After the public dinner, which was concluded before night, the general visited the university, where he was invited to lay the corner stone of a new building intended to be added to the establishment, which an incendiary had destroyed a year before, and which the zeal of the inhabitants of Vermont for the diffusion of knowledge had entirely rebuilt in a few months. In the solidity and elegance of these buildings it was easy to see the _hand of the people_. The ceremony of laying the corner stone took place in presence of the pupils of the university, their professors, the magistrates of the city, and a great concourse of citizens, who saw with joy the restoration and enlargement of an institution destined to render more permanent the support of their wise institutions, by instructing and enlightening the rising generations. Mr. Willard Preston, president of the university, thanked General Lafayette for the evidence he had given of his interest in the education of the youth of Vermont, and we proceeded to the residence of Governor Van Ness, whose delightful dwelling and gardens arranged with exquisite taste, were still more charmingly embellished by an assemblage of ladies and gentlemen, who, during the whole evening, contended for the pleasure of approaching the nation’s guest, to express their sentiments of affection and gratitude for the services he had rendered to their country and forefathers; for, in the state of Vermont, as in all the rest of the Union, the females are not strangers either to the principles of government, or to the obligations of patriotism; their education, more liberal than in any part of Europe, places them in a condition more worthy the rank of thinking beings, as it is well known that in all the great events which have agitated the United States at different periods, the enthusiasm of the women powerfully seconded the energy of the magistrates, and the devotion of the warriors. One of the circumstances which contributed most to augment my attachment to the Americans during my stay among them, is the profound respect that they pay to females of every rank, and the tender care with which they protect this sex.
About midnight General Lafayette quitted the town of Burlington, carrying with him the good wishes and benedictions of the inhabitants, who accompanied him to the shore, where there were two steam-boats, the Phœnix and Congress, both having awnings, illuminated and ornamented with designs and transparencies. He went on board the Phœnix, which saluted him with thirteen guns on his embarkation, when the anchor was quickly weighed, amidst the loud farewells of the crowd who lined the shores. The Congress having on board a deputation from Vermont, and a large number of citizens, followed the Phœnix, and during the whole night we ploughed the waters, upon which Commodore M’Donough and his intrepid sailors covered themselves with glory on the 11th Sept. 1814. We should have been pleased, before leaving these places, to visit Plattsburg, where on the same day General M’Comb merited the gratitude of his country, by repulsing the veteran troops of Britain, with a handful of raw volunteers, who, at the first rumour of the invasion of their territory, had flocked around him; but the 4th of July was approaching, and rendered it necessary for us to hasten our progress.