He was ambassador at the French court with Franklin. He left his countrymen in great straits for money, clothing, and provisions. He found their representatives abroad living in affluence. He wrote home, Dec. 13, 1778, "they have made immense private fortunes for themselves and their dependents. Mr. D. (Silas Deane) is generally understood to have made £60,000 sterling while he was commissioner; his clerk, from being penniless, keeps his house and carriage. Dr. Franklin's nephew, Mr. Williams, from being clerk in a sugar bakehouse in London, is become a capital merchant here, loading a number of ships on his own account, while gentlemen of the first fortunes in America cannot get remittances or credit for their subsistence. [Illustration: Arthur Lee.] "These things are notorious, and there are no visible sources of this property but the public money and State secrets to trade upon. "They will force me one day or other to bring the proof of these things before Congress and the public; when I am sure they will shed some of their borrowed plumes." Letters from the French officers, Lafayette, Fleury, De Francey, speak of "_des lauriers que vous avez gagné à la defense de votre patrie_," etc. One from Lafayette's own hand illustrates the excellence of the marquis's English, perhaps quite as good as the American colonel's French:-- "DEAR SIR: I make myself the pleasure of writing to you; and wishing you an agreeable sejour at home. If you find there a horse distinguished by his figure as well as his qualities for what you think I can desire of him, I shall be obliged to you to send him to me; Provided he would not be wicked for others or troublesome to me; as otherwise they are not so dear at equal beauties and qualities. Being so fine as I wish him, he must be verry dear. I beg your pardon for this commission and I am, with great affection "Your most obedient servant, "LA FAYETTE. "P.S. We have not any other interesting news in camp but that a vessel is arrived in Portsmouth from France with fifty pieces of cannon and five thousand arms." Rather an important item to follow an order for a horse. How "verry dear" the marquis's fine horse was likely to be we can gather from a letter written by the good old gentleman at "Cawsons," from which we have news of some old friends among the race-horses: "I have a new coach which stands me in fourteen thousand and odd pounds of the present money. I have sold the horse 'Aristotle' at a profit and bought for your use the high-bred horse, 'Janus-and-Silver-eye,' which cost me one hundred and twenty pounds."