exchange,
243; journal of his health, 246; let^
ter to cruisers regarding Moravians,
246; letter to Mrs. Hewson, 250; to
Paul Jones, 255, 256, 259; to Marine
Committee, 260; to Massachusetts
Navy Board, 268; to Austin, 269;
made minister plenipotentiary, 274;
presented at Court, 279 ; letter to Lee,
282; to Montaudoin, 285; to Dumas,
286; to Sykes, 287 ; to Chardon, 288 ;
to Sayre," 288; to J. Adams, 289; to
Bache, 291; to Jay, 292; to Hop
kinson, 294; to liocquette, 295; to
Elsevir,295; to Dubourg, 296; toC.
Epp, 297; to Stadel, 298; to Com
mercial Committee, 298 ; to Fizeaux
and Grand, 299; to Holker, 299; to
Des Landes, 300; to Joshua John
son, 300; to Massachusetts Council,
302; to Lafayette, 303, 304; letter
from Conyngham, 309; to Macat
ter, 313; to Vergennes, 315; to
Navy Board about Landais, 319 ; to
Landais, 325, 320, 330-334 ; to Paul
Jones, 321, 338; to Wharton, 337;
to Hartley, 342 ; to Conyngham. 343 ;
to Digges, 344; to Nesbit, 345; to
Conyngham, 347; to Hodgson, 351,
352," 354, 361; to Sartine, 354; to
Vergennes, 356, 380, 382; tn Wren,
359; crowned with laurel, 363; min
ister plenipotentiary, 363; his "12

474

INDEX.

principles," 367; letter to Jon. Wil
liams, 368 ; to Adamoli, 369 ; to J.
Adams, 372; to Van de Perre and
Meyners, 372; to Bache, 373; to
Eobert Troup, 374; to Huntington,
374 ; letter from Carmichael, 376 ;
to Ross, 378; to Digges, 378; lo
Marat, 387; to Searle, 387; to
Sniall, 388; to Lafayette, 388; to
Jay, 397, 427-430; to Carmichael,
398, 401, 419, 451; to Adams,
414; his journal, 437; letter
to Beccaria, 447; to the Marquis
Turgot, 448; his copying ink, 449;
letter to Huntington, 450; to Ad
ams, 451, 454; to Governor Han
cock, 453 ; to Jolm Laurens, 454;
to Adams, 457-458, 459; to Ver
gennes, 464, 465.
Franklin, W. Temple, secretary to Dr.
Franklin, 87; his publications, 271;
letter to Williams, 381.
Franklin, Jeanne, secret agent, 145.
Franquelin claims relationship, 146.
Frazer, General, 102.
Frederick the Great, 23.
French colonization, 22.
French commerce, 83.
French enthusiasm for the American
cause, 69.
French verses on Franklin and Amer
ica, 80, 82.

Gaultier, Abbi^, letter from Voltaire,
109.
Galorz, Don Joseph de, 399, 420.
Gonnett, commissary at L'Orient, 119.
Gates, Horatio, General, 154; letter
from, 160.
" General Mifflin," privateer, 311.
General orders at Yorktown, 465.
Genet, recommended, 296.
George III., and Lord North, 180.
Gtord, Conrad Alexander, Minister
to United States, 144; negotiates in
Paris, 161, 176, 185, 2.52, 278, 366.
Gerard, de Eayneval, Joseph Matthew,
252.
Germaine. Lord George, 153, 461, 465.
Geri-y, Elbridge, 424.
Gliick and Piccini, 151, 166.

Gourlade, merchant at Morlaix, 112,
121.
" Gout, Dialogue with the," 367.
Granby, Lord, 163.
Grand, the banker, 428-429, 438, 439,
440, 443, 452, 401.
Grasse, Count de, 463.
Gi;eene,William, Governor, draft from
274.
GrenviUe, cited by Shelburne, 236.
Greuze, the painter, 172.
Grimm-Diderot, correspondence, 5.

Hamilton, Sir William, 93.
"Hancock," privateer, 311.
Harrison, Benjamin, writes to Frank
lin, 97.
Hartley, David, resolutions, 162; cor
respondence about prisoners, 198;
letters to Franklin, 199, 202,203-204,
205; eager for peace, 217; visits
France, 224; letters, 214, 222, 225.
Haywood, invention of globes, 287.
Henderson, the actor, in Hamlet, 163.
Helvetius, 19.
Helvetius, Madame, 73, 85, 307.
Hilton, David, 238.
Hinson, Captain, recommended bv
Wickes, 118.
Hodge, Capt. William, 135, 138, 343.
Houdon's bust of Paul Jones, 366.
Howe, Admiral, arrives in America,
57.
Howe, General William, arrives at
New York, 50, 462.
Howe, Lord George Augustus, 57.
Huntington, S., letter from Franklin,
374; signs Memorial ot Congress,
386 ; letter from Franklin, 450 ; letter
to Franklin, 456.
Hurricane in West Indies, 440.
Hutchinson, Governor, his journal, 164.
Hutton, David, sent to Franklin, 238.

" Indian," frigate, 235.
Ingenhausz writes to Franklin, 91.
Instructions to Commissioners, 60, 64.
Insurance on marine adventures, 89.
Izard, Ralph, complaints, 376 ; enmity,
459.

INDEX

476

Jackson, Col. William, 465.
Jauge, interested in ship "Marquis de
Lafayette," 444, 445.
Jay, John, appointed to Madrid, 393;
letters to Franklin, 393, 405, 411-
413, 416, 417, 421, 424, 430, 433 ; to
Florida Bianca, 408; to Hodgson,
437 ; to Vergennes, 412.
Jefferson, Thomas, commissioner lor
peace, 434.
Jersey expedition, 441; fails, 444.
Johnston, Capt., 122, 124, 130.
Johnson, Joshua, 400, 420.
Joseph II. visits Paris, 162.
Jones, Capt. John Paul, 130, 135, 203,
253; to Franklin, 258; and Landais,
320; letter to Franklin, 335; sails in
"Ariel," 350; his prisoners, 351;
honored in Paris, 366; sails, 439.
July 4th celebrated, 251.

La Cause, Jasme, 437.
Lafayette, Gilbert Mottier, Marquis
de, 78; in 1779, 271; his sword, 301;
letters to, 303, 304; letter to John
Adams, 305; letter from Franklin,
388 ; leaves Paris, 401 ; before Corn
wallis, 457-463.
Lafayette, the Marchioness, 159,
Lafayette, George Washington, born,
302.
Lalande, 172.
Landais, Capt. P., 260, 262, 319 ; Sar
tine's complaint of him, 320 ; writes
to Franklin, 323, 328, 329-333, 339.
Laurens, Pres. Henry, taken prisoner,
415, 418; commissioner for peace,
434, 458, 460.
Laurens, John, 427-429; letter from
Franklin, 454.
Lebire, de Landrais, 127.
Lee, Arthur, named commissioner, 1;
his relations with Beaumarchais and
Deane, 52, 140, 142, 167, 187, 228;
errors, 156; in Paris, 287; his com
plaints, 376; philippics, 401; pam
phlet, 420, 423; his enmity, 459.
Lee, General Charles, 104.
Lee, R. H., appointed to draw a treaty, >
59; letter signed by him, 97, 423. "
Lesqui, translator of Franklin, 16.

"Lexington," cruiser, 122.
Lincoln, General Benjamin, 455.
Liverpool, called "the Pool," 115.
Lloyd, J., letters to, 272, 290.
Lom6nie, life of Beaumarchais, 47.
Louis XV., 5, 11.
Louis XVL, dislikes war, 30; on the
American question, 75; his policy,
179.
Lovell, James, his letter on Du Cou
dray, 79; letter from Johu Adams,
232; letters to Franklin, 377, 433.
Luzerne appointed to Philadelphia,
360 ; recommended by Franklin, 294,
303.
Lunt, Joseph, a prisoner in Forton,
210.
Lynch, Thomas, his death, 247.

Macatter, Captain, a privateer ; let
ter from Franklin, 313.
Mercer, General, his death, 99.
MacKellar, Edward, a prisoner in For
ton, 210.
MacNeil, captain of a privateer, 210,
288.
Madrid correspondence, 392.
Maese, M., letter to, 272.
" Mars," of Boston, 381, 438.
Mahon. Lord, 163.
Mairobert, Pidansat de, 33.
Maria Theresa, her correspondence
with Queen of France, 363 ; empress,
her death, 440.
Marie Antoinette, Queen, on American
question, 75 ; on music, 151 ; her cor
respondence with her mothei-, 363.
Marmontel, 19, 152.
"Marquis de Lafaj'ette " ship, 438,
439, 443; captured, 456; the King
replaces her supplies, 458.
Martin's review of French and Eng
lish rivalry, 23.
Masserano, Prince, 416, 422, 429.
Maui'epas, minister to Louis XVI., 76.
" Maurepas," ship so named, 117, 118.
McCreary, William, letters from J.
Adams, 232, 233, 234.
Medals struck for victories, 370.
Mercy, Austrian minister in France,
his coiTespondence, 363.

476

INDEX.

Mirabeau, " the friend ot man," 7, 9.
Mississippi Eiver, navigation of, 412.
Marat, letter from Franklin, 387.
Montaudoin, letter to, 285.
Montbarry, minister of war, resigns,
4-39.
Montmorin, Count, 417.
Montplaisir, consulted in Landais's
case, 332.
Moravian settlements, their supplies,
245.
Morellet, Abbe, letters from, 86.
Morris, Eobert, letter to Commission
ers, 145; supt of finance, 456.
Morris, Thomas, dishonest agent at
Nantes, 121.
Moulin, Joli, 408.
Moylan, merchant at Morlaix, ] 12.

Napoleon, quoted, 463.
Necker, James, 19; minister to Louis
XVL, 70.
Nelson, Governor, of Virginia, 467.
Nesbit, Jonathan, his opinion of Lan
dais, 335; letter to Franklin, 345.
Neutrality, 390; resolutions of Con-
gres.1, 390.
Neuville, M. de la, recommended,
442.
Nicholson, Capt. Samuel, of Maryland,
113-118, 122, 124, 125, 130. 158.
Niccoli. Abbe, receives Franklin, 152.
Nogaret translates epigram, 368.
North, Lord, bills on conciliation and
taxation, 222; his conciliator}' pro
posals, 235, 465.
Nova Scotia, inhabitants of, 276.

Ogilvie, Charles, letter to, 272.
Osterman, Count, 452. ~

Palfrey, William, lost at sea, 451.
" Pallas," frigate, 257-263.
Paoli, "now infamous," 103.
Parker, Theodore, on mythical dates,
66.
Penobscot, defeat at, 304.
"Perch," brigantine, a despatch ves
sel, 156.

Pfeffel, Christian Frederic, his views,
107.
Piccini, and Gliick, 161, 166 ; his
performance from " Castor and
Roland," 172.
Pitt, Viscount, 163.
Polignac Cardinal, 410.
Pollock, Oliver, 298.
Portuguese policy in 1776, 67.
Priestley, J., "History of Electricity,"
10, 14; iu London, "l03.
" Prince of Orange," packet-boat,
137.
Pringle, Sir John, 3.
Prisoners, American, in English pris
ons, 194 ; their lelter, 209 ; their con
dition, 342.
Privateers, international law regard
ing, 130.
Pulteney, William, 239.

"Quebec," frigate, takes "Black
Prince," 314.
Quesnay, Doctor, and the Economists,
5, 13,' 19.

Randolph, Peyton, bis death in
October, 1775, 247.
Raynal, Abbd, 82.
Eayneval. See Gferard.
" Eeprisal," frigate, 122.
"Eevenge," cutter, 342.
Eichman, Professor, 6.
" Rising States," privateer so named,
120.
Ritchie, Mrs. Juliana, a letter to, 87.
Eochefoucauld d'Enville, Duke, 73,
147.
Eodney, leaves Gibraltar, 400.
Eomaiiie, Th. D., 441.
Eoss, Jo., letter to, 272.
Rousseau, J. J., on American War,
67, 173.
Russia, on freedom of the seas, 30;
mediation ot, 430.
Rutland, Duke of, 163.

Salm, Prince Emmanuel de, 365.
Saratoga, battles of, 164.

INDEX.

477

Sartine, to Franklin, 356.
Savannah, capture of, 289.
Saville, Sir George, suggested as peace
commissioner, 235.
Schuyler, General, his retreat, 153.
Schweighauser, examines accounts,
283-381.
Scott, Sir Walter, recollections of
Jones, 263.
Searle, letter from Franklin, 387.
Segur, succeeds Montbarry, 439.
Selkirk, Countess of, her plate, 255.
"Serapis," frigate, captured, 263.
Shelburne, Lord, on French neutral
ity, 134, 138-163; speech reported
by Vaughan, 235-462.
Shepley, Bishop of St. Asaph, 235.
Sheplcy, Georgiana, letter from, 91.
Simpson, commands " Eanger," 253.
Six nations, chiefs of, in Boston,
102.
Small, Alexander, letter from Frank
lin, 388.
Smith, Adam, hia "Wealth of Na
tions," 19, 92.
Smith, Wright, nnd Gray, bankers, 4.
Soulavie, cited, 75.
Spain, negotiations with, 162, 393;
king of, guarantee of loan, 414, 416.
Spanish alliance, 431.
Sparks, Jared, his collections, 108;
on Weissenstein letter, 241 ; quoted,
241.
Staiil, Baron de, 73.
Starkemburg, Madame, 3G5.
Steinsky, recommended, 447.
Stormont, Lord, protests against
France, 48, 111, 135; leaves Paris,
181; Ids correspondence respect
ing prisons, 194.
Sullivan, General John, taken prisoner,
57; in Rhode Island, 102.
" Swallow," packet taken, 114.
Swedish Court, 288.

Tahoureau, minister to Louis XVI.,
76.
Tatnall, Captain, an English prisoner,
353.
Templeman, Dr., keeper of British
Museum, 13.

Ternay, Chevalier de, 418.
Thaxter, John, lands at Corunna, 366.
Thompson, W., letter to, 272.
Thornton, his visit to prisoners, 200.
Ticonderoga, 102.
Torris, John, fits out " Black Prince,"
309, 310, 314.
Townshend's taxes, 2.
Troup, Eobert, letter from Franklin,
374.
Tryon, Governor of New York, 56.
Tnrgot, Anne Eobert Jaques, "Re
flections," 19; shi'inks from war,
31; corresponds with Franklin, 73;
at breakfast, 153; his copying
machine, 448.
Turgot, Marquis de, letter from Frank
lin, 448.
Van de Perre and Meyners, 372.
Vaughan, M., 103; his notes of Shel
burne's speech, 235; quoted, 285.
Vergennes, Gravier, Count ot, 5, 75,76;
letter to Franklin ou privateering,
132; celebrates ratification, 251; let-
tor to, 275; letter from, 270; letter
to, 281 ; letter to, on Neutrality, 315;
and Adams, 360; letters from Frank
lin, 336, 380, 382; to Franklin, 387;
conversation with Franklin, 438-440;
ill, 448; interview witli Franklin,
450; letter to Franklin, 455; his loy
alty to American cause, 458 ; letter
to Franklin, 464.
Villette, .Marchioness, 172.
Voltaire on American War, 67; his
visit to Paris, 163 ; meets Franklin,
167, 170, 171.
Walpole, Thomas, 94.
Ward, Artemas, to Schuyler, 154.
Washington, George, his retreat
through the Jerseys, 96, 100, 104,
106, 159; despatch after Governor
Mantam, 161; letter tn Putnam, 161;
his campaign of 1781, 463.
Wayne, Anthony, General, his attack
on Stony Point, 304; at Yorktown,
463.
" Wealth of Nations," indebted to Tur
got, 19.

478

INDEX

Weissenstein, Charles de, fictitious
name of a correspondent, 239.
Wharton, Francis, about Landais, 335-
337.
Wharton, J., letter to, 272.
Whist l-^nglish, at the ]?rcnch Court, 11.
"Whistle, Story of the," 307.
Wickes, Captain Lambert, 109; letters
from, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120,
123, 125, ]26j 128, 330; his expedi
tions, 174; his prisoners, 194.
Wightman, Samuel, English prisoner,
353.
Williams, Jonathan, Jr., letters to,
167, 274, 282, 290 ; his accounts, 283 ;
criticised by Lee, 282; letter from

Franklin, 308; named by Adams,
372, 437 ; letter to, 440.
Wilson, Jaines, appointed to draw a
treaty, 59.
Winbert, Colonel, chairman ot pris
oners' committee, 210.
Winthrop, Professor John, writes to
Franklin, 104, 106.
Woolsey's International Law, cited,
129.
Wren, Thomas, of Portsmouth, inter
ests himself in prisoners, 200, 203.

Yorktown, siege of, 437.
Yorke, Sir Joseph, 291, 439

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