218 



common sense, and of both dexterity and tact, in those dark 

 days when nothing reached Europe but reports of losses, re- 

 treats, disasters to the patriots. Money was to be obtained, 

 and that from the coffers of a monarch himself well-nigh 

 bankrupt. A great state must be induced to enter the strife 

 upon the seas with the most formidable of maritime powers. 

 A friendly shelter must be found in hospitable ports for Ameri- 

 can vessels that scoured the shores of Great Britain and brought 

 in the prizes taken to be condemned and sold. 



With the joyful news of the surrender of General Burgoyne 

 came the first rays of sunshine, presage of the complete dis- 

 persion of the thick clouds hitherto enveloping the political 

 skies. Then it was that the king of France definitely consented 

 to enter upon a treaty of alliance with the United States. 

 That was indeed, as M. Guizot justly styles it, "a triumph of 

 Franklin's diplomatic ability."* Henceforth, if the great 

 American envoy's labors did not diminish, if instead they 

 rather increased as the slow years of the contest dragged along, 

 at least the firm conviction of approaching triumph made 

 tolerable even that enormous load of responsibility which 

 rested upon his shoulders. Others, it is true, were associated 

 with him, at the Plague, in Madrid, and elsewhere — John 

 Adams, John Jay, and others, whose services are deserving of 

 everlasting remembrance. They, too, displayed true patriot- 

 ism, whole-souled devotion to the cause of liberty, and rare 

 skill in negotiation. They might not have enjoyed the oppor- 

 tunities for training in the school of diplomacy which had fallen 

 to the lot of the British envoys with whom they were called 

 upon to deal, but they proved themselves adepts in the science 

 of persuasion and generally discomfited their rivals. As Dr. 

 Franklin somewhat quaintly states it, not without a tinge of 



* " Histoire de France," v, 316. 



