I have before me, as I write, the original letter written by the General to the son of his old friend, the paper marked and yellow with the creases of sixty years; and as I read it again, I feel that of all the incidents of the singularly eventful life of La Fayette there are none that show his noble nature more fully than those I have noted here: his enthusiastic services in behalf of an oppressed people, his close and devoted affection for his friend and comrade, and the impulsive generosity of a heart that was at once manly, tender, and true. And as I write, I am grateful that I can claim a certain association with that honored name of La Fayette; for the young adjutant to whom the acrostic was addressed and the friend through whom the gift to the widow was communicated were respectively my grandfather and my father. It is at least pleasant to know that one's ancestors were the intimate friends of so noble a man, of whom one biographer has recently said: "He was brave even to rashness, his life was one of constant peril, and yet he never shrank from any danger or responsibility if he saw the way open to spare life or suffering, to protect the defenseless, to sustain law and preserve order." At the southern extremity of Union Square, in the city of New York, there is a bronze statue of La Fayette. As you have already been told in ST. NICHOLAS, it represents him in graceful pose and with earnest face and gesture, "making offer of his sword to the country he admired--the country that sorely needed his aid. The left hand is extended as if in greeting and friendly self-surrender, and the right hand, which holds the sword, is pressed against the breast, as if implying that his whole heart goes with his sword." Lafayette's words, "As soon as I heard of American independence, my heart was enlisted," are inscribed upon the pedestal of the statue; and a short distance from it, in the plaza adjoining the square, is an equestrian statue of Washington. It is fitting that the bronze images of those two great men should thus be placed together, as the names of Washington and La Fayette are forever coupled in the history and in the affections of the American people. A CHILD'S FANCY. BY FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN. The meadow is a battle-field Where Summer's army comes: Each soldier with a clover shield, The honey-bees with drums. Boom, rat-tá!--they march and pass The captain tree who stands Saluting with a sword of grass And giving the commands. 'T is only when the breezes blow Across the woody hills, They shoulder arms and, to and fro, March in their full-dress drills. Boom, rat-tá!--they wheel in line And wave their gleaming spears. "March!" cries the captain, giving sign, And every soldier cheers.