[THE COUNT OF PARIS.]
THIS BEAUTIFUL REPLY WAS MADE DURING THE RECENT DEBATES CONCERNING THE REGENCY OF FRANCE.
I.
Within the palace walls they wept,
The mother and her son;
She, the young widow of a prince,
And he, her first-born one:
The stamp of royalty was set
Upon his broad, fair brow;
He was the kingdom's pride and boast—
Heir of its glory now.
II.
Wo for the doom of Orleans' line!
Wo for the loved one dead:
Wo for the king whose hope lies low—
The land whose peace has fled!
Already are dark threats breathed forth,
And others claim the place
That should be his, that princely boy's,
The noblest of his race!
III.
They come to ask his mother's rights,
His mother's and his own;
The widow and the fatherless,
They stand in grief alone!
It was in honied tones they spoke,
Yet 'twas a bitter word:
'The Regent of our France must know
To wear and wield a sword!'