warriors made of themselves. Soon they alighted in swarms upon the
American coast, besieged the doors of Congress, and mingled their
importunities with all the other harassments of Washington. Each one of
them had his letter from Deane, reciting the exaggerated estimate of his
capacity, and worse still each one was armed with Deane's promise that
he should hold in the American army a rank one grade higher than he had
held in his home service. To keep these unauthorized pledges would have
resulted in the resignation of all the good American officers, and in
the utter disorganization of the army. So the inevitable outcome was
that the disappointed adventurers became furious; that Congress, greatly
annoyed, went to heavy expenses in sending them back again to Europe,
and in giving some _douceurs_, which could be ill afforded by the giver
and were quite insufficient to prevent the recipients from spreading at
home their bitter grudge against the young republic. Altogether it was a
bad business.

No sooner was Franklin's foot on French soil than the same eager horde
assailed him. But they found a respondent very different from Deane.
Franklin had experience. He knew the world and men; and now his tranquil
judgment and firmness saved him and the applicants alike from further
blunders. His appreciation of these fiery and priceless gallants, who so
dazzled the simple-minded Deane, is shown with charming humor in his
effort to say a kindly word for his unfortunate colleague. He did not
wonder, he said, that Deane,--

"being then a stranger to the people, and unacquainted with the
language, was at first prevailed on to make some such agreements,
when all were recommended, as they always are, as _officiers
experimentes, braves comme leurs epees, pleins de courage, de
talent, et de zele pour notre cause_, etc., etc.; in short, mere
Caesars, each of whom would have been an invaluable acquisition to
America. You can have no conception how we are still besieged and
worried on this head, our time cut to pieces by personal
applications, besides those contained in dozens of letters by every
post.... I hope therefore that favorable allowance will be made to
my worthy colleague on account of his situation at the time, as he
has long since corrected that mistake, and daily approves himself,
to my certain knowledge, an able, faithful, active, and extremely
useful servant