The Duchess of Berry and the Court of Charles X | Page 4

VII.
MADAME VIII. THE ORLEANS FAMILY IX. THE PRINCE OF
CONDE X. THE COURT XI. THE DUKE OF DOUDEAUVILLE XII.
THE HOUSEHOLD OF THE DUCHESS OF BERRY XIII. THE
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CORONATION XIV. THE
CORONATION XV. CLOSE OF THE SOJOURN AT RHEIMS XVI.

THE RE-ENTRANCE INTO PARIS XVII. THE JUBILEE OF 1826
XVIII. THE DUCHESS OF GONTAUT XIX. THE THREE
GOVERNORS XX. THE REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL GUARD
XXI. THE FIRST DISQUIETUDE XXII. THE MARTIGNAC
MINISTRY XXIII. THE JOURNEY IN THE WEST XXIV. THE
MARY STUART BALL XXV. THE FINE ARTS XXVI. THE
THEATRE OF MADAME XXVII. DIEPPE XXVIII. THE PRINCE
DE POLIGNAC XXIX. GENERAL DE BOURMONT XXX. THE
JOURNEY IN THE SOUTH

THE DUCHESS OF BERRY AND THE COURT OF CHARLES X

I
THE ACCESSION OF CHARLES X
Thursday, the 16th of September, 1824, at the moment when Louis
XVIII. was breathing his last in his chamber of the Chateau des
Tuileries, the courtiers were gathered in the Gallery of Diana. It was
four o'clock in the morning. The Duke and the Duchess of Angouleme,
the Duchess of Berry, the Duke and the Duchess of Orleans, the Bishop
of Hermopolis, and the physicians were in the chamber of the dying
man. When the King had given up the ghost, the Duke of Angouleme,
who became Dauphin, threw himself at the feet of his father, who
became King, and kissed his hand with respectful tenderness. The
princes and princesses followed this example, and he who bore
thenceforward the title of Charles X., sobbing, embraced them all. They
knelt about the bed. The De Profundis was recited. Then the new King
sprinkled holy water on the body of his brother and kissed the icy hand.
An instant later M. de Blacas, opening the door of the Gallery of Diana,
called out: "Gentlemen, the King!" And Charles X. appeared.
Let us listen to the Duchess of Orleans. "At these words, in the
twinkling of an eye, all the crowd of courtiers deserted the Gallery to
surround and follow the new King. It was like a torrent. We were borne
along by it, and only at the door of the Hall of the Throne, my husband
bethought himself that we no longer had aught to do there. We returned
home, reflecting much on the feebleness of our poor humanity, and the
nothingness of the things of this world."
Marshal Marmont, who was in the Gallery of Diana at the moment of

the King's death, was much struck by the two phrases pronounced at an
instant's interval by M. de Damas: "Gentlemen, the King is dead! The
King, gentlemen!"
He wrote in his Memoirs: "It is difficult to describe the sensation
produced by this double announcement in so brief a time. The new
sovereign was surrounded by his officers, and everything except the
person of the King was in the accustomed order. Beautiful and great
thought, this uninterrupted life of the depository of the sovereign power!
By this fiction there is no break in this protecting force, so necessary to
the preservation of society." The Marshal adds: "The government had
been in fact for a year and more in the hands of Monsieur. Thus the
same order of things was to continue; nevertheless, there was emotion
perceptible on the faces of those present; one might see hopes spring up
and existences wither. Every one accompanied the new King to his
Pavilion of Marsan. He announced to his ministers that he confirmed
them in their functions. Then every one withdrew."
While the Duchess of Berry was present at the death of Louis XVIII.,
the Duke of Bordeaux and his sister, Mademoiselle, then, the one four,
the other five years of age, remained at the Chateau of Saint Cloud,
with the Governess of the Children of France, the Viscountess of
Gontaut-Biron. This lady passed the night of the 15th of September in
great anxiety. She listened on the balcony, awaiting and dreading the
news.
At the moment that the day began to dawn, she heard afar the gallop of
a horse that drew near, passed the bridge, ascended the avenue, reached
the Chateau, and in response to the challenge of the guard, she
distinguished the words: "An urgent message for Madame the
Governess." It was a letter from the new King. Madame de Gontaut
trembled as she opened it. Charles X. announced to her, in sad words,
that Louis XVIII. was no more, and directed her to made ready for the
arrival of the royal family. "Lodge me where you and the governor
shall see fit. We shall probably pass three or four days at Saint Cloud.
Communicate my letter to the Marshal. I have not strength to write
another word."
"The day was beginning to break," we read in the unpublished Memoirs
of the