Lamarck, with his large family, had endowed his first-born
son so that he could maintain the family name and title, and had found
situations for several of the others in the army. Jean Lamarck did not
manifest any taste for the clerical profession. He lived in a martial
atmosphere. For centuries his ancestors had borne arms. His eldest
brother had been killed in the breach at the siege of Berg-op-Zoom; two
others were still in the service, and in the troublous times at the
beginning of the war in 1756, a young man of high spirit and courage
would naturally not like to relinquish the prospect of renown and
promotion. But, yielding to the wishes of his father, he entered as a
student at the college of the Jesuits at Amiens.[8]

His father dying in 1760, nothing could induce the incipient abbe, then
seventeen years of age, to longer wear his bands. Immediately on
returning home he bought himself a wretched horse, for want of means to
buy a better one, and, accompanied by a poor lad of his village, he
rode across the country to join the French army, then campaigning in
Germany.

[Illustration: AUTOGRAPH OF LAMARCK, JANUARY 25, 1802

je prie le Citoyen qui assemble dans le Magazin de l'imprimerie du
Citoyen Agasse de remettre a Madame chevalier Cent exemplaires de mon
hydrogeologie, pour les Brocher.

Paris le 5 pluviose an dix

Lamarck]

He carried with him a letter of recommendation from one of his neighbors
on an adjoining estate in the country, Madame de Lameth, to M.
de Lastic, colonel of the regiment of Beaujolais.[9]

"We can imagine [says Cuvier] the feelings of this officer on thus
finding himself hampered with a boy whose puny appearance made him
seem still younger than he was. However, he sent him to his
quarters, and then busied himself with his duties. The period indeed
was a critical one. It was the 16th of July, 1761. The Marshal
de Broglie had just united his army with that of the Prince
de Soubise, and the next day was to attack the allied army commanded
by the Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. At the break of day M.
de Lastic rode along the front of his corps, and the first man that
met his gaze was the new recruit, who, without saying anything to
him, had placed himself in the front rank of a company of
grenadiers, and nothing could induce him to quit his post.

"It is a matter of history that this battle, which bears the name of
the little village of Fissingshausen, bet