_To his Excellency Don Jose Antonino Vidal, &c. &c. &c._
* * * * *
(PRIVATE.)
_Buenos Ayres, December 23rd, 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
consideration before a reply can be given.
In the meantime, 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,
Your faithful and sincere friend,