_To H. E. Don Felipe Arana._
[D] _Buenos Ayres, December 28th, 1842._
MY DEAR M. DE VIDAL,--I received this morning your private
letter of the 20th; after thanking you for it I have little to
add, except that Count de Lurde and I have received an answer
to our note demanding an armistice, stating that a demand of
this nature, menacing as it does the Argentine Confederation,
requires time for deliberation before a reply can be given. In
the mean time, I trust that the step which I and the French
Minister have taken will in no manner weaken, but, on the
contrary, hasten and encourage the zealous efforts of your
Government to resist invasion, because, where winds and waves
are concerned, no man can say, when he leaves Europe, in what
week or in what month he will arrive at Monte Video. I know
nothing of the operations of the armies on either side of the
Uruguay; I thank you for the information which you send me
about them; I know nothing from any other source.
Believe me ever, my dear M. de Vidal, ever your sincere
friend,