e same French frigate in which he previously
returned to the United States.

Contrary to his own inclinations, Mr. Adams was prevented by Vergennes,
the French minister of foreign affairs, from making any communication of
his powers to Great Britain. In fact, Vergennes and Adams already were,
and continued to be, objects of distrust to one another, in both cases
quite unfounded. Vergennes feared least advances toward treating with
England might lead to some sort of reconciliation with her, short of the
independence of the colonies, which was contrary to his ideas of the
interest of France. The communications made to Vergennes by Gerard, the
first French minister in America, and Adams' connection with the Lee's
whom Vergennes suspected, though unjustly, of a secret communication
through Arthur Lee with the British ministry, led him to regard Mr.
Adams as the representative of a party in congress desirous of such a
reconciliation; nor did he rest until he had obtained from congress,
some two years after, the recall of Mr. Adams' powers to negotiate a
treaty of commerce; and, in conjunction with him, of several colleagues
to treat for peace, of whom Franklin, who enjoyed his entire confidence,
was one.

Adams, on the other hand, not entirely free from hereditary English
prejudices against the French, vehemently suspected Vergennes of a
design to sacrifice the interests of America, especially the fisheries
and the western lands, to the advancement of the Spanish house of
Bourbon. While lingering at Paris, with nothing to do except to nurse
these suspicions, Adams busied himself in furnishing communications on
American affairs to a semi-official gazette conducted by M. Genet, chief
secretary in the foreign bureau, and father of the French minister in
America, who subsequently rendered that name so notorious.

Finding his position at Paris uncomfortable, he proceeded to Holland in
July, 1780, his object being to form an opinion as to the probability of
borrowing money there. Just about the same time he was appointed by
Congress to negotiate a French loan, the party who had been selected for
that purpose previously, Laurens, not yet being ready to leave home. By
way of enlightening the Dutch in regard to American affairs, Adams
published in the _Gazette_, of Leyden, a number of papers and extracts,
including several which, through a friend, he first had published in a
London journal to give to them an English character. To t