better to say of the Tuileries, as they entered that place, than,
"Everything is very ugly here." His mother endeavoured to console the
prince for that by reminding him Louis the Fourteenth had lived there.
It is needless to recapitulate the well-known story of the precarious
state to which the royal family were speedily reduced in Paris, and how
they made secret preparations for leaving the capital in disguise. On
the 20th of June, 1791, the attempted flight was commenced, the
dauphin, who had been dressed as a girl, deeming he was being attired
to play in a comedy. The flight was, indeed, carried out, but the
royal party got no further than Varennes, where they were discovered,
and after being allowed to spend the night there were carried back to
Paris (although it was wonderful that they reached it alive), and five
days after their departure were again installed in the Tuileries. From
that time until the 13th of August, 1792, when the royal family were
imprisoned in the Temple, the whole of its members had been under close
surveillance, and had no fresh opportunity of escaping from the
capital. From the date of their incarceration in the Temple their doom
was sealed, and nothing but death released any one save the Princess
Marie Theresa from captivity. After a while the king was separated
from his family, and placed in a portion of the prison called the Great
Tower, and there also the dauphin was placed, with his father, until
the trial and execution of the latter, when he was returned to his
mother's care. On the 3rd of July, 1793, a most terrible trial awaited
the hapless boy: on that day, in accordance with a decree of the
"Committee of Public Safety," he was removed from the custody of his
mother, and consigned to the charge of Simon, formerly a cobbler, but
now appointed guardian to the dauphin at a salary of twenty pounds a
month, conditionally upon his never leaving his youthful prisoner, and
never, upon any pretence, leaving the tower where the child was
confined.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account