the object to be then practicable. Simultaneously with the account of the conclusion of peace, Lafayette had communicated to Gen. Washington a proposition for the accomplishment of this object. We have not been able to meet with it; but it is thus acknowledged by Gen. Washington, in his letter to Lafayette of 5th April, 1783: "The scheme, my dear marquis, which you propose as a precedent to encourage the emancipation of the blacks in this country from that state of bondage in which they are held, is a striking evidence of the benevolence of your heart. I shall be happy to join you in so laudable a work; but will defer going into a detail of the business, until I have the pleasure of seeing you."

Lafayette embraced the first opportunity of testing the practicability of his views upon the subject of negro emancipation; and, unlike most reformers, commenced his experiment at home, and at his own expense. With the concurrence of Marshal de Castries, the Minister of Marines, he purchased an estate in, the French colony of Cayenne, with a large number of slaves, and commenced, under the superintendence of a competent instructer, a system of discipline and education, which was to be followed by their gradual emancipation. To this object Lafayette devoted a large sum of money, and with the co-operation of several eminent patriots and philosophers, persevered in his plan, until the French revolution involved every thing in chaos. In 1792, when Lafayette was proscribed by the Terrorists, the National Convention confiscated all his property, and ordered his negroes at Cayenne to be sold, in spite of the remonstrances of Madame Lafayette, who protested against the sale, on the ground that the negroes had been purchased by Lafayette with the sole object of setting them at liberty after their instruction. Lafayette himself felt much anxiety on this subject. In an interesting letter to the Princess d'Henen, from the prison of Magdeburg, he said: "I know not what disposition has been made of my plantation at Cayenne, but I hope that Madame Lafayette will take care that the negroes, who cultivate it, shall preserve their liberty."

It may be interesting to the reader to know, that this experiment of Lafayette had also the approbation of Gen. Washington. In a letter of May 10, 1786, he said: "The

benevolence of your heart, my dear marquis, is so conspicuous upon all occasions, that I never wonder at any fresh proofs of it; but your late purchase of an estate in the colony of Cayenne, with a view of emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit might diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country. But I despair of seeing it. Some petitions were presented to the Assembly, at its last session, for the abolition of slavery, but they could scarcely obtain a reading. To set the slaves afloat at once would, I really believe, be productive of much inconvenience and mischief; but by degrees it certainly might, and assuredly ought to be effected; and that too by legislative authority.

Such, were, substantially, the views of Lafayette himself. He would not restore the negroes at once to liberty, any more than he would restore a blind man suddenly to the full blaze of the meridian sun. He was for emancipating the slaves by degrees, in proportion as their moral and intellectual education rendered them capable of appreciating and properly enjoying freedom. Believing the plan practicable, although surrounded with many difficulties, he considered it the duty of the friends of liberty every where, to persevere in endeavoring to effect its accomplishment. Circumstances may have changed. The difficulties attending such an experiment in this country may have increased. But although some may now dissent from the propriety or practicability of Lafayette's views, none will deny the purity of his principles or the philanthropy of his motives.

Lafayette, at the same time, took an active interest in favor of the French Protestants. He was ever the friend of religious toleration.

The same year (1786) Lafayette received a new token of gratitude from the people of Virginia, for the services he had rendered that state, no less honorable to them than complimentary to him. The legislature of Virginia directed two busts of Lafayette to be executed at their expense, by the celebrated sculptor Houdon, one of them to be placed in the Legislative Hall of that state, and the other to be presented in their name to the municipal authorities of Paris. The proffer was made to the municipality by Mr. Jefferson,

then minister plenipotentiary of the United State France, in the following words :

"The Legislature of the state of Virginia, in consideration of the services of Major General the Marquis de Lafayette, has resolved to place his bust in their capitol. This intention of erecting a monuinent to his virtues, and to the sentiments with which he has inspired them, in the country to which they are indebted for his birth, has induced a hope that the city of Paris would consent to become the dc. pository of a second proof of their gratitude. Charged by the state with the execution of this resolution, I have the honor to solicit the Prevot des Marchands and Municipality of Paris to accept the bust of this brave officer, and give it a situation where it may continually awaken the admiration, and witness the respect, of the allies of France.-Dated 17th September, 1786."

This honorable memento was accepted by the municipality, with the sanction of the king. Its reception was attended with ceremonies, public and imposing, at which a large concourse of people were present. The king's attorney delivered on the occasion an address, in which he recounted the services of Lafayette in America, and the high estimation in which he was held in both countries. The bust was then placed in one of the public halls, that of the celebrated Hotel de Ville, of the city of Paris. In that hall, which soon became the theatre of so many important events, it served to enkindle the flame of Liberty, and fell, when that light was extinguished, an unconscious victim to the wrath of anarchy. The reception of this bust, and the public ceremonials which attended it, had no small influence in quickening the political events which followed; and constitute, at least in the life of Lafayette, the connecting link between the American and French revolutions.

CHAPTER XXII.

The French Revolution-Its causes-Preliminary events-Louis XVI -Maurepas-Assembly of Notables-Lafayette a member of it-His propositions for reform-The States General convened-Its character-Lafayette a de uty - Dissensions of the orders-The commons constitute themselves the National Assembly-The king sides with the privileged orders--Doors of the Assembly closedThe members repair to the Tennis Court- Take an oath-Last "bed of justice"-Speech of Mirabeau-Lafayette with forty liberal nobles, joins the commons-The three orders unite-Lafayette proposes a Declaration of Rights-First insurrection in Paris-Lafay ette Vice President of the Assembly-Destruction of the Bastile-Deputation to the Hotel de Ville --Bailly chosen Mayor of ParisLafayette commander of the civic guards-Receives the king in Paris-Organizes the National Guards-Institutes the tri-colored cockade-His character and influence at this period-Endeavors to preserve tranquillity-Indignant at popular excesses-Threatens to resign-Persuaded to continue in command-Refuses compensa. tion for his services-Feudal privileges abolished-Declaration of rights adopted.

THE causes and events of the French revolution, have been traced by many and able pens. The subject is unexhausted. We shall touch upon it as briefly as possible, inseparably connected as it is with the distinguished individual whose life we are recording. Through a long series of usurpations in France, the power of the king had become absolute. It was unrestrained and undefined by a written constitution or definite laws. The judicial and legislative bodies, exercised their functions by the will or sufferance of the monarch. The crown disposed of persons by lettres-decachet, or warrants of imprisonment, by which the great prison of the Bastile, and other places of confinement, were from time to time filled with the victims of intolerance, avarice and revenge. It disposed of property by confiscation, and of income by arbitrary taxation. The Parliament of Paris, it is true, had the nominal privilege of consenting to or refusing an impost; but the king, by what was termed "a bed of justice," a convocation in which he appeared in person and made known his will, under the established max

im, that in the presence of the king all other authorities were suspended, enforced a registration of the decree, and punished the refractory members by imprisonment or exile.

France, thus enslaved, (says Mignet) was also most wretchedly organized: the excesses of power were less insupportable than their unequal distribution. Divided into three orders, which were again subdivided into several classes, the nation was abandoned to all the evils of despotism, and all the miseries of inequality. The nobles were divided into courtiers who lived on the favors of the prince; or in other words, on the labors of the people; and who obtained either the government of the provinces, or high stations in the army,-upstarts, who directed the administration, and were appointed to lieutenancies, and farmed the provinces; lawyers, who administered justice and monopolized its appointments; and territorial barons, who oppressed the country by the exercise of their private feudal privileges, which had displaced the general political rights. The clergy were divided into two classes, of which one was destined for the bishoprics and abbacies, and their rich revenues; the other to apostolic labors and to poverty. The commons, borne down by the court, and harassed by the nobles, were themselves separated into corporations, which retaliated upon each other the evils and the oppressions which they received from their superiors. They possessed scarcely a third part of the soil, upon which they were compelled to pay feudal services to their lords, tithes to the priests, and imposts to the king. In compensation for so many sacrifi ces, they enjoyed no rights, had no share in the administra. tion, and were admitted to no public employments."

The profligacy and extravagance of the reigns of Louis XIV and XV, had awakened a portion of the French people to the sense of their condition. Men of genius and influence had discussed the subject of public affairs and the theory of governments with freedom. When Louis XVI, therefore, succeeded to the throne, (1774,) public opinion, the most powerful of all sovereigns, had begun to assert its empire. He found the nation discontented, and the pecuniary resources of the crown exhausted. Louis XVI was by no means a natural tyrant. He regarded the interests of his subjects, and would willingly have restored them to many of their rights. But he clung to the prerogatives of the