Louis XVIII

“ I promise—I who never promised in vain (all Europe knows it) —to pardon to misled Frenchmen all that has passed since the day when I quitted Lille, amidst so many tears, up to the day when I re-entered Cambray, amidst so many acclamations.
But the blood of my people has flowed, in consequence of a treason of which the annals of the world present no example. That treason has summoned foreigners into the heart of France. Every day reveals to me a new disaster. ”

“ Returned to the soil of my country, I take pleasure in speaking confidence to my people. When I first re-appeared among you, I found men's minds agitated, and heated by conflicting passions. My views encountered on every side nothing but difficulties and obstacles. My government was liable to commit errors: perhaps it did commit them. There are times when the purest intentions are insufficient to direct, or sometimes they even mislead. ”

“ Frenchmen, such are the sentiments which he brings among you, whom time has not been able to change, nor calamities fatigue, nor injustice made to stoop. The king, whose fathers reigned for eight centuries over yours, returns to consecrate the remainder of his days in defending and consoling you. ”