demands upon it, the most cordial friendship may be wearied; and, as nothing is more teasing than repeated, unexpected large demands for money, I hope the Congress will absolutely put an end to the practice of drawing on their ministers, and thereby obliging them to worry their respective courts for the means of payment. It may have otherwise very ill effects in depressing the spirit of a minister, and destroying that freedom of representation which, on many occasions, it might be proper for him to make use of.
I heartily congratulate you, sir, on your being called to the honorable and important office of President, and wish you every kind of prosperity.
Be pleased to present my dutiful respects to the Congress, and believe me to be, with great and sincere esteem and respect, etc.,
B. Franklin.
MIII. TO MESSRS. KORNMANN
Passy, 21 November, 1781.
Gentlemen:—
Enclosed is the answer you desire to the letter sent me from Königsberg. I have the honor to be, gentlemen, etc.,
B. Franklin.
Passy, 21 November, 1781.
Madam:—
I received the letter you did me the honor of writing to me the 26th of last month; in answer to which I ought to inform you, that I was born in America, now near seventy-six years since, that I never was in Ireland till the year 1772, which was for a few weeks only, and I did not pass thence to America with any person of my name, but returned to England; nor had I ever any knowledge of the John Franklin you mention. I have exact accounts of every person of my family since the year 1555, when it was established in England, and am certain that none of them but myself since that time was ever in Ireland. The name of Franklin is common among the English of the two nations, but there is a number of different families who bear it, and who have no relation to each other. It would be a pleasure to me to discover a relation in Europe, possessing the amiable sentiments expressed in your letter. I assure you I should not disown the meanest. I should also be glad if I could give you a satisfactory account of your family; but I really know nothing of them. I have therefore not the honor of being related to them, but I have that of being, madam, yours, etc.,
B. Franklin.
MIV. TO THOMAS POWNALL
Passy, 23 November, 1781.
Dear Sir:—
I received your favor by Mr. Hobart. I caused an application to be made to Almon in behalf of Mrs. Barry, but do not learn that it is like to meet with any success. Ref. 020 As the transaction was between yourself and him, no other person but you can claim with authority. I must therefore beg for the poor good woman’s sake, that you would do something effectual in it.
I also request that you would send the copies you mention to me here, directed to the care of Mr. Bowen at Ostend; and that the plate may be packed with them.
I wish most heartily with you that this cursed war was at an end; but I despair of seeing it finished in my time. Your thirsty nation has not yet drunk enough of our blood. I am authorized to treat of peace whenever she is disposed to it; but I saw inconveniences in meeting and discoursing with you on the subject, or with any one not avowed by your ministry; having already experienced such in several instances. Mr. Hobart appeared not fully acquainted with your ideas, and as he could not communicate them I could make no judgment of them. My best wishes attend you, being with the old, long-continued esteem, dear sir, your most obedient, etc.,
B. Franklin.
MV. TO JOHN ADAMS
Passy, 26 November, 1781.
Sir:—
I sent forward last Saturday some packets and letters for you, which I hope got to hand in time. Most heartily do I congratulate you on the glorious news! Ref. 021 The infant Hercules in his cradle has now strangled his second serpent, and gives hopes that his future history will be answerable.
I enclose a packet which I have just received from General Washington, and which I suppose contains the articles of capitulation. It is a rare circumstance, and scarce to be met with in history, that in one war two armies should be taken prisoners completely, not a man in either escaping. It is another singular circumstance, that an expedition so complex, formed of armies of different nations, and of land and sea forces, should with such perfect concord be assembled from different places by land and water, form their junction punctually, without the least retard by cross accidents of wind or weather, or interruption from the enemy; and that the army which was their object should in the meantime have the goodness to quit a situation from whence it might have escaped, and place itself in another whence an escape was impossible.
General Greene has done wonders too in Carolina. I hear that a reinforcement was to be sent to him from the army in Virginia, and that there are hopes of his reducing Charleston. You have probably in the enclosed packet the account of his last great action. Count de Grasse sailed on the 30th with the fleet and part of the land forces. His destinaion is not mentioned. I have the honor to be, etc.,
B. Franklin.
MVI. FROM ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON
Philadelphia, 26 November, 1781.
Dear Sir:—
The Marquis de Lafayette, who has obtained leave to revisit his family for the winter, does me the honor to be the bearer of this and duplicates of two former letters to you. The degree of estimation in which he is held here you will collect from the enclosed resolutions relative to him, so that you may converse freely with him, and I doubt not that he will be able to satisfy your inquiries on many important questions relative to this country; on which account I may confine myself more to general heads than I would otherwise do.
As to intelligence, there is little of importance, the army all having gone into winter-quarters after the late glorious campaign, the enemy having been defeated on every hand. A party of about six hundred of them, who fell upon the western frontier of New York, were the last that quitted the stage, having been driven off by an inferior number of militia, with the loss of their leaders, and many privates killed, and about fifty, including the wounded, made prisoners. A body of troops is detached to the southward to reinforce General Greene, with orders to attempt Wilmington on their way, which the enemy occupy with about five hundred men, and keep up a connection with the disaffected counties in North Carolina.
We have not in a long time heard either from you or Mr. Jay, so that we are much in the dark respecting the probable prospect of a negotiation this winter, or rather are led to conclude from your silence that the prospect is extremely remote; in which case all your objects will concentre in preparing for the ensuing campaign, and directing the operations as far as possible to this country. The success of the combined operations this summer will give great weight to your arguments, especially as they are such as would deserve, independent of that, the most serious attention. But, sir,
