He
was a youth of genius, and proper cultivation would, or might, have
made him a man of distinguished fame and great usefulness. Coming into
possession of his immense estate immediately upon his majority, with
no experience in business matters, flushed with youth and fortune,
courted by every one, possessing a brilliant wit, fond to excess of
amusements, delighting in play, and flattered by every one, he gave up
his time almost entirely to pleasure. A prominent member of the
Legislature for many years, he had identified himself with the history
of the State, as had his ancestor before him. He was the youngest
member of the convention which formed the first Constitution of the
State, and was the last survivor of that memorable body. Soon after
succeeding to his fortune, and when he was by far the wealthiest man
in the State, Louis Philippe, the fugitive son of Louis Egalite, Duke
of Orleans, came to New Orleans, an exile from his native land, after
his father had perished by the guillotine. Marigny received him, and
entertained him as a prince. He gave him splendid apartments in his
house, with a suite of servants to attend him, and, opening his purse
to him, bade him take _ad libitum_.
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