Return to Washington—Character of the new President—Visit to the
ex-president, become a farmer and justice of peace—Government
offers Lafayette a ship of war to return in to France—Presents
made to Bolivar through Lafayette—New homage from the city of
New York—Farewell of the President to the Nation’s
Guest—Departure from Washington city—Embarkation in the
Brandywine—Voyage—Testimonies of attachment and regret of the
crew of the Brandywine to Lafayette—Reception at Havre—Some
hours at Rouen—Reception of Lafayette at La Grange by the
inhabitants of his vicinity.
After resting two days at Baltimore we set out for Washington city.
General Lafayette wished to depart privately, and the citizens, always
solicitous to satisfy his desires, contented themselves with calling in
the evening to take leave and express their regrets. This circumstance
employed several hours, and left in our hearts impressions of profound
melancholy. We commenced our journey on the 1st of August, accompanied
by two members of the Baltimore committee. A few miles from Washington
we were met by an elegant carriage, which drew up near us, from which a
young gentleman alighted and inquired for General Lafayette. This was
the eldest son of the new president Mr. Adams, who was sent by his
father to the nation’s guest, to inform him that he had solicited and
obtained from the citizens of the metropolis, permission to offer him
the use of the president’s house. The general accepted the invitation
for himself and travelling companions, entered Mr. Adams’s carriage, and
we continued on our route. Our two members of the Baltimore committee
had not anticipated such an occurrence, which threw them into
considerable embarrassment. They had been zealous “Jackson men,” and had
declared themselves strongly against Mr. Adams, during the election; of
this Mr. Adams was not ignorant, and on this occasion it appeared
difficult to them to present themselves under the auspices of General
Lafayette, without exposing themselves to the chance of being thought
willing to make the _amende honorable_. They determined to separate from
our party, on entering the city, and took lodgings in a hotel.
During the canvass of the presidential election, I had frequently heard
the adversaries of Mr. Adams accuse him of aristocratic habits,
contracted, as they said, in the foreign courts at which he had passed
many years. This accusation appeared to me much opposed to what I had
seen and have related of his conduct in the steam-boat going from
Frenchtown to Baltimore; but, at length, in consequence of hearing the
charge frequently repeated, I began to fear, that, with the exercise of
power, he might fall into what we call in Europe the manners of a
prince; my surprise was therefore the more agreeable, to find, on
reaching Washington, that the president was not changed. It is true, we
found Mr. Adams in the place of Mr. Monroe; but the public man was still
the same. The plainness of the domestics, and facility of access to the
house, appeared not to have undergone the least alteration, and in Mr.
Adams’s reception of us we experienced all the cordiality of his
predecessor. He soon ascertained why our companions had not remained
with us, and hastened to send them an invitation to dinner, which they
accepted without embarrassment or hesitation, as men who understood the
politeness intended them, but who did not consider themselves as being
in any way pledged by accepting it.
The lodgings prepared for us in his own house by the president were
plain, but commodious and in good taste. Anxious to enable General
Lafayette to enjoy the repose he thought him to need after so many and
such long voyages, and after numerous and profound emotions, he secluded
himself with us in entire privacy. Aided by Mrs. Adams, her two sons,
and two nieces, he made us taste, if I may so express myself, the sweets
of domestic life. During the early portion of our stay, there rarely set
down to table or around the hearth more than two or three persons at
once, and usually these were some public officers who, after being
occupied all day with the president in business, were detained by him to
dinner and the familiar conversation of the evening. It was during this
period which glided away so swiftly, that I could appreciate the
character of Mr. Adams, whom I had previously known only by the eulogies
of his friends or the attacks of opponents. I discovered that the first
had but done him justice, and the last been misled by party spirit. It
is difficult to find a more upright and better cultivated intellect than
is possessed by the successor of Mr. Monroe. The beautiful reliefs of
the capitol, to which he is not a stranger; his treatise on weights and
measures, and the numerous diplomatic missions he has discharged with
distinction, bear witness to his good taste in the arts, the correctness
of his scientific judgment, and his skill in politics. As to the
accusation of aristocracy, which some have preferred against him, it is
sufficiently refuted by his manners, which remain unaltered by his
elevation to the chief magistracy of the republic.
Notwithstanding that General Lafayette was daily preparing to return to
Europe, before quitting the American soil, he wished once more to see
some of his old Virginia friends, and especially desired again to
embrace and thank him, who, as head of the government, had first
welcomed him to its capital, and who, at present returned to private
life, continued to give his fellow citizens an example of all the
virtues, in cultivating his modest patrimony. The general mentioned the
subject to Mr. Adams, who offered to accompany him on this visit,
saying, “that he would gladly take this occasion to go and present to
his predecessor his tribute of veneration and attachment.” The 6th of
August was the day fixed upon for this visit, and we set out for Oak
Hill, the seat of Mr. Monroe, which is thirty-seven miles from
Washington, unaccompanied by any escort. Mr. Adams took the general and
Mr. George Lafayette, with one of his friends, in his carriage; I rode
in a tilbury with the president’s son. At the Potomac bridge we stopped
to pay the toll, and the gate-keeper, after counting the company and
horses, received the money from the president, and allowed us to pass
on; but we had gone a very short distance, when we heard some one
bawling after us, “Mr. President! Mr. President! you have given
eleven-pence too little!” Presently the gate-keeper arrived out of
breath, holding out the change he had received, and explaining the
mistake made. The president heard him attentively, re-examined the
money, and agreed that he was right, and ought to have another
eleven-pence. Just as the president was taking out his purse, the
gate-keeper recognized General Lafayette in the carriage, and wished to
return his toll, declaring that all gates and bridges were free to the
nation’s guest. Mr. Adams told him, that on this occasion General
Lafayette travelled altogether privately, and not as the nation’s guest,
but simply as a friend of the president, and, therefore, was entitled to
no exemption. With this reasoning, our gate-keeper was satisfied, and
received the money. Thus, during his course of his voyages in the United
States, the general was but once subjected to the common rule of paying,
and it was exactly upon the day in which he travelled with the chief
magistrate; a circumstance which, probably in every other country, would
have conferred the privilege of passing free.
We did not reach Oak Hill until the morning after we left Washington. We
found the ex-president of the United States, now a farmer, pleasantly
settled with all his family, in a handsome house near his farm. He was
engaged in superintending his agricultural affairs, and endeavouring to
improve his property, which had long been neglected for public business.
Some of Mr. Monroe’s friends had collected to assist him in entertaining
Lafayette. We passed three days in their company, and then the
inhabitants of Leesburg, a small adjacent village, came in company with
the Loudon county militia, to invite the presence of the nation’s guest
at an entertainment prepared for him. The president, ex-president, and
chief justice of the United States, accompanied him, and received their
share of popular attention; but it was easy to perceive that this homage
was inspired by the veneration of their virtues, rather than by any
titles which they possessed.
After the Leesburg and Loudon county festivals we took leave of Mr.
Monroe to return to Washington. Wishing to make the journey in a single
day, we set out very early, but soon had cause to repent of this
arrangement; about two o’clock the heat became so oppressive, that one
of Mr. Adams’s horses was struck down by apoplexy. The driver in vain
attempted to save its life by copious blood-letting, and in a few
minutes the animal expired in the ditch where it had fallen. As soon as
the accident happened, we all alighted to help the horse, but finding
him dead, we took seats on the grass until a waiter went to the nearest
village for another horse. Travellers were passing us continually, and
cast inquisitive glances upon our group, without once suspecting the
presence of the first magistrate of the republic, or that of the adopted
son of a great nation. Having procured another horse, we resumed our
journey, but the delay caused by this accident prevented our arrival at
Washington until long after sunset, which prevented us visiting the
falls of Potomac, near to where we crossed the river. Although these
falls are of slight elevation, their effect is said to be very fine.
A few days afterwards we again left the capital to make a last tour in
Virginia. On this occasion we visited Albemarle, Culpepper, Fauquier,
Warrenton and Buckland. Although in all these towns the progress of
Lafayette was marked by popular festivals, he could not avoid feeling
pained by the recollection that in a few days he was about to leave,
perhaps for ever, a country which contained so many objects of his
affection. At Albemarle we were re-joined by Mr. Monroe, whom we now
found invested with a new public character. Faithful to the doctrine
that a citizen should always be entirely at the service of his country,
he did not think that his title of late president of the republic
withheld him from being useful to his countrymen; and he had therefore
accepted the office of justice of the peace, to which he had been
elected by the confidence and suffrages of the people of his county. Mr.
Madison had also left his retreat and re-joined us on the road to
Monticello, whither the general went to take leave of his old friend
Jefferson, whose enfeebled health kept him at present in a state of
painful inaction. The meeting at Monticello, of three men, who, by their
successive elevation to the supreme magistracy of the state, had given
to their country twenty-four years of prosperity and glory, and who
still offered it the example of private virtues, was a sufficiently
strong inducement to make us wish to stay there a longer time; but
indispensable duties recalled General Lafayette to Washington, and he
was obliged to take leave of his friends. I shall not attempt to depict
the sadness which prevailed at this cruel separation, which had none of
the alleviation which is usually left by youth, for in this instance,
the individuals who bade farewell, had all passed through a long career,
and the immensity of the ocean would still add to the difficulties of a
reunion.
One of Mr. Adams’s first cares on attaining the head of the
administration had been to decide General Lafayette to accept the use of
a public ship for his return to France. This vessel, built in Washington
navy yard, was launched about the end of June, and was to be ready for
sea by the beginning of September, the time fixed upon by General
Lafayette for his departure. “It is customary,” Mr. Adams wrote to him,
“to designate our frigates by the names of rivers of the United States;
to conform to this custom, and make it accord with the desire we have to
perpetuate a name that recalls that glorious event of our revolutionary
war, in which you sealed with your blood your devotion to our
principles, we have given the name of Brandywine to the new frigate, to
which we confide the honourable mission of returning you to the wishes
of your country and family. The command of the Brandywine will be
entrusted to one of the most distinguished officers of our navy, Captain
CHARLES MORRIS, who has orders to land you under the protection of our
flag, in whatever European port you please to designate.”
This invitation was too honourable, and made with too much delicacy, to
be for an instant refused by General Lafayette; therefore he hastened to
return to Washington to express his gratitude to the president, and
concert with Captain Morris the day of sailing, which was settled for
the 7th of September. When this determination became known, a great
number of persons thronged from the neighbouring cities to take a last
farewell of the nation’s guest; and all the constituted authorities of
the capital determined to take a solemn leave of him. From this time to
the day of our embarkation the general devoted his whole time to the
duties of friendship, and in answering to the invitations of various
cities, which, for want of time and on account of their distance, he had
been unable to visit.
The fame of Bolivar’s exploits in combating for the liberty and
independence of the South American republics, at this time resounded
through the United States, whose citizens applauded with transport his
republican patriotism, which then was free from all suspicion. Mr.
Custis, the adopted son of Washington, whose ardent spirit is ever ready
to sympathise with all that is great and generous, conceived the thought
of presenting to the Liberator, as a testimonial of his admiration, a
fine portrait of General Washington, and a medal of pure gold, which had
been decreed to the great citizen by the American nation, at the
festival of independence. He thought that these presents, although
sufficiently precious on account of their origin, would acquire a still
greater value by passing through the hands of the veteran of liberty in
the two worlds, and General Lafayette consented with pleasure to the
request made him to be the organ of communication. On the 2d of
September these presents were placed in the hands of M. Villenilla,
member of the Colombian Legation, with a letter for Bolivar, from
Lafayette.
On the 6th of September, the anniversary of Lafayette’s birth, the
president gave a grand dinner, to which all the public officers, and
numerous distinguished persons then in Washington, were invited. The
company had already assembled and were about to sit down to table, when
the arrival of a deputation from the city of New York was announced,
which came to present to General Lafayette, on behalf of the city
council, a book containing an account of all the transactions and events
occurring during his stay in that city. This magnificent volume, removed
from its case, and exhibited to the company, excited general admiration.
It is in fact a masterpiece that may be compared with the most beautiful
and rich of those manuscripts which formed the glory and reputation of
libraries before the discovery of printing. It contained fifty pages,
each ornamented with vignettes designed and painted with the greatest
skill; views and portraits perfectly executed, completed this work, of
which the writing was done by Mr. Bragg, and the paintings by Messrs.
Burton, Inman, and Cummings. The view of the Capitol at Washington, of
the City Hall of New York, and the portraits of Washington, Lafayette,
and Hamilton, left nothing to be desired; and in order that this
beautiful work should be altogether national, it was upon American
paper, and bound by Mr. Foster of New York with admirable richness and
elegance.
General Lafayette gratefully accepted this fine present, to which the
president and his cabinet gave additional value by placing their
signatures in it. Although a large company partook of this dinner, and
it was intended to celebrate Lafayette’s birth-day, it was very serious,
I may say, almost sad. We were all too much pre-occupied by the
approaching journey to be joyous: we already felt, by anticipation, the
sorrowfulness of separation. Towards the conclusion of the repast, the
president, contrary to diplomatic custom, which forbids toasts at his
table, arose and proposed the following: “To the 22d of February and 6th
of September, birthdays of Washington and Lafayette.” Profoundly
affected to find his name thus associated with Washington, the general
expressed his thanks to the president, and gave this toast, “To the
fourth of July, the birth-day of liberty in both hemispheres.”
At last the day which we ardently wished for, and whose approach,
however, filled us with profound sadness, the day which would begin to
convey us towards our country, but must, at the same time, separate us
from a nation which had so many claims to our admiration and affection,
the day of our departure, the 7th of September, dawned radiantly. The
workshops were deserted, the stores were left unopened, and the people
crowded around the president’s mansion, while the militia were drawn up
in a line on the road the nation’s guest was to move to the shore. The
municipality collected about the general to offer him the last homage
and regrets of their fellow citizens.
At eleven o’clock he left his apartment, slowly passed through the crowd
which silently pressed after him, and entered the principal vestibule of
the presidential dwelling, where the president, surrounded by his
cabinet, various public officers, and principal citizens, had waited for
him a few minutes. He took his place in the centre of the circle which
was formed on his approach; the doors were open, in order that the
people who were assembled without might observe what took place, and the
slight murmur of regrets which were heard at first among the crowd, was
succeeded by a solemn and profound silence; the president, then visibly
agitated by emotion, addressed him as follows, in the name of the
American nation and government:—
“GENERAL LAFAYETTE—It has been the good fortune of many of my
distinguished fellow-citizens, during the course of the year now
elapsed, upon your arrival at their respective places of abode, to
greet you with the welcome of the nation. The less pleasing task now
devolves upon me, on bidding you, in the name of the nation, adieu.
“It were no longer seasonable, and would be superfluous, to
recapitulate the remarkable incidents of your early life—incidents
which associated your name, fortunes and reputation, in imperishable
connection with the independence and history of the North American
Union.
“The part which you performed at that important juncture was marked
with characters so peculiar, that, realizing the fairest fable of
antiquity, its parallel could scarcely be found in the _authentic_
records of human history.
“You deliberately and perseveringly preferred toil, danger, the
endurance of every hardship, and the privation of every comfort, in
defence of a holy cause, to inglorious ease, and the allurements of
rank, affluence, and unrestrained youth, at the most splendid and
fascinating court of Europe.
“That this choice was not less wise than magnanimous, the sanction
of half a century, and the gratulations of unnumbered voices, all
unable to express the gratitude of the heart with which your visit
to this hemisphere has been welcomed, afford ample demonstration.
“When the contest of freedom, to which you had repaired as a
voluntary champion, had closed, by the complete triumph of her cause
in this country of your adoption, you returned to fulfil the duties
of the philanthropist and patriot in the land of your nativity.
There, in a consistent and undeviating career of forty years, you
have maintained, through every vicissitude of alternate success and
disappointment, the same glorious cause to which the first years of
your active life had been devoted, the improvement of the moral and
political condition of man.
“Throughout that long succession of time, the people of the United
States, for whom, and with whom you had fought the battles of
liberty, have been living in the full possession of its fruits; one
of the happiest among the family of nations. Spreading in
population; enlarging in territory; acting and suffering according
to the condition of their nature; and laying the foundations of the
greatest, and, we humbly hope, the most beneficent power that ever
regulated the concerns of man upon earth.
“In that lapse of forty years, the generation of men with whom you
co-operated in the conflict of arms, has nearly passed away. Of the
general officers of the American army in that war, you alone
survive. Of the sages who guided our councils; of the warriors who
met the foe in the field or upon the wave, with the exception of a
few, to whom unusual length of days has been allotted by heaven, all
now sleep with their fathers. A succeeding, and even a third
generation, have arisen to take their places; and their children’s
children, while rising up to call them blessed, have been taught by
them, as well as admonished by their own constant enjoyment of
freedom, to include in every benison upon their fathers, the name of
him who came from afar, with them and in their cause to conquer or
to fall.
“The universal prevalence of these sentiments was signally
manifested by a resolution of congress, representing the whole
people, and all the states of this Union, requesting the president
of the United States to communicate to you the assurances of
grateful and affectionate attachment of this government and people,
and desiring that a national ship might be employed, at your
convenience, for your passage to the borders of your country.
“The invitation was transmitted to you by my venerable predecessor;
himself bound to you by the strongest ties of personal friendship,
himself one of those whom the highest honours of his country had
rewarded for blood early shed in her cause, and for a long life of
devotion to her welfare. By him the services of a national ship were
placed at your disposal. Your delicacy preferred a more private
conveyance, and a full year has elapsed since you landed upon our
shores. It were scarcely an exaggeration to say, that it has been,
to the people of the Union, a year of uninterrupted festivity and
enjoyment, inspired by your presence. You have traversed the
twenty-four states of this great confederacy: You have been received
with rapture by the survivors of your earliest companions in arms:
You have been hailed as a long absent parent by their children, the
men and women of the present age: And a rising generation, the hope
of future time, in numbers surpassing the whole population of that
day when you fought at the head and by the side of their
forefathers, have vied with the scanty remnants of that hour of
trial, in acclamations of joy at beholding the face of him whom they
feel to be the common benefactor of all. You have heard the mingled
voices of the past, the present, and the future age, joining in one
universal chorus of delight at your approach; and the shouts of
unbidden thousands, which greeted your landing on the soil of
freedom, have followed every step of your way, and still resound,
like the rushing of many waters, from every corner of our land.
“You are now about to return to the country of your birth, of your
ancestors, of your posterity. The executive government of the Union,
stimulated by the same feeling which had prompted the congress to
the designation of a national ship for your accommodation in coming
hither, has destined the first service of a frigate, recently
launched at this metropolis, to the less welcome, but equally
distinguished trust, of conveying you home. The name of the ship has
added one more memorial to distant regions and to future ages, of a
stream already memorable, at once in the story of your sufferings
and of our independence.
“The ship is now prepared for your reception, and equipped for sea.
From the moment of her departure, the prayers of millions will
ascend to heaven that her passage may be prosperous, and your return
to the bosom of your family as propitious to your happiness, as your
visit to this scene of your youthful glory has been to that of the
American people.
“Go, then, our beloved friend—return to the land of brilliant
genius, of generous sentiment, of heroic valour; to that beautiful
France, the nursing mother of the twelfth Louis, and the fourth
Henry; to the native soil of Bayard and Coligni, of Turenne and
Catinat, of Fenelon and D’Aguesseau. In that illustrious catalogue
of names which she claims as of her children, and with honest pride
holds up to the admiration of other nations, the name of Lafayette
has already for centuries been enrolled. And it shall henceforth
burnish into brighter fame; for if, in after days, a Frenchman shall
be called to indicate the character of his nation by that of one
individual, during the age in which we live, the blood of lofty
patriotism shall mantle in his cheek, the fire of conscious virtue
shall sparkle in his eye, and he shall pronounce the name of
Lafayette. Yet we, too, and our children, in life and after death,
shall claim you for our own. You are ours by that more than
patriotic self-devotion with which you flew to the aid of our
fathers at the crisis of their fate. Ours by that long series of
years in which you have cherished us in your regard. Ours by that
unshaken sentiment of gratitude for your services which is a
precious portion of our inheritance. Ours by that tie of love,
stronger than death, which has linked your name, for the endless
ages of time, with the name of Washington.
“At the painful moment of parting from you, we take comfort in the
thought, that wherever you may be, to the last pulsation of your
heart, our country will be ever present to your affections; and a
cheering consolation assures us, that we are not called to sorrow
most of all, that we shall see your face no more. We shall indulge
the pleasing anticipation of beholding our friend again. In the mean
time, speaking in the name of the whole people of the United States,
and at a loss only for language to give utterance to that feeling of
attachment with which the heart of the nation beats, as the heart of
one man—I bid you a reluctant and affectionate farewell.”
An approving murmur drowned the last words of Mr. Adams, and proved how
deeply the auditors sympathised with the noble sentiments he had
expressed in favour of France, and her children whose whole life and
recent triumph would add still more to his glory and exaltation. General
Lafayette, deeply affected with what he heard, was obliged to pause a
few moments before he was able to reply. At last, however, after having
made an effort to regain his voice, he thus expressed himself:
“Amidst all my obligations to the general government, and
particularly to you, sir, its respected chief magistrate, I have
most thankfully to acknowledge the opportunity given me, at this
solemn and painful moment, to present the people of the United
States with a parting tribute of profound, inexpressible gratitude.
“To have been, in the infant and critical days of these states,
adopted by them as a favourite son, to have participated in the
toils and perils of our unspotted struggle for independence, freedom
and equal rights, and in the foundation of the American era of a new
social order, which has already pervaded this, and must, for the
dignity and happiness of mankind, successively pervade every part of
the other hemisphere, to have received at every stage of the
revolution, and during forty years after that period, from the
people of the United States, and their representatives at home and
abroad, continual marks of their confidence and kindness, has been
the pride, the encouragement, the support of a long and eventful
life.
“But how could I find words to acknowledge that series of welcomes,
those unbounded and universal displays of public affection, which
have marked each step, each hour, of a twelve-months’ progress
through the twenty-four states, and which, while they overwhelm my
heart with grateful delight, have most satisfactorily evinced the
concurrence of the people in the kind testimonies, in the immense
favours bestowed on me by the several branches of their
representatives, in every part and at the central seat of the
confederacy?
“Yet, gratifications still higher await me; in the wonders of
creation and improvement that have met my enchanted eye, in the
unparalleled and self-felt happiness of the people, in their rapid
prosperity and insured security, public and private, in a practice
of good order, the appendage of true freedom, and a national good
sense, the final arbiter of all difficulties, I have had proudly to
recognise a result of the republican principles for which we have
fought, and a glorious demonstration to the most timid and
prejudiced minds, of the superiority, over degrading aristocracy or
despotism, of popular institutions founded on the plain rights of
man, and where the local rights of every section are preserved under
a constitutional bond of union. The cherishing of that union between
the states, as it has been the farewell entreaty of our great
paternal Washington, and will ever have the dying prayer of every
American patriot, so it has become the sacred pledge of the
emancipation of the world, an object in which I am happy to observe
that the American people, while they give the animating example of
successful free institutions, in return for an evil entailed upon
them by Europe, and of which a liberal and enlightened sense is
every where more and more generally felt, show themselves every day
more anxiously interested.
“And now, sir, how can I do justice to my deep and lively feelings
for the assurances, most peculiarly valued, of your esteem and
friendship, for your so very kind references to old times, to my
beloved associates, to the vicissitudes of my life, for your
affecting picture of the blessings poured by the several generations
of the American people on the remaining days of a delighted veteran,
for your affectionate remarks on this sad hour of separation, on the
country of my birth, full, I can say, of American sympathies, on the
hope so necessary to me of my seeing again the country that has
designed, near a half century ago, to call me hers? I shall content
myself, refraining from superfluous repetitions, at once, before
you, sir, and this respected circle, to proclaim my cordial
confirmation of every one of the sentiments which I have had daily
opportunities publicly to utter, from the time when your venerable
predecessor, my old brother in arms and friend, transmitted to me
the honourable invitation of congress, to this day, when you, my
dear sir, whose friendly connection with me dates from your earliest
youth, are going to consign me to the protection, across the
Atlantic, of the heroic national flag, on board the splendid ship,
the name of which has been not the least flattering and kind among
the numberless favours conferred upon me.
“God bless you, sir, and all who surround us. God bless the American
people, each of their states, and the federal government. Accept
this patriotic farewell of an overflowing heart; such will be its
last throb when it ceases to beat.”
In pronouncing these last words, General Lafayette felt his emotion to
be rapidly increasing, and threw himself into the arms of the president,
who mingled his tears with those of the national guest, in repeating
those heart-rending words, Adieu! Adieu! The spectators, overcome by the
same feelings, also shed tears and surrounded their friend, once more to
take him by the hand. To abridge this scene, which could not be suffered
much longer, the general retired for a short time into his own
apartment, where Mrs. Adams surrounded by her daughters and nieces came
to express their wishes and regrets. On the evening before, this lady,
whose cultivated mind and amenity of character had greatly contributed
to the pleasure of our visit to the president’s house, had presented him
with a fine bust of her husband, and had added to this present a copy of
verses in French, whose charm and elegance proved that this was not the
first occasion in which her muse had spoken in our language.
Detained as if by a magic spell, General Lafayette could not make up his
mind to leave his friends; a thousand pretexts seemed to retard the
definitive moment of separation, but at last the first of the
twenty-four guns, which announced his departure, having been heard, he
again threw himself into Mr. Adams’s arms, expressed to him his last
good wishes for the American nation, and retired to his carriage. The
president repeated the signal of adieu from the top of the steps, and at
this sign the colours of the troops which were drawn up before the
president’s house were bowed to the earth.
Accompanied by the secretaries of state, treasury, and navy, the general
proceeded to the banks of the Potomac, where the steam-boat Mount Vernon
was waiting for him. On a level above the river, were all the militia of
Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington, drawn up in solid columns,
waiting to defile before the general. In advance of the troops were the
magistrates of the three cities, at the head of their fellow citizens,
to whom numbers of strangers had joined themselves. When the general
arrived at a point from whence he could embrace this scene at a glance,
the family of General Washington and the principal officers of
government, ranged themselves around him, when all the different masses
of men who had hitherto been so motionless, moved on to the sound of
artillery, and advanced melancholy and silent to receive his last adieu.
When the different corps had passed, the general took leave of all the
friends that surrounded him, and went on board of the Mount Vernon, with
the secretary of the navy and those officers of government who were to
accompany him on board of the Brandywine.
During this time, the innumerable crowd which lined the shores of the
Potomac for a great distance, governed by a painful feeling of sorrow
produced by his departure, remained in the most profound silence; but
when the steam-boat had pushed off with the object of their affections,
they gave vent to a mournful cry, which, repeated from echo to echo, was
finally mingled with the deep sound of the artillery of fort Washington.
A few moments afterwards we passed Alexandria, and the general received
the same marks of regret from the population of that city. But it was
when he came in view of Mount Vernon, that he felt most deeply affected,
and experienced the great sacrifice he made to his country in leaving
the American soil, that hospitable, land, where every step he made was
accompanied with heartfelt recollections.
In a few hours we reached the Brandywine, which was anchored at the
mouth of the Potomac, where she only awaited our arrival to set sail.
The general was received on board with the greatest honours, the yards
were manned, the gunners at their posts, and the marines drawn up on
deck. Of the whole company that had attended us from Washington, the
secretary of the navy, Mr. Southard, alone went on board the Brandywine
with the general, to present and recommend him to the care of Commodore
Morris in the name of the American nation and its government. We had
experienced so many marks of kindness from Mr. Southard, that it was
with real grief that we took leave of him. As soon as he had received
our last farewells, he returned on board the Mount Vernon, and our
commander gave orders to weigh anchor; but at this moment another
steam-boat appeared in sight, which apparently wished to speak to us; we
soon recognised her as the Constitution, which had arrived from
Baltimore, carrying a great number of the inhabitants of that city, who
desired once more to see General Lafayette, and to express to him the
good wishes of their fellow-citizens, as well as their own. We
experienced great pleasure in observing among them a majority of those
with whom we were most intimate in our different visits to Baltimore.
Their presence, at this time, in recalling to our minds the happy time
we spent with them, made us forget, for a moment, that we had already
left the American soil, perhaps for ever, and our illusion was prolonged
until the evening gun announced that all communication between us must
cease.
The night was now too far advanced to get under sail, and Commodore
Morris waited till next day to weigh anchor. It was the 8th of December
we entered the Chesapeake under full sail, traversing the centre of a
brilliant rainbow, one of whose limbs appeared to rest on the Maryland
shore, and the other on that of Virginia. Thus the same sign that
appeared in the heavens on the day on which Lafayette landed on the
American soil, also appeared when he left it, as if nature had reserved
to herself the erection of the first and the last of the numerous
triumphal arches dedicated to him during his extraordinary journey.[22]
The wind blowing brisk and favourable, we soon passed the capes of
Virginia, and were in a short time out at sea. It was then only that our
captain, disengaged from the care a difficult navigation, near the shore
always induces, made us more particularly acquainted with his officers
and our new abode. From the character of the former and commodious
arrangement of the latter, it was readily perceived that the American
government had neglected nothing that could contribute to the safety or
comfort of Lafayette’s return to his own country. The captain announced
to the general, that the last instructions he had received from the
president, was to put himself entirely at the general’s disposal, and to
conduct him to any part of Europe that he might designate, and to land
him under the protection of the American flag; hence, that he must from
that moment consider himself as absolute master, and to be assured that
his orders would be executed with the greatest readiness. The general
was deeply affected but not surprised at this fresh instance of kindness
in the American government, and declared to the captain, that the only
use he should make of these honourable prerogatives would be a passage
to Havre. Two motives, added he, make me desirous of reentering France
by that city; my family will be there to receive me, and my heart feels
a strong desire to present myself, in the first instance, to those who
received my farewell with such kindness, when I last year left my
country.
The wind blew so violently, that in forty-eight hours from our leaving
Chesapeake bay, we were in the Gulf stream, whose waves, opposed by the
wind, made us experience all the agonies of rolling and pitching
horribly combined. Added to the sea-sickness which attacked nearly all
of us, another source of anxiety arose. The frigate leaked without it
being discovered at what place; the pumps, in spite of their constant
employment, could not keep the vessel clear, and some persons already
regretted we were so far from the land, but our captain and his crew
were not to be intimidated so easily. After a close examination of our
situation, Captain Morris was of opinion that the vessel was too deep in
the water, and should be lighted; he therefore had 32,000 weight of
iron, part of his ballast, thrown overboard. This operation which was
performed in a few hours, remedied every inconvenience. The frigate
being lighter was in better trim, and in rising some inches more above
the surface of the water, discovered the leak, which was just under the
water-mark: from this moment the danger, which had never been serious,
entirely disappeared, and our voyage was accomplished without the
slightest anxiety.
As the president had told the general, in offering him the use of the
Brandywine to carry him to France, we had for commander one of the most
distinguished officers in the American navy. During his youth, Captain
Morris had distinguished himself in several engagements before Algiers,
under the command of Commodore Rogers. At a later period, during the
last war with Great Britain, he had added to his reputation, from his
skill in manœuvring his vessel, in the presence of an overwhelming
force; and his comrades generally attributed to him a great part of the
glory of the victory of the Constitution over the Guerriere, who, proud
of her formidable artillery and the experience of her numerous crew, had
sent a challenge to any American vessel, that had the courage to meet
her, and seemed to wait with impatience for some one to accept her
defiance, when the Constitution appeared and soon made her repent of her
presumption.
The officers who served under the orders of Captain Morris, on board of
the Brandywine, had also distinguished themselves in the last war, and
each could boast of having added to the glory of the American navy, by
his own gallant deeds. I regret that I cannot record all their names,
and some of the actions by which they merited the gratitude of their
country, and the esteem of their fellow-citizens; but such details would
lead me far beyond all due bounds, and I hope that my silence will be
taken rather as a proof of my incapacity to act as their historian, than
as a proof of my indifference to men, whose society was so delightful to
us, during a voyage which would have appeared very short, if we had not
been returning to our own country.
The government of the United States has no theoretical school for her
marine officers, but each national vessel, when going on service,
receives on board a certain number of midshipmen, and thus forms a
practical school at little expense as to money, and attended with the
happiest results. When it was rumoured, that the Brandywine was destined
to conduct Lafayette back to France, all those parents who intended
their children for the navy, were ambitious to obtain them a birth on
board of this frigate, and the president found himself beset with
petitions from all parts of the Union. Not being able to satisfy all,
but at the same time wishing to amalgamate, as much as possible, private
interests with public good, he decided that each state should be
represented by a midshipman, and hence the Brandywine had on board
twenty-four, instead of eight or ten, as is usual in vessels of her
size. It was gratifying to the general, thus to find himself surrounded
by these young representatives of the republics he had visited with so
much pleasure, not only as their presence recalled spots he loved, but
also as some of them, being sons of old revolutionary soldiers, gave him
an opportunity of speaking of his former companions in arms; and the
young men, on their part, proud of the mission they were engaged in,
endeavoured to render themselves worthy of it, by strict attention to
study, and the performance of their duties. The paternal friendship
testified towards them by the general, during the voyage, so completely
gained their affection, that they could not separate from him without
shedding tears. They begged that he would permit them, to offer him a
durable mark of their filial attachment, that would also recall to his
mind the days passed with them on board the Brandywine.[23]
The wind continued strong during the whole passage, but was very
variable, thus rendering our voyage unpleasant. Nevertheless, in spite
of their inconstancy, Captain Morris found means to make us advance
rapidly; and on the 3d of October we arrived in sight of the coast of
Havre, in twenty-four days after leaving the Chesapeake. This passage
ought to be considered as very short, particularly when it is considered
that it was our vessel’s first voyage, and consequently that she
required to be studied with greater care by those who navigated her.
I will not speak of the feelings that agitated us at the sight of our
country. There are few who have not experienced them on again seeing
their native land, even after a short absence; and to those who have
never known the torments of absence, or the sweet emotions of a return,
I fear that my words would appear exaggerated or ridiculous.
As there was a great swell, and the wind variable, the captain would not
hazard the frigate by approaching too near land in the night; he
therefore sent one of his officers to Havre for a pilot, and stood off
and on until his return. About midnight, a fishing boat boarded us, and
brought letters, by which we learnt, that a great part of General
Lafayette’s family, and numbers of his friends, among whom was my
father, had waited for us at Havre for several days, and would join us
in a few hours.
It may be readily supposed, that such news kept us awake all night,
expecting with impatience the return of day, to restore us to our
friends, our families, and our country. At six o’clock, the pilot being
on board, he cautiously guided the vessel towards Havre, which we saw
gradually becoming more visible on the horizon. At three o’clock we
anchored, from the impossibility of approaching nearer without danger in
a vessel the size of our frigate. Captain Morris then fired a salute of
twenty-four guns, which was answered from the fort a few moments
afterwards. At 11 o’clock, a steam-boat having boarded us, we
experienced the happiness of seeing our friends.
We also received on board some citizens of Havre, among whom was M. de
Laroche, who begged the general to accept of lodgings in his house, as
long as he should remain in the city. Mr. Beasley, American consul at
Havre, was also among our visiters. Our captain and his officers
received them with distinction, and showed them every part of the
frigate, whose beautiful proportions and admirable order excited their
admiration.
But the time rapidly passed, and the moment of separation from our
fellow passengers arrived. It would be difficult to portray the
expression of grief and regret that was observable on the faces of all
on board, when they advanced for the last time to bid farewell to him
whom they had so proudly conducted across the ocean. The officers
surrounded him for a long time, not being able to permit him to depart.
Their first lieutenant, Mr. Gregory, who had been commissioned by them
to express their sentiments, experienced so much emotion, that his voice
faltered in pronouncing the first words; but, as if suddenly inspired,
the young seaman sprung towards the national flag which floated at the
stern of the vessel, rapidly detached it, and presented it to the
general, exclaiming, “We cannot confide it to more glorious keeping!
Take it, dear general, may it for ever recall to you your alliance with
the American nation; may it also sometimes recall to your recollection
those who will never forget the happiness they enjoyed of passing
twenty-four days with you on board of the Brandywine; and in being
displayed twice a year on the towers of your hospitable dwelling, may it
recall to your neighbours the anniversary of two great epochs, whose
influence on the whole world is incalculable,—the birth of Washington
and the declaration of the independence of our country.”
“I accept it with gratitude,” replied the general, “and I hope that,
displayed from the most prominent part of my house at La Grange, it will
always testify to all who may see it, the kindness of the American
nation towards its adopted and devoted son. And I also hope, that when
you or your fellow countrymen visit me, it will tell you, that at La
Grange you are not on a foreign soil.”
At this moment, the noise of cannon and the huzzas of the sailors on the
yards, prevented any further adieus, and we went on board the
steam-boat, whence we saw the Brandywine spread her sails, and leave us
with the majesty of a floating fortress.
Captain Morris, who was to accompany the general to Paris; Captain Reed,
a distinguished officer of the American navy, charged with a scientific
mission to Europe by his government; and Mr. Somerville, envoy from the
United States to the court of Sweden, left the Brandywine with us; and
this vessel, under the command of Lieutenant Gregory, sailed for the
Mediterranean, to reinforce the squadron there.
On his landing, General Lafayette perceived that the sentiments
expressed towards him by the citizens of Havre, at his departure, had
not changed, and he was much affected at their warmth. As to the
administration, it was what it ought to have been the preceding year,
that is, it permitted a free expression of public opinion, so that in
his passage from the quay to Mr. de Laroche’s, the general had not the
grief of seeing his friends menaced by the sabres of the gens d’armes,
or humiliated by the presence of foreign troops.
General Lafayette ardently desired to see such of his children as could
not come to meet him, and waited for him at La Grange, and he therefore
decided on leaving Havre the day after his arrival. His son embarked on
the Seine with his family and friends, to proceed to Rouen, where he
would wait for him, whilst, accompanied by Captain Morris and the author
of this journal, he went by land. On leaving the suburb, his carriage
was surrounded by a large cavalcade of young men, who asked permission
to accompany him to some distance. After an hour’s march, the general
stopped to thank his escort, who did not separate from him until they
had expressed the most flattering sentiments, through their young
leader, Mr. Etesse, to whom his fellow citizens bad also this day given
a proof of their esteem and friendship in placing themselves under his
orders.
On arriving at Rouen, we stopped at M. Cabanon’s, a worthy merchant, who
has always been charged with the interests of his department in the
chamber of deputies, whenever his fellow citizens have been unshackled
in their choice. As an old friend and colleague of the general, he had
insisted on his right of receiving at his table the guest of America,
and had prepared him the pleasure of once more being seated with his
family and a great number of the most distinguished citizens of the
ancient capital of Normandy. Towards the end of the dinner, some one
came to announce to the general that a crowd of persons in the street,
accompanied by a band of musicians, wished to salute him. He eagerly
went out on the balcony to reply to this mark of esteem from the
population of Rouen, but scarcely were the first acclamations heard,
when detachments of the royal guard and gens d’armes appeared from the
extremities of the street, who, without any previous notice, began to
disperse the crowd. The moderation with which the royal guard executed
the orders they had received from an imprudent and blind administration,
proved how repugnant they were to them, but the gens d’armerie, anxious
to prove themselves the worthy instruments of the power that employed
them, _bravely_ charged on the unarmed citizens, and were not to be
checked by the cries of the women and children overthrown by the horses.
A manufacturer of Bolbec, an elderly man of Rouen, and several other
persons, were severely wounded. Many others were illegally and brutally
arrested. After these glorious exploits, the gens d’armes, being
conquerors, waited for the appearance of General Lafayette, and, sabre
in hand, accompanied the carriage to the hotel where we were to spend
the night. But here their success was checked; young men stationed at
the door forbid all entrance into this asylum, where many of those who
were obliged to fly had taken refuge, and where General Lafayette could
receive, in peace, the feeling and honourable congratulations of those
citizens who wished, in spite of the interdict of those in authority, to
testify the satisfaction they felt at the return of a man, who by the
triumphs decreed to him by a free nation had so much added to the glory
of the French name.
This atrocious conduct of the magistrates and their servile instruments
afflicted us the more, from having a few days previous enjoyed the free
expression of the feelings and enthusiasm of the American people, and
which in spite of ourselves forced a comparison that was far from being
favourable to our own country. The presence of Captain Morris and some
of his countrymen who had accompanied him to Paris, added still more to
our sorrow and embarrassment. We seemed to read in their stern
expression, the feelings they experienced in seeing a people once so
energetic in the cause of liberty, now timidly submitting to the
despotism of bayonets. As soon as I found an opportunity of speaking to
them for a moment, I hastened to tell them that they must not confound
prudence and moderation with weakness, which was here only so in
appearance. That, in this instance, the citizens could not have supposed
that the local authorities would have been foolish enough to oppose the
expression of sentiments so inoffensive and natural, and consequently no
one had thought of making preparations for a resistance, whose necessity
had not been foreseen. Some young men who were near us overhearing this
conversation, added with warmth, “we hope our moderation will not be
misinterpreted by those who know us, and that they will understand that
we only submitted to be thus driven back by some gens d’armes, because
we wished to spare our friend General Lafayette the chagrin of being the
cause of a greater disturbance.” The American officers applauded the
courage and delicacy of this feeling, and comprehended that under other
circumstances, the triumph of the police and its gens d’armes over the
citizens of Rouen would not be so easy.
The next morning, October 8th, the court of the hotel was filled by
young men on horseback, intended as an escort to the general as far as
the first post-house. Their countenances, and some words I overheard,
proved to me that they were full of the scene of the evening before, and
were firmly resolved that it should not be renewed with impunity. The
posts of the infantry and gens d’armerie had been doubled during the
night, as if the day was to be productive of great events; but the
magistracy confined itself to those ridiculous demonstrations, and
General Lafayette left the city in peace, receiving on his way numerous
testimonials of the good wishes of the citizens.
At the end of the suburb, the escort was augmented by more young
horsemen, who accompanied him to the first relay of horses, where they
took leave of him, after having presented him with a crown of
“Immortelles,” which was laid in his carriage on the sword given him by
the New York militia.
That evening we slept at St. Germain-en-Laye, and the next day, October
9th, we arrived at La Grange, where, for the three last days, the
neighbouring districts had been occupied in preparations for a fete on
the arrival of one so long and ardently looked for.
At a certain distance from the house, the carriage stopped; and the
general on descending from it, found himself in the midst of a crowd,
whose transports and joy would have deceived a stranger, and led him to
suppose that they were all his children. The house was filled until
evening, by the crowd, who only retired after having conducted the
general, by the light of illuminations and to the sound of music, under
a triumphal arch, bearing an inscription, in which they had dedicated to
him the title of “friend of the people.” There he again received the
expressions of joy and happiness induced by his return.
The next day, the general was occupied in receiving the young girls who
brought him flowers and chaunted couplets in his honour, the company of
the national guard of Court Palais, and a deputation from the town of
Rosay. The inhabitants of the commune in offering a box of flowers to
their friend, congratulated him on his arrival through their leader M.
Fricotelle.
The following Sunday, the inhabitants of Rosay and its environs gave the
general a brilliant fete, the expenses of which were defrayed by common
subscription. The preparations which had required several days’ labour,
were the work of the citizens, who did not wish to be aided by any
mercenary hands. At five o’clock in the evening, more than four thousand
persons, many of whom had arrived from a distance of some leagues,
filled the apartments and courts of La Grange, to salute him, whom all
voices hailed as the friend of the people. At seven o’clock, a troop of
young girls marching at the head of the population of Rosay, presented a
basket of flowers to the general, and chaunted some simple and touching
couplets; after which Mr. Vigne pronounced in the name of the canton a
discourse filled with noble sentiments. After the general’s reply, which
was received with transports of joy, he was conducted in triumph to the
meadow, where an elegant tent had been erected for him and his family.
Illuminations artfully disposed, fire-works prepared by Ruggieri,
animated dances, a great number of booths of all kinds, and a population
of upwards of six thousand persons, all contributed to recall to
Lafayette some of the brilliant scenes of his American triumph; and with
the more truth, since he found so much conformity in the feelings which
dictated both.
The dancing lasted all night; the cries of “long live the people’s
friend” were to be heard until the next day, when Lafayette, once more
in the bosom of his family, enjoyed that happiness and calm which only
result from the recollection of a well spent life.
THE END.
-----
Footnote 1:
Since our return to France, the general has received a similar boiler
from Mr. Morris of Baltimore, which is now in use at La Grange.
Footnote 2:
This animal was a common seal, _phoca vitulina_, vulgarly called
_sea-dog_. The _sea-lion_ is another species of seal.—T.
Footnote 3:
See Art. 32 of the Constitution of North Carolina.
[Whatever may be the condition of the statute on this subject in North
Carolina, it can be little better than a dead letter or nullity, since
it is so entirely inconsistent with the Constitution of the United
States. We do not recollect to have read of any instance in which this
offensive peculiarity has been productive of practical disadvantage.
It is unquestionably a blemish that calls for removal.—T.]
The 31st article excludes from the senate, the house of
representatives, and the state councils, all members of the clerical
profession, without distinction of faith or sect, so long as they
continue in the exercise of their pastoral functions.
Footnote 4:
This is a common but inaccurate saying; an oblique shot will certainly
glance from the skin of the alligator, but one striking perpendicular
to the surface will as certainly penetrate, if within a proper
distance.—T.
Footnote 5:
This is another very common and ancient error, which has been repeated
from the days of Herodotus, who said it of the Egyptian crocodile, to
the present. The deceptive appearance is produced by the manner in
which the lower jaw is articulated; the joint being situated very far
back, when the mouth is opened, casual observers easily mistake the
part actually moved. See the article _Alligator_, in the lately
published Encyclopædia Americana.—T.
Footnote 6:
See the fable of the ass disguised in the lion’s skin, as related by
Æsop, Phædrus, or Lafontaine, in explanation of this allusion. T.
Footnote 7:
See the excellent work of Captain Hugh M‘Call, published in 1811,
entitled “_The History of Georgia_.”
Footnote 8:
In speaking of the morals of New Orleans, it is but just to
discriminate between its _permanent_ and _fluctuating_ population.
Being the only mart to a vast extent of country, and the most
frequented port on the Gulf of Mexico, it always contains a large
number of individuals of the rudest and most licentious class, who can
scarcely be said to belong to any country, are certainly of no
religion, and are of every shade of colour. It is therefore by no
means surprising, that gamblers, brawlers, and stabbers, should be
numerous where such a class abounds, more especially, as New Orleans
tolerates, by _license granted_, numerous establishments openly
devoted to gambling and all its consequences.—T.
Footnote 9:
Since the establishment of steam navigation, boatmen rarely return by
land. They pay a trifle for a _deck passage_; find their own
provisions, and aid the crew to bring wood, &c. on board, at the
stopping places.—T.
Footnote 10:
These geese, together with the Mexican hoccos presented by Mr.
Duplantier; wild turkeys presented by Mr. Thousand, of Baltimore;
Devonshire cows, given by Mr. Patterson; American partridges,
presented by Mr. Skinner, etc. at present ornament the farm of La
Grange, where General Lafayette exerts himself to multiply their
numbers.
Footnote 11:
See upon this subject Mr. Warden’s very curious work, entitled Remarks
upon the Antiquities of North America.
[No theory, formed from the examination of a few of these mounds, can,
with any propriety, be resorted to for the purpose of explaining the
intentions of the ancient tribes in their formation. That they were
erected for various uses, is sufficiently evident from their
difference of construction, some being evidently merely monumental,
while others must have been designed for military, religious, or other
services. No one has examined the square and circular erections at
Circleville, in Ohio, (now rapidly disappearing before the industry of
the brick-makers), or those found near Piqua, or elsewhere in that
state, without feeling convinced that they were destined to different
uses from the mounds which occur in their vicinity, and appear to have
been erected by the same people. Dr. Clarke, and other travellers in
the north of Asia, inform us, that mounds, in all respects similar to
those of St. Louis, are very numerous in many places, and that they
are unquestionably sepulchral is proved by the bones, urns, and
ornaments found within them. These observations go far also to
establish the belief of the common origin of the American aborigines
and the nomadic tribes of the old continent. See Atwater’s very
interesting Archæologia Americana.—T.]
Footnote 12:
The grizzly bear is unquestionably a ferocious and sanguinary animal,
and is so much dreaded by the Indians and traders, that it is not
surprising they should give currency to endless fables and
exaggerations concerning it. But we cannot avoid a feeling of
surprise, mingled with some mortification, to find respectable and
intelligent travellers repeating, as actually true, statements of the
habits of our animals, which a very slight effort of reason would show
to be utterly absurd. Here we have A BEAR, the largest species known,
coursing after _men_ in _packs_, and _yelping_ like hounds! when we
have not on record, evidence, perhaps, of more than thirty of these
animals having been seen since the existence of the species was
discovered; nor the slightest evidence that any _bear_ ever uttered
any other sound than a low harsh growl!—T.
Footnote 13:
Since his return from America, General Lafayette has received a young
grizzly bear from the Missouri, sent him by Governor Clark. He has
presented it to the proprietors of the Jardin du Roi, who have placed
it in the menagerie, where it may now be seen.
Footnote 14:
Another still more laborious mode of going up stream, was by extending
a long line from the bow, by which the crew, walking along the margin
of the river, dragged the boat along. This is what is called
_cordelling_, and when it is recollected how rugged and irregular the
shores of the western rivers are, and the necessity of carrying the
cord clear of trees, rocks, &c., a more painful and exhausting kind of
labour can scarcely be imagined.—T.
Footnote 15:
Vevay wine is a perfect nondescript; in colour it slightly approaches
thin claret; its taste is altogether peculiar; something like it might
be made by sweetening vin de grave with brown sugar. Nothing but a
strong effort of courtesy, however, can induce any one seriously to
call it _wine_, unless the fact of its being made from grapes be
sufficient to secure it this title. As to its being “the best of the
wines made in the United States,” we apprehend the author’s experience
was scarcely sufficient to make his opinion decisive. It is certainly
far inferior to the best of our cider, in all the requisites of a
pleasant beverage.—T.
Footnote 16:
The canal has been completed since this journal was written, and fully
equals all anticipations.—T.
Footnote 17:
The territory of Vermont was at first part of the state of New
Hampshire, from which it was separated in 1764, to be annexed to that
of New York. It was not until 1791, that Vermont was admitted into the
confederation as an independent state.
Footnote 18:
Professor List was condemned to ten years of _hard literary labour_,
for having consented to be the organ of his fellow citizens to the
king of Wirtemberg.
Footnote 19:
Among these was General Lallemand, who is too well known for me to
eulogise him, and my two friends, my companions in arms, the brothers
Peregnet, who for a long time followed in Europe by honourable
persecutions, finally obtained in New York a safe asylum, where
American hospitality has enabled them to obtain the means of living
independently. The military academy which they have established upon
the most extensive and liberal scale, already enjoys popular favour.
Footnote 20:
The wish of the Whitehallers is accomplished. The _American Star_ is
now at La Grange, placed with its oars and rudder under an elegant
building which the general has had built expressly to shelter it,
worthy of the recollections it represents.
Footnote 21:
Courrier Français.
Footnote 22:
The day of our arrival at Staten Island, whilst the general was
receiving the congratulations of the people, from the balcony of the
vice president’s house, a rainbow, one of whose limbs enveloped and
tinged fort Lafayette with a thousand colours, appeared; the
multitude, struck with the beauty and opportuneness of this
circumstance, exclaimed, “that heaven was in unison with America in
celebrating the happy arrival of the friend of the country.”
Footnote 23:
This present, which was received by General Lafayette a short time
after his arrival at Paris, is a silver urn, of an antique form and
beautifully engraved. It rests on a base of the same metal, three of
the faces of which are ornamented with exquisite sculptures,
representing the capitol at Washington; the visit of Lafayette to the
tomb of Washington, and the arrival of the Brandywine at Havre. On the
fourth face is inscribed, in relief, the offering of the young
midshipmen to their paternal friend. This magnificent work was
executed at Paris, under the direction of Mr. Barnet, the American
consul, who replied to the confidence of the young seamen, with that
zeal which he always displays, in every thing relating to the glory of
his country, or the interests of his fellow-citizens.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together
at the end of the last chapter.
4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.