one by one, were cut off before his eyes, and great Louis
is not moved in the slightest degree! As how, indeed, should a god be
moved?

* A pair of diamond ear-rings, given by the King to La
Valliere, caused much scandal; and some lampoons are extant,
which impugn the taste of Louis XIV. for loving a lady with
such an enormous mouth.

I have often liked to think about this strange character in the world,
who moved in it, bearing about a full belief in his own infallibility;
teaching his generals the art of war, his ministers the science of
government, his wits taste, his courtiers dress; ordering deserts to
become gardens, turning villages into palaces at a breath; and indeed
the august figure of the man, as he towers upon his throne, cannot fail
to inspire one with respect and awe:--how grand those flowing locks
appear; how awful that sceptre; how magnificent those flowing robes! In
Louis, surely, if in any one, the majesty of kinghood is represented.

But a king is not every inch a king, for all the poet may say; and it is
curious to see how much precise majesty there is in that majestic figure
of Ludovicus Rex. In the Frontispiece, we have endeavored to make the
exact calculation. The idea of kingly dignity is equally strong in the
two outer figures; and you see, at once, that majesty is made out of the
wig, the high-heeled shoes, and cloak, all fleurs-de-lis bespangled. As
for the little lean, shrivelled, paunchy old man, of five feet two, in a
jacket and breeches, there is no majesty in HIM at any rate; and yet he
has just stepped out of that very suit of clothes. Put the wig and shoes
on him, and he is six feet high;--the other fripperies, and he stands
before you majestic, imperial, and heroic! Thus do barbers and cobblers
make the gods that we worship: for do we not all worship him? Yes;
though we all know him to be stupid, heartless, short, of doubtful
personal courage, worship and admire him we must; and have set up, in
our hearts, a grand image of him, endowed with wit, magnanimity, valor,
and enormous heroical stature.

And what magnanimous acts are attributed to him! or, rather, how
differently do we view the actions of heroes and common men, and find
that the same thing shall be a wonderful virtue in the former, which,
in the latter, is only an ordinary act of duty. Look at yonder window of
the king's chamber;--one morning a royal cane was seen whirling out of
it, and plumped among