the government: but the grief of his wife, who was pregnant, and the
thoughts of his family and friends, had far more effect upon M. de
Lafayette.~[13] As his vessel could no longer be stopped, he returned
to Bordeaux to enter into a justification of his own conduct; and, in
a declaration to M. de Fumel, he took upon himself all the
consequences of his present evasion. As the court did not deign to
relax in its determination, he wrote to M. de Maurepas that that
silence was a tacit consent, and his own departure took place soon
after that joking despatch. After having set out on the road to
Marseilles, he retraced his steps, and, disguised as a courier, he had
almost escaped all danger, when, at Saint Jean de Luz, a young girl
recognised him; but a sign from him silenced her, and her adroit
fidelity turned away all suspicion. It was thus that M. de Lafayette
rejoined his ship, the 26th of April 1777; and on that same day, after
six months anxiety and labour, he set sail for the American
continent.~[14]

* * * * *

(1777.) As soon as M. de Lafayette had recovered from the effects of
sea sickness, he studied the language and trade he was adopting. A
heavy ship, two bad cannons, and some guns, could not have escaped
from the smallest privateer. In his present situation, he resolved
rather to blow up the vessel than to surrender; he concerted measures
to achieve this end with a brave Dutchman named Bedaulx, whose sole
alternative, if taken, would have been the gibbet. The captain
insisted upon stopping at the islands; but government and orders would
have been found there, and he followed a direct course, less from
choice than from compulsion.~[15] At forty leagues from shore, they
were met by a small vessel: the captain turned pale, but the crew were