LOUIS 



3510 



LOUIS 



demands on them, and in 1776 Turgot was re- 

 placed by the popular Jacques Necker. The 

 aid given to the United States in the Revolu- 

 tionary War laid a great burden of debt upon 

 France, and Necker's methods in attempting to 

 lift this angered the nobility, who demanded 

 his resignation. In sanctioning this and in ap- 

 pointing to the vacant position the wasteful 

 Calonne, Louis lost entirely the sympathy of 

 his people, who began to demand far-reaching 

 reforms. Necker was recalled in 1788, and sug- 

 gested the convening of the States-General, 

 which accordingly met in the following year. 

 This event marked the opening of the French 

 Revolution, and during the remaining years of 

 his life Louis's history is a part of that move- 

 ment. He pretended to sympathize with the 

 revolutionists, but at the advice of his wife 

 really opposed them, and as a result was taken 

 prisoner with his family and brought from Ver- 

 sailles to Paris, where he was lodged in the 

 Tuileries. 



In 1791 the king and his family attempted to 

 flee from France but were arrested and brought 

 back. Although he promised to rule as a con- 

 stitutional monarch the radicals were not satis- 

 fied, and a formidable invasion of the Tuileries 

 took place in August, 1792. The king took ref- 

 uge with the Assembly, and in the next month 

 the Convention deposed him and declared 

 France a republic. In December Louis was 

 brought to trial for treason against the state, 

 and though he defended himself with the great- 

 est dignity was found guilty and on January 21, 

 1793, was guillotined. 



Louis XVII (1785-1795) was king in name 

 only. He was the son of Louis XVI and Marie 

 Antoinette, both of whom died on the guillo- 

 tine, and became Dauphin on the death of his 

 elder brother in June, 1789. When his father 

 and mother were made prisoners in the Temple 

 in 1792 the little prince was confined with them, 

 and the treatment shown him was. harsher than 

 that accorded others ; for he was separated from 

 his mother and given into the care of a cobbler 

 named Sinim, who treated him with systematic 

 cruelty. 



On June 8, 1795, at the age of ten, he died, 

 his death having been brought about by abuse 

 and neglect ; and at once there grew up a whole 

 mythology of stories about him. Many people 

 refused to believe that it was really the prince 

 who had died, holding instead that he had been 

 stolen out of the Temple and was in safe- 

 keeping somewhere. And in the years that fol- 

 lowed numerous impostors arose claiming to be 



the lost prince. In all, there were no less than 

 forty of these, though only two or three told 

 stories which were not obviously absurd and 

 untrue. A Prussian named Naundorff aroused 

 the most interest, and there are those still who 

 actually believe that he was the Dauphin. The 

 latest pretender was Eleazer Williams, an In- 

 dian missionary born in the state of New York. 

 He professed to have no memory of his early 

 years, but brought forward claims which de- 

 ceived many. Historians are, however, practi- 

 cally united in believing that the little prince 

 did die in the Temple, or that if he was re- 

 moved he died very soon afterward. 



Louis XVIII (1755-1824), the "Restoration 

 king of France," a brother of Louis XVI. He 

 supported his brother in all his reactionary 

 measures, showing no understanding of the real 

 condition or necessities of his country. When 

 Louis XVI attempted to escape in 1791 the 

 Count of Provence, as his brother was called, 

 fled with him and succeeded in getting across 

 the frontier. The proclamations constantly is- 

 sued from the court which he set up at Coblenz 

 had the effect of enraging the people against 

 Louis XVI and hastening his execution. On 

 the death of Louis XVII the Count of Provence 

 assumed the title of king, and during the 

 Napoleonic period he traveled from country to 

 country of Europe, finally settling in England. 



In 1814, after the downfall of Napoleon, he 

 ascended the throne, but showed himself far 

 from liberal; and the enthusiastic reception 

 which Napoleon met with on his return from 

 Elba proved that the restored monarchy was 

 not popular. He fled from Paris during the 

 Hundred Days, but was again declared king 

 after the Battle of Waterloo. 



He lacked the insight or the force to take a 

 positive stand in his policies, and succeeded in 

 disgusting all parties in the state by his pas- 

 sive temperament. One thing, however, he had 

 proved that prosperity and content were not 

 to be brought back to France by the restc 

 tion of the Bourbon monarchy. A.MC c. 



Consult Farmer's Versailles and the Cc 

 under Louis XIV; Haggard's Louis XVI ai 

 Marie Antoinette; Hall's The Bourbon Restore 

 tion. 



Related Subjects. Further information as 

 the history of France during these reigns will 

 found in the following articles : 

 Bourbon French and Indian 



Crusades Wars 



Dauphin French Revolution 



Du Barry, Countess Fronde 



France, subtitle History Hapsburg, House of 



