It is related of the unfortunate Louis XVI, King of France, that when he was a youth of twenty years, he said one day to his courtiers, “I have not done much in the way of keeping Lent this year, but next year it will be different, for I shall have to fast.” “Sire,” said one of them, “that will be impossible, for you would not be able to hunt.” “No matter,” replied Louis, “I must give up hunting if it is necessary, for a mere amusement does not excuse anyone from obeying the laws of the Church.”
Joseph Garat Proclaims the Arrest of King Louis XVI, By H. de la Charlerie.
The same King, when in prison and in the hands of his merciless enemies, was equally exact in observing the days of abstinence, and was wont to content himself for his meal with a piece of dry bread, when forbidden food was placed before him in derision by his cruel gaoler.
Stories From The Catechist by Very Rev. Canon G.E. Howe, Pg. 292 # 684
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 467
