The prestige of the young Republic was appreciated by the French in power, and they dared not, from motives of self-interest, sacrifice a lady in whom the American Minister was so directly interested. They had not forgotten with what admiration the people of the United States looked upon her husband, the Marquis de Lafayette.
Deaf to all the entreaties of her friends, and firm in her determination to carry immediate consolation to the dungeon of her persecuted husband, Madame Lafayette left Paris accompanied by her two daughters in disguise, and under the protection of American passports.
Passing under the name of Mrs. Motier, she landed at Altona on the ninth of September, 1795, and after repeated difficulties eventually reached the prison, where she was notified that if she passed its threshold, she must remain.
The heroic woman signed her consent and determination, to share his captivity in all its details, being “fully determined never again to expose herself to the horrors of another separation.”
The two most conspicuous men of their age, George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte, effected by their co-operation the release of Lafayette and his deeplyinjured family—the former after an imprisonment of more than five years, the latter a period of twenty-two months.
Mr. Monroe was recalled, and after his return to America, he published a justification of his conduct while abroad; the pamphlet settled nothing, but justified both parties in the views which they had taken.
Thus was Mrs. Monroe’s short stay in Europe brought to a termination. In many ways it had been pleasant and beneficial, and although she regretted her husband’s unfortunate recall, she rather joyed in the conduct which had produced this result. Unacquainted with diplomacy and the line of action necessary between nations, she allowed her own feelings to decide her movements, and honored the same spirit in her husband. The privilege of being a succor and means of relief to Madame Lafayette satisfied her more than ministerial honors, and she would rather have performed this deed prompted by Mr. Monroe’s advice than remained the wife of the Ambassador.
The friendship between Mr. Monroe and Lafayette was very strong. The latter felt that Mr. Monroe was largely instrumental in the presentation of the $200,000 which the United States gave him in 1824, and also for kindness shown his son, George Washington Lafayette, when he was in prison. The lad was about to be conscripted into the army, and Mr. Monroe, aided by two American gentlemen, Joseph Russell and Col. Perkins, raised the amount necessary to buy a substitute ($1,500), and then sent him to America, where he was the guest of Washington for a year.
When news reached Lafayette in 1828 of the pecuniary trouble which Mr. Monroe was in, and the ill-health of his wife, he wrote him offering him the proceeds of the sale of half of his Florida lands, which were very valuable, as a loan, and urging Mr. Monroe not to mortify him by a refusal, since he had accepted like favors from him in the past. The generous offer was declined by Mr. Monroe.
Paris as now, though in a less degree, was the centre of all that was to be enjoyed, and Mrs. Monroe did not regret her stay there, though so abruptly ended. This first trip over the tedious waters was fraught with interest and improvement to both. New fields of thought were explored by them, and the expanse of their souls, under a sense of freedom and change, gained for their ultimate happiness more than mere worldly honors could give or take away.