Louis de France (1781-1789)

Birth and education

The late birth of the dolphin upset the Royal family, ruining the hopes of the Count de Provence which loses thus its title of dolphin. As for the texts and songs reporting the event, there is, as for the birth of Mrs Royale, the two extremes. The lampoons orduriers multiply, but, as a whole, the people are delighted by this birth. The ceremonial proceeds normally, and the house of the dolphin is made up. A multitude of gifts are offered to the husbands: one can note this clock with music and automats as well as a trunk with thin layer offered by the town of Paris.

The dolphin is raised by several nurses, of which most famous is undoubtedly Mrs Poitrine, that one shows to have transmitted to him tuberculosis. Like his/her sister, the dolphin is very close to his/her parents. Louis XVI, who supervises very close his education, orders with the geographer Mancelle a transformable sphere terrestrial, thus showing the grounds emerged and immersed, as all that could perfect its knowledge, such as for example a whole series of paintings on skins of bison! The young prince is described by all his contemporaries like an intelligent child, who astonishes by its distributed. He announces the behavior of his father. It is seen, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette is parents who are worried much the education of their children. But they are, alas, too optimists with regard to the health of the Louis young person…

Disease

Various phases of the disease of the dolphin:

About April 1784 the dolphin is taken high fevers. It is transported to the Dumb woman, where it cures quickly.
In March 1785, Variolisation of the dolphin to the Dumb woman. The continuations are without gravity but its faded health in remainder
In April 1786 the high fevers starts again. The dolphin is shaken feverish movements which worry only very little its entourage. They are however the primary symptoms of the Tuberculose. It is noted that its backbone starts to be curved.
In October 1786, the dolphin passes to the men. At the time of the ceremonial, one notes that it has evil to go, and that its body carries traces of Vésicatoire.
During the years 1786 and 1787 one wants to rectify the backbone of the dolphin by means of iron corsets.
As of January 1788, it is consumed by a slow fever. The disease progresses quickly. D Small diagnoses a decays vertebral . The dolphin has gangrenées vertebrae, and cannot survive a long time. According to Mac de Bombelles, one too much much waited and the dolphin is lost. “If my son were that of a private individual, it would go well”, declares the queen.

Louis dies on June 4th, 1789. It is a child who very quickly included/understood the gravity of his state and had been determined from of not to escape. Its disease had made it deformed so much so that one forced to him to carry a corset which, thought one, was going to give in state its spinal column. It had of it shame, shame to leave, shame to be considering. And due, on May 4th 1789, with the opening ceremony of the General states which were its last festival, the people could contemplate a prince which did not go any more, weak, failing. It seems that never royal child was not regretted any more at the Court of Versailles. Louis XVI was ploughed up. He asked that one move back the debates of a few days, time to make his mourning. The deputies refused. “Are there no fathers at the National Assembly? ” he asked then. “The people did not even realize death of my son”, wrote Marie-Antoinette…

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