George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 10

[273] until they should have been condemned in a court

Chap. XII.} 1779.

of admiralty of the nation of the privateer; and he slipped into the ordinance the declaration, that, as the king of Denmark had recognised neither the independence nor the flag of America, its vessels could not be suffered to bring their prizes into Danish harbors. The two which had been brought into Bergen were set free; but, to avoid continual reclamations, two others, which in December were taken to Christiansand, were only forced to leave the harbor.¹

Wrapt up in the belief that he had ‘brought the empress to the verge of standing forth as the professed friend of Great Britain,’ Harris thought he had only to meet her objection of his having acted without instructions; and, at his instance, George the Third, in November, by an autograph letter, entreated her armed mediation against the house of

Nov.

Bourbon. ‘I admire,’ so he addressed her, ‘the grandeur of your talents, the nobleness of your sentiments, and the extent of your intelligence.’ ‘The employ, the mere show of naval force could break up the league formed against me, and maintain the balance of power which this league seeks to destroy.’² The letter was accompanied by a writing from Harris, in which he was lavish of flattery; and he offered, unconditionally, an alliance with Great Britain, including even a guarantee against the Ottoman Porte.³

The answer was prepared by Panin without delay.