A century before the discovery of America we find the La Fayettes
spoken of as an "ancient house," and in every generation at least one
member of the family had distinguished himself by his services to his
king. This young man, coming upon the stage of life when republican
ideas were teeming in every cultivated mind, embraced them with all the
ardor of youth and intelligence. At sixteen he refused a high post in
the household of one of the princes of the blood and accepted a
commission in the army. At the age of seventeen he was married to the
daughter of a duke, whose dowry added a considerable fortune to his own
ample possessions. She was an exceedingly lovely woman, and tenderly
attached to her husband, and he was as fond of her as such a boy could
be.
The American Revolution broke out. In common with all the high-born
republicans of his time, his heart warmly espoused the cause of the
revolted colonies, and he immediately conceived the project of going to
America and fighting under her banner. He was scarcely nineteen years of
age when he sought an interview with Silas Deane, the American envoy,
and offered his services to the Congress. Mr, Deane, it appears,
objected to his youth.
"When," says he, "I presented to the envoy my boyish face, I spoke more
of my ardor in the cause than of my experience; but I dwelt much upon
the effect my departure would have in France, and he signed our mutual
agreement."
His intention was concealed from all his family and from all his
friends, except two or three confidants.
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