Mme. de
Bonneville's husband, Nicholas, was a close friend of Paine in Paris,
and had originally intended to come to America with Paine and his
family. But, as the publisher of a highly Radical paper--the _Bien
Informe_--De Bonneville was under espionage, and when the time came he
was not permitted to leave France. He confided his wife and children
to his friend, and they set sail with his promise to follow later. He
did follow, when he could--Washington Irving tells of chatting with
him in Battery Park--but it was too late for him to see the man who
had proved himself so true a friend to him and his.
The older De Bonneville boy was Benjamin, known affectionately by his
parents and Paine as "Bebia." He was destined to become distinguished
in the Civil War--Gen. Benjamin de Bonneville, of high military and
patriotic honours.
I said we couldn't keep to Greenwich--we have travelled to France and
back again already!
You may find the house if you care to look for it--the very same house
kept by Mrs. Ryder, where Thomas Paine lived more than a century ago.
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