It was thought that he had spoken to me at length,çoisRené and the rumour was spread of my return to favour. It is probable that Charles X., thinking that the Archbishop had told me of his good-will towards me, expected a word of thanks from me and was offended at my silence.
Thus have I assisted at the last coronation of the successors of Clovis; I had occasioned it by the pages in which I had asked for the coronation and depicted it in my pamphlet, _Le Roi est mort: vive le roi!_ Not that I had the least faith in the ceremony; but, as everything was lacking to the Legitimacy, it was necessary, to sustain it, to make use of everything, for better or for worse. I recalled Adalbéron's[260] definition: "The coronation of a King of France is, a public interest, not a private matter;" I quoted the admirable prayer set apart for the coronation:
"O God, who by Thy virtues counselled Thy peoples, give to this Thy servant the spirit of Thy wisdom! Let to all men born be in these days equity and justice: to friends succour, to enemies hinderance, to the afflicted consolation, to the lofty correction, to the rich instruction, to the needy pity, to pilgrims hospitality, to poor subjects peace and safety in the mother-land! Let him learn to command himself, moderately to govern each one according to his state, so that, O Lord, he may give to all the people an example of life pleasing to Thee!"
Before reproducing in my pamphlet, _Le Roi est mort: vive le roi!_ this prayer preserved by Du Tillet[261], I had exclaimed:
"Let us humbly beseech Charles X. to imitate his ancestors: thirty-two sovereigns of the Third Dynasty have received the royal unction."
All my duties being fulfilled, I left Rheims, and was able to say, like Joan of Arc:
[Footnote 156: This book was written in 1839 and revised in December 1846.--T.]
[Footnote 157: Joseph Planta (1787-1847) was secretary to Lord Londonderry for many years. From 1827 to 1830, he was one of the joint secretaries of the Treasury and, in 1834, was made a Privy Councillor. He sat as M. P. for Hastings, almost without interruption, from 1827 to 1844.--T.]
[Footnote 158: Amelia Anne Marchioness of Londonderry (1772-1829), _née_ Hobart, daughter and co-heiress of John Hobart, second Earl of Buckinghamshire, and married to the Marquess of Londonderry in 1794.--T.]