s." Governor William R. Davie, of
North Carolina, was appointed in Henry's place; and Mr. Murray, still at
the Hague, was instructed to apprize Talleyrand of the appointments, but
to inform him that the envoys would not embark until the Directory
should give assurances that they would be received with courtesy due to
their rank, and treated with on terms of perfect equality. He was also
instructed not to have any further informal communications with agents
of the French republic.

It was October before the president received assurances of the proper
reception of the envoys, and they did not leave for France until
November. Meanwhile, although war between the two nations had not been
formally declared, it actually existed upon the ocean. Hostile
collisions had taken place between vessels belonging to the two
governments; and upward of three hundred private American vessels had
been armed for self-defence.

From the beginning, some of the best friends of Mr. Adams had deprecated
the new mission to France. The nominations had been made by the
president without consulting his cabinet; and both Pickering, the
secretary of state, and M'Henry, the secretary of war, lamented the
occurrence, not only because it was undignified, but because it was
likely to complicate the already perplexing relations with the French.
They remonstrated, but the president refused to listen. Hamilton,
Gouverneur Morris, and other supporters of the administration, were
equally opposed to the measure, but the president paid little heed to
their opinions. This produced a feud between the president and his
cabinet, which made Washington uneasy, for the times were too ominous of
mischief to the government to make such feud otherwise than perilous in
a degree to the commonwealth. "I have, some time past," wrote Washington
to Pickering late in November, just after the departure of the envoys,
"viewed the political concerns of the United States with an anxious and
painful eye. They appear to me to be moving by hasty strides to a
crisis; but in what it will result, that Being, who sees, foresees, and
directs all things, alone can tell. The vessel is afloat, or very nearly
so, and, considering myself as a passenger only, I shall trust to the
mariners (whose duty it is to watch) to steer it into safe port."

Fortunately for all parties concerned, when the American envoys reached
France, a change in the French government had taken place. Napoleon
Bonaparte w