The people, inflamed to fury by every desire of which the
revolutionists could make use, now demanded the dethronement of the
King, and the giving of the crown to the Dauphin, in whose name, as he
was not yet of age, they intended to govern by means of a committee
chosen by themselves. To this the King naturally would not give his
consent, and amid scenes and sounds terrible beyond all description,
the royal family were declared prisoners of the people, and told that
they were to thereafter live in the Temple, which was now the royal
prison. As the Tuileries had already been pillaged by the mob, the
royal family found themselves without food or clothing, except what
they wore. The Dauphin was entirely destitute, but fortunately the
Duchess of Sutherland had a small son the age of the Dauphin, and she
sent the young prince what he needed in the way of clothing for their
departure. On August 13, 1792, the sad procession of royalty left the
Tuileries in the late afternoon and were escorted by a great mob of
frenzied men and women who acted more like wild beasts than like human
beings. At night-fall the carriage reached the Temple and the royal
prisoners were taken to that part of the building called "the palace,"
where they found no comforts or necessities of any kind, and torn
sheets even had to be used on the Dauphin's bed. Later while the furies
who had the prisoners in their power, were converting the principal
tower of the building, not only into a prison, but into the worst one
imaginable, the king and his family continued to remain in the palace
during the day time, but at night, they were all shut up in the small
tower--in four cells whose doors were guarded by soldiers. Two men who
had been for years in the service of the king, were allowed to remain
with him, and they and their sovereigns passed the time in such
occupations as were possible. The King found his principal pleasure
in superintending the Dauphin's education, giving him lessons every
morning, then at one o'clock if the weather was fine, the royal
family would all go into the garden, and the Dauphin would play ball
or quoits or run races, as was suitable for his age and activity of
body. At two o'clock dinner was served, and afterwards, the Dauphin
again had a play hour while the king enjoyed a nap. As soon as he
awoke, Clery, who had been with the Dauphin for several years, would
give him writing and arithmetic lessons, and then he would play ball
or battledore-and-shuttlecock for awhile, and then there would be
reading aloud until it was time for the Dauphin's supper, after
which the king would amuse his children with all sorts of riddles
and puzzles and games, and then the Dauphin went to bed.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account