November 23rd
share on:
“I shall remember as long as I live the happy moments I have passed under your hospitable roof, and the examples of virtue which I have seen there daily practiced.”
To George Washington
From Felix Frestel*
New York, 22 October 1797
Sir
I have never been in my life more deeply convinced than in this particular occasion, that I ought to renounce for ever to express to you in a language which I am so little master of, any of the thoughts of my mind, any of the feelings of my heart. I have failed so often in the attempt, that I cannot hope to be now more successful. however I am confident that, although the expressions of my sentiments of gratitude may be ever so inadequate and imperfect, you will nevertheless always do justice to them.
Mount Vernon
Library of Congress
I hope to be more easily understood, when in the idiom of my own country, and in the bosom of that deserving, though unfortunate family, ever so dear to your heart, I shall relate to the parents of my friend, what I have Known and seen better than any man whatever: I mean that constant and unabated interest with which you sympathised in all their misfortunes—that eager sollicitude and anxiety with which you took every measure in your power to lessen the weight of their chains and to break them at last—that Kind, tender and truly paternal affection, with which you received and treated him during all the time he stayed in America—and even that attentive politeness which you extended to me, although I was quite unknown to you before and availed myself, when I came in this country, of no recommendation, but that attachment and friendship for George, which brought me with him in America, and which now carries me back with him to our native country. thus, I hope, the proper expressions shall never fail me.
for my part, sir, I shall remember as long as I live the happy moments I have passed under your hospitable roof, and the examples of virtue which I have seen there daily practiced. they have impressed my mind with a deep sense of respect for its inhabitants and with this very pleasing idea, which I will never forget—“that all who are truly great, are consequently and necessarily good.”
to have been, Sir, and to be always honored with your esteem, shall be for ever the pride of my life, my best compensation for any sacrifices or sufferings whatever, and one of the most delightful recollections of my memory.
with a heartfelt gratitude, though but imperfectly expressed, and with very sincere and fervent wishes for your happiness and felicity, so intimately connected with the felicity and happiness of your own country, I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient humble Servant**
Felix Frestel
* Frestrel was tutor to the young Georges Washington Lafayette (son of the Marquise de Lafayette). GW Lafayette and Frestel resided with George Washington and family while the elder Lafayette was imprisoned in Austria.
** Washington responded in a letter dated 4 December: “For the flattering terms in which you have expressed your sense of the civilities, which your merits alone independent of the consideration of being the mentor and companion of our young friend, richly entitled you to, I offer you my thanks. And for the sentiments of friendship with which you are pleased to honor me, I shall always entertain a lively and grateful remembrance. You carried with you the regrets of the whole family, at parting; and I can assure you Sir, that if you should visit America again we shall feel very happy in seeing you under this roof; and in your old walks.”
“May you enjoy for a long time to come a life which has been so entirely consecrated to the good of mankind.”
Georges Washington Lafayette, 1790
Paris Musées
To George Washington
From Georges Washington Motier Lafayette*
22 October 1797
Sir
allow me once more to take up your time and to make use of the permission you have given me to trouble you from time to time with a letter.
Immediately after putting in the post office my letter of the 21st inst. we waited upon the French consul in this city, where we learnt that there was a vessel ready to sail for Havre de grace in France. the consul had been so polite as to bespeak already our passage. the name of the vessel is the Clio (a brig) and she is to sail monday or tuesday next if the wind is favourable. we could not wish for an earlier opportunity and the port of France where she is going is the one which we prefer to any other. we are now very busy in making our preparations, as the time which we have for it is so short.
from what we understand here, the passages in this season of the year are seldom longer than 30 or 33 days, and I have the hope of being after so long and so cruel a separation at last united again to my parents and sisters. I need not tell you, Sir, that if any thing can soften the painful remembrances of all their sufferings, it will be to hear from us, what a tender interest you took in them, what efforts you have made to alleviate them and that the friendship with which you always honoured the father has induced you to receive the son under your roof with so much goodness! in your house I have been as happy as I could be separated from my family, and the time which I passed with you will never be forgot. I don’t leave America without the hope of seeing you once more, assured as I am, that, if ever I return to this country, I would meet with the same welcome from you, which I always did.
be so kind, Sir, as to accept the hommage of my fervent wishes for your happiness, and may you enjoy for a long time to come a life which has been so entirely consecrated to the good of mankind. I have the honour to be, Sir, with the utmost respect your most obedient humble servant**
G. W. Motier Lafayette
* Marquis de Lafayette’s son
** Washington responded in a letter dated 5 December: “If my best vows would have contributed to a prosperous Voyage, and a happy meeting with your Parents and Sisters in France, both must have happened to the utmost extent of your wishes ’ere this, for they were offered on the Alter of Sincerity; and are now followed with assurances that, if you should ever return to America again, that you will find the same cordial reception within the Walls of this Mansion, as you heretofore have experienced.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON:
THE INTERVIEW POWERED BY A.I.
In the hallowed halls of history, a voice echoes once more as “George Washington: The Interview” unfurls a never-before-seen side of America’s first President. This electrifying book transcends the boundaries of time, employing state-of-the-art technology and primary source material to bring you face-to-face with the man who laid the cornerstone of the nation we know today. Journey through the intimate details of Washington’s life as he reveals the victories and defeats, the triumphs and tragedies of his storied past.
Are you ready to step into the past and meet the man behind the myth?