Page:Daughters of Genius.djvu/508

 496 THE WIFE OF LAFAYETTE. induced so large a portion of the Six Nations to remain neutral. What young man of twenty, unaided by rank and title, could have done this service ? The war ended. In 1784 the marquis returned to America, to visit General Washington and his old com- rades. There was trouble again with the Six Nations, owing ,fco the retention by the British of seven important frontier posts, Detroit, Mackinaw, Oswego, Ogdensburgh, Niagara, and two forts on Lake Champlain. Seeing the British flag still floating over these places confused the Indian mind, made them doubt the success of the Ameri- cans, and disposed them to continue a profitable warfare. Congress appointed three commissioners to hold a confer- ence with them at Fort Schuyler, which stood upon the site of the modern city of Rome, about a hundred miles west of Albany. Once more the United States availed themselves of the influence of Lafayette's rank over the Indians. The commissioners invited him to attend the treaty. In September, 1784, James Madison, then thirty-three years of age, started on a northward tour, and, meeting the marquis in Baltimore, determined to go with him to the treaty ground. The two young gentlemen were here in New York during the second week of September, and the marquis was the observed of all observers. Both the young gentlemen were undersized, and neither of them was good-looking ; but the presence of the French noble- man was an immense event, as we can still see from the newspapers of that and the following week. After enjoy- ing a round of festive attentions, they started on their way up the Hudson river in a barge, but not before Mr. Madison had sent off to the American minister in Paris (Mr. Jefferson) a packet of New York papers containing eulogistic notices of Lafayette, for the gratification of the French people.