CHAPTER IV.

Preparations in France in Behalf of America—Peace Negotiations—La Fayette’s Unselfish Loyalty—His Diplomatic Measures at the Court of Spain—News of the Treaty of Peace in America—Washington’s Letter of Commendation to La Fayette—La Fayette’s Efforts in the Interests of American Commerce—Secures Exemption of Duties on Oil—Washington’s Invitation from Mount Vernon—La Fayette’s Return to America—Memorable Visit to Mount Vernon—Triumphal Reception of the Nation’s Guest—His Ovation at Boston—Congress tenders La Fayette a Farewell—Last Parting between Washington and La Fayette—Act of the Maryland Assembly to naturalize the Marquis de La Fayette—His Return to France—La Fayette’s Visit to Frederick the Great—His Description of the Prussian Warrior—Memorable Dinner at Sans Souci—La Fayette’s Sympathies for the Oppressed African Race—His Letter to Washington on the Subject of Slavery—La Fayette’s Philanthropic Example at Cayenne—Washington’s comments upon the Same—La Fayette’s Efforts in Behalf of Persecuted French Protestants—Madame Washington’s Housewifely Gift to Madame La Fayette—Comments upon the French Alliance, and the Character of General La Fayette, by Hon. Chauncey M. Depew.

“On the light of Liberty you saw arise the light of Peace, like‘another morn,Risen on mid-noon’;and the sky on which you closed your eye was cloudless.”—Daniel Webster.

“On the light of Liberty you saw arise the light of Peace, like

‘another morn,Risen on mid-noon’;

‘another morn,

Risen on mid-noon’;

and the sky on which you closed your eye was cloudless.”

—Daniel Webster.

LA FAYETTE in France was not unmindful of the interests of America. Largely through his influence a grand armament was put in preparation by France and Spain, to encounter the British power in the West Indies and North America. Sixty vessels and twenty-four thousandmen assembled at Cadiz. La Fayette was appointed chief of the staff of both armies. These vast preparations were looked upon by England with alarm, and quickened their negotiations with the United States for arranging a peace.

At this time La Fayette wrote the following letter to Washington, dated at Brest, December, 1782, and marked “Tout-à-fait confidentielle”:—

“My dear General: My preceding letters have apprised you that though the politicians speak much of peace, an expedition is about to take place, of which the command has been given to Count d’Estaing. I will add that, having been solicited to take part in it, I have accepted willingly, thinking it was the only means in the world of succeeding in that which you have charged me to obtain.“Colonel Gouvion ought to be with you, and I refer, my dear General, to that letter which I have sent to you by him; also to some notes which I have written in cipher.Les Antillesare the first object. Spain will come after. We have nine ships of the line to send by the first favorable wind. Your Excellency knows that the Count d’Estaing has gone to Spain. We have the maritime superiority. Will you prepare your propositions and your projects relative to New York, Charleston, Penobscot, and the New World? A French vessel will be sent to America, and from there, by your orders, to the West Indies.“I will write you by the next opportunity. I have the honor of sending to you, with this, a copy of a letter to Congress. I hope that you can say that you are satisfied with my conduct. In truth, my dear General, it is necessary to my happiness that you should think thus.When you are absent, I strive to do that which seems to me that you would have counselled if you had been present. I love you too much to be for a moment satisfied unless I can think that you approve my conduct.“They talk much of the peace. I think,entre nous, that the greatest difficulty will come from the Spaniards, and, moreover, I believe that the enemies are not sincere.“They have piled up disputes and artificesà proposto the question of the American limits, and thus it rests. My opinion is, that at the bottom of their hearts they are determined, if they can, to attempt to bring about some turn of their affairs in the next campaign. God grant that we shall be able to make a vigorous effort, particularly as regards New York.“I arrived here but yesterday morning, and am much occupied with the affairs of the service.”

“Colonel Gouvion ought to be with you, and I refer, my dear General, to that letter which I have sent to you by him; also to some notes which I have written in cipher.Les Antillesare the first object. Spain will come after. We have nine ships of the line to send by the first favorable wind. Your Excellency knows that the Count d’Estaing has gone to Spain. We have the maritime superiority. Will you prepare your propositions and your projects relative to New York, Charleston, Penobscot, and the New World? A French vessel will be sent to America, and from there, by your orders, to the West Indies.

“I will write you by the next opportunity. I have the honor of sending to you, with this, a copy of a letter to Congress. I hope that you can say that you are satisfied with my conduct. In truth, my dear General, it is necessary to my happiness that you should think thus.When you are absent, I strive to do that which seems to me that you would have counselled if you had been present. I love you too much to be for a moment satisfied unless I can think that you approve my conduct.

“They talk much of the peace. I think,entre nous, that the greatest difficulty will come from the Spaniards, and, moreover, I believe that the enemies are not sincere.

“They have piled up disputes and artificesà proposto the question of the American limits, and thus it rests. My opinion is, that at the bottom of their hearts they are determined, if they can, to attempt to bring about some turn of their affairs in the next campaign. God grant that we shall be able to make a vigorous effort, particularly as regards New York.

“I arrived here but yesterday morning, and am much occupied with the affairs of the service.”

On the 20th of January, 1783, the final treaty was signed. La Fayette was then at Cadiz preparing to sail to America, bearing the news of the glad tidings of peace, when an occurrence took place which revealed the unselfishness of his ambition, and the loyalty of his love for America. Mr. Carmichael, who had been appointed by CongressChargé d’Affairesto the court of Madrid, was not received by the king of Spain in his diplomatic relation, although that monarch had signed the treaty acknowledging the independence of the States. In this emergency, Mr. Carmichael wrote to La Fayette, seeking his aid. The marquis generously determined to deprive himself of the great pleasure of announcing to Washington the joyful news of the treaty; and he therefore sent a letter to the President of Congress, communicating the tidings of peace, while he himself hastened to Madrid to negotiate in behalf of the honor of America; and heobtained from the king the full recognition of the American ambassador in his official character.

The following is the memorable letter of La Fayette to Congress, announcing the treaty of peace:—

“To the President of Congress.“Cadiz, Feb. 5, 1783.“Sir: With such celerity as I can despatch a ship, I hope to inform Congress of the news of a general peace. Moreover, such are my sentiments under these circumstances that I cannot delay to present my felicitations. These sentiments one can judge of better through a knowledge of my heart, which, by means of such expressions, can only feebly render its emotions.“I remember our former times with pleasure and with pride. Our present situation renders me happy. I behold in the future a tempting prospect.“The preceding letters have made known to Congress how, until now, I had the intention of leaving France. I have been detained by some despatches. I refer to my letter of the 3d for a fuller explanation of my conduct.“Now the noble struggle is ended. I rejoice in the benefits of peace. There are here anchored nine ships of the line, with twenty thousand men, with whom the Count d’Estaing was about to join the combined forces of the West Indies, and which would have co-operated with our American army. It had even been arranged that while the Count d’Estaing was employed elsewhere, I should enter the St. Lawrence at the head of a French corps. For that which concerns myself, I have no regrets; but independent of personal considerations, you know that I have always longed for the addition of Canada to the United States.“I promised myself to return to America after the peace. Notwithstanding the pain of being detained, it is necessary to defer this voyage. Any sacrifice will not be counted by me for the accomplishment of my duties; and since it has pleased Congress to order that their ministers should consult with me, my first interest is to merit their confidence.“From my letter to M. Livingston, one can form an opinion of our situation in Spain. They have demanded my aid, and I have given it. They desire my services, and instead of departing for America I will go to Madrid, which is so far from my plan; but I believe that it will be better for me to go there during the residence of Mr. Jay in Paris; so that nothing shall hinder me, unless Congress honors me with their orders. I shall embark in the coming June, because I am very eager to behold again the American shores.“To-day our noble cause has triumphed; our independence is firmly established; and American virtue has obtained its recompense. I hope no efforts will be neglected to strengthen the federal union.“May the states be always strongly united in a manner to defy European intrigues! Upon such union will repose their importance and their happiness. This is the first wish of a heart most truly American, and which cannot refrain from expressing these words.“I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, etc.”

“To the President of Congress.“Cadiz, Feb. 5, 1783.

“To the President of Congress.

“Cadiz, Feb. 5, 1783.

“Sir: With such celerity as I can despatch a ship, I hope to inform Congress of the news of a general peace. Moreover, such are my sentiments under these circumstances that I cannot delay to present my felicitations. These sentiments one can judge of better through a knowledge of my heart, which, by means of such expressions, can only feebly render its emotions.

“I remember our former times with pleasure and with pride. Our present situation renders me happy. I behold in the future a tempting prospect.

“The preceding letters have made known to Congress how, until now, I had the intention of leaving France. I have been detained by some despatches. I refer to my letter of the 3d for a fuller explanation of my conduct.

“Now the noble struggle is ended. I rejoice in the benefits of peace. There are here anchored nine ships of the line, with twenty thousand men, with whom the Count d’Estaing was about to join the combined forces of the West Indies, and which would have co-operated with our American army. It had even been arranged that while the Count d’Estaing was employed elsewhere, I should enter the St. Lawrence at the head of a French corps. For that which concerns myself, I have no regrets; but independent of personal considerations, you know that I have always longed for the addition of Canada to the United States.

“I promised myself to return to America after the peace. Notwithstanding the pain of being detained, it is necessary to defer this voyage. Any sacrifice will not be counted by me for the accomplishment of my duties; and since it has pleased Congress to order that their ministers should consult with me, my first interest is to merit their confidence.

“From my letter to M. Livingston, one can form an opinion of our situation in Spain. They have demanded my aid, and I have given it. They desire my services, and instead of departing for America I will go to Madrid, which is so far from my plan; but I believe that it will be better for me to go there during the residence of Mr. Jay in Paris; so that nothing shall hinder me, unless Congress honors me with their orders. I shall embark in the coming June, because I am very eager to behold again the American shores.

“To-day our noble cause has triumphed; our independence is firmly established; and American virtue has obtained its recompense. I hope no efforts will be neglected to strengthen the federal union.

“May the states be always strongly united in a manner to defy European intrigues! Upon such union will repose their importance and their happiness. This is the first wish of a heart most truly American, and which cannot refrain from expressing these words.

“I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, etc.”

After divers negotiations attempted from the commencement of the year 1782, the preliminaries of a peace between France and England were signed at Versailles, on the 20th of January, 1783, by M. de Vergennes and Mr. Fitz-Herbert, plenipotentiary of his British Majesty.These preliminaries were converted into a definite treaty of peace the 3d of September, 1783. It was signed, for France, by M. de Vergennes; for Spain, by the Count d’Aranda; and for England, by the Duke of Manchester. The final treaty between Great Britain and the United States was signed at Paris, Jan. 20, 1783, by Mr. David Hartly, on the one side, and by Messrs. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, on the other side. This sitting had also concluded at Paris the peculiar treaty between Great Britain and theétats-générauxof Holland.

We cannot refrain from quoting also a portion of the delightful letter written to Washington by La Fayette, of the same date as the above communication, addressed to Congress.

“My dear General: If you were such a man as Cæsar, or as the king of Prussia, I should have been much grieved for you to behold the grand tragedy terminated, in which you have played so great a rôle. But I congratulate myself with my dear general over this peace which has accomplished all our wishes.“Recall to your mind our times at Valley Forge, and let the remembrance of those past dangers and afflictions add greater joy to the happiness of our present situation. What sentiments of pride and satisfaction I feel in pondering upon the circumstances which determined my engagement in the cause of America! As for you, my dear General, one can truly say that it is all your work; such must be the sentiments of your good and virtuous heart, in this happy moment which establishes and which crowns the revolution which you have made.“I feel that every one will envy the happiness of my descendants, as they cherish and honor your name. Tohave had one of their ancestors amongst your soldiers, to know that he had the happy fortune to be the friend of your heart, will be an eternal honor in which they will glory; and I shall bequeath to the eldest amongst them, down to the latest of my posterity, the favor which you have been willing to confer upon my son George.“I was intending to go to America with the news of the peace. You know me too well, my dear General, not to judge of the pleasure which I felt in advance, at the hope of embracing you and being reunited to my companions in arms. Nothing could please me so much as that delightful prospect; but I have been suddenly forced to change the execution of my favorite plan, and as I have had at last the happiness of receiving a letter from you, I know that you will approve of my prolonging my absence, for political motives.“A copy both of my letter to Congress and that which I have written officially to M. Livingston, requesting that they may be communicated to you, will inform you more fully of the reasons which press me to depart for Madrid. After that, I shall go to Paris, and in the month of June embark for America. Happy, ten-times happy shall I be to embrace my dear general, my father, my best friend, whom I cherish with an affection and respect which I feel so deeply that I know it is impossible to express it!“You will see by my letter to Congress that independently of the plans which had been proposed to you, and for which were united immense forces by sea and land, it had at length been decided that I should enter into Canada. I have had the hope of embracing you at Montreal, when I was to have been joined by a detachment of the army. The necessity of some diversion securedfor us the consent of Spain; but these projects have vanished, and we ought to console ourselves in thinking of the happiness of that part of the continent to which you have given deliverance.“I am impatient, my dear General, to hear from you, and to inform you of myself, for which purpose I send my servant by this vessel, and for whom I have arranged that he be landed on the coast of Maryland. I hope to receive your reply before leaving France, and I shall be then where I wish to go. If you are at home, I will direct my way toward the Chesapeake Bay.“You cannot, my dear General, employ your influence more wisely than to persuade the American people to strengthen the federal ties. This is a task which appeals to your heart, and I consider this result as necessary. Be assured that the European politicians will be disposed to create a division amongst the states. This is the time when the powers of Congress ought to be fixed, their possible limits determined, and the Articles of Confederation revised. This work, which should interest all the friends of America, is the last test; this is wanting to the perfection of the temple of Liberty.“And the army, my dear General! What is to be its future? I hope that the country will be grateful. If it is otherwise, I shall be very unhappy. Our part of the army, will they remain united? If not, I hope that we shall not lose our noble titles as officers and soldiers of the American army; and that in a time of danger we can be recalled from all corners of the world, and reunited for the defence of a country which has been so heroically saved.“I am anxious to know the measures which will be taken. Truly, I count upon your kindness to write me a very detailed letter, not only in the public interests,but also because I have the desire to be informed of all that which concerns you personally.“Adieu! adieu, my dear General! If the Spaniards had common sense, I should have been spared this wretched journey to Madrid, but I am called there by a duty to America.“Let us return, at present, to our own affairs; for I will urge you to return to France with me. The best way to arrange it will be for Madame Washington to accompany you. She will render Madame de La Fayette and myself perfectly happy. I pray your Excellency to offer my compliments to Tilghman, to George, to all the staff. Remember me to all my friends in the army. Have the kindness to speak of me to your respected mother. I wish her happiness, with all my soul. Adieu, yet once more, my dear General, with all the sentiments, etc.”

“Recall to your mind our times at Valley Forge, and let the remembrance of those past dangers and afflictions add greater joy to the happiness of our present situation. What sentiments of pride and satisfaction I feel in pondering upon the circumstances which determined my engagement in the cause of America! As for you, my dear General, one can truly say that it is all your work; such must be the sentiments of your good and virtuous heart, in this happy moment which establishes and which crowns the revolution which you have made.

“I feel that every one will envy the happiness of my descendants, as they cherish and honor your name. Tohave had one of their ancestors amongst your soldiers, to know that he had the happy fortune to be the friend of your heart, will be an eternal honor in which they will glory; and I shall bequeath to the eldest amongst them, down to the latest of my posterity, the favor which you have been willing to confer upon my son George.

“I was intending to go to America with the news of the peace. You know me too well, my dear General, not to judge of the pleasure which I felt in advance, at the hope of embracing you and being reunited to my companions in arms. Nothing could please me so much as that delightful prospect; but I have been suddenly forced to change the execution of my favorite plan, and as I have had at last the happiness of receiving a letter from you, I know that you will approve of my prolonging my absence, for political motives.

“A copy both of my letter to Congress and that which I have written officially to M. Livingston, requesting that they may be communicated to you, will inform you more fully of the reasons which press me to depart for Madrid. After that, I shall go to Paris, and in the month of June embark for America. Happy, ten-times happy shall I be to embrace my dear general, my father, my best friend, whom I cherish with an affection and respect which I feel so deeply that I know it is impossible to express it!

“You will see by my letter to Congress that independently of the plans which had been proposed to you, and for which were united immense forces by sea and land, it had at length been decided that I should enter into Canada. I have had the hope of embracing you at Montreal, when I was to have been joined by a detachment of the army. The necessity of some diversion securedfor us the consent of Spain; but these projects have vanished, and we ought to console ourselves in thinking of the happiness of that part of the continent to which you have given deliverance.

“I am impatient, my dear General, to hear from you, and to inform you of myself, for which purpose I send my servant by this vessel, and for whom I have arranged that he be landed on the coast of Maryland. I hope to receive your reply before leaving France, and I shall be then where I wish to go. If you are at home, I will direct my way toward the Chesapeake Bay.

“You cannot, my dear General, employ your influence more wisely than to persuade the American people to strengthen the federal ties. This is a task which appeals to your heart, and I consider this result as necessary. Be assured that the European politicians will be disposed to create a division amongst the states. This is the time when the powers of Congress ought to be fixed, their possible limits determined, and the Articles of Confederation revised. This work, which should interest all the friends of America, is the last test; this is wanting to the perfection of the temple of Liberty.

“And the army, my dear General! What is to be its future? I hope that the country will be grateful. If it is otherwise, I shall be very unhappy. Our part of the army, will they remain united? If not, I hope that we shall not lose our noble titles as officers and soldiers of the American army; and that in a time of danger we can be recalled from all corners of the world, and reunited for the defence of a country which has been so heroically saved.

“I am anxious to know the measures which will be taken. Truly, I count upon your kindness to write me a very detailed letter, not only in the public interests,but also because I have the desire to be informed of all that which concerns you personally.

“Adieu! adieu, my dear General! If the Spaniards had common sense, I should have been spared this wretched journey to Madrid, but I am called there by a duty to America.

“Let us return, at present, to our own affairs; for I will urge you to return to France with me. The best way to arrange it will be for Madame Washington to accompany you. She will render Madame de La Fayette and myself perfectly happy. I pray your Excellency to offer my compliments to Tilghman, to George, to all the staff. Remember me to all my friends in the army. Have the kindness to speak of me to your respected mother. I wish her happiness, with all my soul. Adieu, yet once more, my dear General, with all the sentiments, etc.”

La Fayette’s letter, bearing its weighty message, was sent in a fast-sailing vessel appropriately namedThe Triumph. This ship arrived in Philadelphia on the 23d of March, 1783, bringing to Congress the intelligence of the treaty of peace. Testimonials in honor of La Fayette were passed by Congress, and Washington wrote to him these words of commendation:—

“It is easier for you to conceive, than for me to express, the sensibility of my heart at the communication of your letter of the 5th of February, from Cadiz. It is to these communications we are indebted for the only account yet received of a general pacification. My mind, upon the receipt of this intelligence, was instantly assailed by a thousand ideas, all of them contending for pre-eminence; but, believe me, my dear friend, none could supplant or ever will eradicate that gratitudewhich has arisen from a lively sense of the conduct of your nation, and to my obligations to many of its illustrious characters (of whom, without flattery, I place you at the head), and from my admiration of your august sovereign, who, at the same time that he stands confessed the father of his own people, and the defender of American rights, has given the most exalted example of moderation in treating with his enemies.

“The armament which was preparing at Cadiz, and in which you were to have acted a distinguished part, would have carried such conviction with it, that it is not to be wondered at that Great Britain should have been impressed with the force of such reasoning. To this cause, I am persuaded, the peace is to be ascribed. Your going to Madrid from thence, instead of coming immediately to this country, is another instance, my dear Marquis, of your zeal for the American cause, and lays a fresh claim to the gratitude of her sons, who will at all times receive you with open arms.”

American independence having been secured, La Fayette now interested himself in advancing the commercial influence of America in France. The whale fishery was an important American industry; and La Fayette, by persevering efforts, secured a total exemption of duties on sixteen thousand quintals of oil, to be furnished by merchants of Boston to the contractor-general for lighting the cities of Paris and Versailles. Regarding this he modestly wrote: “I worked very hard to bring even as much as this about, and am happy at having at last obtained a point which may be agreeable to New England and the people of Boston. I wish they may, at large, know I did not neglect their affairs; and although this is a kind of private bargain, yet as it amounts to a value of about eight hundred thousand French livres,and government has been prevailed upon to take off all duties, it must be considered a matter of no little importance.”

From the quiet retreat of Mount Vernon, Washington wrote to the marquis, and renewed his previous invitation to visit him when peace should have been accomplished. The weary warrior thus pictures his retired life:—

“At length I have become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac; and under the shadow of my own vine and fig-tree, free from the bustle of the camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame; the statesman, whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries (as if this globe was insufficient for us all); and the courtier, who is always watching the countenance of his prince, in the hope of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I have not only retired from all public employments, but am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heart-felt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers.”

Again La Fayette turned his face toward the New Land of Liberty. He arrived in New York in August, 1784, where he was received with distinguished honors, and his journey to Philadelphia and Baltimore was a succession of triumphs. Bells echoed from mountain-peak to hill-top, cannon boomed their thunders of welcome, and old Revolutionary soldiers gathered aroundtheir honored comrade with admiring respect. But he hastened to the alluring heights of Mount Vernon, where his beloved chief and general impatiently awaited his arrival. Twelve days of delight he spent with Washington in that picturesque retreat.

Triumph after triumph yet awaited the nation’s guest, the now illustrious but still youthful Marquis de La Fayette; loved better in America as the valiant major-general than as the gentleman of rank. But amid all the cities that strove to do him honor, Boston, this time, outstripped them all. His ovation there occurred on the anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis, and the governor of the state, the president the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives assembled in the great hall where thousands awaited to do him honor. The apartment was brilliantly and appropriately ornamented, and emblems of the thirteen states of the Union floated from arch and pillar. After dinner thirteen patriotic toasts were drunk, followed each by thirteen guns stationed in the square without. As the name of Washington was spoken, and La Fayette arose to reply, a curtain behind the marquis was mysteriously lifted, revealing a noble portrait of the great general encircled with laurels and decorated with the entwined flags of America and France. La Fayette, surprised and moved, regarded those loved features with evident emotion, and his silent admiration was at length broken by a voice exclaiming, “Long live Washington!” And the cry was quickly taken up, and from all the people rose a shout of vociferous applause, “Long live Washington!”

LAFAYETTE’S ROOM AT MOUNT VERNON.

Congress, then assembled at Trenton, tendered a farewell to their illustrious guest; and to the courtly greeting of Mr. Jay, chairman of the committee appointed to wait upon him, La Fayette made this fitting reply:—

“May this immense temple of Freedom ever stand a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, and a sanctuary for the rights of mankind!and may these happy United States attain that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessings of their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its founders!”

And the echoes of La Fayette’s words come still rolling down the years, “May this temple of Freedom stand!”

La Fayette’s parting from Washington was most tender and affecting. As the old general pressed to his heart the youthful form of his beloved and adopted son, tears filled his eyes, and La Fayette, too, looked through dim mists, and both were proud to show their mutual love.

With a prophetic presentiment that they should never meet again, Washington afterwards wrote to La Fayette these touching words:—

“In the moment of our separation, and every hour since, I have felt all that love, respect, and attachment for you, with which length of years, close connection, and your merits have inspired me. I often asked myself, as our carriages separated, whether that was the last sight I should ever have of you; and though I wished to say no, my fears answered yes! I called to mind the days of my youth, and found that they had fled to return no more; that I was now descending the hill I had been fifty years climbing, and that, though I was blessed with a good constitution, I was of a short-lived family, and might soon expect to be entombed in the mansion of my fathers. These thoughts darkened the shades and gave a gloom to the picture, and, consequently, to my prospect of seeing you again.”

And truly this was their last meeting and their last parting on this earth. When, in after years, La Fayette again visited America, Washington slept under the sod at Mount Vernon, and the sorrowful marquis could only satisfy his affectionate remembrance of that ideal friendship by dropping his silent tears upon the tomb of his adopted father.

The following act to naturalize Major-General the Marquis de La Fayette and his heirs male forever was passed November session, 1784, by the Assembly of Maryland:—

“Whereas, the General Assembly of Maryland anxious to perpetuate a name dear to the state, and to recognize the Marquis de La Fayette as one of its citizens, who, at the age of nineteen, left his native country, and risked his life in the late revolution; who, on his joining the American army, after being appointed by Congress to the rank of major-general, disinterestedly refused the usual reward of command, and sought only to deserve, what he attained, the character of patriot and soldier; who, when appointed to conduct an incursion into Canada, called forth, by his prudence and extraordinary discretion, the approbation of Congress; who, at the head of an army in Virginia baffled the manœuvres of a distinguished general, and excited the admiration of the oldest commanders; who early attracted the notice and obtained the friendship of the illustrious General Washington; and who labored and succeeded in raising the honor and name of the United States of America: Therefore,“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Marquis de La Fayette and his heirs male forever shall be, and they, and each of them, are hereby deemed, adjudged, and taken to be natural-born citizens of this state, and shall henceforth be entitled to all the immunities, rights, and privileges of natural-born citizens thereof, they and every one of them, conforming to the constitution and laws of this state, in the enjoyment and exercise of such immunities, rights, and privileges.”

“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Marquis de La Fayette and his heirs male forever shall be, and they, and each of them, are hereby deemed, adjudged, and taken to be natural-born citizens of this state, and shall henceforth be entitled to all the immunities, rights, and privileges of natural-born citizens thereof, they and every one of them, conforming to the constitution and laws of this state, in the enjoyment and exercise of such immunities, rights, and privileges.”

A similar act was also passed by the legislature of Virginia.

La Fayette returned to Paris in January, 1785. During this year the marquis visited the courts of many of the German princes, and was everywhere received with marked distinction. But the fawning of courtiers could not move La Fayette from his declared position as an upholder of freedom. Even old Frederick the Great was forced to acknowledge the power of the impulsive champion of liberty. La Fayette was invited by the admiring tyrant to Sans Souci, and the Prussian monarch treated him with distinguished consideration. Many were their warm discussions upon liberty and the American Revolution, the success of which made even the haughty old king tremble on his tottering throne.

In one of these conversations Frederick declared that the American Republic would not last. “She will return to the good old system by and by,” said he; to which La Fayette, with earnestness, replied: “Never, Sire; never! Neither monarchy nor aristocracy can ever exist in America. Do you believe that I went to America to obtain military reputation? It was for liberty I went there. He who loves liberty can only remain quiet after having established it in his own country.”

To which the old tyrant grimly and sarcastically answered: “Sir, I knew a young man, who, after having visited countries where liberty and equality reigned, conceived the idea of establishing the same system in his own country. Do you know what happened to him?”

“No, Sire.”

“He was hanged,” said the old monarch, with a meaning smile.

When La Fayette took his leave of the Prussian warrior, Frederick presented to the marquis his miniature setin diamonds, as a token of his admiring regard. In La Fayette’s “Memoirs” he thus sketches Frederick the Great as he appeared at the time of this visit:—

“I have been to Potsdam,” says the marquis, “to pay my court to the king; and though I had heard much of his appearance, I was not fully prepared to see him dressed in an old, ragged, dirty uniform, all covered with Spanish snuff, his head leaning over one shoulder, and his fingers almost dislocated with gout. But what surprised me most was the fire, and occasionally the softness, in his eyes—the handsomest eyes I have ever seen; so that his face can be as charming when he is pleased as it can be stern and threatening at the head of his army. I was in Silesia when he reviewed thirty-one battalions and seventy-five squadrons—thirty thousand men in all, seventy-five hundred of them being cavalry.

“It is with the greatest pleasure that I viewed the Prussian army! nothing can be compared to the beauty of the troops,—to the discipline which rules in all the ranks, to the simplicity and uniformity of their movements. It is a perfectly regular machine, wound up these forty years, and which has not suffered from other changes than those which could render it more simple and more swift. All the situations which one can suppose in a war, all the movements which ought to be introduced, have been, by constant habit, so inculcated in their heads, that all these operations are made almost mechanically.

“If the resources of France, the vivacity of her soldiers, the intelligence of her officers, the national ambition, the delicate sensibilities which they are known to possess, had been applied to a system as well carried out, we should have been then as much ahead of the Prussiansas our army is at this moment inferior to theirs; and that is much to say.

FREDERICK II.

“I have seen also the Austrians, but not all assembled. Their general system of economy should be more admired than the manœuvres of their troops. Their method is not simple; our regiments are better than theirs, and such advantage as they could have in line over us, we could with a little practice surpass them. I really believe that there is no need for more instructions of details in some of our best regiments than in those of the Prussians; but their manœuvres are infinitely preferable to ours.

“In a week I dined with the Prussian king, his dinner lasting three hours. The conversation was confined to the Duke of York, the king, myself, and two or three others, so that I had plenty of opportunity to listen to him, and to admire the vivacity of his wit and the charm of his graciousness.

“At last I almost forgot he was a despot, selfish and severe. Lord Cornwallis was there. The king placed him next me at table, and on his other hand he had the son of the king of England; then he asked a thousand questions on American affairs.”

This was surely a strange combination of circumstances and of guests; but just this sort of ironical environments would delight the sarcastic soul of the cunning old warrior.

La Fayette had an equally strange experience in America. During his campaign in Virginia, in an action in which he was in command, General Phillips was killed, and this general had been the officer who had commanded the enemy’s troops at Minden when the father of La Fayette was slain.

La Fayette met Cornwallis again in 1801, when theEnglish lord came over to Paris to negotiate a general peace.

American independence having been secured, La Fayette’s sympathies were aroused in behalf of the oppressed African race. His soul abhorred injustice of any sort, and when he met a wrong he always endeavored to aid in righting it.

He did not content himself with æsthetically expressing his sympathy, but his enthusiasm always led him to action. Whatsoever he did he entered into with his whole might, and where there was wrong and oppression, he felt himself called upon to devote his energies, his position, and his purse in the cause of the oppressed. So greatly was he moved in behalf of the negro slaves, that he wrote to Washington soon after the American war as follows:—

“Permit me, my dear General, now that you are about to enjoy some repose, to propose a plan for elevating the African race. Let us unite in purchasing a small estate where we may try the experiment of freeing the negroes, and use them only as tenants. Such an example as yours would render the practice general; and if we should succeed in America, I will cheerfully devote a part of my time to render the plan fashionable in the West Indies. If it be a wild scheme, I would rather be mad in that way than be thought wise on the other tack.” Although Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Patrick Henry, and others cordially sympathized with him, nothing definite was done except by the indefatigable La Fayette himself. Not waiting for others, he purchased a plantation in Cayenne, upon which were a large number of slaves, and in order to prepare them for gradual emancipation, he began to fit them for their freedom by a thorough course of education.

Regarding this philanthropic act of La Fayette, his daughter Virginie writes:—

“An earnest wish to contribute to all that was good, and a horror for all injustice, were prominent features in my mother’s character. It was, therefore, with deep satisfaction that she witnessed my father’s efforts in favor of the abolition of the slave trade. He purchased a plantation at Cayenne, La Belle Gabrielle, in order to give the example of gradual emancipation. Every just and liberal idea found a place in my mother’s heart, and her active zeal made her seek ardently for every means of putting them into immediate execution. My father entrusted her with all the details of this undertaking, in which the desire of teaching the negroes of that plantation the first principles of religion and of morals was united with the wish she shared with my father of making them worthy of liberty. Her charity was excited by the hope of teaching the blacks to know and love God, and of proving to the free-thinkers who sympathized with the negroes that the success of their undertaking would be in great part due to religion. The events of the Revolution have not allowed us to see these hopes realized, but we have at least had the satisfaction of hearing that the negroes of La Belle Gabrielle did not commit the atrocities which were perpetrated in other places.”

Regarding this philanthropic plan of La Fayette’s for the uplifting of the negroes, Washington thus wrote to him in 1786: “Your late purchase in Cayenne, with a view of emancipating your slaves, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit might diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country! But I despair of seeing it. Some petitions were presented to the Virginia Assemblyat its last session for the abolition of slavery, but they could scarcely obtain a hearing. To set the slaves afloat at once would, I really believe, be productive of much inconvenience and mischief; but by degrees it certainly might, and assuredly ought, to be effected, and that, too, by legislative authority.”

La Fayette also interested himself at this time in behalf of the persecuted French Protestants. Though himself belonging to the Romish Church, he was neither bigoted nor intolerant, and hated the tyranny of priests as bitterly as the tyranny of kings.

In the midst of the sterner subjects regarding war and politics, which form so large a part of the correspondence between Washington and La Fayette, it may be pleasing to note the following homely little incident which brings both men in somewhat closer relationship with lesser mortals whose lives are made up of petty details and home affairs. In the “Mémoires et Manuscrits” of La Fayette, a work published by his family, in Paris, in 1837, and which has never been entirely translated into English, only scattered letters having been from time to time culled therefrom, for the various sketches given regarding the life of La Fayette, we have noticed much valuable and interesting information not elsewhere to be found.

Among the correspondence of General La Fayette many letters from Washington were collected, several of which were quoted in their proper chronological order, and of the date of June, 1786, we find the following little note, which is interesting, as it takes us into the home-circle at Mount Vernon, and shows us the goodly housewife in the person of Lady Washington, and the kindly host rather than the stately general in this picture of Washington. The note reads as follows:—

“My dear Marquis: You will be astonished to see so ancient a date upon the letter which I send you, if I did not say to you that the ship which was to have carried this letter has since returned. Nothing new has occurred since then, and I would not give you the weariness of a second epistle, if I had not forgotten to say to you that Madam Washington sends to Madame de La Fayette a cask of ham. I know not if these are better, or even as good, as those in France, but these are of our own making, and you know that the ladies of Virginia pride themselves upon the excellence of their ham, and we remember that it was a dish much to your taste. She has therefore desired that I offer them to you. I had wished to send with them a barrel of old brandy peaches, but I have not been able to procure enough of good quality to be placed by the side of your luscious wines, and so I send them not. After all, these two gifts would be more proper to offer as a ration after a long march in the rain than to figure upon your table in Paris.”

The Honorable Chauncey M. Depew, in his memorial address, delivered at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, the gift of France to America, thus ably comments upon the French alliance, and the character of General La Fayette:—

“The French alliance, which enabled us to win our independence, is the romance of history. It overcame improbabilities impossible in fiction, and its results surpass the dreams of imagination. The most despotic of kings, surrounded by the most exclusive of feudal aristocracies, sending fleets and armies officered by the scions of the proudest of nobilities to fight for subjects in revolt and the liberties of the common people, is a paradoxbeyond the power of mere human energy to have wrought or solved. The march of this mediæval chivalry across our states, respecting persons and property as soldiers never had before, never taking an apple or touching a fence-rail without permission and payment, treating the ragged Continentals as if they were knights in armor and of noble ancestry, captivating our grandmothers by their gallantry, and our grandfathers by their courage, remains unequalled in the poetry of war. It is the most magnificent tribute in history to the volcanic force of ideas and the dynamitic power of truth, though the crust of the globe imprison them. In the same ignorance and fearlessness with which a savage plays about a powder magazine with a torch, the Bourbon king and his court, buttressed by the consent of centuries and the unquestioned possession of every power to the state, sought relief from cloying pleasures and vigor for enervated minds in permitting and encouraging the loftiest genius and the most impassioned eloquence of the time to discuss the rights and liberties of man. With the orator the themes were theories which fired only his imagination, and with the courtiers they were pastimes or jests. Neither speakers nor listeners saw any application of these ennobling sentiments to the common mass and grovelling herd whose industries they squandered in riot and debauch, and whose bodies they hurled against battlement and battery to gratify ambition or caprice. But these revelations illuminated many an ingenuous soul among the young aristocracy, and with distorted rays penetrated the Cimmerian darkness whichenvelopedenvelopedthe people. They bore fruit in the heart and mind of one youth, to whom America owes much, and France everything,—the Marquis de La Fayette. As the centuries roll by, and in the fulness of time the raysof Liberty’s torch are the beacon lights of the world, the central niches in the earth’s Pantheon of Freedom will be filled by the figures of Washington and La Fayette.“It is idle now to speculate whether our fathers could have succeeded without the French alliance. The struggle would have been indefinitely prolonged and probably compromised. But the alliance secured our triumph, and La Fayette secured the alliance. The fabled argosies of ancient, and the armadas and fleets of modern, times were commonplace voyages compared with the mission enshrined in this inspired boy. He who stood before the Continental Congress and said, ‘I wish to serve you as a volunteer, and without pay,’ and at twenty took his place with Gates, and Green, and Lincoln as major-generals in the Continental army. As a member of Washington’s military family, sharing with that incomparable man his board, and bed, and blanket, La Fayette won his first and greatest distinction in receiving from the American chief a friendship which was closer than that bestowed upon any other of his compatriots, and which ended only in death. The great commander saw in the reckless daring with which he carried his wound to rally the flying troops at Brandywine, the steady nerve with which he held the column wavering under a faithless general at Monmouth, the wisdom and caution with which he manœuvred inferior forces in the face of the enemy, his willingness to share every privation of the illy-clad and starving soldiery, and to pledge his fortune and credit to relieve their privations, a commander upon whom he could rely, a patriot he could trust, a man he could love.“The surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga was the first decisive event of the war. It defeated the British plan to divide the country by a chain of forts up the Hudsonand conquer it in detail. It inspired hope at home and confidence abroad. It seconded the passionate appeals of La Fayette and the marvellous diplomacy of Benjamin Franklin; it overcame the prudent counsels of Necker, warning the king against this experiment; and won the treaty of alliance between the old Monarchy and the young Republic. La Fayette now saw that his mission was in France. He said, ‘I can help the cause more at home than here.’ and asked for leave of absence. Congress voted him a sword and presented it with a resolution of gratitude, and he returned, bearing this letter from that convention of patriots to his king, ‘We recommend this young nobleman to your Majesty’s notice, as one whom we know to be wise in council, gallant in the field, and patient under the hardships of war.’ It was a certificate which Marlborough might have coveted, and Gustavus might have worn as the proudest of his decorations. But though king and court vied with each other in doing him honor, though he was welcomed as no Frenchman had ever been by triumphal processions in the cities and fêtes in villages, by addresses and popular applause, he reckoned them of value only in the power they gave him to procure aid for Liberty’s fight in America. ‘France is now committed to war,’ he argued, ‘and her enemy’s weak point for attack is in America. Send there your money and men.’ And he returned with the army of Rochambeau and the fleet of De Grasse.“‘It is fortunate,’ said De Maurepas, the prime minister, ‘that La Fayette did not want to strip Versailles of its furniture for his dear Americans, for nobody could withstand his ardor.’ None too soon did this assistance arrive, for Washington’s letter to the American commissioners in Paris passed it on the way, in which he madethis urgent appeal: ‘If France delays a timely and powerful aid in the critical posture of our affairs, it will avail us nothing should she attempt it hereafter. We are at this hour suspended in the balance. In a word, we are at the end of our tether, and now or never deliverance must come.’ General Washington saw in the allied forces now at his disposal that the triumph of independence was assured. The long, dark night of doubt and despair was illuminated by the dawn of a hope. The material was at hand to carry out the comprehensive plans so long matured, so long deferred, so patiently kept. That majestic dignity which had never bent to adversity, that lofty and awe-inspiring reserve which presented an impenetrable barrier to familiarity, either in council or at the festive board, so dissolved in the welcome of these decisive visitors that the delighted French and the astounded American soldiers saw Washington for the first and only time in his life express his happiness with all the joyous effervescence of hilarious youth.“The flower of the young aristocracy of France, in their brilliant uniforms, and the farmers and frontiersmen of America, in their faded continentals, bound by a common baptism of blood, became brothers in the knighthood of liberty. With emulous eagerness to be in at the death, while they shared the glory, they stormed the redoubts at Yorktown, and compelled the surrender of Cornwallis and army. While this practically ended the war, it strengthened the alliance and cemented the friendship between the two great peoples. The mutual confidence and chivalric courtesy which characterized their relations has no like example in international comity. When an officer from General Carlton, the British commander-in-chief, came to headquarters with an offer ofpeace and independence, if the Americans would renounce the French alliance, Washington refused to receive him; Congress spurned Carlton’s secretary bearing a like message; and the states, led by Maryland, denounced all who entertained propositions of peace which were not approved by France as public enemies. And peace with independence meant prosperity and happiness to a people in the very depths of poverty and despair. France, on the other hand, though sorely pressed for money, said, in the romantic spirit which permeated this wonderful union: ‘Of the 27,000,000 livres we have loaned you, we forgive you 9,000,000 as a gift of friendship, and when with years there comes prosperity, you can pay the balance without interest.’“With the fall of Yorktown La Fayette felt that he could do more for peace and independence in the diplomacy of Europe than in the war in America. His arrival in France shook the continent. Though one of the most practical and self-poised of men, his romantic career in the New World had captivated courts and peoples. In the formidable league which he had quickly formed with Spain and France, England saw humiliation and defeat, and made a treaty of peace by which she recognized the independence of the Republic of the United States.“The fight for liberty in America was won. Its future here was threatened with but one danger,—the slavery of the negro. The soul of La Fayette, purified by battle and suffering, saw the inconsistency and the peril, and he returned to this country to plead with state legislatures and with Congress for the liberation of what he termed ‘my brethren, the blacks.’ But now the hundred years’ war for liberty in France was to begin. America was its inspiration, La Fayette its apostle, and the returningFrench army its emissaries. Beneath the trees by day and in the halls at night, at Mount Vernon, La Fayette gathered from Washington the gospel of freedom. It was to sustain and guide him in after years against the temptations of power and the despair of the dungeon. He carried the lessons and the grand example through all the trials and tribulations of his desperate struggle and partial victory for the enfranchisement of his country. From the ship, on departing, he wrote to his great chief, whom he was never to see again, this touching good by: ‘You are the most beloved of all the friends I ever had or shall have anywhere. I regret that I cannot have the inexpressible pleasure of embracing you in my own house, and welcoming you in a family where your name is adored. Everything that admiration, respect, gratitude, friendship, and filial love can inspire is combined in my affectionate heart to devote me most tenderly to you. In your friendship I find a delight which no words can express.’ His farewell to Congress was a trumpet blast which resounded round a world then bound in the chains of despotism and caste. Every government on the continent was an absolute monarchy, and no language can describe the poverty and wretchedness of the people. Taxes levied without law exhausted their property; they were arrested without warrant, and rotted in the Bastile without trial, and they were shot as game, and tortured without redress, at the caprice or pleasure of their feudal lords. Into court and camp this message came like the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast. Hear his words: ‘May this immense temple of freedom ever stand a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the rights of mankind, and may these happy United States attain that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessingsof their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its founders.’ Well might Louis the Sixteenth, more far-sighted than his ministers, exclaim, ‘After fourteen hundred years of power the old monarchy is doomed.’”

“It is idle now to speculate whether our fathers could have succeeded without the French alliance. The struggle would have been indefinitely prolonged and probably compromised. But the alliance secured our triumph, and La Fayette secured the alliance. The fabled argosies of ancient, and the armadas and fleets of modern, times were commonplace voyages compared with the mission enshrined in this inspired boy. He who stood before the Continental Congress and said, ‘I wish to serve you as a volunteer, and without pay,’ and at twenty took his place with Gates, and Green, and Lincoln as major-generals in the Continental army. As a member of Washington’s military family, sharing with that incomparable man his board, and bed, and blanket, La Fayette won his first and greatest distinction in receiving from the American chief a friendship which was closer than that bestowed upon any other of his compatriots, and which ended only in death. The great commander saw in the reckless daring with which he carried his wound to rally the flying troops at Brandywine, the steady nerve with which he held the column wavering under a faithless general at Monmouth, the wisdom and caution with which he manœuvred inferior forces in the face of the enemy, his willingness to share every privation of the illy-clad and starving soldiery, and to pledge his fortune and credit to relieve their privations, a commander upon whom he could rely, a patriot he could trust, a man he could love.

“The surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga was the first decisive event of the war. It defeated the British plan to divide the country by a chain of forts up the Hudsonand conquer it in detail. It inspired hope at home and confidence abroad. It seconded the passionate appeals of La Fayette and the marvellous diplomacy of Benjamin Franklin; it overcame the prudent counsels of Necker, warning the king against this experiment; and won the treaty of alliance between the old Monarchy and the young Republic. La Fayette now saw that his mission was in France. He said, ‘I can help the cause more at home than here.’ and asked for leave of absence. Congress voted him a sword and presented it with a resolution of gratitude, and he returned, bearing this letter from that convention of patriots to his king, ‘We recommend this young nobleman to your Majesty’s notice, as one whom we know to be wise in council, gallant in the field, and patient under the hardships of war.’ It was a certificate which Marlborough might have coveted, and Gustavus might have worn as the proudest of his decorations. But though king and court vied with each other in doing him honor, though he was welcomed as no Frenchman had ever been by triumphal processions in the cities and fêtes in villages, by addresses and popular applause, he reckoned them of value only in the power they gave him to procure aid for Liberty’s fight in America. ‘France is now committed to war,’ he argued, ‘and her enemy’s weak point for attack is in America. Send there your money and men.’ And he returned with the army of Rochambeau and the fleet of De Grasse.

“‘It is fortunate,’ said De Maurepas, the prime minister, ‘that La Fayette did not want to strip Versailles of its furniture for his dear Americans, for nobody could withstand his ardor.’ None too soon did this assistance arrive, for Washington’s letter to the American commissioners in Paris passed it on the way, in which he madethis urgent appeal: ‘If France delays a timely and powerful aid in the critical posture of our affairs, it will avail us nothing should she attempt it hereafter. We are at this hour suspended in the balance. In a word, we are at the end of our tether, and now or never deliverance must come.’ General Washington saw in the allied forces now at his disposal that the triumph of independence was assured. The long, dark night of doubt and despair was illuminated by the dawn of a hope. The material was at hand to carry out the comprehensive plans so long matured, so long deferred, so patiently kept. That majestic dignity which had never bent to adversity, that lofty and awe-inspiring reserve which presented an impenetrable barrier to familiarity, either in council or at the festive board, so dissolved in the welcome of these decisive visitors that the delighted French and the astounded American soldiers saw Washington for the first and only time in his life express his happiness with all the joyous effervescence of hilarious youth.

“The flower of the young aristocracy of France, in their brilliant uniforms, and the farmers and frontiersmen of America, in their faded continentals, bound by a common baptism of blood, became brothers in the knighthood of liberty. With emulous eagerness to be in at the death, while they shared the glory, they stormed the redoubts at Yorktown, and compelled the surrender of Cornwallis and army. While this practically ended the war, it strengthened the alliance and cemented the friendship between the two great peoples. The mutual confidence and chivalric courtesy which characterized their relations has no like example in international comity. When an officer from General Carlton, the British commander-in-chief, came to headquarters with an offer ofpeace and independence, if the Americans would renounce the French alliance, Washington refused to receive him; Congress spurned Carlton’s secretary bearing a like message; and the states, led by Maryland, denounced all who entertained propositions of peace which were not approved by France as public enemies. And peace with independence meant prosperity and happiness to a people in the very depths of poverty and despair. France, on the other hand, though sorely pressed for money, said, in the romantic spirit which permeated this wonderful union: ‘Of the 27,000,000 livres we have loaned you, we forgive you 9,000,000 as a gift of friendship, and when with years there comes prosperity, you can pay the balance without interest.’

“With the fall of Yorktown La Fayette felt that he could do more for peace and independence in the diplomacy of Europe than in the war in America. His arrival in France shook the continent. Though one of the most practical and self-poised of men, his romantic career in the New World had captivated courts and peoples. In the formidable league which he had quickly formed with Spain and France, England saw humiliation and defeat, and made a treaty of peace by which she recognized the independence of the Republic of the United States.

“The fight for liberty in America was won. Its future here was threatened with but one danger,—the slavery of the negro. The soul of La Fayette, purified by battle and suffering, saw the inconsistency and the peril, and he returned to this country to plead with state legislatures and with Congress for the liberation of what he termed ‘my brethren, the blacks.’ But now the hundred years’ war for liberty in France was to begin. America was its inspiration, La Fayette its apostle, and the returningFrench army its emissaries. Beneath the trees by day and in the halls at night, at Mount Vernon, La Fayette gathered from Washington the gospel of freedom. It was to sustain and guide him in after years against the temptations of power and the despair of the dungeon. He carried the lessons and the grand example through all the trials and tribulations of his desperate struggle and partial victory for the enfranchisement of his country. From the ship, on departing, he wrote to his great chief, whom he was never to see again, this touching good by: ‘You are the most beloved of all the friends I ever had or shall have anywhere. I regret that I cannot have the inexpressible pleasure of embracing you in my own house, and welcoming you in a family where your name is adored. Everything that admiration, respect, gratitude, friendship, and filial love can inspire is combined in my affectionate heart to devote me most tenderly to you. In your friendship I find a delight which no words can express.’ His farewell to Congress was a trumpet blast which resounded round a world then bound in the chains of despotism and caste. Every government on the continent was an absolute monarchy, and no language can describe the poverty and wretchedness of the people. Taxes levied without law exhausted their property; they were arrested without warrant, and rotted in the Bastile without trial, and they were shot as game, and tortured without redress, at the caprice or pleasure of their feudal lords. Into court and camp this message came like the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast. Hear his words: ‘May this immense temple of freedom ever stand a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the rights of mankind, and may these happy United States attain that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessingsof their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its founders.’ Well might Louis the Sixteenth, more far-sighted than his ministers, exclaim, ‘After fourteen hundred years of power the old monarchy is doomed.’”

Back to Index Next