Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-10-15
MIR. EvERETT's EULoGY.

ut erectlnS the CenOldpu 1T hOuut Hh"O"'' W.
the memory of this distinguished individual
In the Eulogy, the principal events in his lie
are set forth in bold relief and his character, as
sketched bv the orator, we doubt not, Will had
favor with poSterity.
The picture which the orator drew OF the re-
tirement of Lafayette at La Grange, after he
was released from the dungeons of Austria, Is
ono which places the character of the Hero, the
Statesman the Patriot and the PhilanthrOpist in
its true light, and will be regarded with deep
Interest,"
He lived at La Grange, retired and unmo-
Tested the only man, who had gone through the
terrible revolution, with character free from
every lust impeachment. He entered it with
nrinceIy fortune;--in the various high offices
which Ire had flied he had declined all compen-
sation:-and he came out poor. He entered 1t,
in the meridian of early manhood, with frame
of iron. He came out of il, fifty years of age
his strength impaired 10y the crueltles OF his long
IMPRISONMENT. He had filled the most power
fnI and responsible offices; and others, still more
powerful-the dictatorship itSelt-had been Of
fered him;-he was reduced to obScurity and
nrivate life. He entered the Revolution, with
host oc ardent colleagues OF the constitutional
narty OF those who escaped the gulIiotIne,
most had made peace with Napoleon; not few
of the JacobnS had taken his splendid brlbeS
the emigrating nobility came back in crowds,
and nut on his livery; fear, interest WEAKNESS,
amaZement and apathy reigned in France and
in EurOpe;-km9s, emperorS, armies, nations,
bowed at his footstool;-and one man alone-a
nrivate man. who had tasted power and knew
what he sacrificed;-whO had inhabited dun
ueons, and knew what he riSkcd;-who had
done enough for liberty, in both worlds, to sa-
tSfy the utmost acquisitions OF her friends, this
man alone stood aloof in his honor, his indepen-
dence-and his poverty. And il there is q man
in this assembly. that would not rather have
been LAFAYETTE 10 refuse, than Napoleon to be-
stow his wretched gewgaws; that would not IA
Their have been Lafayette in retirement and OBJ
security, and Just not prescribed, than Napoleon
with an emperor to hold his Stirrup;--if there is
a man. who would not have preferred the hon
est poverty of La Grange to the bloody tinsel
of st. Cloud;-that would not rather have shar
ed the peaceful fireside of the friend of Wash
ington than have spurred his triumphant cour
ser over the crushed and blackened heaps of
slain through the fire and carnage OF Marengo
and AuSteritZ, that man has not an American
heart in his bosom. That man is slave, and
fit tn be the father of slaves tie does not de-
serve To breathe the pure air, to drink the cold
springs, to tread the green fields, and hear the
sabbath bells of free country. He ought, with
all his carriers. ribbons, and stars upon him, to
he bottled down, with golden chain. to the
blazing pavement Of palace court yard, that
when his lord and master goes ont To the hunt
OF beasts or of men, he may be there--the slave
to crouch down, and let his majesty vault
from his shoulders to the saddle"
The following passage is replete with power
and beauty;
1t was necessary to justify the enthusiasm
with which Lafayette was welcomed to repub-
Gcan America, that when another catastrophe
-. n ,l no of
France, and almost of Europe, Lafayette alone,
not i'm a cOnvulSive effort of lanatca hardl-
hood, bun in the calm consciousness of a weight
of character which would bear him out in the
step, should, deliberately and in writing, refuse
to sanction the power before which the contem-
porary generation qudiled. When again the
wheel Of empire had turned, and this dreadful
colossus was about To be crushed beneath the
weight of Europe, (muStcred against him more
i'm desperation than self assured power,) and
in falling dragged down 10 earth the honor and
the strength of FranCe--it was necessary, when
the dust and smoke OF the contest had blown OFT,
that the faithful sentinel of liberty Should be
seen again at his post, ready once more to stake
life and reputation in another of those critical
iunctures when the stoutcSt heartSare apt 10 re-
fire and leave the field to desperate mCn-the
forlorn hope Of affairS-whom reCkleSSHeSS or
necessity crowds up TO the breach. But to re.
flute every mputatiOn of sclfShness-oi a wish
TO restore hlmSCIi 10 the graCeS OF restored roy
alty-himself the only individual Of continent
tai Europe. within the reach of Napoeon's
sceptre, that refused to sanction his tlte-it was
necessary that he should be coldly viewed by
the reappearing dynasty, and that he should be
seen and heard--not in the cabinet or the ante
chamber Swarmug with men whom Napoleon
had with s9anged stars but at the tribune: the
calm, the rational, the ever consistent advocate
of liberty and order, representative Of the peo-
pie, in constitutional France. Ii was there Il
first saw him. | saw the Marshals of Napoleon,
gorged with thepunder of Europe & stained with
its blood born on their flashing chariot wheels
through the streets of Paris. | saw the minis
tiers of Napoleon filling the highest posts ofrust
and honor under Louis XVIII; and saw the
friend Of Washington glorious in his noble po-
verify, looking down from the dazzling height
of his consistency and his principles, on their
paltry ambition and its more paltry rewards"
The extract which follows, goes to disprove
the assertion, which has been made by some
that Lafayette was not great man:
"There have been those who have denied to
I,aCayese the name of a great man. What is