Although the perpetrator of the daring attempt was never discovered, it is well known that the late Louis XVIII. of France, narrowly escaped assassination whilst at Dettingen. The King was standing at the window of an hotel, when a pistol was fired at him, the ball of which lodged in the window frame. One of the persons standing near to the King, alarmed at his sovereign’s very narrow escape, exclaimed, “Oh, Sire! had the aim been one inch lower—” “Why then,” (interrupted the intrepid monarch, with the utmost presence of mind) “the King of France would have been styled Charles the Tenth.”
Directions to a Porter.
Directions to the Porter.
Thou faithful guardian of these peaceful walls,
Whose jealous care protects thy master’s gate,
If any stranger at this mansion calls,
I’ll tell thee who shall enter, who shall wait.
If Fortune (blindfold goddess) chance to knock,
Or proud Ambition lure thee to her arms,