An American in Paris                          3 3

boroug, and the fir.st Letter was dated in the month of Septr. 1780;
from which it appears that a Mr. Mally who had formerly travelled
with Ld iMountstuart, and is an honorary professor at Geneva, and is
employed to write the History of Hesse, etc., for which he receives
annuities, a Man in short well known among Men of Letters was em¬
ployed by Mr. Neckar to make overtures to Ld. Mountstuart about
putting an End to the War by dividing Am between Britain and
France, the latter to have the eastern part.

Mr Oswald also says that Ld. Mountstuart went to Geneva on the
occasion where he conversed with Mr Mally and that his Ldship read
to him out of his Letter Book some french Letters from this Mr Mally
to his Ld. on the Subject after his Return to Turin, that this corre¬
spondence of his Ld. with Ld Hillsborough contains a very curious
and particular account of french Intrigues, particularly that Neckar
wished for peace because his System could only raise Money enough
to provide for old arrears and for current Expenses, and were he
obliged to sustain the Expence of the War he must break in upon it
and perhaps be disgraced, it also mentioned the Intrigues to get de
Sartine out of the iMarine Department, and Mr Oswald says that the
Overtures about Am. were conducted with a Variety of precautions
for Secrecy, and with a Stipulation or Condition that both parties in
Case they did not agree should be at Liberty to deny all that passed.
He told me that mv Lord wrote strongly to Ld. Hilsborough against
the Am. War and that the latter in answ"er told Him it was a Subject
out of his Line, and with which it was not proper for him to interfere.

Ld. Mountstuart was offended with the Minister for this and he
brought his Letter book with him to Mr Oswald to shew him the full
State of the Matter. Mr Oswald said that as he had told me the affair
of iVIr Pultney he could not forbear mentioning this also, for it was
a little strange that so extraordinary Matter should come so circum¬
stantial and correspondent, from two such different and unconnected
Quarters. He desired me to consider this Communication as very con¬
fidential, adding that he could say more, but that it would not be
proper for him at present to enter into a Detail for further particulars.

When this editor was researching the negotiations for his book
The Peacemakers:The Great Powers and American Independence