584 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



that the duke of Burgund}' was 

 qualified, by the progress of his 

 reason, and of his theological at- 

 tainments, to receive the sacra- 

 ment with that faith and piety 

 which the church demands, he al- 

 lowed him to communicate. We 

 have found among his manuscripts 

 the original of the following 

 speech, which Fenelon addressed 

 to the duke of Burgundy on this 

 occasion : — 



" The day which you have so 

 long and so ardently desired, sir, 

 has at length arrived ; a day which 

 ought to influence every other one 

 of your life, and even that of your 

 death. Your Saviour approaches 

 you now under the appearance of 

 familiar food, that he may nou- 

 rish your soul, even as bread daily 

 nourishes your body. To you it 

 will appear only as a piece of 

 common bread ; but the grace of 

 God is hidden in it, and will ma- 

 nifest itself to your faith. Say to 

 him as Isaiah said, Ve^e tu es Deus 

 ahsconditus. He is a God who 

 conceals himself from love; he 

 hides his glory, lest our weak 

 sight should be dazzled, and in 

 order that we may approach him 

 more easily ; you will find there 

 the hidden manna of various fra- 

 grance, and containing every ce- 

 lestial virtue. You will eat the 

 bread which surpasses all material 

 substance ; it will not assimilate 

 to you, vile and mortal man, but 

 you will assimilate to it, becoming 

 thus a living member of Christ. 

 May faith and love render you 

 sensible of the gift of God ; Gus- 

 tate, et videte quoniam suavis est 

 Dominus." 



This ceremony was of advan- 

 tage to the whole rourt, and the 

 duke of Burgundy received from 



it the impression of a sincere and 

 well-grounded piety. During all 

 his after-life, he sought, in fre- 

 quently communicating, that aid 

 and consolation which princes need 

 more than other men, to enable 

 them to support the evils and the 

 miseries which lie hidden beneath 

 the exterior pomp of their station. 

 Contemporary writers relate, that 

 the duke of Burgundy used " to 

 communicate at least twice a 

 month, and always with that so- 

 lemnity and self-abasement which 

 struck every one who was present; 

 and always in the habiliments of 

 the order of the Holy Ghost," as 

 if to render a more sacred homage 

 to the greatness of that God whom 

 he adored. 



But religion was not merely an 

 outward ceremony in the duke of 

 Burgundy. It had a visible and 

 real influence upon his conduct. 

 Fenelon, indeed, had so meliorated 

 his violent nature by its aid, that 

 he could in an instant command 

 to silence his most imperious ca- 

 prices, by only pronouncing the 

 name of God. He relates, in a 

 letter to father Martineau, that 

 " one day, when the prince was in 

 a very bad humour, and was striv- 

 ing to conceal the truth of some- 

 thing which he had done, he urged 

 him to disclose it before God : this 

 made him very angry, and he ex- 

 claimed, ' Why do you ask me 

 about it before God ? Very well ; 

 since you do ask it thus, I cannot 

 deny that I did do such a thing.' 

 He was almost mad with passion, 

 and yet religion so prevailed over 

 him, that it extorted from him so 

 painful a confession." 



In the same letter Fenelon also 

 observes, that the force of religion 

 was so great in him, *' that he 



