[54] Parton's Life of Franklin, ii. 312.
[55] The reference was to the suggestion made to Hartley for sending commissioners to Paris to treat for peace.
[56] Franklin's Works, vi. 39, note.
[57] Bancroft, Hist. U. S. ix. 481.
[58] See Franklin's Works, vi. 133. At this time John Adams strongly entertained the same sentiments, though he afterward felt very differently about the sincerity of France. Diplomatic Correspondence of American Revolution, iv. 262, 292.
[59] He was able to give a practical proof of his liberality by furnishing a passport to the packets carrying goods to the Moravian brethren in Labrador. Hale's Franklin in France, i. 245.
[60] Franklin's Works, vi. 153.
[61] Parton's Franklin, ii. 354.
[62] Franklin's Works, vi. 363.
[63] To Richard Bache, Franklin's Works, vi. 414.