After the murderous attempt of Fieschi the king lived under a continual expectation of assassination.  He no longer walked the streets of Paris with his cane under his arm.  When he drove, he sat with his back to the horses, because that position gave less certainty to the aim of an assassin.  It was said that his carriages were lined with sheet-iron.  He was thirteen times shot at, and the pallid looks of the poor queen were believed to arise from continual apprehension.  Her nerves had been shaken by the diabolical attempt of Fieschi, and she never afterwards would leave her husband, even for a few days.  She stayed away from the deathbed of her daughter, the Queen of the Belgians, lest in her absence he should be assassinated.

Neuilly was the home of the family, its beloved, particular retreat.  The greatest pang that Louis Philippe suffered in 1848 was its total destruction by rioters.  The little palace was furnished in perfect taste, with elegance, yet with simplicity.  The inlaid floors were especially beautiful.  The rooms were decorated with pictures, many of them representing passages in the early life of the king.  In one he was teaching mathematics in a Swiss school; in another he was romping with his children.  His own cabinet was decorated with his children’s portraits and with works of art by his accomplished daughter, the Princess Marie.  The family sitting-room was furnished with the princesses’ embroidery, and there was a table painted on velvet by the Duchesse de Berri.  The library was large, and contained many English books, among them a magnificent edition of Shakspeare.  The park enclosed one hundred acres.  The gardens were laid out in the English style.  A branch of the Seine ran through the grounds, with boat-houses and bath-houses for the pleasure of the young princes,—­and in one night this cherished home was laid in ruins!

[Illustration:  QUEEN MARIE AMELIE.]

“All is possible,” said Louis Philippe to a visitor who talked with him at Claremont in his exile, “all is possible to France,—­an empire, a republic, the Comte de Chambord, or my grandson; but one thing is impossible,—­that any of these should last. On a tue le respect,—­the nation has killed respect.”

Queen Marie Amelie was born in Naples in 1782.  Her mother was a daughter of Maria Theresa, and sister to Marie Antoinette.  This lady was not one who inspired respect, but she had some good qualities.  She was a good mother to her children, and had plenty of ability.  Of course she hated the French Revolution, and everything that savored of what are called liberal opinions.  Her career, which was full of vicissitudes and desperate plots, ended by her being dismissed ignominiously from Naples by the English ambassador, and she went to end her days with her nephew at Vienna.