The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-11-12
A LIFE As BE1UTTFUL As IT VAS
INTER ESTTNG.
TIE story Of Madame DE Lafayette, Wife of
the Friend of Washington.
1777-1 1891.


our independence. IL Is not easy to discover at
what precise stage OF this affair It was communi-
Gated to his wife. The earliest trace that we
have ever seen OF any public notice OF Lafay-
cites plan Is contained in letter written from
| Paris, apparently to some English newspaper,
under the date OF April 4. and afterward inserted
in Dodsey's Annual Register for that year. 1t
ran thus:
PANS, April L-One Of the richest OF our
Young nobility the Marquis &c Lafayette re-
nineteen and twenty wears of age, b,s at his
own expense hired ffigatc ana provided ev-
| with two officers Of his acquaintance. lie set
out last week, having told his iady and family
! that he was going to Italy, where the Countess
de fessey, his aunt, lives.
1t wonld seem. therefore, that It was publicly
rumored In Paris on the ith Of April that he had
gone. aud that he had until then conce iled his
| purpose from his wife and her family. Nine.
de dayctte herself In her life OF her mother,
speaks Of her mothers ann ouncement to her OF
the "oruel departure" and Nine. de LIS.
teyrie also treats It as thing entirely unex-
pected. Neither Of them mentions the time when
Nine de Lafayette first knew Of her husbands
purpose. Both Ia lies may have referred to the
fr-t announcement of his intention only. and
this NAV have been before or after he left Paris
for the last time previous to his first attempt to
embnrk at Bordeaux. From the tenor OF both
the Lives. however. we incline 70 the belief that
LAFAYETTE, who certainly went to London in
March visit to his wife's uncle. the Mar
quls de Noailles. then French Ambass idor in
England. and who probably did not return to
Paris before he EN- oarked for this country. did
not inform hts wife Of his intended departure
when he left her. HOW soon her mother kne W
It aud commune ated It > her, does not appear (;
but from the great exertions OF Nine. d'Ayen
to prevent any unfortunate effect upon her
daughter. who was then within two months OF
giving birth TO second child, II would seem
probable that the announcement was made to
her at about the time that Intelligence reached
Paris that Lafayette had gone to Bordeaux to
embark.
The commonly received accounts that Lafay-
cite went directly from London to Bordeaux,
where his ship was preparing, without passing
through Paris. He lie rned at Bordeaux that
the British Ambassador In Paris had caused an
order to he issued by the French Government
for his arrest lie sailed Immediately for
Pas ges. the nearest port Ia Spain. There be
overtlken by order from the King of
France directing him to 20 TO Marseilles lie
went buck to Bordeaux 10y land. and. Affecting
TO obey ths royal comm md. liz set on for Mar
settles. bat on the j,urney he sud lenly took The
road to spain. aud, before he could be over.aken
bT his pursuers. reached Pa.lges. where his
vessel lay, and immeiiatciy sailed for Americ l.
Whether the exp. osion took place in Paris
sooner or later, It Is certain that this event
whenit became known, caused great commO-
ii II m the higher circle, Of French society. The
DIc d'Aycn was very angry with his sOn-in-law,
aud probably may have lent his iuflusncs To
have him arrested BIT his opposition met with
n yer. decided check In the better judgment OF
Nine. d'Ayen and the general tone Of society.
A mi 1
home that the French ladies' generally blamed
the relations Of NJ. de LAFAYETTE for trying to
arrest him In such noble enterprise. .. II the
Due d'Ayen," said one OF these cpisrammatic
women, crosses his son-in law ~ such an an.
dertaking, he may give up all hope OF marrying
hi other dlughters." In the domestic circle
Nine. dAyen's qlist jud 'ment appears TO
have carried the dlv. She behaved with gre,
and tact. Nine. de Laft cite tolls rs
TIA At her motuer was quite free from any anbi-
ton for glory and the attraction OF great enter
prsss. yet that she judged Of this step from, the
nrst as II was at the end Of two years judged by
everybody. She considered that the motive u
Lafayette m ,de the project something better
than "a Young mans folly. and that II was her
duty to protect her q lughter by giving her sym
pathy to the step which her sOn-in-iaw had
taken. The young lady herself was very well
aware that the more she was made an OBJECT Of
pity by their friends, ths ore her husband was
blamed. Both mother and daughter, therefore,
with true feminine instinct and principle
RANGED themselves on his side; the Young wife
endeavOrinz not to weld % the pain which his
departure gave her, and her mother supporting
her with the tenderest sollcitude by Judging the
project according TO Lafiye,to's own feelings
ant motives In undertaking It. rnis was GER
tainy ner best aud only way to console her
child aud all her cares were needed. Within
two months after her husbands departure
Nine. d. Lafayette gave birth to her second
daughter, Ana,tasie de L,fayett', who m rrled
Count Charles de Lltour-Mlrbourg in 1898, and
who died Oulv IN our own day OsjB at,ths great
age Of eishty-six.
Volumes nave been written In eulogy Of La
ftyetto for coming to America TO take part In
our struggle for liberty Making every allow
ance for the spirit OF de 'lanatipn In i mas D.cn
so often exhibited IN the rect al Of this part OF
his career and LAYING aside, so far as We can,
our hationa propensity to Xlll bis chl rasler.
calm estimate may bs mide Of ths whole at
fair which wlil show tnat no wa. even A. the
early axe OF twenty u very uncommon man,
c1n-idering his social surrnu ldinls and his
prospects at home. His father-iu.l,w may be
,krr Us tho repres ave Of an tnos' prudent
r .asnns which seemed TO be opposed to this RI
mlntc Undertaking. lie slw In It the slcrlnce
OF those brilliant prospects which tue Ina fence
II mis- family ana his own mcriis might have SO
rureI for lafayette. 1t IS quits certain That II
the young n ,rlls. with nj, fortune and social
position, mad rom aimed at home, hi, pro uotion
100 the ar uy would have been rapid, "a his pplit
ned career would h ave b'en yer, different from
that which history records ~ him. Ia, It was
his destiny to play very dif. relt part Ia the
world from that of an ofhrer in the ROYAL ser