98 LAFAYETTE the tour of the world. His influence was now at its height, and while he retained it, it was always exercised on the side of moderation, humanity, and constitutional liberty. A loyal subject, though in principle a firm republican, he defended the freedom of the king as sincere- ly as he had ever defended that of the people. His courage and coolness during the tumults of Oct. 5 and 6 saved the lives of the king and queen from a ferocious mob that had taken possession of the palace of Versailles. When the national assembly decreed the abolition of feudal titles, Lafayette was among the first to lay down that of marquis, which he never re- sumed ; and the only title which he bore till his death was that of general, which he ^ de- rived from his commission in the American army. After the splendid and imposing cere- mony of the'adoption of the constitution, July 14, 1790, in the Champ de Mars, where, in the presence of half a million of people, he took the oath to its support in the name of the nation, he resigned his command of the national guards in an able and patriotic letter, and retired to his estates in the country. When wa*r was de- clared against Austria, March 20, 1792, he was appointed to the command of one of the ar- mies sent to guard the frontier. He estab- lished discipline, and won victories at Phi- lippeville, Maubeuge, and Florennes. But the Jacobins, who were now becoming predomi- nant in France, hated and feared him, and or- ders were sent to the camp from the ministry of war designedly to embarrass and annoy him. In return he addressed a letter to the assembly denouncing the Jacobins as enemies of the constitution and the people. A major- ity of the assembly and the local assemblies of 75 of the departments gave their formal sanc- tion to his views. But violence at length pre- vailed, and on Aug. 8 he was denounced in the assembly as an enemy of the nation, and a mo- tion was made for his arrest and trial. After vehement debates it was lost by a majority of 406 to 224. But the terrible events of Aug. 10 soon followed, and the reign of terror was established. Commissioners were sent to the army with orders to arrest Lafayette. Arrest at that period was certain death. He saved himself by flight, after placing the army in such a position that his departure could not expose it to danger. He crossed the frontier Aug. 17, intending to take refuge in Holland. But he was seized the same night by an Aus- trian patrol, and being soon recognized was treated^as a criminal and exposed to disgrace- ful indignities. He was handed over to the Prussians because their prisons were near at hand, and was at first confined at Wesel and afterward at Magdeburg. But the Prussians, unwilling to bear the odium of holding La- fayette a prisoner, soon transferred him again to the Austrians, who consigned him to damp and dark dungeons in the citadel of Olmtitz. Here he was told that he would never again see anything but the four walls of his prison ; that he would never receive news of events or of persons ; that his name would be unknown in the citadel, and that in all accounts of him sent to court he would be designated only by a number; that he would never receive any notice of his family, or of the existence of his fellow prisoners. At the same time knives and forks were kept from him, as he was offi- cially informed that his situation was one which would naturally lead to suicide. The want of air and of proper food, and the damp- ness and filth of his dungeon, brought on dan- gerous diseases, of which his jailer& took no notice ; and at one time all his hair came off. His friends for a long time could get no intel- ligence of his fate ; but at length Dr. Eric Boll- mann, who was employed by Count Lally-Tol- lendal, and who had established himself for the purpose as a physician at Vienna, ascertained that he was confined at Olmutz. The military physician at Olmutz by this 'time had thrice made a formal representation to the Austrian government that Lafayette would die unless he was allowed to breathe a purer air. To the first application the reply was made that " he was not sick enough yet ;" but at length the outcry of public indignation in Europe com- pelled the authorities to grant him permission to ride out occasionally in a carriage accompa- nied by two soldiers. Dr. Bollmann and a young American travelling in Austria, Francis K. Hu- ger, then planned a rescue, which proved so- far successful that Lafayette escaped from the prison, but through a misunderstanding rode in- the wrong direction, was rearrested, and con- fined with redoubled severity. (See BOLLMANN.) Meantime his wife, who had been imprisoned at Paris during the reign of terror, obtained her liberty on the downfall of Kobespierre. She then went to Vienna, obtained with diffi- culty a personal interview with the emperor Francis, and gained permission to share her husband's captivity, under the hardship of which her health soon became so impaired that she never fully recovered from its effects. Great exertions were now made both in Europe and America to obtain the release of Lafayette, In the house of commons Gen. Fitzpatrick y Dec. 16, 1796, made a motion in his behalf, which was supported by Col. Tarleton, who had fought against Lafayette in America, by Wilberforce, and by Fox. President Washing- ton wrote a letter to the emperor, asking for the liberation of his old companion in arms. The Austrian government was deaf to all en- treaties. But an advocate now appeared whose plea was irresistible. Bonaparte at the head of his victorious army demanded the release of Lafayette in the preliminary conferences held at Leoben before the treaty of Campo Formio. He was often afterward heard to say that in all his negotiations with foreign powers he had never experienced so perti- nacious a resistance as that which was made to this demand. The Austrian negotiators attempted to compel Lafayette to receive
