Amid the embarrassments which Deane had brought about by his indiscretion, Franklin arrived at Paris; but he wisely left Deane to disentangle the affairs of the supposed mercantile house, until this unfortunate agent was recalled by Congress,—­a broken-down man, who soon after died in England, poor and dishonored.  Deane had also embarrassed Franklin, and still more the military authorities at home, by the indiscriminate letters of commendation he gave to impecunious and incapable German and French officers as being qualified to serve in the American army.

Probably no American ever was hailed in Paris with more eclat than Benjamin Franklin.  His scientific discoveries, his cause invested with romantic interest, his courtly manners, his agreeable conversation, and his reputation for wisdom and wit, made him an immediate favorite among all classes with whom he came in contact.  He was universally regarded as the apostle of liberty and the impersonation of philosophy.  Not wishing to be too conspicuous, and dreading interruptions to his time, he took up his residence at Passy, a suburb of Paris, where he lived most comfortably, keeping a carriage and entertaining at dinner numerous guests.  He had a beautiful garden, in which he delighted to show his experiments to distinguished people.  His face always wore a placid and benignant expression.  He had no enemies, and many friends.  His society was particularly sought by fashionable ladies and eminent savants.  While affable and courteous, he was not given to flattery.  He was plain and straightforward in all he said and did, thus presenting a striking contrast to diplomatists generally.  Indeed, he was a universal favorite, which John Adams, when he came to be associated with him, could not understand.  Adams was sent to France in 1778 to replace Silas Deane, and while there was always jealous of Franklin’s ascendency in society and in the management of American affairs.  He even complained that the elder envoy was extravagant in his mode of living.  In truth, Franklin alone had the ear of the Count de Vergennes, through whom all American business was transacted, which exceedingly nettled the intense, confident, and industrious Adams, whose vanity was excessive.

I need not dwell on the embarrassments of Franklin in raising money for the American cause.  There was no general confidence in its success among European bankers or statesman.  The French government feared to compromise itself.  Many of the remittances already sent had been intercepted by British cruisers.  The English minister at Paris stormed and threatened.  The news from America was almost appalling, for the British troops had driven Washington from New York and Long Island, and he appeared to be scarcely more than a fugitive in New Jersey, with only three or four thousand half-starved and half-frozen followers.  A force of ten thousand men had been recently ordered to America under General Burgoyne.  Almost discouraged, the envoys applied for loans to the Dutch bankers and to Spain, but without success.