seized the governor and other officers, and conducting them in triumph to the Place de Grace, first cut off their hands, and then their heads. The latter were then paraded upon pikes through the streets, and the great iron key of the Bastile was carried to the Hotel de Ville, or town hall. The National Assembly decreed its demolition. Seven prisoners who had been confined in its dungeons since the reign of Louis the Fifteenth (three of whom had lost their reason) were set at liberty, and the old fortress was demolished soon afterward.

Upon its site is now the Place de Bastile, within which stands the Column of July, erected by order of Louis Philippe, in commemoration of the events of the memorable Three Days of July, 1830, which placed him upon the throne of France.

The National Assembly, by unanimous vote, now elected Lafayette commander-in-chief of the National Guard of all France, a corps of more than four millions of armed citizens. He accepted the appointment, but, imitating the example of Washington, he refused all remuneration for his services, notwithstanding a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year was voted. The king approved of his appointment, and the monarch, being deserted by his bad advisers, threw himself upon the National Assembly. "He has hitherto been deceived," Lafayette proclaimed to the people, "but he now sees the merit and justice of the popular cause." The people shouted "Vive le roi !" and for a moment the revolution seemed to be at an end.

The key of the Bastile was placed in the hands of Lafayette, and in March following he sent it to Thomas Paine, then in London, to be forwarded as a present to Washington, together with a neat drawing, in pencil, representing the destruction of

the prison. A copy of that sketch is given on page 221. With these Lafayette enclosed a letter to Washington, dated the 17th of March, in which he gave him a general picture of affairs in France, and added:

"After I have confessed all this, I will tell you, with the same candor, that we have made an admirable and almost incredible destruction of all abuses and prejudices; that every thing not directly useful to or coming from the people has been levelled; that in the topographical, moral, and political situation of France, we have made more changes in ten months than the most sanguine patriots could have imagined; that our internal troubles and anarchy are much exaggerated; and that, upon the whole, this revolution, in which nothing will be wanting but energy of government, as it was in America, will implant liberty and make it flourish throughout the world; while we must wait for a convention, in a few years, to mend some defects, which are not now perceived by men just escaped from aristocracy and despotism."

He then added:

"Give me leave, my dear general, to present you with a picture of the Bastile, just as it looked a few days after I ordered its demolition, with the main key of the fortress of despotism. It is a tribute which I owe as a son to my adopted father as an aide-de-camp to my general-as a missionary of liberty to its patriarch.'

After considerable delay, Paine forwarded the key and drawing to Washington, with a letter, in which he said:

"I feel myself happy in being the person through whom the Marquis has conveyed this early trophy of the spoils of despotism, and the first ripe fruits of American principles trans

planted into Europe, to his great master and patron. When he mentioned to me the present he intended for you, my heart leaped with joy. It is something so truly in character, that no remarks can illustrate it, and is more happily expressive of his remembrance of his American friends than any letters can convey. That the principles of America opened the Bastile is not to be doubted, and therefore the key comes to the right place.

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"I should rejoice to be the direct bearer of the marquis's present to your excellency, but I doubt, I shall not be able to see my much-loved America till next spring. I shall therefore send it by some American vessel to New York. I have permitted no.drawing to be taken here, though it has been often requested, as I think there is a propriety that it should first be presented. But Mr. West wishes Mr. Trumbull to make a painting of the presentation of the key to you." On the 11th of August Washington wrote to Lafayette: "I have received your affectionate letter of the 17th of March by one conveyance, and the token of the victory gained by liberty over despotism by another, for both which testimonials of your friendship and regard I pray you to accept my sincerest thanks. In this great subject of triumph for the New World, and for humanity in general, it will never be forgotten how conspicuous a part you bore, and how much lustre you reflected on a country in which you made the first displays of your character."

MOUNT VERNON

The key of the Bastile, and the drawing representing the demolition of the fortress, are at Mount Vernon. The former is preserved in a glass case, and the latter hangs near it, in the same relative position in which they were originally placed by Washington, in the great passage of the mansion.

Directly opposite the key, in the great passage, hangs the spy-glass used by Washington in the Revolution, and after

WASHINGTON'S SPY-GLASS.

ward at Mount Vernon. This was always carried by Billy, his favorite body-servant, to be used in reconnoitring at a distance. Mr. Custis, in his Recollections of Washington, gives the following anecdote in connection with this spy-glass, or telescope, on the field of Monmouth:

"A ludicrous occurrence varied the incidents of the 28th of June. The servants of the general officers were usually well armed and mounted. Will Lee, or Billy, the former huntsman, and favorite body-servant of the Chief, a square, muscular figure, and capital horseman, paraded a corps of valets, and, riding pompously at their head, proceeded to an eminence crowned by a large sycamore-tree, from whence could be seen an extensive portion of the field of battle. Here Billy halted, and, having unslung the large telescope that he always carried in a leathern case, with a martial air applied it to his eye, and reconnoitred the enemy. Washington having observed these manœuvres of the corps of valets, pointed them out to his