Congress, then assembled at Trenton, tendered a farewell to their illustrious guest; and to the courtly greeting of Mr. Jay, chairman of the committee appointed to wait upon him, La Fayette made this fitting reply:—
“May this immense temple of Freedom ever stand a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, and a sanctuary for the rights of mankind! and may these happy United States attain that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessings of their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its founders!”
And the echoes of La Fayette’s words come still rolling down the years, “May this temple of Freedom stand!”
La Fayette’s parting from Washington was most tender and affecting. As the old general pressed to his heart the youthful form of his beloved and adopted son, tears filled his eyes, and La Fayette, too, looked through dim mists, and both were proud to show their mutual love.
With a prophetic presentiment that they should never meet again, Washington afterwards wrote to La Fayette these touching words:—
“In the moment of our separation, and every hour since, I have felt all that love, respect, and attachment for you, with which length of years, close connection, and your merits have inspired me. I often asked myself, as our carriages separated, whether that was the last sight I should ever have of you; and though I wished to say no, my fears answered yes! I called to mind the days of my youth, and found that they had fled to return no more; that I was now descending the hill I had been fifty years climbing, and that, though I was blessed with a good constitution, I was of a short-lived family, and might soon expect to be entombed in the mansion of my fathers. These thoughts darkened the shades and gave a gloom to the picture, and, consequently, to my prospect of seeing you again.”
And truly this was their last meeting and their last parting on this earth. When, in after years, La Fayette again visited America, Washington slept under the sod at Mount Vernon, and the sorrowful marquis could only satisfy his affectionate remembrance of that ideal friendship by dropping his silent tears upon the tomb of his adopted father.
The following act to naturalize Major-General the Marquis de La Fayette and his heirs male forever was passed November session, 1784, by the Assembly of Maryland:—
“Whereas, the General Assembly of Maryland anxious to perpetuate a name dear to the state, and to recognize the Marquis de La Fayette as one of its citizens, who, at the age of nineteen, left his native country, and risked his life in the late revolution; who, on his joining the American army, after being appointed by Congress to the rank of major-general, disinterestedly refused the usual reward of command, and sought only to deserve, what he attained, the character of patriot and soldier; who, when appointed to conduct an incursion into Canada, called forth, by his prudence and extraordinary discretion, the approbation of Congress; who, at the head of an army in Virginia baffled the manœuvres of a distinguished general, and excited the admiration of the oldest commanders; who early attracted the notice and obtained the friendship of the illustrious General Washington; and who labored and succeeded in raising the honor and name of the United States of America: Therefore,
“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Marquis de La Fayette and his heirs male forever shall be, and they, and each of them, are hereby deemed, adjudged, and taken to be natural-born citizens of this state, and shall henceforth be entitled to all the immunities, rights, and privileges of natural-born citizens thereof, they and every one of them, conforming to the constitution and laws of this state, in the enjoyment and exercise of such immunities, rights, and privileges.”