The Sun.
London, England, 1824-09-30 00:00:00

THE FRENCH MONARCHY.

The following extract from the Done may he
amusing to our •readers.- It is one of the best
Specimens of French bombast produced by the
occa-sion. We like it better than any thing that
has proceeded from the pen of M. de Chateau-
briand, perhaps because it is by reason of its
brevity less tedious, and certainly its style is.not
, more absurd or adulative:—
We yesterday accompanied to St. Denis the royal banner
and tile sword of France reversed, the sceptre and the crown on
a.funeral car the prayers for the deadaccompanying that car.
It was -affecting to see the poor of the village assemble in
crowds, astonished, sad, and haggard in appearance.- Their
regret arose from the care which Louis XVIII. had taken to
secure to them the advantages of living in pence. The grut
are awakened, on the occasion of this death, by a powerful
voice, to consider that the earth is not their home, but, on
the contrary, merely the passage or voyage to a more happy
abode. The people and the army advanced towards the
sepulchre of their Kings, mentally exclaiming—The King is
dead
To-morrow we shall again repair to the foot of the altar, but it
will be to Notre Dame, and we shall go thither atultist shouts
of love from a whole people. OUrprayers will be breathed in
hymns and benedictions. The ancient walls of the metropoli-
tan chute)) of Paris will resound with songs of gladness. The
27th September will resemble the 12th April, with this differ-
ence only; that the,nam.ea of Monsieur and the King will be
minglca in the shouts of "t. Viv-e)c Rni •

The King never dies in France ; and royalty, iii this, part'_
einates'in the eternity of the (led from whom it' emanates.
Nothing can shake rights and duties. "•
" Raise again the banner of France !" This cry will soon
resound through the vaults of St. Denis, the helmet anti the
truncheon will be thrown into the grave, but the banner
be made only to bend over the son of France, descending tells
last place of repose. Soon shall it be once umit /Ascii, and
the cries of " Long live the King !" will salute it again.
How fraught with grandeur, mhul, and .wisilonic'Ofe'all
these usages of our fathers! Men who.:4, in them' but idle core-.
monies are to be pitied.
It is to ennoble the tomb that we there -deposit the helmet
and the sword. it is to teach a great and holy lesion to the
King who 4s about'te reigns that we say to him ''Come, take
thy Crown from the coffin of the King who is no more."
• To prove that men pass away, but that kingdoms, founded
on and defended by religion, do not puss away' like them, we
cry, " Raise again the banner of France," and the banner will
be raised; and the hears deslys will shine again,; the veil of
mourning:shall cover them no longer.
" liaise again the banner of France !" Yes, Frenchmen! we
will raise it again. We will all surround it, and its shade shall
give us happiness and peace. Our divisions arc terminated :
we.are all united to mourn far Louis XVIIL—we are ell unit-
ed taJove Charles X. His shall be a paternal sceptre like that
of his brother.

Let utt'then Tress round his throne : let our love console and
guard it ; and if ever an enemy dare to•tnenare uur
the,son of the I3earnais will rally us all—he will have
but to exclaim—" liaise again—raise again—the banner of
France!"

Behold the. French Monarchy, such as it 'has been made by
ages ! How could its. grandeur be overlooked for a moment !
But let us not reml any mournfulTecollections.. The past and
the present are no longer separated by en abyss. It is filled up.
France isdestined to be a model for•the rest of Europe, as in
other.times,,when it was saidof her, " The Kingdom of France
has always been recognised by the general voice of nations, as
the,firat and most excellent kingdom in Christendom, as well
for its dignity and power, 83- for the; authority of hint who'
governs it. Its dignity appearsin this, that it bus always been
tree from its origin, and that it has never been sustained by any
power but.that of find alone.; an advantage which many states
of Christendom have not enjoyed. Moreover, it is the most
ancient kingdom which at present exists, having commenced
flint, hundred and some few years after the birth of Jenne Christ.
Add to this, that it was the first to embrace-the Christian Re-
ligion, about eighty
_years after it 'wits established, by which It
ligitimatelyy aequiredfor its Sovereign the title of Eldest Son of
the Church, there being no Prince, Potentate, or Kingdom,
which could boast of having known the Catholic Faith before it.
hati been received in the kingdom of France.
.Besides this prerogative, which Is the most noble and illus-
trious that can be conceived, another consideration strikes , us,'
which is, that this kingdom always increasing in greatness and
strength, is the first which, by the valour and merit of its King,:
Charlemagne, was honoured, not only with the imperial title
and dignity which was retained in his family so long as it exist-
ed, but, still more, with the surname of " Most Christian,"
which is preserved to this day in the
.person of the King of
Franco and his successors. _ _

•• Finally, the custom of anointing 'Kin, which God com-
manded in ancient times for the Hebrew Kings, and which is
still retained by three or four Christian Monarchs, commenced
in France in the pewit of Ulovis, by a liquid which was held
to be miraculous. ,From all these considerations (Suriano con-
cludes) the King of France has always obtained, without die-
pute, the first place in dignity and honour over all. the other
Kings in Christendom ; and though the King of Spain pre-
tends now to have a right to tamest it with him, (the author
speaks of that which happened at Venice and at Trent a little
before lie wrote) there is, nevertheless, no one of his States,
nor any kingdom, which, for the splendour of its nobility—
for its antiquity—or for the glory of its titles of honour—can
legitimately compareitself with the Kingdom of France:"
It is now that we can glory in being renchmen. Louis hid
refonciled ua td'Europe; Charles secures us its love.
To our good Lord, Charles, Son of France, King of France
—,health, lave, and honour.