ONE:Louis XV., at this time about forty-five, extremely handsome, immersed in a life of pleasure, magnificence, and vice, was then under the domination of the Duchesse de Chateauroux, ma?tresse en titre, the youngest of the five daughters of the Marquis de Nesle, four of whom had been for a longer or shorter period the mistresses of Louis XV. That such a father as the King should have had such a son as the Dauphin is astonishing indeed. The author of some fascinating memoirs of the day writes of him, If I have not yet spoken of M. le Dauphin, do not suppose that it is from negligence or distraction, it is because the thought of his death always envelopes my mind like a funeral pall. His premature end is ever present with me, and is a subject of regret and affliction which I cannot approach without terrible emotion. He was so grievously mourned for, he has been so universally and justly praised, that there would not be much left me to tell you if I were not to speak of his perfect beauty, which was the least of his perfections, and which perhaps for that very reason, the writers of his time never mention.... His face and figure were perfectly formed; and he had, especially in the movement of his lips and the gentle, melancholy pride of his great black eyes, an expression which I have never seen unless perhaps in some old picture of the Spanish school ... he might have been an archangel of Murillo.... He carried with him the happiness of France and the peace of the world, but one felt that it would have [166] been perfect happiness, and that one would never experience it. The subjects, perhaps the family of the King his father had provoked such terrible chastisements, that we may sorrowfully say that France and the French of the eighteenth century were not worthy to be ruled by the Dauphin Louis. [56]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean nibh erat, sagittis sit amet congue at, aliquam eu libero. Integer molestie, turpis vel ultrices facilisis, nisi mauris sollicitudin mauris. aliquam eu libero. Integer molestie, turpis vel ultrices facilisis, nisi mauris sollicitudin mauris.
-
TWO:Never, would Mme. Le Brun say in after years, could she forget or describe the feelings with which she drove across that bridge to find herself at the other sidesafe, free, and out of France.
-
Art-Director
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean nibh erat, sagittis sit amet congue at, aliquam eu libero.
-
TWO:Louis XVI. was the most unsuitable person to rule over the French, a nation more than any other alive to, and abhorrent of, any suspicion of ridicule or contempt. And to them the virtues and faults of Louis were alike ridiculous. When he interfered in the love affairs of the Prince de Cond, and ordered the Princesse de Monaco to retire into a convent, the Prince de Cond became his enemy, and people laughed. When he spent hours and hours shut up alone making keys and locks they shrugged their shoulders, and asked if that was a diversion for the descendant of Henri IV. and Louis le Grand.
-
Art-Director
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean nibh erat, sagittis sit amet congue at, aliquam eu libero.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean nibh erat, sagittis sit amet congue at, aliquam eu libero.
