n, a daughter ten years old, and the little
boy, the Duke of Bordeaux (Count de Chambord), nine years of age.
These constituted the royal family.

"While Charles X. thought only of inspiring all around him with his
own fatal security, a bold scheme was concocting, almost before his
eyes, in the apartments of Madame de Gentaul. Convinced of the old
monarch's impotence to defend his dynasty, General Vincent had
resolved to save royalty without the king's co-operation, unknown to
the king, and, if necessary, despite the king. He went to Madame de
Gentaul and set forth to her that, in the existing state of things,
the fate of the monarchy depended upon a heroic resolve, and he
therefore proposed to her to take the Duchess de Berri and her son,
the Duke of Bordeaux, to Paris. He suggested that they should take
Neuilly in their way, get hold of the Duke of Orleans, and oblige
him by main force to take part in the hazard of the enterprise. They
should then enter Paris by the faubourgs, and the Duchess de Berri,
exhibiting the royal child to the people, should confide him to the
generosity of the combatants. Madame de Gentaul approved of this
scheme. In spite of its adventurous character, or rather for that
very reason, it won upon the excitable imagination of the Duchess de
Berri, and every thing was arranged for carrying it into execution.
But the infidelity of a confederate put Charles X. in possession of
the plot, and it broke down."[V]

[Footnote V: Les Dix Ans de Louis Philippe, par Louis Blanc.]

The Duke d'Angouleme, called the Dauphin, was a very respectable man,
without any distinguishing character. His wife, disciplined in the
school not merely of sorrow, but of such woes as few mortals have
ever been called to endure, had developed a character of truly heroic
mould. The Duchess de Berri was young, beautiful, and fascinating.
Her courage, enthusiasm, and love of adventure, as subsequently
displayed in the eyes of all Europe, were perhaps never surpassed.
Every generous heart will cherish emotions of regret in view of that
frailty which has consigned her name to reproach. The two children of
the Duchess de Berri were too young to comprehend the nature of the
events which were transpiring. Even while the bloody strife was in
progress, and the din of the conflict reached their ears, these two
innocent children were amusing themselves in a game in which
Mademoiselle led the rebels, and the Duke of Bordeaux at the head