“The armament which was preparing at Cadiz, and in which you were to have acted a distinguished part, would have carried such conviction with it, that it is not to be wondered at that Great Britain should have been impressed with the force of such reasoning. To this cause, I am persuaded, the peace is to be ascribed. Your going to Madrid from thence, instead of coming immediately to this country, is another instance, my dear Marquis, of your zeal for the American cause, and lays a fresh claim to the gratitude of her sons, who will at all times receive you with open arms.” American independence having been secured, La Fayette now interested himself in advancing the commercial influence of America in France. The whale fishery was an important American industry; and La Fayette, by persevering efforts, secured a total exemption of duties on sixteen thousand quintals of oil, to be furnished by merchants of Boston to the contractor-general for lighting the cities of Paris and Versailles. Regarding this he modestly wrote: “I worked very hard to bring even as much as this about, and am happy at having at last obtained a point which may be agreeable to New England and the people of Boston. I wish they may, at large, know I did not neglect their affairs; and although this is a kind of private bargain, yet as it amounts to a value of about eight hundred thousand French livres, and government has been prevailed upon to take off all duties, it must be considered a matter of no little importance.” From the quiet retreat of Mount Vernon, Washington wrote to the marquis, and renewed his previous invitation to visit him when peace should have been accomplished. The weary warrior thus pictures his retired life:— “At length I have become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac; and under the shadow of my own vine and fig-tree, free from the bustle of the camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier, who is ever in pursuit of fame; the statesman, whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries (as if this globe was insufficient for us all); and the courtier, who is always watching the countenance of his prince, in the hope of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I have not only retired from all public employments, but am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heart-felt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers.”