The Liberals wished the successor of the Duke to be one of their
choice. They maintained that the son of France belonged to the
nation, and that it had too much interest in his education to
permit the parents alone to dispose of it, as in ordinary
families. The ministry wished to be consulted. Charles X. replied
that he took counsel with his ministers in all that concerned the
public administration, but that he should maintain his liberty as
father of a family in the choice of masters for his grandson.
The King named the Lieutenant-General Baron de Damas (born in
1785, died in 1858). He was a brave soldier and a good Christian.
M. de Lamartine said that he had "integrity, obstinate industry,
virtue incorruptible by the air of couits, patriotic purpose, cool
impartiality, but no presence and no brilliancy," and that "his
piety was as loyal and disinterested as his heart." He had been
Minister of War, and of Foreign Affairs, and distinguished himself
under the Duke of Angouleme, during the Spanish Expedition. But
under the Revolution and the Empire, he had served in the Russian
army, and this did not render him popular. The Abbe Vedrenne, in
his VIE DE Charles X., wrote:--
"To watch over the person of the son of France, not quitting him
night or day; to make sure that the rules of his education are
followed in the employment of his time, in the routine of his
lessons; to let no one save persons worthy of confidence come near
him; to ward off all dangers, and notify the King of the least
indisposition,--such is the duty of the governor.
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