American gentleman, and there waiting the favorable moment of
opening your eventual character?"

_Answer._ His objections were, that though you should not avow your
public character, yet if known to be an American, who had been in
public employ, it would be suspected, that you had such a character,
and the British Minister there might exert himself to procure you
"_quelques desagrements_," i. e. chagrins or mortifications. And that
unless you appeared to have some other object in visiting St
Petersburg, your being an American, would alone give strong grounds
for such suspicions. But when you mentioned, that you might appear to
have views of commerce, as a merchant, or of curiosity as a traveller,
&c. that there was a gentleman at St Petersburg with whom some in
America had a correspondence, and who had given hints of the utility
there might be in having an American in Russia, who could give true
intelligence of the state of our affairs, and prevent or refute
misrepresentations, &c. and that you could, perhaps, by means of that
gentleman, make acquaintance, and thence procure useful information of
the state of commerce, the country, the Court, &c. he seemed less to
disapprove of your going directly.

As to my own opinion, which you require, though I have long imagined
that we let ourselves down, in offering our alliance before it is
desired, and that it would have been better if we had never issued
commissions for Ministers to the Courts of Spain, Vienna, Prussia,
Tuscany, or Holland, till we had first privately learnt, whether they
would be received, since a refusal from one is an actual slight, that
lessens our reputation, and makes others less willing to form a
connexion with us; yet since your commission is given, and the
Congress seem to expect, though I think they do not absolutely require
that you should proceed to St Petersburg immediately, I conceive (that
assuming only a private character for the present, as you propose) it
will be right for you to go, unless on consulting Mr Adams, you should
find reason to judge, that under the present circumstances of the
proposed mediation, &c. a delay for some time would be more advisable.

With great esteem, and best wishes for your success, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

* * * * *

TO JOHN ADAMS.

Leyden, April 18th,