ars on the day appointed.

It is Sunday, April 29th, 1827. The weather is magnificent. The
springtime sun gives to the capital a festive air. All the people are
out. The twelve legions and the mounted guards--more than twenty
thousand men--are under arms awaiting the King on the Champ-de-Mars. An
enormous crowd occupies the slope. At one o'clock precisely, Charles
X., mounted on a beautiful horse, which he manages like a skilled
horseman, leaves the Tuileries with a numerous escort, including the
Dauphin, the Duke of Orleans, the young Duke of Chartres, and a number
of generals. The princesses follow in an open caleche. Everything
appears to be going perfectly. The National Guards have pledged
themselves to satisfy the King by their conduct. A note has been read
in the ranks in these words: "Caution to the National Guards, to be
circulated to the very last file. The rumor is spread that the National
Guards intend to cry 'Down with the ministers! Down with the Jesuits!'
Only mischief-makers can wish to see the National Guard abandon its
noble character."

A general movement of curiosity on the Champ-de-Mars is noticed.
Charles X. arrives. He has a serene brow, a smile upon his lips. It
hardly seems possible that before the end of the year he will be a
septuagenarian; he would be taken for a man of fifty, powdered. An
immense cry of "Long live the King," raised by the National Guards, is
repeated by the crowd. The monarch, radiant, salutes with glance and
hand.

He passes along the front of the battalions. Here and there are heard
cries of "Hurrah for the Charter! Hurrah for liberty of the press!" But
they are drowned by those of "Long live the King!" Everything seems to
go as he wishes, and Charles X. feels that the review, which his timid
ministers regarded as dangerous, is an inspiration. So far it is for
him only a triumph. But suddenly, as he appears in front of the Seventh
Legion, he remarks the persistence with which a group of the Guards is
crying, "Hurrah for the Charter!" The monarch perceives a sentiment of
unfriendliness. A National Guardsman ventures to speak:--

"Does Your Majesty think that cheers for the Charter are an
outrage?"--"Gentlemen," responds the King in a severe tone, "I came
here to receive homage, not a lesson." The royal pride of this response
had a good effect. The cries of "Long live the King!" are renewed with
energy. The face of Charles X. again becomes calm and serene. Seated in
his