Louis Philippe: Makers of History Series — John Shaqi
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
In the month of April, 1793, the duke, assuming the name of Mr.
Corby, and the appearance of an English traveller, accompanied only
by a servant and his aid-de-camp, Caesar Ducrest, commenced travelling
in Germany. While the Republicans assailed him from suspicion of his
secret hostility to Republican principles, the emigrants thoroughly
hated both him and his father for the countenance which they had
given to the Revolution. The region was full of emigrants who would
gladly surrender him to his enemies. It was necessary for him to
practise the utmost caution, that he might preserve his incognito. In
the cities of Liege, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Cologne, he did not dare to
dine at the table d'hote, lest he should be recognized.
The duke had reached Frankfort, when he read the account in the
journals of the arrest of his father and brothers. Lafayette, laden
with irons, was pining in the dungeons of Olmutz. Such was the reward
which these patriots received for their devotion to the cause of
popular liberty.
Departing from Frankfort, the duke proceeded to Basle. From an
eminence in the environs of the town the tri-color flag was visible,
floating in the distance above the battlements of the fortress of
Huninguen. With deep emotion the duke saluted the flag of liberty,
for which he had suffered so much, and continued his sad journey. At
Basle he learned that his sister, accompanied by Madame de Genlis,
had taken refuge at Schaffhausen, in Switzerland. His mother and two
brothers, as well as his father, had been arrested, and were
imprisoned in France. Joining his sister and Madame de Genlis, the
little party of exiles proceeded, oppressed with anxiety and grief,
to Zurich. Here it became necessary for them to acquaint the
magistrates with their real names.
The emigrant royalists who had taken refuge there ostentatiously
displayed their detestation of the democratic prince. At the same
time, the Helvetic magistrates trembled lest they should incur the
wrath of Revolutionary France by affording a refuge to the
illustrious exiles. The _Moniteur_, of the 12th of June, 1793,
contained the following notice:
"The _ci-devant_ Duke of Chartres and his suite are not in
Italy, as had been supposed, but reside in a solitary house
on the margin of Lake Zug, in Switzerland. They pass for an
Irish family."
It was on the 14th of May that the sorrowful exiles took up their
residence upon the banks of this silent lake. In Zurich, where they
were recognized, they had been exposed to many insults. One evening,
as they were walking out, an emigrant cavalier purposely caught his
spur in a portion of the dress of Mademoiselle d'Orleans, rudely
tearing it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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