DUKES  OF 285 suspect him, and his

friends would talk about his being king . The best proof of his not being ambitious of such a doubtful piece of preferment is that he made no attempt to get himself made king, regent or lieutenant-general of the kingdom at the time of the flight to Varennes in June 1791 . He, on the contrary, again tried to make his peace with the court in January 1792, but he was so insulted that he was not encouraged to sacrifice himself for the sake of the king and queen, who persisted in remembering all old enmities in their time of trouble . In the summer of 1792 he was present for a short time with the army of the north, with his two sons, the duke of Chartres and the duke of Montpensier, but had returned to Paris before the loth of August . After that day he underwent great personal risk in saving fugitives; in particular, he saved the life of the count of Champcenetz, the governor of the Tuileries, who was his personal enemy, at the request of Mrs Elliott . It was impossible for him to recede, and, after accepting the title of Citoyen Egalite, conferred on him by the commune of Paris, he was elected twentieth and last deputy for Paris to the Convention . In that body he sat as quietly as he had done in the National Assembly, but on the occasion of the king's trial he had to speak, and then only to give his vote for the death of Louis . His compliance did not save him from suspicion, which was especially aroused by the friendship of his eldest son, the duke of Chartres, with Dumouriez, and when the news of the desertion of Chartres with Dumouriez became known at Paris all the Bourbons left in France, including Egalite, were ordered to be arrested on the 5th of April . He remained in prison till the month of October, when the Reign of Terror began . He was naturally the very sort of victim wanted, and he was decreed " of accusation " on the 3rd of October . He was tried on the 6th of November and was guillotined on the same day, with a smile upon his lips and without any appearance of fear . No man ever was more blamed than Orleans during the Revolution, but the faults of ambition and intrigue were his friends', not his own; it was his friends who wished him to be on the throne .

Personally he possessed the charming

manners of a polished grand seigneur: debauched and cynical, but never rude or cruel, full of gentle consideration for all about him but selfish in his pursuit of pleasure, he has had to bear a heavy load of blame, but it is ridiculous to describe the idle and courteous voluptuary as being a dark and designing scoundrel, capable of murder if it would serve his ambition . The execution of Philippe Egalite made the friend of Dumouriez, who was living in exile, duke of Orleans . AuTHoRrrIEs.—Baschet, Histoire de Philippe Egalite; Journal of Mrs Grace Dalrymple Elliott (1859); A . Nettement, Philippe-Egalite (Paris, 1842); Laurentie, Histoire des ducs d'Orleans (Paris, 1832) ; G . Peignot, Precis historique de la maison d'Orleans (Paris, 1830) ; L . C . R(ousselet), Correspondance de Louis-Philippe Joseph d'Orleans avec Louis XVI (Paris, 1800) ; Rivarol, Portrait du duc d'Orleans et de Madame de Geniis; Tournois, Histoire du Louis Philippe Joseph duc d'Orleans (Paris, 1842) .