LAMARTINE, ALPHONSE, was b. at ?aeon, Oct. 21, 1792. In his Memoirs of my Youth, he has given us a touching account of the hardships to which his family was subjected during the reign of terror. He was educated principally at the college of the Peres de la Foi, at Belly. Ou leaving college, lie spent some time in traveling in Italy. After the fall of Napoleon, he entered the army, which, however, he soon quitted, revisiting Italy in 1818. In 1820 appeared his Meditations Fatigues. The success of this work helped to open up for him a diplomatic career. He was appointed attaché to the French embassy at Naples, and on his way thither married, at Chambery, a beauti ful and accomplished English lady, Miss Birch, whom lie had met the year before in the valleys of Savoy. In 1823 appeared las M'urelles _Meditations, and in 1824 he became secretary of the legation at Florence. An unlucky expression which Lamartine had used, descriptive of the Italians, in his Vernier Chant de Chikle Harold (1825), led to a duel between him and col. Pep& Though Lamartine was wounded, the result, luck ily, was not serious. ID 1829 appeared the collection of Harmonies Fatigues et Relig• leases. In the same year he was elected a member of the French academy. After the revolution of 1830, having failed to procure a seat in the chamber of deputies, he set out in 1832 to travel in the east. The death of his only daughter threw a gloom over this period of Iris life. Receiving news, when at Jerusalem, of his the constit uency of Bergues, lie returned to Paris. Though he soon became a noted speaker in the eliamberhe still vigorously pursued his literary studies. In 1835 he published an account of his eastern travels. The _History of the Girondins, which originally came out in journals, was, in 1847, published complete iu 8 vols. It had unquestionably much
influence in bringing about the great events of the following year. When the revolu tion took place in Feb. 1848, Lamartine became a member of the provisional govern meet and minister of foreign affairs, and exercised a great influence over the first movements of the new republic. Ten departments elected lam as their representative in the constituent assembly; he was also chosen one of the five members of the execu• five commission, and enjoyed for some mouths an immense popularity; whilst his spirited and patriotic conduct, in crushing the mere anarchic insurrections of April 16 and May 15, must be regarded as having prevented great evils. Yet this was one of the principal causes of his downfall; the crowd became enraged, the assembly hostile, and the supreme power passed for a brief period into the of Cavaignac (q.v.). Though Latnartine was nominated for the presidency, but few votes were recorded in his favor; and the coup Vtat of Dec. 2, 1851, sent him back to private life. From that time he gave himself almost wholly to literary pursuits. His History of the Revolution of 1848 had appeared in 1849. It was followed, in 1851-52, by his History of the Restoration of Monarchy in France; and in 1854, by the History of Turku. He also contributed largely to several journals. In 1860 he undertook the publication of a complete edition of his works, revised and corrected by himself. He finished this labor in The edition consists of 41 vols. In 1867 a pension was granted him by the government. He died March 1, 1869.