BIRTH, YOUTH, AND MILITARY CAREER 13 



killed ; there remained only fourteen men, when the 

 oldest grenadier, seeing that there were no more of 

 the French troops in sight, proposed to the young 

 volunteer, become so promptly commander, to with- 

 draw his little troop. ' But we are assigned to this 

 post,' said the boy, ' and we should not withdraw 

 from it until we are relieved.' And he made them 

 remain there until the colonel, seeing that the squad 

 did not rally, sent him an orderly, who crept by all 

 sorts of covered ways to reach him. This bold stand 

 having been reported to the marshal, he promoted 

 him on the field to the rank of an officer, although 

 his order had prescribed that he should be very 

 chary of these kinds of promotions." 



His physical courage shown at this age was paralleled 

 by his moral courage in later years. The staying 

 power he showed in immovably adhering to his views 

 on evolution through many years, and under the di- 

 rect and raking fire of harsh and unrelenting criticism 

 and ridicule from friend and foe, affords a striking 

 contrast to the moral timidity shown by Buffon when 

 questioned by the Sorbonne. We can see that La- 

 marck was the stuff martyrs are made of, and that 

 'had he been tried for heresy he would have been 

 another Tycho Brahe. 



Soon after, de Lamarck was nominated to a lieuten- 

 ancy ; but so glorious a beginning of his military 

 career was most unexpectedly checked. A sudden 

 accident forced him to leave the service and entirely 

 change his course of life. His regiment had been, 

 during peace, sent into garrison, first at Toulon and 

 then at Monaco. While there a comrade ia play 

 lifted him by the head ; this gave rise to an inflam- 



