in the 4th,
5th, 7th, 11th, 18th, and other articles of their treaty, which
communicate to the English the privileges of the most favored
_European_ nation only, has lessened, if not removed those fears. They
have clearly reserved a right of favoring, specially, any nation not
European; and there is no nation out of Europe, who could so probably
have been in their eye at that time, as ours. They are wise. They must
see it probable, at least, that any concert with England, will be but
of short duration; and they could hardly propose to sacrifice for that,
a connection with us, which may be perpetual.

We have been for some days in much inquietude for the Count de
Vergennes. He is very seriously ill. Nature seems struggling to decide
his disease into a gout. A swelled foot, at present, gives us a hope of
this issue. His loss would at all times have been great; but it would
be immense during the critical poise of European affairs existing at
this moment. I enclose you a letter from one of the foreign officers,
complaining of the non-payment of their interest. It is only one out of
many I have received. This is accompanied by a second copy of the
Moorish declaration sent me by Mr. Barclay. He went to Alicant to
settle with Mr. Lambe; but on his arrival there, found he was gone to
Minorca. A copy of his letter will inform you of this circumstance, and
of some others relative to Algiers, with his opinion on them. Whatever
the States may enable Congress to do for obtaining the peace of that
country, it is a separate question whether they will redeem our
captives, how, and at what price. If they decide to redeem them, I will
beg leave to observe, that it is of great importance that the first
redemption be made at as low a price as possible, because it will form
the future tariff. If these pirates find that they can have a very
great price for Americans, they will abandon proportionably their
pursuits against other nations, to direct them towards ours. That the
choice of Congress may be enlarged, as to the instruments they may use
for effecting the redemption, I think it my duty to inform them, that
there is here an order of priests called the Mathurins, the object of
whose institution is to beg alms for the redemption of captives. They
keep members always in Barbary, searching out the captives of their
country, and redeem, I believe, on better terms than any other body,
public or private. It occurred to me, that their agency m