DE LAMARCK. 1 63 



eldest brother was killed at the siege of Bergen-op- 

 Zoom. Two brothers were in the army, and at that 

 time France was in dire trouble, and required every 

 man who could fight, it was therefore not probable 

 that young Lamarck would stay at home. Never- 

 theless, his father resisted his desire to enter the 

 army, and the young man had to study year after 

 year, until he was sixteen years of age. Then in 

 1 760 the father died, and the youth was left to his 

 own resources. He set forth for the army, mounted 

 on a sorry horse, and accompanied by a poor boy 

 out of the village, to journey across France into 

 Germany to join the French army. He had a 

 letter of introduction from one of his neighbours, 

 Madame Lameth, to M. de Lartie, colonel of the 

 regiment of Beaujolais, who did not receive him 

 very gladly, for the wretchedness of the boy made 

 him look more helpless than he really was. Never- 

 theless, he sent Lamarck to his barracks and had 

 him to do duty. It was at a most critical moment 

 that the brave, self-reliant boy joined the army. It 

 was about July 14th, 1 761, and M. de Broglie 

 had just united his force with that of [the Prince du 

 Sorbise, preparatory to attacking, on the next day, 

 the allied army, commanded by Frederick of Bruns- 

 wick. At break of day M. de Lartie inspected his 

 regiment, and the first person he saw was the newly- 

 arrived volunteer, who, without orders, had placed 

 himself in the first rank of the grenadier company. 

 The battle, which was fought at Fissingshausen, 

 between Ham and Leppstadt, was lost by the 



