This letter needs no comments; it breathes the fears and precautions of a creditor, striving to make the most of a failing debtor, and therefore I considered this letter as inauspicious. I returned a verbal answer, that an examination of these accounts must precede a settlement of them, and that as to a speedy payment of the balance due to him, he knew my exact situation. A day or two before the date of this letter, M. Cabarrus had a conference with the Minister on these subjects, and according to M. Cabarrus' representations, the Minister then declared, that he would pay the balance due on the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and no more; that the King was dissatisfied at America's having made no returns to his good offices, either in ships or flour, &c. &c.; that he had mentioned to me a year ago his desire of having the men-of-war building in New England, but had not yet received an answer, &c. It appeared to me very extraordinary, that the Minister should promise the Ambassador to do his best, and yet tell M. Cabarrus that he would do nothing, and yet so I believe were the facts. The next morning, viz. 26th of February, I paid the Ambassador an early visit, and mentioned these circumstances to him minutely. I expressed my apprehensions, that the pretended discontents of the King belonged to the same system of delays and pretexts, with which we had been so long amused; and which in this instance were probably dictated by a desire of avoiding inconvenient advances. I reminded him, that Dr Franklin had given me expectations of his being able to replace the money I had borrowed of M. Cabarrus, and that this sum, added to the balance to be paid by the Court, would reduce the remainder of the money wanted to less than twenty thousand pounds sterling; and that it would appear a little surprising in the eyes of Europe as well as America, that our credit should be permitted either by France or Spain to suffer essential injury for the want of such a sum. I requested him to advise me what to do. He said that he knew not what advice to give me; that he saw no resources anywhere; that he should dismiss a courier on Saturday next, and that he would again write to the Count de Vergennes on the subject. I observed to him, that the answer if favorable would probably come too late, as a great number of the bills would become payable about the 14th of March. He replied, that if the Court should resolve to supply the money, he should soon be informed of it. We had some conversation about the Marquis de Lafayette. The Ambassador spoke well of him, and as a proof of the confidence of Congress in the attachment of that nobleman, I mentioned my having received orders to correspond with him.