ean, papa?"

The king drew the child on to his knee and put an arm around the grave
little questioner, telling him that he would explain it to him, but
that he would have to listen carefully if he wished to understand such
grave matters.

"Oh, I will, I will," answered the Dauphin eagerly. "I know that I am
one of your subjects, and that as your son and a subject too, I must
give a good example to the French people of loving and obeying the
king. But it seems that my example has not done any good at all yet.
How does that happen, papa?"

In answer, the King told him that wicked men had said to the people
that he did not love them, that they had listened and believed this,
that France had had great wars, and wars cost a great deal. And so,
because he was the King, he had asked money of his subjects, just as
had always been done by other Kings.

"Oh, but papa," cried the Dauphin, "why did you do that? Why did you
not take my purse and pay out of that? You know that I receive every
day my purse filled with bright new francs and I could have helped you
easily. And, oh papa, do your people have more money than you have
yourself?"

King Louis answered that a king receives all his money from the people,
but gives it all back to them again, that he governs those people, and
they owe him respect and obedience and have to pay taxes to him, and so
if he needs money he raises it by laying extra taxes upon them. Then he
asked, "do you understand that, little Louis?"

"Oh, yes, indeed!" The Dauphin was breathless with interest now, "I
have been told about that, but I don't like it. It seems to me that if
a man is the king, he ought to have all the money and give it to the
people when they need it. They ought to ask him for it, not he ask
them."

To this the king agreed, but added with a sigh, that kings had so
misused their power and authority that the people no longer trusted
them, and that now a king could not pay out money unless the people
knew what it was to be used for, and were willing.

"Have you used people's money, papa, without asking their leave?" cried
Louis eagerly. "Was that why they came to Versailles yesterday and were
so wicked to us? For those bad men and women were the people, weren't
they?"

King Louis shook his head. "No, my son," he said. "The people can not
come to me in such great masses. They have to send representatives.
Those representatives I called to me at Versailles and asked of them
money