Now Louis Philippe, king of France. See [note, p. 212].
The Duke of Chartres, afterwards Duke of Orleans, and now Louis Philippe, king of the French, was born at Paris, October 6th, 1773. His education has been described in the preceding pages. In 1791, he served in the army, and subsequently held various military stations, in which he displayed great gallantry. In 1793, having expressed his horror at the excesses of the revolution, a decree of arrest was levelled against him. To escape this, he went to Switzerland, where he met his sister and Madame de Genlis, as related. During his wanderings over this country, he had to contend with fatigue, poverty, and persecution. He travelled from place to place, often alone, and destitute of money.
After the death of his father, Switzerland no longer became a safe place for him, and he went to Hamburg, to escape to America. But here his funds failed him, and he spent some time in travelling in Norway and Lapland, proceeding even to the North Cape. In September, 1796, he embarked for America, where he was joined by his brothers, the Duke of Montpensier and Count Beaujolais. They travelled through the country, though often distressed for the want of money. After various wanderings, they reached England. The Duke of Montpensier died in 1807; and the Count Beaujolais soon after. In November, 1809, Louis Philippe was married, at Palermo, to the Princess Amelia, daughter of the king of Sicily. On the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, he returned to Paris, and inherited a large part of the immense wealth of his father. In 1830, he was elevated to the throne. His family presents a model of union, good morals, and domestic virtue, and he is himself one of the ablest of living sovereigns. If his character is in any considerable degree owing to his education,—and we cannot doubt that it is,—it furnishes an imperishable monument to the honor of Madame de Genlis.
The position of Madame de Genlis does not permit her to do justice to the character of the Duke of Orleans, which is one of the most infamous in history. He was born in 1747, and was descended from the Duke of Orleans, only brother of Louis XIV. In his youth he was distinguished for his licentiousness, and during the revolution he acquired an unfortunate notoriety. He joined the Jacobins, and coöperated with Robespierre, Marat, and Danton. He renounced his royal titles, and assumed that of M. Egalité. He voted for the death of his relative, Louis XVI., and was present at his execution. But the storm he had assisted to raise was now directed against him. He was included in the general proscription of the Bourbons, and was guillotined November 6th, 1793. His wife, who sustained an excellent character, returned to Paris after the restoration, and died in 1821.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald was the son of the Duke of Leinster, and born in Ireland, October 15th, 1763. He was educated for the military profession, and served in the American war with credit. He was an ardent lover of liberty, and deeply felt the wrongs done to his native country by the British government. He hailed the French revolution as the dawn of universal freedom: in 1792 he went to Paris, and participated in the intoxication of that eventful era. After his marriage to Pamela, he went to Ireland, and became one of the leaders in the rebellion of 1798. He became obnoxious to the government, and was arrested while concealed in a house in Dublin. He was at the time in bed: he resisted fiercely, and wounded two of the officers, one of them mortally. He received a pistol ball in his shoulder, and, being confined in Newgate, died June 4th, 1798.
He was a man of remarkable elevation and singleness of mind, and was greatly endeared to his friends. The letters written by different members of his family, at the time of his arrest and during his confinement in prison, published by his biographer, Moore, are among the most touching that were ever penned. Their attachment to their unfortunate relation amounted almost to idolatry.