ised to see the Minister, with whom he was that
day to dine, and to send me his positive and final answer by four
o'clock in the afternoon.

Having prepared the draft of a protest, I thought it would not be
amiss to show it to the Ambassador. He returned it to me without
making any other remark, than that it was rather pointed.

From the Ambassador's I went to M. Cabarrus'; he had not been at the
Pardo, and was then at a meeting of merchants, to whose consideration
his plan of a bank had been referred.

The Ambassador went to the Pardo and mentioned the matter to the
Minister, who replied briefly, "that affair is already arranged with
M. Cabarrus," but the Chevalier de Bourgoing, having been desired to
bring back a decided answer, applied to M. Del Campo on the subject,
who told him, "that they could not possibly comply with M. Cabarrus'
terms; that he had written so that morning to M. Cabarrus by a private
courier, and that in the evening the Minister would repeat it to him
officially." On the Chevalier's mentioning this to the Ambassador, he
was clearly of opinion that I had not any resource left, and,
therefore, that the bills must be protested, and that the Chevalier
should tell me so. I showed the protest, as translated into Spanish by
M. Gardoqui, to the Chevalier. The original in English is as follows.

"Mr Jay says, that when he accepted the bills hereunto annexed, he had
good reason to expect to be supplied with the funds necessary to pay
them. That he has been disappointed in the expectations he was
encouraged to entertain on this subject, and that his endeavors to
obtain moneys for the purpose both here and elsewhere have been
unsuccessful, although the bills which remain to be paid by him,
together with all his other engagements, do not exceed twentyfive
thousand pounds sterling. That these disappointments being unexpected,
he cannot, for want of time, have recourse to Congress, and,
therefore, finds himself reduced to the mortifying necessity of
permitting them to be protested."

The Chevalier approved of the protest, but the notary on reading it
observed, that the sum was really so trifling, that he thought it
would do better to strike it out. The Chevalier was struck with this
remark, and advised me with some earnestness to make no mention of the
sum, for, said he, "it will appear very extraordinary, that you should
be obliged to protest the bills of Congress for the want of such a
sum, and peop