To which the general returned the following reply:—
“Sir: The enjoyments of my visit to the beautiful country and happy shores of the North River cannot but be highly enhanced by the affectionate reception and the civic testimonies of esteem which are conferred upon me in this city, and the manner in which you are pleased to express sentiments so gratifying to my heart. Not half a century has elapsed since this place, ancient, but small, was my headquarters, on the frontiers of an extensive wilderness, since, as commander in the northern department, I had to receive the oath of renunciation to a royal distant government, of allegiance to the more legitimate sovereignty of the people of the United States.
“Now, sir, Albany, become a considerable city, is the central seat of the authorities of the state of New York. Those wildernesses rank among the most populous and best cultivated parts of the Union. The rising generation has, in two glorious wars, and still more so in her admirable institutions, asserted an indisputable superiority over the proud pretender to a control upon her.
“To these happy recollections, sir, you have the goodness to add remembrances of my early admission among the sons and soldiers of America, of friendships the most honorable and dear to me. I will not attempt to express the feelings that crowd on my mind, and shall only beg you, sir, and the gentlemen of the corporation to accept the tribute of my respectful and devoted gratitude.”
The reception of La Fayette by Congress, in the Hall of Representatives, was peculiarly flattering and gratifying.
“At an early hour the galleries began to fill with spectators; and soon after eleven o’clock, many ladies entered the hall and took possession of the sofas and seats which were appropriated for their reception. The doors were afterwards thrown open, and the Senate entered in procession and took seats on the right side of the chair.
“At one o’clock, George Washington La Fayette and Colonel Levasseur, the general’s secretary, entered the house, and took their seats on one of the sofas by the side of the Secretary of State.
“In a few moments General La Fayette entered the house, supported on his right by Mr. Mitchell, the chairman of the select committee, and on his left by Mr. Livingston, and followed by the committee. The speaker and members then arose, and the procession advanced towards the centre of the house. Mr. Mitchell introduced La Fayette in the following words:—
“‘Mr. Speaker: The select committee, appointed for that purpose, have the honor to introduce General La Fayette to the House of Representatives.’
“The general was then conducted to the sofa placed for his reception, when the speaker, Mr. Clay, addressed him in the following words:—