been favored with your answer. I can readily
conceive, that this affair has added not a little to your
embarrassments, and therefore I lament, not complain of the delay. I
borrowed from M. Cabarrus about thirty thousand dollars. He is not
perfectly easy, and I have no prospect of borrowing more from him or
others, at least without assurances of speedy repayment, which I am
not in capacity to give. The Court indeed owes me, on their old
promise of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a balance of about
twentyfive thousand six hundred and fifteen dollars, but I have no
reason to rely on receiving it soon, if at all.

"I also begin severely to feel the want of my back salary. It is in
vain for me to expect it from America, and unless you can supply it,
it will be necessary for me immediately to disencumber myself of most
of my expenses, and confine myself to mere necessaries, until a change
may take place for the better. This circumstance conspires with those
of a more public nature, to make me very solicitous to know what you
can, or cannot do for me.

"As to the affairs of the negotiation, they have not advanced since
Major Franks left me. The Minister is too sick, or too busy, to attend
to American affairs. He refers me to M. Del Campo, who has been named
for the purpose, and when I apply to him, he tells me, that his
instructions are not yet completed, and that he cannot tell when they
will be.

"I am, &c.

JOHN JAY."

I must, however, do the Minister the justice to say, that for some
little time then past, and during the whole month of January, I have
good reason to believe, that he was greatly and constantly engaged in
pressing business, for on speaking several times during that period to
the Ambassador of France, about the delays I experienced, and the
propriety of pressing the Minister to pay some attention to our
affairs, he repeatedly told me, that he knew the Minister to be then
extremely hurried, and advised me not to make any application to him
for the present.

On the 26th of January, 1782, agreeably to a previous appointment, I
had a long conference with the Ambassador of France. I entered into a
detail of the various pretexts and delays, which the Minister had used
to avoid coming to any decision on our affairs, and made some remarks
on their keeping me suspended at present, between the Count's
incapacity to do business, and M. Del Ca