"My Dear Sir,
"From respect to your Excellency and to the American Congress, the King has determined that Captain Hill, on satisfying, or giving security to satisfy, the damage he has done to one of our vessels, on account of which he is detained, shall be at liberty to return to his country when he pleases. For this purpose I communicate the enclosed order to the Corregidor of Bilboa, and repeating myself to be at the service of your Excellency, I pray God to preserve you many years.
COUNT DE FLORIDA BLANCA."
The next day I sent the Count some American papers, which had just come to hand, and enclosed them with a card, in which there was this paragraph.
"Mr Jay has received the letter, which his Excellency did him the honor to write yesterday by M. Gardoqui, and is greatly obliged by the permission granted to Captain Hill to depart, as well as by the polite terms in which that circumstance is communicated to Mr Jay."
As further remonstrance on this subject would have been useless, I thought it best to appear satisfied, and not, by any expressions of discontent, to hazard new obstacles to the attainment of our more important objects.
I must now return to the old subject. Although the Count had been some weeks at the Escurial, and I had in vain waited with great patience for the letter, which the Minister had promised to write to me on leaving St Ildefonso, yet as many bills would become payable in December, and I was unprovided with funds, I thought it high time to remind the Minister of my situation.
I therefore wrote him the following letter.
"Madrid, November 16th, 1781.
"Sir,