"GENERAL,
"On behalf of my comrades, I bid you welcome. They come to greet you, with no pageantry, intended to surprise by its novelty, or dazzle by its splendour: But they bring you. General, an offering which wealth could not purchase, nor power constrain. On this day, associated with so many thrilling recollections; on this spot, consecrated by successful valour, they come to offer you this willing homage of their hearts.
"Judge, General, of their feelings at this moment by your own. Every thing around them speaks alike to their senses and sensibilities. These plains, where the peaceful plow-share has not yet effaced the traces of military operations; these half decayed ramparts, this ruined village, in which the bombs' havoc is still every where visible, tell us of past warfare; and remind us of that long, arduous and doubtful struggle, on the issue of which depended the emancipation of our country.
"On yonder hillock, the last scene of blood was closed by the surrender of an army; and the liberty of our nation permanently secured. With what resistless eloquence does it persuade our gratitude and admiration for the gallant heroes, to whose noble exertions we owe the countless blessings which our free institutions have conferred upon us?
"The spot on which we stand was once a redoubt occupied by our enemy. With how rapid a pencil does imagination present the blooming chieftain, by whom it was wrested from his grasp. Can we be here and forget, that superior to the prejudices which then enchained even noble minds, he perceived in the first and almost hopeless struggles of a distant and obscure colony, the movement of that moral power, which was destined to give an new direction and character to political institutions, and to improve human happiness. Can we forget, that, deaf to the solicitations of power, of rank, and of pleasure, with a noble prodigality, he gave to our country his sword, his treasure, and the influence of his example.
"And when in the aged warrior who stands before us, we recognise that youthful chieftain, with what rapidity does memory retrace the incidents of his eventful life? With what pleasure do we see his manhood realize the promise of his youth? In senates or in camps, in the palaces of kings, or in their dungeons, we behold the same erect and manly spirit. At one time tempering the licentiousness of popular feeling; at another restraining the extravagance of power, and always regardless of every thing but the great object of his life, the moral and political improvement of mankind.
"General—In the brightest days of antiquity, no artificial stimulus of rank or power, or wealth, was required to excite noble minds to acts of generous daring, A wreath of laurel, or of oak, was at once the proof and the reward of illustrious merit. For this, statesmen meditated, warriors bled, and eloquence soared to its sublimest heights. The prize was invaluable; for, it was won only by merit. It detracted, however, somewhat from its worth, that it was conferred by the partiality of compatriots, and in the fervor of admiration inspired by recent success.
"Your life, General, illustrious throughout, in this also is distinguished.—Time which dims the lustre of ordinary merit, has rendered yours more brilliant. After a lapse of nearly half a century, your triumph is decreed by the sons of those who witnessed your exploits.
"Deign then, General, to accept the simple but expressive token of their gratitude and admiration. Suffer their leader to place upon your veteran brow the only crown it would not disdain to wear, the blended emblems of civic worth and martial prowess. It will not pain you, General, to perceive some scattered sprigs of melancholy cypress intermingled with the blended leaves of laurel and oak. Your heart would turn from us with generous indignation, if on an occasion like this, amid the joyous acclamations which greet you, every where, were heard no sighs of grateful recollection for those gallant men who shared your battles, but do not, cannot share your triumph. The wreath which our gratitude has woven to testify our love for you, will lose nothing of its fragrance, or its verdure, though time hang upon its leaves some tears of pious recollection of the friend of your early youth; In war the avenger, in peace, the father of his country.
"In behalf then, of all the chivalry of Virginia; on this redoubt which his valour wrested from the enemy at the point of the bayonet; I place on the head of Major General Lafayette this wreathe of double triumph:—won by numerous and illustrious acts of martial prowess, and by a life devoted to the happiness of the human race. In their names, I proclaim him alike victorious in arms and acts of civil polity. In bannered fields, a hero—in civil life, the benefactor of mankind."
Lafayette was deeply affected. There was a solemn earnestness in his manner, a touching sensibility in his whole countenance which most deeply impressed every observer. Many wept—all were moved. When Gen. Taylor had closed his address, he was about to fix the civic wreath upon the General's head. But the considerate veteran, always himself, always attentive to the slightest proprieties of word and action, caught the hovering wreath as it approached his brow with his right hand, and respectfully bowing, dropt it to his side, when he thus replied:
"I most cordially thank you, my dear general, and your companions in arms, for your affectionate welcome, your kind recollections, and the flattering expressions of your friendship. Happy I am to receive them on these already ancient lines, where the united arms of America and France have been gloriously engaged in a holy alliance to support the rights of American Independence, and he sacred principle of the sovereignty of the people. Happy also to be so welcomed on the particular spot where my dear light infantry comrades acquired one of their honorable claims to public love and esteem. You know, sir, that in this business of storming redoubts, with unloaded arms and fixed bayonets, the merit of the deed is in the soldiers who execute it, and to each of them, I am anxious to acknowledge their equal share of honor. Let me, however, with affection and gratitude, pay a special tribute to the gallant name of Hamilton, who commanded the attack, to the three field officers who seconded him, Gimat, Laurens and Fish, the only surviving one, my friend now near me. In their name, my dear general, in the name of the light infantry, those we have lost as well as those who survive, and only in common with them, I accept the crown with which you are pleased to honor us, and I offer you the return of the most grateful acknowledgements."
When he had closed, he gave a new proof of the rapidity of his conceptions, the generosity of his soul, the uniform modesty of his character. The very moment he concluded, (never having been prepared for such a scene, never having seen the address, never having suspected the presentation of the wreath) he turned round and drew Col. Fish to the front. "Here," he exclaimed, "half of this wreath belongs to you." "No sir, it is all your own." "Then." said Lafayette, putting it into Col. Fish's hand, "take it and preserve it as our common property."
The whole scene was strongly marked by the moral sublime. This ceremony over, the grand review commenced. Lafayette stood near the arch, and the volunteer companies, and the U. S. troops passed him in regular succession, with flags flying and music floating in the air. The troops then formed themselves again in line, and Lafayette on foot, passed down the line. He was carried to the obelisk, situated on the spot where Vimionel had stormed the second redoubt.—The review over, and Lafayette having seen and been seen by all the troops, he mounted his barouche in company with the governor, and was followed by the other carriages. The whole body of military and citizens then moved to the field, near to which the British troops had grounded their arms in 1781. Between these, and the amphitheatre, where at least one thousand ladies sat, the barouche passed on near to the ladies, who continued to wave their white handkerchiefs as he slowly moved on. "Ladies, receive my warm thanks for your kind welcome," was constantly upon his lips.
The whole scene defies description. Here were the fields, which forty-three years ago, had witnessed the tread of a conquered enemy! A thousand associations of this description rushed upon the mind. Now, filled with an animated and joyous throng of from 10 to 15,000 persons. The spectacle surpassed all expectation; all expression.
When at the tomb of Washington, Mr. Custis addressed him as follows:—
"Last of the generals of the army of Independence! At this awful and impressive moment, when forgetting the splendour of a triumph greater than Roman consul ever had, you bend with reverence over the remains of Washington, the child of Mount Vernon presents you with this token, containing the hair of him, whom while living you loved, and to whose honored grave you now pay the manly and affecting tribute of a patriot's and a soldier's tear.
"The ring has ever been an emblem of the union of hearts from the earliest ages of the world; and this will unite the affections of all the Americans to the person and posterity of Lafayette, now and hereafter. And when your descendants of a distant day shall behold this valued relic, it will remind them of the heroic virtues of their illustrious sire, who received it, not in the palaces of princes, or amid the pomp and vanities of life, but at the laurelled grave of Washington.
"Do you ask—Is this the Mausoleum befitting the ashes of a Marcus Aurelius, or the good Antonius? I tell you, that the father of his country lies buried in the hearts of his countrymen; and in those of the brave, the good, the free, of all ages and nations. Do you seek for the tablets, which are to convey his fame to immortality? They have long been written in the freedom and happiness of their country. These are the monumental trophies of Washington the great; and will endure when the proudest works of art have "dissolved and left not a wreck behind."
"Venerable man! will you never tire in the cause of freedom and human happiness? Is it not time that you should rest from your labours, and repose on the bosom of a country, which delights to love and honor you, and will teach her children's children to bless your name and memory? Surely, where liberty dwells, there must be the country of Lafayette.
"Our fathers witnessed the dawn of your glory, partook of its meridian splendour; and oh, let their children enjoy the benign radiance of your setting sun. And when it shall sink in the horizon of nature, here, here with pious duty, we will form your sepulcher; and, united in death as in life, by the side of the great chief you will rest in peace, till the last trump awakes the slumbering world, and call your virtues to their great reward.
"The joyous shouts of millions of freemen hailed your returning foot-print on our sands. The arms of millions are opened wide to take you to their grateful hearts, and the prayers of millions ascend to the throne of the Eternal, that the choicest blessings of heaven may cheer the latest days of Lafayette."
General Lafayette having received the ring, pressed it to his bosom, and replied—
"The feelings, which at this awful moment oppress my heart, do not leave the power of utterance I can only thank you, my dear Custis, for your precious gift. I pay a silent homage to the tomb of the greatest and best of men, my paternal friend."
General Lafayette was escorted to his quarters by the troops, and a sumptuous dinner provided for him, and the distinguished civil and military characters who were present on the occasion. The following morning, the officers of the volunteer companies present, prepared a military breakfast. The table was spread in the tent of Washington, which was pitched at the volunteer's encampment. He left York Wednesday afternoon, and reached Williamsburg in the evening, where he was received with open arms by the citizens. Hence he proceeded to Norfolk, where he had been previously invited, and where great preparations were made to receive him according to his distinguished merit, and his highly important services to the country. From Norfolk he was to proceed to Richmond; and thence farther south through North and South Carolina, to Georgia. Invitations have been given him to visit Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio; but it is probable he will decline them. For he intends returning to Washington in December, and to spend most of the winter season in that city. Early in the spring, he will probably visit the northern states again; and embark for France at Boston, some time in June or July.
There is a strong and very general desire that Lafayette should pass the remainder of his life in the United States; and that the national government should provide a respectable establishment for him and his family in this country. That the representatives of the people will be ready to grant an honorable stipend, there cannot be a doubt. But France is his native country and his home. There are his children and his grand children. There, it is natural, he should desire to pass his few remaining years. And such an intention, we believe, he has expressed. What will be his final resolution on the subject, we will not conjecture.
From the New-York Commercial Advertiser.