LIONIZED BY TWO WORLDS
Three days after the surrender, the 22d of October, Lafayette was on
board the _Ville de Paris_ in Chesapeake Bay. It was believed that the
surrender of Cornwallis would be practically conclusive as to the
matter at issue between England and the United States. Lafayette
therefore felt a sweep of thoughts toward home. Congress gave him
leave of absence. The _Alliance_ was again placed at his disposal and
awaited him in Boston harbor.
An adoring France received him on his arrival. He had been the hero of
the New World; he now became the hero of the Old. The king of France gave
him audience; when he arrived the queen sent her carriage to bring
Adrienne, who at the moment happened to be at some royal fête, as swiftly
as possible to the Noailles mansion. Balls were given in his honor. He
was presented with laurel at the opera. The king made him a field
marshal, his commission to date from the day of Cornwallis's surrender,
and he was invited by Richelieu to a dinner where all the field marshals
of France were present, and where the health of Washington was drunk with
words so full of reverent admiration that they did Lafayette's heart
good.
About this time a traveled American gentleman, Ledyard by name, was
staying in Paris and commented on the popularity of the returned
American hero. He said:
"I took a walk to Paris this morning and saw the Marquis de Lafayette.
He is a good man, this same Marquis. I esteem him. I even love him,
and so we all do, except a few, who worship him.... If I find in my
travels a mountain as much elevated above other mountains as he is
above ordinary men, I will name it Lafayette."
The meeting of Lafayette with Adrienne cannot be described. He had now
proved the value of his love of freedom, and she was filled with pride
in the acknowledgment he received on all sides. The family reunion was
perfect. He wrote to Washington, "My daughter and your George have
grown so much that I find I am much older than I thought." He had
reached the advanced age of twenty-four!
Lafayette was at once concerned with the concluding negotiations for
peace between England and the United States. To hasten these and to
carry on further military plans, France united with Spain in a
projected expedition against the English possessions in the West
Indies. For this purpose Lafayette, in December, 1782, went to Cadiz
as chief of staff, where an armament of sixty ships and twenty-four
thousand men were assembling. But while waiting for the final orders
to sail, a swift courier brought the news to Cadiz that the treaty of
peace had, on the 20th of January, 1783, been finally signed at Paris.
Lafayette wished to be the one to carry this news to America, but he
was told that his presence at the negotiations at Madrid was necessary
to their success, and therefore he had to forego the pleasure of being
the personal messenger of the good news. Instead, he was allowed to
borrow from the fleet a ship which he sent, as swiftly as possible, to
the land of his heart. The ship lent him was _Le Triomphe_, well named
for this message, and this was the first ship to bring the news of the
Peace to our shores.
His work in Spain being successfully accomplished, he returned to
Paris by swift posts, which means that he went in a carriage, with
relays of good horses; and by driving day and night, over the
mountains and through the valleys, following ancient Roman roads and
crossing through many historic sites and cities, he covered the wide
distance between the capital of Spain and that of France.
The war being over, Washington, as every one knows, retired to his
estate at Mount Vernon, an act incomprehensible to some, but fully
understood by his "adopted son," Lafayette, who wrote:
"Your return to a private station is called the finishing stroke of an
unparalleled character. Never did a man exist who stands so honorably
in the opinion of mankind, and your name if possible will become
greater to posterity. Everything that is great and everything that is
good were never hitherto united in one man; never did that man live
whom the soldier, statesman, patriot, and philosopher could equally
admire; and never was a revolution brought about which, in all its
motives, its conduct, its consequences, could so well immortalize its
glorious chief. I am proud of you, my dear General; your glory makes
me feel as if it were my own; and while the world is gaping upon you,
I am pleased to think and to tell that the qualities of your heart do
render you still more valuable than anything you have done."
From Mount Vernon, where the wearied and peace-loving warrior was
very glad to be, Washington, in February, 1784, wrote to Lafayette:
"At length, my dear Marquis, I am 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 pleasing 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; the courtier who is
always watching the countenance of his prince in hopes of catching a
gracious smile, can have but little conception."
He then goes on to give a brief history of recent events--the
evacuation of New York, the American troops entering that city in good
order, and New York finally freed from the British flag. He regretfully
declined the pressing invitation of Lafayette to come to Paris, and
again invited him and Madame de Lafayette to pay a visit at Mount
Vernon. The correspondents appear to have thought of each other
frequently, though separated by the wide seas. Later, Lafayette had
joyous news to impart, for he wrote to Washington:
"I want to tell you that Madame de Lafayette and my three children are
well, and that all of us in the family join to present their dutiful
affectionate compliments to Mrs. Washington and yourself. Tell her
that I hope soon to thank her for a dish of tea at Mount Vernon. Yes,
my dear General, before the month of June is over, you will see a
vessel coming up the Potomac and out of that vessel will your friend
jump, with a panting heart and all the feelings of perfect happiness."
During Lafayette's visit to America in 1784 the people had an
opportunity to show their gratitude to one who had freely given his
services to them in their day of need. In New York he was received
with the greatest enthusiasm by the whole people, including his
affectionate companions in arms. From here on he listened to the
ringing of bells and the resounding of huzzas by day and saw lavish
illuminations in his honor by night. A visit of ten days at Mount
Vernon gave great pleasure to Washington as well as to Lafayette. In
Boston his coming was celebrated at the stump of the Liberty Tree that
the British had cut down during their occupation of the city. Many
speeches were made during this journey, and Lafayette showed himself
tactful in adapting his words to the occasion. His tact was prompted
by a sincere liking for all people, a benevolent feeling toward the
whole world. This was the foundation of much that was attractive and
useful in his character.
During this journey Lafayette went as far north as Portsmouth and as
far south as Yorktown. The various great battlefields of the campaign
of 1781 each received a visit in the company of Washington and of
other companions in arms. The different states vied with one another
in giving his name to their towns and villages--a custom that has
continued to this day. The state of Virginia placed a bust of
Lafayette in the capitol at Richmond; another was presented to the
city of Paris by the minister of the United States, and was received
with great pomp at the Hôtel de Ville, or city hall. Three states,
Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia, conferred on him the right of
citizenship for himself and his children, an enactment that later
became national; and so Lafayette became an American citizen in legal
form as well as in spirit. How little did he think that this right
would become so precious a boon to him and would be so sorely needed!
The bust in the Hôtel de Ville was destroyed at the time of the Terror;
and the day came soon after when nearly all that remained to the "Hero
of Two Worlds" was a certificate of citizenship in a country to which he
was not native, while the owner of the certificate, because of his
principles, was hurried from prison to prison. In 1784 he was riding on
the high tide of success and popularity, but tragic days were soon to
come in the life of America's loyal friend.
Lafayette took his farewell of Congress at Trenton, New Jersey, where
it was then in session. The scene was dignified and affecting. It was
at the close of this ceremony that Lafayette pronounced that wish--one
might call it a prayer--which has been so often quoted.
"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 in ages to come rejoice the departed souls of their
founders."
Following his return from America at this time, Lafayette made a long
tour through Germany and Austria. His purpose was to improve himself,
he said, by the inspection of famous fields of battle, by conversation
with the greatest generals, and by the sight of well-trained troops.
He visited Frederick the Great who, in the eyes of the exquisite
Frenchman, presented a most untidy appearance in a dirty uniform
covered over with Spanish snuff. He saw him review thirty-one
battalions and seventy-five squadrons, thirty thousand men in all, and
he admired the "perfectly regular machine wound up for forty years" by
which they clicked off their movements. At the table of Frederick,
Lafayette ate, at one time, with Cornwallis on one side and the son of
the king of England on the other; on which occasion the Prussian
despot indelicately amused himself by plying the young soldier with
questions about American affairs. One wonders if in all his travels
Lafayette caught any glimpse on the horizon of a certain grim fortress
wherein, because of his hatred of despots like Frederick, fate decreed
that he was to be immured for five long years.