37,740,000 francs, which the State had paid to his father's creditors, in pursuance of the compact he had entered into with them on the 9th of January, 1792, which compact gave rise to the sequestration put on all his property in 1793. Now this sequestration was followed, in the 11th year of the Republic, by the settling of the creditors' claims, and payment of most of them, whereby the State succeeded to the rights of the creditor. Nevertheless Louis Philippe was, on the solicitation of Charles X., and contrary to the will of M. de Villele, his Minister, admitted to the amount of 16,000,000 francs into the liquidation of the indemnity granted to the emigrants by the law of the 17th of April, 1825.

In May, 1825, Charles X. was crowned at Rheims with all the pompous magnificence and the monkish superstitions of the olden time. The sword of Charlemagne was girded to his side, the spurs of St. Louis were buckled to his heels, and when anointed with that holy oil "originally brought by a dove from heaven, to consecrate Bourbon kings," Louis Philippe shed tears of joy. He was, after the King, the most prominent actor on the occasion, and swore everlasting fidelity with a loud, clear voice. Not only did he strive to testify, by lively and multiplied demonstrations, his sentiments towards the King, but he was profuse in expressive gestures of devotedness whenever any of the royal family were mentioned. "It was quite worth while," says a historian, "to see Louis Philippe at the royal banquet, putting his hand to his heart at every toast to the King, Madame, and the Duke d'Angouleme. He himself would, at dinner, often shout' Vive le Roi!' as if moved by a powerful feeling, which could not wait for the moment of etiquette."

One of Charles X.'s first regal acts was an edict, ordering the executioner to burn all copies of a book called "Memoires de Maria Stella," a woman who asserted that she was the daughter of the late Duke of Orleans, and Louis Philippe

the son of an Italian, her mother having consented to their exchange when infants, in order to present her husband with an heir. He also prevailed on M. de Lamartine, when his coronation took place, to substitute for this line, which gave great pain to Louis Philippe,

"Le fils a racheté les crimes de son pere,"

this other line,

“Le fils a rachete les armes de son pere."

66

Not long after this, Charles X. created Louis Philippe's eldest son Ferdinand, Knight of the Holy Ghost, and appointed that young Prince Colonel of the Orleans Hussar Regiment. The Duchess of Orleans had also permission to present the infamous Madame de Feucheres at court, whence she had been expelled by Louis XVIII., a step which diverted the rich succession of the Duke of Bourbon from the Tuileries to the Palais Royal. It was only on the positive refusal of the Duchess of Berri to accept the offers of Madame de Feucheres, that the latter addressed herself to Louis Philippe- as will be seen in the following extract from Sarrut. "One day," says this reliable writer, a person of the Duke of Bourbon's household, waited on one of the Duchess of Berri's high officers, and, after many precautions, turned the conversation on Madame de Feucheres. 'She has been ill-judged of,' said the visitor, and very severely treated. The expulsion from the Palace has caused her the utmost grief. If there were means of obliterating that recollection, and of having the Baroness de Feucheres again admitted to Court, and if" Madame" condescended to use her influence for the purpose, I may venture to say that she would afford proof both of goodness and cleverness. The Duke of Bourbon is advanced in years. Madame de Feucheres's influence over him is greater than ever, and the house of Conde is rich, as you know. As regards the

Duke of Bourdeaux, his fortune is secured; it is the Crown of France; but such is not the case with his sister.' The answer returned was, that there existed not the slightest inclination to take charge of such a negotiation, and that it was not doubtful that whoever took charge of it would meet with a very unpleasant reception. The Duchess of Berri, to whom this conversation was reported on the very same evening, greatly approved of the reply, and added that she would not hear of any such matters. The Barroness de Feucheres's emissary then addressed himself to Louis Philippe, who eagerly received the overtures, and commenced that splendid campaign of the succession, which ended by Madame de Feucheres's return to Court, and the conquest of the invaluable will, which has transferred all the property of the House of Conde to the Duke of Aumale."

Anxious to render the fourth son of his "beloved cousin Philippe," (as he was familiarly called at the Palace,) the richest Prince in Europe, by this succession, Charles X. actually went so far as to command the members of his family to receive with politeness the unprincipled wanton, who gratified her vanity by taking advantage of her power over the feeble Duke of Bourbon. "To leave the fortune of the Condes," says Louis Blanc," to a family which the enemies of the nobility and monarchy had had at their head, seemed to the old leader of the armed emigration a crime, and almost an act of impiety. He could not have forgotten that, transferring his Court into an assembly of regicides, one Orleans had voted the death of Louis XVI., and another Orleans had combatted under Dumouriez's banner. on the one hand, how could he refuse without insult what he was so well supposed to wish to give, and, on the other, how could he stand the passionate fits of Madame de Feucheres, through whose medium anticipated thanks reached him?" *

But,

The Baroness de Feucheres. Note D.

While thus granting favors to Louis Philippe, Charles X. pursued a reactionary political policy, which, could it have had its sway, would have entirely destroyed the liberties of France. An army of 100,000 men was sent into Spain to crush the Constitution the milliard of indemnity money granted to the emigrant Royalists depressed government stocks. the National Guard was disbanded, a law of primogeniture was proposed the stamp-tax on newspapers was increased and when some symptoms of independence were manifested by the Chamber of Peers, the offended Monarch was prevailed upon to avenge himself by creating seventy-six new members of that Assembly. In short, the unfortunate Charles X., with the swift descent of a misgiving sinner, had plunged from the pinnacle of gay debauch, where he had signalized his early days, down to the very depths of superstition. The Jesuits ruled France. With stealthy step, this crafty and ambitious sect had obtained such complete ascendancy, that the affairs of religion became the daily business of the State-a law was passed punishing sacrilege as parricide another placed the medical schools under clerical rule- the opera dancers were commanded to elongate their dresses until only so many inches of neck and ancles should be exposed the King walked through the streets of Paris in long monkish processions, chaunting the Miserere, and the Minister of War gravely informed the army (the successors of Napoleon's braves,) that the 16th Infantry was excellent at prayers, or the 10th Artillery incomparable at Easter-service. Superstition and absolutism were the order of the day, but the bourgeoisie at last became so indignant, that the Ministry feared it could no longer command a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and ordered the election of a new Chamber. It was decidedly liberal so much so, that the King dismissed M. Villele and the other Ministers to call M. Martignac and his friends into the cabinet, and promised better things in future.

There was hope for a time that these promises would all

be realized, and the repeal of several ordinances which had oppressed the rights of the nation, won from it a cordial support of the throne. But Charles X. had no idea of yielding. Lord Wellington had arrested the march of reform in England the French troops had put down liberty in Spain -Don Miguel, supported by Austria, had trampled on the Constitution of Portugal Absolutism had full sway in Central Europe and the French monarch determined to enforce an iron rule of despotism upon his subjects.

Louis Philippe, advised of this outrageous attempt against the liberties of France, went over to England to ascertain what favor he would meet with if proclaimed King in the event of a change of government. His visit was satisfactory, and he had scarcely returned, when the formation of the Polignac cabinet struck the country with amazement. The friends of liberty asserted that France had never been so basely betrayed. "Yes," said M. de Berenger, "it was reserved for our heroic nation to receive from its King more outrages in one day, than any foreign power had ever dared to offer her." The words "Unfortunate France! Unfortunate King! which headed an article in the "Debats" newspaper were echoed throughout the land, and the new cabinet was described as attracting into a focus, as it were, all the hostile, angry, and dangerous feelings that, differing one from the other, various and dispersed, were burning in the hearts of the people - and which, in order to be inevitable, only wanted to be concentred.

FAC-SIMILE OF THE SIGNATURE OF CHARLES X.

Charles