OF THE HOUSE OF ORLEANS: INCLUDING SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS IN FRANCE DURING THE BY W. COOKE TAYLOR, LL.D., AUTHOR OF K 66 ROMANTIC BIOGRAPHY OF THE AGE OF ELIZABETH;" "STUDENT'S MANUALS OF ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY," ETC. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1849. PREFACE. NEXT to the open hostilities between the Houses of Valois and Bourbon, the continued jealousy between the elder and younger branches of the Bourbons may be regarded as the most interesting episode in French History. That mysterious problem "the great secret" of Louis XIV., bequeathed as an inheritance to his race, was, at least partially, the necessity of watching the ambitious designs of the Orleans family; his apprehensions were expressed in the phrase "Orleans and Orange:" he feared that the English example of a revolution and a monarch with a parliamentary title might be contagious. A century elapsed before these fears were realised; the Revolution of 1830 seemed a justification of the jealousies and precautions of Louis XIV. The present Work was undertaken to illustrate this mystery in the private and family history of royalty, some years before the Revolution of 1848 changed the fortune and prospects of the House of Orleans. More than one interesting problem presented itself for investigation-what was probably the great secret of Louis XIV.? Did Henrietta of England, Maria Louisa of Spain, an unfortunate mother and an unfortunate daughter, really die by poison? Was the Regent Orleans such a moral monster as he is usually depicted? Did Philip Egalité deserve all the execration with which his memory has been loaded by posterity? The latter question involved an inquiry into some of the causes of the first French Revolution; and though little novelty can be expected on a subject which has employed the best pens of the age, it is hoped that a new light has been thrown on the connection of the Duke of Orleans with that great series of events. Less space has been devoted to Louis-Philippe than many readers will be prepared to expect; but it is only his early life that as yet properly belongs to history we are too close to his reign to estimate justly either the great abilities which he displayed, or the great errors which he committed The late Revolution justifies that course of repres |