d, like Rochambeau, to extreme old age. One
of the gayest of the company was the Duc de Lauzun, a noted libertine in
France but, as far as the record goes, a man of blameless propriety in
America. He died on the scaffold during the French Revolution. So, too,
did his companion, the Prince de Broglie, in spite of the protest of
his last words that he was faithful to the principles of the Revolution,
some of which he had learned in America. Another companion was the
Swedish Count Fersen, later the devoted friend of the unfortunate Queen
Marie Antoinette, the driver of the carriage in which the royal family
made the famous flight to Varennes in 1791, and himself destined to be
trampled to death by a Swedish mob in 1810. Other old and famous names
there were: Laval-Montmorency, Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Saint-Simon. It has
been said that the names of the French officers in America read like a
list of medieval heroes in the Chronicles of Froissart.

Only half of the expected ships were ready at Brest and only five
thousand five hundred men could embark. The vessels were, of course,
very crowded. Rochambeau cut down the space allowed for personal
effects. He took no horse for himself and would allow none to go, but
he permitted a few dogs. Forty-five ships set sail, "a truly imposing
sight," said one of those on board. We have reports of their ennui
on the long voyage of seventy days, of their amusements and their
devotions, for twice daily were prayers read on deck. They sailed into
Newport on the 11th of July and the inhabitants of that still primitive
spot illuminated their houses as best they could. Then the army
settled down at Newport and there it remained for many weary months.
Reinforcements never came, partly through mismanagement in France,
partly through the vigilance of the British fleet, which was on guard
before Brest. The French had been for generations the deadly enemies of
the English Colonies and some of the French officers noted the reserve
with which they were received. The ice was, however, soon broken. They
brought with them gold, and the New England merchants liked this relief
from the debased continental currency. Some of the New England ladies
were beautiful, and the experienced Lauzun expresses glowing admiration
for a prim Quakeress whose simple dress he thought more attractive than
the elaborate modes of Paris.

The French dazzled the ragged American army by their display of
waving plumes and of unifo