charged him to thank me for that which I had written, and to tell me that he hoped I would never forget that he and I were of the same country.

I answered, that I should always esteem it an honor to be owned as a countryman of Mr. Fox. He had requested me, at our last interview, that, if I saw no impropriety in doing it, I would favor him with a sight of the treaty of alliance between France and America. I acquainted him that it was printed, but that if he could not readily meet with a copy I would have one written for him. And as he had not been able to find one, I this day gave it to him.

He lent me a London Gazette containing Admiral Rodney's account of his victory over M. de Grasse, and the accounts of other successes in the East Indies, assuring me, however, that these events made not the least change in the sincere desire of his Court to treat for peace.

In the afternoon, the Marquis de la Fayette called upon me. I acquainted him with what Mr. Grenville had told me respecting the credential letter, and the expectation that a person on the part of this Court would be sent to London with a commission similar to his. The Marquis told me he was on his way to Versailles, and should see M. de Vergennes. We concluded that it would now be proper for him to make the proposition we had before talked of, that he should be the person employed in that service.

On Monday, the 27th, I received a letter from Mr. Jay, dated the 8th, acquainting me that he had received mine of the 21st and 22d past, and had concluded to set out for Paris about the 19th, so that he may be expected in a few days.

I dined this day with Count d'Estaing, and a number of brave marine officers that he had invited. We were all a little dejected with the news, I mentioned, by way of encouragement, the observation of the Turkish bashaw who was taken with his fleet at Lepanto, by the Venetians. "Ships," says he, " are like my master's beard; you may cut it, but it will grow again. He has cut off from your government all the Morea, which is like a limb, which you will never recover." And his words proved true.

On Tuesday I dined at Versailles with some friends, so was not at home when the Marquis de la Fayette called to acquaint me that M. de Vergennes informed him that the full power received by Mr.

Grenville from London, and communicated by him, related to France only. The Marquis left for me this information, which I could not understand. On Wednesday I was at Court, and saw the copy of the power. It appeared full with regard to treating with France, but mentioned not a word of her allies; and, as M. de Vergennes had explicitly and constantly, from the beginning, declared to the several messengers, Mr. Forth, Mr. Oswald, and Mr. Grenville, that France could only treat in concert with her allies, and it had in consequence been declared, on the part of the British Ministry, that they consented to treat for a general peace, and at Paris, the sending this partial power seemed to be insidious, and a mere invention to occasion delay, the late disasters to the French fleet having probably given the Court of England fresh courage and other views.

M. de Vergennes said he should see Mr. Grenville on Thursday, and would speak his mind to him on the subject very plainly. "They want," said he, "to treat with us for you, but this the King will not agree to. He thinks it not consistent with the dignity of your State. You will treat for yourselves; and every one of the Powers at war with England will make its own treaty. All that is necessary for our common security is, that the treaties go hand in hand, and are signed all on the same day."

Prince Bariatinski, the Russian Ambassador, was particularly civil to me this day at Court, apologised for what passed relating to the visit, expressed himself extremely sensible of my friendship in covering the affair, which might have occasioned to him very disagreeable consequences, &c. The Count du Nord came to M. de Vergennes while we were drinking coffee, after dinner. He appears lively and active, with a sensible, spirited countenance. There was an opera at night for his entertainment. The house being richly finished with abundance of carving and gilding, well illuminated with wax tapers, and the company all superbly dressed, many of the men in cloth of tissue, and the ladies sparkling with diamonds, formed altogether the most splendid spectacle my eyes ever beheld.

I had some little conference to-day with MM. Berkenrode, Vanderpierre, and Boeris, the Ambassador of Holland, and the agents of the Dutch East India Company. They informed me that the second letter of Mr. Fox to the mediating Minister of Russia,

proposing a separate peace with Holland, made no more impression than the first, and no peace would be made but in concurrence with France.

The Swedish Minister told me he expected orders from his Court relative to a treaty, &c.

I had, at our last interview, given Mr. Grenville a rendezvous for Saturday morning, and having some other engagements for Thursday and Friday, though I wish to speak with him on the subject of his power, I did not go to him, but waited his coming to me on Saturday. On Friday, May 31st, Mr. Oswald called on me, being just returned, and brought me the following letters from Lord Shelburne, the first of which had been written before his arrival:

LORD SHELBURNE TO B. FRANKLIN.

66

Whitehall, May 28th, 1782.

"Sir,

"I am honored with your letter of the 10th instant, and am very glad to find that the conduct which the King has empowered me to observe towards Mr. Laurens and the American prisoners has given you pleasure. I have signified to Mr. Oswald his Majesty's pleasure that he shall continue at Paris till he receives orders from hence to return. In the present state of this business, there is nothing for me to add but my sincere wishes for a happy issue, and to repeat my assurances that nothing shall be wanting on my part which can contribute to it.

"I have the honor to be, with very great regard,

"SHELBURNE."

"Sir,

LORD SHELBURNE TO B. FRANKLIN.

"Whitehall, May 29th, 1782.

"I have the honor to receive your letter of the 13th of May by Mr. Oswald. It gives me great pleasure to find my opinion of the moderation, prudence, and judgment of that gentleman confirmed by your concurrence; or I am glad to assure you that we likewise concur in hoping that those qualities may enable him to contribute to the speedy conclusion of a peace, and such a peace as may be firm and long lasting. In that hope he has the King's orders to

return immediately to Paris; and you will find him, I trust, properly instructed to coöperate in so desirable an object.

"I have the honor to be, &c.,

SHELBURNE."

I had not then time to converse much with Mr. Oswald, and he promised to come and breakfast with me on Monday.

Saturday, June 5th. Mr. Grenville came according to appointment. Our conversation began by my acquainting him that I had seen the Count de Vergennes, and had perused the copy left with him of the power to treat. That after what he, Mr. Grenville, told me of its being to treat with France and her allies, I was a little surprised to find in it no mention of the allies, and that it was only to treat with the King of France and his Ministers; that at Versailles there was some suspicion of its being intended to occasion delay, the professed desire of a speedy peace being, perhaps, abated in the British Court since its late successes; but that I imagined the words relating to the allies might have been accidentally omitted in transcribing, or that, perhaps, he had a special power to treat with us distinct from the other. He answered, that the copy was right, and that he had no such power in form, but that his instructions were full to that purpose, and he was sure the Ministers had no desire of delay, nor any of excluding us from the treaty, since the greatest part of those instructions related to treating with me. That, to convince me of the sincerity of his Court respecting us, he would acquaint me with one of his instructions, though, perhaps, the doing it now was premature, and therefore a little inconsistent with the character of a politician, but he had that confidence in me that he should not hesitate to inform me, (though he wished that at present. it should go no further,) he was instructed to acknowledge the independence of America previous to the commencement of the treaty. And he said he could only account for the omission of America in the POWER, by supposing that it was an old official form, copied from that given to Mr. Stanley when he came over hither before the last peace. Mr. Grenville added, that he had, immediately after his interview with the Count de Vergennes, despatched a courier to London, and hoped that, with his return, the difficulty would be removed. That he was perfectly assured their late success had made no change in the disposition of his Court to peace, and that he had

more reason than the Count de Vergennes to complain of delays, since five days were spent before he could obtain a passport for his courier, and then it was not to go and return by way of Calais, but to go by Ostend, which would occasion a delay of five days longer. Mr. Grenville then spoke much of the high opinion the present Ministry had of me, and their great esteem for me, their desire of a perfect reconciliation between the two countries, and the firm and general belief in England, that no man was so capable as myself of proposing the proper means of bringing about such a reconciliation, adding that, if the old Ministers had formerly been too little attentive to my counsels, the present were very differently disposed, and he hoped that in treating with them I would totally forget their prede

cessors.

The time has been when such flattering language, as from great men, might have made me vainer, and had more effect on my conduct, than it can at present, when I find myself so near the end of life as to esteem lightly all personal interests and concerns, except that of maintaining to the last, and leaving behind me, the tolerably good character I have hitherto supported.

Mr. Grenville then discoursed of our resolution not to treat without our allies. This, says he, can only properly relate to France, with whom you have a treaty of alliance, but you have none with Spain, you have none with Holland. If Spain and Holland, and even if France should insist on unreasonable terms of advantage to themselves, after you have obtained all you want, and are satisfied, can it be right that America should be dragged on in a war for their interest only? He stated this matter in various lights, and pressed it earnestly. I resolved, from various reasons, to evade the discussion, therefore answered, that the intended treaty not being yet begun, it appeared unnecessary to enter at present into considerations of that kind. The preliminaries being once settled, and the treaty commenced, if any of the other Powers should make extravagant demands on England, and insist on our continuing the war till those were complied with, it would then be time enough to consider what our obligations were, and how far they extended. The first thing necessary was for him to procure the full powers, the next for us to assemble the plenipotentiaries of all the belligerent parties, and then propositions might be mutually made, received, considered, answered, or agreed to. In the mean time, I would just mention to him that, VOL. II.-21