“Witmold, 9thBrumaire, year 6.“How is it possible, my dear friend, that since the period of our deliverance you have not yet received the homage of my gratitude, and the expression of my sincere friendship? M—— must have explained to you that my delay in writing could have proceeded only from the hope of enjoying a happiness still greater. I am far from renouncing that happiness; I have need of it more than ever, and I demand it from you with the feeling of confidence which you have given me a right to express. I am not apprehensive of abusing that right, and it is gratifying to me to use it. I forbear to speak of my obligations towards you, my dear friend; the question relates to more than my own liberty and my own life, since my wife, my daughters, my two friends, and our faithful domestics have been restored along with me. How many other obligations to which my heart is incessantlyalive should I not still have to recapitulate, were I to endeavor to portray my gratitude! but it is inexpressible—inexhaustible—like your friendship, and I should feel delighted to thank you by pressing you to my heart.“You have had news of our deliverance, of our journey, of our health; that of my wife in particular is so bad that we have been forced to stop in the nearest place of safety. To have embarked even for a short voyage would have caused great injury to some of our party. Travelling by land, after the first eight days, would have been uncertain, and my wife would have been unable to bear it without undergoing a degree of fatigue that would have been dangerous in her exhausted situation. We therefore propose to settle for some time in a very isolated retreat between Kiel and Ploën. That territory is subject to the king of Denmark, and his connection with the Republic will, I trust, prevent him from molesting French citizens whose principles may be displeasing to him, but whose only occupation will consist in the care of their health, and who, unfortunately, in their present position, can serve liberty only by their wishes.“You have doubtless been made acquainted with my opinion on the events of the 18thFructidor, and I am aware that my opinion on that subject is not yours. Perhaps mine is influenced by my profound contempt for the counter-revolutionists, and by some regret at not having gone out at a moment when liberty of opinion and a bad tone of society would, it is said, have authorized a republican declaration. But I cannot deceive myself as to the nature of the measures that have been taken; as to the constitution that has been sworn, and which, by the way, is infinitely better than that which I was to have defended; as to the personal charactersof several of the proscribed parties; as to the declaration of rights, which, waiving all considerations of an author’s self-love, shall always form the rule of my opinions and conduct; finally, as to the principle, in which I have been confirmed by experience, that Liberty can, and ought to be, assisted only by means worthy of her. If I deceive myself in my disapprobation of some of the present measures, the fault is not mine; I have been enabled to form a judgment on them only by means of some apologies and public papers; and in frankly laying before you the sentiments of the most republican heart that ever existed, I most ardently desire to hear from you the reasons which have induced so sincere and so enlightened a patriot as yourself to form a different opinion.“Our first act of liberty at Hamburg was an act of respect to the representative of the Republic, an account of which he must have forwarded to the government. We have written to Bonaparte in the midst of his triumphs, and to Clarke in the midst of his reverses, for both have considerable claims upon our gratitude. But as it appears to us that the official tribute ought to be addressed to the minister of foreign relations, the first organ of the government in taking steps which have released us from captivity and death, we have written to Talleyrand, as the natural depository of our acknowledgments, as the individual to whom we owe an account of our existence in a foreign country, and as joining to his ministerial claims that which he possesses upon our personal gratitude. We trust that by these three steps taken by us at Hamburg, in Italy, and at Paris, we have fulfilled all suitable duties and formalities. The pleasure of our deliverance is augmented beyond measure by the idea that we owe it to the triumphs of the Republic, to the kind feelings of our fellow-citizens, and to the zealof our best friends, among whom you are acquainted with one whose abilities are as superior as his heart is excellent, one for whom I feel the most affectionate regard, whom I ardently long to embrace, to whom I have a thousand things to say, and a thousand questions to put, and whom I shall cordially cherish till my latest breath.“La Fayette.”
“Witmold, 9thBrumaire, year 6.
“How is it possible, my dear friend, that since the period of our deliverance you have not yet received the homage of my gratitude, and the expression of my sincere friendship? M—— must have explained to you that my delay in writing could have proceeded only from the hope of enjoying a happiness still greater. I am far from renouncing that happiness; I have need of it more than ever, and I demand it from you with the feeling of confidence which you have given me a right to express. I am not apprehensive of abusing that right, and it is gratifying to me to use it. I forbear to speak of my obligations towards you, my dear friend; the question relates to more than my own liberty and my own life, since my wife, my daughters, my two friends, and our faithful domestics have been restored along with me. How many other obligations to which my heart is incessantlyalive should I not still have to recapitulate, were I to endeavor to portray my gratitude! but it is inexpressible—inexhaustible—like your friendship, and I should feel delighted to thank you by pressing you to my heart.
“You have had news of our deliverance, of our journey, of our health; that of my wife in particular is so bad that we have been forced to stop in the nearest place of safety. To have embarked even for a short voyage would have caused great injury to some of our party. Travelling by land, after the first eight days, would have been uncertain, and my wife would have been unable to bear it without undergoing a degree of fatigue that would have been dangerous in her exhausted situation. We therefore propose to settle for some time in a very isolated retreat between Kiel and Ploën. That territory is subject to the king of Denmark, and his connection with the Republic will, I trust, prevent him from molesting French citizens whose principles may be displeasing to him, but whose only occupation will consist in the care of their health, and who, unfortunately, in their present position, can serve liberty only by their wishes.
“You have doubtless been made acquainted with my opinion on the events of the 18thFructidor, and I am aware that my opinion on that subject is not yours. Perhaps mine is influenced by my profound contempt for the counter-revolutionists, and by some regret at not having gone out at a moment when liberty of opinion and a bad tone of society would, it is said, have authorized a republican declaration. But I cannot deceive myself as to the nature of the measures that have been taken; as to the constitution that has been sworn, and which, by the way, is infinitely better than that which I was to have defended; as to the personal charactersof several of the proscribed parties; as to the declaration of rights, which, waiving all considerations of an author’s self-love, shall always form the rule of my opinions and conduct; finally, as to the principle, in which I have been confirmed by experience, that Liberty can, and ought to be, assisted only by means worthy of her. If I deceive myself in my disapprobation of some of the present measures, the fault is not mine; I have been enabled to form a judgment on them only by means of some apologies and public papers; and in frankly laying before you the sentiments of the most republican heart that ever existed, I most ardently desire to hear from you the reasons which have induced so sincere and so enlightened a patriot as yourself to form a different opinion.
“Our first act of liberty at Hamburg was an act of respect to the representative of the Republic, an account of which he must have forwarded to the government. We have written to Bonaparte in the midst of his triumphs, and to Clarke in the midst of his reverses, for both have considerable claims upon our gratitude. But as it appears to us that the official tribute ought to be addressed to the minister of foreign relations, the first organ of the government in taking steps which have released us from captivity and death, we have written to Talleyrand, as the natural depository of our acknowledgments, as the individual to whom we owe an account of our existence in a foreign country, and as joining to his ministerial claims that which he possesses upon our personal gratitude. We trust that by these three steps taken by us at Hamburg, in Italy, and at Paris, we have fulfilled all suitable duties and formalities. The pleasure of our deliverance is augmented beyond measure by the idea that we owe it to the triumphs of the Republic, to the kind feelings of our fellow-citizens, and to the zealof our best friends, among whom you are acquainted with one whose abilities are as superior as his heart is excellent, one for whom I feel the most affectionate regard, whom I ardently long to embrace, to whom I have a thousand things to say, and a thousand questions to put, and whom I shall cordially cherish till my latest breath.
“La Fayette.”
In 1792 Madame La Fayette had written to Washington in behalf of her husband, as follows: “While he suffers this inconceivable persecution from the enemies without, the faction which reigns within keeps me a hostage at one hundred and twenty leagues from the capital. Judge, then, at what distance I am from him. In this abyss of misery, the idea of owing to the United States and to Washington the life and liberty of M. de La Fayette kindles a ray of hope in my heart. I hope everything from the goodness of the people with whom he has set an example of that liberty of which he is now made the victim. And shall I dare speak what I hope? I would ask of them, through you, for an envoy, who shall go to reclaim him in the name of the republic of the United States, wheresoever he may be found, and who shall be authorized to make, with the power in whose charge he may be placed, all necessary engagements for his relief, and for taking him to the United States, even if he is there to be guarded as a captive. I hope my request is not a rash one. Accept the homage of the sentiments which have dictated this letter, as well as that of attachment and tender respect.”
Trying as it was for Washington to refuse this request in his public capacity, as he felt he could not make an official demand which might involve his country in embarrassments;he did all that he could as a private individual in his friend’s behalf, and to the emperor of Germany he thus wrote:—
“It will readily occur to your Majesty that occasions may sometimes exist, on which official considerations would constrain the chief of a nation to be silent and passive, in relation even to objects which affect his sensibility and claim his interposition as a man. Finding myself precisely in this situation at present, I take the liberty of writing this private letter to your Majesty, being persuaded that my motives will also be my apology for it.
“In common with the people of this country, I retain a strong and cordial sense of the services rendered to them by the Marquis de La Fayette, and my friendship for him has been constant and sincere. It is natural, therefore, that I should sympathize with him and his family in their misfortunes, and endeavor to mitigate the calamities which they experience; among which, his present confinement is not the least distressing.
“I forbear to enlarge upon this delicate subject. Permit me only to submit to your Majesty’s consideration whether his long imprisonment and the confiscation of his estates, and the indigence and dispersion of his family, and the painful anxieties incident to all these circumstances, do not form an assemblage of sufferings which recommend him to the mediation of humanity! Allow me, sir, on this occasion to be its organ, and to entreat that he may be permitted to come to this country on such conditions and under such restrictions as your Majesty may think it expedient to prescribe.
“As it is a maxim with me not to ask what, under similar circumstances, I would not grant, your Majesty will do me the justice to believe that this request appearsto me to correspond to those great principles of magnanimity and wisdom which form the basis of sound policy and durable glory.
“May the Almighty and Merciful Sovereign of the universe keep your Majesty under his protection and guidance.”
To Gouverneur Morris, who had superseded Mr. Monroe as minister to France, Madame de Staël wrote urgently in behalf of La Fayette. She says in one of her letters to Mr. Morris:—
“You are travelling through Germany, and, whether on a public mission or not, you have influence, for they are not so stupid as not to consult a man like you. Open the prison doors of M. de La Fayette. Pay the debt of your country. What greater service can any one render to his native land than to discharge her obligations of gratitude? Is there any severer calamity than that which has befallen La Fayette? Does any more glaring injustice attract the attention of Europe?”
Mr. Morris not only spared no sacrifice for the marquis, but aided his suffering family, and was chiefly instrumental in securing the liberation of Madame La Fayette. But for five long years Prussia and Austria defended their infamous conduct by declaring “that La Fayette’s freedom was incompatible with the safety of the present governments of Europe.”
General Latour-Maubourg, in a letter written during their imprisonment at Olmütz, thus graphically describes their prison life:—
“Do not suppose that I have made a mistake in lodging the domestic from Paris in two chambers which are large, handsome, and the best in the enclosure, whilst General and Madame La Fayette have but two small cells, their daughters but a narrow kennel, with a singlewretched bed; and whilst Pusy and myself, in addition to the common inconveniences, have those attached to the neighborhood of the guard-house and out-houses, the dampness of which is such, that the wall touching them is covered with saltpetre. The genius of the imperial administration has thought of everything that can render our seclusion complete, and harass us in the slightest matters.
“The waters with which we are surrounded furnish, in addition to a multitude of flies that are extremely troublesome, frequent fogs, which occasion dangerous fevers, and to which the town of Olmütz owes its reputation for unwholesomeness.
“Besides, the gutters passing beneath our windows always emit an insufferable stench, and exhale a mephitic vapor that is absolutely pestilential. Our prisons, without excepting even that of the ladies, are furnished with a sorry bed without curtains, two deal tables, two chairs, a range of wooden pegs, a wardrobe, and a stove which is lighted from the outside.
“Hitherto, you perceive that we have had none of the conveniences promised by the emperor to Madame La Fayette. It is probably a great honor to be his Majesty’s guest, particularly in a prison: but the thing is really no laughing matter. The breakfast is of chocolate, or coffee with milk, at the prisoner’s option, and both are execrable, as you may well imagine when you are informed that they are made by avivandière, in a small kitchen, into which the soldiers from the barracks enter at pleasure, and where their whole time is spent in smoking. It thus happens that everything eaten by us is impregnated with a strong savor of tobacco, and we are even fortunate when we do not find large pieces of that weed in what is given to us. Our dinner is served up indeep earthenware dishes; and with regard to cleanliness, as everything comes from the kitchen of the samevivandière, whose execrable ragouts, rancid butter, and spices I might forgive, were she herself less dirty. To fill up the measure of disgust, everything—meat, soup, vegetables, fricassees—must be eaten with a pewter spoon, without knife or fork, and had we not brought napkins along with us, some fragment of which still remain, the sleeves of our coats must have served for that purpose. Two pint jugs are brought to us full, one of coarse, flat, red wine, the other of dirty water, and we must drink out of both, because, as it was explained to me, ‘the emperor chooses it.’ You will conceive, the disgust inspired by these jugs, when I add that when removed from our chambers they are placed in the windows of the corridor, where they are exposed to insects, dust, tobacco smoke, and what is still worse, left for the use of the soldiers, who drink out of them and perform their ablutions in them. They are cleaned only at stated periods, at the beginning and in the middle of each month, with a wisp of straw.
“From these details you will perceive that, as a relief from our vexations, which are the more annoying as they have not even the semblance of necessity; and to diminish the tedious length of the days, we have no other resource than reading. In Silesia we had been allowed the use of paper, pen, and ink; but at the mention of this our jailers were greatly astonished, and bestowed contemptuous epithets on the want of intelligence displayed by the Prussians in tormenting their victims. We were deprived even of the letters which we had received from our relatives and friends, and were informed that we were separated from the rest of the world, that we must forget our own names, and recollectonly our numbers, by which only we were to be known, and that we should never hear each other spoken of.
“You ask how we dressed? Like beggars; that is to say, in rags, since our worn-out clothes have not been replaced. La Fayette, however, wanted breeches, and I have been informed that a tailor was ordered, without taking his measure, to make a large pair of trousers for him, and a waistcoat of coarse serge, at the same time informing him that cloth was too dear for him. I believe that the garment alluded to was purposely made in such a manner as to prevent him from wearing it, and that Madame La Fayette supplied the deficiency by purchasing cloth on some pretext or other. In the articles of shoes and stockings he is strangely provided, for those he wears Mademoiselle Anastasie was obliged to make with her own fair hands, out of the stuff of an old coat. For my own part, I wear a waistcoat and nankeen trousers made at Nivelle, nearly five years ago, and you may therefore judge of the state of maturity at which they have arrived. Were I to make my appearance in the street, any charitable soul would offer me alms. Three months ago, however, I was supplied with new shoes; the old ones had been soled thirteen times, and for the new ones I was indebted merely to the obstinacy of the cobbler who found it utterly impossible to perform the operation for the fourteenth time. Whilst my shoes were being made I was obliged to remain in bed.”
Notwithstanding La Fayette’s many privations and persecutions during his long imprisonment, his moral courage remained unimpaired. He had been languishing for five years in a state between life and death. He had lost all his hair, and had several times been attacked by dangerous fevers bred by the dampness and infectious air of his dungeon. In the midst of his many misfortuneshis coolness and presence of mind never for an instant deserted him. After his attempt to escape, having been recaptured and brought back to Olmütz, he was at first confined in a large apartment, but was soon afterwards commanded by an officer to pass into an adjoining room.
“For what purpose?” asked La Fayette.
“That your irons may be put on,” replied the officer.
“Your emperor has not given you such an order,” boldly exclaimed the illustrious prisoner; “beware of doing more than he requires, and of displeasing him by exceeding his orders through an ill-timed zeal.”
The officer, impressed with the truth and courage of this remark, insisted no further, and La Fayette was thus spared from being obliged to endure the humiliating torture of being ironed during the remainder of his imprisonment. Neither did his great sufferings break his spirit. One day the officer on guard, beholding La Fayette at his meal, and seeing that he was forced to eat with his fingers, asked him if that mode was entirely new to him.
“Oh no!” replied La Fayette, with cool irony; “I have seen it employed in America, amongst the Iroquois.”
When La Fayette was first released from his prison at Olmütz, he found that he had come back to a changed world. The king, queen, court, Assembly, and constitution, all were gone! The awful Reign of Terror which swept over his country had left many empty places among his friends, and the France which met his ardent gaze was greatly different from that upon which his longing eyes turned as he had been obliged to depart from her coasts in haste and with baffled hopes.
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.
Writing to a friend who had cautioned him against freely expressing his opinions, lest he might find himself in further trouble, La Fayette boldly answered: “Irisk nothing in speaking as I think, because I would not and could not be employed by any party except according to my own ideas. The result is that, except on some very great occasion of serving the liberty of my country after my own fashion, my political life is ended. To my friends I shall be full of life, and to the public a sort of picture in a museum or book in a library. Those who know my views and wishes must be convinced that the services I should wish to render to my country are of a nature to be combined with the mode of living which suits my position, my wife, all my family, and myself; that is to say, with a quiet philosopher’s establishment on a good farm,—far enough from the capital not to be interfered with in my solitude, and to see only intimate friends.”
Immediately upon the release of La Fayette, Washington addressed to him the following letter from Mount Vernon, dated Oct. 8, 1797:—
“This letter will be presented to you, I hope, by your young son, well worthy of having such parents as yourself and your amiable wife.
“I could say to you much better than I can express it here all that I have felt for your sufferings; concerning my efforts for your release, the measures which I adopted, although without success, to facilitate your deliverance from an unjust and cruel captivity; and my joy at last in beholding its termination.
“I desire to congratulate you, and be assured that no one could offer it with an affection more profound and sincere. Each action of your life gives me a right to rejoice at the liberty which you have received, and also at the restoration of security in your country; and if the possession of these blessings cannot entirely compensate for the trials which you have endured, they will mitigate, at least, the painful remembrance.
“The conduct of your son since he landed upon American soil has been most exemplary, from all accounts, and has procured for him the affection and the confidence of all who have had the pleasure of knowing him. His filial affection, his ardent desire to embrace his parents and his sisters in the first moment of their deliverance, have not permitted him to await here more authentic news; and as nothing has been heard which should influence him to suspend this resolution, I have not refused my assent to his departure, that he might fly to the arms of those who are so dear to him, because, according to last accounts, he ought, in truth, to find them in Paris.
“M. Frestel has been a devoted guardian to George; a father could not have watched with greater care over his cherished son; and he merits in a high degree all that can be said of his virtues, his good judgment, and his prudence. Your son and he carry with them the wishes and the regrets of our family and of all who know them.
“At all times be assured you have held a high place in the affections of this country. I will not tax your time to speak to you of that which regards me personally, except to say to you that I have once again retired to my own fireside, where I will remain, forming wishes for the prosperity of the United States, after having labored for years for the establishment of their independence, of their constitution, and of their laws. Those wishes will constantly have for their object also the welfare of all mankind, as long as the little day of my life upon the earth shall be continued. I have said adieu to public affairs, and I desire to withdraw entirely from politics. But M. Frestel and George will report me more fully upon this point. Although they have always avoided taking any part in our discussions, they havenot been inattentive spectators of that which has passed before their eyes. They will give you a general idea of our situation, and of those parties who, in my opinion, have troubled the peace and tranquillity.
“If your remembrances or your circumstances shall bring you on a visit to America, accompanied by your wife and daughters, not one of its inhabitants will receive you with more cordiality and tenderness than Madame Washington and myself. Our hearts are full of affection and admiration for you and them.”
At the time of La Fayette’s release from Olmütz he wrote to Masclet the following letter regarding the military career of his son, George Washington La Fayette, which is interesting as revealing some of the peculiar circumstances which surrounded the family at that time, and also La Fayette’s impressions regarding the state of France:—
“Talleyrand and you imagine that had George been in the army, the Directors, in replying to Brune, would have made a formal exception in my favor; not more so, perhaps, than the Convention made in favor of the father of Moreau, on the day when the latter took the fort of l’Ecluse. But even supposing that the uniform worn by all the young aristocrats who seek to connect themselves with the Republic had produced such an effect upon the government, you will observe that my son could not have returned in time to follow Bonaparte, unless I had made excessive haste to send him; and when my deliverer was apprehensive of compromising himself by replying to my letters, when he was himself said to be threatened with an act of accusation, it would have been imprudent to send to him the son of a man to whosetreasonsthe Directory and the President of the Council of Five Hundred had recently called public attention. Since that periodyou have not regretted the wars of Switzerland for him. Had he been attached to Championnet, he would probably have been associated in a criminal trial; had he served with Joubert, he would have been disgraced, and would perhaps have participated in the extreme disgust which that general cannot refrain from expressing; whereas at present he is free and full of ardor, and we may examine the question of his entrance into the service, which has become much more tempting, to use his own expression, since we have undergone reverses.
“The fact is, that George, who is a republican patriot,—and I have met with few such in my lifetime,—has, besides, a passion for the military profession, for which I think him adapted, as he possesses a sound and calm judgment, a just perception, a strong local memory, and will be equally beloved by his superiors, his comrades, and his subordinates. I love him with too much tenderness to make any distinction between his desires and mine; and I am too great an enemy of oppression of every description to place restraint on the wishes of a beloved son nearly twenty years of age. I could joyfully see him covered with honorable scars; but beyond that supposition I have not the courage to contemplate existence.
“Other objections, however, present themselves to my mind. I do not call them insurmountable, for I admit that the opposite opinion is plausible; and it is only because it appears indisputable to you that I endeavor to reduce it to its just value. Let us, in the first place, lay aside your comparison with my journey to America, whither I proceeded to oppose the despotism of a government which had violated fewer natural and social rights, from the foundation of the colonies to the Declaration of Independence, than the Directory daily violatesamongst those who have been subjugated to its power. We must not be led away by the flattering sounds of republic and liberty. Algiers, Venice, and Rome under Tiberius, caused the first name to be heard; and as for the second, do you think that the young patricians who demanded of Sylla the honor to introduce Roman liberty into Asia had more energy than he who said to his governor, ‘Why is not this man killed who disposes of the life and property of his fellow-citizens?’—‘The reason is that nobody ventures upon the deed.’—‘Then give me a sword, and I will kill him.’ That individual, as you know, was Cato.
“It is no doubt gratifying to serve an ungrateful country either in one’s own person or in that of a son; but, in this instance, ingratitude can hardly be said to exist, since benevolence reappears with liberty; it is a proscription by the oppressive faction of the country, which is at present prolonged by an arbitrary government, till the return of liberty; and for the constant enemy of despotism, it is not indispensable to serve the despotic pentarchy of France. There are also particular inconveniences in my son’s case. You know that in organized countries—in England, for instance—activity of service seems to imply the approbation of the governing party; but without admitting that difficulty, imagine George at the table of a leader, drinking, three months hence, to the fortunate day of the 10th of August, which was the signal for the assassination of our friends, or ordering one of my accomplices to be shot!
“If, at least, some return to liberal ideas should become manifest,—if I could perceive theavant-coureursof a national and legal government,—the inexpressible desire which I feel for such a blessing would induce me to welcome with avidity the smallest drop of liberty thatmight fall from heaven. I cordially detest the ancient powers; I ardently wish that the new doctrine may be established upon a firm basis; this coalition is composed of my implacable enemies. I entertain no personal hostility towards the present government; I have even obligations to some of them; and the persecution which I have suffered is too honorable to me for its avowed motives to suffer me to be shocked at it.
“You know that I love my country, and that its welfare, in whatever quarter it might originate, would give me the highest gratification: consequently no bitterness can enter into the severity of my objections, which I would instantly waive, were liberty, or even the dawn of liberty, again perceptible in France; but I have felt desirous of explaining to you, my dear friend, what has hitherto prevented me from yielding to the natural ardor of my son, and what has struck himself in hearing my remarks on the subject.
“At the same time I admit that the opposite opinion, even under existing circumstances, has considerable weight. France, whether free or not, is still our country, and there are more germs of liberty in her democratic organization than could enter into the counter-revolution. Her adversaries are the decided enemies of our purest principles, and have taken up arms only to accomplish her utter destruction. If it appears unsuitable that, when Europe is divided into two bands, a young man of nineteen years of age should be found in neither, it is evident that the place of a patriot—of my son—can only be under our national standards. The late reverses have imparted a more defensive character to our wars, and a leader incapable of acts of pillage has just been appointed to the army of Italy; in a word, if it be permitted, or let us even say, if it be aduty to hesitate, there are many reasons at this moment for the adoption of your advice.”
At a later period La Fayette wrote to the same friend to inform him of his son’s departure for Italy:—
“I heartily thank you, my dear Masclet, for your congratulations on the wished-for appointment. The new-made officer is hastening to the field, and hopes to embrace you to-morrow, before his and your departure. Sure it is, the standard of the rights of men is not on the side against which he is going to fight. May they be in France the reward of victory!“With sanguine expectations I am waiting for news from Italy. Bonaparte will conquer. Our situation in Germany is glorious indeed; a brilliant campaign and an honorable peace are, I think, to be depended upon. Adieu, my dear Masclet.“La Fayette.”
“I heartily thank you, my dear Masclet, for your congratulations on the wished-for appointment. The new-made officer is hastening to the field, and hopes to embrace you to-morrow, before his and your departure. Sure it is, the standard of the rights of men is not on the side against which he is going to fight. May they be in France the reward of victory!
“With sanguine expectations I am waiting for news from Italy. Bonaparte will conquer. Our situation in Germany is glorious indeed; a brilliant campaign and an honorable peace are, I think, to be depended upon. Adieu, my dear Masclet.
“La Fayette.”