The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-09 00:00:00

Few sovereigns of any age, and none in modern times,
have passed through greater vicissitudes of fortune than
the present King of the French. Adversity is said to
be in most cases a good teacher, though its lessons have
frequently been thrown away upon pupils of regal birth.
In the instance before us, however, it is hardly to be
doubted that, if the success with which Louis Philippe
has wielded the sceptre may in great part be attributed
to his own prudence and sagacity, it may also, in some
measure, have resulted from the "sweet uses" of that
severe school of human discipline in which his early years
were passed.
The volume of the "Life and Times of Louis Philippe,
King of the French," which the Rev. G. N. Wright
published a few years back, and to which he has recently
made an addition, including an account of the visit of
Queen Victoria to his Majesty, will furnish us with ma-
terials for a brief sketch of most of the remarkable pas-
sages in the history of this monarch.
Louis Philippe, it is well known, was the son of the
notorious Duke of Orleans, or Citizen Egalite, asso-
ciated with our worst recollections of the Reign of
Terror in the worst part of the French Revolution. Louis
Philippe, Duke de Valois, was born in 1773. His father
was then Duke de Chartres (the Duke of Orleans being
alive), and his mother was " the amiable, popular, and
wealthy " heiress of the Duke of Pentbievre. This
lady separated from her husband not only on account of
his political proceedings, but owing to the influence
which he had suffered the celebrated Madame de Genlis
to exercise over his own mind and that of his children,
and which he avowed was in order to supersede the na-
tural rights of the mother. His address to the Conven-
tion, in 1792, states one of his reasons for sending his
daughter to England with Madame de Genlis to be a
desire " to withdraw her from the influence of a woman,"
as he terms the Duchess, " who is undoubtedly very es-
timable, but whose opinions upon the present affairs are
not in accordance with my own." The Duke de Valois
(Louis Philippe) was the eldest of three sons. In his
eighth year his father consulted Madame de Genlis upon
the choice of a fit tutor for him, and that lady has re-
lated the conversation which passed between them upon
this important subject.
" One evening that the Duke of Chartres came, as he
generally did, to Bell Chasse, between eight and nine
o'clock, finding me alone, he told me that there was no
time to lose in procuring a tutor for his sons, for that
otherwise his children would have the manners of shop-
men. He consulted me on the selection of one. I pro-
posed Schomberg, whom he refused to accept, alleging
that he would render the children pedantic. I then
named the Chevalier de Durfort, who he said would
give them a tone of bombast. I then spoke of Thiars,
but he objected to him as being too careless ; and
said that lie would pay no attention at all to the
children. I then began to laugh, and said, Well, what
do you think of me ?" Why not ?' replied he. seriously.
I protested that what I had said was in jest, and that in
all our previous conversations nothing had occurred that
could have led me to expect so singular a determination.
But the air and;manner of the Duke impressed me deeply
with the thought of doing something at once glorious to
myself, and unprecedented in the history of education,
and I earnestly hoped that the plan might be accom-
plished. I told the Duke frankly my thoughts on the
subject ; ho appeared delighted, and said, The thing is
decided—you must be their tntor.'"
The Chevalier de Bonnard (who had been recommen-
ded to the Duke by M. de Buffon) and the Abbe
Guyot were to be sub-tutors, but Madame de Genlis
was to be absolute directress of the education of the
princes, for which she demanded no remuneration, being
content with the honour of having educated them gra-
tuitously. Bonnard, however, thought the post humi-
liating, and resigned it to 11. Le Brun. The Court ri-
diculed this system of education, and declared that it
was a reflection upon the noblesse, but the " event,"
Mr. Wright remarks, "has fully justified the choice of
the Duke, and the throne of France is now a beautiful
monument to the memory of Madame de Geniis."
Young Louis Philippe, it is said, with a robust frame
and lively disposition, was fonder of amusement than
study, and yawned over history even when read to
him by a Madame de Genlis. Judicious severity
cured these anti-studious habits, and his indefatigable
instructress succeeded in bringing out and developing
" the noble mental qualities which revealed themselves
in the boy Valois." The princes were taught not merely
the higher branches of literature and science, but various
domestic arts and manufactures, such as turning,
basket-making, weaving, &c. The Duke de Valois is
said to have excelled his brothers in cabinet-making, an
art, which, it is jocosely said, he has since turned to good
account.
Under such a tutor as Madame de Genlis, and at such
an era, it is not to be wondered at that the young Prince
should have manifested an ardent love of liberty, and a
thirst for military glory. His wealth, whilst he pos-
sessed any, was devoted to benevolent objects ; and Ma-
dame de Geniis has preserved a letter from the Duke,
when about 15, declaring his intention to save a fund
out of his pocket-money for charitable purposes. His
gouvernante has entered the following character of her
pupil at this time :

The Duke of Chartres has greatly improved in dis-
position during the last year ; he was born with good
inclinations : he is now become intelligent and virtuous.
lle has none of the frivolity of his age ; he sincerely
disdains the puerilities which occupy the pursuits of so
many young men—such as fashions, dress, trinkets,
trifles of all kinds, the rage for following novelties. He
has no passion for money; he is disinterested ; despises
glare, and is, consequently, truly noble : lastly, :he has
an excellent heart, which is common to his brothers and
sister, and which, joined to reflection, is capable of pro-
ducing all other good qualities."
Unhappily as the Duke grew up to manhood, he was
initiated into the mysteries of the worst political schools
of the Revolution. In 1790 he was introduced by his
father into the Jacobin Club—Madame de Geniis says,
in direct opposition to her wishes, when that club was
at the aenith of its power and infamy:—
"It does not appear," Mr. Wright says, " that the
young Duke exhibited any sympathy with his brother
Jacobins, although he very warmly and decidedly ad-
mired and applauded the liberal sentiments of many
eloquent members of the National Assembly: he fre-
quently attended the sittings of the latter, but it is not
plain that lie entitled himself to the least share of Ja-
cobin reputation, whatever value posterity may attach
to it:

Nevertheless he *as Inoculated with much of the re-
volutionary spirit, for when, in 1791. he appeared in
the uniform of the National Guard to have his name
filtered upon the register, perceiving that all his titles
had been written, he erased them with his own hand.
and wrote after his name, " Citizen of Paris." As
colonel of a regiment of dragoons, he joined the army
at Vendome, and when the decree for the suppression of
all emblems of nobility was received there, he declared
to his regiment that " he was too much the friend of
equality, not to hate received it with transport." At
Vendome he rescued, at the hazard of his life, two non-
juring priests, who had insulted a constitutional clergy-
man. This incident is the subject of a painting in the
Palais Royal. Upon another occasion he saved an engi-
neer from drowning, by jumping into a deep and dan-
gerous river.
The first campaign of the young " citizen" was under
Dumouriez, in the war between France and Austria, in
1792. He had been appointed Commandant at Stras-
burg, but he said, " I am too young to be shut up in a
citadel, tttd I request permission to remain on active
service." He was present at the " Cannonade of
Valmy," as it is called ; and General Kellerman, in
his official dispatch, particularly notices, amongst those
who had shown distinguished courage, "M. Chartres
and his aide-d~-!-*smp, M. Montpensier "—the Duke do
Montpensier, the younger brother of Louis Philippe.
He was soon after transferred to Dumouriez's army on
the frontier, where the Duke de Chartres, then only
nineteen, gathered his first military laurels at the battle
Of C4t_fmappes< The Austrian army consisted of 22,000
veteran troopS tinder Marshal Clairfait ; that of Du-
mouriez, consisting mostly of raw levies, was about
27,000. The Duke was entrusted with the command of
the right wing, the army being equally divided into two
wings. On the 6th of November, 1792, the French
aririj, attacked the formidable position of the Aus-
trians. The right wing, becoming the centre, was se-
parated by the Duke into columns of battalions, and
moved on the wood of Flenu, covering the Austrian
centre. Placing six battalions in reserve, with the
eighteen others he drove in the enemy's light infantry,
traversed the wood, and arrived on the level ground
above it ; but the Austrian infantry, supported by the
artillery, made such havoc amongst the heads of the
columns, that they could not debouche, and re-entered
the wood in disorder. Mr. Wright, in describing the
battle, says :
" The Duke de Chartres-saved the.artey front a great
disaster, by forming a chain of mounted. chaeseurs in
front of the wood, to arrest the fugit,ives..; Finding it im-
possible to re-establish.order,in-many. or the battalions,
which were all now niiiced together" ;he formed one
great column of the whole, which; he named the
Bataillon de Mons, placed the fik
,stands of colours
in the midst of it, caused the trumpeters. to sound
a charge, and with the same soldiers, whose flight
a few moments before could not • be checked, attacked
the Austrian infantry that occupied the intervals between
theredoubts,penetrated their ranks with the bayonet, and
got possession of the enemy's artillery, which the Austrian
cavalry in rain endeavoered to carry back to lons.
From this moment victory was no longer 'doubtfuira, flrkos.
digies of valour were 'mu/tiplied in' h French
The enthusiasmeovfenthbeyFrothnechmsoelnyethis.eloeseercweahmeorne; easnndetvheer
been exceeded, in such
martial spirit which displayed. itselfAs they followed the
bril-
liancy bore down all ohs
brave young soldier to the successiee.attacks og the re-
doubts, they rent the air with shouts, which uniformly
passed into a grand. chanting of the Marseillaise
Hymn.' "

Tho Duke signalised himself again ut Anderkat on
the 14th November ; on the 19th at Tirlemont ; and on
the 27th at Varroux. Dumouriez advanced to Brussels
on the eighth day after the victory at g.pnappes.

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