EXERCISE OF THE KING OF ROME, DUKE DE REICHSTADT, CIRCA 1827.
As regards the Roi de Rome (Napoleon II.), I have already referred to his exercise-books. If he had lived he would have had a rival in the Comte de Chambord, of whose early compositions I now give an example. His handwriting was excellent. Few boys at eight write anything like as well:—
Exercise of Count de Chambord, 1820-83.
François Premier après avoir vaillamment combattu sous les murs de Pavie, fut fait prisonnier par les Espagnols. Ce roy chevalier annonça son malheur à sa mère par ces mots écrits sur le champ de bataille 'Tout est perdu fors l'honneur.' Il fut conduit en Espagne et mené à Madrid où il fut gardé dans un château. Charlequint l'y laissa long temps sans l'aller voir.
St. Cloud le 18 Juillet 1828.
Nearly half a century later the writer preferred to lose his chances of a throne rather than renounce the white flag of his ancestors. If I mistake not he used the very words of Francis I. recorded on the copy-book page now in my possession!
PORTION OF ESSAY ON GUNNERY WRITTEN BY THE LATE PRINCE IMPERIAL OF FRANCE WHILE A CADET AT THE WOOLWICH MILITARY ACADEMY.
Ordinary letters of Napoleon III. and the Empress Eugénie are priced at figures varying from £l to £5. Like Napoleon I., the heir to the Napoleonic traditions was an industrious letter-writer. I possess many examples of his letters, ranging from 1830 to 1870. Here is one written during his detention in Germany:—