[1]Louis Charles, Duke de Normandie, second son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, was born at Versailles March 27, 1785, became Dauphin in 1789, and three years later was imprisoned in the Temple, where he died June 8, 1795. At the time this story opens, he was the only son. His brother, Louis Joseph Xavier François, born October 22, 1781, died June 7, 1789. He had two sisters, Maria Theresa Charlotte, born December 19, 1778, married the Duke d’Angoulême, eldest son of Charles X of France, died October 19, 1851; and Sophia Hélène Beatrice, born July 9, 1786, died June 16, 1787. [2]Louis XVI, grandson of Louis XV, was born at Versailles August 23, 1754. In 1770 he married Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, of Austria. Louis XVI was guillotined January 21, 1793, and Marie Antoinette October 16, 1793. [3]The Champ de Mars is a large square on the left bank of the Seine, devoted to military exercises. From a very early period it has been the scene of battles, riots, pageants, festivals, and great public gatherings. Besides the Fête of the Federation, sometimes called the “Feast of the Pikes,” mentioned above, it was the scene of the Massacres in 1791, and of the “Fête à l’Être suprême,” the latter a festival in which an effort was made, under the auspices of Robespierre, who had obtained a decree from the Assembly recognizing the existence of the Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul, to set up a new religion in the place of Catholicism and reason worship. Carlyle calls it “the shabbiest page of human annals.” [4]The Marquis de Lafayette was not only a statesman, but a soldier. He served with great distinction in the War of the American Revolution, commanded the French National Guard, 1789-90, fought the Austrians in 1792, commanded the National Guard in 1830, and helped place Louis Philippe on the throne. He came to this country twice, the second time in 1824. [5]Talleyrand, a French abbé, was made Bishop of Autun in 1788, but he was much more celebrated as a statesman and diplomatist. He was prominent in all the political events of French history from 1789 to 1834, and was also a leading figure in all the diplomatic affairs of that period. He died at Paris May 17, 1838. [6]Varennes-en-Argonne is a small town in the department of Meuse on the river Aire. [7]Arnaud Berquin, a French author, was born at Langoiran in 1749, and died at Paris in 1791. He was famous as a writer for children. Among his most popular works are “The Children’s Friend” and “The Little Grandison.”