Oneglia, Monaco, Nice, Antibes, Frejus, Aix, Marseilles, Avignon, Nismes, Montpellier, Frontignan, Sette, Agde, and along the canal of Languedoc, by Beziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Castelnaudari, through the Souterrain of St. Feriol, and back by Castelnaudari, to Toulouse; thence to Montauban, and down the Garonne by Langon to Bordeaux.  Thence to Rochefort, la Rochelle, Nantes, L’Orient; then back by Rennes to Nantes, and up the Loire by Angers, Tours, Amboise, Blois, to Orleans, thence direct to Paris, where I arrived on the 10th of June.  Soon after my return from this journey, to wit, about the latter part of July, I received my younger daughter, Maria, from Virginia, by the way of London, the youngest having died some time before.

The treasonable perfidy of the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder and Captain General of the United Netherlands, in the war which England waged against them, for entering into a treaty of commerce with the United States, is known to all.  As their Executive officer, charged with the conduct of the war, he contrived to baffle all the measures of the States General, to dislocate all their military plans, and played false into the hands of England against his own country, on every possible occasion, confident in her protection, and in that of the King of Prussia, brother to his Princess.  The States General, indignant at this patricidal conduct, applied to France for aid, according to the stipulations of the treaty, concluded with her in ’85.  It was assured to them readily, and in cordial terms, in a letter from the Count de Vergennes, to the Marquis de Verac, Ambassador of France at the Hague, of which the following is an extract.

’Extrait de la depeche de Monsieur le Comte de Vergennes a Monsieur le Marquis de Verac, Ambassadeurde France a la Haye, du ler Mars, 1786.

’Le Roi concourrera, autant qu’il sera en son pouvoir, au succes de la chose, et vous inviterez, de sa part, les Patriotes de lui communiquer leurs vues, leurs plans, et leurs envies.  Vous les assurerez, que le roi prend un interet veritable a leurs personnes cornme a leur cause, et qu’ils peuvent compter sur sa protection.  Us doivent y compter d’autant plus, Monsieur, que nous ne dissimulons pas, que si Monsieur le Stadtholder reprend son ancienne influence, le systeme Anglois ne tardera pas de prevaloir, et que notre alliance deviendroit un etre de raison.  Les Patriotes sentiront facilement, que cette position seroit incompatible avec la dignite, comme avec la consideration de sa Majeste.  Mais dans le cas, Monsieur, ou les chefs des Patriotes auroient a craindre une scission, ils auroient le temps suffisant peur ramener ceux de leurs amis, que les Anglomanes ont egares, et preparer les choses, de maniere que la question de nouveau mise en deliberation, soit decidee selon leurs desirs.  Dans cette hypothese, le roi vous autorise a agir de concert avec eux, de suivre la direction qu’ils jugeront devoir vous donner,