No More Learning

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? '"
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? FRATERNAL LOVE.
"We have still lived together,
Rose at an instant, learn'd, play'd, eat together;
And wheresoe'er we went, like Juno's swans,
Still we went coupled, and inseparable. "
Shakspeare.
|)RINCES have so few equals, that the pleasures
of a familiar intercourse with a few chosen com-
IHf panions are less open to them than toother men.
To cultivate, therefore, affectionate feelings towards
their brothers and sisters, is of great importance to
their future happiness.
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FRATERNAL LOVE.
THE SONS OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
EORGE the Third, intending that his second son,
Frederick, Bishop of Osnaburg, and afterwards
Duke of York, should enjoy the advantages of
foreign travel, and a Prussian military education, sent
him, accompanied by Col. Greville, to the continent,
in the year 1781. Nothing could be more affecting
than the parting between his royal highness and the
other members of his august family. Both their
Majesties wept, and the Prince of Wales was so much
affected at being now deprived, for so long an expected
period, of the sole companion of his youth, that he was
unable to give vent to his feelings by words, and could
only express them by tears, which burst from him in
spite of his manly resolution to restrain them.
LOUIS PHILIPPE, KING OF THE FRENCH.
AD. de Genlis says: "At the commencement of
the Revolution, my eldest pupil, the Duke de
Chartres, gave utterance to a first impulse of
generosity and greatness of soul, that I must not pass
over in silence. It was mentioned in his presence,
that a decree had passed annulling the rights of
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? FRATERNAL LOVE.
25
primogeniture: he turned to the Duke de Montpen-
sier, his next brother, and embracing him, said, 'Ah,
how delighted I am to hear it! '"
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS
THE SIXTEENTH.
HEN cruelty and neglect had brought the un-
fortunate Louis the Seventeenth to the last
stage of weakness and disease, M. Pelletan,
the physician who was ordered to attend him, expressed
himself in animated and indignant terms to the muni-
cipal officers who were present, upon the causes that
had led to the state in which he found the patient. The
young prince, who thought that his sister, Madame
Royale, was still a prisoner in a neighbouring apart-
ment, begged the physician to speak very low: "My
sister," said he, "may hear you, and she would be very
sorry if she knew I was ill. "
LETTER OF CHARLES, DUKE OF YORK, TO HIS
BROTHER, PRINCE HENRY.
The following is probably the earliest letter written
by Prince Charles (Charles the First): the signature
only is his.
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FRATERNAL LOVE.
Sweet, sweet Brother,
THANK you for your letter, I will keep it
better than all my graith: and I will send my
pistolles by Maister Newton. I will give anie thing that I have to you; both my hors, and my
books, and my pieces, and my cross-bowes, or anie
thing that you would have. Good Brother loove me,
and I shall ever loove and serve you.
Your loving brother to be commanded,
York. Another. Good Brother,
HOPE you are in good helth and merry, as I
am, God be thanked. In your absence I visit
sometimes your stable, and ride your great horses, that at your return I may wait on you in that noble
exercise. So committing you to God, I rest,
Your loving and dutifull brother, York.
To my brother the Prince.
Another.
IHIL possit mihi esse gratius, Frater charissime,
tuo ad nos reditu; te enim frui, tecum equitare,
tecum venari, summse erit mihi voluptati. Ego
jam lego Erasmi Colloquia, ex quibus et Latinse linguae
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? FRATERNAL LOVE.
27
puritatem et morum elegantiam discere posse me con-
fide Vale. Tuse Cels1"8 frater amantissimus, 1609. Carolus, Eb. et Alb. Dux.
PRINCE WILLIAM, SON OF HENRY
THE FIRST.
HEN William, son of Henry the First, was
eighteen years old, he accompanied his father
to Normandy, that he might be acknowledged
by the barons of that duchy as his successor. Henry was
returning to England with a numerous train, and
many ships; one of which, called the White Ship, was
allotted to the prince and his retinue. The prince had
ordered some wine to be given to the ship's crew, of
which they drank so freely that many of them became
intoxicated. The rest of the fleet had meanwhile
sailed, and Fitz-Stephen, the commander of the White
Ship, crowding all his sails, and plying all his oars, to
overtake them, the vessel suddenly struck upon a rock.
A boat was immediately let down, into which the prince
and some of the young nobles were hurried; and they
might have reached the shore in safety, had not the
prince insisted on going back to rescue his sister Maud,
the Countess of Perche, whose shrieks he heard from
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FRATERNAL LOVE.
the ship, where all was terror and confusion. As soon
as the boat approached the vessel, so many persons
jumped into it, that it instantly sunk, and every crea-
ture perished. Thus died Prince William, with many
of the young nobles, and several ladies of rank.
CATO THE YOUNGER.
HEN Cato was but a child, he was asked one
day whom he loved most, and he answered,
"My brother Caepio. " The person who put the
question then asked him whom he loved next, and again
he said, his brother: whom in the third place, and still
it was his brother, and so on, as long as he put the
question to him.
This affection increased with his
years, insomuch, that when he was twenty years old,
if he supped, if he went out into the country, if he
appeared in the Forum, Caepio must always be with
him.
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? EARLY DISCIPLINE.
"Of fertile genius, him they nurtured well,
In every science, and in every art,
By which mankind the thoughtless brutes excel, That can or use, or joy, or grace impart,
Disclosing all the powers of head and heart:
Nor were the goodly exercises spared,
That brace the nerves, or make the limbs alert,
And mix elastic force with firmness hard:Was never knight on ground mote be with him compared. "
Thomson.
IMPLICITY of diet and regular exercise are
essential to health; and health of body is not
only necessary to the enjoyment of life, but is so
intimately connected with vigour of mind, that many
royal parents have with great wisdom accustomed their
children to habits of as simple living, and as constant
industry, as the child of the peasant pursues from
necessity.
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EARLY DISCIPLINE.
THE CHILDREN OF GEORGE THE THIRD.
HE extreme simplicity with which the children of
George the Third were brought up, at a time
when luxury seems to have pervaded all ranks
of society, from infancy to old age, is proved by an
anecdote related of the Duke of Montague. The first
time he attended the levee after a visit to his daughter's
family at Dalkeith House, his Majesty inquired about
the health of his grandchildren. His Grace, thanking
his Majesty, told him they were all well, and making a
meal of oatmeal pottage every day. The King asked
if they got good oatmeal. The Duke told him they
had it excellent from some mills near Laswade; upon
which his Majesty desired the Duke to order some for
him; and from that time the Royal Family were sup-
plied with oatmeal from the same mills.
HE early education of the sons of George the
Third was, in another point, very judiciously con-
ducted: habits of activity and useful labour were
practically established. In the garden at Kew, a plot
of ground was dug by the Prince of Wales and the
Duke of York, and they then sowed it with wheat,
attended to the growth of their little crop, weeded,
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? EARLY DISCIPLINE.
31
reaped, and laid it up. They then thrashed it them-
selves, and separated the wheat from the chaff, and
thus learned, from their own experience, the various
labours of the husbandman and farmer.
THE DUKE OF CLARENCE, AFTERWARDS
WILLIAM THE FOURTH.
HE first actual service in which the Duke of
Clarence was engaged, was when Lord Rodney
captured the Spanish fleet, commanded by Lan-
gara. On this occasion, when the English admiral's
boat was manned to bring Langara on board, his Royal
Highness was one of those at the oar, a circumstance
which struck the Spanish admiral so forcibly, that he
exclaimed, "That nation must be invincible by sea,
whose king's sons are sailors. "
THE PRINCES OF ORLEANS.
HE Princes of Orleans, during the time that their
education was conducted by Mad. de Genlis,were
taught, during their hours of recreation, the arts
of the carpenter, the turner, and the joiner, and never
were boys so happy as while they were engaged in
these exercises.
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EARLY DISCIPLINE.
The Duke de Valois and the Duke de Montpensier
completed for the cottage of a poor woman at Saint-Leu, of whom they took care, a large chest of drawers,
and a table, which were as well finished as if they had
come out of the hands of the best cabinet-maker.
A USEFUL LESSON TO CHECK THE PRIDE OF
PRINCES.
HE Dauphin, father of Louis the Sixteenth, once
showed to his three sons the register of their bap-
tism in the parish books, and made them observe
that their names were inserted with those of other
children. "You see," said he, "that your names are here
mixed and confounded with those of the common peo-
ple: this ought to prove to you, that the distinction you
enjoy does not come from nature, which has made all
men equal: virtue alone establishes a real difference
among them; and perhaps the name of the peasant's
child which stands above yours shall hereafter be
more worthy in the sight of God than yours! "
THE YOUNG SOLDIER'S PILLOW.
HEN Turenne was but ten years old, his pre-
ceptor missed him, and at length found him
asleep upon a cannon, which he embraced with
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? EARLY DISCIPLINE.
33
his little arms, as far round as they would reach. When
awakened, he said, that he intended to have slept
there all night, in order to convince the Duke, his
father, that he was hardy enough to undergo the
fatigues of war.
CHILDHOOD OF THE GREAT HENRY THE
FOURTH OF FRANCE.
HE great Henry the Fourth of France passed
his childhood in the castle of Coarasse, in Beam, situated amidst rocks and mountains. Henry
D'Albret, his grandfather, would not have him brought
up with the delicacy usually practised with children
of high rank, knowing that in a soft and tender body,
there generally lodges a weak and timid soul. He
would not allow him to be richly clothed, nor useless
playthings given to him, nor would he have him flat-
tered, because all these things tend to inspire vanity,
and incline the hearts of children rather to pride, and
to trifling pleasures, than to sentiments of generosity
and useful occupation. This young prince was clothed
and fed like the children of the country, and like
them was accustomed to clamber up and down the
rocks, barefooted and bareheaded. It is said that his
ordinary food was brown bread, beef, cheese, and
garlic.
D
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EARLY DISCIPLINE,
By these means, his good grandfather accustomed
him to fatigue, and rendered his body strong and
robust, qualities which were no doubt necessary to a
prince, who had to suffer much in reconquering his
dominions.
EARLY EDUCATION OF SESOSTRIS, KING OF
EGYPT,
MENOPHIS, King of Egypt, caused all the male
children in his kingdom, who were born on the
same day as his eldest son, Sesostris, to be brought
to his court. Here they were educated as if they had
been his own children, and with the same care that was
bestowed upon Sesostris, with whom they were brought
up. He could not possibly have provided for his son
more faithful ministers, nor officers who more zealously
desired the success of his arms. With the view of
making them great warriors, the chief part of their
education was the inuring them, from their infancy,
to a hard and laborious life, in order that they might
one day be capable of sustaining with ease the toils
of the field. They were never suffered to eat till they
had run, on foot or horseback, a considerable race.
Hunting was their most common exercise, but when
they were more advanced in years, the king sent them
against the Arabians, in order to acquire practical
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? EARLY DISCIPLINE.
35
military knowledge. Here the young prince learned
to bear hunger and thirst, and subdued a nation which,
till then, had never been conquered: the youths
educated with him, attended him in all his campaigns,
and upon his father's death, he became one of the
greatest conquerors that antiquity boasts.
CYRUS THE GREAT AND HIS GRANDFATHER.
YRUS, when about twelve years old, went with his
mother Mandane on a visit to his grandfather, the
King of the Medes. Astyages, being at table with
his daughter and with Cyrus, and being desirous to treat
the boy with all delight and pleasure, that he might the
less miss what he enjoyed at home, set before him seve-
ral dishes, with sauces and meats of all kinds; upon
which Cyrus is reported to have said, "What a deal of
business and trouble, grandfather, have you at your
meals, if you must reach out your hands to all these
several dishes, and taste of all these kinds of meats! "
"What, then," said Astyages, "do not you think this en-
tertainment much finer than what you have in Persia? "
Cyrus replied, "No, grandfather; with us we have a
much plainer and readier way to get satisfied than you
have; for plain bread and meat bring us to our end;
but you, in order to the same end, have a deal of busi-
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EARLY DISCIPLINE.
ness upon your hands, and wandering up and down
through many mazes, you at last arrive where we have
long got before you. " To this Astyages answered,
"Well, child, if this be your opinion, eat heartily of
plain meats, that you may return young and healthy
home;" and at the same time he ordered to be pre-
sented to him various meats, both of the tame and
wild kinds. Cyrus, when he saw this variety of meats,
said, "And do you give me all these meats, grand-
father, to do with them as I think fit? " "Yes, truly,
I do," said Astyages; then Cyrus, taking the several
meats, distributed them around to the servants about
his grandfather, saying to one, " This for you, because
you take pains to teach me to ride: This for you, be-
cause you gave me a javelin, and I have it yet: This
for you, because you serve my grandfather well: This
for you, because you honour my mother:" and thus
he did till he had distributed all he had received.
Astyages then said, "And do you give nothing to this
Sacian, my cup-bearer, that I favour above all? " Cy-
rus answered, "For what reason is it, grandfather, that
you favour this Sacian so much? " Astyages replied
in a jesting way, "Do you not see how handsomely
and neatly he pours me my wine? " For these cup-
bearers to kings perform their business very cleverly;
they pour out their wine very neatly, and give the cup,
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? EARLY DISCIPLINE.
37
bearing it along with three fingers, and present it in
such a manner as it may best be received by the person
who is to drink. "Grandfather," said Cyrus, "bid
the Sacian give me the cup, that, pouring you your
wine to drink, I may gain your favour if I can. " As-
tyages bids the Sacian give him the cup; and Cyrus,
taking it, is said to have washed the cup as he had ob-
served the Sacian to do; and settling his countenance
in a serious and decent manner, brought and presented
the cup to his grandfather in such a manner as afforded
much laughter to his grandfather and his mother.
Then Cyrus, laughing out, leaped up to Astyages, and
kissing him, cried out, " Oh, Sacian, you are undone;
I will turn you out of your office, for I can do the busi-
ness better than you. " Now these cup-bearers, when
they have given the cup, dip with a dish and take a
little out, which pouring into their left hand, they swal-
low; and this they do that in case they mix poison in
the cup, it may be of no advantage to themselves.
Therefore Astyages, in a jesting way, said, "And why,
Cyrus, since you have imitated the Sacian in every
thing else, did you not swallow some of the wine? "
"Because, truly," said he, "I was afraid there had been
poison mixed in the cup; for when you feasted your
friends upon your birthday, I plainly found that he
had poured you all poison. " "And how, child," said
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? 38 EARLY DISCIPLINE.
he, "did you know this? " "Truly," said he," because
I saw you all disordered in body and mind; for, first,
what you do not allow us boys to do, that you did
yourselves, for you all bawled together, and could
learn nothing of each other: Then you fell to singing
very ridiculously; and without attending to the singer,
you swore he sung admirably; then every one telling
stories of his own strength, you rose up, and fell to
dancing; but without all rule or measure, for you could
not so much as keep yourselves upright. Then you all
entirely forgot yourselves; you, that you were king,
and they, that you were their governor. And then I
discovered for the first time that you were celebrating
a festival, where all were allowed to talk with equal
liberty; for you never ceased talking. " Astyages then
said, "Does your father, child, never drink till he gets
drunk? " "No, truly," said he. "What does he,
then? " "Why he quenches his thirst, and gets no
farther harm; for, as I take it, grandfather," says he,
"it is no Sacian that officiates as cup-bearer about
him. "
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 14:30 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn5cz5 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? DOCILITY.
"He made a blushing cital of himself,
And chid his truant youth with such a grace,
As if he master'd there a double spirit,
Of teaching, and of learning, instantly. "
Shakspeare.
OCILITY, or a willingness to be led by those
who are older and wiser than themselves, is a
quality in the young, very favourable to their
advancement in virtue; nor is there a greater proof of
superior sense, than a ready yielding of the inclinations
to the voice of Reason. A prompt obedience implies
a degree of Self-command, and is therefore peculiarly
graceful in young princes. Nor is any one fit to
command, who has not first learned to obey.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 14:30 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn5cz5 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 40
DOCILITY.
LOUIS PHILIPPE, KING OF THE FRENCH.
E read in the Memoirs of Mad. de Genlis:
"When first I entered upon the education of
the princes, I found them very ignorant, and
the eldest of them, the Duke de Valois, then eight years
old, extremely wanting in application. I began by read-
ing history with them: M. the Duke de Valois stretched,
gaped, and I was greatly surprised to see him throw him-
self back upon a sofa, and put his feet up upon a table that
was before him. That we might at once understand each
other, I put him immediately into penance: he did not
resent it at all. He had by nature a degree of good sense,
that struck me from the first days of our acquaintance:
he loved rational conversation, as other children love
frivolous tales: as soon as good reasons were clearly
presented to him, he listened with interest: he became
warmly attached to me, because he always found me
consistent and reasonable. I had to cure him of many
ugly expressions and foolish habits. He was afraid
of dogs, and his former governor had had the absurd
attention, when they walked in the Bois de Boulogne,
to send on two footmen, to drive away all the dogs that
might be in their route. I found one single conversa-
tion sufficient to convince the young prince of the folly
and weakness of this prejudice: he listened to me
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 14:30 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn5cz5 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? DOCILITY.
41
attentively, kissed me, and begged me to give him a
dog, which I did: he conquered his dislike at once,
and from that day has never shown any aversion to
dogs. "
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS THE
SIXTEENTH.
PON the first breaking out of the French Revolu-
tion, Marie Antoinette impressed upon the little
Dauphin, the necessity of treating with affability
the officers of the National Guard, and all the Parisians
who might approach him. The child took great pains
to please all such persons, and when he had had occa-
sion to reply obligingly to the Mayor, or to the mem-
bers of a Commune, he would go and whisper to the
Queen, "Was that well? "
YOUTH OF ALCIBIADES.