Liberty and law may both be spoken almost synonymously with the name of La Fayette. His abhorrence of such lawless acts of vengeance was as strong as his zeal for freedom. Horrified at the lawlessness of the populace, and feeling that his honor was thereby jeopardized, La Fayette determined to resign his office as commander-in-chief of the National Guard, which he did in the following letter addressed to the mayor of Paris:— “SIR: Summoned by the confidence of its citizens to the military command of the capital, I have uniformly declared that in the present state of affairs it was necessary, to be useful, that confidence should be full and universal. I have steadily declared to the people that, although devoted to their interest to my last breath, yet I was incapable of purchasing their favor by unjustly yielding to their wishes. You are aware, sir, that one of the individuals who perished yesterday was placed under a guard, and that the other was under the escort of our troops, both being sentenced by the civil power to undergo a regular trial. Such were the proper means to satisfy justice, to discover their accomplices, and to fulfil the solemn engagements of every citizen toward the National Assembly and the king. “The people would not hearken to my advice; and the moment when the confidence which they promised, and reposed in me, is lost, it becomes my duty, as I have before stated, to abandon a post in which I can no longer be useful. I am, with respect, “LA FAYETTE.” The news of La Fayette’s resignation spread consternation throughout the city. The National Guard flocked around him to beseech him to retain his position as their commander. The mayor and council waited upon him at midnight, to solicit him to withdraw his resignation. But La Fayette calmly declined, and the next day appeared before the Assembly to state his reasons for so doing, in the following dignified and courteous terms:— “Gentlemen, I come to acknowledge the last testimonies of your kindness with all the warmth of a heart whose first desire, after that of serving the people, is to be loved by them, and to express my astonishment at the importance they deign to attach to an individual, in a free country, where nothing should be of real importance except law. If my conduct on this occasion could be regulated by my sentiments of gratitude and affection, I should only reply to the regrets with which you and the National Guard had honored me by yielding obedience to your entreaties; but, as I was guided by no feeling of private interest when I formed that resolution, so also, in the midst of the various causes for agitation that surround us, I cannot allow myself to be governed by my private affections.