The Count de Provence was now King Louis XVIII., and never
would he descend from his throne to give back to the son of Marie
Antoinette that crown which he wore with so much satisfaction and
pride.
Much more simple and easy was it to treat the pretender as a lunatic
or as an adventurer, and to set his claims aside forever. Useless
were all the letters which the Baron de Richemont, the name that
Louis still bore, addressed to his uncle the king, to his sister the
Duchess de Angouleme, imploring them for an interview. No answer was
received. No audience was granted to this adventurer, whose claims
could not be recognized without dethroning Louis XVIII., and
destroying the prospects of the crown for the duchess's son, the
Duke de Berri. Louis XVII. had died and he could not return to the
living. He saw it, he knew it, and a deep sorrow took possession of
him. But he rose above it--he would not die; he would live, a terror
and an avenger to his cruel relatives.
But it was a restless life that the son of the queen must lead, in
order to protect himself from the daggers of his powerful enemies.
The Prince de Conde conjured him to secure himself against the
attacks which were made more than once upon the Baron de Richemont,
and Louis gave heed to his requests and tears. He travelled abroad;
but after returning in two years from a journey in Asia and Africa,
on landing on the Italian coast, he was arrested in 1818, at the
instigation of the Austrian ambassador at Mantua, and confined in
the prison of Milan.
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