channel of communication. That he himself, from having no access
to the King's Ministers, was frequently unable to give accounts
of their real views and intentions. That he was therefore to
desire the permission to see me often _sous la meme forme_ that
he had now come [_sic_].

I told him that this was a point on which I was unwilling to
take upon myself personally to give him an answer; but that he
should have one; and in order to avoid mistakes I repeated to
him the phrase, that his request was to see me _sous la meme
forme_. He said "yes," and that this was conceived to be a means
of arriving sooner at the object of his being allowed to
present to the King the _lettres de creance_ with which he was
charged. As he did not express this quite distinctly, I asked
him again whether I understood him right; that his present
request was only to communicate under the form in which he now
came. He again assented to this, but in doing it threw out that
he had _almost_ had direct orders from the _Conseil Executif_ to
apply for permission to present his letters. He however
expressly assented to my statement that the other was at present
his only request.

Nothing else material passed, except justifications of himself
from the imputation of treating on public business with some
persons in this country with whom he had connections of private
friendship and intercourse, and complaints of the manner in
which he was treated in the newspapers. To neither of these
points I said anything.[171]

It is not surprising that Grenville asked for time to consult his
colleagues (probably also the King) before returning an answer to
Lebrun's missive; for, though unobjectionable in form, it re-affirmed
the French claims and justified all the proceedings of that Government.
Lebrun accused the Pitt Cabinet of raising difficulties of form and of
discovering hostile intentions where none existed. While repudiating the
notion of annexing Belgium, he firmly adhered to the Scheldt decree.
France, he declared, would respond to all appeals which emanated from
the general will of a nation, and he even asserted that she could treat
only with a Government which "is deemed the organ of the general will of
the nation governed." If her efforts for peace failed, she would fight
England with regret but without fear.[172]

In effect, then, this despatch held o