Duke of Berry

“ The duke of Berry replied,—'This matter does not any way touch you, nor does it become you to interfere between our lord the king and us who are of his blood and lineage; for we may quarrel one with another whenever it shall please us so to do, and we may also make peace according to our will.' The Parisians, on hearing this answer, returned home without further reply. ”

“ While these things were passing, the duke of Berry came with the queen of France from Melun to Corbeil, and thence sent Louis of Bavaria to the duke of Acquitaine in Paris, and to those who governed the king, and also to the butchers, to request that they would be pleased to allow him to attend the queen to Paris, and to reside in his hôtel of Neele, near to the king his nephew, since he was determined no way to interfere in the war between the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. ”

“ The Cardinal covered with praises not only the King, but the Dauphin, the Dauphiness, the Duchess of Berry, the Duke of Bordeaux. He cried:—
"Constantly happy as King, may Charles X. be constantly happy as father!
"May his paternal glances always see about him, shining with a brilliancy that nothing can change, this family so precious, the ornament of his court, the charm of his life, the future of France! ”

“ As alert as his predecessor was immobile, an untiring hunter, a bold rider, sitting his horse with the grace of a young man, a kindly talker, an affable sovereign, this survivor of the court of Versailles, this familiar of the Petit-Trianon, this friend of Marie Antoinette, of the Princess of Lamballe, of the Duchess of Polignac, of the Duke of Lauzun, of the Prince de Ligne, preserved, despite his devotedness, a great social prestige. He perpetuated the traditions of the elegance of the old regime. Having lived much in the society of women, his politeness toward them was exquisite. ”

“ The Duke pretended not to know where he was, so Charles assembled his troops to go to war with him, ordering his uncles of Berry and Burgundy to join him with their vassals. They both hated this project as the Duke of Burgundy was a great friend of the Duc de Bretagne, and the Duc de Berry, who was in Paris at the time, had been told of the conspiracy the very day it was carried out, but as he could not bear the Constable he said nothing about it to the King on pretence of not wishing to disturb the festivities going on at the palace. ”

“ Thus the Power divine, justly angered by our pride, reduces it to nothingness, and, to level all conditions forever, makes common ashes of us all."
The remains of so many sovereigns and princes are no longer even corpses. The corpses have perished as ruins perish. You may no longer see the coffins of the predecessors of Louis XVI. But those of the Martyr-King, of the Queen Marie Antoinette, of the Duke of Berry, of Louis XVIII., are there before you in the crypt. ”

“ The duke of Lorraine and the lords de Ront and de Heilly returned to the camp with their prisoners, much rejoiced at their victory. The duke of Berry, and those with him in Bourges, were much grieved at this defeat, and others of a similar nature; for he saw with pain his country ruined, and daily witnessed the deaths of his most valiant knights and esquires. He nevertheless did not slacken in his endeavours to defend himself against all who wished to hurt him,—and it frequently happened that his men retaliated severely on the besiegers. ”

“ The Duke of Berry, heir presumptive to the throne, was the only one among the peers whose birth might have commanded the needful authority, but he had not sufficient personal character to assert his [page 126] position. So the confederates remained a loose aggregation of small armies. The longer they remained in camp the weaker they grew, the more disintegrated. A pitched battle might have been a great advantage to these gallant defenders of the Public Weal of France and that was the last desire of their antagonist. ”

“ I was the more amaz'd at the Carriage of the Courtiers to this Prince, because 'twas natural to think that the Government of the Kingdom would soon fall into his hands. The Duke of Berry was just dead. The King was too old to expect he could live much longer, and the Dauphin too young to take the Management of Affairs upon him for a good while. In short, every thing promis'd this Prince the265 Regency of the Kingdom infallibly, yet scarce any body regarded him as the rising Sun. ”

“ Philip Augustus established an effective control over the administration of the province by the appointment of a royal bailli. Berry suffered during the Hundred Years’ War, and more severely during the wars of religion in the 16th century. It had been made a duchy in 1360, and its first duke, John [Jean] (1340–1416) , son of the French king John II., encouraged the arts and beautified the province with money wrung from his government of Languedoc. ”

“ The King-at-Arms summons the persons bearing the insignia of royalty.
"Monsieur the Duke of Bressac, bring la main de justice.
"Monsieur the Duke of Chevreuse, bring the sceptre.
"Monsieur the Duke of la Tremoille, bring the crown."
These three insignia are taken down into the vault, as were the flag and the four standards.
Then the Duke d'Uzes, putting the end of the baton of Grand Master of France within the vault, cries out: "The King is dead!"
The King-at-Arms withdraws three paces, and repeats in a low voice: "The King is dead! the King is dead! the King is dead!" ”

“ As was said by the Duke Ambroise de Doudeauville, for three years the minister of the King's household, "his religion, despite all the stupid things said of it, was very frank, very real, and very well understood."
Rarely has a sovereign given such a good example to those about him. No mistresses, no favorites, no scandal, no ruinous expenditures, no excess of luxury; a gentle piety, extreme affability, perfect courtesy, a constant desire to render France happy and glorious. ”

“ At the time of the consecration of Charles X., the minister of the King's household was the Duke Ambroise de Doudeauville, father of the Viscount Sosthenes de La Rochefoucauld. A philanthropic nobleman, devoted to the throne, the altar, the Charter, and to liberty, respectful for the past but thoughtful for the future, joining intelligent toleration to sincere piety, faithful servitor but no courtier to the King, the Duke of Doudeauville enjoyed the esteem of all and had at court a high standing, due even more to his character than to his birth. ”

“ His manners were essentially aristocratic, but without arrogance or pretension. Full of goodness toward his courtiers and his servitors, he won the love of all who approached him. His tastes were simple, and personally he required no luxury. Habituated during the Emigration to go without many things, he never thought of lavish expenditure, of building palaces or furnishing his residences richly. "Never did a king so love his people," says the Duke Ambroise de Doudeauville, "never did a king carry self-abnegation so far. ”

“ BERRY, CHARLES FERDINAND, Duke of (1778–1820) , younger son of Charles X. of France, was born at Versailles. At the Revolution he left France with his father, then comte d’Artois, and served in the army of Condé ”

“ Charles, Duke de Berry, was the youngest son of the Grand Dauphin (son of Louis XIV.) and Marie Anna of Bavaria: he was born August 31, 1686, and died at Marly, May 4, 1714, probably by poison administered by his own wife, Louise of Orleans.
[7] Nearly all the members of the Royal House of France, from Anne of Austria and her son Louis XIV. downwards, have been enormous eaters.
[8] Messrs. d'Aumont, St. Quentin, and Bontems are real persons, and this account of the private life of Louis XIV. is taken from authentic sources. ”

“ He expired on Friday, the 4th of May, 1714, at four o'clock in the morning, in his twenty-eighth year, having been born at Versailles, the last day of August, 1686.
M. le Duc de Berry was of ordinary height, rather fat, of a beautiful blonde complexion, with a fresh, handsome face, indicating excellent health. He was made for society, and for pleasure, which he loved; the best, gentlest, most compassionate and accessible of men, without pride, and without vanity, but not without dignity or self-appreciation. ”

“ The Duchess of Berry had the double gift of pleasing and making herself loved. All the persons of her household, all her servitors, from the great nobles and great ladies to the domestics and the chamber-maids, were deeply devoted to her. Poor or rich, she had attentions for all. ”