ved
himself free, he had gladly fought under the American flag; but that his
own country being at war, he owed it the homage of his service, and he
desired their permission to return home. He hoped, however, to come back
to America; and asserted then that, wherever he went, he should be a
zealous friend of the United States. Congress gave him leave of absence,
voted him a sword, and wrote a letter on his behalf to the king of
France. "We recommend this noble young man," said the letter of
Congress, "to the favor of your majesty, because we have seen him wise
in council, brave in battle, and patient under the fatigues of war." He
was received in France with great distinction, which he amusingly
describes:

"When I went to court, which had hitherto only written for me orders for
my arrest, I was presented to the ministers. I was interrogated,
complimented, and exiled--to the hotel where my wife was residing: Some
days after, I wrote to the king to acknowledge _my fault_. I received in
reply a light reprimand and the colonelcy of the Royal Dragoons.
Consulted by all the ministers, and, what was much better, embraced by
all the women, I had at Versailles the favor of the king and celebrity
of Paris."

In the midst of his popularity he thought always of America, and often
wished that the cost of the banquets bestowed upon him could be poured
into the treasury of Congress. His favorite project at that time was the
invasion of England--Paul Jones to command the fleet, and he himself the
army. When this scheme was given up, he joined all his influence with
that of Franklin to induce the French Government to send to America a
powerful fleet and a considerable army. When he had secured the promise
of this valuable aid, he returned to America and served again in the
armies of the young republic.

The success of the United States so confirmed him in his attachment to
republican institutions, that he remained their devoted adherent and
advocate as long as he lived.

"May this revolution," said he once to Congress, "serve as a lesson to
oppressors, and as an example to the oppressed."

And, in one of his letters from the United States occurs this sentence:
"I have always thought that a king was at least a useless being; viewed
from this side of the ocean, a king cuts a poor figure indeed."

By the time he had left America, at the close of the war, he had
expended in the service of Congress seven hundred thousand francs--a
fre