"I am not writing to M. le Comte de Rochambeau or to M. le Chevalier de Ternay. I beg you to communicate to them this incredible story.... What will the officers of the French army say when they see a general abandon and basely sell his country after having defended it so well? You can bear witness, M. le Chevalier, that this is the first [Pg 142]atrocity that has been heard of in our army. But if, on the one hand, they hear of the infamy of Arnold, they are bound to admire the disinterestedness of a few countrymen who happened to meet Mr. André with a passport from General Arnold, and on the mere suspicion of his being a friend of England made him a prisoner, refusing at the same time his horse, his watch, and four hundred guineas which he offered them if they would allow him to continue upon his way.... "I shall conclude my long letter, M. le Chevalier, by referring to a subject which must touch every human heart. The unhappy Mrs. Arnold did not know a word of this conspiracy. Her husband told her before going away that he was flying, never to come back, and he left her lying unconscious. When she came to herself she fell into frightful convulsions and completely lost her reason. We did everything we could to quiet her, but she looked upon us as the murderers of her husband.... The horror with which her husband's conduct has inspired her, and a thousand other feelings, make her the most unhappy of women. "P.S.--She has recovered her reason this morning, and, as you know I am upon very good terms with her, she sent for me to go up to her chamber. General Washington and every one else sympathize warmly with this estimable woman whose face and whose youthfulness make her so interesting. She is going to Philadelphia, and I implore you, when you return, to use your influence in her favor.... Your influence and [Pg 143]your opinion, emphatically expressed, may prevent her from being visited with a vengeance which she does not deserve. General Washington will protect her also. As for myself, you know that I have always been fond of her, and at this moment she interests me intensely. We are certain that she knew nothing of the plot." This letter expressed the hope that André would be hanged according to military law, because, being a man of high rank and influence, his fate would serve as a warning to spies of lesser degree. Lafayette was one of the court martial that tried and sentenced him; and we have no proof that he hesitated for an instant in the performance of his stem duty or that he ever regretted it. Yet from a letter to Madame Lafayette, written after André's death, we know that Lafayette felt his charm, as did every one else who knew the unfortunate young Englishman. "He was an interesting young man," Lafayette wrote. "He conducted himself in a manner so frank, so noble, and so delicate that I cannot help feeling for him infinite sorrow."