Sir

You are to proceed with all the dispatch in your power with the schooner Jenifer under your Command to Nantes in France; on your arrival there, you are to apply to Mr Thomas Morris, if he should be at that Port; if he should not, your application must be to Messrs Pliarne, Penet, & Co, who will furnish you with necessary Cash for your Journey to Paris, for which place you must set out immediately, and deliver your dispa~ches to Messrs Deane, Franklin and Lee, & wait their orders; when they discharge you, you are to return with the utmost diligence to America, and put into the most convenient Port to the Southward of the Delaware; we think Chincoteague or some other on the back of the Eastern Shore the most likely for avoiding Men of War, and would therefore have you attempt getting into one of those Ports; when arrived, you must leave the Schooner under the Command of your Mate, and bring the dispatches yourself to Congress, wherever it may be sitting.

You are, before you set out for Paris, to consult with Mr Morris or the above Gentlemen, whether your vessell will not be most likely to escape the enemy by sending her to some other Port to meet you on your return; if this should be their opinion, you are to give orders to your Mate accordingly; you are also to deliver your Pigg Iron to the order of those Gentlemen, and take from them such a quantity of Military Stores as will ballast your vessell -The safe delivery of the dispatches, with which you are intrusted & the obtaining answers to them, are matters of such immense consequence to the Continent, that we can not too strongly recommend to you the avoiding all vessels that you may see, either outward bound or on your return — You are also to avoid as much as possible falling in with Headlands and Islands, as it is most usual for Men of War to cruise off such places —

The Dispatches will be delivered to you in a Box, which you must put into a Bag with two Shots, that, in case of falling in with an enemy, from which you cannot escape, you may be prepared to sink them, which on such an event's happening, we earnest}y,insist on your doing — We wish you a good Voyage and safe return and are [&c.]

P.S. When you arrive at Nantes, enquire & get directions from the Gentlemen there to whom you are recommended, for Cash to carry you to Paris, where Dr Franklin, Mr Deane, or Mr Arthur Lee lodge in Paris, and above all things take care not to let it be known at Nantes, from whence you come, your business, or where you are going, except to the above Gentlemen —