"Wherever you go, General, the acclamations of Freemen await you—their blessings and prayers will follow you. May you live many years to enjoy the fruits of the services and sacrifices, the gallantry and valor of your earlier days, devoted to the cause of freedom and the rights of man; and may the bright examples of individual glory and of national happiness, which the history of America exhibits, illustrate to the world, the moral force of personal virtue, and the rich blessings of civil liberty in republican governments."
The General, in reply, said in substance, "That he received with much sensibility, the expressions of kind attention with which he was received by the inhabitants of the town and county of Worcester; that he was delighted with the fine country which he had seen, and the excellent improvement and cultivation which he witnessed; that he saw the best proofs of a great, prosperous and happy people, in the rapid advancement of the polite and useful arts, and in the stability of our free institutions; that he was especially much gratified in the great improvements of the face of the country, because he was himself a farmer; that he felt happy to observe such decided proofs of industry, sobriety and prosperity.—He begged the citizens to be assured of his affectionate and grateful recollection of their reception of him; he thanked them for all they had manifested towards him, for the kind expressions; which had been offered him by the committee, and, in a feeling impressive manner, reciprocated their good wishes."
Speaking to an individual of the attentions he had received, he observed. "It is the homage the people pay to the principles of the government, rather than to myself."
The inhabitants of Sturbridge and other places through which General Lafayette passed, on his way to Hartford, in Connecticut, assembled in their respective towns, and presented him the ready homage of affectionate and grateful hearts. Companies of artillery fired salutes; ladies and gentlemen gathered round him to bid him welcome to America, and to express their deep and lively sense of his past services; and many veterans of the revolutionary army pressed upon him, without ceremony or introduction, expecting, as they found, a friendly and cordial reception.
General Lafayette was received at Hartford, in Connecticut, where he arrived on Saturday morning, with similar marks of affection and esteem to those so cordially bestowed on him in the towns he had already visited. He was expected by the citizens on Friday evening, and arrangements were made for a general illumination. He was escorted into the city by the military, and a large procession of the citizens received him soon after he entered within its bounds, and conducted him to the State House, where he was addressed by the Mayor of the city, who assured him of the affectionate welcome, with which the people received him, and referred to the past services of Lafayette, which were still highly appreciated. And he expressed great happiness in beholding so many proofs of the prosperous state of the country, and in witnessing the invaluable effects of our free institutions. The greater part of the inhabitants of both sexes were personally presented to him; and there was an assemblage of children of about eight hundred, the misses all dressed in white, wearing badges with the motto, "Nous vous aimons LAFAYETTE." A gold medal was presented him by one of the children, which was enclosed in a paper containing these lines.
Welcome thou to freedom's clime,
Glorious Hero! Chief sublime!
Garlands bright for thee are wreath'd,
Vows of filial ardour breathed,
Veteran's cheeks with tears are wet,
"Nous vous aimons LAFAYETTE."
Monmouth's field is rich with bloom,
Where thy warriors found their tomb.
Yorktown's heights resound no more,
Victor's shout or cannon's roar.
Yet our hearts record their debt,
"We do love you LAFAYETTE."
Brandywine, whose current roll'd
Proud with blood of heroes bold,
That our country's debt shall tell,
That our gratitude shall swell,
Infant breasts thy wounds regret,
"We do love you LAFAYETTE."
Sires, who sleep in glory's bed,
Sires, whose blood for us was shed,
Taught us, when our knee we bend,
With the prayer thy name to blend;
Shall we e'er such charge forget?
No!—"Nous vous aimons LAFAYETTE."
When our blooming cheeks shall fade,
Pale with time, or sorrow's shade,
When our clustering tresses fair
Frosts of wintry age shall wear,
E'en till memory's sun be set,
"We will love you LAFAYETTE."
In comparison with the population of Hartford, a greater portion of his revolutionary companions were here presented to him than in any place he had visited. The number was nearly one hundred. These marched before him, in the procession, in a connected column and attended by their own music. It is hardly necessary to say, that their beloved general gave them a most cordial greeting. By one of the citizens, a sash and pair of epaulets were produced, which were worn by Lafayette when he entered the American army. The sash was stained with blood from his wound received in the battle of Brandywine. He left Hartford late in the afternoon, and proceeded to Middletown, where he embarked in a steam boat for New-York. The citizens of this place regretted, that he could not pass some time with them; and receive the attentions, which their grateful feelings would induce them to bestow on a zealous and able friend of American independence.
HIS RETURN TO NEW-YORK.
General Lafayette reached New-York on the following day, about noon; and was conducted to the City Hotel by the committee of arrangements, who were in waiting to receive him, when he arrived at the wharf. Multitudes assembled, who greeted his return, and renewed their joyful acclamations on meeting him again as a guest of their city. On Monday, the Cincinnati of the State of New-York gave a public dinner, in honor of "their old companion in arms," at which were also present several other persons of distinction, and the members of the City Council. This was the anniversary of the birth of Lafayette; and the circumstance increased the interesting associations of the interview. The hall of meeting was richly decorated with appropriate emblems, and portraits of some of the heroes of the revolution, and bearing the hallowed name of Washington. In the toasts given on this occasion, were illusions to the important events which occurred in the war of the revolution, and to many of the distinguished characters, who conducted it to a successful issue—Washington, Greene, Lincoln, Steuben, Knox, Gates, Clinton, Kosciusco, De Kalb, Hamilton and others.
The first volunteer toast was by the President of the Society, and was, "Our distinguished guest;" when a transparent painting was suddenly illuminated and unveiled, and displayed a "WELCOME;" and over the head of Lafayette a beautiful wreath of flowers was suspended. He rose and said,—"with inexpressible delight at our brotherly meeting, with my affection to you all, my very dear friends and companions in arms, I propose the following sentiment; The sacred principles for which we have fought and bled—Liberty, equality and national independence; may every nation of the earth in adopting them, drink a bumper to the old continental army." [Footnote: Some of the toasts given by General Lafayette on other occasions are here recorded, as they are indicative of the opinions and sentiments which probably predominate in his mind. At the public dinner in Boston, on the day of his arrival—"The city of Boston, the cradle of liberty; may its proud Faneuil Hall ever stand a monument to teach the world that resistance to oppression is a duty, and will, under true republican institutions, become a blessing." In the College Hall at the dinner of the Society of Phi Beta Kappa—"The Holy Alliance of virtue, literature and patriotism: It will prove too powerful for any coalition against the rights of man." At the military dinner on the Common in Boston, when the brilliant parade took place before mentioned—"The patriotic troops who have paraded this day, they excite the admiration of every beholder, and fill the heart with delight." At the dinner given by the citizens of Salem—"The town of Salem: may her increasing prosperity more and more evince the blessings of popular institutions, founded on the sacred basis of natural and social rights." And at Portsmouth, he gave that town, and added, "may the blessings of republican institutions furnish a refutation of the mistaken and selfish sophistry of European despotism.">[