5. BF had known William Bingham since at least 1774; most recently, he had helped pay the congressional agent’s drafts: XXI, 403; XXII, 443n; XXXVI, 673. After returning in 1780 from his mission to Martinique, Bingham married Anne Willing and immersed himself in the political, financial, and social life of Philadelphia. He was a founder and director of the Bank of North America, formed two lucrative commercial ventures (a mercantile house with a branch in Amsterdam and a land-grant partnership in New York), speculated successfully in the money market, and helped finance Dickinson College. In the spring of 1783, after his accounts with Congress were settled, Bingham took his young family abroad, where he pursued business interests. They stayed for nearly three years, initially settling in London: Robert C. Alberts, The Golden Voyage: the Life and Times of William Bingham, 1752–1804 (Boston, 1969), pp. 86–155; Morris Papers, VIII, 736. Bingham made his first trip to the Netherlands in August, and from there continued to Paris, when he presumably delivered this letter: Dumas to BF, Aug. 25 (below); BF to Richard Price, Sept. 16, 1783 (Library of Congress). One of his calling cards is among BF’s papers at the APS.