In vain, in his promenades, he sought the salutations of
the crowd, and exerted himself by his affability to provoke
acclamations; the public remained cold, and the monarch returned
to the Tuileries, saddened by a change in his reception which he
charged to the tactics of the liberal party and the calumnies of
the journals. The anti-religious opposition went on increasing,
and tried to persuade the crowd that the King was aiming at
nothing less than placing his kingdom under the direction of the
Jesuits.
The person of the sovereign was still respected, but the men who
had his confidence were the object of the most violent criticisms.
A coalition of the Extremists and the Left fought savagely against
the Villele ministry, which was reproached particularly for its
long duration.
From 1827, Orleansism, which Charles X. did not even suspect,
existed in a latent state, and sagacious observers could perceive
the dangers of the near future. A review of the National Guard of
Paris was a forerunner of them.
Each year the 12th of April, the anniversary of the re-entrance of
Monsieur to Paris in 1814, the National Guard alone was on duty at
the Tuileries. This privilege was looked upon as the reward of the
devotion it had then shown to the Prince, whose sole armed force
it was for several weeks. In 1827, the 12th of April fell on Holy
Thursday, a day given over wholly by the sovereign to his
religious duties.
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