The retort was so clever, the manner of saying it so charming, that the
Abbe and Marie Antoinette exchanged glances of amusement and pride, but
the little prince was unconscious of having said or done anything
unusual.
Besides grammar, Louis studied Italian, which he could speak and read
fluently; he also studied Latin, and some of the sentences he
translated have been preserved, such as "True friends are useful to
princes." "I know a prince who easily flies into a passion."
"Flatterers are very dangerous to princes." From these sentences it is
evident that the Abbe was trying to teach his clever little scholar
more than one thing at a time. Louis was also taught arithmetic,
geometry and geography, this last by means of a huge hollow globe lit
by a lantern, which had been invented for the special use of the
Dauphin, by a celebrated professor in the University of Paris. Louis
also was trained in all sorts of athletic sports and when he was seven
years old was sturdy of body and far more mature of mind than many
older boys. At seven, according to the court custom of France, he was
obliged to be given into the care of a governor. The people wished to
choose this governor and named several candidates who were utterly
unworthy of the position, but they were obliged to set aside their
wishes and accept a man named by the king, who also himself continued
to superintend his son's education.
At this time the clouds of political disaster were again hanging over
the palace, and even the Dauphin could see and feel the uneasiness that
surrounded him.
On June 20, 1792, King Louis refused to sign two decrees which the
people wished him to sign, and with his refusal the storm of riot and
revolution burst forth again. An immense mob of shrieking, howling
people stormed the Tuileries, where no measures had been taken in
defence, and the king gave orders that the doors of the palace be flung
open and the people be allowed to pass in unhindered. In a few minutes
every inch of space in rooms and corridors and halls was filled with
the dense crowd. Only one room was locked, and in that room were the
king and queen, the Dauphin and his sister, Therese with a few loyal
friends. Therese was terrified and would have screamed with fright, but
the manly little Dauphin watching her, held back his own tears and kept
her terror under control by his words and manner, acting with the
dignity of a grown-up guardian.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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