He was all life, all prettinesse, far from
morose, sullen, or childish in any thing he said or did.
morose, sullen, or childish in any thing he said or did.
Childrens - Little Princes
hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? CONTENTS. xi
TRUTH Page 144
The Archduchess Marie-Antoinette 145
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 145
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fifteenth 146 John, King of France 147
FLATTERY 148
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fifteenth 149 Canute the Great 149
JUSTICE 151
Henry, Prince of Wales, Son of James the First 152
Gustavus the Third of Sweden 154
Cyrus the Great 154
GENEROSITY 156
The Comte de Beaujolais, Brother of Louis Philippe 157
Louis the Twelfth of France 157
Edward the Sixth 157
Cyrus the Great and Croesus, King of Lydia 158
GRATITUDE AND ATTACHMENT 160
Louis the Seventeenth 161
The first Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 161
Alexander, Emperor of Russia 162
Letter from Henry, Prince of Wales, to his Father, James the
First 162
LAUDABLE EMULATION 164
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 165
Charles the Twelfth of Sweden 166
Kang-Hi, Emperor of China 167
Alexander the Great 168
The embryo Historian 168
Cyrus the Elder 169
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? Xll CONTENTS.
BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS PageVJl
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 172
Louis Philippe, King of the French 174
The Duke de Montpensier, Brother of King Louis Philippe . . . 174
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fourteenth. . . 175
The Duke de Maine 176
Henry, Prince of Wales, Son of James the First 176
Francois Beauchateau 177
Sir Francis Bacon 178
LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE AND EARLY ACQUIREMENTS 179
Childhood of Alfred the Great 180
Edward the Sixth 181
Lady Jane Grey 183
Queen Elizabeth 183
Sir Philip Sydney 184
The Admirable Crichton 185
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fourteenth. . . 186
The Poet Pope 188
Metastasio 189
Sir William Jones 190
Mad. de Stael 191
Childhood of Sir W. Scott 191
Augustus Caesar 193
Alexander the Great 194
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? INTRODUCTION.
"Major in exiguo regnabat corpore virtus. "--Statius.
EN, in all ages, have taken interest in
the early years of their Princes, and many
clever writers, both in ancient and mo-
dern times, have recorded the virtues, and
the amiable dispositions, that princes in their child-
hood have evinced.
All children are fond of having set before them the
example of other children, who have practised the
qualities which their instructors wish them to acquire;
and as the Prince of Wales will doubtless, in his B
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? 2
INTRODUCTION.
turn, desire to hear of good little princes, I am going
to extract, from various histories that I have read, some
anecdotes of illustrious children, which I think may be
productive of amusement and instruction to him.
These little stories will all be true, and some of
them so short that His Royal Highness will under-
stand them as soon as he can read fluently. The
greater part of them are anecdotes of young princes,
but I have added a few of other illustrious children,
and some striking ones of great and virtuous kings.
Princes, in their early years, have great advantages:
they are placed under the care of persons of known
integrity, cultivation, and experience; and they are
removed from the example of all low and grovelling
vices: hence it is, perhaps, that history furnishes us
with so many beautiful instances of young princes,
distinguished by excellent qualities and great acquire-
ments.
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? RELIGION.
"A Christian is the highest style of Man. "--Young.
RINCES being less amenable than other men to
human laws, should be early impressed with their
entire dependence upon the Divine Will. To
none, in so eminent a sense as to Princes, does that sen-
timent of an inspired writer belong, "Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. "
That illustrious monarch, Gustavus Adolphus of Swe-
den, was so deeply sensible of this truth, that when he
was surprised by one of his officers in secret prayer in
his tent, he said to him, "Persons of my rank are
answerable to God alone for their actions; this gives
the enemy of mankind a peculiar advantage over us;
an advantage which can only be resisted by prayer,
and reading the Scriptures. "
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? 4
RELIGION.
A PRINCE'S REVERENCE FOR THE BIBLE.
DWARD the Sixth began to reign young, like
Josias, the virtuous king of Judah, and the
English were fond of calling him their Josiah.
Like him, he had a strong sense of religious duty and
reverence, and he gave an instance of it at the early
age of six years. He was playing one day with some
children of his own age, and wishing to get something
that was beyond his reach, one of his little companions
placed on the ground a Bible, for him to stand upon.
He beheld the profanation with much displeasure, and
removed the book himself.
A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF CHARLES THE FIRST.
LITTLE daughter of Charles the First died,
at the age of four years. While on her death-
bed, one of her attendants desired her to pray.
She said she could not say her long prayer, meaning
the Lord's Prayer, but that she would try to say her
short one: "Lighten my darkness, 0 Lord God, and
let me not sleep the sleep of death. " She had no
sooner said it, than she laid her little head on the
pillow, and expired.
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? RELIGION.
5
THE PRINCESS AMELIA.
H E Princess Amelia, youngest daughter of
George the Third, when about three years old,
heard that Mrs. Delany, a venerable old lady, of
whom she was very fond, was ill. When saying her
prayers at night, to her nurse, she added, of her own
accord, "Pray God make Lany well again. "
THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES.
HE following interesting anecdote of the Princess
Charlotte of Wales, at the early age of five years,
is extracted from the journal of the venerable
B. Porteus, Bishop of London. "Yesterday, the
sixth of August, 1801, Ipassed a very pleasant day at
Shrewsbury House, near Shooter's Hill, the residence of
the Princess Charlotte of Wales; the day was fine, the
prospect extensive and beautiful, taking in a large reach
of the Thames, which was covered with vessels of various
sizes and descriptions: we saw a good deal of the young
princess; she is a most captivating and engaging child;
and considering the high station she may hereafter fill,
a most interesting and important one. She repeated
to me several of her hymns, with great correctness and
propriety; and on being told that, when she went to
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? 6
RELIGION.
South End in Essex, she would then be in my diocese,
she fell down on her knees, and begged my blessing.
I gave it to her with all my heart, and with my earnest
secret prayers to God, that she might adorn her illus-
trious station with every Christian grace, and that, if
ever she became the Queen of this truly great and
glorious country, she might be the means of diffusing
virtue, piety, and happiness through every part of her
dominions. "
CHILDHOOD OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
RINCE George, afterwards George the Third,
when scarcely six years old, displayed such
abilities, that he was taken from the nursery, and
placed solely under the care of his first tutor, Dr. Francis
Ayscough, afterwards Bishop of Bristol. The Doctor
appears, by his modesty and candour, to have been
well qualified for his duty, as is exemplified in a letter
to the learned and pious Dr. Doddridge, where he
says, " I thank God, I have one great encouragement
to quicken me in my duty, which is the good dispo-
sition of the children entrusted to me; as an instance,
I must tell you, that Prince George, to his honour
and my shame, had learned several pages in your book
of verses, without any directions from me. "
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? RELIGION.
7
Perhaps these lines, which he committed to memory
when a child, laid the foundation of that uniform zeal,
which this good king discovered for the universal dis-
tribution of the Holy Scriptures, and the education of
all persons in the principles of Christianity. Never
was a more generous, a more scriptural, or a more
Protestant principle expressed, than that uttered by
George the Third, that he wished every subject in his
realms might be able to read the Bible, and might
have a Bible to read.
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES,
SON OP JAMES THE FIRST.
ENRY, Prince of Wales, son of James the First,
had such an aversion to the profanation of the
name of God, that he was never heard to take it
in vain, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his funeral
sermon upon him, mentioned, in testimony of his strict-
ness in this point, that memorable answer of the Prince,
when he was asked by one why he did not swear in play
as well as others, that he knew of no game worthy of
an oath. The same kind of answer he gave on another
occasion: his Highness being once hunting the stag, it
happened that the stag, being spent, crossed the road,
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? 8
RELIGION.
where a butcher and his dog were travelling. The dog
having killed the stag, which was so large that the
butcher could not carry it away, the huntsmen and
company, when they came up, expressed great resent-
ment, and endeavoured to incense the Prince against
the butcher. But the Prince answered coolly, " What
if the butcher's dog killed the stag; how could the
butcher help it? " They replied, that if his father had
been so served, he would have sworn so, as no man
could have endured it. "Away," rejoined the Prince,
"all the pleasure in the world is not worth an oath. "
SON OF EVELYN OF WOTTON.
VELYN, of Wotton, in his Diary, gives an
interesting and pathetic account of a very
promising son, whom he lost at the early age of
five years; and as the most beautiful feature in this
sweet child's history is his piety, I shall give it here.
"January 27th, 1658, died my deare son Richard, to
our inexpressible griefe and affliction, five years and
three days old onely, but at that tender age a prodigy
for wit and understanding; for beauty of body a very
angel; for endowment of mind of incredible and rare
hopes. To give onely a little taste of some of them,
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? RELIGION.
9
and thereby glory to God, who out of the mouths of
babes and infants does sometimes perfect his praises:
at two yeares and half old, he could perfectly read any
of the English, Latine, French, or Gothic letters, pro-
nouncing the three first languages exactly. He had
before the fifth yeare, or in that yeare, not onely skill
to reade most written hands, but to decline all the
nouns, conjugate the verbs regular, and most of the ir-
regular: learned out Puerilis, got by heart almost the
entire vocabularie of Latine and French primitives and
words, could make congruous syntax, turne English
into Latine, and vice versd, construe and prove what
he read, and did the government and use of relatives,
verbs, substantives, elipses, and many figures and
tropes, and made a considerable progress in Comenius's
Janua; began himself to write legibly, and had a strong
passion for Greeke. The number of verses he could
recite was prodigious, and what he remembered of the
parts of playes, which he would also act: and when
seeing a Plautus in a person's hand, he asked what
booke it was, and being told it was comedy, and too
difficult for him, he wept for sorrowe. Strange was his
apt and ingenious application of fables and morals, for
he had read iEsop; he had a wonderful disposition to
mathematics, having by heart divers propositions of
Euclid that were read to him in play, and he would
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? 10
BELIGION.
make lines and demonstrate them. As to his piety, astonishing were his applications of Scripture upon
occasion, and his sense of God; he had learned all
his Catechisme early, and understood the historical
part of the Bible and New Testament to a wonder,
how Christ came to redeeme mankind, and how, com-
prehending these necessarys himselfe, his godfathers
were discharged of their promise. These and the like
illuminations, far exceeding his age and experience,
considering the prettinesse of his addresse and beha-
viour, cannot but leave impressions in me at the
memory of him. When one told him how many dayes
a Quaker had fasted, he replied that was no wonder,
for Christ had said man should not live by bread
alone, but by the Word of God. He would of himself
select the most pathetic psalms, and chapters out of
Job, to reade to his maide during his sicknesse, telling
her when she pitied him, that all God's children must
suffer affliction. He declaimed against the vanities of
the world, before he had seen any. How thankfully
would he receive admonition, how soon be reconciled!
He would give grave advice to his brother John, beare
with his impertinencies, and say, he was but a child.
If he heard of or saw any thing new, he was unquiet
till he was told how it was made; he brought to us all
such difficulties as he found in books, to be expounded.
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? RELIGION.
11
He bad learn'd by heart divers sentences in Latin and
Greeke, which on occasion he would produce even to
wonder.
He was all life, all prettinesse, far from
morose, sullen, or childish in any thing he said or did.
The last time he had been at church, which was at
Greenwich, I asked him, according to custome, what he
remembered of the sermon; Two good things, father,
said he, bonum gratia and bonum gloria, with a just
account of what the preacher said. The day before he
died, he call'd to me, and in a more serious manner
than usual, told me that for all I loved him so dearly,
I should give my house, land, and all my fine things,
to his brother Jack, he should have none of them; and
next morning, when he found himself ill, and that I
persuaded him to keepe his hands in bed, he demanded
whether he might pray to God with his hands unjoyn'd;
and a little after, whilst in greate agonie, whether he
should not offend God by using his holy name so often,
calling for ease. What shall I say of his frequent pa-
thetical ejaculations uttered of himselfe;' Sweete Jesus,
save me, deliver me, pardon my sinnes, let thine angels
receive me! ' So early knowledge, so much piety and
perfection! But thus God, having dress'd up a saint
fit for himselfe, would not longer permit him with us,
unworthy of the future fruites of this incomparable
hopefull blossome. Such a child I never saw! for
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? 12
RELIGION.
such a child I blesse God in whose bosome he is.
May I and mine become as this little child, who now
follows the child Jesus, that Lamb of God, in a white
robe whithersoever he goes. Even so, Lord Jesus,
fiat voluntas tua! Thou gavest him to us, Thou hast
taken him from us, blessed be the name of the Lord!
That I had any thing acceptable to Thee was from thy
grace alone, since from me he had nothing but sin,
but that Thou hast pardoned! blessed be my God for
ever, amen. "
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? FILIAL LOVE.
"Good my Lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
Return those duties back, as is right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honour you. "
Shakspeare.
EXT to his religious duties, are those which a
young prince owes to his earthly parents: they
claim, indeed, a double duty from him--that of a
child, and of a subject; and we have examples, among
the highest and the bravest, of persons who have been
eminent, from their earliest years, for respect and affec-
tion towards those to whom they owed their being.
The first and greatest example that is recorded, for
the humble imitation of us all, from the prince to the
peasant, is that of our Blessed Saviour. The Evan-
gelists have informed us but of two particulars of the
early years of the Saviour, the one, that at twelve
years old, he disputed with the doctors in the Temple;
the other, that he dwelt with his parents, "and was
subject unto them. "
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? 14
FILIAL LOVE.
SINGULAR REWARD OF FILIAL LOVE.
YRUS, king of Persia, having conquered Croesus,
king of Lydia, in battle, the latter fled into Sardis:
but Cyrus following, took the city by storm; and
a soldier running after Croesus with a sword, young
Croesus, his son, who had been born dumb, and had
so continued to that hour, from the mere impulse of
natural affection, seeing his father in such imminent
danger, suddenly cried out, " 0 man, kill not Croesus! "
and continued to enjoy the faculty of speech the rest
of his life.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
LYMPIAS, the mother of Alexander, was of so
unhappy a disposition, that he would never
suffer her to have any concern in the government
of Macedon. She complained of this as a hardship,
and he bore her ill-humour with great mildness and
patience, and was continually sending her very mag-
nificent presents. Antipater, his viceroy in Macedon,
once wrote him a long letter, full of heavy complaints
against her: when he had read it, he observed,
"Antipater knows not that a single tear of a mother
can blot out a thousand such complaints. "
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? FILIAL LOVE.
15
SCIPIO AFRICANUS.
HE Romans considered the Oaken Crown as the
most desirable of all rewards. It was necessary
that the candidate for it should have killed an
enemy, have restored a lost battle, and have saved the
life of a Roman citizen. All these acts Scipio Africanus
performed at the battle of Trebia, but he refused the
civic crown, because it was the life of his father that
he had saved, and he said, that the consciousness of
having discharged a sacred duty appeared to him to be
a sufficient reward.
A ROMAN SON.
HEN Cicero and his brother Quintus were
proscribed by the Second Triumvirate, they
resolved to retire to a country house belong-
ing to Cicero, on the sea-coast, whence they might take
ship to repair to Brutus in Macedonia. Stopping in
their separate litters on the road, however, to condole
together on their misfortunes, they found they had
too slender a provision for such an undertaking, and it
was settled that Quintus should return home and get
some supplies, while Cicero should go on to secure
a vessel for their passage.
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? 16
FILIAL LOVE.
The return of Quintus, however, was quickly known,
and his house filled with soldiers, anxious to obtain
the reward offered for his head. He effectually eluded
their search, but they seized his young son, and after
questioning him in vain, they put him to the torture,
to make him discover the place of his father's conceal-
ment. The young Roman was proof against the most
dreadful torments, but Quintus, who was within hearing
of his groans, was unable to bear his sufferings, and
presenting himself before the assassins, he and the
noble child were beheaded together.
A LATIN LETTER FROM
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, TO HIS FATHER,
JAMES THE FIRST, WRITTEN ON THE DAY WHEN
HE COMPLETED HIS EIGHTH YEAR.
Feb. 19th, 1601-2.
Rex serenissime et amantissime Pater,
NTE biennium septima scilicet meo natali ad ma-
jestatem tuam coepi primum scribere, ut primos
conatus meos, & quasi rudimenta scriptionis stu-
diorumque meorum, turn temporis ostenderem. Nunc
idem nono meo natali facio, cum ut majestas tua, quern
in utrisque ab eo tempore progressum fuerim, intelligat,
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? FILIAL LOVE.
17
turn non obscurum officii mei testimonium habeat. Pa-
rum est enim bene incepisse, nisi primis extrema re-
spondeant: Quod quidem de me futurum, modo Deus
opt. max. mihi, ut coepit, pergat esse propitius, confido;
& majestatem tuam isthuc ipsum de me existimare
vehementer cupio. Nam post discessum tuum Te-
rentii Hecyram, Fabularum Phsedri Librum tertium,
et duos Libros selectarum Epistolarum Ciceronis edi-
dici, ut jam in commendatario Epistolarum genere
prsestare aliquid per me possim. Sed qualecunque id
sit, Majestas tua, cum advenerit, judicabit, cui salutem
ego perpetuam ex animo precari non desino.
Majestatis suee observantissimus, &c.
LETTER OP
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, TO HIS FATHER,
JAMES THE FIRST.
Please your Majesty,
AM glad to hear of your Majesty's recovery,
before I understood of your distemper by the heat
of the weather. I have sent this bearer of pur-
pose to return word of your Majesty's good health, which
I beseech God long to continue, as also to remember
my most humble duty. He is likewise to acquaint your
c
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? 18
FILIAL LOVE.
Majesty that Mons. le Grand hath sent me a horse by
a French gentleman, wherewith I hope your Majesty
will be well pleased. The next week I mean to use
the benefit of your Majesty's gracious favour of hunting
in Waltham Forest, the place appointed as fittest for
the sport being Wansted. In the mean while, and
after, I will employ my time at my book the best I can
to your Majesty's satisfaction; whereof hoping your
Majesty will rest assured, I kiss most humbly your
hands, as,
Your Majesty's dutiful and obedient son,
Henry.
A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE GREAT CONDE, IN HIS YOUTH, TO HIS FATHER.
Domine mi Pater,
ECIMO quinto kalendas Novemb. Morono redii;
dissimulare non possum sensus animi mei; cui
enim candidius loquerer, quam Parenti optimo!
Non sine dolore locum amoenissimum reliqui, cujus nevel
levissimum quidem fastidium fecerat trium prope men-
sium commoratio; invitabat quoque ad longiorem mo-
ram serenitas temporis, et adolescentis autumni jucunda
temperies; at parare oportebat imperiis tuis, quibus toto
vita? decursu, carius mihi atque antiquius erit nihil.
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? FILIAL LOVE.
19
Cseterum, satis valeo si vales, sum enim de tua vale-
tudine sollicitus, cum a multis diebus nihil certi inau-
dierim: Deum precor ut te mihi servet incolumen.
Vale, Domine mi Pater, Celsitudinis tuse,
Servus humillimus et filius observantissimus,
LUDOVICUS BORBONIUS. Biturgibus, 1 Nov. 1635.
Another. Domine mi Pater,
UiEREBANT a te priores litterse, an latina lingua
in posterum adscriberem, an gallica; consuetum
morem retineo, dum quid ea de re constituas,
expecto. Aliud etiam est quod petam, an pomeridia-
num tempus studiis liberum esse velis. Miraberis id a
me quseri, neque me silentio uti tuo tanquam vacandi
facultate; veriim non ita mihi studendi labor insuetus
est, aut injucundus, quin admodum placeat, si jubeas
ei me incumbere, neque ita jucundus, quin eum libenter
dimittam si dimitti velis: itaque quidquid, ea super re,
statues, sequar, non invitus. Vale, Domine mi Pater,
Celsitudinis tuse, servus humillimus et Filius, semper
observantissimus,
LUDOVICUS BORBONIUS. Biturgibus, 8 Januarii, 1636.
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? 20
FILIAL LOVE.
YOUNG GEORGE STAUNTON.
OUNG George Staunton, son of Sir George
Staunton, when twelve years old, accompanied
the embassy to China, as page, and was much
noticed by the emperor of China, for his knowledge of
the Chinese language. During the voyage back to
England, a large vessel hove in sight, and Sir George,
imagining it might be a French man-of-war that would
engage them, desired his son, in Latin, the language in
which they always conversed, to go below: "Mi Pater,"
replied the affectionate and spirited boy, "nunquam
te deseram. "
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS
THE SIXTEENTH.
VEN while Marie Antoinette was yet surrounded
by all the luxury and magnificence of a court,
she paid unremitting attention to the education
and well-being of her children. It was her habit, after
superintending the lessons of the Dauphin, to amuse
him, by singing to him little simple airs, which she
composed on purpose for him, and which she accom-
panied on the harpsichord or harp: he loved music
exceedingly, and had a very delicate ear. One even-
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? FILIAL LOVE.
21
ing at St. Cloud, this tender mother was singing that
touching romance of Berquin,
Dors, mon enfant, clos ta paupiere,
Tea cris me dechirent le coeur;
Dors, mon enfant, ta pauvre mere
A bien assez de sa douleur.
The charming voice of the august princess, and the
words, thy poor mother, uttered with an expression of
sadness, made a deep impression upon the heart of her
son; sitting silent near the instrument, he was quite
absorbed, and remained immoveable in his little arm-
chair. Madame Elizabeth, surprised to see him so
quiet and silent, said laughing, "Ah, pour le coup,
voila Charles qui dort! " Raising his head, he replied:
"Ah, ma chere Tante, peut on dormir quand on
eutend chanter Maman Reine! "
In the park of Versailles, the Dauphin had a little
garden, which he cultivated entirely himself: it was
he who dug, and raked, and watered it, and every
morning during the season, he came to gather his
sweetest roses and most fragrant carnations, to make
a bouquet for his mamma. When Marie Antoinette
awoke, she always saw before her the flowers which
the little gardener of six years old had placed ready
for her. The prince, hidden behind a curtain, saw
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? 22
FILIAL LOVE.
her smile with delight at his present, and then he
came from his hiding-place, to receive the kiss which
was his reward: neither frost nor rain prevented him
from going to his little garden, so long as it produced
any flowers.
"One day," says M. Maill6, his governor, "when
the sun was very hot, I saw the Dauphin digging with
so much exertion about a jessamine, that the perspi-
ration dropped from his forehead. 'Let me call the
gardener,' said I; 'it is too hard work for your royal
Highness. ' 'No, let me do it,' said the prince;
'Mamma likes the flowers the better when she knows
that I have attended to them?
? CONTENTS. xi
TRUTH Page 144
The Archduchess Marie-Antoinette 145
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 145
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fifteenth 146 John, King of France 147
FLATTERY 148
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fifteenth 149 Canute the Great 149
JUSTICE 151
Henry, Prince of Wales, Son of James the First 152
Gustavus the Third of Sweden 154
Cyrus the Great 154
GENEROSITY 156
The Comte de Beaujolais, Brother of Louis Philippe 157
Louis the Twelfth of France 157
Edward the Sixth 157
Cyrus the Great and Croesus, King of Lydia 158
GRATITUDE AND ATTACHMENT 160
Louis the Seventeenth 161
The first Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 161
Alexander, Emperor of Russia 162
Letter from Henry, Prince of Wales, to his Father, James the
First 162
LAUDABLE EMULATION 164
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 165
Charles the Twelfth of Sweden 166
Kang-Hi, Emperor of China 167
Alexander the Great 168
The embryo Historian 168
Cyrus the Elder 169
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? Xll CONTENTS.
BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS PageVJl
The Dauphin, Son of Louis the Sixteenth 172
Louis Philippe, King of the French 174
The Duke de Montpensier, Brother of King Louis Philippe . . . 174
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fourteenth. . . 175
The Duke de Maine 176
Henry, Prince of Wales, Son of James the First 176
Francois Beauchateau 177
Sir Francis Bacon 178
LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE AND EARLY ACQUIREMENTS 179
Childhood of Alfred the Great 180
Edward the Sixth 181
Lady Jane Grey 183
Queen Elizabeth 183
Sir Philip Sydney 184
The Admirable Crichton 185
The Duke of Burgundy, Grandson of Louis the Fourteenth. . . 186
The Poet Pope 188
Metastasio 189
Sir William Jones 190
Mad. de Stael 191
Childhood of Sir W. Scott 191
Augustus Caesar 193
Alexander the Great 194
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? INTRODUCTION.
"Major in exiguo regnabat corpore virtus. "--Statius.
EN, in all ages, have taken interest in
the early years of their Princes, and many
clever writers, both in ancient and mo-
dern times, have recorded the virtues, and
the amiable dispositions, that princes in their child-
hood have evinced.
All children are fond of having set before them the
example of other children, who have practised the
qualities which their instructors wish them to acquire;
and as the Prince of Wales will doubtless, in his B
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? 2
INTRODUCTION.
turn, desire to hear of good little princes, I am going
to extract, from various histories that I have read, some
anecdotes of illustrious children, which I think may be
productive of amusement and instruction to him.
These little stories will all be true, and some of
them so short that His Royal Highness will under-
stand them as soon as he can read fluently. The
greater part of them are anecdotes of young princes,
but I have added a few of other illustrious children,
and some striking ones of great and virtuous kings.
Princes, in their early years, have great advantages:
they are placed under the care of persons of known
integrity, cultivation, and experience; and they are
removed from the example of all low and grovelling
vices: hence it is, perhaps, that history furnishes us
with so many beautiful instances of young princes,
distinguished by excellent qualities and great acquire-
ments.
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? RELIGION.
"A Christian is the highest style of Man. "--Young.
RINCES being less amenable than other men to
human laws, should be early impressed with their
entire dependence upon the Divine Will. To
none, in so eminent a sense as to Princes, does that sen-
timent of an inspired writer belong, "Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. "
That illustrious monarch, Gustavus Adolphus of Swe-
den, was so deeply sensible of this truth, that when he
was surprised by one of his officers in secret prayer in
his tent, he said to him, "Persons of my rank are
answerable to God alone for their actions; this gives
the enemy of mankind a peculiar advantage over us;
an advantage which can only be resisted by prayer,
and reading the Scriptures. "
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? 4
RELIGION.
A PRINCE'S REVERENCE FOR THE BIBLE.
DWARD the Sixth began to reign young, like
Josias, the virtuous king of Judah, and the
English were fond of calling him their Josiah.
Like him, he had a strong sense of religious duty and
reverence, and he gave an instance of it at the early
age of six years. He was playing one day with some
children of his own age, and wishing to get something
that was beyond his reach, one of his little companions
placed on the ground a Bible, for him to stand upon.
He beheld the profanation with much displeasure, and
removed the book himself.
A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF CHARLES THE FIRST.
LITTLE daughter of Charles the First died,
at the age of four years. While on her death-
bed, one of her attendants desired her to pray.
She said she could not say her long prayer, meaning
the Lord's Prayer, but that she would try to say her
short one: "Lighten my darkness, 0 Lord God, and
let me not sleep the sleep of death. " She had no
sooner said it, than she laid her little head on the
pillow, and expired.
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? RELIGION.
5
THE PRINCESS AMELIA.
H E Princess Amelia, youngest daughter of
George the Third, when about three years old,
heard that Mrs. Delany, a venerable old lady, of
whom she was very fond, was ill. When saying her
prayers at night, to her nurse, she added, of her own
accord, "Pray God make Lany well again. "
THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES.
HE following interesting anecdote of the Princess
Charlotte of Wales, at the early age of five years,
is extracted from the journal of the venerable
B. Porteus, Bishop of London. "Yesterday, the
sixth of August, 1801, Ipassed a very pleasant day at
Shrewsbury House, near Shooter's Hill, the residence of
the Princess Charlotte of Wales; the day was fine, the
prospect extensive and beautiful, taking in a large reach
of the Thames, which was covered with vessels of various
sizes and descriptions: we saw a good deal of the young
princess; she is a most captivating and engaging child;
and considering the high station she may hereafter fill,
a most interesting and important one. She repeated
to me several of her hymns, with great correctness and
propriety; and on being told that, when she went to
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? 6
RELIGION.
South End in Essex, she would then be in my diocese,
she fell down on her knees, and begged my blessing.
I gave it to her with all my heart, and with my earnest
secret prayers to God, that she might adorn her illus-
trious station with every Christian grace, and that, if
ever she became the Queen of this truly great and
glorious country, she might be the means of diffusing
virtue, piety, and happiness through every part of her
dominions. "
CHILDHOOD OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
RINCE George, afterwards George the Third,
when scarcely six years old, displayed such
abilities, that he was taken from the nursery, and
placed solely under the care of his first tutor, Dr. Francis
Ayscough, afterwards Bishop of Bristol. The Doctor
appears, by his modesty and candour, to have been
well qualified for his duty, as is exemplified in a letter
to the learned and pious Dr. Doddridge, where he
says, " I thank God, I have one great encouragement
to quicken me in my duty, which is the good dispo-
sition of the children entrusted to me; as an instance,
I must tell you, that Prince George, to his honour
and my shame, had learned several pages in your book
of verses, without any directions from me. "
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? RELIGION.
7
Perhaps these lines, which he committed to memory
when a child, laid the foundation of that uniform zeal,
which this good king discovered for the universal dis-
tribution of the Holy Scriptures, and the education of
all persons in the principles of Christianity. Never
was a more generous, a more scriptural, or a more
Protestant principle expressed, than that uttered by
George the Third, that he wished every subject in his
realms might be able to read the Bible, and might
have a Bible to read.
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES,
SON OP JAMES THE FIRST.
ENRY, Prince of Wales, son of James the First,
had such an aversion to the profanation of the
name of God, that he was never heard to take it
in vain, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his funeral
sermon upon him, mentioned, in testimony of his strict-
ness in this point, that memorable answer of the Prince,
when he was asked by one why he did not swear in play
as well as others, that he knew of no game worthy of
an oath. The same kind of answer he gave on another
occasion: his Highness being once hunting the stag, it
happened that the stag, being spent, crossed the road,
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RELIGION.
where a butcher and his dog were travelling. The dog
having killed the stag, which was so large that the
butcher could not carry it away, the huntsmen and
company, when they came up, expressed great resent-
ment, and endeavoured to incense the Prince against
the butcher. But the Prince answered coolly, " What
if the butcher's dog killed the stag; how could the
butcher help it? " They replied, that if his father had
been so served, he would have sworn so, as no man
could have endured it. "Away," rejoined the Prince,
"all the pleasure in the world is not worth an oath. "
SON OF EVELYN OF WOTTON.
VELYN, of Wotton, in his Diary, gives an
interesting and pathetic account of a very
promising son, whom he lost at the early age of
five years; and as the most beautiful feature in this
sweet child's history is his piety, I shall give it here.
"January 27th, 1658, died my deare son Richard, to
our inexpressible griefe and affliction, five years and
three days old onely, but at that tender age a prodigy
for wit and understanding; for beauty of body a very
angel; for endowment of mind of incredible and rare
hopes. To give onely a little taste of some of them,
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? RELIGION.
9
and thereby glory to God, who out of the mouths of
babes and infants does sometimes perfect his praises:
at two yeares and half old, he could perfectly read any
of the English, Latine, French, or Gothic letters, pro-
nouncing the three first languages exactly. He had
before the fifth yeare, or in that yeare, not onely skill
to reade most written hands, but to decline all the
nouns, conjugate the verbs regular, and most of the ir-
regular: learned out Puerilis, got by heart almost the
entire vocabularie of Latine and French primitives and
words, could make congruous syntax, turne English
into Latine, and vice versd, construe and prove what
he read, and did the government and use of relatives,
verbs, substantives, elipses, and many figures and
tropes, and made a considerable progress in Comenius's
Janua; began himself to write legibly, and had a strong
passion for Greeke. The number of verses he could
recite was prodigious, and what he remembered of the
parts of playes, which he would also act: and when
seeing a Plautus in a person's hand, he asked what
booke it was, and being told it was comedy, and too
difficult for him, he wept for sorrowe. Strange was his
apt and ingenious application of fables and morals, for
he had read iEsop; he had a wonderful disposition to
mathematics, having by heart divers propositions of
Euclid that were read to him in play, and he would
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? 10
BELIGION.
make lines and demonstrate them. As to his piety, astonishing were his applications of Scripture upon
occasion, and his sense of God; he had learned all
his Catechisme early, and understood the historical
part of the Bible and New Testament to a wonder,
how Christ came to redeeme mankind, and how, com-
prehending these necessarys himselfe, his godfathers
were discharged of their promise. These and the like
illuminations, far exceeding his age and experience,
considering the prettinesse of his addresse and beha-
viour, cannot but leave impressions in me at the
memory of him. When one told him how many dayes
a Quaker had fasted, he replied that was no wonder,
for Christ had said man should not live by bread
alone, but by the Word of God. He would of himself
select the most pathetic psalms, and chapters out of
Job, to reade to his maide during his sicknesse, telling
her when she pitied him, that all God's children must
suffer affliction. He declaimed against the vanities of
the world, before he had seen any. How thankfully
would he receive admonition, how soon be reconciled!
He would give grave advice to his brother John, beare
with his impertinencies, and say, he was but a child.
If he heard of or saw any thing new, he was unquiet
till he was told how it was made; he brought to us all
such difficulties as he found in books, to be expounded.
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? RELIGION.
11
He bad learn'd by heart divers sentences in Latin and
Greeke, which on occasion he would produce even to
wonder.
He was all life, all prettinesse, far from
morose, sullen, or childish in any thing he said or did.
The last time he had been at church, which was at
Greenwich, I asked him, according to custome, what he
remembered of the sermon; Two good things, father,
said he, bonum gratia and bonum gloria, with a just
account of what the preacher said. The day before he
died, he call'd to me, and in a more serious manner
than usual, told me that for all I loved him so dearly,
I should give my house, land, and all my fine things,
to his brother Jack, he should have none of them; and
next morning, when he found himself ill, and that I
persuaded him to keepe his hands in bed, he demanded
whether he might pray to God with his hands unjoyn'd;
and a little after, whilst in greate agonie, whether he
should not offend God by using his holy name so often,
calling for ease. What shall I say of his frequent pa-
thetical ejaculations uttered of himselfe;' Sweete Jesus,
save me, deliver me, pardon my sinnes, let thine angels
receive me! ' So early knowledge, so much piety and
perfection! But thus God, having dress'd up a saint
fit for himselfe, would not longer permit him with us,
unworthy of the future fruites of this incomparable
hopefull blossome. Such a child I never saw! for
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? 12
RELIGION.
such a child I blesse God in whose bosome he is.
May I and mine become as this little child, who now
follows the child Jesus, that Lamb of God, in a white
robe whithersoever he goes. Even so, Lord Jesus,
fiat voluntas tua! Thou gavest him to us, Thou hast
taken him from us, blessed be the name of the Lord!
That I had any thing acceptable to Thee was from thy
grace alone, since from me he had nothing but sin,
but that Thou hast pardoned! blessed be my God for
ever, amen. "
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? FILIAL LOVE.
"Good my Lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
Return those duties back, as is right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honour you. "
Shakspeare.
EXT to his religious duties, are those which a
young prince owes to his earthly parents: they
claim, indeed, a double duty from him--that of a
child, and of a subject; and we have examples, among
the highest and the bravest, of persons who have been
eminent, from their earliest years, for respect and affec-
tion towards those to whom they owed their being.
The first and greatest example that is recorded, for
the humble imitation of us all, from the prince to the
peasant, is that of our Blessed Saviour. The Evan-
gelists have informed us but of two particulars of the
early years of the Saviour, the one, that at twelve
years old, he disputed with the doctors in the Temple;
the other, that he dwelt with his parents, "and was
subject unto them. "
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? 14
FILIAL LOVE.
SINGULAR REWARD OF FILIAL LOVE.
YRUS, king of Persia, having conquered Croesus,
king of Lydia, in battle, the latter fled into Sardis:
but Cyrus following, took the city by storm; and
a soldier running after Croesus with a sword, young
Croesus, his son, who had been born dumb, and had
so continued to that hour, from the mere impulse of
natural affection, seeing his father in such imminent
danger, suddenly cried out, " 0 man, kill not Croesus! "
and continued to enjoy the faculty of speech the rest
of his life.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
LYMPIAS, the mother of Alexander, was of so
unhappy a disposition, that he would never
suffer her to have any concern in the government
of Macedon. She complained of this as a hardship,
and he bore her ill-humour with great mildness and
patience, and was continually sending her very mag-
nificent presents. Antipater, his viceroy in Macedon,
once wrote him a long letter, full of heavy complaints
against her: when he had read it, he observed,
"Antipater knows not that a single tear of a mother
can blot out a thousand such complaints. "
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? FILIAL LOVE.
15
SCIPIO AFRICANUS.
HE Romans considered the Oaken Crown as the
most desirable of all rewards. It was necessary
that the candidate for it should have killed an
enemy, have restored a lost battle, and have saved the
life of a Roman citizen. All these acts Scipio Africanus
performed at the battle of Trebia, but he refused the
civic crown, because it was the life of his father that
he had saved, and he said, that the consciousness of
having discharged a sacred duty appeared to him to be
a sufficient reward.
A ROMAN SON.
HEN Cicero and his brother Quintus were
proscribed by the Second Triumvirate, they
resolved to retire to a country house belong-
ing to Cicero, on the sea-coast, whence they might take
ship to repair to Brutus in Macedonia. Stopping in
their separate litters on the road, however, to condole
together on their misfortunes, they found they had
too slender a provision for such an undertaking, and it
was settled that Quintus should return home and get
some supplies, while Cicero should go on to secure
a vessel for their passage.
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? 16
FILIAL LOVE.
The return of Quintus, however, was quickly known,
and his house filled with soldiers, anxious to obtain
the reward offered for his head. He effectually eluded
their search, but they seized his young son, and after
questioning him in vain, they put him to the torture,
to make him discover the place of his father's conceal-
ment. The young Roman was proof against the most
dreadful torments, but Quintus, who was within hearing
of his groans, was unable to bear his sufferings, and
presenting himself before the assassins, he and the
noble child were beheaded together.
A LATIN LETTER FROM
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, TO HIS FATHER,
JAMES THE FIRST, WRITTEN ON THE DAY WHEN
HE COMPLETED HIS EIGHTH YEAR.
Feb. 19th, 1601-2.
Rex serenissime et amantissime Pater,
NTE biennium septima scilicet meo natali ad ma-
jestatem tuam coepi primum scribere, ut primos
conatus meos, & quasi rudimenta scriptionis stu-
diorumque meorum, turn temporis ostenderem. Nunc
idem nono meo natali facio, cum ut majestas tua, quern
in utrisque ab eo tempore progressum fuerim, intelligat,
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? FILIAL LOVE.
17
turn non obscurum officii mei testimonium habeat. Pa-
rum est enim bene incepisse, nisi primis extrema re-
spondeant: Quod quidem de me futurum, modo Deus
opt. max. mihi, ut coepit, pergat esse propitius, confido;
& majestatem tuam isthuc ipsum de me existimare
vehementer cupio. Nam post discessum tuum Te-
rentii Hecyram, Fabularum Phsedri Librum tertium,
et duos Libros selectarum Epistolarum Ciceronis edi-
dici, ut jam in commendatario Epistolarum genere
prsestare aliquid per me possim. Sed qualecunque id
sit, Majestas tua, cum advenerit, judicabit, cui salutem
ego perpetuam ex animo precari non desino.
Majestatis suee observantissimus, &c.
LETTER OP
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, TO HIS FATHER,
JAMES THE FIRST.
Please your Majesty,
AM glad to hear of your Majesty's recovery,
before I understood of your distemper by the heat
of the weather. I have sent this bearer of pur-
pose to return word of your Majesty's good health, which
I beseech God long to continue, as also to remember
my most humble duty. He is likewise to acquaint your
c
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FILIAL LOVE.
Majesty that Mons. le Grand hath sent me a horse by
a French gentleman, wherewith I hope your Majesty
will be well pleased. The next week I mean to use
the benefit of your Majesty's gracious favour of hunting
in Waltham Forest, the place appointed as fittest for
the sport being Wansted. In the mean while, and
after, I will employ my time at my book the best I can
to your Majesty's satisfaction; whereof hoping your
Majesty will rest assured, I kiss most humbly your
hands, as,
Your Majesty's dutiful and obedient son,
Henry.
A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE GREAT CONDE, IN HIS YOUTH, TO HIS FATHER.
Domine mi Pater,
ECIMO quinto kalendas Novemb. Morono redii;
dissimulare non possum sensus animi mei; cui
enim candidius loquerer, quam Parenti optimo!
Non sine dolore locum amoenissimum reliqui, cujus nevel
levissimum quidem fastidium fecerat trium prope men-
sium commoratio; invitabat quoque ad longiorem mo-
ram serenitas temporis, et adolescentis autumni jucunda
temperies; at parare oportebat imperiis tuis, quibus toto
vita? decursu, carius mihi atque antiquius erit nihil.
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? FILIAL LOVE.
19
Cseterum, satis valeo si vales, sum enim de tua vale-
tudine sollicitus, cum a multis diebus nihil certi inau-
dierim: Deum precor ut te mihi servet incolumen.
Vale, Domine mi Pater, Celsitudinis tuse,
Servus humillimus et filius observantissimus,
LUDOVICUS BORBONIUS. Biturgibus, 1 Nov. 1635.
Another. Domine mi Pater,
UiEREBANT a te priores litterse, an latina lingua
in posterum adscriberem, an gallica; consuetum
morem retineo, dum quid ea de re constituas,
expecto. Aliud etiam est quod petam, an pomeridia-
num tempus studiis liberum esse velis. Miraberis id a
me quseri, neque me silentio uti tuo tanquam vacandi
facultate; veriim non ita mihi studendi labor insuetus
est, aut injucundus, quin admodum placeat, si jubeas
ei me incumbere, neque ita jucundus, quin eum libenter
dimittam si dimitti velis: itaque quidquid, ea super re,
statues, sequar, non invitus. Vale, Domine mi Pater,
Celsitudinis tuse, servus humillimus et Filius, semper
observantissimus,
LUDOVICUS BORBONIUS. Biturgibus, 8 Januarii, 1636.
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FILIAL LOVE.
YOUNG GEORGE STAUNTON.
OUNG George Staunton, son of Sir George
Staunton, when twelve years old, accompanied
the embassy to China, as page, and was much
noticed by the emperor of China, for his knowledge of
the Chinese language. During the voyage back to
England, a large vessel hove in sight, and Sir George,
imagining it might be a French man-of-war that would
engage them, desired his son, in Latin, the language in
which they always conversed, to go below: "Mi Pater,"
replied the affectionate and spirited boy, "nunquam
te deseram. "
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS
THE SIXTEENTH.
VEN while Marie Antoinette was yet surrounded
by all the luxury and magnificence of a court,
she paid unremitting attention to the education
and well-being of her children. It was her habit, after
superintending the lessons of the Dauphin, to amuse
him, by singing to him little simple airs, which she
composed on purpose for him, and which she accom-
panied on the harpsichord or harp: he loved music
exceedingly, and had a very delicate ear. One even-
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? FILIAL LOVE.
21
ing at St. Cloud, this tender mother was singing that
touching romance of Berquin,
Dors, mon enfant, clos ta paupiere,
Tea cris me dechirent le coeur;
Dors, mon enfant, ta pauvre mere
A bien assez de sa douleur.
The charming voice of the august princess, and the
words, thy poor mother, uttered with an expression of
sadness, made a deep impression upon the heart of her
son; sitting silent near the instrument, he was quite
absorbed, and remained immoveable in his little arm-
chair. Madame Elizabeth, surprised to see him so
quiet and silent, said laughing, "Ah, pour le coup,
voila Charles qui dort! " Raising his head, he replied:
"Ah, ma chere Tante, peut on dormir quand on
eutend chanter Maman Reine! "
In the park of Versailles, the Dauphin had a little
garden, which he cultivated entirely himself: it was
he who dug, and raked, and watered it, and every
morning during the season, he came to gather his
sweetest roses and most fragrant carnations, to make
a bouquet for his mamma. When Marie Antoinette
awoke, she always saw before her the flowers which
the little gardener of six years old had placed ready
for her. The prince, hidden behind a curtain, saw
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FILIAL LOVE.
her smile with delight at his present, and then he
came from his hiding-place, to receive the kiss which
was his reward: neither frost nor rain prevented him
from going to his little garden, so long as it produced
any flowers.
"One day," says M. Maill6, his governor, "when
the sun was very hot, I saw the Dauphin digging with
so much exertion about a jessamine, that the perspi-
ration dropped from his forehead. 'Let me call the
gardener,' said I; 'it is too hard work for your royal
Highness. ' 'No, let me do it,' said the prince;
'Mamma likes the flowers the better when she knows
that I have attended to them?
