he dark-skinned ambassadors, accompanied
by M.Monneron and an interpreter, M.Ruffin, walk towards a tall
arbour where muslins, prints and sheet music are displayed. Muslins
from India were just becoming fashionable, and would be in great
demand as dress fabrics for the next two decades. Sheet music and
engravings are also hung up for sale.
It is probable that the visit to the Park and its fountains was
hastily added to the ambassadors' programme, to amuse them while
they awaited a royal audience. A contemporary
observer reported 'Heads were spinning as everyone tried to get
tickets to gain entry to the palace on Sunday, and see what happens
at the reception of the ambassadors. They say that there will be
3 casks of diamonds to be rolled about in the galleries��' At the
Op�ra, the ambassadors admired the Junoesque figure of the Duchesse
de Mazarin, and were described as 'wonderfully picturesque' by Mme
Vig�e Lebrun, one of the most fashionable portrait artists of the
day.
The ambassadors were completely unsuccessful in wooing French military
aid - unlike two other visitors to Paris at this time, Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. In 1776, their fight for independence
in America had succeeded - with French support. Without significant
numbers of French arms and men, Tipu's campaigns in India had little
chance of success.
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