are the more violent. His Majefty had inflamed his blood, for fome years paft, by the immoderate ufe of wine and strong liquors; exceffes of another kind, in which he had indulged, had contributed only to increase this inflammatory difpofition; the fatigues of the campaign; the heat of the fun, which he had borne for a long time on his head during a march, and which had ftricken violently on his thigh, and burnt it up with its ardour; all thefe caufes aggravated the fever, with which he was feized on the 8th of Auguft, and made it degenerate at once into a malignant and putrid fever. As early as the night of the 14th inftant, he was at the point of death.

It was not till the fame evening of the 14th of Auguit, that the Queen received a courier from the Duke de Gefvres, who acquainted her with the extreme danger of her husband. She would have fet off immediately, had the not been obliged to apply for money to M. de Villemur, Receiver General of the finances of Paris, who advanced a thousand louis. This hafty departure gave more credit to the private letters; grief became univerfal; every other concern gave place, in the hearts of the French, to that which they ought to have for fo precious a life. The affection for this Prince, the just apprehenfion of losing him, efpecially in the prefent fituation of things, fufpended all the operations, and the Generals were only attentive to intrench themselves fo ftrongly, that the enemy should not be able to take advantage of the difcouragement of the people, or of the misfortune that threatened them. The King was looked upon as dead; this must have been the cafe, fince it was refolved to adminifter the facrament to him, and to propofe to him to fend away the Duchefs of Chateauroux. It was the Duke of Chartres, who, in quality of firft Prince of the blood, forcing the door of his Majesty's chamber, apprized him of the danger he was in, and fuggefted to him the idea of fulfilling this duty of religion. The Duke de Richelieu, Gentleman of the bed-chamber in waiting, upon this occafion, had taken care not to announce this difagreeable bufinefs to his Majefty, which would have fet him equally at variance with the augufl patient and the favourite, His fortunate ftar induced him to take the mott prudent part. The King might recover, by one of thofe miraculous efforts of nature which fometimes occur; in that cafe, he forefaw how much his Majefty's felf-love would be piqued; he would not therefore run the rifque of incurring his refentment, and fill lefs that of the difgraced. favourite: if, on the contrary, the King thould die, he had little expectation of influence with the fucceffor: he remained therefore trongly attached to the Dechefs; he prevented, as much as he poffibly could, the dying King from being alarmed by awakening the terrors of his confcience; he carried his boldnefs fo far, as to refiit for a long time the Duke of Chartres, till at length he was obliged to fubmit to the refpect and fuperiority of a Prince nearest the crown after the Dauphin. If, indeed, we credit private memoirs *, the Prince was obliged to have recourfe to the harthel terms, and even to acts of violence: "What," faid he to him, in a menacing tone,

* See The Amours of Zeokiniful, King of the Kofirans See an account of an English tranflation of this work, in the 1t volume of our Review, p. 412.

"hall

"fhall a fervant, as thou art, refufe entrance to thy mafter's nearest "relation?" and ftriking the door immediately with his foot, he forced it open. The noife having raised his Majesty's curiofity, his Highness, who was ftill agitated, complained of the Duke of Richelieu's infolence, who received orders to withdraw. A momentary humiliation, which was foon repaired by the highest favour.

The Duchefs of Chateau-roux, fince the King's illness, had never quitted his bed fide: her lover, fill intoxicated with his paffion, was protesting, that he regretted only her and his fubjects. The arrival of the Bishop of Soiffons, Grand Almoner to his Majefty, whe was accompanied by the Duke of Chartres, made the favourite conclude, that her reign was nearly at an end: fhe withdrew, and the Prelate fulfilled his miniftry with all the rigour which his function required. Before he would give the viaticum to the King, he infifted not only that he fhould banish from his prefence the object that was fo dear to him, but that he should repair the public fcandal, by an expiatory confeffion made to God, in presence of his Princes, his Courtiers, and his People. The penitent, who was naturally pufillanimous, ftricken with religious terrors, at that period of life when the most hardy courage is damped, complied literally with every thing that was required of him. Count d'Argenfon, who paid his court to the favourite merely from motives of policy, but who in reality detefted her, being now under no apprehenfions, was commiffioned to break the order to her, and did it with harfhnefs. The Duchefs, greater at this inftant than her lover, bore her disgrace with firmnefs. Unconscious of what he had to fuffer upon the road, the entered into the carriage with her fifter, the Duchefs of Lauraguais, and departed. She had not yet got clear of the city, when the report of her difmiffion being circulated, fhe was pursued with thofe hootings, marks of the higheft contempt, which a licentious mob never fails to bestow upon those who have ufurped an improper authority over them. Besides, fhe was confidered as one of the causes of the illness and approaching death of a Prince, who was then the idol of the nation, and the object of their regret: fhe was loaded with atrocious infults, and with terrifying menaces; the peafants in the country villages followed her as far as they could, and fucceffively transferred to each other the bufinefs of curfing and reviling her. It was by a kind of miracle that the efcaped feveral times being torn to pieces. She was obliged to take infinite precautions: when the carriage came near any village, the Duchefs was forced to stop at the diftance of more than half a league from it, from whence the used to fend off one of her attendants to procure fresh horfes, and to reconnoitre the by-roads, endeavouring thus to avoid the fury of the villagers. In thefe dreadful agitations, the travelled more than fourfcore leagues before the reached Paris. On her arrival there, the confternation would have increased, had it not already been extreme. The people in the capital would not have received her better than thofe in the provinces, had they not been too much abforbed in affiction; they did nothing but run from one church to another, where they came to offer up their vows to God for the preservation of the King; or flock to the poft-office, to the court of justice, or to the hotels of great noblemen, to inquire into the fuccefs of their fuppli

cations;

cations; and when they learned that the intelligence was becoming ftill more grievous, they flew back to the temple to importune Heaven with the fervency of their prayers.

The Dauphin had just fet off; the Royal family, and all the Princes, were with the King; and Paris, thus deprived of its mafter, and of the feveral fupports of the throne, experienced a void, and a defertion unknown before. The Duke of Orleans alone remained there retired to Sainte Genevieve, he affiduoufly invoked the patronefs of this city; he applauded the pious firmnefs of his fon, which he had encouraged by his letters. Confounded with the multitude at the foot of the shrine, he was diftinguished from them only by the bitterness of his tears, and the violence of his fobs. There it was, as is reported, that without defign, and in a general and fudden cry of defpair, Lewis XV. was proclaimed Lewis the well-beloved. This was not the voice of flattery: it was not the Courtiers who gave the title, it was the people; they did not imagine, that this furname would ever reach the ears of the expiring Monarch: they decreed it in fome measure to his fhade, as a tribute of overflowing gratitude. One citizen did not accoft another in the ftreet, till they had spoken of the fatal event, and at parting, they used mutually to exclaim, if be fhould die, it will be for having marched to our affiftance! Even the Dauphin, at an age when a young and fuperb Prince might easily behold his confolation in the fplendor of the Crown, fenfible alone to the loss of a father and to the misfortune of the nation, had uttered thefe affecting words: "Alas! poor people, what will become of you? What refource is there left for you? None but in me—in a "child?-O God! have mercy upon this kingdom; have mercy " upon us!"

66

The Queen, whofe fenfibility was to the last to be put to the feverest test, found at Saint Dizier the King of Poland, Stanislaus, her father, who had come out of the King's chamber at the inftant that his life was despaired of. At length, a fortunate evacuation having taken place, when her Majefty arrived on the 17th at Metz, her auguft husband began then to be reftored to life; the availed herself of the work begun by the Bishop of Soiffons; and, though her mortifications and forrows, joined to age, which was advancing upon her, rendered her lefs an object of attraction than ever, yet her cares, her zealous good offices, and her careffes, had fo much power over the heart of the Monarch, whofe difpofition was naturally good, and whofe gratitude was moved in the firft inftant, that he protefted to her, the alone fhould in future poffefs all his affections.

The Dauphin did not experience the fame treatment. This is the period in which the King's tendernefs for him began to diminish. Being informed of his departure, he had fent him orders to return to Verfailles: the concern he took in the health of this only fon, furnished the pretence for this conduct; but the difguft of feeing in him a fucceffor arrive, was the real motive of it. The Prince had already reached Verdun, when he met the officer, who was commiffioned to fignify his Majesty's intentions to him. This circumftance, which would have stopped him upon any other occafion, did not appear to him an obstacle upon this; and, confulting rather the feelings of his heart than the advice of his Governor, he perfuaded himself, that he

was

was in a fituation where tenderness might difpenfe with obedience; befides, he was very near his father, and confidered him only in a paternal light; he forgot that he was his King, and could not prevail upon himself to go back without having feen him the Duke de Chatillon followed, rather than he conducted him. On his arrival at Metz, the paternal character prevailing in its turn, covered the fault of the fubject; but as diforders were rife in the country, and that the Dauphin had been feized with a flight fever at his first coming, the King fent him back a few days after. His difpleafure fell upon the Governor, who, before his Majesty's return, received orders to retire upon his eftate. His Duchefs was a partner in his difgrace, and they were both allowed but a few hours to fettle their ar rangements, and obey. A fpeech made by Lewis XV. to a nobleman who took notes of the anecdotes of the Court, evinces the real motive of this difmiffion, which has improperly given rife to a variety of opinions. The King afked him, if he remembered what had happened four years ago, upon a certain day, The Courtier's memory failing, his Majefty faid to him: "Confult your journal, you will "there find the difgrace of the Duke of Chatillon. Truly," added he," he thought himself already Maire du Palais." It is faid, indeed, that the Duke, reckoning upon the death of Lewis XV. had thrown himself at the feet of the Dauphin, and had faluted him King.

The degree of grief that had been felt for the danger the Monarch had heen in, was equal to that of the public joy for his recovery; which exceeded all bounds. Paris was nothing more than an immenfe inclofore full of madmen. The first courier who brought the news of the fortunate crifis that had faved his life, was furrounded, saeed, and almost fuffocated by the people. They kiffed his horfe, and even his boots, and they led him in triumph: perfons unknown to each other, cried out, at the greatest distance they could fee, The King is recovered! they congratulated, and embraced reciprocally. All the orders of the State vied with each other in pouring forth tranfports of gratitude to Heaven. There was not a company of mechanics who did not caufe a Te Deum to be fung; and during two months France was engaged in nothing but rejoicings and feftivities, which occafioned an exceffive expence. It became neceffary to fet bounds to thefe prodigalities. Britanny, above all the other provinces, teftified its fatisfaction, in a manner the most fenfible, the moft worthy of the fubject, and the moft lafting. The States of that province decreed, that a monument of bronze fhould be erected in their capital, reprefenting the event. It was accordingly executed by the famous Le Moine, and fixed at Rennes in 1754.

Poets and Orators, by a laudable emulation, united their efforts to celebrate this most glorious inflant of the life of Lewis XV. this triumph of a new fpecies, worthy of Trajan or Antoninus, and to

* This was of old the first dignity in the kingdom; its inftitution is coeval with the monarchy. Thefe officers gradually incroached upon the regal authority, till Pepin, fon of Charles Martel, who fucceeded his father as Maire du Palais, having feized the Crown in 752, put an end to this dignity.

2

tranfmit

tranfmit the memory of it to the remoteft pofterity. It cannot be conceived to what a pitch of extravagance this delirium of compofition, joined to patriotic frenzy, was carried among the men of letters. One of them, trufting to the refources of his genius, and to the nature of the fubject, every part of which was interefting, was fo bold and fo licentious as to lay before the reader's eyes the falutary crifis that had faved the King, to defcribe all the natural effects of it, and even to addrefs, in an apostrophe, the excrementitious matter first thrown off. It is fcarce credible, that this filthy production was eagerly fought after by every one; on any other occafion it would have been rejected from its difgafting title; though the poet, accustomed to treat a variety of fubjects, and to fubdue the difficulties and fingularities of them, had contrived to ennoble his poem, and make it fublime in many parts. Our furprise will however be leffened, when we are told that this poet was Piron.

The King's exclamation, when he was informed for the first time of the exceffive tranfports of the people, made him appear ftill more worthy of them: Ab! faid he, how pleafing it is to be thus beloved! and what have I done to deferve it!'

It is now neceffary that we take our leave of this amusing and instructive work; the above fpecimens of which, will, we doubt not, raise our Readers curiofity, and induce them to make themselves more perfectly aquainted with its contents.

Concerning the Tranflation, we have only to remark, that, though on the whole faithful, it adheres more closely to the French idiom than is confiftent with purity and elegance of compofition in the English language.

E.

ART. II. Collections for the Hiftory of Worcestershire. Vol. I. Folio. 21. 12s. 6d. Boards. T. Payne, &c. 1781. •

WE

E have here a portion of a very laborious and expenfive undertaking, compiled with great marks of attention, and embellished with a variety of elegant engravings of landfcapes, manfion houfes, portraits, monuments of the dead, and objects in natural hiftory. The Author, who we understand to be Treadway Nath, D. D. Rector of St. Peter's in Droitwich, and owner of Bevereye, in this county, where he refides, informs us, that he had long wifhed and endeavoured to procure the history and antiquities of Worcestershire to be undertaken; propofing it to the Society of Antiquaries, and offering to open a fubfcription with three or four hundred pounds, befide affording other affiftance, to that end; but without effect. Failing therefore in all his applications, he at length undertook it himself; reflecting, that though very little had been published, materials had been collecting for near two hundred years.

The first collector was Mr. Thomas Habington of Hinlip. This unfortunate gentleman, bigotted to his religion, and pitying the hard fate of Mary Queen of Scots, engaged in defigns for releafing her, REV. Of. 1781. which

S