y to them,
never!"

"We will hope that we shall never see them again," said the queen, "and
I wish you to be so kind and polite to everyone who comes here, that
all men may admire and respect their future king, even though he is
still a child."

"I will be," cried the boy with spirit, "so that you may be satisfied
with me, mamma. Just for that I will be so!"

As Marie Antoinette was kissing the pretty boy who was her comforter,
the mayor of Paris and General Lafayette were announced, and the
Dauphin whispered to his mother:

"That general was at Versailles with the bad men. I can _never_ be
kind to him."

"Hush," whispered the Queen--"For God's sake, do not let anybody hear
that. No--no--he does not belong to our enemies. He wishes us well.
Treat him kindly, my child."

And then Marie Antoinette took her son by the hand, and together they
met their distinguished guests, who had come with the unwelcome news
that, according to the old custom of the days of Henry the Fourth, the
people wished to have free access to the gardens of the Tuileries,
which freedom had been denied them since the coming of King Louis and
his family.

The queen was bitterly opposed to this, for it meant that, for her own
comfort and protection, she must only walk in the garden at certain
times and under escort, and she was speaking with proud and angry
fearlessness to the general about the matter, when the Dauphin left her
side and running forward, extended his hand to Lafayette, crying:

"General, I should like to salute you. Mamma told me I must be polite
and kind to all who are good to us, and she said that you wish us well.
Let me, therefore, greet you kindly, and give you my hand."

As he spoke, he raised his blue eyes and looked smilingly and
trustingly into those of the general and then at his mother; and his
hearer, whose heart had just kindled with anger against Marie
Antoinette and her rebellious words, felt anger melt into admiration,
together with reverence and astonishment at the words of the manly
little Dauphin. Bending his knee, in stately grace, he pressed the
Dauphin's small hand to his lips and said gravely as to a comrade:

"My prince, you have spoken as with the tongue of an angel, and I swear
to you and to your royal mother that I will never forget this moment.
The kiss I have impressed upon the hand of my future king is at once
the seal of a solemn vow and the oath of unchangeable fidelity and
devotion to my kin