Marquis La Fayette." He soon became the pride of the nation, and was taken to the bosoms of a grateful people. Grave and judicious men gave him their testimonials. Franklin writes to him from France: "I find it easy to express everything but the sense we have of your worth and our obligations to you." Samuel Adams says to him, June, 1780: "My particular friendship for you would be a prevailing inducement with me," &c. And Chief Justice Marshall speaks of “the joy and affection with which Washington received him," and "the distinction and regard of Congress' for him, "to which his constant and indefatigable zeal in support of the American cause," and "his signal services, gave him such just pretensions."

After the war had closed there was one heart in which the old love never waxed cold. In 1784 Lafayette revisited Washington, and when they parted at Annapolis it was never to meet again. But Washington, writing afterward to Lafayette, said: "Every hour since, I have felt all that love, respect, and attachment for you, with which length of years, close connection, and your merits have inspired me." And the letters of Lafayette to him show what affection he could awaken in a bosom friend.

It was my good fortune to see Lafayette under circumstances of special interest, very soon after, having accepted the invitation of Congress to revisit this country, he had landed at New York City, August 15, 1824.

When, a few days later, he entered the city of Boston, the enthusiasm of the people was unbounded. As he passed out of Washington Street into State Street, a multitude of every age and description poured forth their demonstrations. Not the young or middle-aged alone, but hoary heads were carried away by the excitement of that occasion. In their midst, to my surprise, I saw the great Dr. Bowditch moving along in the crowd, waving his hat in the air; and, as he approached the barouche in which Lafayette was riding, he joined in the shouts of the throng like a youth. Who else could have so stirred this grave man, the mathematician renowned the world over; and whom, not many months after this event, I saw, on commencement day, seated among the Corporation of Harvard College, - so staid, so dignified, one might have asked, " Does that man ever smile?"

But, after all, the order of that day was perfect. If we had been in France, the chance is that such an event would have been accompanied by very different scenes. I am not surprised that Lafayette asked at that time, as he looked on the thousands upon thousands that followed in his train, so orderly in their deportment, and so well dressed,

Where are the common people?"

On the 26th of August, 1824, the Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Society held its annual meeting for public services in the old meeting-house of the First Parish in Cambridge, which stood on the spot now (1882) occupied by the Law School. The

fame of the orator, Edward Everett, and the expectation of seeing the illustrious Lafayette on that occasion, drew together an eager and crowded assembly. This, we all felt, was a proud day for Harvard. Lafayette had already been welcomed by thousands, but new lustre was shed upon his name when he came to the Commencement of our ancient college. Our hearts beat with rapture as we saw him enter our precincts. A magnificent arch had been erected and handsomely decorated in Cambridgeport. On either side of the street were our school-children, the girls in white frocks and the boys in blue jackets. Through the thronged line Lafayette rode to Cambridge. Cheer upon cheer burst from the multitude as he moved forward. When the distinguished stranger entered the church, the delighted audience rose in a mass and greeted him with unstinted demonstrations. But when the orator, toward the close of his address, turned toward Lafayette and commenced his allusions to him, all eyes were fixed on that noble figure, and the enthusiasm of the multitude broke forth in still louder applause. The personal address to him kindled a yet more fervent expression of the joy of all hearts. After speaking in a touching strain of his old companions in arms Lincoln, Greene, Knox, and Hamilton-Mr. Everett added, "But they are gone;" and, rising to the climax of the scene, he proceeded:

Above all, the first of heroes and of men, the friend of your youth, the more than friend of his country, rests in the bosom of the soil he redeemed. On the banks of the Potomac he lies in glory and peace. You will revisit the hospitable shades of Mount Vernon, but him whom you venerated, as we did, you will not meet at its door. His voice of consolation, which reached you in the Austrian dungeons, cannot now break its silence to bid you welcome to his own roof; but the grateful children of America will bid you welcome in his name. Welcome, thrice welcome to our shores; and withersoever, throughout the limits of the continent, your course shall take you, the ear that hears you shall bless you, the eye that sees you shall bear witness to you, and every tongue exclaim, with heartfelt joy, "Welcome, welcome, Lafayette."

For a moment the enraptured listeners paused to recover their breath, and then, with tears on their faces, burst into prolonged and reiterated applause. Lafayette shared in these thrilling emotions, sensibly affected by the allusion to his own services and sufferings, and especially at the name of Washington. At the dinner of the Society we enjoyed, under the presiding genius of Judge Story, a feast of wit and hilarity, heightened by a long line of distinguished speakers,- Everett, Josiah Quincy, Governor Eustis, ex-Governor Brooks, and others- not the least of whom was our worldrenowned guest, whose native accent was almost overcome by his cordial appreciation of the scene, making us all, as one, feel that such a fellowship as this band of brothers now awakened we might

never again enjoy. And when he read the sentiment he there gave, he called up a picture of scenes in the old world, part of which he himself had been "The Holy Alliance of virtue, literature, and patriotism, -it will prove too powerful for any coalition against the rights of man."

A few days after his arrival, on September 2, Lafayette accepted an invitation of the town of Lexington to visit that place. This gave me an opportunity for a personal introduction to him in my native place, and on the very spot hallowed as the birthplace of American liberty. At the line of the town he was met by a body of horse and a procession of citizens, who escorted him to the Common. An arch of evergreen and beautiful flowers had been erected, with the motto: "Welcome, Friend of America, to the birthplace of American liberty." Among the large concourse assembled to honor the guest of the nation were the children of the schools, and fourteen of the brave men who took part in the battle of the 19th of April, 1775. The procession, under salutes from an artillery corps, moved to the Monument, where an eloquent address of welcome was given by Major Elias Phinney of Lexington. To this cordial tribute Lafayette, with great emotion, replied, thanking the people of Lexington for their kind attention, and expressing his happiness in standing upon ground "consecrated by the blood of the first martyrs to American freedom, a cause whose influence had been felt the world over."