“The prince upon this assumed a loud tone, and accused me of ingratitude in trampling upon the overtures of the king, his father, who, he said, was actuated in making the proposition more by feelings of kindness and pity towards me than by any other consideration, since his claim to the French throne rested on an entirely different basis to mine—­viz., not that of hereditary descent, but of popular election.  When he spoke in this strain, I spoke loud also, and said that as he, by his disclosure, had put me in the position of a superior, I must assume that position, and frankly say that my indignation was stirred by the memory that one of the family of Orleans had imbrued his hands in my father’s blood, and that another now wished to obtain from me an abdication of the throne.  When I spoke of superiority, the prince immediately assumed a respectful attitude, and remained silent for several minutes.  It had now grown very late, and we parted, with a request from him that I would reconsider the proposal of his father, and not be too hasty in my decision.  I returned to my father-in-law’s, and the next day saw the prince again, and on his renewal of the subject gave him a similar answer.  Before he went away he said, ‘Though we part, I hope we part friends.’”

And this tale is not intended for burlesque or comedy, but as a sober account of transactions which really took place.  It was published in a respectable magazine, it has been re-produced in a book which sets forth the claims of “The Lost Prince,” and it was brought so prominently before the Prince de Joinville that he was compelled either to corroborate it or deny it.  His answer is very plain.  He had a perfect recollection of being on board the steamer at the time and place mentioned, and of meeting on board the steamboat “a passenger whose face he thinks he recognises in the portrait given in the Monthly Magazine, but whose name had entirely escaped his memory.  This passenger seemed well informed respecting the history of America during the last century.  He related many anecdotes and interesting particulars concerning the French, who took part and distinguished themselves in these events.  His mother, he said, was an Indian woman of the great tribe of Iroquis, and his father was French.  These details could not fail to vividly interest the prince, whose voyage to the district had for its object to retrace the glorious path of the French, who had first opened to civilisation these fine countries.  All which treats of the revelation which the prince made to Mr. Williams of the mystery of his birth, all which concerns the pretended personage of Louis XVII., is from one end to the other a work of the imagination—­a fable woven wholesale—­a speculation upon the public credulity.”

* * * * *

These are but a few of the numerous sham dauphins who have at various times appeared.  One author, who has written a history of the elder branch of the House of Bourbon, estimates the total number of pretenders at a dozen and a half, while M. Beauchesne increases the list to thirty.  But few, besides those whose history has been given, succeeded in gaining notoriety, and all failed to rouse the French authorities to punish or even to notice their transparent impostures.