The speech for the occasion was recited by the boy: "General Lafayette, I thank you for the liberty which you have won for my father, for my mother, for myself, and for my country."
Lafayette was much moved by the sincerity of it all; and after kissing the boy and getting into his carriage, he said, with tears in his eyes, that it was one of the happiest moments of his life.
While on his way to Yorktown, in October, Lafayette paid a visit to Mount Vernon. Again he passed through the rooms and over the grounds with which he was so familiar. What memories of its owner, his great and faithful friend for twenty-two years, must have crowded upon the old hero!
The remains of Washington then lay in the old tomb near the river. The door was opened, and Lafayette went down into the vault, where he remained some moments beside the coffin of his great chief. He came out with his head bowed, and with tears streaming down his face. He then led his son into the tomb, where they knelt reverently, and, after the French fashion, kissed the coffin.
| Bunker Hill Monument |
Meanwhile, the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill was near at hand. The prosperous and happy people of the old Bay State were preparing a celebration. The corner stone of Bunker Hill Monument was to be laid by Lafayette.
The weather on this memorable June day was perfect. Never before had such a crowd been seen in Boston.
A Yankee stage driver very aptly said, "Everything that had wheels and everything that had legs used them to get to Boston."
Through the densely crowded streets, a grand civic and military procession of seven thousand people escorted the guests to Bunker Hill.
As one famous man said, "It seemed as if no spot where a human foot could plant itself was left unoccupied."