to him, and has received a considerable part, but has
rendered no particular account. I have, by order of Congress,
desired him to produce his account, that we might know exactly what
we owed, and for what; and he has several times promised it, but
has not yet done it; and in his conversation he often mentions, as
I am told, that we are greatly in his debt. These accounts in the
air are unpleasant, and one is neither safe nor easy under them. I
wish, therefore, you could help me to obtain a settlement of them.
It has been said that Mr. Deane, unknown to his colleagues, wrote
to Congress in favor of M. Beaumarchais's demand; on which Mr. Lee
accuses him of having, to the prejudice of his constituents,
negotiated a gift into a debt. At present all that transaction is
in darkness;[44] and we know not whether the whole, or a part, or
no part, of the supplies he furnished were at the expense of
government, the reports we have had being so inconsistent and
contradictory; nor, if we are in debt for them, or any part of
them, whether it is the king or M. de Beaumarchais who is our
creditor."[45]

[Note 44: Light was first let in upon this darkness by Louis de
Lomenie, in his _Beaumarchais et Son Temps_; and the story as told by
him may be read, in a spirited version, in Parton's _Life of Franklin_,
chapters vii., viii.]

[Note 45: Hale's _Franklin in France_, i. 53.]

What chiefly irritated Congress against Deane and led to his recall was
neither his dealings with Beaumarchais nor the slanders of Lee, but
quite another matter, in which he certainly showed much lack of
discretion. Cargoes of arms and munitions of war were very welcome in
the States, but cargoes of French and other European officers were by no
means so. Yet the inconsiderate Deane sent over these enthusiasts and
adventurers in throngs. The outbreak of the rebellion seemed to arouse a
spirit of martial pilgrimage in Europe, a sort of crusading ardor, which
seized the Frenchmen especially, but also some few officers in other
continental armies. These all flocked to Paris and told Deane that they
were burning to give the insurgent States the invaluable assistance of
their distinguished services. Deane was little accustomed to the highly
appreciative rhetoric with which the true Frenchman frankly describes
his own merit, and apparently accepted as correct the appraisal which
these