had met Ben on his return from St. Mary's College, where he was a day scholar, and, as he passed him, baa'd like a sheep, or did something equally provoking; whereupon Ben went in and, pluck making up for adroitness, the two battered each other until my mother, rushing into the yard, separated the combatants and distributed between them the remedy for bruises in the year of 1826. The cousins became excellent friends afterwards, agreeing that the honors of the fight were about equally divided. They had fought till both had to be put to bed.

"One recollection suggests another. I have mentioned that on my way to West Point I had purchased a flute, and on this, both at the Point and afterwards, I had hammered away until with good notions of time, but without notions of harmony, I had qualified myself to accompany my brother, who was blessed with an excellent voice and was a natural musician in the number of simple airs, such as 'Robin Adair, of a' the airs the winds can blow,' and such like. Both of us being at a sentimental age, we determined to serenade our idols for the time being, and on one occasion, while in the midst of a touching melody, were approached by a watchman and told to 'quiet that d-d noise and go home.' He was, of course, a fellow of no taste, who preferred his 'ten o'clock and a cloudy night' to vocal music with a flute accompaniment.

"While in the Lexington Street house last mentioned, I worked hard to improve myself in English, for West Point was no place to learn it, and I read Spenser's Fairy Queen and translated Carmen, after Carmen of Catullus, together with letter after letter of Cicero ad familiares. I also learned to read Spanish. French I was already proficient in. I puzzled away, too, at Locke on the 'Human Understanding' and Say on 'Political Economy' and I read diligently and

laboriously in the law. I am not sure that any of you have yet made up your minds as to what real hard work is. I was doing outside things, besides, that paid. In fact, I never had an idle hour, no, not an idle minute. The scraps of time before breakfast, waiting for my dinner, etc., were a find to me, that I invested in many ways, and in some form or other no knowledge I ever acquired has failed to be useful."

CHAPTER V

MR. LATROBE'S CONNECTION WITH THINGS MILITARY, AFTER LEAVING WEST POINT IN 1821-HIS ASSOCIATION FOR SIX YEARS WITH MILITIA-RECEPTION OF LAFAYETTE IN BALTIMORE, 1824-TRIP TO PHILADELPHIA IN COMMAND OF LIGHT INFANTRY COMPANYMONUMENT TO KOSCIUSZKO AT WEST POINT-PRESIDENT, BOARD OF VISITORS, WEST POINT IN 1849-HIS ANNUAL VISIT TO WEST POINT-HIS RELATIONS WITH GENERAL THAYER-THE THREE BATTLES-FRIENDSHIP WITH GENERAL GIBBON

Before taking up the relation of Mr. Latrobe's life as a lawyer, I shall complete the account of his military career begun at West Point in 1818.

Robert Goodloe Harper, whose office Mr. Latrobe entered after leaving West Point in December 1821, was the General of the Third Division of the Maryland Militia. Mr. Latrobe entered into and became a part of this Militia.

As Captain of the "Chasseurs of Lafayette," and as First Aide to General Harper, he participated in the reception given to Lafayette in Baltimore, in 1824.

In speaking of his position as Captain of the "Chasseurs of Lafayette," he says, in reference to his first speech which he made in the prosecution of McCullough for passing counterfeit money:

"The speech, which I made in court in the case of McCullough, procured me more notice than I would have expected and was the cause of my being appointed the Captain of a Company of riflemen composed altogether of mechanics, who adopted the name of the 'Chasseurs of Lafayette.'

In what Mr. Latrobe calls "The Memoranda of My Life,"

he says:

"After I had been in General Harper's office for a year, I suppose, it was determined by the Military of the City to receive Governor Stevens with public honors, and to have a review of the citizen soldiery at Whetstone Point, then a barren tract of land without an improvement on it. General Harper, being the Major General of the 3rd Military Division of the State, was the officer in command, and at once appointed me his Aide, presented me with a uniform complete, and gave me the Damascus bladed sword that is still in my possession. It had been presented to the General by the Duke of Wellington, and the story connected with it was that it had been taken from the body of a French officer at the Battle of Waterloo. It was certainly a magnificent weapon of true Damascus steel.

"The orders of the Review and the general management fell upon me, to whom a West Point education made such things familiar.

"The review went off very well, and my prominence at it led to my being offered the command of a military company that was being raised in Baltimore, the members being the 'b-hoys' of the New Market Fire Company, a rough, kindhearted set of scamps, quite notorious in the City. I got it into shape, and paraded with it in a uniform that was supremely ridiculous, but which was to the taste of the material of the command. Plaid pants, plaid tunics, and a cap covered with plaid, the body of the cap being an old bell crowned hat, with the brim razied, and, to crown all, a black feather. It was with some difficulty I was persuaded to dress myself in this paraphernalia; but I did, and my 'Butterflies,' as they were

nicknamed, soon became a well-drilled body of men. It was while I was Captain of the 'Butterflies' in 1824 that Lafayette came to Baltimore, and great was the military display on the occasion. I preferred, of course, acting as Aide to the Major-General rather than figuring at the head of my New Marketters; but I designed a flag for them, called them the 'Chasseurs of Lafayette,' and got the General to present it. The painting of the flag was far better than common. On one side of the flag were the date and name, and on the other side a hand grasping at a star with the motto 'Forward.' I rather think my men understood the idea of the painting no better than they did the pronunciation of the Company's name, which in their mouths became 'Chassers,' and even 'Chasers.' I forget what became of the 'Chassers.' I resigned after the Lafayette visit, and I think my jolly dogs got some new fancy into their heads, and let the company run down. The only man belonging to it that I now see sometimes is the runner of the Eutaw Savings Bank, a good, religious, elderly man, named Snyder, who still calls me 'Captain.'

"It may not be uninteresting to say a word or two here about the Lafayette visit. General Harper appointed three additional Aides on the occasion. One was his son, Charles Carroll Harper, my intimate, most intimate friend, a man of brilliant talents, charming manners, refined and generous, a man whose superior in all these qualities I have yet to meet. A graduate of Harvard, a powerful and elegant writer, and, in every respect, an accomplished gentleman. He is still the exemplar of all that is worthy and noble. I loved him very dearly. But this is a digression. The third Aide-de-Camp was Charles Carroll, the grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and the fourth was S. Owings Hoffman, an excellent gentleman and the friend of the other Aides.