disposed individual; but that he believed France wished them well and that he would give them the advantage of his large acquaintance in Paris, to insure any requests they might have to present at court.
Thereupon, our forefathers decided to send an agent into the nest of intrigue at Versailles to get what they could from the French. Our forefathers were the most straightforward men to be found in any capital in the world—at this or any other time. But they were rebellious subjects of the King, just the same, and not entirely lacking in knowledge of the ways of the world.
In consequence, Mr. Timothy Jones, a merchant from the Island of Bermuda, arrived in Bordeaux, France, on the 4th of May, 1776. He made no secret of the fact that he was bent upon purchasing certain gimcracks for the Indian trade. What he neglected to mention was that when last seen across the water he had been known as Silas Deane, representative in Congress from the State of Connecticut, and
