"LAFAYETTE."

But after he was persecuted by the Petions and Robespieres of the day,
because of his moderation, loyalty and attachment to the constitution, he
was held in high esteem by the friends of rational freedom, and still
enjoyed the confidence both of Louis and of the National Assembly. Toward
the close of the year 1791, by request of the King, he was appointed to
command the army of the centre, to oppose the foreign troops then invading
France. When he accepted the appointment, he assured the National Assembly
of his "determination to support the constitution." The President replied,
"the French nation, who have sworn to conquer and to live free, will
always, with confidence, present to their foes and to tyrants, the
constitution and Lafayette."

As commander in chief of that department of the French army entreated to
him, he was assiduous to maintain proper discipline and order; a matter of
great difficulty, as a revolutionary spirit pervaded all ranks, and the
soldiers were disposed to insubordination, especially under a leader not
belonging to the popular party. He had several engagements with the enemy,
in which he was successful. But his operations and those of the other
generals, who commanded in other departments of the northern armies of
France, were greatly impeded by the injudicious and variable plans of the
assembly, then torn by factions, and disgraced by low intrigues. The evil
spirit extended to the military; and each faction had its partizans among
the soldiers. Lafayette saw and lamented this disastrous state of things;
and he dared to oppose his single efforts to avert the impending ruin. It
was at this time, that he wrote his celebrated letter to the National
Assembly, of June 16, 1792, in which he exposed the violence and the cabals
of the Jacobins, and conjured the moderates to cling to the constitution,
as the only means of safety. This letter is so important, in developing the