Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-22

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LAFAYETTE,
The Friend of Human Rights and Am eri-
can Freedom.
The Marquis de Ia Fayette was born in
1757, and was one of the most extraOrdina-
ry and influential men of his time. He was,
IN the fullest sense, a member of the French
a1istocracy and gentleman of fortune.
His. precOoity may be inferred from the fact,
that at the age of fourteen he displayed
marked literary ability. and wrote with
great fluency. When bit sixteen he mar
ried and three years ,erward moved by
a love of liberty, on hearing of the struggle
in which the American colonies we're en-
gagged, he resolved to leave wife, home and
kindred, and draw his sword on the side of
the oppressed. Here was sacrifice at the
shrine Of human freedom! Young, noble,
wealthy, tho friend of princes, and the be-
loved Of an endured and beautiful wife, be
separated himself from ali, and the advan-
tages pertaining to his rank, to share the
dangers and the fate of the brave handful of
half starved, half naked patriots, who dared
to stand up for the right in the face of one
of the most powerful nations in the world.
His freedom of action in this relation,
however, was embarrassed, inasmuch as the
King, who objected to his leaving France,
ordered his arrest 30 as to prevent him
carrying out his noble project But here
the French monarch was powerless, for the
object CT this persecution, having fitted out
a ship at his own expense, escaped to it in
disguise after untold privations and after
having once been recognized by young girl
VINO found him asleep on some straw, but
who never once thought of betraying him.
He had heard of the loss of New York and
New Jersey to the Americans, but this only
served to increase his desire to hasten to
the relief of the latter. And so, although
pursued by two French cruisers, and
menaced by the English mon of war on the
coast he escaped all dangers and landed
safely on the shores of South Carolina.
Here everything was novel and delightful
to him, as he observed in a letter to his wife
shortly after his arrival, and here lie soon
met Washington, for whom he formed an
instsnt and abiding friendship, SO impressed
was he with the true nobility and command
ing virtues of that great and mighty man.
When Lafayette first saw the poorly armed,
ragged and half-fed forces cf America in
line before him at Philadelphia, nothing
could exceed his surprise. But with PEN
etration beyond his years, he perceived in
this stern self sacrificing and dogged array,
all the elements of future success; and this
conviction often seemed to impart strength
and hope to any whose spirits tended to
droop beneath the weight of the reyerses
and great privations that pressed upon
| them Washington also soon began to dis
cover the true metal in the young French
! man of nineteen, whose sword invariably
leaped from its sheath at the word of COM
mand. Hence, when but twenty, he was
made major general.
Lafayette's suferings in our cause was
| severe, and his labors terrible He was
| wounded at Brandywine, and lay for six
| weeks at Bethlehem, when, although
| scarcely able to move, he wrote letters con-
| stantly TO France imploring its statesmen to
attack England in India and the West In
dies. Before his wounds were healed he re-
Joined the army. He performed in winter
a journey on horseback of four hundred
miles to Albany he commanded at Rhode
Island fought like liop, and bore all the
hardships and privations of wax. After
this he was seized with violent fever, and
seemed for weeks on the point of death. On
his recovery he set sail for his native land
from Boston, in l7SO.
On returning to France, he was received
with open arms by all the young mobiles of
liberal views, while the King pardoned him
and sent him back to America with prom
ise of ships, money, clothes and men. Once
again he rejoined Washington, who soon
trusted him beyond all others. He now
commanded in Virginia with skill and brav-
cry against CORVALLIS, and with his illustri-
ous chief planned the campaign which re-
suited in the taking of Yorktown and the
Il 80 f-,f
After the surrender of CORVALLIS, Lafay-
ette returned to France once more, when
the revolution, prompted by the ideas and
the success of the Americans, began to
move in its tortuous grooves. He was now
the favorite of the people, and was all pow
erful in the land, but in the shadow of his
path crept the Marats, Dantons and Robes
pieres of the hour, while the armies of
Europe lay in front of him, ready to crush
| his Republican projects. He was over
powered and constrained to fly from
France and seek shelter on foreign soil !;
but instead of shelter, in a friendly sense,
he found himself immured within the
gloomy wall of Olmutz, where he remained
for five years. For more than half that
period he was cut Oft from all communica-
ton with the world; and could not even
learn whether his wife and children were
still alive. At length his wife, who had
barely escaped from the guillotine, joined
him with her two daughters, and shared his
imprisonment-their son having been sent
to America to the care of Washington. Nor
was it until the armies of France, under
Napoleon, began to shake Europe that they
were released.
He now became leader in every move
pertaining to the advancement of liberal
government, and cultivated large farm at
La Grange, near Paris. On hearing of the
death of Washington he wept bitterly; and
in l824-'25, after an absence of forty years,
he again visited America, but this time with
his son. His reception was magnif-
cent beyond measure-the gratitude
of generous nation permeating
it through and through. He visited
once more, all the old historic places, and
met many of his comrades in arms, with
such intense emotion that it would be al
most proclamation to attempt to put it in
words. On his return to France he still
stood firm in the principles he had espoused
and fought for; but the time for his depart
ure was drawing nigh, for he breathed his
last, in hope and in peace, at La Grange,
in 1884, leaving behind him character for
all that was noble, self-sacrifcing, courage
ous and just His chateau at this place has
been tho shrine of many an American pill
grim, and it is still filed with "reminiscences
Of The land he loved and aidsd 20 we'll Hs