Miscellany: Louis Philippe, King Of The French: His Personal...

Thcre s no romnnce equal to the romance of real lifc. No irhagination can produce changos ond combinaiions so wóndórfulj as are coniinii Ily opcnetl to ue by lifo's kaleidoscope. These truths are ub'.mduntly ostablishod in the sirangey chequered history in tho nionarcli of France. Dccply as we may bc interested in the biograpliy of thoso wlio have intliunncd the desunios of past generntions, wo hnve a peculiar and. far deeper interest in minds now active, forniing ihe laws, guiding the ormiefl, and inouldin the manners of the age in whïch wj livo. And there is perhaps no onc now on life's bnsy theatre, wlio from h8 personal cliaroctcr, his eveniful history, and his important and pertlous position, ia more deserving the altention of intelligent minda, than ho who now strides the cráter of the Frcnch vol cano,endeavoring to smothcror to control iis turbulent lires. Louis Fhilippo ia now about scventy yrarsof agf. He was bom in his father's princely residence, the I'alais Royal in Paris. His father, the Duke of Orloans, tho notorioua "Egalite," was the richest man n Europc, nnd of Royal blood. Ilo devotod tho resources of his boundk'ss wcalih to tho most unbridled voluptuousness anti profligacy. The moihcr of Louis was as distinguished for her pioty and virtues as was his father for bis shamcless libertinism. Shc, surrounded by moro iban regal magniiicenco, snw all her hopes of earthly happincss blithed, and brokenhearted, as the only remaining solace cf lifc, dovoted all hei attention to the culture ol her cliildren. Louis Philippe was her cldest aon, and iheinflucnce of this good mothcr has been the controlling genius of his cventful üfe. He was carly placed under the tuition and care of tho cclcbrated Madame de Geni íj. Sho was unwoaried in giving him a highly cultivatod mind, Btrong moral principio, tho power of ïelfrestraint, and a vigorous physical constitution. In ollusion to the trials and privations oi his subBequcntlife, Madame de Genlis remarks, "how ofien. eince hii misfortunes, have I applaudcd niysclf for the cducalion I have g'.ven him; for having taught him the ptincipal modern Inngaages, for having accustomed him to wait upon himsclf, to despiec all kinds of cffcminacy, toleep hnbüually on a wouden bed, with no covering but mats, to exposé liimself to heat, cold. and rain, to occustoin himself to fatigue, by daily nnd violent excrcise, and by walkiñg ten orfiflecn niiles, witli lenden soles to his shoes; and fiunily for having givcn hini the taste and habit of travelling. He had lost all lie inlierited from birlh and fortune; nothingrcmnined but what he had rcceived from nature and me." One of the modes by wlnch Madame de Genua tauglit her pupil to examine his mind and icgulatc li ís charactcr. was by keeping n vcry niinuie daily journnl. This daily sclfexnm'iiniion wns conducted with great fulelity, ns the following quesiions, which ho every evcning answered in writing, will tcslify : 1. Havo I this day fulilllcd all my dutics towards God my creator, and prayed to him with fervor nnd nficction ? 2. Have I lislenori with respect and nttention to the instructróna which have been given me, with regard to my Chrietinn duties and to the ronding ofworks of piety 1 3. Have I fulfilled all my duties this day townrds thoso I ought to love most in tho work!, ny fntlior and tnothor ? 4. Have I bohuved witli mildnei?3 and kmdness townrds my siit'ir and my brothers? 5. Have I been docilo, gratelnl nnd attentivc to my teachers 1 G. Have Í been pcrfectly sincere to-c'ny, dit'bligingno one, nnd speaking evil of no one ? 7. Have 1 beon n dlECreet, prudent, chnritnIe, modest nnd courngcous as rrfoy be expectcd it my nge ? 8 llave I shown no proofof thnt we-ikness and efTiiininacy which is so contemptible in a man 1 9. I f ate 1 dono uil :hc good I could ? 10. llave 1 shown all the marks of attention onght to the persons absent or present, to whom owe liindness. respect and affection 1 Every evening these q icsiions wcro read to Louis l'hilippe by his teacher, and he recorded n nn'swor to cach in his journul. This excrcise was followed by a senson of devotion, in which hc young princo implorcd of God the pardon ol )is sins. and berfouglu divine gracc and assistancc or the fufine. 'l'liss was thu moral, rcl;gious nul iiittl'.ectiial training of a youth of sixteen. n tho midst bl the mist volupiuous coirt of Europe, fitirrounded by the most dnzzling nllure- nents of gilded vice, with the notorious Duke )f Orlenns for his faihcr, young. sanguine, rich, md cxalted birth, protocted by this discipline, he moved uncontamin.Mcd ihrough uil thnse danjerous scones, and hr.s through all the temptaions and vicissi.udos of moro than half a centu ry. sustained a character of iho most irreproachible nnd purest mornlity. In one passage of his journol, when seventeon ycars of age, he cxclaiir.s, "O my ntnilicr, how l blt-s3 you for hoving preservcd mo i;om those vices and aiisforiuncs into which so niany young men fall, by inspiring me with that sense of religion which has been my whole support." Anci wêll niiííht he bc graieful for that sleopless care which had ihus waiched over and protected him. liad he fallen into the prácticos ol thé dissip&ted youtha of his time, with an enfeeblod mind and body, he never would have been iblc to have borne up under the mental anguish. ind to have survivcd the hardsliips of his long s'iars of poverty and exilc. Here w,is laid the ibundnlion of that greatiifsof characier, whléh hn borne fiim triumphatly through (hestonniett scencs, and has íin.:ly elevatcd him to the h ghest pointol' earihly influence and honor. At the cinn enecmont of the Frcnch Ilcvolu 'ion, Jouis Philippe, though but sixteen year? ol ige. became a warm advocate of republicnn liburty. From the intcllectual training he had eceivcd he had unusual maturity of charncter. - ■ An active Colonel in n regiment of drngoons, hc was soon found at the head of his regiment, in the thicUcst dangers of many baitlee. In the bloot'y conflict of Jamsppes. and in tlie fearful ennnonade of Valmy, this bearless youth, under the veternn General Dumuriez, boro a conspicuoua pnrt in the toil nnd peril of the fight. As the French llcvolut'on ndvnncod into the regions of nnnrehy. nnd the reign of terror held iis carnival in blood -staincd l'nris, General Dumuricz concL'ived the design of nrrosting its horrors, by clevaiing, by me.nns of ihenrmy, Louis Philippe to the ihrone. upon which Louis XVI. had just been bcheadcd. Tho rovnl lineage of the young p-ince, his patrimonial wcahh, nnd his pbpuiariiy ns n known republicnn, favored the entorprisc. Whciher the yoinhful Louis parltcipnted in this plan, is unknowu. But the effect was to direct the terrible and unappcasible nngor of the revolutionnry tnbunid upn the wliolo Orle.ins fainily. Hisfaiherwas drngged from his niagnificenl domain, the P.ilais Royal, to the gulloiine. His two youngor brothers, nnlcr circum6Kinccs of iho most atrocia barbnrity, ere pluimed into a dungeonat Marscilles. Mis niother, gister, and revered instructor, Madama de Genus, becnnic the 6ubjecle of the most inhuman pciseculion. Louis Philippe with the utmost difficulty effectod lus escape, and fled to Swiizcrland: all his immense foilunc confisticated, a Iriendlcss immigrant, and ponniless. The Swiss government, irembling bcfore the gigamic powor uf rcvolutionary Franco, feurcd to afibrd an nsylum to n young jiobleman who had incurrcd its displeasurc. Under a fcigncd nmne, he pnssed many loncly months wandering about on foot among the fastncs8cs of the Alps. But trained to toil, nnd educated to fortitude of mind, it issnidthnt his nicutal rcsolution did not ia i 1 him, whilo thus huntcd as a fugitivo and an outlaw over the cliffs, and through the ravincs of Swiizctlnml. While thuscluding his Arguscyed cneinies, friend secured for him the situaiion of n teacher ot o villoge school, under iheborrowed name of Cor by. Thus Louis Thilippe, cradled nmid the magnificence of the Taláis Royal, inheriting by birth the titles and jrincely revenunsof tho Duke of Orlcans; the leader of the artnics of France in many tiiumphaut batiles; the candidato for the thione of the Bourbor.s, toiled carly and late Tor fifieen months in this obscuro village.instructing children in Geography nnd Arithmctic. - And could hc have remaincd in this secluded retreat, 'From noise and tumult far,' in the enjoyment of a qulet home and a contentod mind, his days would have glidcd away far more hnppily thnn can hnvo been the case in the brilliant and stormy scènes through which he has sinco been lod. Whilc Louis Thilippc, under tho name ofly, w.i8 ihu.s eugaged as teacher of a villagc school in an obscure valloy in Switzerland, liis enomies were making vigorous sear;h for him througbo'ut Europe. At length hc, alarmcd ly the cagerne89 o' hia foes, resolved to embark for Amcricn, the nsylum alike of kings and beggars. VViih that design he went to Hamburg, but being disappoiated in sonic funds he expected to have reccived thure irom his friends, he was unaable lo pay the expense of his passage. There was no STfety for hint in any poriion of the south of Europe. As the only rerrcat open beforc nim. hc set out alone nnd on footin friendlessnessand poverty. to traverse the dreury regiono of Denmark, Swcden, Norway, and Lapland, eating the black crusis and sleépitig in the Iiuts of setnibarbarians, witli all the powers of revolntionary Frnnce, like bloodlioiinds. baying on his track. And thus hc actually puohed on throiigh tho ice6 and the storms of those disímil solitudes, til! he arrived at a point íive degrees nearer the polo then any oiher French traveler liad ever reached. A t length his motlier succecdcd in getting a letter to him with some funds, and he immediateiy enibarked (or this country. Forty-one yearáago, in Octobcr, I79Ü, the youthfu! Duke )f Orleans landod upon one of the wharves of Phlladelphia, in fricndlcss ond almost penniless exite. lic remained in this country ond the West Judies about four years. VVhile here, he raveled cxtcnsively through the Stalcs of the Jnion, occasionaMy recciving remittaneps from P.uropo, and at times in a state o f utter destituion. While in this coun'ry, he passed some time in Boston, boarding at the Oíd Provincc [-lause, ncarly opposite the Oíd South church. - His finalices while in America were so low, that ie often supportcd himself by teaching classcb in Frencli. It is said that to the present dny he spraUs with gratitude of the sympathy and kindness he received from gentlemen in Boston and New York in these dark days of adversity. And upon tlie wall8 of hia palacc may be secn suspended a painting of the Swiss scliool-lunise where he swayed the scepter oí authority over his mtmature renlm. From this coun:ry Louis Philippc went to England, and there joined the surving menibers of the exiled royal family; thcir sense ol política] difl'urcnce being lost in their common misfor tunes. Fora loc of the usurpation of Napolen, he ahvays advocated repulilicnn instiiu i nis. One day tho King of Sicüy came into the ipórtment where his vrifé nnd daughter were sitting, with a letter in his hand, informing him of the wanderings of this unfortunate prince. Becoming deeply intorested in his strangeand perilous adventures, he proposod inviting him to his court. The ladies, of coursc, acceded toa proposal in which the claims ol real brn volenee eame invested with 'he resistless zest of the most chivalrous romance. In a shoit time, cons;sequentiy, Louis was reposinj in the palace ol in: Sicilian King. In tho romance of real Iife. as well as in that .'f the imngination. thcre must always be a wedJinp. It was so in this case. It so happencd ihat the Princesa Amelia, young, beaniil'ul, and nmiuble, soon found the sympathy wiih which she regarded her lather's illilstrioua guest decpening into a stranser and more tender emotion, and with the cordial npproval of her parrnts shc yiclded to the soiicitations of Louis Philippe to accept the tille of the Dutche?s d'Orleans, with ihe necessnry contingenciee. Though Lo'jie Philippe was a t'riendlcss exile, driven from his patrimonial estntos. the Pr;nces Amrlia hnd :he ood sense to sec and approcinte lita intcllectunl endowments, and tho moral purity with which his charactcr was clevated nnd adorned. The lapsc of a few months witnessed the Si cilian court iüuminated and rejoicing over thcir espousa!; rare cspousalsin tlie courts ofprinces, where the merecnary bartertngsof ambition were unthought of, and youihful and congenial hcarts were weddcd in instinctivc sympnthy and love. - Thus the storins of past adversity were nnihqugUl of, as the tempes' uous waters of his lifc wero lulled into a short and hnppy en lm. Soon after this event, Napoleon was defoated by the allied powers. and virtitally imdrisoned on theiuland of Elba. Tho Bourbons re-ascended the thronc of France. The confiscated cítatcs of Louis Philippe were restorei' him; nnd with joy unuttcrable hc led his happy hriilc. whorti in poverty he hnd ooed and wedded. lo his natlvc land, to eharc with htm hispiincely estates and his exalted honor?. In the uniform of a Lieutenant General of Franco, and nt the head of the nobility of the renlm, he again entered the regal palact; where his infancy wns nurtured. Halls of grandeur were again spread around him; boundless wcalih vas omptièd nto hislap; the peerage of Europe feit honoretl hy his honitalitics, and kings and (jucens were guests in his princely 5alcon3. He was thu's íiving, in tho erijoymènt of the most perfect domeslic trariquilily, rejoicing in the hope that thödark dny8 of his stormy Ufe were terminated forever, when suddenly the politicnl heavens gathcred ncw blackness - another tempest came careering on with restsstles's fury, and he was diiven from his rrgal mansión, from Paris, irom France, and again found hinuelf in poverty nnd exiL'. Napoleon, abandoning his Lillipu'nn renlmsin Elba, Innded on the French coast, marchcd in nlmost miraculous triumph to Paria, nnd his enemics sverc scattercd bcfore him likc the herded eheep, when Üieiiön leaps into thcir cnclosurcs. The battlo of Wntcrloo plaeed tho Bourbons on the throne of France. and restored Louis Philippe to his sequestcred relates. Once more he returnod from áxilé to honor, from povcrly to the Puláis Itoyal. Tired of revolutions und weary of thc strifeof partics, hc now sought repos. Doclining ull connection with political movements, he devoted liirnself to (lie improvement of his extensive possessions. His hospitablc mansión becarne thc resort oí dielinguished men of all nations and all parties. nnd especially an asylum lor thc victims of politirnl oppression. - Such wns tho position of the Duke of Orleanh when another moral earthquakc shook Franco to its centre, nnd this time instead of ovorwhelming Louis inruins, elevated him to the hiyhesi pinnncle of rank and )ower. (Concludcd mx'. iccck.)