And thus the empire was abolished, and the Count de Lille called
back by foreign potentates, and not by the French nation, in order,
as Louis XVIII., to reerect the throne of the Lilies.
And where, all this time, was the son of Queen Marie Antoinette?
Where was Louis XVII.?
He had kept his word which he gave to Josephine. He had gone to the
primeval forests and to the savages, and they had given him a crown
of feathers and made him their king.[Footnote: "Memoires du Due de
Normandie," pp. 89-102.] For years he lived among them, honored as
their king, loved as their hero. Then a longing for his country
seized him, and going to Brazil in the service of his people, he
made use of the opportunity to enter into a contract with Don Juan,
and not return to his copper-colored tribe. The precious treasure
which he possessed, his papers, he had been able to preserve during
all the journeys and amid all the perils of his life, and these
papers procured him a hospitable and honorable reception with Don
Juan. From him the king without name or inheritance learned the
changes that had meanwhile taken place in France, and, at the first
opportunity which offered, he returned to Europe, arriving at Paris
in the middle of the year 1816.
The Prince de Conde, now the Duke de Bourbon, received the wanderer
with tenderness, but with deep regret, for now it was too late, and
his hope for a restoration of the returning prince could rest on no
basis.
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