Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Orphans in the Temple

Madame Royale and Louis XVII
Rosalie trudged back towards the Conciergerie. It was dinner time, and she would be needed. With her head lowered, she moved through the masses of people, all going about their business, the spectacle having ended. On the cobbles, she saw a card, and quickly stooped to pick it up. It was a holy picture of the Sacred Heart, drawn in red ink, with orange and yellow flames, and around it were inscribed in letters of gold: “Long live Louis XVII, King of France!” Rosalie quickly put the card in her apron pocket. Tears streamed down her face, as she whispered a prayer for her little King, mistreated by his jailers in the Temple. Everyone at the Conciergerie talked about it. She prayed for him, and for his sister, Madame Royale, a girl about Rosalie’s own age, who like her brother was orphaned and imprisoned. “Oh, God, save them,” whispered the servant girl.
~from Trianon by Elena Maria Vidal
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1 comment:

May said...

Poor young souls, God bless them!