Originally published in 1920. Helen Nicolay's The Boys' Life of Lafayette is a historical biography that has become familiar in almost every American home, and in this case it is written and illustrated in a style that makes it a double inspiration for study on the part of the newcomer in the midst of us. Here the new American will get a great deal of Washington, as well as of Lafayette, but also of the young Frenchman's home life, and of the noble wife that never complained at being left alone while her husband was across the sea fighting against autocratic tyranny. Mrs. Nicolay enlarges her book with some of Lafayette's share in the French Revolution, which will be a double service to her young reader and the older people who need especially a thorough understanding of the spirit of Lafayette. -The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Jan. 17, 1921) Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (6 September 1757 - 20 May 1834), in the U.S. often known simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. -Wikipedia Excerpt from The Boys' Life of Lafayette PREFACE This is no work of fiction. It is sober history; yet if the bare facts it tells were set forth without the connecting links, its preface might be made to look like the plot of a dime novel. It is the story of a poor boy who inherited great wealth; who ran away from home to fight for liberty and glory; who became a major-general before he was twenty years old; who knew every nook and corner of the palace at Versailles, yet was the blood-brother of American Indians; who tried vainly to save the lives of his king and queen; who was in favor of law, yet remained a rebel to the end of his days; who suffered an unjust imprisonment which has well been called "a night five years long"; who was twice practically Dictator of France; and who, in his old age, was called upon to make a great decision. But it is no work of fiction. It is only the biography of a French gentleman named Lafayette. ____________________________ CONTENTS OF "THE BOYS' LIFE OF LAFAYETTE" PREFACE I WARRIORS AND WILD BEASTS II EDUCATING A MARQUIS III A NEW KING IV AN UNRULY COURTIER V LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE VI A SEA-TURN VII AN AMERICAN PILGRIMAGE VIII AN ASTONISHING RECEPTION IX PROVING HIMSELF A SOLDIER X LETTERS XI A FOOL'S ERRAND XII FARCE AND TREACHERY XIII A LIAISON OFFICER XIV NEAR-MUTINY AND NEAR-IMPRISONMENT XV HELP-AND DISAPPOINTMENT XVI BLACK TREACHERY XVII PREPARING FOR THE LAST ACT XVIII YORKTOWN XIX "THE WINE OF HONOR" XX THE PASSING OF OLD FRANCE XXI THE TRICOLOR XXII THE SANS-CULOTTES XXIII POPULARITY AND PRISON XXIV SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE RESCUE! XXV VOLUNTEERS IN MISFORTUNE XXVI EXILES XXVII A GRATEFUL REPUBLIC XXVIII LEAVE-TAKINGS XXIX PRESIDENT-OR KING-MAKER? XXX SEVENTY-SIX YEARS YOUNG