The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-10-04

CsAyAsxAr. aapk q 1855.

cD1O 49, -. {
r..saS.s CIR. is.;d 6lsEs ss,s ssl 4 lfss, 49,.
these lines fro1 sAtAasA Y,lns Of the i'm
mor>al Lafayette. Oavaepac i = ,littles ~
hge at lie fbot of neuntsfas 4 Ass91fbift!
ment Of Hants Loirs, whsrs General LAfay-
cite waa bua ill67, . hEex - rh1n, next
to Washington, the sncsess Of the American
Revolution hung = By . thread and it has
sa~ays been : nhAsef n doubt - me, = y
almost every re6def Of history, whether the
tis.ely cid in nsn, prUusions, and especially
nssal saact;oa, pfsdAhyetts and aiaeruSsds
France, mas not the chief cause Of tha sac-
Fcsuofa tssmiaioa sfsour sar. II Iptspsv
dence. II is with . religious venerat;on that
l tread upsn - I'll teoe fhalewee by the
footsteps of young Lafayette. Idismounted
my vehicle on entering those fields where, up
TO The age of 6ftsea, our hero prepared HIM
self for the hAsislibs he ~,s to endure Il tho
age of twenty, in. the bivouacs Of Virginia
and New York, whither his love Of the inde-
psndeucs of America had carried him X Ths
hard fought battles of Brandywine, Mon
mouth, and the fnaEsu1lender of Lord Corn
Wallis, successfully rose up before my mind.
I sought their hero in the fields and in IL
groves Of Chavagnac, but in vain-hiS spirit
is gone from that sad spot, and with it. hae
fed the soul of liberty from beloved but en-
shaved France.
/ The Castle Of lafayette is now owned end
occupied BY his grandson, Oscar lafayette,
who received cordially our little party, COM
posed of my brother and the Rev. A. Trevis,
Cure Of Aurat It Offers nothing very an
cient or remarkable, except the stone of the
arch Of the front door, which was taken froaA
the BAstile after it was torn down by the pop
ulAce of Paris in 1857, date engrsven on
that relic of arbitrary imprisonment There
is in the large hall full length portrait Of
the General, painted BY Henry Schafer, and
said to be an admirable likeness also paint
ing ~ the same artist, representing lafayette
after death, was shown us in . private cabi
net The most valuable relic Of the General,
relic so connested with WashineSen that by
right it ought TO belong to our Government, .
relic, in sooth, highly valued by Oscar Lafay-
cite, and which he showed us with pside, Is
pistol on which we read these words
'Washington to Lafayette. Such . relic,
after the burning Of the .Smithsonian Inst.
tute, would be exceedingly valuable in our
national museums.
must confess the thrilling sensation ex-
perienced in walking through the immense
hall of the Castle, hall that once echoed
xba I'll 80 n - 4
with the mirth end cheers of hundreds Of
gnests, when it was FIRST snnounced 1t Cha
vagnac that peace had been proclaimed in.
Ansrica- We wore hsncs conasctsd 70 .
cabinet with an iron door, in which is kept
another relic Of LAfayet&e, intrimieally word
some 1900 francs, and connected with hts
political career in France. It is Q colossal
urn of solid silver, gilt and presented 70 hml
by the city Of Paris in 1890, in grateful &C.
Acknowledgement for having caused the deposi-
ton uf Charles x. - the election of Louis
Philippe. Little did the Parisians know at
the time that they had only exchanged King
Log for King Stork. This urn Is about four
feet high, intending the pedestal, on the four
sides OF which are some remarkable bas re-
liefs of some principal events Of the Gene
rails life, separated 1t each corner by foar
statuettss Of Law, Liberty, Force and JUS
tice.
Having visited the chapel where Washing
tons adopted son had been haptised, aud
paid our respects to the venerable pastor,
aged about eighty-four years, 6fty of which
he spent in this hamlet, We returned home,
praying that the lessons taught by the Chris
tian Patriot Of Chavaguac may not be foEyot-
ten in America, and may soon be understood
in France.
We're not afraid Of lengtheaine too much
this article, would make . more minute de-
scription of the bas reliefs Of the famous urn,
and OF the locality; but if this prove inter
esting will occasionally send . comnunica-
ton whenever meet with an object Of in.
terest. l must not, however, forget u mem
ton that Oscar Lafayette feels deep sympa-
thy in our American affairs and misfortunes,
and manifested the most violent regret and
agitation at hearing the taeical end Of Pres
ident Lincoln. enclose . crocus picked up
in the fields in trout Of the. castle, and q, leaf
from linden tree, Under whose shade the
General often rested in youth.
Respectfully, A L. D.