This the countess did, and was not slow in imparting to
her royalist friends of whom she was the honoured hostess. All
acknowledged the extraordinary similarity both in person and manner
which the stranger bore to the royal family. Some were enthusiastic
believers; others, with all their _legitimist_ enthusiasm, were
sceptical. Amongst the former was a certain Monsieur S. de L., who
thought the appearance of the 'prince' a miracle in reference to that
particular time. Louis-Philippe, when he accepted the crown nearly
two years before, had done so with great apparent reluctance. 'How
happy, therefore, will he be,' said this visionary politician, 'to
remove the burden of the state from his own shoulders to those of the
rightful heir to the throne!' But before so curious a proposition was
made to the king of the French, the other royalists consulted M. de
Talleyrand. He replied, with his usual epigrammatic irony, 'There are
some people who are born with two left hands. This is poor S.
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