MISSION TO FRANCE. 453 both in Europe, the former having been employed several years in England as a colonial agent, and the latter having been sent out, in the preceding March, by the committee of secret correspondence, with a view to diplomatic as well as commercial objects; and Franklin, after a boisterous voyage in the United States sloop-ofwar Reprisal, Captain Wickes, and after escaping from the guns of several Britsh cruisers, met them in Paris in the latter part of December, 1776. With a fame unequalled in brilliancy by that of any other man of those times, not only as a philosopher and sage, but as a profound political thinker and an undaunted asserter of the rights and liberties of his country, Franklin's name was now familiarly known and revered throughout all Europe. Portraits of him were everywhere multiplied, of all forms and dimensions, from the size of life down to the smallest miniatures for snuffboxes and rings, and all, young and old, of all ranks and of both sexes, felt it a privilege to obtain admission to his presence. Such were the accompaniments of Franklin's arrival at the capital of France. Of the effect produced by Franklin's character, reputation, and personal appearance, in France, we may cite the testimony of an eminent French writer, who represents him as accomplishing the objects of his mission, not so much by direct negotiation with the court, as by the impression he made on the public mind; for while diplomatic etiquette allowed only occasional interviews with ministers of state, he was in constant intercourse with all who were distinguished for genius, learning, or social influence, and who swayed political opinion. "In him," says Lacretelle, the writer alluded to, men imagined they saw a sage of antiquity, come back to give austere lessons and generous examples to the moderns. They personified in him the republic of which he was the rep 66 resentative. They regarded his virtues as those of his countrymen; and even judged of their physiognomy by the imposing and serene traits of his own. This venerable man, they said, joined to the demeanor of Phocion the spirit of Socrates." To this vivid sketch of the impression made on French susceptibilities, by the rare combination of great talents and splendid reputation, with the simple yet dignified manners, plain garb, and paternal aspect of the venerable representative of the new-born nation, the same writer adds: “After this picture, it would be useless to trace the history of Franklin's negotiations with the court of France. His virtues and his renown negotiated for him; and before the second year of his mission had expired, no one conceived it possible to refuse fleets and an army to the compatriots of Franklin." Congress had sent with Franklin a draught of a commercial treaty, which he had himself, no doubt, helped to frame, inasmuch as he was early placed on a committee of that body, for the purpose of framing the model of such a treaty, and besides offering it to the acceptance of the French cabinet, the commissioners were instructed to apply for eight ships-of-the-line fully manned and equipped; to purchase arms and other warlike stores ; to fit out armed cruisers in the French ports, with the permission of the government; and to sound the representatives at Paris of other European cabinets, respecting their recognition of the independence of the United States, and the establishment of commercial relations with them. The expenses of the commissioners and the fulfilment of their contracts were to be provided for by shipments of produce. When the commissioners first met in Paris, the French court were not quite ready to take part with their country openly. The principal reason for this hesitancy POLICY OF THE FRENCH CABINET. 455 seems to have been the fact that it would instantly produce war with Great Britain, for which France, it was said, had not yet made sufficient preparation; and although the counts de Vergennes and Maurepas, regarded as the two most influential members of the French cabinet, held that the interests of France demanded such a war, and that it would be unwise to neglect the opportunity now offered to embark in it, yet some of their colleagues thought differently, and the king himself, it is stated, was reluctant to give it his sanction. Besides, not a little doubt was still entertained respecting the general sentiments of the American people. They had not yet, it was urged, given sufficient evidence of their firmness, or their determination to persevere, at all hazards, in maintaining the position they had taken; the reverses and misfortunes of the campaign of 1776, which had just closed with but gloomy prospects for the future, might have broken their spirit and crushed their hopes, or at least have so far changed their views as to induce them, upon some concessions from the British government, to return to their former connection; and that it would be exceedingly imprudent in France to commit herself prematurely to a cause thus doubtfully situated. But, with all this caution and seeming hesitancy, the French cabinet had determined to assist the United States, and had, accordingly, soon after Mr. Deane's arrival at Paris in the preceding July, advanced a million livres from the royal treasury. This, however, was done privately, by placing the money in the hands of M. Beaumarchais, who, in concert with Mr. Deane, made large shipments of military stores to America. Such was the position of things, when, on the 28th of December, 1776, seven days after Franklin reached Paris, Count de Vergennes, the minister of foreign affairs, gave the American commissioners their first audi |