登陆注册
5386900000113

第113章 REVOLUTION IN THE THEATRE.(8)

For this painfully-missed garden of Versailles, the little garden on the terrace had to compensate. The child was delighted with it; and every morning, when his study-hours were over, the dauphin hastened to his little parterre, to dig and to water his flowers. The garden has, since that day, much changed; it is enlarged, laid out on a different plan, and surrounded with a higher fence, but it still remains the garden of the Dauphin Louis Charles, the same garden that Napoleon subsequently gave to the little King of Borne; the same that Charles X. gave to the Duke de Bordeaux, and that Louis Philippe gave to the Count de Paris. How many recollections cluster around this little bit of earth, which has always been prematurely left by its young possessors! One died in prison scarcely ten years old; another, hurried away by the tempest, still younger, into a foreign land, only lived to hear the name of his father, and see his dagger before he died. The third and fourth were hurled out by the storm-wind like the first two, and still wear the mantle of exile in Austria and England. And many as are the tears with which these children regard their own fate, there must be many which they must bestow upon the fate of their fathers. One died upon the scaffold, another from the knife of an assassin, a third from a fall upon the pavement of a highway; and the last, the greatest of them all, was bound, like Prometheus, to a rock, and fed on bitter recollections till he met his death.

This little garden, on the river-side terrace of the Tuileries park, which has come to have a world-wide interest, was then the Eldorado of the little Dauphin of Prance; and to see him behind the fence was the delight of the Parisians who used to visit there, and long for the moment when the glance of his blue eye fell upon them, and for some days and months had again become enthusiastic royalists.

When the prince went into his little garden, he was usually accompanied by a detachment of the National Guard, who were on duty in the Tuileries; and the dauphin, who was now receiving instruction in the use of weapons, generally wore himself the uniform of a member of the National Guard. The Parisians were delighted with this little guard of six years. His picture hung in all stores, it was painted on fans and rings, and it was the fashion, among the most elegant ladies of the Faubourg St. Germain, and among the market-women as well, to decorate themselves with the likeness of the dauphin. How his brow beamed, how his eye brightened, when, accompanied by his escort, of which he was proud, he entered his garden! When the retinue was not large, the prince took his place in the ranks. One day, when all the National Guards on duty were very desirous of accompanying him, several of them were compelled to stand outside of the garden. "Pardon me, gentlemen," said the dauphin; "it is a great pity that my garden is so small that it deprives me of the pleasure of receiving you all." Then he hastened to give flowers to every one who was near the fence, and received their thanks with great pleasure.

The enthusiasm for the dauphin was so great, that the boys of Paris envied their elders the honor of being in his service, and longed to become soldiers, that they might be in his retinue. There was, in fact, a regiment of boys formed, which took the name of the Dauphin's Regiment. The citizens of Paris were anxious to enroll the names of their sons in the lists of this regiment, and to pay the expenses of an equipment. And when this miniature regiment was formed, with the king's permission, it marched to the Tuileries, in order to parade before the dauphin.

The prince was delighted with the little regiment, and invited its officers to visit his garden, that they might see his flowers, his finest treasures. "Would you do us the pleasure to be the colonel of our regiment?" one of the officers asked the dauphin.

"Oh! certainly," he answered.

"Then you must give up getting flowers and bouquets for your mamma!" said one of the boys.

"Oh!" answered the dauphin, with a smile, "that will not hinder my taking care of my flowers. Many of these gentlemen have little gardens, too, as they have told me. Very well, they can follow the example of their colonel, and love the queen, and then mamma will receive whole regiments of flowers every day."

The majority of this regiment consisted, at the outset, of children of the highest ranks of society, and it was therefore natural that they, practiced in the most finished courtesy, should pay some deference to their young colonel.

But they were expressly forbidden showing any thing of this feeling toward their comrade. "For," said the king, "I want him to have companions who will stimulate his ambition; but I do not want him to have flatterers, who shall lead him to live to himself alone." Soon the number of little soldiers increased, for every family longed for the honor of having its sons in the regiment of the royal dauphin.

同类推荐
  • 黄庭外景经

    黄庭外景经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 画继补遗

    画继补遗

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Lysistrata

    Lysistrata

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 须发门

    须发门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛祖统纪宋

    佛祖统纪宋

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 夜访吸血鬼(纪念版)

    夜访吸血鬼(纪念版)

    新奥尔良,浓馥花丛掩埋着腥腐尸骸,苍白的贵族世界上演着凄美的场景。幽暗力量从斑斓城市之下乘虚而入,掀起一段交织着绝望、妖艳与迷乱的壮丽波澜。吸血鬼王子莱斯特,忧郁的贵族后裔路易,吸血鬼女孩克劳迪娅,纠缠着度过十九世纪的癫狂、绝美时代。
  • 伊甸园里的动物们

    伊甸园里的动物们

    本书主要讲述了一个时代的诞生,那就是宇航时代。该书一步一步告诉小读者们,人类是怎样开发宇宙的、又是怎样进入宇宙的?读者关心的很多重要问题在这里都有一个充分的讲述。书中既有科学原理的生动讲解,又综合运用图片、图标等具象形式加以表现,从而使读者直观、迅速、深刻地理解了作者所要传达的知识和理念。
  • 误惹总裁大人

    误惹总裁大人

    “我真是世界上最不幸的美少女啊~”从小学开始就经常不顾他人的冒冷汗自称美少女的点点,终于在25岁的时候遭遇了她人生中的滑铁卢——被相恋6年的男友甩掉了。过了一段浑浑噩噩的日子之后,终于从以前的天真慢慢蜕变成如今的冷静与理智。虽然平时还是会一副看起来天真浪漫的样子O__O”…失恋失业的她是如何成功获得事业与爱情的呢?事业:“你之前的两份工作都做得这么短,又已经快1年没工作了,我们很难相信你的忠诚度和能力的。”面试官面无表情地说道。“请您听我细细道来(吧啦吧啦2分钟后)因此,我相信我是能够胜任贵公司的这一份工作的。您给的一次机会,我将付出我十分的回报!”点点露出了她标志性的单边梨涡笑。其实,她的另一个身份是……
  • 神品

    神品

    石门城北花园“茗泉居”茶园,是玩者们一个好去处。这里单玩古董字画和京戏,有个不成文的规矩,逢初十二十一,玩古董字画的便云集而来?鸦逢初六、十六、二十六,那些京戏票友便鱼贯而入。茗泉居茶园的花掌柜也是个玩家,古董字画和京戏他都爱玩,逢一六日便忙上忙下,六七个小伙计走马灯似的串来串去。花掌柜乐不可支,也玩了,也挣了,玩得开心,挣得实在,真叫江山美人,都出神入化了!岁时民国二十八年腊月初一,也叫己卯年梅月上浣朔日。茗泉居茶园刚下板子,便有一帮人争拥着挤进来,像是喝茶不收银子。
  • 博物志

    博物志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 感悟平常心:大智若愚的98个点滴

    感悟平常心:大智若愚的98个点滴

    点亮属于自己的那一盏生命之灯,既照亮了别人,更照亮了你自己,只有先照亮别人,才能够照亮我们自己。
  • 洛克王国空间之钥

    洛克王国空间之钥

    一个黑影闯入异次元时空,对时空之钥展开攻击……“轰!”时空之钥被击败,分裂成两把钥匙,一把掌管时间,叫时间之钥;另一把掌管空间,叫空间之钥。两把钥匙陨落与两个不同的世界,其中空间之钥陨落于洛克王国从此,时空混乱,陨落于洛克王国的空间之钥最终被一个神秘的黑影夺走……
  • 注维摩诘经卷

    注维摩诘经卷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 魔尊又来抢人了

    魔尊又来抢人了

    一朝重生,她的命运由她来改变--------------------------------自叶清鸾重生以来,每天都要做的事有三件撩魔君,修炼,撕白莲--------------------------------魔君每天要做的事也有三件陪叶清鸾,保护叶清鸾,爱叶清鸾(本文男女主双洁,双强,甜文)
  • Sidetracked

    Sidetracked

    If middle school were a race, Joseph Friedman wouldn't even be in last place—he'd be on the sidelines. With an overactive mind and phobias of everything from hard-boiled eggs to gargoyles, he struggles to understand his classes, let alone his fellow classmates. So he spends most of his time avoiding school bully Charlie Kastner and hiding out in the Resource Room, a safe place for misfit kids like him. But then, on the first day of seventh grade, two important things happen. First, his Resource Room teacher encourages (i.e., practically forces) him to join the school track team, and second, he meets Heather, a crazy-fast runner who isn't going to be pushed around by Charlie Kastner or anybody else. With a new friend and a new team, Joseph finds himself off the sidelines and in the race (quite literally) for the first time. Is he a good runner? Well, no, he's terrible. But the funny thing about running is, once you're in the race, anything can happen.