The life of General Lafayette

Front matter

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Chapter I. Birth And Earlt History Of Lafayette

His Parentage. — Education and Position in Society. — School-boy Reminiscences. — Noticed at Court. — Receives a Commission in the Army. — Refuses to court Royal Favor. — Early Marriage. — Offends Count de Provence page 9

CHAPTER ir.

NOBLE CONMENCEMENT OF A NOBLE CAREER. The American Revolution. — Lafayette's sudden Zeal in the Cause. — Firm Resolve and prompt Action. — Interposition of Friends. — Bai'on de Kalb. — SUas Deane. — Secret Arrangements. — Startling News from America. — Noble Disinterestedness of Lafayette. — His Visit to England. — Prepares to embark for America. — Sends bis Vessel . to Spain. — FoUovrs it in Disguise. — Narrow Escape from Arrest. — DiflBculties of the Voyage 18

CHAPTER in.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA.

Hospitable Reception by Major Huger. — Journey to Philadelphia. — A Crisis in American Affairs. — Presents his Letters to Congress. — Offers to serve as a Volunteer. — Liberality to his Comrades. — Introduction to Washington. — First Impressions of the Army. — Battle of Brandywine. — Lafayette wounded. — Sent to Bethlehem. — Kindness of the Moravians. — Correspondence 29

CHAPTER IV.

GALLANT SERVICES REWARDED. — LAFAYETTE COMMANDER-IN- CHIEF OF THE NORTHERN ARMY.

Lafayette commands a Detaclmaent at Gloucester Point. — Receives the Command of a Division. — Conway's Cabal. — Lafayette appointed to the Command in the North. — Plans of the Expedition. — Journey to Albany. — Discouragement?s. — New Plans contemplated. — His disinterested Zeal. — Is recalled. — His Policy in reference to the Northern Indians. — Conference with them at Johnson's Town. Adopted by them as a Chief 43

CHAPTER V.

FRENCH ALLIANCE. — BARREN HILL. — MONMOUTH.

Encampment at Valley Forge. — Position and Policy of France. — Popular feeling in favor of America. — Treaty with France. — Encouraging Prospects. — Lafayette at Barren Hill. — Masterly Manojuvring and Retreat. — Lord North's Proposals for Conciliation. — Philadelphia evacuated by the British. — Battle of Monmouth . . .55

CHAPTER VL Lafayette's services in rhode island. — his return to

FRANCE.

Proposed Attack on Newport. — Lafayette detached to support Sullivan. — Plan of Attack. — Count d'Estaing offended. — British Fleet in the Offing. — The Count goes out to offer Battle. — Unfoitunate Consequences of this Movement. — Sullivan reinforced. — Difficulty with the French Admiral. — Siege of Newport raised. — Lafayette in Boston. — Further incidents at Newport. — Lafayette returns to Philadelphia. — Carlisle's Letter. — The Writer challenged by Lafayette. — Lafayette proposes to return to France. — His severe lUness at FishkUl. — His Recovery and Embai'kation 72

CHAPTER VIL

Lafayette's influence and usefulness in france. — his second voyage to america.

Lafayette under An-est. — His Position at Court. — His Influence in behalf of America. — Proposed Invasion of England. — Sword presented to Lafayette by Franklin. — Proposed Invasion and Independence of Ireland. — Procures Aid for America, and returns. — Invested with the Command of the Vanguard of the Army.— Happy Effect of French Succors. — Proposed Attack on New York . . . .90

CHAPTER VIIL

Arnold's treason. — lafayette in Virginia.

Washington and Lafayette on the Way to West Point. — Arnold's Treason brought to Light. — Plans for Attacking the Enemy's Posts. Greene in Command of the Southern Department. — Lafayette wishes to join him. — Delays and Hinderances. — Arnold in Virginia. — Lafayette ordered to oppose him. — Adventures and Efforts. — Arnold reinforced. — Lafayette ordered to join Greene. — Difficulties nobly surmounted. — Baltimore Volunteers. — Lafayette at Richmond.' — Ravages of the British. — Baron Steuben. — The Two Armies. — Comwallis moving Northward. — Death of General Phillips . 108

CHAPTER IX.

LAFAYETTE AND CORNWALLIS, OR "THE BOY " AND THE

VETERAN.

Comwallis at Petersburg. — The " Boy-General." — Marches and Countermarches. — Lafayette protects Albemarle. — A Trap. — Wayne drawn into it. — Rescued by Lafayette. — Comwallis takes Post at Yorktown. — Count de Grasse in the Chesapeake. — Washington in Virginia. — Siege of Yorktown. — Comwallis surrenders. — Militaiy Courtesies 121

CHAPTER X.

NEGOTIATIONS IN EUROPE.

Prospects of Peace. — Lafayette prepares to return to France. — Appointed Field-Marshal in the Army. — A new Enterprise. — Peace. — Diplomacy in Spain. — Commercial Treaty with France . .140

CHAPTER XL VISIT TO AMERICA IN 1784.

Reception at New York — Philadelphia — Moxmt Vernon. — Influence with the Northern Indians. — Visit to New England — Virginia. — Interesting Meeting at Richmond. — Surrenders his Commission at Trenton. — Anecdote of his Liberality . . ... 153

CHAPTER XIL

DOIMESTIC REPOSE AND PUBLIC HONORS.

Efforts to benefit American Commerce. — Civic Honors. — Plans and Efforts for Negro Emancipation. — Travelling on the Continent. — Reception at Vienna. — Grand Review at Potsdam. — Frederick the Great. — Meeting with old Friends and old Enemies. — Opinions. — Efforts in behalf of Protestants 162

CHAPTER XIIL

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.

Its Causes. — Assembly of Notables. — Lafayette demands a National Assembly. — Agitating Debates. — Boldness and Independence of Lafayette. — Resistance of the Court. — Mirabeau. — Decision and Triumph of the People 172

CHAPTER XIV.

PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. — THE NATIONAL GUARDS. New Measures of Intimidation. — Lafayette's " Declaration of Rights." — Necker dismissed. — The Bastile demolished. — The King retreats. — Lafayette in Paris. — Commands the National Guard. — Es-

1* corts the King to Paris.— The Tricolored Cockade.— Refuses the Supreme Command. — Scenes of Violence. — Resigns his Command. — Is persuaded to resume it. — His elevated Position . . . 189

CHAPTER XV.

MOB-RULE IN PARIS.

Call for the King at Paris. — Famine. — A Mob of Women. — Their March to Versailles. — Lafayette follows. — His Plans thwarted. — The Palace attacked. — The Clueen's Danger. — Influence and Success of Lafayette. — Escorts the King to Paris. — Parties in France . 210

CHAPTER XVL THE REVOLUTION. — THE FEDERATION. — FLIGHT OF THE KING. Plots and Rumors. — Mirabeau attaches himself to the Court. — Popularity of Lafayette. — The Festival of the Federation. — Exti-act from Carlyle. — Honors to Lafayette. — His Modesty and Moderation. — Plots and Counterplots. — The King leaves Paris secretly. — Pursued and brought back. — Lafayette resigns his Command and retires . 227

CHAPTER XVIL

THREATENED INVASION OF FRANCE. — LAFAYETTE COMMANDS

THE ARMY.

War. — Lafayette at Metz. — Rochambeau and Luckner. — Attempt upon Belgium. — The Issue. — Lafayette addresses a Letter to the Assembly. — Goes to Paris. — Appears before the Assembly. — Returns to the Army. — Attempt to withdraw the King from Paris . 253

CHAPTER XVIIL

THE REIGN OF TERROR.

Lafayette denounced by the Jacobins. — The King deposed and imprisoned. — Commissioners sent to the Army. — Their Arrest. — Proposals. — Luckner. — Decree of the Assembly. — Lafayette in a Dilemma.— His Fhght 268

CHAPTER XIX.

CAPTIVITY. — MAGDEBOURG. — OLMUTZ.

Lafayette applies for a Passport and is an-ested. — Ins.ulting Proposals. — Attempted Assassination. — Transferred from Prison to Prison. — Severe Treatment. — SuflFerings. — Olmutz. — Its Position and Appointments 279

CHAPTER XX.

ADVENTURE OF BOLLMANN AND HUGER.

Plans of Dr. BoUmann to effect the Release of Lafayette. — Discovers him at Olmutz. — Associates himself with Huger. — Ingenious and bold Attempt to rescue the Prisoner. — Lafayette retaken. — Bollmami and Huger imprisoned 291

CHAPTER XXI.

PRISON INCIDENTS AT OLMUTZ.

Madame Lafayette and Daughters in Prison. — Liberated. — They hasten to Oknutz. — Share the Captivity of Lafayette. — Employments. — The privoL — Felix and Jules. — Illness of Madame Lafayette. — Harsh Treatment of the Emperor. — Efforts in behalf of the Prisoners. — Letterfrom W ashington. — Masclet. — Fitzpatrick. — Fox 299

CHAPTER XXIL

RESTORED TO LIBERTY.

Napoleon demands his Release. — Promises. — Delays. — Romeuf sent to Viemia. — Secures his Object. — Arrangements for the Reception of the Prisoners at Hamburg. — The Prison Doors opened. — The Journey. — Meeting of Friends. — Correspondence. — Debts of Gratitude. — Legacies 314

CHAPTER XXIIL

TWO YEARS IN EXILE. — RETURNS TO FRANCE.

Domestic Retreat in Holstein. — Proceeds to Uti-echt. — Obstacles to his Return to France. — Anarchy. — Intrigue. — Frankness and Boldness of Lafayette. — Bonaparte in Paris. — The Consulate. — Lafayette goes to Paris. — Bonaparte displeased. — Dignified Course of Lafayette 325

CHAPTER XXIV.

HIS RELATIONS WITH NAPOLEON.

Napoleon's Respect for Lafayette. — Their Interviews. — Opinions. — Lafayette nominated to the Senate. — Offered an Embassy to the United States. — Resigns his Commission in the Army. — Retires to Lagrange. — Death of his Wife. — Restoration of the Bourbons. — The Hundred Days. — The Second Restoration 336

CHAPTER XXV.

Embarkation. — Reception. — Joseph Bonaparte. — Tomb of Washington. — Yorktown. — Charleston. — Kaskaskia. — Indian Stoiy. — A Snag in the Ohio. — Red Jacket — Bunker Hill Monument — Adieus. — Departure ............ 358

CHAPTER XXVL

REVOLUTION OF 1830.

Despotic Tendencies of the Courtof France.— Lafayette in the Chamber of Deputies.— His Journey to Auvergne— Civic Honors and Triumphs.— Chagrin of the Com-t.— Despotic Ordinances of Charles X.— Agitation in Paris.— Lafayette solicited to take Command of the National Guard.— The Three Days of July.— Charles X. deposed.— The Duke of Orleans proposed as Lieutenant-General of France. — The People reluctant to receive him. — His Promises . 372

CHAPTER XXVIL KEIGN OF LOUIS PHILIPPE.

Meeting of the Chamber of Deputies.— Louis Philippe proclaimed King of the French.— Lafayette Commander-in-chief of the National Guard.— Review.— PoUtical Offenders.— Chief Magistracy of Belgium offered to Lafayette.— General Agitation in Europe.— Trial of the Bx-Ministers.— Lafayette insulted.— Resigns his Command. — Remonstrates with the King 387

CHAPTER XXVIIL

CLOSING SCENES AND DEATH.

Funeral of General Lamarque.— Enthusiasm of the People.— Conflict with the Royal Troops. — Lafayette withdraws his Confidence from the King.— Exposure— Illness— Death.— Character . . . .400

THE LIFE

OF

GENERAL LAFAYETTE.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH AND EARLY HISTORY.

The characters of public men belong to the world. They who come voluntarily forth, or, by the guiding hand of Providence are led forth, from the retired walks of domestic life, to mingle in the strife of events, and exert a moulding influence on communities and nations, are amenable, for their actions, and the principles of their conduct, at the bar of human society. Even the secret motives which sway their decisions, and the disturbing influences which sometimes turn them aside from their direct courses, are legitimate subjects of scrutiny and animadversion. And the lessons which may be derived from such scrutiny, are the most valuable patrimony which one generation of men can leave to its successors.

In estimating character, however, reference should always be had to the circumstances in which it was developed, and the influences by which it was surrounded. The principles of morality are fixed and unchangeable. But the admiration or censure which is bestowed upon individuals, is justly graduated to the scale of their own times, rather than to that of their censors. " According to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not," is the governing maxim of an impartial and unerring Judge. They who stand forth, at the present moment, as " burning and shining lights," do so, perhaps, only because they are somewhat in advance of the prevalent virtue of the age, and not because they have attained to " the fulness of the stature of perfect men." Posterity, looking down from loftier vantage-ground, may lament their weakness, and marvel at the narrowness of their views, and their obliquities of faith and practice, even as we now do at those of the saints and the sages, the heroes and the martyrs of by-gone ages, of whom, notwithstanding, " the world was not worthy."

To such considerations as these, regard should always be had, in reviewing the characters of history. And, if they demand, in some cases, the mantle of charity for unexpected errors, they equally exact, in others, extraordinary awards of admiration for surprising merit, and for virtue that stands out in bold relief amid all surrounding degeneracy.

" No country in Europe," says Mr. Everett, " had retained more of the feudal divisions, than France, before the Revolution. A partition of the orders of society, but little less rigid than the Oriental economy of castes, was kept up. Causes which time would fail us to develop, had rendered the court and capital of France signally corrupt, during the last century. It is doubtful, whether, in a civilized state, the foundations of social morality were ever so totally subverted. It was by no means one of the least active causes of this corruption, that all connexion between the court and the capital, and the higher ranks in general, on the one hand, and the people on the other, was cut off by the constitution of society, and the hopeless depression, degradation, and ignorance of the mass of the people. Under these influences, a new generation was trained. They did not make, they found the coiTuption. They were reared in it. They grew up in the presence and under the patronage of a most dissolute court, surrounded by the atmosphere of an abandoned metropolis, without the constraint or the corrective of a wholesome public sentiment. The great monitors of society were hushed. The pulpit, not over-active, at that time, as a moral teacher in the catholic church in Europe, was struck dumb ; for some of its highest dignitaries were stained with all the vices of the rest of their order, that of the nobility. The press was mute on everything which touched the vices of the time."

To this, let the all-pervading influence of the philosophy, " falsely so called," of Voltaire, be added, and a full appreciation may be had of the auspices under which the subject of the present memoir was ushered upon the stage of life. He was bom at Chavagniac, in the province of Auvergne, on the 6th of September, 1757. Those who are curiously precise as to the locality, will need to be infoiTQed that Chavagniac, in the modern geography of France, is in the department of the Haute Loire, the canton of Paulhoquet, and the arrondissement of Brionde. It is three hundred and sixty miles from Paris. The mansion is large, romantically situated, and has an air of venerable antiquity much beyond its years, having been built only one hundred and fifty years ago, on the ruins of a more ancient one, which had been destroyed by fire. The estate attached to the chateau was once extensive and valuable ; but, confiscated by the Jacobins of 1793, and sold in parcels, to meet the exigencies of those anarchists, a small portion only of the land was recovered by the family, on their return fi'om exile, and that by purchase from the new occupants. ^ According to the prevailing custom in distinguished families in Europe, the noble infant received, at his baptism, a list of names sufficient for an ordinary household. He was registered under the honorable appellation of Marie-Paul-Joseph-Roche-Yves-Gilbert de Mottier Marquis de Lafayette, a name which contains all the letters of the French alphabet except four. Gilbert de Mottier was the name by which he was usually distinguished from his predecessors'; while, as the chief representative of the family, and the heir to its title and estates, the single patronymic Lafayette not only sufficiently designated his person, but answered all the purposes of law as a signature. By that honored name he will continue to be known, till the end of time, as the champion of freedom, and as the one in whose person and history were concentrated all the glory and renown of a house, which, though noble in itself, and distinguished for ages by its virtues, derived from him a new distinction, which it was not capable of conferring upon him.

His father, Michael-Louis-Christophe-Roche-Gilbert de Mottier Marquis de Lafayette, though he died at the early age of twenty -five, was an officer of considerable distinction in the army of Louis XV. He was a colonel of the grenadiers of France, and chevalier of the order of St. Louis, and was held in high esteem among the brave and gallant spirits of the day. He fell at Minden, in Germany, on the 13th of July, 1757, bravely fighting under the victorious standard of the duke de Broglie. The war in which this battle occurred is generally known as " the seven years' war," and was canied on, in Europe, by the great Frederic of Prussia, assisted by England, against the combined forces of Russia, Austria, and France, and in America by England and her colonies against France and her colonies — the latter teraiinating in the conquest of Canada, and the total extinction of the power of France in the western continent. .

The mother of Lafayette was a daughter of the marquis de Riviere, of the noble house of Lusignan. Her early widowhood seemed to extinguish all hope of again reviving the glory of the ancient house, of which her gallant lord had been the sole male representative ; but in the birth of a son, about two months after, the broken line was restored. The early days of the orphan gave small promise of the glory of the long and eventful life that followed. Feeble in health, left to the sole guidance of an indulgent mother, and suiTounded by servile attendants and the enervating influences of wealth, it was scarcely to be hoped that he would ever attain to more^ than the pigmy proportions of a mere titled aristocrat. To add to these inauspicious omens, and make the brilliant success of his after-career the more remarkable, his mother died when he was but thirteen years of age, leaving him in the full possession of large and valuable estates, and the absolute master of his own movements and destiny.v

His early education had been conducted at home, under the eye of his mother. At twelve he was j)laced in the college du Plessis, at Paris, where his rank and wealth introduced him to all the gayeties and dissipations of fashionable society. Wliat progress he made in his studies, at this time, does not appear. It is not probable, however, that he was able to do more than maintain a respectable standing among pupils of his own age. \[n his own brief reminiscences of this period, he alludes rather playfully to " some schoolboy successes, inspired by the love of glory, and somewhat disturbed by that of liberty." What these " successes" were, he does not inform us ; but, fi'om what is known of his character, so early matured and developed, his undisguised and fearless frankness, and the direct, practical, matter-of-fact logic which he was accustomed to employ, we find no difficulty in imagining the nature of his literary triumplis. They were undoubtedly the triumphs of plain common sense over the heartless and artificial sentiments which characterized every department of society, but especially that of the capital and the court. Everything was expected to bend to a servile flattery of greatness. Even literature was not exempt from this unseemly sycophancy. Poetry and the fine arts were all made tributary to the pride of power, and the aiTogance of station. It was taught in the nursery, as the highway to favor and promotion. It was inculcated in the schools, and enforced in the colleges. But in this species of learning the young Lafayette was no apt scholar. His perceptions of right never included a blind submission to authority ; and it is easy to conjecture how often and ably he might have foiled, by the lucid enunciation of his inborn creed of liberty, the specious sophistries of the schools. It appears that he was more ambitious of what he regarded as true, than of the honors of the college ; for he tells of one occasion on which he sacrificed his hopes of reward to his views of the teachings of nature. He was required to describe, in a rhetorical exercise, a perfect, well-trained courser, that would obey the look of his master or the shadow of the lash ; instead of which, he indulged himself in a full and glowing description of one so restifF under restraint, that, at the very sight of the whip, he reaj'ed and plunged, and threw his rider to the ground — a lesson so apposite to the existing condition of France, as almost to deserve to be styled prophetic.

He was much noticed at the gay court of Louis the Grand, and became quite a favorite of that magnificent monarch. He was appointed one of the queen's pages; a station which, though coveted by the proud and noble of the kingdom, was little in accordance with the fi-ank, independent bearing of the young Lafayette. He was also enrolled in the king's regiment of musketeers, in which, through the direct agency of the queen, he received a commission, at the early age of fifteen. This was an honor which was reserved exclusively for the sons of the most distinguished and favored among the nobility, and confen-ed as a mark of especial royal regard.

Though of a disposition eminently social, and keenly alive to the pleasures and comforts of domestic life, Lafayette displayed an early predilection for military glory, and an uncommon maturity in all the essential requisites of military success. The main one for advancement, however, he did not possess ; he would not court promotion. He could not " bow the pregnant hinges of the knee" to ask for a place, which was conferred as a matter of favoritism, not of merit. "^He had expectations of an appointment, worthy of his rank, in a regiment under the marshal de Noailles, his uncle — expectations based upon certain promises to that effect ; but his uncourtier-like habits prevented him from enjoying that honor. He was averse, even in boyhood, to those puerilities of conversation which constitute so large a part of the intercourse of the gay circles of society. He had too much self-respect to be a flatterer ; and when the matter of conversation did not accord with his views, he was uniformly silent and reserved. He did not rudely interpose his sentiments where they would be unwelcome ; but, whenever he could not speak his own free thoughts frankly, without giving offence, he became a silent listener. These habits soon excited suspicion, and created enemies, and placed a mark against his name on the royal list.V

This disappointment, if felt at all, was not seriously laid to heart. Other conquests than those of arms began very early to engross his thoughts. An attachment to one of the noblest and most amiable of women — an attachment which grew deeper, and holier, and more absorbing, through every period of his eventful life, and which, surviving its object through a widowhood of nearly thirtyyears, went with him, undiminished, to his grave — was consummated by his marriage, at the very early age of sixteen, to Marie-Adrienne-Franc^aise de Noailles, daughter of the duke d'Ayen, who was two years younger than himself. Nothing more need be said — no higher or more just encomium can be uttered — than that she was in all respects worthy to be the wife of Lafayette, and the mother of his children. This connexion was not only founded in the deepest affection, on his part, but favored and promoted, on the part of the relatives, by those motives of policy by which so many noble families are linked together, and out of which so many ill-assorted and unhappy alliances spring. No sooner was it consummated, than interest was made at court, by his new relatives, to obtain for the young marquis a place in the civil establishment of the king. The post sought for was an honorary one in the household of the count de Proven (^e, the second son of Louis XV., who afterward became Louis XVIII. This position was by no means desired by Lafayette, as it involved precisely that deference to the authority of a mere name, and that outward and heartless conformity to the etiquette of a court, which were most unpalatable to the republican simplicity of his heart.

He was in danger, however, of having the honor " thrust upon him" by the officious interference of his friends. To prevent it, without offending them, by refusing to accept the station offered, he sought an opportunity to render himself so obnoxious to the prince, as to preclude the possibility of completing the arrangement. This opportunity offered itself at a masked ball, where the count de Provence appeared in a disguise, which was instantly penetrated by the observing eye of Lafayette. Enga ging him in conversation, he lost no time in broaching some of those views and opinions which he knew would be least acceptable to the ear of the prince, at the same time replying to his remarks with a freedom and boldness, which, if he had been unmasked, would have been deemed decidedly uncourteous. At length the prince, having taken some offence at his freedom, gave him to understand that he should remember it, and then proceeded to show that his memory was remarkably clear and tenacious ; to which Lafayette coolly replied, that " memory was the wit of fools." This closed the conference of the masks, and satisfied the prince that the young marquis would be an unavailable attache, if not a refractory subject. In speaking of this conversation afterward, Lafayette did not conceal the fact that he was at the time fully aware of the rank of the person with whom he was conversing. This, being reported to the prince, was deemed an unpardonable offence. It was never forgiven. 2*

CHAPTER 11.

NOBLE COMMENCEMENT OF A NOBLE CAREER.

The long struggle of the American colonies with their unnatural step-mother excited but little interest in Europe, in its incipient stages. Even in France, the natural enemy of England, its causes and its progress were but little understood. It was not until the Rubicon was irrevocably passed, the gauntlet of open defiance thrown down, the Declaration of Independence signed, sworn to, and published to the world, that any portion of Europe became aware of the importance of that stiTiggle, or of the numbers and strength of the people who claimed a place in the family of nations. The deep tones of that solemn and unanswerable declaration, borne on the breeze across the Atlantic, struck the ear of legitimacy like a distant knell. Monarchy and aristocracy quaked alike, and looked aghast at each other ; and, except in the heart of a Lafayette, and of here and there a Polish refugee of rank and talent, it would have found no response in the high places of the old world, had not the long-cherished hostility of France against England seen in it a favorable opportunity to humble her rival, by assisting to wrench from her all-grasping sway, her most valuable colonial possessions. Even France came forward with slow and hesitating steps, to widen the breach. Had she known the real nature and tendency of the contest — had she understood the character of the American people, or foreseen the form of government which they would ulthnately adopt — it is not probable that she could have been induced to come forward at all. Her king and his cabinet no doubt expected a western monarchy, or, at the worst, an aristocracy, and not a republic, whose history should be the text-book of revolution to all free spirits in all the empires of the world.

It was in the latter part of 1776, about two years after his marriage, and while his mind was yet agitated by negotiations to attach him to the person of the count de Provence, that Lafayette's attention was first drawn to the conflict of liberty with oppression in America. He was, at that time, an oflicer in the French army, and stationed on duty at Metz. The duke of Gloucester, brother to George III. of England, happening to pass that way, was complimented with a dinner by the commandant of the place. Lafayette was among the invited guests. A principal topic of conversation, at the table, was the progress of the rebellion in America, and the stringent measures adopted and contemplated by the crown of England to crush it. The duke had just received from London the latest advices, and was very free in his communications — more so probably than good diplomacy, in one so near the throne, would approve.

There was much in the details given which was new to Lafayette. They interested him intensely. He entered earnestly into the conversation, drawing out from the talkative duke, by apposite questions, such facts in the yet unwi'itten history, as were necessary to enable him to understand the whole merits of the case. He saw, at a glance, that it was the cause of justice, of liberty, of Heaven. Before he rose from that table, and while talking with the brother of the king of England, his purpose was fonned — his resolution was taken. He determined to offer himself on tlie altar of liberty — to abandon home, and proffer himself and his services to the people who were thus nobly struggling for freedom.

It is not the least singular, among the many remarkable incidents in the history of this great man's efforts to promote liberty in the world, and especially in America, that the first clear insight into the cause should have been given, the first impulse of chivalric fervor imparted to his soul, by one of the royal family of England, against whose house the rebellion was begun, and from whose crown it was destined to pluck away its brightest jewel.