Louis Philippe: Makers of History SeriesAbbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
Louis Philippe: Makers of History Series
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Louis Philippe, King of the French, 1773-1850
"I am incompetent to give your father any advice. Our positions are
dissimilar. I myself seek redress for personal injuries. Your father,
the Duke of Orleans, ought to obey the dictates of his conscience as
a prince, and the dictates of duty as a citizen."
This undecided answer led the Duke of Orleans to the decision that,
in the prominent position which he occupied as a citizen of rank and
wealth, he could not with honor abandon his country in her hour of
peril. The Duke of Chartres desisted from any further solicitation,
and, oppressed with much anxiety, returned to the army.
The badge of the Bourbons was a white banner. The insurgents, if we
may so call the opponents, of all varieties of opinions, who assailed
the ancient despotism, at the siege of the Bastile, wore red
cockades. But very many were in favor of monarchy who were also in
favor of constitutional liberty. Blue had been, in ancient times, the
royal color, and they adopted that. Others, who were in favor of the
Bourbons, and advocated reform only, not revolution, adopted white,
the livery of the Bourbons. Thus arose the celebrated tri-color flag,
which became the emblem of all in France who adopted the principles
of political liberalism, whether monarchists or republicans. The
white banner of the Bourbons and the tri-color of the revolutionists
thus became arrayed against each other.
It was well known that there was a strong party in favor of placing
the Duke of Orleans upon the throne. The king was awaiting his trial
in the Temple. The monarchy was virtually overthrown, and a republic
was established. The Republicans were in great fear of a reaction,
which might re-establish the throne in favor of the Orleans family.
It was, therefore, proposed in the Assembly that the Duke of Orleans
and his sons should be banished from France. But it could not be
denied that the Duke of Orleans had been one of the most prominent
leaders in the revolution. He had given all his influence, and
consecrated his immense wealth, to the cause. He had made great
sacrifices, and had alienated himself entirely from the royal family,
and from the nobility generally, by his bold advocacy of democratic
principles. Under these circumstances, it seemed peculiarly
ungrateful to proscribe and persecute him, merely because the blood
of the Bourbons flowed in his veins, and because he was born near the
throne.
After a violent discussion in the Assembly, the decree of banishment
was passed. But the friends of the duke rallied, and succeeded, after
a struggle of two days, in obtaining a reversal of the decree. It was
known that the Duke of Chartres had urged his father to yield to the
decree, and to retire from France. This increased the suspicion that
the Duke of Chartres was not friendly to the new state of things in
republican, anarchic, France.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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