I mark'd her smile, I knew her eye; Read ye the dream? and know ye not Went not the flame from this illustrious spot, That fervent energy must spread, Hasten the day, just Heaven! And let the blessings thou hast freely given, Till equal rights be equally enjoy'd, And human power for human good employ'd; LESSON LXIV. Conduct of General Lafayette, in the early part of the French Revolution.-TICKNOR. LAFAYETTE was, also, a prominent member of the StatesGeneral, which met in 1789, and assumed the name of the National Assembly. He proposed in this body, a declaration of rights, not unlike our own, and it was under his influence, and while he was, for this very purpose, in the chair, that a decree was passed on the night of the 13th and 14th of July, at the moment the Bastille was falling before the cannon of the populace, which provided for the responsibility of ministers, and thus furnished one of the most important elements of a representative monarchy. Two days afterwards, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the national guards of Paris, and thus was placed at the head of what was intended to be made, when it should be carried into all the departments, the effective military power of the realm, and what, under his wise management, soon become such. His great military command, and his still greater personal influence, now brought him constantly in contact with the court and the throne. His position, therefore, was extremely delicate and difficult, especially as the popular party in Paris, of which he was not so much the head, as the idol, was already in a state of perilous excitement, and atrocious violences were beginning to be committed. The abhorrence of the queen, was almost universal, and was excessive to a degree, of which we can now have no just idea. The circumstance that the court lived at Versailles, sixteen miles from Paris, and that the session of the national assembly was held there, was another source of jealousy, irritation, and hatred, on the part of the capital. The people of Paris, therefore, as a sign of opposition, had mounted their municipal cockade, of blue and red, whose effects were already becoming alarming. Lafayette, who was anxious about the consequences of such a marked division, and who knew how important are small means of conciliation, added to it, on the 26th of July, the white of the royal cockade, and as he placed it in his own hat, amidst the acclamations of the multitude, prophesied, that it "would go round the world ;" a prediction, which is already more than half accomplished, since the tricoloured cockade has been used for the ensign of emancipation in Spain, in Naples, in some parts of South America, and in Greece. Still, however, the tendency of every thing was to confusion and violence. The troubles of the times, too, rather than a positive want of the means of subsistence, had brought on a famine in the capital ;" and the populace of the Fauxbourgs, the most degraded certainly in France, having assembled and armed themselves, determined to go to Versailles; the greater part, with a blind desire for vengeance on the royal family, but others, only with the purpose of bringing the king from Versailles, and forcing him to reside in the more ancient but scarcely habitable palace of the Thuilleries, in the midst of Paris. The national guards, clamoured to accompany this savage multitude; Lafayette opposed their inclination; the munici pality of Paris, hesitated, but supported it; he resisted nearly the whole of the 5th of October, while the road to Versailles was already thronged, with an exasperated mob, of above an hundred thousand ferocious men and women, until, at last, finding the multitude were armed, and even had cannon, he asked, and received an order to march, from the competent authority, and set off at four o'clock in the afternoon, as one going to a post of imminent danger, which it had clearly become his duty to occupy. He arrived at Versailles at ten o'clock at night, after having been on horseback from before daylight in the morning, and having made, during the whole interval, both at Paris and on the road, incredible exertions to control the multitude, and calm the soldiers. "The Marquis de Lafayette at last entered the Château," says Madame de Staël, "and passing through the apartment where we were, went to the king. We all pressed round him, as if he were the master of events, and yet the popular party was already more powerful than its chief, and principles were yielding to factions, or rather were beginning to serve only as their pretext." "M. de Lafayette's manner was perfectly calm; nobody ever saw it otherwise; but his delicacy suffered from the importance of the part he was called to act. He asked for the interiour posts of the château, in order that he might ensure their safety. Only the outer posts were granted to him." This refusal was not disrespectful to him, who made the request. It was given, simply because the etiquette of the court reserved the guard of the royal person, and family, to another body of men. Lafayette, therefore, answered for the national guards, and for the posts committed to them; but he could answer for no more ;* and his pledge was faithfully and desperately redeemed. Between two and three o'clock, the queen and the royal family went to bed. Lafayette, too, slept after the great fatigues of this fearful day. At half past four, a portion of the populace, made their way into the palace by an obscure, interiour passage, which had been overlooked, and which was not in that part of the chateâu intrusted to Lafayette. They were evidently led by persons, who well knew the secret ave nues. * So completely were all persons unsuspicious of any immediate danger, that the guards of the interiour posts were nowhere increased; and not the slightest change was made in the customary arrangements, except what was made at the solicitation of Lafayette. Mirabeau's name was afterwards strangely compromised in it, and the form of the infamous Duke of Orleans, was repeatedly recognized on the great staircase, pointing the assassins the way to the queen's chamber. They easily found it. Two of her guards were cut down in an instant; and she made her escape almost naked. Lafayette immediately rushed in with the national troops, protected the guards from the brutal populace, and saved the lives of the royal family, which had so nearly been sacrificed to the etiquette of the monarchy. The day dawned, as this fearful scene of guilt and bloodshed was passing in the magnificent palace, whose construction had exhausted the revenues of Louis XIV, and which, for a century, had been the most splendid residence in Europe. As soon as it was light, the same furious multitude filled the vast space, which, from the rich materials, of which it is formed, passes under the name of the court of marble. They called upon the king, in tones not to be mistaken, to go to Paris; and they called for the queen, who had but just escaped from their daggers, to come out upon the balcony. The king, after a short consultation with his ministers, announced his intention to set out for the capital; but Lafayette was afraid to trust the queen, in the midst of the bloodthirsty multitude. He went to her, therefore, with respectful hesitation, and asked her, if it were her purpose to accompany the king to Paris. Yes," she replied, "although I am aware of the danger." "Are you positively determined?" sir." 66 66 "Yes, Condescend, then, to go out upon the balcony, and suffer me to attend you." "Without the king ?"-she replied, hesitating-"have you observed the threats?" madam, I have; but dare to trust me." Yes, It He led her out upon the balcony. It was a moment of great responsibility, and great delicacy; but nothing, he felt assured, could be so dangerous as to permit her to set out for Paris, surrounded by that multitude, unless its feelings could be changed. The agitation, the tumult, the cries of the crowd, rendered it impossible that his voice should be heard. was necessary, therefore, to address himself to the eye, and turning towards the queen, with that admirable presence of mind, which never yet forsook him, and with that mingled grace and dignity, which were the peculiar inheritance of the ancient court of France, he simply kissed her hand, before the vast multitude, An instant of silent astonishment followed, but the whole was immediately interpreted, and the air was rent with cries of "long live the queen!" "long live the general!" from the same fickle and cruel populace, that only two hours before, had imbrued their hands in the blood of the guards, who defended the life of this same queen. LESSON LXV. The Pioneer.-COOPER. THE place, at which Mr. Effingham and his wife arrived, was the little spot of level ground where the cabin of Leatherstocking had so long stood. They found it entirely cleared of rubbish, and beautifully laid down in turf, by the removal of sods, which, in common with the surrounding country, had grown gay, under the influence of profuse showers, as if a second spring had passed over the land. This little place was surrounded by a circle of mason-work, and they entered by a small gate, near which, to the surprize of both, the rifle of Leatherstocking was leaning against the wall. His dogs reposed on the grass by its side, as if conscious that, however altered, they were lying on ground, and were surrounded by objects, with which they were familiar. The hunter, himself, was stretched on the earth, before a headstone of white marble, pushing aside with his fingers the long grass, that had already sprung up from the luxuriant soil around its base, apparently to lay bare the inscription that was there engraven. By the side of this stone, which was a simple slab, at the head of a grave, stood a rich monument, decorated with an urn, and ornamented tastefully with the chisel. Oliver and Elizabeth approached the graves, with a light tread, unheard by the old hunter, whose sun-burnt face was working with his feelings, and whose eyes twinkled as if something impeded his vision. After some little time, he raised himself slowly from the ground, without observing them. Leatherstocking. Well, well, I'm bold to say it's all right. There's something, that I suppose is reading; but I can't |