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This is Lafayette’s draft of his reply to President John Quincy Adams’s speech of
farewell, which had ended : “speaking in the name of the whole people of the United
States, and at a loss only for language to give utterance to that feeling of attachment
with which the heart of the nation beats, as the heart of one man – I bid you a reluctant
and affectionate farewell”. As Levasseur describes the scene, “General Lafayette,
deeply affected with what he heard, was obliged to pause a few moments before he
was able to reply. At last, however, after having made an effort to regain his voice, he
thus expressed himself” (Levasseur,
Lafayette in America
, ii, p. 252)
The manuscript has been scored through, seemingly by Lafayette himself, no doubt
denoting that a fair copy had been made. As a draft, it differs in some respects from
the speech as actually delivered. For example, while Levasseur prints the opening as
“Amidst all my obligations to the general government” ; in our draft, this runs “Amidst
My High obligations to the General Government”.
The only other manuscript recorded of this particularly important speech is a copy
in the
Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society
(Gottschalk,
Guide
, p.199).
It might have been enclosed in the manuscript of the speech of John Quincy Adams
exhibited in 1957 (
Lafayette, Archives nationales
, n° 422).
Il s’agit ici du brouillon de la réponse de Lafayette au discours d’adieu du Président
John Quincy Adams “I bid you a reluctant and affectionate farewell”. Le grand trait
d’encre vertical figurant sur les pages signifie sans nul doute qu’une mise au net fut
immédiatement réalisée.
30 000 / 50 000
€
296