=Franklin at Paris.=—­When Franklin reached Paris, he was received only in private by the king’s minister, Vergennes.  The French people, however, made manifest their affection for the “plain republican” in “his full dress suit of spotted Manchester velvet.”  He was known among men of letters as an author, a scientist, and a philosopher of extraordinary ability.  His “Poor Richard” had thrice been translated into French and was scattered in numerous editions throughout the kingdom.  People of all ranks—­ministers, ladies at court, philosophers, peasants, and stable boys—­knew of Franklin and wished him success in his mission.  The queen, Marie Antoinette, fated to lose her head in a revolution soon to follow, played with fire by encouraging “our dear republican.”

For the king of France, however, this was more serious business.  England resented the presence of this “traitor” in Paris, and Louis had to be cautious about plunging into another war that might also end disastrously.  Moreover, the early period of Franklin’s sojourn in Paris was a dark hour for the American Revolution.  Washington’s brilliant exploit at Trenton on Christmas night, 1776, and the battle with Cornwallis at Princeton had been followed by the disaster at Brandywine, the loss of Philadelphia, the defeat at Germantown, and the retirement to Valley Forge for the winter of 1777-78.  New York City and Philadelphia—­two strategic ports—­were in British hands; the Hudson and Delaware rivers were blocked; and General Burgoyne with his British troops was on his way down through the heart of northern New York, cutting New England off from the rest of the colonies.  No wonder the king was cautious.  Then the unexpected happened.  Burgoyne, hemmed in from all sides by the American forces, his flanks harried, his foraging parties beaten back, his supplies cut off, surrendered on October 17, 1777, to General Gates, who had superseded General Schuyler in time to receive the honor.

=Treaties of Alliance and Commerce (1778).=—­News of this victory, placed by historians among the fifteen decisive battles of the world, reached Franklin one night early in December while he and some friends sat gloomily at dinner.  Beaumarchais, who was with him, grasped at once the meaning of the situation and set off to the court at Versailles with such haste that he upset his coach and dislocated his arm.  The king and his ministers were at last convinced that the hour had come to aid the Revolution.  Treaties of commerce and alliance were drawn up and signed in February, 1778.  The independence of the United States was recognized by France and an alliance was formed to guarantee that independence.  Combined military action was agreed upon and Louis then formally declared war on England.  Men who had, a few short years before, fought one another in the wilderness of Pennsylvania or on the Plains of Abraham, were now ranged side by side in a war on the Empire that Pitt had erected and that George III was pulling down.