that in all this business Jefferson was thinking too much of France and of the cause of human liberty in Paris, while Washington thought of the United States alone.  The result was the escape of the vessel, owing to Washington’s absence, and the consequent humiliation to the government.  To refrain from ordering Genet out of the country at once required a strong effort of self-control; but he wished to keep the peace as long as possible, and he proposed to get rid of him speedily but decorously.  He resolved also that no more such outrages should be committed through his absence, and the consequent differences among his advisers.  He continued, of course, to consult his cabinet, but he took the immediate control, more definitely even than before, into his own hands.  On July 25 he wrote to Jefferson, whose vigor at this critical time he evidently doubted:  “As the letter of the minister of the Republic of France, dated the 22d of June, lies yet unanswered, and as the official conduct of that gentleman, relative to the affairs of this government, will have to undergo a very serious consideration, ... in order to decide upon measures proper to be taken thereupon, it is my desire that all the letters to and from that minister may be ready to be laid before me, the heads of departments, and the attorney-general, whom I shall advise with on the occasion.”  He also saw to it that better precautions should be taken by the officers of the customs to prevent similar attempts to break neutrality, and set the administration and the laws of the country at defiance.

The cabinet consultations soon bore good fruit, and Genet’s recall was determined on during the first days of August.  There was some discussion over the manner of requesting the recall, but the terms were made gentle by Jefferson, to the disgust of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of War, who desired direct methods and stronger language.  As finally toned up and agreed upon by the President and cabinet, the document was sufficiently vigorous to annoy Genet, and led to bitter reproaches addressed to his friend in the State Department.  Then there was question about publishing the correspondence, and again Jefferson intervened in behalf of mildness.  The substantive fact, however, was settled, and the letter asking Genet’s recall, as desired by Washington, went in due time, and in the following February came a successor.  Genet, however, did not go back to his native land, for he preferred to remain here and save his head, valueless as that article would seem to have been.  He spent the rest of his days in America, married, harmless, and quite obscure.  His noise and fireworks were soon over, and one wonders now how he could ever have made as much flare and explosion as he did.