LOUIS XVIII. (LOUIS LE DiSIRE) Louis Stanislas-Xavier, comte de Provence, third son of the dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV. and Maria Josepha of Saxony, was born at Versailles on Nov. 17, 1755. His education was supervised by the devout duc de la Vauguyon, but his own taste was for the writings of Voltaire and the encyclopaedists. On May 14, 1771, took place his marriage with Louise-Marie-Josephine of Savoy. During the long absence of heirs to Louis XVI., as heir to the throne, courted popularity and took an active part in politics, but the birth of a dauphin (1781) was a blow to his ambitions. He opposed the revival of the parlements, wrote a number of political pamphlets, and at the Assembly of Notables presided, like the other princes of the blood, over a bureau, to which was given the name of the Comite des sages; he also ad vocated the double representation of the tiers. At the same time he cultivated literature, entertaining poets and writers both at the Luxembourg and at his château of Brunoy (see Dubois-Cor neau, Le Comte de Provence a Brunoy, 1909), and gaining a reputation for wit by his verses and mots in the salon of the charming and witty comtesse de Balbi, one of ladies, who had become his mistress, and till 1793 exerted considerable influence over him. He did not emigrate after the taking of the Bastille, but, possibly from motives of ambition, remained in Paris. In June 1791, however, at the time of the flight to Varennes, he also fled by a different route, and, in company with the comte subsequently replaced Mme. de Balbi as his confidant, and largely influenced his Brus sels, where he joined the comte and proceeded to Co blenz, now the headquarters of the emigration.
Here, living in royal state, he put himself at the head of the counter-revolutionary movement, appointing ambassadors, solicit ing the aid of the European sovereigns, and especially of Cath erine II. of Russia. Out of touch with affairs in France and sur rounded by violent anti-revolutionists, headed by Calonne and the comte he followed an entirely selfish policy, flouting the National Assembly, issuing uncompromising manifestoes (Sept. 1791, Aug. 1792, etc.), and obstructing in every way the repre sentatives of the king and queen. After Valmy he had to retire to Hamm in Westphalia, where, on the death of Louis XVI., he proclaimed himself regent ; from here he went south, with the idea of encouraging the royalist feeling in the south of France, and settled at Verona, where on the death of Louis XVII. (June 8,
1795) he took the title of Louis XVIII. From this time onward his life is a record of constant wanderings, negotiations and con spiracies. In April 1796 he joined army on the German frontier, but was shortly to leave the country, and accepted the hospitality of the duke of Brunswick at Blanckenberg till 1797, when, this refuge being no longer open to him, the emperor Paul I. permitted him to settle at Mittau in Courland, where he stayed till 1801. All this time he was in close com munication with the royalists in France, but was much embar rassed by the conflicting policy pursued by the comte from England, and was largely at the mercy of corrupt and dis honest agents.' At Mittau was realized his cherished plan of marrying Madame Royale, daughter of Louis XVI., to the duc elder son of the comte From Mittau, too, was sent his well-known letter to Bonaparte (1799) calling upon him to play the part of Monk, a proposal contemptuously refused, though Louis in turn declined to accept a pension from Bonaparte, and later, in 1803, though his fortunes were at their lowest ebb, refused to abdicate at his suggestion and accept an indemnity.
Suddenly expelled from Mittau in 180i by the capricious Paul I., Louis made his way, in the depth of winter, to Warsaw, where he stayed for three years. All this time he was trying to convert France to the royalist cause, and had a conseil royal in Paris, founded at the end of 1799 by Royer-Collard, Montesquiou, and Clermont-Gallerande, but after 180o, and still more after the assumption by Napoleon of the title of emperor (May 1804), the royalist cause appeared hopeless. In Sept. 1804 Louis met the comte at Calmar in Sweden, whence they issued a protest against action. Warned that he must not return to Poland, he gained permission from Alexander I. again to retire to Mittau. After Tilsit, however (1807), he was again forced to depart, and took refuge in England, where he stayed first at Gos field in Essex, and afterwards (1809 onwards) at Hartwell in Buckinghamshire. In 1810 his wife died, and in 181 died, his place as favourite being taken by the comte de After defeats in 1813 the hopes of the royalists re vived, and Louis issued a fresh manifesto, in which he promised to recognize the results of the Revolution. Negotiations were also opened with Bernadotte, who seemed willing to support his cause, but was really playing for his own hand.