4867. LOUIS XVI., Character of.—
He
had not a wish but for the good of the nation;
and for that object, no personal sacrifice would
ever have cost him a moment's regret; but
his mind was weakness itself, his constitution
timid, his judgment null, and without sufficient
firmness even to stand by the faith of his word.
His Queen, too, haughty, and bearing no contradiction,
had an absolute ascendency over him;
and around her were rallied the King's brother,
D'Artois, the court generally, and the aristocratic
part of his ministers, particularly Breteuil,
Broglio, Vauguyon, Foulon, Luzerne, men whose
principles of government were those of the age
of Louis XIV. Against this host, the good
counsels of Necker, Montmorin, St. Priest, although
in unison with the wishes of the King
himself, were of little avail. The resolutions
of the morning, formed under their advice,
would be reversed in the evening, by the influence
of the Queen and Court.—
Autobiography. Washington ed. i, 88.
Ford ed., i, 121.
(1821)
