n of America, to render her in return the
best services I could perform. I came to France (for I was in England
when I received the invitation) not to enjoy ease, emoluments, and
foppish honours, as the article supposes; but to encounter difficulties
and dangers in defence of liberty; and I much question whether those who
now malignantly seek (for some I believe do) to turn this to my injury,
would have had courage to have done the same thing. I am sure Gouverneur
Morris would not. He told me the second day after my arrival, (in
Paris,) that the Austrians and Prussians, who were then at Verdun,
would be in Paris in a fortnight. I have no idea, said he, that seventy
thousand disciplined troops can be stopped in their march by any power
in France.

1 This and the two preceding paragraphs, including the
footnote, are entirely omitted from the American pamphlet.
It will be seen that Paine had now a suspicion of the
conspiracy between Gouverneur Morris and those by whom he
was imprisoned. Soon after his imprisonment he had applied
to Morris, who replied that he had reclaimed him, and
enclosed the letter of Deforgues quoted in my Introduction
to this chapter, of course withholding his own letter to the
Minister. Paine answered (Feb. 14, 1793): "You must not
leave me in the situation in which this letter places me.
You know I do not deserve it, and you see the unpleasant
situation in which I am thrown. I have made an answer to the
Minister's letter, which I wish you to make ground of a
reply to him. They have nothing against me--except that they
do not choose I should lie in a state of freedom to write my
mind freely upon things I have seen. Though you and I are
not on terms of the best harmony, I apply to you as the
Minister of America, and you may add to that service
whatever you think my integrity deserves. At any rate I
expect you to make Congress acquainted with my situation,
and to send them copies of the letters that have passed on
the subject. A reply to the Minister's letter is absolutely
necessary, were it only to continue the reclamation.
Otherwise your silence will be a sort of consent to his
observations." Deforgues' "observations" having been
dictated by Morris himself, no reply was sent to him, and no
word to Congress.--_Editor_.

2 In the pamphlet this last clause of th