ould be imprudent to send copies of them with this by the post.
Duplicates have already been forwarded. If I had a private conveyance,
I should be more particular under the head of mediation and neutral
confederation, as well as enter into an explanation of some parts of
my former despatches from hence. I have not yet received any account
of my letters sent from France; you will doubtless pay an attention to
such parts of them as may require it. If you will direct your letters
for me to the care of Mr Adams, whenever they may come on in that
course, he will be careful to forward them to me in a way, which we
have settled for our correspondence. As it will be more convenient, I
shall request Mr Adams to send you along with this the reply, which
the Imperial Courts made to the answers of the belligerent powers, to
their propositions for a general pacification, and also the final
answer of the Court of Versailles. Although you may probably receive
these through another channel, yet perhaps that is not a good reason
why we should fail to furnish you with them.

I am, Sir, with much esteem, &c.

FRANCIS DANA.

_P. S._ I hope to have an opportunity to forward next week, to the
care of Mr Adams, two or three Court Almanacs for you in French. The
other books I will procure for you as soon as possible, but as they
will be cumbersome, it is not probable I shall find any other
conveyance from hence than by water for them. I shall at all times be
very happy to have an opportunity to execute any of your commands.

* * * * *

TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

St Petersburg, March 30th, 1782.

Sir,

I did myself the honor on the 5th instant to acknowledge the receipt
of the triplicate of your letter to me of the 22d of October last, the
original has since come to hand. I will forward a duplicate of the
above by this opportunity.

Everything seems to confirm the opinion I have expressed, relative to
the partial mediation between Britain and Holland, but more especially
the resolution of Friesland respecting the United States. The failure
of that mediation is now universally considered here as beyond a
doubt. And nothing I believe but the very critical condition of
Britain, will revive the idea of a general mediation sooner than I
have estimated in my last. She has now lost Minorca, and