"M. de Lafayette, having fought from his early youth for the cause of
America, had early become imbued with the principles of liberty, which form
the basis of that government. If he made mistakes with regard to the French
revolution, we are to ascribe them all to his admiration of the American
institutions, and of Washington, the hero citizen, who guided the first
steps of that nation in the career of Independence. Lafayette, young,
affluent, of noble family, and beloved at home, relinquished all these
advantages at the age of nineteen, to serve beyond the ocean in the cause
of that liberty, the love of which has decided every action of his life.
Had he had the happiness to be a native of the United States, his conduct
would have been that of Washington: the same disinterestedness, the same
enthusiasm, the same perseverance in their opinions, distinguished each of
these generous friends of humanity. Had General Washington been, like the
Marquis de Lafayette, commander of the national guard of Paris, he also
might have found it impossible to control the course of circumstances; _he_
also might have seen his efforts baffled by the difficulty of being at once
faithful to his engagements to the king, and of establishing at the same
time, the liberty of his country.

"M. de Lafayette, I must say, has a right to be considered a true
republican: none of the vanities of his rank, ever entered his head: power,
the effect of which is so great in France, had no ascendancy over him: the
desire of pleasing in a drawing room conversation, did not with him
influence a single phrase: he sacrificed all his fortune to his opinions,
with the most generous indifference. When in the prisons of Olmutz, as when
at the height of his influence, he was equally firm in his attachment to
his principles. His manner of seeing and acting, is open and direct.
Whoever has marked his conduct, may foretell with certainty what he will do
on any particular occasion. His political feeling is that of a citizen of