A Heroine of Conjugal Lover, Madame de La Fayette [pp. 781-794]

A Heroine of Conjugal Love.
lace were rushing to massacre all in
prison; it was the announcement of
the death of Robespierre.
The representatives, Bourdon de
l'Oise and Legendre came soon after
to visit the prison and assign the
fate of each. All were set at liberty
except Madame de La Fayette, on
whom they were not willing to pro nounce sentence until they sent for
the decision of the committee. The
unhappy woman was but little con cerned at the prolongation of her
captivity; for she had just learned
that her mother, her grandmother,
and her sister had perished on the
4th Thermidor. Her grief was overwhelhning, but she never revolted, her
prayers preserved her. "Now," she
wrote to her children, "I find the sentiments of those I mourn, those, too,
that I desire, and those that I pray
God to put in my heart, and sometimes I obtain all at once." Notwithstanding the active solicitations
of Mr. Monroe, the new minister from
the United States, Madame de La
Fayette was not liberated; Le Plessis was used for other purposes, so
she was transferred to the Maison
Delmas, rue Notre Dame des
Champs; she remained there four
months, and met there with the
strangest people, for it was now the
partisans of the reign of terror who
peopled the prisons; but there, as
everywhere, she gained the respect
of all. Her physical sufferings were
great during the rigorous winter of
I1794 and I1795. Everything froze in
her room, and she was peculiarly
sensitive to cold. God granted her
in her distress a precious consolation
in the visits of the Abbe Carrichon.
He gave her all the details she hungered after of the death of the three
dear persons that he had accompanied to the scaffold, and with him she
made a complete examination of all
the faults of her life. On the 23d
of January, I 795, the deliverance, so
long retarded, of Madame de La Fay ette was finally signed, and she was
set at liberty.
Her first care on leaving prison
was to hasten to Mr. Monroe and
thank him for all he had done for
her, and begged him to finish the
good work by obtaining passports for
herself and family. She had but one
aim, to rejoin her husband in Germany with her daughters, and place
her son in safety in America. The
letter she wrote General Washington,
in which she portrays with simplicity,
firmness, and dignity the obligations
she was under to M. Frestel for his
devotion to her and her family, and
begs for him the regard he deserves,
is truly remarkable. As to her son,
she expresses herself thus: "My
wish is, that my son may lead a very
retired life in America, and continue
the studies that three years of misfortune have interrupted; and that
being far away from scenes which
might abase or too strongly irritate
him, he may work to become an
efficient citizen of the United States,
of which the principles and sentiments are entirely in accordance with
those of French citizens."
When the time came to part with
her only son, the separation seemed
cruel to her mother's heart; but she
was firmly convinced she acted in
this matter as her husband would
have dictated. She found her strength
in this thought. As we read of so
many sacrifices, sufferings, and sorrows so valiantly supported, we find
ourselves so associated in the sentiments of this incomparable person,
that we wait with feverish anxiety the
moment when she should rejoin her
husband. The memoirs of Madame
de Montagu give us the details of the
touching reunion of Madame de La
Fayette at Altona with her two sisters
and her Aunt de Tess6; they will be
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