The Mystery of the Lost Dauphin (Louis XVII)Pardo Bazán, Emilia, condesa de
General
The Mystery of the Lost Dauphin (Louis XVII)
Pardo Bazán, Emilia, condesa de
Louis XVII, of France, 1785-1795 -- Fiction
"What arm did he employ?"
"That arm which the iniquitous ever use against the upright; the
rectitude and tenderness of a noble nature."
"Explain."
"Naundorff's despoilers turned upon him the only effectual weapon at
their disposal: they turned, rather they bade him turn upon himself, the
greatness and simplicity of his own heart."
I cast my eyes upon the group before the altar, upon the dark grave man,
all simplicity, candor and earnestness; upon the gentle comely lady
beside him, and the little fellow in the Louis Dix-Sept coiffure....
Just then Monsieur turned his superb head and the fine Bourbon features
irradiated the old charm which history and tradition have sought to
transmit, but which only the blood of Henri de Navarre can make glowing
with life.
The lady placed her elegantly gloved hand upon my arm.
"From their earliest years, the boys were cautioned not to reveal their
real name. Under the appellation of Lisbois they were successively
placed in several schools. Their identity was more than once discovered,
whereupon they were removed. On leaving college, they spent several
years in Brittany and Paris, completing their education. Jean III lived
on the estate of Monsieur Gabaudan from 1893 to 1898. Monsieur Gabaudan
manages an extensive wine business. Jean III, with the shrewd common
sense of his grandfather and with the mechanical instinct of his
great-grandfather, mastered the details of this business. Only one road
seemed to lie before him. He resolutely followed it. In 1900 he removed
to Paris. Under the name of De Lisbois, he was connected with a
petroleum house. During the last two years, he has, under his true
name, been the director of a drilling and sounding company in the
interest of which he has made several voyages to Algeria."
"What are Monseigneur's ideas with regards to royal pretensions and
claims?"
"Jean III has declared that he will never conspire to be placed upon a
throne. 'Circumstances,' says he, 'will decide my destiny.'"
"Has he adherents among the nobility?"
"His following is from all classes. The grandfathers of the present
nobility well knew that Jean de Bourbon's grandfather was the rightful
King of France."
"What of men of letters?"
"Many eloquent pens are consecrated to his cause. Eloquence, however, is
no requisite in the presentations of his claim. The Naundorffists demand
only to tell the plain truth."
"What is the official organ of the party?"
"La Légitimité, edited in Bordeaux, now in its twenty-third year."
"I have never seen a copy."
"C'est bien facile, Madame. You tell me you are leaving for New York.
The Salmagundi Club contains on file numbers of interesting books and
magazines having reference to Louis XVII. But, if you have the time
today, I will gladly accompany you to the official headquarters of the
party, namely, the office of Monsieur Daragon, the accomplished editor
of Le Revue Historique de la Question Louis XVII."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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