from 1824 to 1830, was the fourth
child of the dauphin, son of Louis XV. and of Marie Josephe of Saxony,
and consequently brother of Louis XVI. He was known before his accession
as Charles Philippe, count of Artois. At the age of sixteen he married
Marie Therese of Savoy, sister-in-law of his brother, the count of
Provence (Louis XVIII.). His youth was passed in scandalous dissipation,
which drew upon himself and his coterie the detestation of the people of
Paris. Although lacking military tastes, he joined the French army at
the siege of Gibraltar in 1772, merely for distraction. In a few years
he had incurred a debt of 56 million francs, a burden assumed by the
impoverished state. Prior to the Revolution he took only a minor part in
politics, but when it broke out he soon became, with the queen, the
chief of the reactionary party at court. In July 1789 he left France,
became leader of the _emigres_, and visited several of the courts of
Europe in the interest of the royalist cause. After the execution of
Louis XVI. he received from his brother, the count of Provence, the
title of lieutenant-general of the realm, and, on the death of Louis
XVII., that of "Monsieur." In 1795 he attempted to aid the royalist
rising of La Vendee, landing at the island of Yeu. But he refused to
advance farther and to put himself resolutely at the head of his party,
although warmly acclaimed by it, and courage failing him, he returned to
England, settling first in London, then in Holyrood Palace at Edinburgh
and afterwards at Hartwell. There he remained until 1813, returning to
France in February 1814, and entering Paris in April, in the track of
the Allies.

During the reign of his brother, Louis XVIII., he was the leader of the
ultra-royalists, the party of extreme reaction. On succeeding to the
throne in September 1824 the dignity of his address and his affable
condescension won him a passing popularity. But his coronation at Reims,
with all the gorgeous ceremonial of the old regime, proclaimed his
intention of ruling, as the Most Christian King, by divine right. His
first acts, indeed, allayed the worst alarms of the Liberals; but it was
soon apparent that the weight of the crown would be consistently thrown
into the scale of the reactionary forces. The _emigres_ were awarded a
milliard as compensation for their confiscated lands; and Gallicans and
Liberals alike were offended by measures which threw increased power
into the hands of th