invented and had executed under his own eyes the ingenious mechanism
required for this globe.--NOTE BY THE EDITOR.]

Austere and rigid with regard to himself alone, the King observed the laws
of the Church with scrupulous exactness. He fasted and abstained
throughout the whole of Lent. He thought it right that the queen should
not observe these customs with the same strictness. Though sincerely
pious, the spirit of the age had disposed his mind to toleration. Turgot,
Malesherbes, and Necker judged that this Prince, modest and simple in his
habits, would willingly sacrifice the royal prerogative to the solid
greatness of his people. His heart, in truth, disposed him towards
reforms; but his prejudices and fears, and the clamours of pious and
privileged persons, intimidated him, and made him abandon plans which his
love for the people had suggested.

Monsieur--

[During his stay at Avignon, Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVIII, lodged with
the Duc de Crillon; he refused the town-guard which was offered him,
saying, "A son of France, under the roof of a Crillon, needs no
guard."--NOTE BY THE EDITOR.]

had more dignity of demeanour than the King; but his corpulence rendered
his gait inelegant. He was fond of pageantry and magnificence. He
cultivated the belles lettres, and under assumed names often contributed
verses to the Mercury and other papers.

His wonderful memory was the handmaid of his wit, furnishing him with the
happiest quotations. He knew by heart a varied repertoire, from the
finest passages of the Latin classics to the Latin of all the prayers,