They ought, therefore, to
begin to learn young. That was the opinion of Queen Marie
Antoinette, who taught me to read in my fifth year. You, my lord,
have, in your magnanimity, done every thing to make me able to
conform to the laws of my house, if it shall please God that the son
of my dear unfortunate father should one day ascend the vacant
throne of the Bourbons. Daring these two years which I have spent in
concealment in your palace in Vendee, you have laid a strong and
firm foundation, on which the superstructure of my life may rest. I
have, thanks to the excellent teachers you have given me, had an
opportunity to learn much, and to recall much which I had forgotten
during the years before my release from imprisonment."
"Your teachers inform me that your industry was unceasing, and that
you learned more in months than some do in years. You are familiar
with several languages, and, besides, have been instructed, as I
desired, in the art of war and in mathematics."
"In the studies of kings and soldiers," replied the boy, with a
proud smile.
"I fear that you will prove not to have prosecuted those studies
with a view to their use among soldiers," said Conde, with a sigh.
"Your prospects are very dark--yes, darker even than when you left
the Temple. These two years have made your condition more perilous.
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