and wishes to my profound respect."

Noble and generous sentiments, worthy of the disciple of our great
Washington--'worthy of the philanthropic hero and firm friend of civil
liberty'--worthy of the adopted citizen of free and independent America!
Such were the opinions and sentiments of Washington and his friends, in
1794, when our republic was assailed by foreign emissaries, and convulsed
by secret associations at home, who through ignorance or design were
advocates for measures which would have thrown our country into a state of
anarchy and misrule.

There was still a small majority in the National Assembly who were the
friends of constitutional liberty, and advocates of Lafayette. But the
Jacobins were every day increasing; and they felt confident of the popular
favor. Enraged at his bold and independent conduct, and suspecting, perhaps
that he was a secret supporter of all the wishes of the King, they
denounced Lafayette as a traitor and an enemy to the republic. In this
state of extreme ferment, while he was openly threatened and every attempt
was making to render him odious to the populace, he had the courage (some
might say, the rashness) to proceed to Paris, and present himself to the
bar of the National Assembly. Few men, in such a situation, would have thus
hazarded their lives; but he was strong in conscious rectitude. He appeared
before his enemies with dignity and firmness. "He entreated the assembly to
come forward and save the country from ruin, by dissolving the factious
clubs and inflicting exemplary punishment on the authors of the late
disgraceful riots." His friends were numerous in the Assembly, and probably
the greater number condemned the violent transactions, against which he
raised his voice in the legislative hall of the nation. The national guards
in Paris, also, manifested their attachment to Lafayette. They assembled
before the hotel in which he lodged; and planting a tree of liberty before