4339. LAFAYETTE (Marquis de), Busts of.—[further continued].
The inauguration of the
bust of the Marquis de Lafayette has been attended
with a considerable but a necessary delay.
The principle that the King is the sole
fountain of honor in this country opposed a
barrier to our desires, which threatened to be
insurmountable. No instance of a similar proposition
from a foreign power had occurred in
their history. The admitting it in this case,
is a singular proof of the King's friendly disposition
towards the States of America, and
of his personal esteem for the Marquis de
Lafayette.—
To Governor Randolph. Washington ed. ii, 118.
(P.
1787)
