ood of the scholars.

What were the studies of this young aristocrat?

First and foremost, heraldry. From earliest days his tutors had
instilled into him the idea that the study of the coats of arms of
reigning and noble families, together with all that they stood for,
was first in importance.

Then the young student must dance, write, and draw. He must be able to
converse wittily and with apt repartee. Fencing and vaulting were
considered essential, as well as riding with grace and skill and
knowing all about the management of the horse.

As far as books were concerned, the Latin masters--Caesar, Sallust,
Virgil, Terence, Cicero--were carefully studied. The boys were obliged
to translate from Latin into French and from French into Latin.
Occasionally this training proved useful. It is related that one of
the French soldiers who came to New England and who could not speak
English resorted to Latin and found to his joy that the inhabitant of
Connecticut, from whom he wished to purchase supplies for his
regiment, could be communicated with by that obsolete medium; and what
would Lafayette have done when imprisoned in an Austrian dungeon if he
had not been able to converse with his official jailers in the Latin
tongue!

In historical studies the greatest attention was given to wars and
treaties and acquisitions of territory. The royal families of his
native country and of neighboring kingdoms were made familiar. History
was taught as if it were a record of battles only. Swords and coats of
mail decorated the mantelpieces in the school and the latest methods
of warfare were studied.

In addition to all these military matters, a great deal of attention
must have been given to acquiring the power of clear and forcible
expression in the French language. While Lafayette can never be
included among the great orators of the world, he possessed a
wonderfully pellucid and concise diction. He was a voluminous writer.
If all the letters he sent across the ocean from America could be
recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic, there would be enough to
make several large volumes. Sometimes he dispatched as many as thirty
letters at one time. He sent them by way of Spain, by way of Holland,
or by any other roundabout route that offered promise of final
delivery. But privateersmen frequently captured the boats that carried
them, and very often the letter-bags were dropped overboard. Still
another circumstance deprived the world of