May we realize the dream ever present with him, to judge from his actions, which speak more insistent than words, of a mutuality of our national interests; that hand in hand the two great republics may together work out their great destinies, together set an example for the world worthy of its emulation, an example of a fraternity of purpose and attempt which by its very strength will compel the better things of life. [Illustration: Lafayette's Deathbed, with Commission's Flag and Flowers.] Gentlemen: In reverence to the memory of our great compatriot, let us devote a moment to silent contemplation of the great thoughts that inspired the great deeds of our great brother, Lafayette. There was a response by the prefect and the mayor of the nearby village. This visit was an historical event. I had made up my mind, and so talked with another member of the Commission, that it would be a fine thing to purchase this property, endow it with a fund which would keep it always open as a museum and present it to the French Government. Since our return to America the property has been acquired by a group of prominent American men and women, headed by Mrs. William Astor Chanler, for the same purpose that some of the members of our Commission had in mind, a most worthy project. This birthplace is known as The Chateau de Chavagnac-Lafayette. It is the hope of the purchasers to make it "A French Mount Vernon". The Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette was born at the Chateau de Chavagnac, in the French province of Auvergne, on September 6th, 1757. It is some four hundred miles from Paris, in southern France. The crowning architectural feature of this little settlement of some five hundred souls, it stands, sentinel-like, among the sixty red-tiled roofs of the village. The little church at which Lafayette worshipped is only a step from the Chateau gates. The original Chateau de Chavagnac dates from the fourteenth century. It was destroyed by fire in 1701, but was very soon afterward rebuilt from the original plans. It is the purpose of the French Heroes' Fund to make this Chateau in France a complement to Mount Vernon. In it are to be kept records of Colonial days, as well as those of the present war. There is to be a room dedicated to the British; one to the Legion; another to the American Ambulance and still another to aviation. It is also to be made a home for orphans and for soldiers who have been disabled. After a collation, we visited the reception room, which contains a number of old-time engravings, facsimiles of the Declaration of Independence, a bronze bust of Lafayette, a marble bust of Lafayette and a bronze bust of Franklin. Overhanging the bed in which Lafayette was born is a fine portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Although Lafayette died in Paris, the bed in which he died was brought to the Chateau, and we were shown this also.