The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1869-07-17
Real Charcter of Louis XIV.

Concerning LOUIS Tue iouflecnth AlH
self the world seems at last to have form
ed correct Judgment He was not ;
great statesnIan; but he was, in one
sense Of the word, great king. Never
was there so consnmmate a master n'
what our James the Fir-t W; uld have
called king -craft--of all those arts which
most adv"n,ag"ously display the merits
of prince, and most completely hide
! his defects. Though his internal admin.
! ist1ation was bad though tn" military
! triumphs W hirh gave 3 ricndor t" the ear
| " part of bis reign We're not aeInryrd
. l,y himself; though his later yeara were
crowded bv defeats and huu1ilia'i"'s
though he y" ignorant that he >cal-
crrly understood ,h.. l.ariu If hi, nIa~S-
ho k !"',gh h'. irIl under ,h. roufl"I
u i cuu,ling Jesuit, and # Il moe cum
ming old wo,uan he succ, rdrd in pass
ing hinr>-f If "n hiS people as a lr."g
above humanity. Aud this /, the more
extraordinary btca,,s" lr did rot seclude.
u | i,s Ii from Ire public gaze, Ike th' st.
Oriental d-spnts Whose iacts are newer
srcn and wl.oSt Very naMes 1t ls cllme
(" pronounce chilly. 1t has been said
,ha, no man is "a tle,o to his valet and
all I'll. worl! saw as much of l. MS XIV
as his valet could see. Five hundred
people assembled to see him shave and
put on his breeches in the morning. he
! then kneeled down at the sid-o his bed
| and said his prayer, while the whole assem-
bly awaited the end in solemn silence
the ecclesiastics on their knees, and the
laymen with their hats before their faces.
He walked about his gardens with a
train of two hundred courtiers at his heels.
All Versailles came to see him dine and
sup. He was put to bed at night in the
midst of crowd as great as that which had
met to see him rise in the morning. He took
his very emetics in state, and vomited
majestically in the presence of all the
graades and petitcs entries. Yet, though
he constantly exposed himse|fto the pub
lie gaze, in situations in which it is scar
cely possible for any man to preserve
much personal dignity, lie to the last i'm
pressed those who surrounded him with
the deepest awe and reverence. The IL
lusions which he produced on his wor-
shippers can BE- compared only to :hose H.
lusions TO which lovers are proverbially
subject during the season of courtship,
1t was an illusion which affected even
the senses. The contemporaries of Louis
thought him tall. Voltaire, who might
have seen him. and who had lived with
some Of the most distinguished members
of bis court, speaks repeatedly of his
majestic stature. Yet, it is MS certain
as any fact can be that he was rather
below than above the middle size. He
had, it seems, way of holding himself,
way of walking, away ofswelIing his
chest and rearing his head, which deceiy-
ed the eyes OF the multitude Eighty
years after his death the'royal cemetery
was violated by the Revolutionists hie
coffin was opened, his body was dragged
out E; and it appeared that the prince,
whose majestic figure had been SO long
and SO loudly extolled, was in truth a
little man. His person and bis govern
mcnt have had the same fate. He had
the art Of making both appear grand and
august, in spite of the clearest evidence
that both were below the ordinary stan.
dard. Death and time have exposed
both the deceptions. The body of the
great king has been measured more just
ly than it was measured by the courtiers,
who were afraid to look above his shoe
tie. His public character has been scru-
tinized by men free from the hopes and
tears of Boileau and Moliere. In the
grave the most majestic of princes is on
" FIVE feet eight. In history the hero
and the politician dwindles into vain
and feeble tyrant-the slave Of priests
aud women little in war, little in gov.
ernment, little in everything but the art
Of Stimulating greatness Historic Nine.
pines. BY John Timbs, F. S. A.