diff options
Diffstat (limited to '3883.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 3883.txt | 14870 |
1 files changed, 14870 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/3883.txt b/3883.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6af8efe --- /dev/null +++ b/3883.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14870 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Memoirs of Louis XV./XVI, +Complete, by Madame du Hausset, an "Unknown English Girl" and the Princess Lamballe + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Secret Memoirs of Louis XV./XVI, Complete + +Author: Madame du Hausset, an "Unknown English Girl" and the Princess Lamballe + +Release Date: September 29, 2006 [EBook #3883] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUIS XV. AND XVI. *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. AND XVI. + +Being Secret Memoirs of Madame du Hausset, +Lady's Maid to Madame de Pompadour, +and of an unknown English Girl +and the Princess Lamballe. + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS +Louis the Fifteenth + +"It Was an Indigestion + +Madame du Hausset + +Madame de Pompadour + +Madame Adelaide + +Madame Sophie + +Madame Elizabeth + +Mirabeau and the Queen + +Princess de Lamballe + +Marie Antoinette in the Temple + +Interviewing Little Louis + +Marie Antoinette to the Guillotine + + + + + +ADVERTISEMENT. + +[FROM THE LONDON MAGAZINE, NO. III. NEW SERIES P. 439.] + +We were obliged by circumstances, at one time, to read all the published +memoirs relative to the reign of Louis XV., and had the opportunity of +reading many others which may not see the light for a long time yet to +come, as their publication at present would materially militate against +the interest of the descendants of the writers; and we have no hesitation +in saying that the Memoirs of Madame du Hausset are the only perfectly +sincere ones amongst all those we know. Sometimes, Madame du Hausset +mistakes, through ignorance, but never does she wilfully mislead, like +Madame Campan, nor keep back a secret, like Madame Roland, and MM. +Bezenval and Ferreires; nor is she ever betrayed by her vanity to invent, +like the Due de Lauzun, MM. Talleyrand, Bertrand de Moleville, Marmontel, +Madame d'Epinay, etc. When Madame du Hausset is found in contradiction +with other memoirs of the same period, we should never hesitate to give +her account the preference. Whoever is desirous of accurately knowing +the reign of Louis XV. should run over the very wretched history of +Lacretelle, merely for the dates, and afterwards read the two hundred +pages of the naive du Hausset, who, in every half page, overturns half a +dozen misstatements of this hollow rhetorician. Madame du Hausset was +often separated from the little and obscure chamber in the Palace of +Versailles, where resided the supreme power, only by a slight door or +curtain, which permitted her to hear all that was said there. She had +for a 'cher ami' the greatest practical philosopher of that period, Dr. +Quesnay, the founder of political economy. He was physician to Madame de +Pompadour, and one of the sincerest and most single-hearted of men +probably in Paris at the time. He explained to Madame du Hausset many +things that, but for his assistance, she would have witnessed without +understanding. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +A friend of M. de Marigny (the brother of Madame de Pompadour) called on +him one day and found him burning papers. Taking up a large packet which +he was going to throw into the fire "This," said he, "is the journal of a +waiting-woman of my sister's. She was a very estimable person, but it is +all gossip; to the fire with it!" He stopped, and added, "Don't you +think I am a little like the curate and the barber burning Don Quixote's +romances?"--"I beg for mercy on this," said his friend. "I am fond of +anecdotes, and I shall be sure to find some here which will interest me." +"Take it, then," said M. de Marigny, and gave it him. + +The handwriting and the spelling of this journal are very bad. It +abounds in tautology and repetitions. Facts are sometimes inverted in +the order of time; but to remedy all these defects it would have been +necessary to recast the whole, which would have completely changed the +character of the work. The spelling and punctuation were, however, +corrected in the original, and some explanatory notes added. + +Madame de Pompadour had two waiting-women of good family. The one, +Madame du Hausset, who did not change her name; and another, who assumed +a name, and did not publicly announce her quality. This journal is +evidently the production of the former. + +The amours of Louis XV. were, for a long time, covered with the veil of +mystery. The public talked of the Parc-aux-Cerfs, but were acquainted +with none of its details. Louis XIV., who, in the early part of his +reign, had endeavoured to conceal his attachments, towards the close of +it gave them a publicity which in one way increased the scandal; but his +mistresses were all women of quality, entitled by their birth to be +received at Court. Nothing can better describe the spirit of the time +and the character of the Monarch than these words of Madame de Montespan: + +"He does not love me," said she, "but he thinks he owes it to his +subjects and to his own greatness to have the most beautiful woman in his +kingdom as his mistress." + + + + + + +SECRET MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV., +AND MEMOIRS OF MADAME DU HAUSSET. + + +An early friend of mine, who married well at Paris, and who has the +reputation of being a very clever woman, has often asked me to write down +what daily passed under my notice; to please her, I made little notes, of +three or four lines each, to recall to my memory the most singular or +interesting facts; as, for instance--attempt to assassinate the King; he +orders Madame de Pompadour to leave the Court; M. de Machaudt's +ingratitude, etc.--I always promised my friend that I would, some time or +other, reduce all these materials into the form of a regular narrative. +She mentioned the "Recollections of Madame de Caylus," which were, +however, not then printed; and pressed me so much to produce a similar +work, that I have taken advantage of a few leisure moments to write this, +which I intend to give her, in order that she may arrange it and correct +the style. I was for a long time about the person of Madame de +Pompadour, and my birth procured for me respectful treatment from +herself, and from some distinguished persons who conceived a regard for +me. I soon became the intimate friend of Doctor Quesnay, who frequently +came to pass two or three hours with me. + +His house was frequented by people of all parties, but the number was +small, and restricted to those who were on terms of greatest intimacy +with him. All subjects were handled with the utmost freedom, and it is +infinitely to his honour and theirs that nothing was ever repeated. + +The Countess D----- also visited me. She was a frank and lively woman, +and much liked by Madame de Pompadour. The Baschi family paid me great +attention. M. de Marigny had received some little services from me, in +the course of the frequent quarrels between him and his sister, and he +had a great friendship for me. The King was in the constant habit of +seeing me; and an accident, which I shall have occasion to relate, +rendered him very familiar with me. He talked without any constraint +when I was in the room. During Madame de Pompadour's illness I scarcely +ever left her chamber, and passed the night there. Sometimes, though +rarely, I accompanied her in her carriage with Doctor Quesnay, to whom +she scarcely spoke a word, though he was--a man of great talents. When I +was alone with her, she talked of many affairs which nearly concerned +her, and she once said to me, "The King and I have such implicit +confidence in you, that we look upon you as a cat, or a dog, and go on +talking as if you were not there." There was a little nook, adjoining +her chamber, which has since been altered, where she knew I usually sat +when I was alone, and where I heard everything that was said in the room, +unless it was spoken in a low voice. But when the King wanted to speak +to her in private, or in the presence of any of his Ministers, he went +with her into a closet, by the side of the chamber, whither she also +retired when she had secret business with the Ministers, or with other +important persons; as, for instance, the Lieutenant of Police, the +Postmaster-General, etc. All these circumstances brought to my knowledge +a great many things which probity will neither allow me to tell or to +record. I generally wrote without order of time, so that a fact may be +related before others which preceded it. Madame de Pompadour had a great +friendship for three Ministers; the first was M. de Machault, to whom she +was indebted for the regulation of her income, and the payment of her +debts. She gave him the seals, and he retained the first place in her +regard till the attempt to assassinate the King. Many people said that +his conduct on that occasion was not attributable to bad intentions; that +he thought it his duty to obey the King without making himself in any way +a party to the affair, and that his cold manners gave him the appearance +of an indifference which he did not feel. Madame de Pompadour regarded +him in the light of a faithless friend; and, perhaps, there was some +justice on both sides. But for the Abbe de Bernis; M. de Machault might, +probably, have retained his place. + +The second Minister, whom Madame de Pompadour liked, was the Abbe de +Bernis. She was soon disgusted with him when she saw the absurdity of +his conduct. He gave a singular specimen of this on the very day of his +dismissal. He had invited a great many people of distinction to a +splendid entertainment, which was to have taken place on the very day +when he received his order of banishment, and had written in the notes of +invitation--M. Le Comte de Lusace will be there. This Count was the +brother of the Dauphine, and this mention of him was deservedly thought +impertinent. The King said, wittily enough, "Lambert and Moliere will be +there." She scarcely ever spoke of the Cardinal de Bernis after his +dismissal from the Court. + +He was extremely ridiculous, but he was a good sort of man. Madame, the +Infanta, died a little time before, and, by the way, of such a +complication of putrid and malignant diseases, that the Capuchins who +bore the body, and the men who committed it to the grave, were overcome +by the effluvia. Her papers appeared no less impure in the eyes of the +King. He discovered that the Abbe de Bernis had been intriguing with +her, and that they had deceived him, and had obtained the Cardinal's hat +by making use of his name. The King was so indignant that he was very +near refusing him the barrette. He did grant it--but just as he would +have thrown a bone to a dog. The Abbe had always the air of a protege +when he was in the company of Madame de Pompadour. She had known him in +positive distress. The Due de Choiseul was very differently situated; +his birth, his air, his manners, gave him claims to consideration, and he +far exceeded every other man in the art of ingratiating himself with +Madame de Pompadour. She looked upon him as one of the most illustrious +nobles of the Court, as the most able Minister, and the most agreeable +man. M. de Choiseul had a sister and a wife, whom he had introduced to +her, and who sedulously cultivated her favourable sentiments towards him. +From the time he was Minister, she saw only with his eyes; he had the +talent of amusing her, and his manners to women, generally, were +extremely agreeable. + +Two persons--the Lieutenant of Police and the Postmaster-General--were +very much in Madame de Pompadour's confidence; the latter, however, +became less necessary to her from the time that the King communicated to +M. de Choiseul the secret of the post-office, that is to say, the system +of opening letters and extracting matter from them: this had never been +imparted to M. d'Argenson, in spite of the high favour he enjoyed. I have +heard that M. de Choiseul abused the confidence reposed in him, and +related to his friends the ludicrous stories, and the love affairs, +contained in the letters which were broken open. The plan they pursued, +as I have heard, was very simple. Six or seven clerks of the post-office +picked out the letters they were ordered to break open, and took the +impression of the seals with a ball of quicksilver. Then they put each +letter, with the seal downwards, over a glass of hot water, which melted +the wax without injuring the paper. It was then opened, the desired +matter extracted, and it was sealed again, by means of the impression. +This is the account of the matter I have heard. The Postmaster-General +carried the extracts to the King on Sundays. He was seen coming and +going on this noble errand as openly as the Ministers. Doctor Quesnay +often, in my presence, flew in such a rage about that infamous Minister, +as he called him, that he foamed at the mouth. "I would as soon dine +with the hangman as with the Postmaster-General," said the Doctor. It +must be acknowledged that this was astonishing language to be uttered in +the apartments of the King's mistress; yet it went on for twenty years +without being talked of. "It was probity speaking with earnestness," +said M. de Marigny, "and not a mere burst of spite or malignity." + +The Duc de Gontaut was the brother-in-law and friend of M. de Choiseul, +and was assiduous in his attendance on Madame de Pompadour. The sister +of M. de Choiseul, Madame de Grammont, and his wife were equally constant +in their attentions. This will sufficiently account for the ascendency +of M. de Choiseul, whom nobody would have ventured to attack. Chance, +however, discovered to me a secret correspondence of the King, with a man +in a very obscure station. This man, who had a place in the Farmers +General, of from two to three hundred a year, was related to one of the +young ladies of the Parc-aux-cerfs, by whom he was recommended to the +King. He was also connected in some way with M. de Broglie, in whom the +King placed great confidence. Wearied with finding that this +correspondence procured him no advancement, he took the resolution of +writing to me, and requesting an interview, which I granted, after +acquainting Madame de Pompadour with the circumstance. After a great +deal of preamble and of flattery, he said to me, "Can you give me your +word of honour, and that of Madame de Pompadour, that no mention whatever +of what I am going to tell you will be made to the King?"--"I think I can +assure you that, if you require such a promise from Madame de Pompadour, +and if it can produce no ill consequence to the King's service, she will +give it you." He gave me his word that what he requested would have no +bad effect; upon which I listened to what he had to say. He shewed me +several memorials, containing accusations of M. de Choiseul, and revealed +some curious circumstances relative to the secret functions of the Comte +de Broglie. These, however, led rather to conjectures than to certainty, +as to the nature of the services he rendered to the King. Lastly, he +shewed me several letters in the King's handwriting. "I request," said +he, "that the Marquise de Pompadour will procure for me the place of +Receiver-General of Finances; I will give her information of whatever I +send the King; I will write according to her instructions, and I will +send her his answers." As I did not choose to take liberties with the +King's papers, I only undertook to deliver the memorials. Madame de +Pompadour having given me her word according to the conditions on which I +had received the communication, I revealed to her everything I had heard. +She sent the memorials to M. de Choiseul, who thought them very +maliciously and very cleverly written. Madame de Pompadour and he had a +long conference as to the reply that was to be given to the person by +whom those disclosures were made. What I was commissioned to say was +this: that the place of Receiver-General was at present too important, +and would occasion too much surprise and speculation; that it would not +do to go beyond a place worth fifteen thousand to twenty thousand francs +a year; that they had no desire to pry into the King's secrets; and that +his correspondence ought not to be communicated to any one; that this did +not apply to papers like those of which I was the bearer, which might +fall into his hands; that he would confer an obligation by communicating +them, in order that blows aimed in the dark, and directed by malignity +and imposture, might be parried. The answer was respectful and proper, +in what related to the King; it was, however, calculated to counteract +the schemes of the Comte de Broglie, by making M. de Choiseul acquainted +with his attacks, and with the nature of the weapons he employed. It was +from the Count that he received statements relating to the war and to the +navy; but he had no communication with him concerning foreign affairs, +which the Count, as it was said, transacted immediately with the King. +The Duc de Choiseul got the man who spoke to me recommended to the +Controller-General, without his appearing in the business; he had the +place which was agreed upon, and the hope of a still better, and he +entrusted to me the King's correspondence, which I told him I should not +mention to Madame de Pompadour, according to her injunctions. He sent +several memorials to M. de Choiseul, containing accusations of him, +addressed to the King. This timely information enabled him to refute +them triumphantly. + +The King was very fond of having little private correspondences, very +often unknown to Madame de Pompadour: she knew, however, of the existence +of some, for he passed part of his mornings in writing to his family, to +the King of Spain, to Cardinal Tencin, to the Abbe de Broglie, and also +to some obscure persons. "It is, doubtless, from such people as these," +said she to me, one day, "that the King learns expressions which +perfectly surprise me. For instance, he said to me yesterday, when he +saw a man pass with an old coat on, 'il y a la un habit bien examine.' He +once said to me, when he meant to express that a thing was probable, 'il +y a gros'; I am told this is a saying of the common people, meaning, 'il +y a gros a parier'." I took the liberty to say, "But is it not more +likely from his young ladies at the Parc, that he learns these elegant +expressions?" She laughed, and said, "You are right; 'il y a gros'." The +King, however, used these expressions designedly, and with a laugh. + +The King knew a great many anecdotes, and there were people enough who +furnished him with such as were likely to mortify the self-love of +others. One day, at Choisy, he went into a room where some people were +employed about embroidered furniture, to see how they were going on; and +looking out of the window, he saw at the end of a long avenue two men in +the Choisy uniform. "Who are those two noblemen?" said he. Madame de +Pompadour took up her glass, and said, "They are the Duc d'Aumont, and +------" "Ah!" said the King; "the Duc d'Aumont's grandfather would be +greatly astonished if he could see his grandson arm in arm with the +grandson of his valet de chambre, L------, in a dress which may be called +a patent of nobility!" He went on to tell Madame de Pompadour a long +history, to prove the truth of what he said. The King went out to +accompany her into the garden; and, soon after, Quesnay and M. de Marigny +came in. I spoke with contempt of some one who was very fond of money. +At this the Doctor laughed, and said, "I had a curious dream last night: +I was in the country of the ancient Germans; I had a large house, stacks +of corn, herds of cattle, a great number of horses, and huge barrels of +ale; but I suffered dreadfully from rheumatism, and knew not how to +manage to go to a fountain, at fifty leagues' distance, the waters of +which would cure me. I was to go among a strange people. An enchanter +appeared before me, and said to me, 'I pity your distress; here, I will +give you a little packet of the powder of "prelinpinpin"; whoever +receives a little of this from you will lodge you, feed you, and pay you +all sorts of civilities.' I took the powder, and thanked him." "Ah!" +said I, "how I should like to have some powder of prelinpinpin! I wish I +had a chest full."--"Well," said the Doctor, "that powder is money, for +which you have so great a contempt. Tell me who, of all the men who come +hither, receives the greatest attentions?"--"I do not know," said I. +"Why," said he, "it is M. de Monmartel, who comes four or five times a +year."--"Why does he enjoy so much consideration?"--"Because his coffers +are full of the powder of prelinpinpin. Everything in existence," said +he, taking a handful of Louis from his pocket, "is contained in these +little pieces of metal, which will convey you commodiously from one end +of the world to the other. All men obey those who possess this powder, +and eagerly tender them their services. To despise money, is to despise +happiness, liberty, in short, enjoyments of every kind." A cordon bleu +passed under the window. "That nobleman," said I, "is much more +delighted with his cordon bleu than he would be with ten thousand of your +pieces of metal."--"When I ask the King for a pension," replied Quesnay, +"I say to him, 'Give me the means of having a better dinner, a warmer +coat, a carriage to shelter me from the weather, and to transport me from +place to place without fatigue.' But the man who asks him for that fine +blue ribbon would say, if he had the courage and the honesty to speak as +he feels, 'I am vain, and it will give me great satisfaction to see +people look at me, as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and make +way, for me; I wish, when I enter a room, to produce an effect, and to +excite the attention of those who may, perhaps, laugh at me when I am +gone; I wish to be called Monseigneur by the multitude.' Is not all this +mere empty air? In scarcely any country will this ribbon be of the +slightest use to him; it will give him no power. My pieces of metal will +give me the power of assisting the unfortunate everywhere. Long live the +omnipotent powder of prelinpinpin!" At these last words, we heard a +burst of laughter from the adjoining room, which was only separated by a +door from the one we were in. The door opened, and in came the King, +Madame de Pompadour, and M. de Gontaut. "Long live the powder of +prelinpinpin!" said the King. "Doctor, can you get me any of it?" It +happened that, when the King returned from his walk, he was struck with a +fancy to listen to our conversation. Madame de Pompadour was extremely +kind to the Doctor, and the King went out laughing, and talking with +great admiration of the powder. I went away, and so did the Doctor. I +immediately sat down to commit this conversation to writing. I was +afterwards told that M. Quesnay was very learned in certain matters +relating to finance, and that he was a great 'economiste'. But I do not +know very well what that means. What I do know for certain is, that he +was very clever, very gay and witty, and a very able physician. + +The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, whose intelligence was much +talked of, for a long time occupied the attention of the Court. Great +endeavours were made to find out the cause of his malady, and ill-nature +went so far as to assert that his nurse, who had an excellent situation +at Versailles, had communicated to him a nasty disease. The King shewed +Madame de Pompadour the information he had procured from the province she +came from, as to her conduct. A silly Bishop thought proper to say she +had been very licentious in her youth. The poor nurse was told of this, +and begged that he might be made to explain himself. The Bishop replied, +that she had been at several balls in the town in which she lived, and +that she had gone with her neck uncovered. The poor man actually thought +this the height of licentiousness. The King, who had been at first +uneasy, when he came to this, called out, "What a fool!" After having +long been a source of anxiety to the Court, the Duke died. Nothing +produces a stronger impression upon Princes, than the spectacle of their +equals dying. Everybody is occupied about them while ill--but as soon as +they are dead, nobody mentions them. The King frequently talked about +death--and about funerals, and places of burial. Nobody could be of a +more melancholy temperament. Madame de Pompadour once told me that he +experienced a painful sensation whenever he was forced to laugh, and that +he had often begged her to break off a droll story. He smiled, and that +was all. In general, he had the most gloomy ideas concerning almost all +events. When there was a new Minister, he used to say, "He displays his +wares like all the rest, and promises the finest things in the world, not +one of which will be fulfilled. He does not know this country--he will +see." When new projects for reinforcing the navy were laid before him, +he said, "This is the twentieth time I have heard this talked of--France +never will have a navy, I think." This I heard from M. de Marigny. + +I never saw Madame de Pompadour so rejoiced as at the taking of Mahon. +The King was very glad, too, but he had no belief in the merit of his +courtiers--he looked upon their success as the effect of chance. Marechal +Saxe was, as I have been told, the only man who inspired him with great +esteem. But he had scarcely ever seen him in his closet, or playing the +courtier. + +M. d'Argenson picked a quarrel with M. de Richelieu, after his victory, +about his return to Paris. This was intended to prevent his coming to +enjoy his triumph. He tried to throw the thing upon Madame de Pompadour, +who was enthusiastic about him, and called him by no other name than the +"Minorcan." The Chevalier de Montaign was the favourite of the Dauphin, +and much beloved by him for his great devotion. He fell ill, and +underwent an operation called 'l'empieme', which is performed by making +an incision between the ribs, in order to let out the pus; it had, to all +appearance, a favourable result, but the patient grew worse, and could +not breathe. His medical attendants could not conceive what occasioned +this accident and retarded his cure. He died almost in the arms of the +Dauphin, who went every day to see him. The singularity of his disease +determined the surgeons to open the body, and they found, in his chest, +part of the leaden syringe with which decoctions had, as was usual, been +injected into the part in a state of suppuration. The surgeon, who +committed this act of negligence, took care not to boast of his feat, and +his patient was the victim. This incident was much talked of by the +King, who related it, I believe, not less than thirty times, according to +his custom; but what occasioned still more conversation about the +Chevalier de Montaign, was a box, found by his bed's side, containing +haircloths, and shirts, and whips, stained with blood. This circumstance +was spoken of one evening at supper, at Madame de Pompadour's, and not +one of the guests seemed at all tempted to imitate the Chevalier. Eight +or ten days afterwards, the following tale was sent to the King, to +Madame de Pompadour, to the Baschi, and to the Duc d'Ayen. At first +nobody could understand to what it referred: at last, the Duc d'Ayen +exclaimed, "How stupid we are; this is a joke on the austerities of the +Chevalier de Montaign!" This appeared clear enough--so much the more so, +as the copies were sent to the Dauphin, the Dauphine, the Abbe de St. +Cyr, and to the Duc de V---. The latter had the character of a pretender +to devotion, and, in his copy, there was this addition, "You would not be +such a fool, my dear Duke, as to be a 'faquir'--confess that you would be +very glad to be one of those good monks who lead such a jolly life." The +Duc de Richelieu was suspected of having employed one of his wits to +write the story. The King was scandalised at it, and ordered the +Lieutenant of Police to endeavour to find out the author, but either he +could not succeed or he would not betray him. + +Japanese Tale. + +At a distance of three leagues from the capital of Japan, there is a +temple celebrated for the concourse of persons, of both sexes, and of all +ranks, who crowd thither to worship an idol believed to work miracles. +Three hundred men consecrated to the service of religion, and who can +give proofs of ancient and illustrious descent, serve this temple, and +present to the idol the offerings which are brought from all the +provinces of the empire. They inhabit a vast and magnificent edifice, +belonging to the temple, and surrounded with gardens where art has +combined with nature to produce enchantment. I obtained permission to +see the temple, and to walk in the gardens. A monk advanced in years, +but still full of vigour and vivacity, accompanied me. I saw several +others, of different ages, who were walking there. But what surprised me +was to see a great many of them amusing themselves by various agreeable +and sportive games with young girls elegantly dressed, listening to their +songs, and joining in their dances. The monk, who accompanied me, +listened with great civility and kindness to the questions I put to him +concerning his order. The following is the sum of his answers to my +numerous interrogations. The God Faraki, whom we worship, is so called +from a word which signifies the fabricator. He made all that we +behold--the earth, the stars, the sun, etc. He has endowed men with +senses, which are so many sources of pleasure, and we think the only way +of shewing our gratitude is to use them. This opinion will, doubtless, +appear to you much more rational than that of the faquirs of India, who +pass their lives in thwarting nature, and who inflict upon themselves the +most melancholy privations and the most severe sufferings. + +As soon as the sun rises, we repair to the mountain you see before us, at +the foot of which flows a stream of the most limpid water, which meanders +in graceful windings through that meadow-enamelled with the loveliest +flowers. We gather the most fragrant of them, which we carry and lay +upon the altar, together with various fruits, which we receive from the +bounty of Faraki. We then sing his praises, and execute dances +expressive of our thankfulness, and of all the enjoyments we owe to this +beneficent deity. The highest of these is that which love produces, and +we testify our ardent gratitude by the manner in which we avail ourselves +of this inestimable gift of Faraki. Having left the temple, we go into +several shady thickets, where we take a light repast; after which, each +of us employs himself in some unoppressive labour. Some embroider, +others apply themselves to painting, others cultivate flowers or fruits, +others turn little implements for our use. Many of these little works +are sold to the people, who purchase them with eagerness. The money +arising from this sale forms a considerable part of our revenue. Our +morning is thus devoted to the worship of God and to the exercise of the +sense of Sight, which begins with the first rays of the sun. The sense +of Taste is gratified by our dinner, and we add to it the pleasure of +Smell. The most delicious viands are spread for us in apartments strewed +with flowers. The table is adorned with them, and the most exquisite +wines are handed to us in crystal goblets. When we have glorified God, +by the agreeable use of the palate, and the olfactory nerve, we enjoy a +delightful sleep of two hours, in bowers of orange trees, roses, and +myrtles. Having acquired a fresh store of strength and spirits, we +return to our occupations, that we may thus mingle labour with pleasure, +which would lose its zest by long continuance. After our work, we return +to the temple, to thank God, and to offer him incense. From thence we go +to the most delightful part of the garden, where we find three hundred +young girls, some of whom form lively dances with the younger of our +monks; the others execute serious dances, which require neither strength +nor agility, and which only keep time to the sound of musical +instruments. + +We talk and laugh with our companions, who are dressed in a light gauze, +and whose tresses are adorned with flowers; we press them to partake of +exquisite sherbets, differently prepared. The hour of supper being +arrived, we repair to rooms illuminated with the lustre of a thousand +tapers fragrant with amber. The supper-room is surrounded by three vast +galleries, in which are placed musicians, whose various instruments fill +the mind with the most pleasurable and the softest emotions. The young +girls are seated at table with us, and, towards the conclusion of the +repast, they sing songs, which are hymns in honour of the God who has +endowed us with senses which shed such a charm over existence, and which +promise us new pleasure from every fresh exercise of them. After the +repast is ended, we return to the dance, and, when the hour of repose +arrives, we draw from a kind of lottery, in which every one is sure of a +prize; that is, a young girl as his companion for the night. They are +allotted thus by chance, in order to avoid jealousy, and to prevent +exclusive attachments. Thus ends the day, and gives place to a night of +delights, which we sanctify by enjoying with due relish that sweetest of +all pleasures, which Faraki has so wisely attached to the reproduction of +our species. We reverently admire the wisdom and the goodness of Faraki, +who, desiring to secure to the world a continued population, has +implanted in the sexes an invincible mutual attraction, which constantly +draws them towards each other. Fecundity is the end he proposes, and he +rewards with intoxicating delights those who contribute to the fulfilment +of his designs. What should we say to the favourite of a King from whom +he had received a beautiful house, and fine estates, and who chose to +spoil the house, to let it fall in ruins, to abandon the cultivation of +the land, and let it become sterile, and covered with thorns? Such is +the conduct of the faquirs of India, who condemn themselves to the most +melancholy privations, and to the most severe sufferings. Is not this +insulting Faraki? Is it not saying to him, I despise your gifts? Is it +not misrepresenting him and saying, You are malevolent and cruel, and I +know that I can no otherwise please you than by offering you the +spectacle of my miseries? "I am told," added he, "that you have, in your +country, faquirs not less insane, not less cruel to themselves." I +thought, with some reason, that he meant the fathers of La Trappe. The +recital of the matter afforded me much matter for reflection, and I +admired how strange are the systems to which perverted reason gives +birth. + +The Duc de V----- was a nobleman of high rank and great wealth. He said +to the King one evening at supper, "Your Majesty does me the favour to +treat me with great kindness: I should be inconsolable if I had the +misfortune to fall under your displeasure. If such a calamity were to +befall me, I should endeavour to divert my grief by improving some +beautiful estates of mine in such and such a province;" and he thereupon +gave a description of three or four fine seats. About a month after, +talking of the disgrace of a Minister, he said, "I hope your Majesty will +not withdraw your favour from me; but if I had the misfortune to lose it, +I should be more to be pitied than anybody, for I have no asylum in which +to hide my head." All those present, who had heard the description of +the beautiful country houses, looked at each other and laughed. The King +said to Madame de Pompadour, who sat next to him at table, "People are +very right in saying that a liar ought to have a good memory." + +An event, which made me tremble, as well as Madame, procured me the +familiarity of the King. In the middle of the night, Madame came into my +chamber, en chemise, and in a state of distraction. "Here! Here!" said +she, "the King is dying." My alarm may be easily imagined. I put on a +petticoat, and found the King in her bed, panting. What was to be +done?--it was an indigestion. We threw water upon him, and he came to +himself. I made him swallow some Hoffman's drops, and he said to me, "Do +not make any noise, but go to Quesnay; say that your mistress is ill; and +tell the Doctor's servants to say nothing about it." Quesnay, who lodged +close by, came immediately, and was much astonished to see the King in +that state. He felt his pulse, and said, "The crisis is over; but, if +the King were sixty years old, this might have been serious." He went to +seek some drug, and, on his return, set about inundating the King with +perfumed water. I forget the name of the medicine he made him take, but +the effect was wonderful. I believe it was the drops of General Lamotte. +I called up one of the girls of the wardrobe to make tea, as if for +myself. The King took three cups, put on his robe de chambre and his +stockings, and went to his own room, leaning upon the Doctor. What a +sight it was to see us all three half naked! Madame put on a robe as +soon as possible, and I did the same, and the King changed his clothes +behind the curtains, which were very decently closed. He afterwards +spoke of this short attack, and expressed his sense of the attentions +shown him. An hour after, I felt the greatest possible terror in +thinking that the King might have died in our hands. Happily, he quickly +recovered himself, and none of the domestics perceived what had taken +place. I merely told the girl of the wardrobe to put everything to +rights, and she thought it was Madame who had been indisposed. The King, +the next morning, gave secretly to Quesnay a little note for Madame, in +which he said, 'Ma chere amie' must have had a great fright, but let her +reassure herself--I am now well, which the Doctor will certify to you. +From that moment the King became accustomed to me, and, touched by the +interest I had shown for him, he often gave me one of his peculiarly +gracious glances, and made me little presents, and, on every New Year's +Day, sent me porcelain to the amount of twenty louis d'or. He told +Madame that he looked upon me in the apartment as a picture or statue, +and never put any constraint upon himself on account of my presence. +Doctor Quesnay received a pension of a thousand crowns for his attention +and silence, and the promise of a place for his son. The King gave me an +order upon the Treasury for four thousand francs, and Madame had +presented to her a very handsome chiming-clock and the King's portrait in +a snuffbox. + +The King was habitually melancholy, and liked everything which recalled +the idea of death, in spite of the strongest fears of it. Of this, the +following is an instance: Madame de Pompadour was on her way to Crecy, +when one of the King's grooms made a sign to her coachman to stop, and +told him that the King's carriage had broken down, and that, knowing her +to be at no great distance, His Majesty had sent him forward to beg her +to wait for him. He soon overtook us, and seated himself in Madame de +Pompadour's carriage, in which were, I think, Madame de Chateau-Renaud, +and Madame de Mirepoix. The lords in attendance placed themselves in +some other carriages. I was behind, in a chaise, with Gourbillon, Madame +de Pompadour's valet de chambre. We were surprised in a short time by +the King stopping his carriage. Those which followed, of course stopped +also. The King called a groom, and said to him, "You see that little +eminence; there are crosses; it must certainly be a burying-ground; go +and see whether there are any graves newly dug." The groom galloped up +to it, returned, and said to the King, "There are three quite freshly +made." Madame de Pompadour, as she told me, turned away her head with +horror; and the little Marechale gaily said, "This is indeed enough to +make one's mouth water." + +[The Marechale de Mirepois died at Brussels in 1791, at a very advanced +age, but preserving her wit and gaiety to the last. The day of her +death, after she had received the Sacrament, the physician told her that +he thought her a good deal better. She replied, "You tell me bad news: +having packed up, I had rather go." She was sister of the Prince de +Beauveau. The Prince de Ligne says, in one of his printed letters: "She +had that enchanting talent which supplies the means of pleasing +everybody. You would have sworn that she had thought of nothing but you +all her life."--En.] + +Madame de Pompadour spoke of it when I was undressing her in the +evening. "What a strange pleasure," said she, "to endeavour to fill +one's mind with images which one ought to endeavour to banish, +especially when one is surrounded by so many sources of happiness! But +that is the King's way; he loves to talk about death. He said, some +days ago, to M. de Fontanieu, who was, seized with a bleeding at the +nose, at the levee: 'Take care of yourself; at your age it is a +forerunner of apoplexy.' The poor man went home frightened, and +absolutely ill." + +I never saw the King so agitated as during the illness of the Dauphin. +The physicians came incessantly to the apartments of Madame de Pompadour, +where the King interrogated them. There was one from Paris, a very odd +man, called Pousse, who once said to him, "You are a good papa; I like +you for that. But you know we are all your children, and share your +distress. Take courage, however; your son will recover." Everybody's +eyes were upon the Duc d'Orleans, who knew not how to look. He would +have become heir to the crown, the Queen being past the age to have +children. Madame de ----- said to me, one day, when I was expressing my +surprise at the King's grief, "It would annoy him beyond measure to have +a Prince of the blood heir apparent. He does not like them, and looks +upon their relationship to him as so remote, that he would feel +humiliated by it." And, in fact, when his son recovered, he said, "The +King of Spain would have had a fine chance." It was thought that he was +right in this, and that it would have been agreeable to justice; but +that, if the Duc d'Orleans had been supported by a party, he might have +supported his pretensions to the crown. It was, doubtless, to remove +this impression that he gave a magnificent fete at St. Cloud on the +occasion of the Dauphin's recovery. Madame de Pompadour said to Madame +de Brancas, speaking of this fete, "He wishes to make us forget the +chateau en Espagne he has been dreaming of; in Spain, however, they build +them of solider materials." The people did not shew so much joy at the +Dauphin's recovery. They looked upon him as a devotee, who did nothing +but sing psalms. They loved the Duc d'Orleans, who lived in the capital, +and had acquired the name of the King of Paris. These sentiments were +not just; the Dauphin only sang psalms when imitating the tones of one of +the choristers of the chapel. The people afterwards acknowledged their +error, and did justice to his virtues. The Duc d'Orleans paid the most +assiduous court to Madame de Pompadour: the Duchess, on the contrary, +detested her. It is possible that words were put into the Duchess's +mouth which she never uttered; but she, certainly, often said most +cutting things. The King would have sent her into exile, had he listened +only to his resentment; but he feared the eclat of such a proceeding, and +he knew that she would only be the more malicious. The Duc d'Orleans +was, just then, extremely jealous of the Comte de Melfort; and the +Lieutenant of Police told the King he had strong reasons for believing +that the Duke would stick at nothing to rid himself of this gallant, and +that he thought it his duty to give the Count notice, that he ought to be +upon his guard. The King said, "He would not dare to attempt any such +violence as you seem to apprehend; but there is a better way: let him try +to surprise them, and he will find me very well inclined to have his +cursed wife shut up; but if he got rid of this lover, she would have +another to-morrow. + +"Nay, she has others at this moment; for instance, the Chevalier de +Colbert, and the Comte de l'Aigle." Madame de Pompadour, however, told +me these two last affairs were not certain. + +An adventure happened about the same time, which the Lieutenant of Police +reported to the King. The Duchesse d'Orleans had amused herself one +evening, about eight o'clock, with ogling a handsome young Dutchman, whom +she took a fancy to, from a window of the Palais Royal. The young man, +taking her for a woman of the town, wanted to make short work, at which +she was very much shocked. She called a Swiss, and made herself known. +The stranger was arrested; but he defended himself by affirming that she +had talked very loosely to him. He was dismissed, and the Duc d'Orleans +gave his wife a severe reprimand. + +The King (who hated her so much that he spoke of her without the +slightest restraint) one day said to Madame de Pompadour, in my presence, +"Her mother knew what she was, for, before her marriage, she never +suffered her to say more than yes and no. Do you know her joke on the +nomination of Moras? She sent to congratulate him upon it: two minutes +after, she called back the messenger she had sent, and said, before +everybody present, 'Before you speak to him, ask the Swiss if he still +has the place.'" Madame de Pompadour was not vindictive, and, in spite +of the malicious speeches of the Duchesse d'Orleans, she tried to excuse +her conduct. "Almost all women," she said, "have lovers; she has not all +that are imputed to her: but her free manners, and her conversation, +which is beyond all bounds, have brought her into general disrepute." + +My companion came into my room the other day, quite delighted. She had +been with M. de Chenevieres, first Clerk in the War-office, and a +constant correspondent of Voltaire, whom she looks upon as a god. She +was, by the bye, put into a great rage one day, lately, by a print-seller +in the street, who was crying, "Here is Voltaire, the famous Prussian; +here you see him, with a great bear-skin cap, to keep him from the cold! +Here is the famous Prussian, for six sous!"--"What a profanation!" said +she. To return to my story: M. de Chenevieres had shewn her some letters +from Voltaire, and M. Marmontel had read an 'Epistle to his Library'. + +M. Quesnay came in for a moment; she told him all this: and, as he did +not appear to take any great interest in it, she asked him if he did not +admire great poets. "Oh, yes; just as I admire great bilboquet players," +said he, in that tone of his, which rendered everything he said +diverting. "I have written some verses, however," said he, "and I will +repeat them to you; they are upon a certain M. Rodot, an Intendant of the +Marine, who was very fond of abusing medicine and medical men. I made +these verses to revenge AEsculapius and Hippocrates. + +"What do you say to them?" said the Doctor. My companion thought them +very pretty, and the Doctor gave me them in his handwriting, begging me, +at the same time, not to give any copies. + +Madame de Pompadour joked my companion about her 'bel-esprit', but +sometimes she reposed confidence in her. Knowing that she was often +writing, she said to her, "You are writing a novel, which will appear +some day or other; or, perhaps, the age of Louis XV.: I beg you to treat +me well." I have no reason to complain of her. It signifies very little +to me that she can talk more learnedly than I can about prose and verse. + +She never told me her real name; but one day I was malicious enough to +say to her, "Some one was maintaining, yesterday, that the family of +Madame de Mar---- was of more importance than many of good extraction. +They say it is the first in Cadiz. She had very honourable alliances, +and yet she has thought it no degradation to be governess to Madame de +Pompadour's daughter. One day you will see her sons or her nephews +Farmers General, and her granddaughters married to Dukes." I had +remarked that Madame de Pompadour for some days had taken chocolate, 'a +triple vanille et ambre', at her breakfast; and that she ate truffles and +celery soup: finding her in a very heated state, I one day remonstrated +with her about her diet, to which she paid no attention. I then thought +it right to speak to her friend, the Duchesse de Brancas. "I had remarked +the same thing," said she, "and I will speak to her about it before you." +After she was dressed, Madame de Brancas, accordingly, told her she was +uneasy about her health. "I have just been talking to her about it," +said the Duchess, pointing to me, "and she is of my opinion." Madame de +Pompadour seemed a little displeased; at last, she burst into tears. I +immediately went out, shut the door, and returned to my place to listen. +"My dear friend," she said to Madame de Brancas, "I am agitated by the +fear of losing the King's heart by ceasing to be attractive to him. Men, +you know, set great value on certain things, and I have the misfortune to +be of a very cold temperament. I, therefore, determined to adopt a +heating diet, in order to remedy this defect, and for two days this +elixir has been of great service to me, or, at least, I have thought I +felt its good effects." + +The Duchesse de Brancas took the phial which was upon the toilet, and +after having smelt at it, "Fie!" said she, and threw it into the fire. +Madame de Pompadour scolded her, and said, "I don't like to be treated +like a child." She wept again, and said, "You don't know what happened +to me a week ago. The King, under pretext of the heat of the weather, +lay down upon my sofa, and passed half the night there. He will take a +disgust to me and have another mistress."--"You will not avoid that," +replied the Duchess, "by following your new diet, and that diet will kill +you; render your company more and more precious to the King by your +gentleness: do not repulse him in his fond moments, and let time do the +rest; the chains of habit will bind him to you for ever." They then +embraced; Madame de Pompadour recommended secrecy to Madame de Brancas, +and the diet was abandoned. + +A little while after, she said to me, "Our master is better pleased with +me. This is since I spoke to Quesnay, without, however, telling him all. +He told me, that to accomplish my end, I must try to be in good health, +to digest well, and, for that purpose, take exercise. I think the Doctor +is right. I feel quite a different creature. I adore that man (the +King), I wish so earnestly to be agreeable to him! But, alas! sometimes +he says I am a macreuse (a cold-blooded aquatic bird). I would give my +life to please him." + + + + + +One day, the King came in very much heated. I withdrew to my post, where +I listened. "What is the matter?" said Madame de Pompadour. "The long +robes and the clergy," replied he, "are always at drawn daggers, they +distract me by their quarrels. But I detest the long robes the most. My +clergy, on the whole, is attached and faithful to me; the others want to +keep me in a state of tutelage."--"Firmness," said Madame de Pompadour, +"is the only thing that can subdue them."--"Robert Saint Vincent is an +incendiary, whom I wish I could banish, but that would make a terrible +tumult. On the other hand, the Archbishop is an iron-hearted fellow, who +tries to pick quarrels. Happily, there are some in the Parliament upon +whom I can rely, and who affect to be very violent, but can be softened +upon occasion. It costs me a few abbeys, and a few secret pensions, to +accomplish this. There is a certain V--- who serves me very well, while +he appears to be furious on the other side."--"I can tell you some news +of him, Sire," said Madame de Pompadour. "He wrote to me yesterday, +pretending that he is related to me, and begging for an +interview."--"Well," said the King, "let him come. See him; and if he +behaves well, we shall have a pretext for giving him something." M. de +Gontaut came in, and seeing that they were talking seriously, said +nothing. The King walked about in an agitated manner, and suddenly +exclaimed, "The Regent was very wrong in restoring to them the right of +remonstrating; they will end in ruining the State."--"All, Sire," said M. +de Gontaut, "it is too strong to be shaken by a set of petty justices." +"You don't know what they do, nor what they think. They are an assembly +of republicans; however, here is enough of the subject. Things will last +as they are as long as I shall. Talk about this on Sunday, Madame, with +M. Berrien." Madame d'Amblimont and Madame d'Esparbes came in. "Ah! here +come my kittens," said Madame de Pompadour; "all that we are about is +Greek to them; but their gaiety restores my tranquility, and enables me +to attend again to serious affairs. You, Sire, have the chase to divert +you--they answer the same purpose to me." The King then began to talk +about his morning's sport, and Lansmatte. + +[See the "Memoirs of Madame Campan," vol. iii., p. 24. Many traits of +original and amusing bluntness are related of Lansmatte, one of the +King's grooms.] + +It was necessary to let the King go on upon these subjects, and even, +sometimes, to hear the same story three or four times over, if new +persons came into the room. Madame de Pompadour never betrayed the least +ennui. She even sometimes persuaded him to begin his story anew. + +I one day said to her, "It appears to me, Madame, that you are fonder +than ever of the Comtesse d'Amblimont."--"I have reason to be so," said +she. "She is unique, I think, for her fidelity to her friends, and for +her honour. Listen, but tell nobody--four days ago, the King, passing +her to go to supper, approached her, under the pretence of tickling her, +and tried to slip a note into her hand. D'Amblimont, in her madcap way, +put her hands behind her back, and the King was obliged to pick up the +note, which had fallen on the ground. Gontaut was the only person who +saw all this, and, after supper, he went up to the little lady, and said, +'You are an excellent friend.'--'I did my duty,' said she, and +immediately put her finger on her lips to enjoin him to be silent. He, +however, informed me of this act of friendship of the little heroine, who +had not told me of it herself." I admired the Countess's virtue, and +Madame de Pompadour said, "She is giddy and headlong; but she has more +sense and more feeling than a thousand prudes and devotees. D'Esparbes +would not do as much most likely she would meet him more than half-way. +The King appeared disconcerted, but he still pays her great +attentions."--"You will, doubtless, Madame," said I, "show your sense of +such admirable conduct."--"You need not doubt it," said she, "but I don't +wish her to think that I am informed of it." The King, prompted either +by the remains of his liking, or from the suggestions of Madame de +Pompadour, one morning went to call on Madame d'Amblimont, at Choisy, and +threw round her neck a collar of diamonds and emeralds, worth between +fifty thousand and seventy-five thousand francs. This happened a long +time after the circumstance I have just related. + +There was a large sofa in a little room adjoining Madame de Pompadour's, +upon which I often reposed. + +One evening, towards midnight, a bat flew into the apartment where the +Court was; the King immediately cried out, "Where is General Crillon?" +(He had just left the room.) "He is the General to command against the +bats." This set everybody calling out, "Ou etais tu, Crillon?" M. de +Crillon soon after came in, and was told where the enemy was. He +immediately threw off his coat, drew his sword, and commenced an attack +upon the bat, which flew into the closet where I was fast asleep. I +started out of sleep at the noise, and saw the King and all the company +around me. This furnished amusement for the rest of the evening. M. de +Crillon was a very excellent and agreeable man, but he had the fault of +indulging in buffooneries of this kind, which, however, were the result +of his natural gaiety, and not of any subserviency of character. Such, +however, was not the case with another exalted nobleman, a Knight of the +Golden Fleece, whom Madame saw one day shaking hands with her valet de +chambre. As he was one of the vainest men at Court, Madame could not +refrain from telling the circumstance to the King; and, as he had no +employment at Court, the King scarcely ever after named him on the Supper +List. + +I had a cousin at Saint Cyr, who was married. She was greatly distressed +at having a relation waiting woman to Madame de Pompadour, and often +treated me in the most mortifying manner. Madame knew this from Colin, +her steward, and spoke of it to the King. "I am not surprised at it," +said he; "this is a specimen of the silly women of Saint Cyr. Madame de +Maintenon had excellent intentions, but she made a great mistake. These +girls are brought up in such a manner, that, unless they are all made +ladies of the palace, they are unhappy and impertinent." + +Some time after, this relation of mine was at my house. Colin, who knew +her, though she did not know him, came in. He said to me, "Do you know +that the Prince de Chimay has made a violent attack upon the Chevalier +d'Henin for being equerry to the Marquise." At these words, my cousin +looked very much astonished, and said, "Was he not right?"--"I don't mean +to enter into that question," said Colin--"but only to repeat his words, +which were these: 'If you were only a man of moderately good family and +poor, I should not blame you, knowing, as I do, that there are hundreds +such, who would quarrel for your place, as young ladies of family would, +to be about your mistress. But, recollect, that your relations are +princes of the Empire, and that you bear their name."--"What, sir," said +my relation, "the Marquise's equerry of a princely house?"--"Of the house +of Chimay," said he; "they take the name of Alsace "--witness the +Cardinal of that name. Colin went out delighted at what he had said. + +"I cannot get over my surprise at what I have heard," said my relation. +"It is, nevertheless, very true," replied I; "you may see the Chevalier +d'Henin (that is the family name of the Princes de Chimay), with the +cloak of Madame upon his arm, and walking alongside her sedan-chair, in +order that he may be ready, on her getting in, to cover her shoulders +with her cloak, and then remain in the antechamber, if there is no other +room, till her return." + +From that time, my cousin let me alone; nay, she even applied to me to +get a company of horse for her husband, who was very loath to come and +thank me. His wife wished him to thank Madame de Pompadour; but the fear +he had lest she should tell him, that it was in consideration of his +relationship to her waiting-woman that he commanded fifty horse, +prevented him. It was, however, a most surprising thing that a man +belonging to the house of Chimay should be in the service of any lady +whatever; and, the commander of Alsace returned from Malta on purpose to +get him out of Madame de Pompadour's household. He got him a pension of +a hundred louis from his family, and the Marquise gave him a company of +horse. The Chevalier d'Henin had been page to the Marechal de +Luxembourg, and one can hardly imagine how he could have put his relation +in such a situation; for, generally speaking, all great houses keep up +the consequence of their members. M. de Machault, the Keeper of the +Seals, had, at the same time, as equerry, a Knight of St. Louis, and a +man of family--the Chevalier de Peribuse--who carried his portfolio, and +walked by the side of the chair. + +Whether it was from ambition, or from tenderness, Madame de Pompadour had +a regard for her daughter,--[The daughter of Madame de Pompadour and her +husband, M. d'Atioles. She was called Alexandrine.]--which seemed to +proceed from the bottom of her heart. She was brought up like a +Princess, and, like persons of that rank, was called by her Christian +name alone. The first persons at Court had an eye to this alliance, but +her mother had, perhaps, a better project. The King had a son by Madame +de Vintimille, who resembled him in face, gesture, and manners. He was +called the Comte du -----. Madame de Pompadour had him brought: to +Bellevue. Colin, her steward, was employed to find means to persuade his +tutor to bring him thither. They took some refreshment at the house of +the Swiss, and the Marquise, in the course of her walk, appeared to meet +them by accident. She asked the name of the child, and admired his +beauty. Her daughter came up at the same moment, and Madame de Pompadour +led them into a part of the garden where she knew the King would come. He +did come, and asked the child's name. He was told, and looked +embarrassed when Madame, pointing to them, said they would be a beautiful +couple. The King played with the girl, without appearing to take any +notice of the boy, who, while he was eating some figs and cakes which +were brought, his attitudes and gestures were so like those of the King, +that Madame de Pompadour was in the utmost astonishment. "Ah!" said she, +"Sire, look at --------." --"At what?" said he. "Nothing," replied +Madame, "except that one would think one saw his father." + +"I did not know," said the King, smiling, "that you were so intimately +acquainted with the Comte du L------ ."--"You ought to embrace him," said +she, "he is very handsome."--"I will begin, then, with the young lady," +said the King, and embraced them in a cold, constrained manner. I was +present, having joined Mademoiselle's governess. I remarked to Madame, +in the evening, that the King had not appeared very cordial in his +caresses. "That is his way," said she; "but do not those children appear +made for each other? If it was Louis XIV., he would make a Duc du Maine +of the little boy; I do not ask so much; but a place and a dukedom for +his son is very little; and it is because he is his son that I prefer him +to all the little Dukes of the Court. My grandchildren would blend the +resemblance of their grandfather and grandmother; and this combination, +which I hope to live to see, would, one day, be my greatest delight." The +tears came into her eyes as she spoke. Alas! alas! only six months +elapsed, when her darling daughter, the hope of her advanced years, the +object of her fondest wishes, died suddenly. Madame de Pompadour was +inconsolable, and I must do M. de Marigny the justice to say that he was +deeply afflicted. His niece was beautiful as an angel, and destined to +the highest fortunes, and I always thought that he had formed the design +of marrying her. A dukedom would have given him rank; and that, joined +to his place, and to the wealth which she would have had from her mother, +would have made him a man of great importance. The difference of age was +not sufficient to be a great obstacle. People, as usual, said the young +lady was poisoned; for the unexpected death of persons who command a +large portion of public attention always gives birth to these rumours. +The King shewed great regret, but more for the grief of Madame than on +account of the loss itself, though he had often caressed the child, and +loaded her with presents. I owe it, also, to justice, to say that M. de +Marigny, the heir of all Madame de Pompadour's fortune, after the death +of her daughter, evinced the sincerest and deepest regret every time she +was seriously ill. She, soon after, began to lay plans for his +establishment. Several young ladies of the highest birth were thought +of; and, perhaps, he would have been made a Duke, but his turn of mind +indisposed him for schemes either of marriage or ambition. Ten times he +might have been made Prime Minister, yet he never aspired to it. "That +is a man," said Quesnay to me, one day, "who is very little known; nobody +talks of his talents or acquirements, nor of his zealous and efficient +patronage of the arts: no man, since Colbert, has done so much in his +situation: he is, moreover, an extremely honourable man, but people will +not see in him anything but the brother of the favourite; and, because he +is fat, he is thought dull and heavy." This was all perfectly true. M. +de Marigny had travelled in Italy with very able artists, and had +acquired taste, and much more information than any of his predecessors +had possessed. As for the heaviness of his air, it only came upon him +when he grew fat; before that, he had a delightful face. He was then as +handsome as his sister. He paid court to nobody, had no vanity, and +confined himself to the society of persons with whom he was at his ease. +He went rather more into company at Court after the King had taken him to +ride with him in his carriage, thinking it then his duty to shew himself +among the courtiers. + +Madame called me, one day, into her closet, where the King was walking up +and down in a very serious mood. "You must," said she, "pass some days +in a house in the Avenue de St. Cloud, whither I shall send you. You +will there find a young lady about to lie in." The King said nothing, +and I was mute from astonishment. "You will be mistress of the house, +and preside, like one of the fabulous goddesses, at the accouchement. +Your presence is necessary, in order that everything may pass secretly, +and according to the King's wish. You will be present at the baptism, +and name the father and mother." The King began to laugh, and said, "The +father is a very honest man;" Madame added, "beloved by every one, and +adored by those who know him." Madame then took from a little cupboard a +small box, and drew from it an aigrette of diamonds, at the same time +saying to the King, "I have my reasons for it not being handsomer."--"It +is but too much so," said the King; "how kind you are;" and he then +embraced Madame, who wept with emotion, and, putting her hand upon the +King's heart, said, "This is what I wish to secure." The King's eyes +then filled with tears, and I also began weeping, without knowing why. +Afterwards, the King said, "Guimard will call upon you every day, to +assist you with his advice, and at the critical moment you will send for +him. You will say that you expect the sponsors, and a moment after you +will pretend to have received a letter, stating that they cannot come. +You will, of course, affect to be very much embarrassed; and Guimard will +then say that there is nothing for it but to take the first comers. You +will then appoint as godfather and godmother some beggar, or chairman, +and the servant girl of the house, and to whom you will give but twelve +francs, in order not to attract attention."--"A louis," added Madame, "to +obviate anything singular, on the other hand."--"It is you who make me +economical, under certain circumstances," said the King. "Do you +remember the driver of the fiacre? I wanted to give him a LOUIS, and Duc +d'Ayen said, 'You will be known;' so that I gave him a crown." He was +going to tell the whole story. Madame made a sign to him to be silent, +which he obeyed, not without considerable reluctance. She afterwards +told me that at the time of the fetes given on occasion of the Dauphin's +marriage, the King came to see her at her mother's house in a +hackney-coach. The coachman would not go on, and the King would have +given him a LOUIS. "The police will hear of it, if you do," said the Duc +d'Ayen, "and its spies will make inquiries, which will, perhaps, lead to +a discovery." + +"Guimard," continued the King, "will tell you the names of the father and +mother; he will be present at the ceremony, and make the usual presents. +It is but fair that you also should receive yours;" and, as he said this, +he gave me fifty LOUIS, with that gracious air that he could so well +assume upon certain occasions, and which no person in the kingdom had but +himself. I kissed his hand and wept. "You will take care of the +accouchee, will you not? She is a good creature, who has not invented +gunpowder, and I confide her entirely to your direction; my chancellor +will tell you the rest," he said, turning to Madame, and then quitted the +room. "Well, what think you of the part I am playing?" asked Madame. "It +is that of a superior woman, and an excellent friend," I replied. "It is +his heart I wish to secure," said she; "and all those young girls who +have no education will not run away with it from me. I should not be +equally confident were I to see some fine woman belonging to the Court, +or the city, attempt his conquest." + +I asked Madame, if the young lady knew that the King was the father of +her child? "I do not think she does," replied she; "but, as he appeared +fond of her, there is some reason to fear that those about her might be +too ready to tell her; otherwise," said she, shrugging her shoulders, +"she, and all the others, are told that he is a Polish nobleman, a +relation of the Queen, who has apartments in the castle." This story was +contrived on account of the cordon bleu, which the King has not always +time to lay aside, because, to do that, he must change his coat, and in +order to account for his having a lodging in the castle so near the King. +There were two little rooms by the side of the chapel, whither the King +retired from his apartment, without being seen by anybody but a sentinel, +who had his orders, and who did not know who passed through those rooms. +The King sometimes went to the Parc-aux-cerfs, or received those young +ladies in the apartments I have mentioned. + +I must here interrupt my narrative, to relate a singular adventure, which +is only known to six or seven persons, masters or valets. At the time of +the attempt to assassinate the King, a young girl, whom he had seen +several times, and for whom he had manifested more tenderness than for +most, was distracted at this horrible event. The Mother-Abbess of the +Parc-aux-cerfs perceived her extraordinary grief, and managed so as to +make her confess that she knew the Polish Count was the King of France. +She confessed that she had taken from his pocket two letters, one of +which was from the King of Spain, the other from the Abbe de Brogue. This +was discovered afterwards, for neither she nor the Mother-Abbess knew the +names of the writers. The girl was scolded, and M. Lebel, first valet de +chambre, who had the management of all these affairs, was called; he took +the letters, and carried them to the King, who was very much embarrassed +in what manner to meet a person so well informed of his condition. The +girl in question, having perceived that the King came secretly to see her +companion, while she was neglected, watched his arrival, and, at the +moment he entered with the Abbess, who was about to withdraw, she rushed +distractedly into the room where her rival was. She immediately threw +herself at the King's feet. "Yes," said she, "you are King of all +France; but that would be nothing to me if you were not also monarch of +my heart: do not forsake me, my beloved sovereign; I was nearly mad when +your life was attempted!" The Mother-Abbess cried out, "You are mad +now." The King embraced her, which appeared to restore her to +tranquility. They succeeded in getting her out of the room, and a few +days afterwards the unhappy girl was taken to a madhouse, where she was +treated as if she had been insane, for some days. But she knew well +enough that she was not so, and that the King had really been her lover. +This lamentable affair was related to me by the Mother-Abbess, when I had +some acquaintance with her at the time of the accouchement I have spoken +of, which I never had before, nor since. + +To return to my history: Madame de Pompadour said to me, "Be constantly +with the 'accouchee', to prevent any stranger, or even the people of the +house, from speaking to her. You will always say that he is a very rich +Polish nobleman, who is obliged to conceal himself on account of his +relationship to the Queen, who is very devout. You will find a wet-nurse +in the house, to whom you will deliver the child. Guimard will manage +all the rest. You will go to church as a witness; everything must be +conducted as if for a substantial citizen. The young lady expects to lie +in in five or six days; you will dine with her, and will not leave her +till she is in a state of health to return to the Parc-aux-cerfs, which +she may do in a fortnight, as I imagine, without running any risk." I +went, that same evening, to the Avenue de Saint Cloud, where I found the +Abbess and Guimard, an attendant belonging to the castle, but without his +blue coat. There were, besides, a nurse, a wet-nurse, two old +men-servants, and a girl, who was something between a servant and a +waiting-woman. The young lady was extremely pretty, and dressed very +elegantly, though not too remarkably. I supped with her and the +Mother-Abbess, who was called Madame Bertrand. I had presented the +aigrette Madame de Pompadour gave me before supper, which had greatly +delighted the young lady, and she was in high spirits. + +Madame Bertrand had been housekeeper to M. Lebel, first valet de chambre +to the King. He called her Dominique, and she was entirely in his +confidence. The young lady chatted with us after supper; she appeared to +be very naive. The next day, I talked to her in private. She said to +me, "How is the Count?" (It was the King whom she called by this title.) +"He will be very sorry not to be with me now; but he was obliged to set +off on a long journey." I assented to what she said. "He is very +handsome," said she, "and loves me with all his heart. He promised me an +allowance; but I love him disinterestedly; and, if he would let me, I +would follow him to Poland." She afterwards talked to me about her +parents, and about M. Lebel, whom she knew by the name of Durand. "My +mother," said she, "kept a large grocer's shop, and my father was a man +of some consequence; he belonged to the Six Corps, and that, as everybody +knows, is an excellent thing. He was twice very near being +head-bailiff." Her mother had become bankrupt at her father's death, but +the Count had come to her assistance, and settled upon her fifteen +hundred francs a year, besides giving her six thousand francs down. On +the sixth day, she was brought to bed, and, according to my instructions, +she was told the child was a girl, though in reality it was a boy; she +was soon to be told that it was dead, in order that no trace of its +existence might remain for a certain time. It was eventually to be +restored to its mother. The King gave each of his children about ten +thousand francs a year. They inherited after each other as they died +off, and seven or eight were already dead. I returned to Madame de +Pompadour, to whom I had written every day by Guimard. The next day, the +King sent for me into the room; he did not say a word as to the business +I had been employed upon; but he gave me a large gold snuff-box, +containing two rouleaux of twenty-five louis each. I curtsied to him, +and retired. Madame asked me a great many questions of the young lady, +and laughed heartily at her simplicity, and at all she had said about the +Polish nobleman. "He is disgusted with the Princess, and, I think, will +return to Poland for ever, in two months."--"And the young lady?" said I. +"She will be married in the country," said she, "with a portion of forty +thousand crowns at the most and a few diamonds." This little adventure, +which initiated me into the King's secrets, far from procuring for me +increased marks of kindness from him, seemed to produce a coldness +towards me; probably because he was ashamed of my knowing his obscure +amours. He was also embarrassed by the services Madame de Pompadour had +rendered him on this occasion. + +Besides the little mistresses of the Parc-aux-cerfs, the King had +sometimes intrigues with ladies of the Court, or from Paris, who wrote to +him. There was a Madame de L-----, who, though married to a young and +amiable man, with two hundred thousand francs a year, wished absolutely +to become his mistress. She contrived to have a meeting with him: and +the King, who knew who she was, was persuaded that she was really madly +in love with him. There is no knowing what might have happened, had she +not died. Madame was very much alarmed, and was only relieved by her +death from inquietude. A circumstance took place at this time which +doubled Madame's friendship for me. A rich man, who had a situation in +the Revenue Department, called on me one day very secretly, and told me +that he had something of importance to communicate to Madame la Marquise, +but that he should find himself very much embarrassed in communicating it +to her personally, and that he should prefer acquainting me with it. He +then told me, what I already knew, that he had a very beautiful wife, of +whom he was passionately fond; that having on one occasion perceived her +kissing a little 'porte feuille', he endeavoured to get possession of it, +supposing there was some mystery attached to it. One day that she +suddenly left the room to go upstairs to see her sister, who had been +brought to bed, he took the opportunity of opening the porte feuille, +and was very much surprised to find in it a portrait of the King, and a +very tender letter written by His Majesty. Of the latter he took a copy, +as also of an unfinished letter of his wife, in which she vehemently +entreated the King to allow her to have the pleasure of an interview--the +means she pointed out. She was to go masked to the public ball at +Versailles, where His Majesty could meet her under favour of a mask. I +assured M. de ------ that I should acquaint Madame with the affair, who +would, no doubt, feel very grateful for the communication. He then added, +"Tell Madame la Marquise that my wife is very clever and very intriguing. +I adore her, and should run distracted were she to be taken from me." I +lost not a moment in acquainting Madame with the affair, and gave her the +letter. She became serious and pensive, and I since learned that she +consulted M. Berrier, Lieutenant of Police, who, by a very simple but +ingeniously conceived plan, put an end to the designs of this lady. He +demanded an audience of the King, and told him that there was a lady in +Paris who was making free with His Majesty's name; that he had been given +the copy of a letter, supposed to have been written by His Majesty to the +lady in question. The copy he put into the King's hands, who read it in +great confusion, and then tore it furiously to pieces. M. Berrier added, +that it was rumoured that this lady was to meet His Majesty at the public +ball, and, at this very moment, it so happened that a letter was put into +the King's hand, which proved to be from the lady, appointing the +meeting; at least, M. Berrier judged so, as the King appeared very much +surprised on reading it, and said, "It must be allowed, M. le Lieutenant +of Police, that you are well informed." M. Berrier added, "I think it my +duty to tell Your Majesty that this lady passes for a very intriguing +person." "I believe," replied the King, "that it is not without +deserving it that she has got that character." + +Madame de Pompadour had many vexations in the midst of all her grandeur. +She often received anonymous letters, threatening her with poison or +assassination: her greatest fear, however, was that of being supplanted +by a rival. I never saw her in a greater agitation than, one evening, on +her return from the drawing-room at Marly. She threw down her cloak and +muff, the instant she came in, with an air of ill-humour, and undressed +herself in a hurried manner. Having dismissed her other women, she said +to me, "I think I never saw anybody so insolent as Madame de Coaslin. I +was seated at the same table with her this evening, at a game of +'brelan', and you cannot imagine what I suffered. The men and women +seemed to come in relays to watch us. Madame de Coaslin said two or +three times, looking at me, 'Va tout', in the most insulting manner. I +thought I should have fainted, when she said, in a triumphant tone, I +have the 'brelan' of kings. I wish you had seen her courtesy to me on +parting."--"Did the King," said I, "show her particular attention?" "You +don't know him," said she; "if he were going to lodge her this very night +in my apartment, he would behave coldly to her before people, and would +treat me with the utmost kindness. This is the effect of his education, +for he is, by nature, kind-hearted and frank." Madame de Pompadour's +alarms lasted for some months, when she, one day, said to me, "That +haughty Marquise has missed her aim; she frightened the King by her grand +airs, and was incessantly teasing him for money. Now you, perhaps, may +not know that the King would sign an order for forty thousand LOUIS +without a thought, and would give a hundred out of his little private +treasury with the greatest reluctance. Lebel, who likes me better than +he would a new mistress in my place, either by chance or design had +brought a charming little sultana to the Parc-aux-cerfs, who has cooled +the King a little towards the haughty Vashti, by giving him occupation, +has received a hundred thousand francs, some jewels, and an estate. +Jannette--[The Intendant of Police.]--has rendered me great service, by +showing the King extracts from the letters broken open at the +post-office, concerning the report that Madame de Coaslin was coming into +favour: The King was much impressed by a letter from an old counsellor of +the Parliament, who wrote to one of his friends as follows: 'It is quite +as reasonable that the King should have a female friend and +confidante--as that we, in our several degrees, should so indulge +ourselves; but it is desirable that he should keep the one he has; she +is gentle, injures nobody, and her fortune is made. The one who is now +talked of will be as haughty as high birth can make her. She must have +an allowance of a million francs a year, since she is said to be +excessively extravagant; her relations must be made Dukes, Governors of +provinces, and Marshals, and, in the end, will surround the King, and +overawe the Ministers.'" + +Madame de Pompadour had this passage, which had been sent to her by M. +Jannette, the Intendant of the Police, who enjoyed the King's entire +confidence. He had carefully watched the King's look, while he read the +letter, and he saw that the arguments of this counsellor, who was not a +disaffected person, made a great impression upon him. Some time +afterwards, Madame de Pompadour said to me, "The haughty Marquise behaved +like Mademoiselle Deschamps, and she is turned off." + +[A courtesan, distinguished for her charms, and still more so for an +extraordinary proof of patriotism. At a time when the public Treasury +was exhausted, Mademoiselle Deschamps sent all her plate to the Mint. +Louis XIV. boasted of this act of generous devotion to her country. The +Duc d'Ayen made it the subject of a pleasantry, which detracted nothing +from the merit of the sacrifice--but which is rather too gay for us to +venture upon.] + +This was not Madame's only subject of alarm. A relation of Madame +d'Estrades, wife to the Marquis de C----, had made the most pointed +advances to the King, much more than were necessary for a man who justly +thought himself the handsomest man in France, and who was, moreover, a +King. + +[The Comtesse d'Estrades, a relative of M. Normand, and a flatterer of +Madame de Pompadour, who brought her to Court, was secretly in the pay of +the Comte d'Argenson. That Minister, who did not disdain la Fillon, from +whom he extracted useful information, knew all that passed at the Court +of the favourite, by means of Madame d'Estrades, whose ingratitude and +perfidiousness he liberally paid.] + +He was perfectly persuaded that every woman would yield to the slightest +desire he might deign to manifest. He, therefore, thought it a mere +matter of course that women fell in love with him. M. de Stainville had +a hand in marring the success of that intrigue; and, soon afterwards, +the Marquise de C-----, who was confined to her apartments at Marly, by +her relations, escaped through a closet to a rendezvous, and was caught +with a young man in a corridor. The Spanish Ambassador, coming out of +his apartments with flambeaux, was the person who witnessed this scene. +Madame d'Estrades affected to know nothing of her cousin's intrigues, +and kept up an appearance of the tenderest attachment to Madame de +Pompadour, whom she was habitually betraying. She acted as spy for M. +d'Argenson, in the cabinets, and in Madame de Pompadour's apartments; +and, when she could discover nothing, she had recourse to her invention, +in order that she might not lose her importance with her lover. This +Madame d'Estrades owed her whole existence to the bounties of Madame, +and yet, ugly as she was, she had tried to get the King away from her. +One day, when he, had got rather drunk at Choisy (I think, the only time +that, ever happened to him), he went on board a beautiful barge, whither +Madame, being ill of an indigestion, could not accompany him. Madame +d'Estrades seized this opportunity. She got into the barge, and, on +their return, as it was dark, she followed the King into a private +closet, where he was believed to be sleeping on a couch, and there went +somewhat beyond any ordinary advances to him. Her account of the matter +to Madame was, that she had gone into the closet upon her own affairs, +and that the King, had followed her, and had tried to ravish her. She +was at full liberty to make what story she pleased, for the King knew +neither what he had said, nor what he had done. I shall finish this +subject by a short history concerning a young lady. I had been, one +day, to the theatre at Compiegne. When I returned, Madame asked me +several questions about the play; whether there was much company, and +whether I did not see a very beautiful girl. I replied, "That there +was, indeed, a girl in a box near mine, who was surrounded by all the +young men about the Court." She smiled, and said, "That is Mademoiselle +Dorothee; she went, this evening, to see the King sup in public, and +to-morrow she is to be taken to the hunt. You are surprised to find me +so well informed, but I know a great deal more about her. She was +brought here by a Gascon, named Dubarre or Dubarri, who is the greatest +scoundrel in France. He founds all his hopes of advancement on +Mademoiselle Dorothee's charms, which he thinks the King cannot resist. +She is, really, very beautiful.. She was pointed out to me in my little +garden, whither she was taken to walk on purpose. She is the daughter +of a water-carrier, at Strasbourg, and her charming lover demands to be +sent Minister to Cologne, as a beginning."--"Is it possible, Madame, +that you can have been rendered uneasy by such a creature as +that?"--"Nothing is impossible," replied she; "though I think the King +would scarcely dare to give such a scandal. Besides, happily, Lebel, to +quiet his conscience, told the King that the beautiful Dorothee's lover +is infected with a horrid disease;" and, added he, "Your Majesty would +not get rid of that as you have done of the scrofula." This was quite +enough to keep the young lady at a distance. + +"I pity you sincerely, Madame," said I, "while everybody else envies +you." "Ah!" replied she, "my life is that of the Christian, a perpetual +warfare. This was not the case with the woman who enjoyed the favour of +Louis XIV. Madame de La Valliere suffered herself to be deceived by +Madame de Montespan, but it was her own fault, or, rather, the effect of +her extreme good nature. She was entirely devoid of suspicion at first, +because she could not believe her friend perfidious. Madame de +Montespan's empire was shaken by Madame de Fontanges, and overthrown by +Madame de Maintenon; but her haughtiness, her caprices, had already +alienated the King. He had not, however, such rivals as mine; it is +true, their baseness is my security. I have, in general, little to fear +but casual infidelities, and the chance that they may not all be +sufficiently transitory for my safety. The King likes variety, but he is +also bound by habit; he fears eclats, and detests manoeuvring women. The +little Marechale (de Mirepoig) one day said to me, 'It is your staircase +that the King loves; he is accustomed to go up and down it. But, if he +found another woman to whom he could talk of hunting and business as he +does to you, it would be just the same to him in three days.'" + +I write without plan, order, or date, just as things come into my mind; +and I shall now go to the Abbe de Bernis, whom I liked very much, because +he was good-natured, and treated me kindly. One day, just as Madame de +Pompadour had finished dressing, M. de Noailles asked to speak to her in +private. I, accordingly, retired. The Count looked full of important +business. I heard their conversation, as there was only the door between +us. + +"A circumstance has taken place," said he, "which I think it my duty to +communicate to the King; but I would not do so without first informing +you of it, since it concerns one of your friends for whom I have the +utmost regard and respect. The Abbe de Bernis had a mind to shoot, this +morning, and went, with two or three of his people, armed with guns, into +the little park, where the Dauphin would not venture to shoot without +asking the King's permission. The guards, surprised at hearing the +report of guns, ran to the spot, and were greatly astonished at the sight +of M. de Bernis. They very respectfully asked to see his permission, +when they found, to their astonishment, that he had none. They begged of +him to desist, telling him that, if they did their duty, they should +arrest him; but they must, at all events, instantly acquaint me with the +circumstance, as Ranger of the Park of Versailles. They added, that the +King must have heard the firing, and that they begged of him to retire. +The Abbe apologized, on the score of ignorance, and assured them that he +had my permission. 'The Comte de Noailles,' said they, 'could only grant +permission to shoot in the more remote parts, and in the great park.'" +The Count made a great merit of his eagerness to give the earliest +information to Madame. She told him to leave the task of communicating +it to the King to her, and begged of him to say nothing about the matter. +M. de Marigny, who did not like the Abbe, came to see me in the evening; +and I affected to know nothing of the story, and to hear it for the first +time from him. "He must have been out of his senses," said he, "to shoot +under the King's windows,"--and enlarged much on the airs he gave +himself. Madame de Pompadour gave this affair the best colouring she +could the King was, nevertheless, greatly disgusted at it, and twenty +times, since the Abbe's disgrace, when he passed over that part of the +park, he said, "This is where the Abbe took his pleasure." The King +never liked him; and Madame de Pompadour told me one night, after his +disgrace, when I was sitting up with her in her illness, that she saw, +before he had been Minister a week, that he was not fit for his office. +"If that hypocritical Bishop," said she, speaking of the Bishop of +Mirepoix, "had not prevented the King from granting him a pension of four +hundred louis a year, which he had promised me, he would never have been +appointed Ambassador. I should, afterwards, have been able to give him +an income of eight hundred louis a year, perhaps the place of master of +the chapel. Thus he would have been happier, and I should have had +nothing to regret." I took the liberty of saying that I did not agree +with her. That he had yet remaining advantages, of which he could not be +deprived; that his exile would terminate; and that he would then be a +Cardinal, with an income of eight thousand louis a year. "That is true," +she replied; "but I think of the mortifications he has undergone, and of +the ambition which devours him; and, lastly, I think of myself. I should +have still enjoyed his society, and should have had, in my declining +years, an old and amiable friend, if he had not been Minister." The King +sent him away in anger, and was strongly inclined to refuse him the hat. +M. Quesnay told me, some months afterwards, that the Abbe wanted to be +Prime Minister; that he had drawn up a memorial, setting forth that in +difficult crises the public good required that there should be a central +point (that was his expression), towards which everything should be +directed. Madame de Pompadour would not present the memorial; he +insisted, though she said to him, "You will rain yourself." The King +cast his eyes over it, and said "'central point,'--that is to say +himself, he wants to be Prime Minister." Madame tried to apologize for +him, and said, "That expression might refer to the Marechal de +Belle-Isle."--"Is he not just about to be made Cardinal?" said the King. +"This is a fine manoeuvre; he knows well enough that, by means of that +dignity, he would compel the Ministers to assemble at his house, and then +M. l'Abbe would be the central point. Wherever there is a Cardinal in +the council, he is sure, in the end, to take the lead. Louis XIV., for +this reason, did not choose to admit the Cardinal de Janson into the +council, in spite of his great esteem for him. The Cardinal de Fleury +told me the same thing. He had some desire that the Cardinal de Tencin +should succeed him; but his sister was such an intrigante that Cardinal +de Fleury advised me to have nothing to do with the matter, and I behaved +so as to destroy all his hopes, and to undeceive others. M. d'Argenson +has strongly impressed me with the same opinion, and has succeeded in +destroying all my respect for him." This is what the King said, +according to my friend Quesnay, who, by the bye, was a great genius, as +everybody said, and a very lively, agreeable man. He liked to chat with +me about the country. I had been bred up there, and he used to set me a +talking about the meadows of Normandy and Poitou, the wealth of the +farmers, and the modes of culture. He was the best-natured man in the +world, and the farthest removed from petty intrigue. While he lived at +Court, he was much more occupied with the best manner of cultivating land +than with anything that passed around him. The man whom he esteemed the +most was M. de la Riviere, a Counsellor of Parliament, who was also +Intendant of Martinique; he looked upon him as a man of the greatest +genius, and thought him the only person fit for the financial department +of administration. + +The Comtesse d'Estrades, who owed everything to Madame de Pompadour, was +incessantly intriguing against her. She was clever enough to destroy all +proofs of her manoeuvres, but she could not so easily prevent suspicion. +Her intimate connection with M. d'Argenson gave offence to Madame, and, +for some time, she was more reserved with her. She, afterwards, did a +thing which justly irritated the King and Madame. The King, who wrote a +great deal, had written to Madame de Pompadour a long letter concerning +an assembly of the Chambers of Parliament, and had enclosed a letter of +M. Berrien. Madame was ill, and laid those letters on a little table by +her bedside. M. de Gontaut came in, and gossipped about trifles, as +usual. Madame d'Amblimont also came, and stayed but very little time. +Just as I was going to resume a book which I had been reading to Madame, +the Comtesse d'Estrades entered, placed herself near Madame's bed, and +talked to her for some time. As soon as she was gone, Madame called me, +asked what was o'clock, and said, "Order my door to be shut, the King +will soon be here." I gave the order, and returned; and Madame told me +to give her the King's letter, which was on the table with some other +papers. I gave her the papers, and told her there was nothing else. She +was very uneasy at not finding the letter, and, after enumerating the +persons who had been in the room, she said, "It cannot be the little +Countess, nor Gontaut, who has taken this letter. It can only be the +Comtesse d'Estrades;--and that is too bad." The King came, and was +extremely angry, as Madame told me. Two days afterwards, he sent Madame +d'Estrades into exile. There was no doubt that she took the letter; the +King's handwriting had probably awakened her curiosity. This occurrence +gave great pain to M. d'Argenson, who was bound to her, as Madame de +Pompadour said, by his love of intrigue. This redoubled his hatred of +Madame, and she accused him of favouring the publication of a libel, in +which she was represented as a worn-out mistress, reduced to the vile +occupation of providing new objects to please her lover's appetite. She +was characterised as superintendent of the Parc-aux-cerfs, which was said +to cost hundreds of thousands of louis a year. Madame de Pompadour did, +indeed, try to conceal some of the King's weaknesses, but she never knew +one of the sultanas of that seraglio. There were, however, scarcely ever +more than two at once, and often only one. When they married, they +received some jewels, and four thousand louis. The Parc-aux-cerfs was +sometimes vacant for five or six months. I was surprised, some time +after, at seeing the Duchesse de Luynes, Lady of Honour to the Queen, +come privately to see Madame de Pompadour. She afterwards came openly. +One evening, after Madame was in bed, she called me, and said, "My dear, +you will be delighted; the Queen has given me the place of Lady of the +Palace; tomorrow I am to be presented to her: you must make me look +well." I knew that the King was not so well pleased at this as she was; +he was afraid that it would give rise to scandal, and that it might be +thought he had forced this nomination upon the Queen. He had, however, +done no such thing. It had been represented to the Queen that it was an +act of heroism on her part to forget the past; that all scandal would be +obliterated when Madame de Pompadour was seen to belong to the Court in +an honourable manner; and that it would be the best proof that nothing +more than friendship now subsisted between the King and the favourite. +The Queen received her very graciously. The devotees flattered +themselves they should be protected by Madame, and, for some time, were +full of her praises. Several of the Dauphin's friends came in private to +see her, and some obtained promotion. The Chevalier du Muy, however, +refused to come. The King had the greatest possible contempt for them, +and granted them nothing with a good grace. He, one day, said of a man +of great family, who wished to be made Captain of the Guards, "He is a +double spy, who wants to be paid on both sides." This was the moment at +which Madame de Pompadour seemed to me to enjoy the most complete +satisfaction. The devotees came to visit her without scruple, and did +not forget to make use of every opportunity of serving themselves. Madame +de Lu----- had set them the example. The Doctor laughed at this change +in affairs, and was very merry at the expense of the saints. "You must +allow, however, that they are consistent," said I, "and may be sincere." +"Yes," said he; "but then they should not ask for anything." + +One day, I was at Doctor Quesnay's, whilst Madame de Pompadour was at +the theatre. The Marquis de Mirabeau came in, and the conversation was, +for some time, extremely tedious to me, running entirely on 'net +produce'; at length, they talked of other things. + +[The author of "L'Ami des Hommes," one of the leaders of the sect of +Economistes, and father of the celebrated Mirabeau. After the death of +Quesnay, the Grand Master of the Order, the Marquis de Mirabeau was +unanimously elected his successor. Mirabeau was not deficient in a +certain enlargement of mind, nor in acquirements, nor even in patriotism; +but his writings are enthusiastical, and show that he had little more +than glimpses of the truth. The Friend of Man was the enemy of all his +family. He beat his servants, and did not pay them. The reports of the +lawsuit with his wife, in 1775, prove that this philosopher possessed, in +the highest possible degree, all the anti-conjugal qualities. It is said +that his eldest son wrote two contradictory depositions, and was paid by +both sides.] + +Mirabeau said, "I think the King looks ill, he grows old."--"So much the +worse, a thousand times so much the worse," said Quesnay; "it would be +the greatest possible loss to France if he died;" and he raised his +hands, and sighed deeply. "I do not doubt that you are attached to the +King, and with reason," said Mirabeau: "I am attached to him too; but I +never saw you so much moved."--"Ah!" said Quesnay, "I think of what would +follow."--"Well, the Dauphin is virtuous."--"Yes; and full of good +intentions; nor is he deficient in understanding; but canting hypocrites +would possess an absolute empire over a Prince who regards them as +oracles. The Jesuits would govern the kingdom, as they did at the end of +Louis XIV.'s reign: and you would see the fanatical Bishop of Verdun +Prime Minister, and La Vauguyon all-powerful under some other title. The +Parliaments must then mind how they behave; they will not be better +treated than my friends the philosophers."--"But they go too far," said +Mirabeau; "why openly attack religion?"--"I allow that," replied the +Doctor; "but how is it possible not to be rendered indignant by the +fanaticism of others, and by recollecting all the blood that has flowed +during the last two hundred years? You must not then again irritate +them, and revive in France the time of Mary in England. But what is done +is done, and I often exhort them to be moderate; I wish they would follow +the example of our friend Duclos."--"You are right," replied Mirabeau; +"he said to me a few days ago, 'These philosophers are going on at such a +rate that they will force me to go to vespers and high mass;' but, in +fine, the Dauphin is virtuous, well-informed, and intellectual."--"It is +the commencement of his reign, I fear," said Quesnay, "when the imprudent +proceedings of our friends will be represented to him in the most +unfavourable point of view; when the Jansenists and Molinists will make +common cause, and be strongly supported by the Dauphine. I thought that +M. de Muy was moderate, and that he would temper the headlong fury of the +others; but I heard him say that Voltaire merited condign punishment. Be +assured, sir, that the times of John Huss and Jerome of Prague will +return; but I hope not to live to see it. I approve of Voltaire having +hunted down the Pompignans: were it not for the ridicule with which he +covered them, that bourgeois Marquis would have been preceptor to the +young Princes, and, aided by his brother, would have succeeded in again +lighting the faggots of persecution."--"What ought to give you confidence +in the Dauphin," said Mirabeau, "is, that, notwithstanding the devotion +of Pompignan, he turns him into ridicule. A short time back, seeing him +strutting about with an air of inflated pride, he said to a person, who +told it to me, 'Our friend Pompignan thinks that he is something.'" On +returning home, I wrote down this conversation. + +I, one day, found Quesnay in great distress. "Mirabeau," said he, "is +sent to Vincennes, for his work on taxation. The Farmers General have +denounced him, and procured his arrest; his wife is going to throw +herself at the feet of Madame de Pompadour to-day." A few minutes +afterwards, I went into Madame's apartment, to assist at her toilet, and +the Doctor came in. Madame said to him, "You must be much concerned at +the disgrace of your friend Mirabeau. I am sorry for it too, for I like +his brother." Quesnay replied, "I am very far from believing him to be +actuated by bad intentions, Madame; he loves the King and the people." +"Yes," said she; "his 'Ami des Hommes' did him great honour." At this +moment the Lieutenant of Police entered, and Madame said to him, "Have +you seen M. de Mirabeau's book?"--"Yes, Madame; but it was not I who +denounced it?"--"What do you think of it?"--"I think he might have said +almost all it contains with impunity, if he had been more circumspect as +to the manner; there is, among other objectionable passages, this, which +occurs at the beginning: Your Majesty has about twenty millions of +subjects; it is only by means of money that you can obtain their +services, and there is no money."--"What, is there really that, Doctor?" +said Madame. "It is true, they are the first lines in the book, and I +confess that they are imprudent; but, in reading the work, it is clear +that he laments that patriotism is extinct in the hearts of his +fellow-citizens, and that he desires to rekindle it." The King entered: +we went out, and I wrote down on Quesnay's table what I had just heard. +I them returned to finish dressing Madame de Pompadour: she said to me, +"The King is extremely angry with Mirabeau; but I tried to soften him, +and so did the Lieutenant of Police. This will increase Quesnay's fears. +Do you know what he said to me to-day? The King had been talking to him +in my room, and the Doctor appeared timid and agitated. After the King +was gone, I said to him, 'You always seem so embarrassed in the King's +presence, and yet he is so good-natured.'--'I Madame,' said he, 'I left +my native village at the age of forty, and I have very little experience +of the world, nor can I accustom myself to its usages without great +difficulty. When I am in a room with the King, I say to myself, This is +a man who can order my head to be cut off; and that idea embarrasses +me.'--'But do not the King's justice and kindness set you at +ease?'--'That is very true in reasoning,' said he; 'but the sentiment is +more prompt, and inspires me with fear before I have time to say to +myself all that is calculated to allay it.'" + +I got her to repeat this conversation, and wrote it down immediately, +that I might not forget it. + +An anonymous letter was addressed to the King and Madame de Pompadour; +and, as the author was very anxious that it should not miscarry, he sent +copies to the Lieutenant of Police, sealed and directed to the King, to +Madame de Pompadour, and to M. de Marigny. This letter produced a strong +impression on Madame, and on the King, and still more, I believe, on the +Duc de Choiseul, who had received a similar one. I went on my knees to +M. de Marigny, to prevail on him to allow me to copy it, that I might +show it to the Doctor. It is as follows: + +"Sire--It is a zealous servant who writes to Your Majesty. Truth is +always better, particularly to Kings; habituated to flattery, they see +objects only under those colours most likely to please them. I have +reflected, and read much; and here is what my meditations have suggested +to me to lay before Your Majesty. They have accustomed you to be +invisible, and inspired you with a timidity which prevents you from +speaking; thus all direct communication is cut off between the master and +his subjects. Shut up in the interior of your palace, you are becoming +every day like the Emperors of the East; but see, Sire, their fate! 'I +have troops,' Your Majesty will say; such, also, is their support: but, +when the only security of a King rests upon his troops; when he is only, +as one may say, a King of the soldiers, these latter feel their own +strength, and abuse it. Your finances are in the greatest disorder, and +the great majority of states have perished through this cause. A +patriotic spirit sustained the ancient states, and united all classes for +the safety of their country. In the present times, money has taken the +place of this spirit; it has become the universal lever, and you are in +want of it. A spirit of finance affects every department of the state; +it reigns triumphant at Court; all have become venal; and all distinction +of rank is broken up. Your Ministers are without genius and capacity +since the dismissal of MM. d'Argenson and de Machault. You alone cannot +judge of their incapacity, because they lay before you what has been +prepared by skilful clerks, but which they pass as their own. They +provide only for the necessity of the day, but there is no spirit of +government in their acts. The military changes that have taken place +disgust the troops, and cause the most deserving officers to resign; a +seditious flame has sprung up in the very bosom of the Parliaments; you +seek to corrupt them, and the remedy is worse than the disease. It is +introducing vice into the sanctuary of justice, and gangrene into the +vital parts of the commonwealth. Would a corrupted Parliament have +braved the fury of the League, in order to preserve the crown for the +legitimate sovereign? Forgetting the maxims of Louis XIV., who well +understood the danger of confiding the administration to noblemen, you +have chosen M. de Choiseul, and even given him three departments; which +is a much heavier burden than that which he would have to support as +Prime Minister, because the latter has only to oversee the details +executed by the Secretaries of State. The public fully appreciate this +dazzling Minister. He is nothing more than a 'petit-maitre', without +talents or information, who has a little phosphorus in his mind. There +is a thing well worthy of remark, Sire; that is, the open war carried on +against religion. Henceforward there can spring up no new sects, because +the general belief has been shaken, that no one feels inclined to occupy +himself with difference of sentiment upon some of the articles. The +Encyclopedists, under pretence of enlightening mankind, are sapping the +foundations of religion. All the different kinds of liberty are +connected; the Philosophers and the Protestants tend towards +republicanism, as well as the Jansenists. The Philosophers strike at the +root, the others lop the branches; and their efforts, without being +concerted, will one day lay the tree low. Add to these the Economists; +whose object is political liberty, as that of the others is liberty of +worship, and the Government may find itself, in twenty or thirty years, +undermined in every direction, and will then fall with a crash. If Your +Majesty, struck by this picture, but too true, should ask me for a +remedy, I should say, that it is necessary to bring back the Government +to its principles, and, above all, to lose no time in restoring order to +the state of the finances, because the embarrassments incident to a +country in a state of debt necessitate fresh taxes, which, after grinding +the people, induce them towards revolt. It is my opinion that Your +Majesty would do well to appear more among your people; to shew your +approbation of useful services, and your displeasure of errors and +prevarications, and neglect of duty: in a word, to let it be seen that +rewards and punishments, appointments and dismissals, proceed from +yourself. You will then inspire gratitude by your favours, and fear by +your reproaches; you will then be the object of immediate and personal +attachment, instead of which, everything is now referred to your +Ministers. The confidence in the King, which is habitual to your people, +is shewn by the exclamation, so common among them, 'Ah! if the King knew +it' They love to believe that the King would remedy all their evils, if +he knew of them. But, on the other hand, what sort of ideas must they +form of kings, whose duty it is to be informed of everything, and to +superintend everything, that concerns the public, but who are, +nevertheless, ignorant of everything which the discharge of their +functions requires them to know? 'Rex, roi, regere, regar, conduire'--to +rule, to conduct--these words sufficiently denote their duties. What +would be said of a father who got rid of the charge of his children as of +a burthen? + +"A time will come, Sire, when the people shall be enlightened--and that +time is probably approaching. Resume the reins of government, hold them +with a firm hand, and act, so that it cannot be said of you, 'Faeminas et +scorta volvit ammo et haec principatus praemia putat':--Sire, if I see +that my sincere advice should have produced any change, I shall continue +it, and enter into more details; if not, I shall remain silent." + +Now that I am upon the subject of anonymous letters to the King, I must +just mention that it is impossible to conceive how frequent they were. +People were extremely assiduous in telling either unpleasant truths, or +alarming lies, with a view to injure others. As an instance, I shall +transcribe one concerning Voltaire, who paid great court to Madame de +Pompadour when he was in France. This letter was written long after the +former. + +"Madame--M. de Voltaire has just dedicated his tragedy of Tancred to you; +this ought to be an offering of respect and gratitude; but it is, in +fact, an insult, and you will form the same opinion of it as the public +has done if you read it with attention. You will see that this +distinguished writer appears to betray a consciousness that the subject +of his encomiums is not worthy of them, and to endeavour to excuse +himself for them to the public. These are his words: 'I have seen your +graces and talents unfold themselves from your infancy. At all periods +of your life I have received proofs of your uniform and unchanging +kindness. If any critic be found to censure the homage I pay you, he +must have a heart formed for ingratitude. I am under great obligations +to you, Madame, and these obligations it is my duty to proclaim.' + +"What do these words really signify, unless that Voltaire feels it may be +thought extraordinary that he should dedicate his work to a woman who +possesses but a small share of the public esteem, and that the sentiment +of gratitude must plead his excuse? Why should he suppose that the +homage he pays you will be censured, whilst we daily see dedications +addressed to silly gossips who have neither rank nor celebrity, or to +women of exceptional conduct, without any censure being attracted by it?" + +M. de Marigny, and Colin, Madame de Pompadour's steward, were of the same +opinion as Quesnay, that the author of this letter was extremely +malicious; that he insulted Madame, and tried to injure Voltaire; but +that he was, in fact, right. Voltaire, from that moment, was entirely +out of favour with Madame, and with the King, and he certainly never +discovered the cause. + +The King, who admired everything of the age of Louis XIV., and +recollected that the Boileaus and Racines had been protected by that +monarch, who was indebted to them, in part, for the lustre of his reign, +was flattered at having such a man as Voltaire among his subjects. But +still he feared him, and had but little esteem for him. He could not +help saying, "Moreover, I have treated him as well as Louis XIV. treated +Racine and Boileau. I have given him, as Louis XIV. gave to Racine, some +pensions, and a place of gentleman in ordinary. It is not my fault if he +has committed absurdities, and has had the pretension to become a +chamberlain, to wear an order, and sup with a King. It is not the +fashion in France; and, as there are here a few more men of wit and +noblemen than in Prussia, it would require that I should have a very +large table to assemble them all at it." And then he reckoned upon his +fingers, Maupertuis, Fontenelle, La Mothe, Voltaire, Piron, Destouches, +Montesquieu, the Cardinal Polignac. "Your Majesty forgets," said some +one, "D'Alembert and Clairaut."--"And Crebillon," said he. "And la +Chaussee, and the younger Crebillon," said some one. "He ought to be +more agreeable than his father."--"And there are also the Abbes Prevot +and d'Olivet."--"Pretty well," said the King; "and for the last twenty +years all that (tout cela) would have dined and supped at my table." + +Madame de Pompadour repeated to me this conversation, which I wrote down +the same evening. M. de Marigny, also, talked to me about it. +"Voltaire," said he, "has always had a fancy for being Ambassador, and he +did all he could to make the people believe that he was charged with some +political mission, the first time he visited Prussia." + +The people heard of the attempt on the King's life with transports of +fury, and with the greatest distress. Their cries were heard under the +windows of Madame de Pompadour's apartment. Mobs were collected, and +Madame feared the fate of Madame de Chateauroux. Her friends came in, +every minute, to give her intelligence. Her room was, at all times, like +a church; everybody seemed to claim a right to go in and out when he +chose. Some came, under pretence of sympathising, to observe her +countenance and manner. She did nothing but weep and faint away. Doctor +Quesnay never left her, nor did I. M. de St. Florentin came to see her +several times, so did the Comptroller-General, and M. Rouilld; but M. de +Machault did not come. The Duchesse de Brancas came very frequently. The +Abbe de Bernis never left us, except to go to enquire for the King. The +tears came in his eyes whenever he looked at Madame. Doctor Quesnay saw +the King five or six times a day. "There is nothing to fear," said he to +Madame. "If it were anybody else, he might go to a ball." My son went +the next day, as he had done the day the event occurred, to see what was +going on at the Castle. He told us, on his return, that the Keeper of +the Seals was with the King. I sent him back, to see what course he took +on leaving the King. He came running back in half an hour, to tell me +that the Keeper of the Seals had gone to his own house, followed by a +crowd of people. When I told this to Madame, she burst into tears, and +said, "Is that a friend?" The Abbe de Bernis said, "You must not judge +him hastily, in such a moment as this." I returned into the drawing-room +about an hour after, when the Keeper of the Seals entered. He passed me, +with his usual cold and severe look. "How is Madame de Pompadour?" said +he. "Alas!" replied I, "as you may imagine!" He passed on to her +closet. Everybody retired, and he remained for half an hour. The Abbe +returned and Madame rang. I went into her room, the Abbe following me. +She was in tears. "I must go, my dear Abbe," said she. I made her take +some orange-flower water, in a silver goblet, for her teeth chattered. +She then told me to call her equerry. He came in, and she calmly gave +him her orders, to have everything prepared at her hotel, in Paris; to +tell all her people to get ready to go; and to desire her coachman not to +be out of the way. She then shut herself up, to confer with the Abbe de +Bernis, who left her, to go to the Council. Her door was then shut, +except to the ladies with whom she was particularly intimate, M. de +Soubise, M. de Gontaut, the Ministers, and some others. Several ladies, +in the greatest distress, came to talk to me in my room: they compared +the conduct of M. de Machault with that of M. de Richelieu, at Metz. +Madame had related to them the circumstances extremely to the honour of +the Duke, and, by contrast, the severest satire on the Keeper of the +Seals. "He thinks, or pretends to think," said she, "that the priests +will be clamorous for my dismissal; but Quesnay and all the physicians +declare that there is not the slightest danger." Madame having sent for +me, I saw the Marechale de Mirepoix coming in. While she was at the +door, she cried out, "What are all those trunks, Madame? Your people +tell me you are going."--"Alas! my dear friend, such is our Master's +desire, as M. de Machault tells me."--"And what does he advise?" said +the Marechale. "That I should go without delay." During this +conversation, I was undressing Madame, who wished to be at her ease on +her chaise-longue. "Your Beeper of the Seals wants to get the power into +his own hands, and betrays you; he who quits the field loses it." I went +out. M. de Soubise entered, then the Abbe and M. de Marigny. The +latter, who was very kind to me, came into my room an hour afterwards. I +was alone. "She will remain," said he; "but, hush!--she will make an +appearance of going, in order not to set her enemies at work. It is the +little Marechale who prevailed upon her to stay: her keeper (so she +called M. de Machault) will pay for it." Quesnay came in, and, having +heard what was said, with his monkey airs, began to relate a fable of a +fox, who, being at dinner with other beasts, persuaded one of them that +his enemies were seeking him, in order that he might get possession of +his share in his absence. I did not see Madame again till very late, at +her going to bed. She was more calm. Things improved, from day to day, +and de Machault, the faithless friend, was dismissed. The King returned +to Madame de Pompadour, as usual. I learnt, by M. de Marigny, that the +Abbe had been, one day, with M. d'Argenson, to endeavour to persuade him +to live on friendly terms with Madame, and that he had been very coldly +received. "He is the more arrogant," said he, "on account of Machault's +dismissal, which leaves the field clear for him, who has more experience, +and more talent; and I fear that he will, therefore, be disposed to +declare war till death." The next day, Madame having ordered her chaise, +I was curious to know where she was going, for she went out but little, +except to church, and to the houses of the Ministers. I was told that +she was gone to visit M. d'Argenson. She returned in an hour, at +farthest, and seemed very much out of spirits. She leaned on the +chimneypiece, with her eyes fixed on the border of it. M. de Bernis +entered. I waited for her to take off her cloak and gloves. She had her +hands in her muff. The Abbe stood looking at her for some minutes; at +last he said, "You look like a sheep in a reflecting mood." She awoke +from her reverie, and, throwing her muff on the easy-chair, replied, "It +is a wolf who makes the sheep reflect." I went out: the King entered +shortly after, and I heard Madame de Pompadour sobbing. The Abbe came +into my room, and told me to bring some Hoffman's drops: the King himself +mixed the draught with sugar, and presented it to her in the kindest +manner possible. She smiled, and kissed the King's hands. I left the +room. Two days after, very early in the morning, I heard of M. +d'Argenson's exile. It was her doing, and was, indeed, the strongest +proof of her influence that could be given. The King was much attached +to M. d'Argenson, and the war, then carrying on, both by sea and land, +rendered the dismissal of two such Ministers extremely imprudent. This +was the universal opinion at the time. + +Many people talk of the letter of the Comte d'Argenson to Madame +d'Esparbes. I give it, according to the most correct version: + +"The doubtful is, at length, decided. The Keeper of the Seals is +dismissed. You will be recalled, my dear Countess, and we shall be +masters of the field." + +It is much less generally known that Arboulin, whom Madame calls Bou-bou, +was supposed to be the person who, on the very day of the dismissal of +the Keeper of the Seals, bribed the Count's confidential courier, who +gave him this letter. Is this report founded on truth? I cannot swear +that it is; but it is asserted that the letter is written in the Count's +style. Besides, who could so immediately have invented it? It, however, +appeared certain, from the extreme displeasure of the King, that he had +some other subject of complaint against M. d'Argenson, besides his +refusing to be reconciled with Madame. Nobody dares to show the +slightest attachment to the disgraced Minister. I asked the ladies who +were most intimate with Madame de Pompadour, as well as my own friends, +what they knew of the matter; but they knew nothing. I can understand +why Madame did not let them into her confidence at that moment. She will +be less reserved in time. I care very little about it, since I see that +she is well, and appears happy. + +The King said a thing, which did him honour, to a person whose name +Madame withheld from me. A nobleman, who had been a most assiduous +courtier of the Count, said, rubbing his hands with an air of great joy, +"I have just seen the Comte d'Argenson's baggage set out." When the King +heard him, he went up to Madame, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "And +immediately the cock crew." + +"I believe this is taken from Scripture, where Peter denies Our Lord. I +confess, this circumstance gave me great pleasure. It showed that the +King is not the dupe of those around him, and that he hates treachery and +ingratitude." + +Madame sent for me yesterday evening, at seven o'clock, to read something +to her; the ladies who were intimate with her were at Paris, and M. de +Gontaut ill. "The King," said she, "will stay late at the Council this +evening; they are occupied with the affairs of the Parliament again." She +bade me leave off reading, and I was going to quit the room, but she +called out, "Stop." She rose; a letter was brought in for her, and she +took it with an air of impatience and ill-humour. After a considerable +time she began to talk openly, which only happened when she was extremely +vexed; and, as none of her confidential friends were at hand, she said to +me, "This is from my brother. It is what he would not have dared to say +to me, so he writes. I had arranged a marriage for him with the daughter +of a man of title; he appeared to be well inclined to it, and I, +therefore, pledged my word. He now tells me that he has made inquiries; +that the parents are people of insupportable hauteur; that the daughter +is very badly educated; and that he knows, from authority not to be +doubted, that when she heard this marriage discussed, she spoke of the +connection with the most supreme contempt; that he is certain of this +fact; and that I was still more contemptuously spoken of than himself. In +a word, he begs me to break off the treaty. But he has let me go too +far; and now he will make these people my irreconcilable enemies. This +has been put in his head by some of his flatterers; they do not wish him +to change his way of living; and very few of them would be received by +his wife." I tried to soften Madame, and, though I did not venture to +tell her so, I thought her brother right. She persisted in saying these +were lies, and, on the following Sunday, treated her brother very coldly. +He said nothing to me at that time; if he had, he would have embarrassed +me greatly. Madame atoned for everything by procuring favours, which +were the means of facilitating the young lady's marriage with a gentleman +of the Court. Her conduct, two months after marriage, compelled Madame +to confess that her brother had been perfectly right. + +I saw my friend, Madame du Chiron. "Why," said she, "is the Marquise so +violent an enemy to the Jesuits? I assure you she is wrong. All +powerful as she is, she may find herself the worse for their enmity." I +replied that I knew nothing about the matter. "It is, however, +unquestionably a fact; and she does not feel that a word more or less +might decide her fate."--"How do you mean?" said I. "Well, I will +explain myself fully," said she. "You know what took place at the time +the King was stabbed: an attempt was made to get her out of the Castle +instantly. The Jesuits have no other object than the salvation of their +penitents; but they are men, and hatred may, without their being aware of +it, influence their minds, and inspire them with a greater degree of +severity than circumstances absolutely demand. Favour and partiality +may, on the other hand, induce the confessor to make great concessions; +and the shortest interval may suffice to save a favourite, especially if +any decent pretext can be found for prolonging her stay at Court." I +agreed with her in all she said, but I told her that I dared not touch +that string. On reflecting on this conversation afterwards, I was +forcibly struck with this fresh proof of the intrigues of the Jesuits, +which, indeed, I knew well already. I thought that, in spite of what I +had replied to Madame du Chiron, I ought to communicate this to Madame de +Pompadour, for the ease of my conscience; but that I would abstain from +making any reflection upon it. "Your friend, Madame du Chiron," said +she, "is, I perceive, affiliated to the Jesuits, and what she says does +not originate with herself. She is commissioned by some reverend father, +and I will know by whom." Spies were, accordingly, set to watch her +movements, and they discovered that one Father de Saci, and, still more +particularly, one Father Frey, guided this lady's conduct. "What a +pity," said Madame to me, "that the Abbe Chauvelin cannot know this." He +was the most formidable enemy of the reverend fathers. Madame du Chiron +always looked upon me as a Jansenist, because I would not espouse the +interests of the good fathers with as much warmth as she did. + +Madame is completely absorbed in the Abbe de Bernis, whom she thinks +capable of anything; she talks of him incessantly. Apropos, of this +Abbe, I must relate an anecdote, which almost makes one believe in +conjurors. A year, or fifteen months, before her disgrace, Madame de +Pompadour, being at Fontainebleau, sat down to write at a desk, over +which hung a portrait of the King. While she was, shutting the desk, +after she had finished writing, the picture fell, and struck her +violently on the head.. The persons who saw the accident were alarmed, +and sent for Dr. Quesnay. He asked the circumstances of the case, and +ordered bleeding and anodynes. Just, as she had been bled, Madame de +Brancas entered, and saw us all in confusion and agitation, and Madame +lying on her chaise-longue. She asked what was the matter, and was told. +After having expressed her regret, and having consoled her, she said, "I +ask it as a favour of Madame, and of the King (who had just come in), +that they will instantly send a courier to the Abbe de Bernis, and that +the Marquise will have the goodness to write a letter, merely requesting +him to inform her what his fortune-tellers told him, and to withhold +nothing from the fear of making her uneasy." The thing was, done as she +desired, and she then told us that La Bontemps had predicted, from the +dregs in the coffee-cup, in which she read everything, that the head of +her best friend was in danger, but that no fatal consequences would +ensue. + +The next day, the Abbe wrote word that Madame Bontemps also said to him, +"You came into the world almost black," and that this was the fact. This +colour, which lasted for some time, was attributed to a picture which +hung at the foot of his, mother's bed, and which she often looked at. It +represented a Moor bringing to Cleopatra a basket of flowers, containing +the asp by whose bite she destroyed herself. He said that she also told +him, "You have a great deal of money about you, but it does not belong to +you;" and that he had actually in his pocket two hundred Louis for the +Duc de La Valliere. Lastly, he informed us that she said, looking in the +cup, "I see one of your friends--the best--a distinguished lady, +threatened with an accident;" that he confessed that, in spite of all his +philosophy, he turned pale; that she remarked this, looked again into the +cup, and continued, "Her head will be slightly in danger, but of this no +appearance will remain half an hour afterwards." It was impossible to +doubt the facts. They appeared so surprising to the King, that he +desired some inquiry to be made concerning the fortune-teller. Madame, +however, protected her from the pursuit of the Police. + +A man, who was quite as astonishing as this fortune-teller, often visited +Madame de Pompadour. This was the Comte de St. Germain, who wished to +have it believed that he had lived several centuries. + +[St. Germain was an adept--a worthy predecessor of Cagliostro, who +expected to live five hundred years. The Count de St. Germain pretended +to have already lived two thousand, and, according to him, the account +was still running. He went so far as to claim the power of transmitting +the gift of long life. One day, calling upon his servant to, bear +witness to a fact that went pretty far back, the man replied, "I have no +recollection of it, sir; you forget that I have only had the honour of +serving you for five hundred years." + +St. Germain, like all other charlatans of this sort, assumed a theatrical +magnificence, and an air of science calculated to deceive the vulgar. +His best instrument of deception was the phantasmagoria; and as, by means +of this abuse of the science of optics, he called up shades which were +asked for, and almost always recognised, his correspondence with the +other world was a thing proved by the concurrent testimony of numerous +witnesses. + +He played the same game in London, Venice, and Holland, but he constantly +regretted Paris, where his miracles were never questioned. + +St. Germain passed his latter days at the Court of the Prince of Hesse +Cassel, and died at Plewig, in 1784, in the midst of his enthusiastic +disciples, and to their infinite astonishment at his sharing the common +destiny.] + +One day, at her toilet, Madame said to him, in my presence, "What was the +personal appearance of Francis I.? He was a King I should have +liked."--"He was, indeed, very captivating," said St. Germain; and he +proceeded to describe his face and person as one does that of a man one +has accurately observed. "It is a pity he was too ardent. I could have +given him some good advice, which would have saved him from all his +misfortunes; but he would not have followed it; for it seems as if a +fatality attended Princes, forcing them to shut their ears, those of the +mind, at least, to the best advice, and especially in the most critical +moments."--"And the Constable," said Madame, "what do you say of +him?"--"I cannot say much good or much harm of him," replied he. "Was +the Court of Francis I. very brilliant?"--"Very brilliant; but those of +his grandsons infinitely surpassed it. In the time of Mary Stuart and +Margaret of Valois it was a land of enchantment--a temple, sacred to +pleasures of every kind; those of the mind were not neglected. The two +Queens were learned, wrote verses, and spoke with captivating grace and +eloquence." Madame said, laughing, "You seem to have seen all this."--"I +have an excellent memory," said he, "and have read the history of France +with great care. I sometimes amuse myself, not by making, but by letting +it be believed that I lived in old times."--"You do not tell me your age, +however, and you give yourself out for very old. The Comtesse de Gergy, +who was Ambassadress to Venice, I think, fifty years ago, says she knew +you there exactly what you are now."--"It is true, Madame, that I have +known Madame de Gergy a long time."--"But, according to what she says, +you would be more than a hundred"--"That is not impossible," said he, +laughing; "but it is, I allow, still more possible that Madame de Gergy, +for whom I have the greatest respect, may be in her dotage."--"You have +given her an elixir, the effect of which is surprising. She declares that +for a long time she has felt as if she was only four-and-twenty years of +age; why don't you give some to the King?"--"Ah! Madame," said he, with a +sort of terror, "I must be mad to think of giving the King an unknown +drug." I went into my room to write down this conversation. Some days +afterwards, the King, Madame de Pompadour, some Lords of the Court, and +the Comte de St. Germain, were talking about his secret for causing the +spots in diamonds to disappear. The King ordered a diamond of middling +size, which had a spot, to be brought. It was weighed; and the King said +to the Count, "It is valued at two hundred and forty louis; but it would +be worth four hundred if it had no spot. Will you try to put a hundred +and sixty louis into my pocket?" He examined it carefully, and said, "It +may be done; and I will bring it you again in a month." At the time +appointed, the Count brought back the diamond without a spot, and gave it +to the King. It was wrapped in a cloth of amianthus, which he took off. +The King had it weighed, and found it but very little diminished. The +King sent it to his jeweller by M. de Gontaut, without telling him +anything of what had passed. The jeweller gave three hundred and eighty +louis for it. The King, however, sent for it back again, and kept it as +a curiosity. He could not overcome his surprise, and said that M. de St. +Germain must be worth millions, especially if he had also the secret of +making large diamonds out of a number of small ones. He neither said +that he had, nor that he had not; but he positively asserted that he +could make pearls grow, and give them the finest water. The King, paid +him great attention, and so did Madame de Pompadour. It was from her I +learnt what I have just related. M. Queanay said, talking of the pearls, +"They are produced by a disease in the oyster. It is possible to know +the cause of it; but, be that as it may, he is not the less a quack, +since he pretends to have the elixir vitae, and to have lived several +centuries. Our master is, however, infatuated by him, and sometimes +talks of him as if his descent were illustrious." + +I have seen him frequently: he appeared to be about fifty; he was neither +fat nor thin; he had an acute, intelligent look, dressed very simply, but +in good taste; he wore very fine diamonds in his rings, watch, and +snuff-box. He came, one day, to visit Madame de Pompadour, at a time +when the Court was in full splendour, with knee and shoe-buckles of +diamonds so fine and brilliant that Madame said she did not believe the +King had any equal to them. He went into the antechamber to take them +off, and brought them to be examined; they were compared with others in +the room, and the Duc de Gontaut, who was present, said they were worth +at least eight thousand louis. He wore, at the same time, a snuff-box of +inestimable value, and ruby sleeve-buttons, which were perfectly +dazzling. Nobody could find out by what means this man became so rich +and so remarkable; but the King would not suffer him to be spoken of with +ridicule or contempt. He was said to be a bastard son of the King of +Portugal. + +I learnt, from M. de Marigny, that the relations of the good little +Marechale (de Mirepoix) had been extremely severe upon her, for what they +called the baseness of her conduct, with regard to Madame de Pompadour. +They said she held the stones of the cherries which Madame ate in her +carriage, in her beautiful little hands, and that she sate in the front +of the carriage, while Madame occupied the whole seat in the inside. The +truth was, that, in going to Crecy, on an insupportably hot day, they +both wished to sit alone, that they might be cooler; and as to the matter +of the cherries, the villagers having brought them some, they ate them to +refresh themselves, while the horses were changed; and the Marechal +emptied her pocket-handkerchief, into which they had both thrown the +cherry-stones, out of the carriage window. The people who were changing +the horses had given their own version of the affair. + + + + + +I had, as you know, a very pretty room at Madame's hotel, whither I +generally went privately. I had, one day, had visits from two or three +Paris representatives, who told me news; and Madame, having sent for me, +I went to her, and found her with M. de Gontaut. I could not help +instantly saying to her, "You must be much pleased, Madame, at the noble +action of the Marquis de ------." Madame replied, drily, "Hold your +tongue, and listen to what I have to say to you." I returned to my +little room, where I found the Comtesse d'Amblimont, to whom I mentioned +Madame's reception of me. "I know what is the matter," said she; "it has +no relation to you. I will explain it to you. The Marquis de -------has +told all Paris, that, some days ago, going home at night, alone, and on +foot, he heard cries in a street called Ferou, which is dark, and, in +great part, arched over; that he drew his sword, and went down the +street, in which he saw, by the light of a lamp, a very handsome woman, +to whom some ruffians were offering violence; that he approached, and +that the woman cried out, 'Save me! save me!' that he rushed upon the +wretches, two of whom fought him, sword in hand, whilst a third held the +woman, and tried to stop her mouth; that he wounded one in the arm; and +that the ruffians, hearing people pass at the end of the street, and +fearing they might come to his assistance, fled; that he went up to the +lady, who told him that they were not robbers, but villains, one of whom +was desperately in love with her; and that the lady knew not how to +express her gratitude; that she had begged him not to follow her, after +he had conducted her to a fiacre; that she would not tell him her name, +but that she insisted on his accepting a little ring, as a token of +remembrance; and that she promised to see him again, and to tell him her +whole history, if he gave her his address; that he complied with this +request of the lady, whom he represented as a charming person, and who, +in the overflowing of her gratitude, embraced him several times. This is +all very fine, so far," said Madame d'Amblimont, "but hear the rest. The +Marquis de exhibited himself everywhere the next day, with a black ribbon +bound round his arm, near the wrist, in which part he said he had +received a wound. He related his story to everybody, and everybody +commented upon it after his own fashion. He went to dine with the +Dauphin, who spoke to him of his bravery, and of his fair unknown, and +told him that he had already complimented the Duc de C---- on the affair. +I forgot to tell you," continued Madame d'Amblimont, "that, on the very +night of the adventure, he called on Madame d'Estillac, an old gambler, +whose house is open till four in the morning; that everybody there was +surprised at the disordered state in which he appeared; that his bagwig +had fallen off, one skirt of his coat was cut, and his right hand +bleeding. That they instantly bound it up, and gave him some Rota wine. +Four days ago, the Duc de C---- supped with the King, and sat near M. de +St. Florentin. He talked to him of his relation's adventure, and asked +him if he had made any inquiries concerning the lady. M. de St. +Florentin coldly answered, 'No!' and M. de C---- remarked, on asking him +some further questions, that he kept his eyes firmed on his plate, +looking embarrassed, and answered in monosyllables. He asked him the +reason of this, upon which M. de Florentin told him that it was extremely +distressing to him to see him under such a mistake. 'How can you know +that, supposing it to be the fact?' said M. de ------, 'Nothing is more +easy to prove,' replied M. de St. Florentin. 'You may imagine that, as +soon as I was informed of the Marquis de ------'s adventure, I set on +foot inquiries, the result of which was, that, on the night when this +affair was said to have taken place, a party of the watch was set in +ambuscade in this very street, for the purpose of catching a thief who +was coming out of the gaming house; that this party was there four hours, +and heard not the slightest noise.' M. de C was greatly incensed at this +recital, which M. de St. Florentin ought, indeed, to have communicated to +the King. He has ordered, or will order, his relation to retire to his +province. + +"After this, you will judge, my dear, whether you were very likely to be +graciously received when you went open-mouthed with your compliment to +the Marquise. This adventure," continued she, "reminded the King of one +which occurred about fifteen years ago. The Comte d'E----, who was what +is called 'enfant d'honneur' to the Dauphin, and about fourteen years of +age, came into the Dauphin's apartments, one evening, with his bag-wig +snatched off, and his ruffles torn, and said that, having walked rather +late near the piece of water des Suisses, he had been attacked by two +robbers; that he had refused to give them anything, drawn his sword, and +put himself in an attitude of defence; that one of the robbers was armed +with a sword, the other with a large stick, from which he had received +several blows, but that he had wounded one in the arm, and that, hearing +a noise at that moment, they had fled. But unluckily for the little +Count, it was known that people were on the spot at the precise time he +mentioned, and had heard nothing. The Count was pardoned, on account of +his youth. The Dauphin made him confess the truth, and it was looked +upon as a childish freak to set people talking about him." + +The King disliked the King of Prussia because he knew that the latter was +in the habit of jesting upon his mistress, and the kind of life he led. +It was Frederick's fault, as I have heard it said, that the King was not +his most steadfast ally and friend, as much as sovereigns can be towards +each other; but the jestings of Frederick had stung him, and made him +conclude the treaty of Versailles. One day, he entered Madame's +apartment with a paper in his hand, and said, "The King of Prussia is +certainly a great man; he loves men of talent, and, like Louis XIV., he +wishes to make Europe ring with his favours towards foreign savans. There +is a letter from him, addressed to Milord Marshal, ordering him to +acquaint a 'superieur' man of my kingdom (D'Alembert) that he has +granted him a pension;" and, looking at the letter, he read the +following words: "You must know that there is in Paris a man of the +greatest merit, whose fortune is not proportionate to his talents and +character. I may serve as eyes to the blind goddess, and repair in some +measure the injustice, and I beg you to offer on that account. I +flatter myself that he will accept this pension because of the pleasure +I shall feel in obliging a man who joins beauty of character to the most +sublime intellectual talents." + +[George Keith, better known under the name of Milord Marshal, was the +eldest son of William Keith, Earl Marshal of Scotland. He was an avowed +partisan of the Stuarts, and did not lay down the arms he had taken up in +their cause until it became utterly desperate, and drew upon its +defenders useless dangers. When they were driven from their country, he +renounced it, and took up his residence successively in France, Prussia, +Spain, and Italy. The delicious country and climate of Valencia he +preferred above any other. + +Milord Marshal died in the month of May, 1778. It was he who said to +Madame Geoffrin, speaking of his brother, who was field-marshal in the +Prussian service, and died on the field of honour, "My brother leaves me +the most glorious inheritance" (he had just laid the whole of Bohemia +under contribution); "his property does not amount to seventy ducats." A +eulogium on Milord Marshal, by D'Alembert, is extant. It is the most +cruelly mangled of all his works, by Linguet] + +The King here stopped, on seeing MM. de Ayen and de Gontaut enter, and +then recommenced reading the letter to them, and added, "It was given me +by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to whom it was confided by Milord +Marshal, for the purpose of obtaining my permission for this sublime +genius to accept the favour. But," said the King, "what do you think is +the amount?" Some said six, eight, ten thousand livres. "You have not +guessed," said the King; "it is twelve hundred livres."--"For sublime +talents," said the Duc d'Ayen, "it is not much. But the philosophers +will make Europe resound with this letter, and the King of Prussia will +have the pleasure of making a great noise at little expense." + +The Chevalier de Courten,--[The Chevalier de Courten was a Swiss, and a +man of talent.]--who had been in Prussia, came in, and, hearing this +story told, said, "I have seen what is much better than that: passing +through a village in Prussia, I got out at the posthouse, while I was +waiting for horses; and the postmaster, who was a captain in the Prussian +service, showed me several letters in Frederick's handwriting, addressed +to his uncle, who was a man of rank, promising him to provide for his +nephews; the provision he made for this, the eldest of these nephews, who +was dreadfully wounded, was the postmastership which he then held." M. +de Marigny related this story at Quesnay's, and added, that the man of +genius above mentioned was D'Alembert, and that the King had permitted +him to accept the pension. He added, that his sister had suggested to +the King that he had better give D'Alembert a pension of twice the value, +and forbid him to take the King of Prussia's. This advice he would not +take, because he looked upon D'Alembert as an infidel. M. de Marigny +took a copy of the letter, which he lent me. + +A certain nobleman, at one time, affected to cast tender glances on +Madame Adelaide. She was wholly unconscious of it; but, as there are +Arguses at Court, the King was, of course, told of it, and, indeed, he +thought he had perceived it himself. I know that he came into Madame de +Pompadour's room one day, in a great passion, and said, "Would you +believe that there is a man in my Court insolent enough to dare to raise +his eyes to one of my daughters?" Madame had never seen him so +exasperated, and this illustrious nobleman was advised to feign a +necessity for visiting his estates. He remained there two months. Madame +told me, long after, that she thought that there were no tortures to +which the King would not have condemned any man who had seduced one of +his daughters. Madame Adelaide, at the time in question, was a charming +person, and united infinite grace, and much talent, to a most agreeable +face. + + + + + +A courier brought Madame de Pompadour a letter, on reading which she +burst into tears. It contained the intelligence of the battle of +Rosbach, which M. de Soubise sent her, with all the details. I heard her +say to the Marechal de Belle-Isle, wiping her eyes, "M. de Soubise is +inconsolable; he does not try to excuse his conduct, he sees nothing but +the disastrous fortune which pursues him."--"M. de Soubise must, however, +have many things to urge in his own behalf," said M. de Belle-Isle, "and +so I told the King."--"It is very noble in you, Marshal, not to suffer an +unfortunate man to be overwhelmed; the public are furious against him, +and what has he done to deserve it?"--"There is not a more honourable nor +a kinder man in the world. I only fulfil my duty in doing justice to the +truth, and to a man for whom I have the most profound esteem. The King +will explain to you, Madame, how M. de Soubise was forced to give battle +by the Prince of Sage-Hildbourgshausen, whose troops fled first, and +carried along the French troops." Madame would have embraced the old +Marshal if she had dared, she was so delighted with him. + +M. de Soubise, having gained a battle, was made Marshal of France: Madame +was enchanted with her friend's success. But, either it was unimportant, +or the public were offended at his promotion; nobody talked of it but +Madame's friends. This unpopularity was concealed from her, and she said +to Colin, her steward, at her toilet, "Are you not delighted at the +victory M. de Soubise has gained? What does the public say of it? He +has taken his revenge well." Colin was embarrassed, and knew not what to +answer. As she pressed him further, he replied that he had been ill, and +had seen nobody for a week. + +M. de Marigny came to see me one day, very much out of humour. I asked +him the cause. "I have," said he, "just been intreating my sister not to +make M. le Normand-de-Mezi Minister of the Marine. I told her that she +was heaping coals of fire upon her own head. A favourite ought not to +multiply the points of attack upon herself." The Doctor entered. "You," +said the Doctor, "are worth your weight in gold, for the good sense and +capacity you have shewn in your office, and for your moderation, but you +will never be appreciated as you deserve; your advice is excellent; there +will never be a ship taken but Madame will be held responsible for it to +the public, and you are very wise not to think of being in the Ministry +yourself." + +One day, when I was at Paris, I went to dine with the Doctor, who +happened to be there at the same time; there were, contrary to his usual +custom, a good many people, and, among others, a handsome young Master of +the Requests, who took a title from some place, the name of which I have +forgotten, but who was a son of M. Turgot, the 'prevot des marchands'. +They talked a great deal about administration, which was not very amusing +to me; they then fell upon the subject of the love Frenchmen bear to +their Kings. M. Turgot here joined in the conversation, and said, "This +is not a blind attachment; it is a deeply rooted sentiment, arising from +an indistinct recollection of great benefits. The French nation--I may +go farther--Europe, and all mankind, owe to a King of France" (I have +forgotten his name)--[Phillip the Long]--"whatever liberty they enjoy. He +established communes, and conferred on an immense number of men a civil +existence. I am aware that it may be said, with justice, that he served +his own interests by granting these franchises; that the cities paid him +taxes, and that his design was to use them as instruments of weakening +the power of great nobles; but what does that prove, but that this +measure was at once useful, politic, and humane?" From Kings in general +the conversation turned upon Louis XV., and M. Turgot remarked that his +reign would be always celebrated for the advancement of the sciences, the +progress of knowledge, and of philosophy. He added that Louis XV. was +deficient in the quality which Louis XIV. possessed to excess; that is +to say, in a good opinion of himself; that he was well-informed; that +nobody was more perfectly master of the topography of France; that his +opinion in the Council was always the most judicious; and that it was +much to be lamented that he had not more confidence in himself, or that +he did not rely upon some Minister who enjoyed the confidence of the +nation. Everybody agreed with him. I begged M. Quesnay to write down +what young Turgot had said, and showed it to Madame. She praised this +Master of the Requests greatly, and spoke of him to the King. "It is a +good breed," said he. + +One day, I went out to walk, and saw, on my return, a great many people +going and coming, and speaking to each other privately: it was evident +that something extraordinary had happened. I asked a person of my +acquaintance what was the matter. "Alas!" said he, with tears in his +eyes, "some assassins, who had formed the project of murdering the King, +have inflicted several wounds on a garde-du-corps, who overheard them in +a dark corridor; he is carried to the hospital: and as he has described +the colour of these men's coats, the Police are in quest of them in all +directions, and some people, dressed in clothes of that colour, are +already arrested." I saw Madame with M. de Gontaut, and I hastened home. +She found her door besieged by a multitude of people, and was alarmed: +when she got in, she found the Comte de Noailles. "What is all this, +Count?" said she. He said he was come expressly to speak to her, and +they retired to her closet together. The conference was not long. I had +remained in the drawing-room, with Madame's equerry, the Chevalier de +Solent, Gourbillon, her valet de chambre, and some strangers. A great +many details were related; but, the wounds being little more than +scratches, and the garde-du-corps having let fall some contradictions, it +was thought that he was an impostor, who had invented all this story to +bring himself into favour. Before the night was over, this was proved to +be the fact, and, I believe, from his own confession. The King came, +that evening, to see Madame de Pompadour; he spoke of this occurrence +with great sang froid, and said, "The gentleman who wanted to kill me was +a wicked madman; this is a low scoundrel." + +When he spoke of Damiens, which was only while his trial lasted, he never +called him anything but that gentleman. + +I have heard it said that he proposed having him shut up in a dungeon for +life; but that the horrible nature of the crime made the judges insist +upon his suffering all the tortures inflicted upon like occasions. Great +numbers, many of them women, had a barbarous curiosity to witness the +execution; amongst others, Madame de P------, a very beautiful woman, and +the wife of a Farmer General. She hired two places at a window for +twelve Louis, and played a game of cards in the room whilst waiting for +the execution to begin. On this being told to the King, he covered his +eyes with his hands and exclaimed, "Fi, la Vilaine!" I have been told +that she, and others, thought to pay their court in this way, and +signalise their attachment to the King's person. + +Two things were related to me by M. Duclos at the time of the attempt on +the King's life. + +The first, relative to the Comte de Sponheim, who was the Duc de +Deux-Ponts, and next in succession to the Palatinate and Electorate of +Bavaria. He was thought to be a great friend to the King, and had made +several long sojourns in France. He came frequently to see Madame. M. +Duclos told us that the Duc de Deux-Ponts, having learned, at Deux-Ponts, +the attempt on the King's life, immediately set out in a carriage for +Versailles: "But remark," said he, "the spirit of 'courtisanerie' of a +Prince, who may be Elector of Bavaria and the Palatinate tomorrow. This +was not enough. When he arrived within ten leagues of Paris, he put on +an enormous pair of jack-boots, mounted a post-horse, and arrived in the +court of the palace cracking his whip. If this had been real impatience, +and not charlatanism, he would have taken horse twenty leagues from +Paris."--"I don't agree with you," said a gentleman whom I did not know; +"impatience sometimes seizes one towards the end of an undertaking, and +one employs the readiest means then in one's power. Besides, the Duc de +Deux-Ponts might wish, by showing himself thus on horseback, to serve the +King, to whom he is attached, by proving to Frenchmen how greatly he is +beloved and honoured in other countries." Duclos resumed: "Well," said +he, "do you know the story of M. de C-----? The first day the King saw +company, after the attempt of Damiens, M. de C----- pushed so vigorously +through the crowd that he was one of the first to come into the King's +presence, but he had on so shabby a black coat that it caught the King's +attention, who burst out laughing, and said, 'Look at C-----, he has had +the skirt of his coat torn off.' M. de C----- looked as if he was only +then first conscious of his loss, and said, 'Sire, there is such a +multitude hurrying to see Your Majesty, that I was obliged to +fight my way through them, and, in the effort, my coat has been +torn.'--'Fortunately it was not worth much,' said the Marquis de Souvre, +'and you could not have chosen a worse one to sacrifice on the +occasion.'" + +Madame de Pompadour had been very judiciously advised to get her husband, +M. le Normand, sent to Constantinople, as Ambassador. This would have a +little diminished the scandal caused by seeing Madame de Pompadour, with +the title of Marquise, at Court, and her husband Farmer General at Paris. +But he was so attached to a Paris life, and to his opera habits, that he +could not be prevailed upon to go. Madame employed a certain M. +d'Arboulin, with whom she had been acquainted before she was at Court, to +negotiate this affair. He applied to a Mademoiselle Rem, who had been an +opera-dancer, and who was M. le Normand's mistress. She made him very +fine promises; but she was like him, and preferred a Paris life. She +would do nothing in it. + +At the time that plays were acted in the little apartments, I obtained a +lieutenancy for one of my relations, by a singular means, which proves +the value the greatest people set upon the slightest access to the Court. +Madame did not like to ask anything of M. d'Argenson, and, being pressed +by my family, who could not imagine that, situated as I was, it could be +difficult for me to obtain a command for a good soldier, I determined to +go and ask the Comte d'Argenson. I made my request, and presented my +memorial. He received me coldly, and gave me vague answers. I went out, +and the Marquis de V-----, who was in his closet, followed me. "You wish +to obtain a command," said he; "there is one vacant, which is promised me +for one of my proteges; but if you will do me a favour in return, or +obtain one for me, I will give it to you. I want to be a police officer, +and you have it in your power to get me a place." I told him I did not +understand the purport of his jest. "I will tell you," said he; +"Tartuffe is going to be acted in the cabinets, and there is the part of +a police officer, which only consists of a few lines. Prevail upon +Madame de Pompadour to assign me that part, and the command is yours." I +promised nothing, but I related the history to Madame, who said she would +arrange it for me. The thing was done, and I obtained the command, and +the Marquis de V----- thanked Madame as if she had made him a Duke. + +The King was often annoyed by the Parliaments, and said a very remarkable +thing concerning them, which M. de Gontaut repeated to Doctor Quesnay in +my presence. "Yesterday," said he, "the King walked up and down the room +with an anxious air. Madame de Pompadour asked him if he was uneasy +about his health, as he had been, for some time, rather unwell. 'No,' +replied he; 'but I am greatly annoyed by all these remonstrances.'--'What +can come of them,' said she, 'that need seriously disquiet Your Majesty? +Are you not master of the Parliaments, as well as of all the rest of the +kingdom?'--'That is true,' said the King; 'but, if it had not been for +these counsellors and presidents, I should never have been stabbed by +that gentleman' (he always called Damiens so). 'Ah! Sire,' cried Madame +de Pompadour. 'Read the trial,' said he. 'It was the language of those +gentlemen he names which turned his head.'--'But,' said Madame, 'I have +often thought that, if the Archbishop--[M. de Beaumont]--could be sent to +Rome--'--'Find anybody who will accomplish that business, and I will give +him whatever he pleases.'" Quesnay said the King was right in all he had +uttered. The Archbishop was exiled shortly after, and the King was +seriously afflicted at being driven to take such a step. "What a pity," +he often said, "that so excellent a man should be so obstinate."--"And so +shallow," said somebody, one day. "Hold your tongue," replied the King, +somewhat sternly. The Archbishop was very charitable, and liberal to +excess, but he often granted pensions without discernment. + +[The following is a specimen of the advantages taken of his natural +kindness. Madame la Caille, who acted the Duennas at the Opera Comique, +was recommended to him as the mother of a family, who deserved his +protection, The worthy prelate asked what he could do for her. +"Monseigneur," said the actress, "two words from your hand to the Duc de +Richelieu would induce him to grant me a demi-part." M. de Beaumont, who +was very little acquainted with the language of the theatre, thought that +a demi-part meant a more liberal portion of the Marshal's alms, and the +note was written in the most pressing manner. The Marshal answered, that +he thanked the Archbishop for the interest he took in the Theatre +Italien, and in Madame la Caille, who was a very useful person at that +theatre; that, nevertheless, she had a bad voice; but that the +recommendation of the Archbishop was to be preferred to the greatest +talents, and that the demi-part was granted.] + +He granted one of an hundred louis to a pretty woman, who was very poor, +and who assumed an illustrious name, to which she had no right. The fear +lest she should be plunged into vice led him to bestow such excessive +bounty upon her; and the woman was an admirable dissembler. She went to +the Archbishop's, covered with a great hood, and, when she left him, she +amused herself with a variety of lovers. + +Great people have the bad habit of talking very indiscreetly before their +servants. M. de Gontaut once said these words, covertly, as he thought, +to the Duc de ------, "That measures had been taken which would, +probably, have the effect of determining the Archbishop to go to Rome, +with a Cardinal's hat; and that, if he desired it, he was to have a +coadjutor." + +A very plausible pretext had been found for making this proposition, and +for rendering it flattering to the Archbishop, and agreeable to his +sentiments. The affair had been very adroitly begun, and success +appeared certain. The King had the air, towards the Archbishop, of +entire unconsciousness of what was going on. The negotiator acted as if +he were only following the suggestions of his own mind, for the general +good. He was a friend of the Archbishop, and was very sure of a liberal +reward. A valet of the Duc de Gontaut, a very handsome young fellow, had +perfectly caught the sense of what was spoken in a mysterious manner. He +was one of the lovers of the lady of the hundred Louis a year, and had +heard her talk of the Archbishop, whose relation she pretended to be. He +thought he should secure her good graces by informing her that great +efforts were being made to induce her patron to reside at Rome, with a +view to get him away from Paris. The lady instantly told the Archbishop, +as she was afraid of losing her pension if he went. The information +squared so well with the negotiation then on foot, that the Archbishop +had no doubt of its truth. He cooled, by degrees, in his conversations +with the negotiator, whom he regarded as a traitor, and ended by breaking +with him. These details were not known till long afterwards. The lover +of the lady having been sent to the Bicetre, some letters were found +among his papers, which gave a scent of the affair, and he was made to +confess the rest. + +In order not to compromise the Duc de Gontaut, the King was told that the +valet had come to a knowledge of the business from a letter which he had +found in his master's clothes. The King took his revenge by humiliating +the Archbishop, which he was enabled to do by means of the information he +had obtained concerning the conduct of the lady, his protege. She was +found guilty of swindling, in concert with her beloved valet; but, before +her punishment was inflicted, the Lieutenant of Police was ordered to lay +before Monseigneur a full account of the conduct of his relation and +pensioner. The Archbishop had nothing to object to in the proofs which +were submitted to him; he said, with perfect calmness, that she was not +his relation; and, raising his hands to heaven, "She is an unhappy +wretch," said he, "who has robbed me of the money which was destined for +the poor. But God knows that, in giving her so large a pension, I did +not act lightly. I had, at that time, before my eyes the example of a +young woman who once asked me to grant her seventy louis a year, +promising me that she would always live very virtuously, as she had +hitherto done. I refused her, and she said, on leaving me, 'I must turn +to the left, Monseigneur, since the way on the right is closed against +me: The unhappy creature has kept her word but too well. She found means +of establishing a faro-table at her house, which is tolerated; and she +joins to the most profligate conduct in her own person the infamous trade +of a corrupter of youth; her house is the abode of every vice. Think, +sir, after that, whether it was not an act of prudence, on my part, to +grant the woman in question a pension, suitable to the rank in which I +thought her born, to prevent her abusing the gifts of youth, beauty, and +talents, which she possessed, to her own perdition, and the destruction +of others." The Lieutenant of Police told the King that he was touched +with the candour and the noble simplicity of the prelate. "I never +doubted his virtues," replied the King, "but I wish he would be quiet." +This same Archbishop gave a pension of fifty louis a year to the greatest +scoundrel in Paris. He is a poet, who writes abominable verses; this +pension is granted on condition that his poems are never printed. I +learned this fact from M. de Marigny, to whom he recited some of his +horrible verses one evening, when he supped with him, in company with +some people of quality. He chinked the money in his pocket. "This is my +good Archbishop's," said he, laughing; "I keep my word with him: my poem +will not be printed during my life, but I read it. What would the good +prelate say if he knew that I shared my last quarter's allowance with a +charming little opera-dancer? 'It is the Archbishop, then, who keeps +me,' said she to me; 'Oh, la! how droll that is!'" The King heard this, +and was much scandalised at it. "How difficult it is to do good!" said +he. + +The King came into Madame de Pompadour's room, one day, as she was +finishing dressing. "I have just had a strange adventure," said he: +"would you believe that, in going out of my wardroom into my bedroom, I +met a gentleman face to face?"--"My God! Sire," cried Madame, terrified. +"It was nothing," replied he; "but I confess I was greatly surprised: the +man appeared speechless with consternation. 'What do you do here?' said +I, civilly. He threw himself on his knees, saying, 'Pardon me, Sire; +and, above all, have me searched: He instantly emptied his pockets +himself; he pulled off his coat in the greatest agitation and terror: at +last he told me that he was cook to -----, and a friend of Beccari, whom +he came to visit; that he had mistaken the staircase, and, finding all +the doors open, he had wandered into the room in which I found him, and +which he would have instantly left: I rang; Guimard came, and was +astonished enough at finding me tete-a-tete with a man in his shirt. He +begged Guimard to go with him into another room, and to search his whole +person. After this, the poor devil returned, and put on his coat. +Guimard said to me, 'He is certainly an honest man, and tells the truth; +this may, besides, be easily ascertained.' Another of the servants of +the palace came in, and happened to know him. 'I will answer for this +good man,' said, he, 'who, moreover, makes the best 'boeuf a carlate' in +the world.' As I saw the man was so agitated that he could not stand +steady, I took fifty louis out of my bureau, and said, Here, sir, are +fifty Louis, to quiet your alarms: He went out, after throwing himself at +my feet." Madame exclaimed on the impropriety of having the King's +bedroom thus accessible to everybody. He talked with great calmness of +this strange apparition, but it was evident that he controlled himself, +and that he had, in fact, been much frightened, as, indeed, he had reason +to be. Madame highly approved of the gift; and she was the more right in +applauding it, as it was by no means in the King's usual manner. M. de +Marigny said, when I told him of this adventure, that he would have +wagered a thousand louis against the King's making a present of fifty, if +anybody but I had told him of the circumstance. "It is a singular fact," +continued he, "that all of the race of Valois have been liberal to +excess; this is not precisely the case with the Bourbons, who are rather +reproached with avarice. Henri IV. was said to be avaricious. He gave +to his mistresses, because he could refuse them nothing; but he played +with the eagerness of a man whose whole fortune depends on the game. +Louis XIV. gave through ostentation. It is most astonishing," added he, +"to reflect on what might have happened. The King might actually have +been assassinated in his chamber, without anybody knowing anything of the +matter and without a possibility of discovering the murderer." For more +than a fortnight Madame could not get over this incident. + +About that time she had a quarrel with her brother, and both were in the +right. Proposals were made to him to marry the daughter of one of the +greatest noblemen of the Court, and the King consented to create him a +Duke, and even to make the title hereditary. Madame was right in wishing +to aggrandise her brother, but he declared that he valued his liberty +above all things, and that he would not sacrifice it except for a person +he really loved. He was a true Epicurean philosopher, and a man of great +capacity, according to the report of those who knew him well, and judged +him impartially. It was entirely at his option to have had the reversion +of M. de St. Florentin's place, and the place of Minister of Marine, when +M. de Machault retired; he said to his sister, at the time, "I spare you +many vexations, by depriving you of a slight satisfaction. The people +would be unjust to me, however well I might fulfil the duties of my +office. As to M. de St. Florentin's place, he may live five-and-twenty +years, so that I should not be the better for it. Kings' mistresses are +hated enough on their own account; they need not also draw upon, +themselves the hatred which is directed against Ministers." M. Quesnay +repeated this conversation to me. + +The King had another mistress, who gave Madame de Pompadour some +uneasiness. She was a woman of quality, and the wife of one of the most +assiduous courtiers. + +A man in immediate attendance on the King's person, and who had the care +of his clothes, came to me one day, and told me that, as he was very much +attached to Madame, because she was good and useful to the King, he +wished to inform me that, a letter having fallen out of the pocket of a +coat which His Majesty had taken off, he had had the curiosity to read +it, and found it to be from the Comtesse de ----- who had already yielded +to the King's desires. In this letter, she required the King to give her +fifty thousand crowns in money, a regiment for one of her relations, and +a bishopric for another, and to dismiss Madame in the space of fifteen +days, etc. I acquainted Madame with what this man told me, and she acted +with singular greatness of mind. She said to me, "I ought to inform the +King of this breach of trust of his servant, who may, by the same means, +come to the knowledge of, and make a bad use of, important secrets; but I +feel a repugnance to ruin the man: however, I cannot permit him to remain +near the King's person, and here is what I shall do: Tell him that there +is a place of ten thousand francs a year vacant in one of the provinces; +let him solicit the Minister of Finance for it, and it shall be granted +to him; but, if he should ever disclose through what interest he has +obtained it, the King shall be made acquainted with his conduct. By this +means, I think I shall have done all that my attachment and duty +prescribe. I rid the King of a faithless domestic, without ruining the +individual." I did as Madame ordered me: her delicacy and address +inspired me with admiration. She was not alarmed on account of the lady, +seeing what her pretentions were. "She drives too quick," remarked +Madame, "and will certainly be overturned on the road." The lady died. + +"See what the Court is; all is corruption there, from the highest to the +lowest," said I to Madame, one day, when she was speaking to me of some +facts, that had come to my knowledge. "I could tell you many others," +replied Madame; "but the little chamber, where you often remain, must +furnish you with a sufficient number." This was a little nook, from, +whence I could hear a great part of what passed in Madame's apartment. +The Lieutenant of Police sometimes came secretly to this apartment, and +waited there. Three or four persons, of high consideration, also found +their way in, in a mysterious, manner, and several devotees, who were, in +their hearts, enemies of Madame de Pompadour. But these men had not +petty objects in view: one: required the government of a province; +another, a seat in the Council; a third, a Captaincy of the Guards; and +this man would have obtained it if the Marechale de Mirepoix had not +requested it for her brother, the Prince de Beauvan. The Chevalier du +Muy was not among these apostates; not even the promise of being High +Constable would have tempted him to make up to Madame, still less to +betray his master, the Dauphin. This Prince was, to the last degree, +weary of the station he held. Sometimes, when teased to death by +ambitious people, who pretended to be Catos, or wonderfully devout, he +took part against a Minister against whom he was prepossessed; then +relapsed into his accustomed state of inactivity and ennui. + +The King used to say, "My son is lazy; his temper is Polonese--hasty and +changeable; he has no tastes; he cares nothing for hunting, for women, or +for good living; perhaps he imagines that if he were in my place he would +be happy; at first, he would make great changes, create everything anew, +as it were. In a short time he would be as tired of the rank of King as +he now is of his own; he is only fit to live 'en philosophe', with clever +people about him." The King added, "He loves what is right; he is truly +virtuous, and does not want under standing." + +M. de St. Germain said, one day, to the King, "To think well of mankind, +one must be neither a Confessor, nor a Minister, nor a Lieutenant of +Police."--"Nor a King," said His Majesty. "Ah! Sire," replied he, "you +remember the fog we had a few days ago, when we could not see four steps +before us. Kings are commonly surrounded by still thicker fogs, +collected around them by men of intriguing character, and faithless +Ministers--all, of every class, unite in endeavouring to make things +appear to Kings in any, light but the true one." I heard this from the +mouth of the famous Comte de St. Germain, as I was attending upon Madame, +who was ill in bed. The King was there; and the Count, who was a welcome +visitor, had been admitted. There were also present, M. de Gontaut, +Madame de Brancas, and the Abbe de Bernis. I remember that the very same +day, after the Count was gone out, the King talked in a style which gave +Madame great pain. Speaking of the King of Prussia, he said, "That is a +madman, who will risk all to gain all, and may, perhaps, win the game, +though he has neither religion, morals, nor principles. He wants to make +a noise in the world, and he will succeed. Julian, the Apostate, did the +same."--"I never saw the King so animated before," observed Madame, when +he was gone out; "and really the comparison with Julian, the Apostate, is +not amiss, considering the irreligion of the King of Prussia. If he gets +out of his perplexities, surrounded as he is by his enemies, he will be +one of the greatest men in history." + +M. de Bernis remarked, "Madame is correct in her judgment, for she has no +reason to pronounce his praises; nor have I, though I agree with what she +says." Madame de Pompadour never enjoyed so much influence as at the +time when M. de Choiseul became one of the Ministry. From the time of +the Abbe de Bernis she had afforded him her constant support, and he had +been employed in foreign affairs, of which he was said to know but +little. Madame made the Treaty of Sienna, though the first idea of it +was certainly furnished her by the Abbe. I have been informed by several +persons that the King often talked to Madame upon this subject; for my +own part, I never heard any conversation relative to it, except the high +praises bestowed by her on the Empress and the Prince de Kaunitz, whom +she had known a good deal of. She said that he had a clear head, the +head of a statesman. One day, when she was talking in this strain, some +one tried to cast ridicule upon the Prince on account of the style in +which he wore his hair, and the four valets de chambre, who made the +hair-powder fly in all directions, while Kaunitz ran about that he might +only catch the superfine part of it. "Aye," said Madame, "just as +Alcibiades cut off his dog's tail in order to give the Athenians +something to talk about, and to turn their attention from those things he +wished to conceal." + +Never was the public mind so inflamed against Madame de Pompadour as when +news arrived of the battle of Rosbach. Every day she received anonymous +letters, full of the grossest abuse; atrocious verses, threats of poison +and assassination. She continued long a prey to the most acute sorrow, +and could get no sleep but from opiates. All this discontent was excited +by her protecting the Prince of Soubise; and the Lieutenant of Police had +great difficulty in allaying the ferment of the people. The King +affirmed that it was not his fault. M. du Verney was the confidant of +Madame in everything relating to war; a subject which he well understood, +though not a military man by, profession. The old Marechal de Noailles +called him, in derision, the General of the flour, but Marechal Saxe, one +day, told Madame that Du Verney knew more of military matters than the +old Marshal. Du Verney once paid a visit to Madame de Pompadour, and +found her in company with the King, the Minister of War, and two +Marshals; he submitted to them the plan of a campaign, which was +generally applauded. It was through his influence that M. de Richelieu +was appointed to the command of the army, instead of the Marechal +d'Estrdes. He came to Quesnay two days after, when I was with him. The +Doctor began talking about the art of war, and I remember he said, +"Military men make a great mystery of their art; but what is the reason +that young Princes have always the most brilliant success? Why, because +they are active and daring. When Sovereigns command their troops in +person what exploits they perform! Clearly, because they are at liberty +to run all risks." These observations made a lasting impression on my +mind. + +The first physician came, one day, to see Madame he was talking of madmen +and madness. The King was present, and everything relating to disease of +any kind interested him. The first physician said that he could +distinguish the symptoms of approaching madness six months beforehand. +"Are there any persons about the Court likely to become mad?" said the +King.--"I know one who will be imbecile in less than three months," +replied he. The King pressed him to tell the name. He excused himself +for some time. At last he said, "It is M. de Sechelles, the +Controller-General."--"You have a spite against him," said Madame, +"because he would not grant what you asked"--"That is true," said he, +"but though that might possibly incline me to tell a disagreeable truth, +it would not make me invent one. He is losing his intellects from +debility. He affects gallantry at his age, and I perceive the connection +in his ideas is becoming feeble and irregular."--The King laughed; but +three months afterwards he came to Madame, saying, "Sechelles gives +evident proofs of dotage in the Council. We must appoint a successor to +him." Madame de Pompadour told me of this on the way to Choisy. Some +time afterwards, the first physician came to see Madame, and spoke to her +in private. "You are attached to M. Berryer, Madame," said he, "and I am +sorry to have to warn you that he will be attacked by madness, or by +catalepsy, before long. I saw him this morning at chapel, sitting on one +of those very low little chairs, which are only, meant to kneel upon. +His knees touched his chin. I went to his house after Mass; his eyes +were wild, and when his secretary spoke to him, he said, 'Hold your +tongue, pen. A pen's business is to write, and not to speak.'" Madame, +who liked the Keeper of the Seals, was very much concerned, and begged +the first physician not to mention what he had perceived. Four days +after this, M. Berryer was seized with catalepsy, after having talked +incoherently. This is a disease which I did not know even by name, and +got it written down for me. The patient remains in precisely the same +position in which the fit seizes him; one leg or arm elevated, the eyes +wide open, or just as it may happen. This latter affair was known to all +the Court at the death of the Keeper of the Seals. + +When the Marechal de Belle-Isle's son was killed in battle, Madame +persuaded the King to pay his father a visit. He was rather reluctant, +and Madame said to him, with an air half angry, half playful: + +--------"Barbare! don't l'orgueil +Croit le sang d'un sujet trop pays d'un coup d'oeil." + +The King laughed, and said, "Whose fine verses are those?"--"Voltaire's," +said Madame ------. + +"As barbarous as I am, I gave him the place of gentleman in ordinary, and +a pension," said the King. + +The King went in state to call on the Marshal, followed by all the Court; +and it certainly appeared that this solemn visit consoled the Marshal for +the loss of his son, the sole heir to his name. + +When the Marshal died, he was carried to his house on a common +hand-barrow, covered with a shabby cloth. I met the body. The bearers +were laughing and singing. I thought it was some servant, and asked who +it was. How great was my surprise at learning that these were the +remains of a man abounding in honours and in riches. Such is the Court; +the dead are always in fault, and cannot be put out of sight too soon. + +The King said, "M. Fouquet is dead, I hear."--"He was no longer Fouquet," +replied the Duc d'Ayen; "Your Majesty had permitted him to change that +name, under which, however, he acquired all his reputation." The King +shrugged his shoulders. His Majesty had, in fact, granted him letters +patent, permitting him not to sign Fouquet during his Ministry. I heard +this on the occasion in question. M. de Choiseul had the war department +at his death. He was every day more and more in favour. + +Madame treated him with greater distinction than any previous Minister, +and his manners towards her were the most agreeable it is possible to +conceive, at once respectful and gallant. He never passed a day without +seeing her. M. de Marigny could not endure M. de Choiseul, but he never +spoke of him, except to his intimate friends. Calling, one day, at +Quesnay's, I found him there. They were talking of M. de Choiseul. "He +is a mere 'petit maitre'," said the Doctor, "and, if he were handsome +just fit to be one of Henri the Third's favourites." The Marquis de +Mirabeau and M. de La Riviere came in. "This kingdom," said Mirabeau, +"is in a deplorable state. There is neither national energy, nor the +only substitute for it--money."--"It can only be regenerated," said La +Riviere, "by a conquest, like that of China, or by some great internal +convulsion; but woe to those who live to see that! The French people do +not do things by halves." These words made me tremble, and I hastened +out of the room. M. de Marigny did the same, though without appearing at +all affected by what had been said. "You heard De La Riviere," said +he,--"but don't be alarmed, the conversations that pass at the Doctor's +are never repeated; these are honourable men, though rather chimerical. +They know not where to stop. I think, however, they are in the right +way; only, unfortunately, they go too far." I wrote this down +immediately. + +The Comte de St. Germain came to see Madame de Pompadour, who was ill, +and lay on the sofa. He shewed her a little box, containing topazes, +rubies, and emeralds. He appeared to have enough to furnish a treasury. +Madame sent for me to see all these beautiful things. I looked at them +with an air of the utmost astonishment, but I made signs to Madame that I +thought them all false. The Count felt for something in his pocketbook, +about twice as large as a spectacle-case, and, at length, drew out two or +three little paper packets, which he unfolded, and exhibited a superb +ruby. He threw on the table, with a contemptuous air, a little cross of +green and white stones. I looked at it and said, "That is not to be +despised." I put it on, and admired it greatly. The Count begged me to +accept it. I refused--he urged me to take it. Madame then refused it +for me. At length, he pressed it upon me so warmly that Madame, seeing +that it could not be worth above forty Louis, made me a sign to accept +it. I took the cross, much pleased at the Count's politeness; and, some +days after, Madame presented him with an enamelled box, upon which was +the portrait of some Grecian sage (whose name I don't recollect), to whom +she compared him. I skewed the cross to a jeweller, who valued it at +sixty-five Louis. The Count offered to bring Madame some enamel +portraits, by Petitot, to look at, and she told him to bring them after +dinner, while the King was hunting. He shewed his portraits, after which +Madame said to him, "I have heard a great deal of a charming story you +told two days ago, at supper, at M. le Premier's, of an occurrence you +witnessed fifty or sixty years ago." He smiled and said, "It is rather +long."--"So much the better," said she, with an air of delight. Madame +de Gontaut and the ladies came in, and the door was shut; Madame made a +sign to me to sit down behind the screen. The Count made many apologies +for the ennui which his story would, perhaps, occasion. He said, +"Sometimes one can tell a story pretty well; at other times it is quite a +different thing." + +"At the beginning of this century, the Marquis de St. Gilles was +Ambassador from Spain to the Hague. In his youth he had been +particularly intimate with the Count of Moncade, a grandee of Spain, and +one of the richest nobles of that country. Some months after the +Marquis's arrival at the Hague, he received a letter from the Count, +entreating him, in the name of their former friendship, to render him the +greatest possible service. 'You know,' said he, 'my dear Marquis, the +mortification I felt that the name of Moncade was likely to expire with +me. At length, it pleased heaven to hear my prayers, and to grant me a +son: he gave early promise of dispositions worthy of his birth, but he, +some time since, formed an unfortunate and disgraceful attachment to the +most celebrated actress of the company of Toledo. I shut my eyes to this +imprudence on the part of a young man whose conduct had, till then, +caused me unmingled satisfaction. But, having learnt that he was so +blinded by passion as to intend to marry this girl, and that he had even +bound himself by a written promise to that effect, I solicited the King +to have her placed in confinement. My son, having got information of the +steps I had taken, defeated my intentions by escaping with the object of +his passion. For more than six months I have vainly endeavoured to +discover where he has concealed himself, but I have now some reason to +think he is at the Hague. The Count earnestly conjured the Marquis to +make the most rigid search, in order to discover his son's retreat, and +to endeavour to prevail upon him to return to his home. 'It is an act of +justice,' continued he, 'to provide for the girl, if she consents to +give up the written promise of marriage which she has received, and I +leave it to your discretion to do what is right for her, as well as to +determine the sum necessary to bring my son to Madrid in a manner +suitable to his condition. I know not,' concluded he, 'whether you are a +father; if you are, you will be able to sympathise in my anxieties.' The +Count subjoined to this letter an exact description of his son, and the +young woman by whom he was accompanied. + +"On the receipt of this letter, the Marquis lost not a moment in sending +to all the inns in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague, but in vain--he +could find no trace of them. He began to despair of success, when the +idea struck him that a young French page of his, remarkable for his +quickness and intelligence, might be employed with advantage. He +promised to reward him handsomely if he succeeded in finding the young +woman, who was the cause of so much anxiety, and gave him the description +of her person. The page visited all the public places for many days, +without success; at length, one evening, at the play, he saw a young man +and woman, in a box, who attracted his attention. When he saw that they, +perceived he was looking at them, and withdrew to the back of the box to +avoid his observation, he felt confident that they were the objects of +his search. He did not take his eyes from the bog, and watched every +movement in it. The instant the performance ended, he was in the passage +leading from the boxes to the door, and he remarked that the young man, +who, doubtless, observed the dress he wore, tried to conceal himself, as +he passed him, by putting his handkerchief before his face. He followed +him, at a distance, to the inn called the Vicomte de Turenne, which he +saw him and the woman enter; and, being now certain of success, he ran to +inform the Ambassador. The Marquis de St. Gilles immediately repaired to +the inn, wrapped in a cloak, and followed by his page and two servants. +He desired the landlord to show him to the room of a young man and woman, +who had lodged for some time in his house. The landlord, for some time, +refused to do so, unless the Marquis would give their name. The page +told him to take notice that he was speaking to the Spanish Ambassador, +who had strong reasons for wishing to see the persons in question. The +innkeeper said they wished not to be known, and that they had absolutely +forbidden him to admit anybody into their apartment who did not ask for +them by name; but that, since the Ambassador desired it, he would show +him their room. He then conducted them up to a dirty, miserable garret. +He knocked at the door, and waited for some time; he then knocked again +pretty, loudly, upon which the door was half-opened. At the sight of the +Ambassador and his suite, the person who opened it immediately closed it +again, exclaiming that they, had made a mistake. The Ambassador pushed +hard against him, forced his way, in, made a sign to his people to wait +outside, and remained in the room. He saw before him a very handsome +young man, whose appearance perfectly, corresponded with the description, +and a young woman, of great beauty, and remarkably fine person, whose +countenance, form, colour of the hair, etc., were also precisely those +described by the Count of Moncade. The young man spoke first. He +complained of the violence used in breaking into the apartment of a +stranger, living in a free country, and under the protection of its laws. +The Ambassador stepped forward to embrace him, and said, 'It is useless +to feign, my dear Count; I know you, and I do not come here--to give pain +to you or to this lady, whose appearance interests me extremely.' The +young man replied that he was totally mistaken; that he was not a Count, +but the son of a merchant of Cadiz; that the lady was his wife; and, that +they were travelling for pleasure. The Ambassador, casting his eyes +round the miserably furnished room, which contained but one bed, and some +packages of the shabbiest kind, lying in disorder about the room, 'Is +this, my dear child (allow me to address you by a title which is +warranted by my tender regard for your father), is this a fit residence +for the son of the Count of Moncade?' The young man still protested +against the use of any such language, as addressed to him. At length, +overcome by the entreaties of the Ambassador, he confessed, weeping, that +he was the son of the Count of Moncade, but declared that nothing should +induce him to return to his father, if he must abandon a woman he adored. +The young woman burst into tears, and threw herself at the feet of the +Ambassador, telling him that she would not be the cause of the ruin of +the young Count; and that generosity, or rather, love, would enable her +to disregard her own happiness, and, for his sake, to separate herself +from him. The Ambassador admired her noble disinterestedness. The young +man, on the contrary, received her declaration with the most desperate +grief. He reproached his mistress, and declared that he would never +abandon so estimable a creature, nor suffer the sublime generosity of her +heart to be turned against herself. The Ambassador told him that the +Count of Moncade was far from wishing to render her miserable, and that +he was commissioned to provide her with a sum sufficient to enable her to +return into Spain, or to live where she liked. Her noble sentiments, and +genuine tenderness, he said, inspired him with the greatest interest for +her, and would induce him to go to the utmost limits of his powers, in +the sum he was to give her; that he, therefore, promised her ten thousand +florins, that is to say, about twelve hundred Louis, which would be given +her the moment she surrendered the promise of marriage she had received, +and the Count of Moncade took up his abode in the Ambassador's house, and +promised to return to Spain. The young woman seemed perfectly +indifferent to the sum proposed, and wholly absorbed in her lover, and in +the grief of leaving him. She seemed insensible to everything but the +cruel sacrifice which her reason, and her love itself, demanded. At +length, drawing from a little portfolio the promise of marriage, signed +by the Count, 'I know his heart too well,' said she, 'to need it.' Then +she kissed it again and again, with a sort of transport, and delivered it +to the Ambassador, who stood by, astonished at the grandeur of soul he +witnessed. He promised her that he would never cease to take the +liveliest interest in her fate, and assured the Count of his father's +forgiveness. 'He will receive with open arms,' said he, 'the prodigal +son, returning to the bosom of his distressed family; the heart of a +father is an exhaustless mine of tenderness. How great will be the +felicity of my friend on the receipt of these tidings, after his long +anxiety and affliction; how happy do I esteem myself, at being the +instrument of that felicity?' Such was, in part, the language of the +Ambassador, which appeared to produce a strong impression on the young +man. But, fearing lest, during the night, love should regain all his +power, and should triumph over the generous resolution of the lady, the +Marquis pressed the young Count to accompany him to his hotel. The +tears, the cries of anguish, which marked this cruel separation, cannot +be described; they deeply touched the heart of the Ambassador, who +promised to watch over the young lady. The Count's little baggage was +not difficult to remove, and, that very evening, he was installed in the +finest apartment of the Ambassador's house. The Marquis was overjoyed at +having restored to the illustrious house of Moncade the heir of its +greatness, and of its magnificent domains. On the following morning, as +soon as the young Count was up, he found tailors, dealers in cloth, lace, +stuffs, etc., out of which he had only to choose. Two valets de chambre, +and three laquais, chosen by the Ambassador for their intelligence and +good conduct, were in waiting in his antechamber, and presented +themselves, to receive his orders. The Ambassador shewed the young Count +the letter he had just written to his father, in which he congratulated +him on possessing a son whose noble sentiments and striking qualities +were worthy of his illustrious blood, and announced his speedy return. +The young lady was not forgotten; he confessed that to her generosity he +was partly indebted for the submission of her lover, and expressed his +conviction that the Count would not disapprove the gift he had made her, +of ten thousand florins. That sum was remitted, on the same day, to this +noble and interesting girl, who left the Hague without delay. The +preparations for the Count's journey were made; a splendid wardrobe and +an excellent carriage were embarked at Rotterdam, in a ship bound for +France, on board which a passage was secured for the Count, who was to +proceed from that country to Spain. A considerable sum of money, and +letters of credit on Paris, were given him at his departure; and the +parting between the Ambassador and the young Count was most touching. The +Marquis de St. Gilles awaited with impatience the Count's answer, and +enjoyed his friend's delight by anticipation. At the expiration of four +months, he received this long-expected letter. It would be utterly +impossible to describe his surprise on reading the following words, +'Heaven, my dear Marquis, never granted me the happiness of becoming a +father, and, in the midst of abundant wealth and honours, the grief of +having no heirs, and seeing an illustrious race end in my person, has +shed the greatest bitterness over my whole existence. I see, with +extreme regret, that you have been imposed upon by a young adventurer, +who has taken advantage of the knowledge he had, by some means, obtained, +of our old friendship. But your Excellency must not be the sufferer. The +Count of Moncade is, most assuredly, the person whom you wished to serve; +he is bound to repay what your generous friendship hastened to advance, +in order to procure him a happiness which he would have felt most deeply. +I hope, therefore, Marquis, that your Excellency will have no hesitation +in accepting the remittance contained in this letter, of three thousand +Louis of France, of the disbursal of which you sent me an account.'" + +The manner in which the Comte de St. Germain spoke, in the characters of +the young adventurer, his mistress, and the Ambassador, made his audience +weep and laugh by turns. The story is true in every particular, and the +adventurer surpasses Gusman d'Alfarache in address, according to the +report of some persons present. Madame de Pompadour thought of having a +play written, founded on this story; and the Count sent it to her in +writing, from which I transcribed it. + +M. Duclos came to the Doctor's, and harangued with his usual warmth. I +heard him saying to two or three persons, "People are unjust to great +men, Ministers and Princes; nothing, for instance, is more common than to +undervalue their intellect. I astonished one of these little gentlemen +of the corps of the infallibles, by telling him that I could prove that +there had been more men of ability in the house of Bourbon, for the last +hundred years, than in any other family."--"You prove that?" said +somebody, sneeringly. "Yes," said Duclos; "and I will tell you how. The +great Conde, you will allow, was no fool; and the Duchesse de Longueville +is cited as one of the wittiest women that ever lived. The Regent was a +man who had few equals, in every kind of talent and acquirement. The +Prince de Conti, who was elected King of Poland, was celebrated for his +intelligence, and, in poetry, was the successful rival of La Fare and St. +Aulaire. The Duke of Burgundy was learned and enlightened. His Duchess, +the daughter of Louis XIV., was remarkably clever, and wrote epigrams and +couplets. The Duc du Maine is generally spoken of only for his weakness, +but nobody had a more agreeable wit. His wife was mad, but she had an +extensive acquaintance with letters, good taste in poetry, and a +brilliant and inexhaustible imagination. Here are instances enough, I +think," said he; "and, as I am no flatterer, and hate to appear one, I +will not speak of the living." His hearers were astonished at this +enumeration, and all of them agreed in the truth of what he had said. +He added, "Don't we daily hear of silly D'Argenson, because he has a +good-natured air, and a bourgeois tone? and yet, I believe, there have +not been many Ministers comparable to him in knowledge and in +enlightened views." + +[Rene LOUIS d'Argenson, who was Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was the +author of 'Considerations sur le Gouvernement', and of several other +works, from which succeeding political writers have drawn, and still draw +ideas, which they give to the world as new. This man, remarkable not only +for profound and original thinking, but for clear and forcible +expression, was, nevertheless, D'Argenson la bete. It is said, however, +that he affected the simplicity, and even silliness of manner, which +procured him that appellation. If, as we hope, the unedited memoirs left +by Rene d'Argenson will be given to the world, they will be found fully +to justify the opinion of Duclos, with regard to this Minister, and the +inappropriateness of his nickname.] + +I took a pen, which lay on the Doctor's table, and begged M. Duclos to +repeat to me all the names he had mentioned, and the eulogium he had +bestowed on each. "If," said he, "you show that to the Marquise, tell +her how the conversation arose, and that I did not say it in order that +it might come to her ears, and eventually, perhaps, to those of another +person. I am an historiographer, and I will render justice, but I +shall, also, often inflict it."--"I will answer for that," said the +Doctor, "and our master will be represented as he really is. Louis XIV. +liked verses, and patronised poets; that was very well, perhaps, in his +time, because one must begin with something; but this age will be very +superior to the last. It must be acknowledged that Louis XV., in +sending astronomers to Mexico and Peru, to measure the earth, has a +higher claim to our respect than if he directed an opera. He has thrown +down the barriers which opposed the progress of philosophy, in spite of +the clamour of the devotees: the Encyclopaedia will do honour to his +reign." Duclos, during this speech, shook his head. I went away, and +tried to write down all I had heard, while it was fresh. I had the part +which related to the Princes of the Bourbon race copied by a valet, who +wrote a beautiful hand, and I gave it to Madame de Pompadour. But she +said to me, "What! is Duclos an acquaintance of yours? Do you want to +play the 'bel esprit', my dear good woman? That will not sit well upon +you." The truth is, that nothing can be further from my inclination. I +told her that I met him accidentally at the Doctor's, where he generally +spent an hour when he came to Versailles. "The King knows him to be a +worthy man," said she. + +Madame de Pompadour was ill, and the King came to see her several times a +day. I generally left the room when he entered, but, having stayed a few +minutes, on one occasion, to give her a glass of chicory water, I heard +the King mention Madame d'Egmont. Madame raised her eyes to heaven, and +said, "That name always recalls to me a most melancholy and barbarous +affair; but it was not my fault." These words dwelt in my mind, and, +particularly, the tone in which they were uttered. As I stayed with +Madame till three o'clock in the morning, reading to her a part of the +time, it was easy for me to try to satisfy my curiosity. I seized a +moment, when the reading was interrupted, to say, "You looked dreadfully +shocked, Madame, when the King pronounced the name of D'Egmont." At +these words, she again raised her eyes, and said, "You would feel as I +do, if you knew the affair."--"It must, then, be deeply affecting, for I +do not think that it personally concerns you, Madame."--"No," said she, +"it does not; as, however, I am not the only person acquainted with this +history, and as I know you to be discreet, I will tell it you. The last +Comte d'Egmont married a reputed daughter of the Duc de Villars; but the +Duchess had never lived with her husband, and the Comtesse d'Egmont is, +in fact, a daughter of the Chevalier d'Orleans.--[Legitimate son of the +Regent, Grand Prior of France.]--At the death of her husband, young, +beautiful, agreeable, and heiress to an immense fortune, she attracted +the suit and homage of all the most distinguished men at Court. Her +mother's director, one day, came into her room and requested a private +interview; he then revealed to her that she was the offspring of an +adulterous intercourse, for which her mother had been doing penance for +five-and-twenty years. 'She could not,' said he, 'oppose your former +marriage, although it caused her extreme distress. Heaven did not grant +you children; but, if you marry again, you run the risk, Madame, of +transmitting to another family the immense wealth, which does not, in +fact, belong to you, and which is the price of crime.' + +"The Comtesse d'Egmont heard this recital with horror. At the same +instant, her mother entered, and, on her knees, besought her daughter to +avert her eternal damnation. Madame d'Egmont tried to calm her own and +her mother's mind. 'What can I do?' said she, to her. 'Consecrate +yourself wholly to God,' replied the director, 'and thus expiate your +mother's crime.' The Countess, in her terror, promised whatever they +asked, and proposed to enter the Carmelites. I was informed of it, and +spoke to the King about the barbarous tyranny the Duchesse de Villars and +the director were about to exercise over this unhappy young woman; but we +knew not how to prevent it. The King, with the utmost kindness, +prevailed on the Queen to offer her the situation of Lady of the Palace, +and desired the Duchess's friends to persuade her to endeavour to deter +her daughter from becoming a Carmelite. It was all in vain; the wretched +victim was sacrificed." + +Madame took it into her head to consult a fortuneteller, called Madame +Bontemps, who had told M. de Bernis's fortune, as I have already related, +and had surprised him by her predictions. M. de Choiseul, to whom she +mentioned the matter, said that the woman had also foretold fine things +that were to happen to him. "I know it," said she, "and, in return, you +promised her a carriage, but the poor woman goes on foot still." Madame +told me this, and asked me how she could disguise herself, so as to see +the woman without being known. I dared not propose any scheme then, for +fear it should not succeed; but, two days after, I talked to her surgeon +about the art, which some beggars practise, of counterfeiting sores, and +altering their features. He said that was easy enough. I let the thing +drop, and, after an interval of some minutes, I said, "If one could +change one's features, one might have great diversion at the opera, or at +balls. What alterations would it be necessary to make in me, now, to +render it impossible to recognise me?"--"In the first place," said he, +"you must alter the colour of your hair, then you must have a false nose, +and put a spot on some part of your face, or a wart, or a few hairs." I +laughed, and said, "Help me to contrive this for the next ball; I have +not been to one for twenty years; but I am dying to puzzle somebody, and +to tell him things which no one but I can tell him. I shall come home, +and go to bed, in a quarter of an hour."--"I must take the measure of +your nose," said he; "or do you take it with wax, and I will have a nose +made: you can get a flaxen or brown wig." I repeated to Madame what the +surgeon had told me: she was delighted at it. I took the measure of her +nose, and of my own, and carried them to the surgeon, who, in two days, +gave me the two noses, and a wart, which Madame stuck under her left eye, +and some paint for the eyebrows. The noses were most delicately made, of +a bladder, I think, and these, with the ether disguises, rendered it +impossible to recognize the face, and yet did not produce any shocking +appearance. All this being accomplished, nothing remained but to give +notice to the fortuneteller; we waited for a little excursion to Paris, +which Madame was to take, to look at her house. I then got a person, +with whom I had no connection, to speak to a waiting-woman of the +Duchesse de Ruffec, to obtain an interview with the woman. She made some +difficulty, on account of the Police; but we promised secrecy, and +appointed the place of meeting. Nothing could be more contrary to Madame +de Pompadour's character, which was one of extreme timidity, than to +engage in such an adventure. But her curiosity was raised to the highest +pitch, and, moreover, everything was so well arranged that there was not +the slightest risk. Madame had let M. de Gontaut, and her valet de +chambre, into the secret. The latter had hired two rooms for his niece, +who was then ill, at Versailles, near Madame's hotel. We went out in the +evening, followed by the valet de chambre, who was a safe man, and by the +Duke, all on foot. We had not, at farthest, above two hundred steps to +go. We were shown into two small rooms, in which were fires. The two +men remained in one, and we in the other. Madame had thrown herself on a +sofa. She had on a night-cap, which concealed half her face, in an +unstudied manner. I was near the fire, leaning on a table, on which were +two candles. There were lying on the chairs, near us, some clothes, of +small value. The fortune-teller rang--a little servant-girl let her in, +and then went to wait in the room where the gentlemen were. Coffee-cups, +and a coffee-pot, were set; and I had taken care to place, upon a little +buffet, some cakes, and a bottle of Malaga wine, having heard that Madame +Bontemps assisted her inspiration with that liquor. Her face, indeed, +sufficiently proclaimed it. "Is that lady ill?" said she, seeing Madame +de Pompadour stretched languidly on the sofa. I told her that she would +soon be better, but that she had kept her room for a week. She heated +the coffee, and prepared the two cups, which she carefully wiped, +observing that nothing impure must enter into this operation. I affected +to be very anxious for a glass of wine, in order to give our oracle a +pretext for assuaging her thirst, which she did, without much entreaty. +When she had drunk two or three small glasses (for I had taken care not +to have large ones), she poured the coffee into one of the two large +cups. "This is yours," said she; "and this is your friends's; let them +stand a little." She then observed our hands and our faces; after which +she drew a looking-glass from her pocket, into which she told us to look, +while she looked at the reflections of our faces. She next took a glass +of wine, and immediately threw herself into a fit of enthusiasm, while +she inspected my cup, and considered all the lines formed by the dregs of +the coffee she had poured out. She began by saying, "That is +well--prosperity--but there is a black mark--distresses. A man becomes a +comforter. Here, in this corner, are friends, who support you. Ah! who +is he that persecutes them? But justice triumphs--after rain, +sunshine--a long journey successful. There, do you see these little +bags? That is money which has been paid--to you, of course, I mean. +That is well. Do you see that arm?"--"Yes."--"That is an arm supporting +something: a woman veiled; I see her; it is you. All this is clear to +me. I hear, as it were, a voice speaking to me. You are no longer +attacked. I see it, because the clouds in that direction are passed off +(pointing to a clearer spot). But, stay--I see small lines which branch +out from the main spot. These are sons, daughters, nephews--that is +pretty well." She appeared overpowered with the effort she was making. +At length, she added, "That is all. You have had good luck +first--misfortune afterward. You have had a friend, who has exerted +himself with success to extricate you from it. You have had lawsuits--at +length fortune has been reconciled to you, and will change no more." She +drank another glass of wine. "Your health, Madame," said she to the +Marquise, and went through the same ceremonies with the cup. At length, +she broke out, "Neither fair nor foul. I see there, in the distance, a +serene sky; and then all these things that appear to ascend all these +things are applauses. Here is a grave man, who stretches out his arms. +Do you see?--look attentively."--"That is true," said Madame de +Pompadour, with surprise (there was, indeed, some appearance of the +kind). "He points to something square that is an open coffer. Fine +weather. But, look! there are clouds of azure and gold, which surround +you. Do you see that ship on the high sea? How favourable the wind is! +You are on board; you land in a beautiful country, of which you become +the Queen. Ah! what do I see? Look there--look at that hideous, +crooked, lame man, who is pursuing you--but he is going on a fool's +errand. I see a very great man, who supports you in his arms. Here, +look! he is a kind of giant. There is a great deal of gold and silver--a +few clouds here and there. But you have nothing to fear. The vessel will +be sometimes tossed about, but it will not be lost. Dixi." Madame said, +"When shall I die, and of what disease?"--"I never speak of that," said +she; "see here, rather but fate will not permit it. I will shew you how +fate confounds everything"--shewing her several confused lumps of the +coffee-dregs. "Well, never mind as to the time, then, only tell me the +kind of death." The fortune-teller looked in the cup, and said, "You +will have time to prepare yourself." I gave her only two Louis, to avoid +doing anything remarkable. She left us, after begging us to keep her +secret, and we rejoined the Duc de Gontaut, to whom we related everything +that had passed. He laughed heartily, and said, "Her coffee-dregs are +like the clouds--you may see what you please in them." + +There was one thing in my horoscope which struck me, that was the +comforter; because one of my uncles had taken great care of me, and had +rendered me the most essential services. It is also true that I +afterwards had an important lawsuit; and, lastly, there was the money +which had come into my hands through Madame de Pompadour's patronage and +bounty. As for Madame, her husband was represented accurately enough by +the man with the coffer; then the country of which she became Queen +seemed to relate to her present situation at Court; but the most +remarkable thing was the crooked and lame man, in whom Madame thought she +recognized the Duc de V-----, who was very much deformed. Madame was +delighted with her adventure and her horoscope, which she thought +corresponded very remarkably with the truth. Two days after, she sent +for M. de St. Florentin, and begged him not to molest the fortuneteller. +He laughed, and replied that he knew why she interceded for this woman. +Madame asked him why he laughed. He related every circumstance of her +expedition with astonishing exactness;--[M. de St. Florentin was +Minister for Paris, to whom the Lieutenant of Police was +accountable.]--but he knew nothing of what had been said, or, at least, +so he pretended. He promised Madame that, provided Bontemps did nothing +which called for notice, she should not be obstructed in the exercise of +her profession, especially if she followed it in secret. "I know her," +added he, "and I, like other people, have had the curiosity to consult +her. She is the wife of a soldier in the guards. She is a clever woman +in her way, but she drinks. Four or five years ago, she got such hold on +the mind of Madame de Ruffec, that she made her believe she could procure +her an elixir of beauty, which would restore her to what she was at +twenty-five. The Duchess pays high for the drugs of which this elixir is +compounded; and sometimes they are bad: sometimes, the sun, to which they +were exposed, was not powerful enough; sometimes, the influence of a +certain constellation was wanting. Sometimes, she has the courage to +assure the Duchess that she really is grown handsomer, and actually +succeeds in making her believe it." But the history of this woman's +daughter is still more curious. She was exquisitely beautiful, and the +Duchess brought her up in her own house. Bontemps predicted to the girl, +in the Duchess's presence, that she would marry a man of two thousand +Louis a year. This was not very likely to happen to the daughter of a +soldier in the guards. It did happen, nevertheless. The little Bontemps +married the President Beaudouin, who was mad. But, the tragical part of +the story is, that her mother had also foretold that she would die in +childbirth of her first child, and that she did actually die in +child-birth, at the age of eighteen, doubtless under a strong impression +of her mother's prophecy, to which the improbable event of her marriage +had given such extraordinary weight. Madame told the King of the +adventure her curiosity had led her into, at which he laughed, and said +he wished the Police had arrested her. He added a very sensible remark. +"In order to judge," said he, "of the truth or falsehood of such +predictions, one ought to collect fifty of them. It would be found that +they are almost always made up of the same phrases, which are sometimes +inapplicable, and some times hit the mark. But the first are +rarely-mentioned, while the others are always insisted on." + +I have heard, and, indeed, it is certainly true, that M. de Bridge lived +on terms of intimacy with Madame, when she was Madame d'Aioles. He used +to ride on horseback with her, and, as he is so handsome a man, that he +has retained the name of the handsome man, it was natural enough that he +should be thought the lover of a very handsome woman. I have heard +something more than this. I was told that the King said to M. de Bridge, +"Confess, now, that you were her lover. She has acknowledged it to me, +and I exact from you this proof of sincerity." M. de. Bridge replied, +that Madame de Pompadour was at liberty to say what she pleased for her +own amusement, or for any other reason; but that he, for his part, could +not assert a falsehood; that he had been, her friend; that she was a +charming companion, and had great talents; that he delighted in her +society; but that his intercourse with her had never gone beyond the +bounds of friendship. He added, that her husband was present in all +their parties, that he watched her with a jealous eye, and that he would +not have suffered him to be so much with her if he had conceived the +least suspicion of the kind. The King persisted, and told him he was +wrong to endeavour to conceal a fact which was unquestionable. It was +rumoured, also, that the Abbe de Bernis had been a favoured lover of +hers. The said Abbe was rather a coxcomb; he had a handsome face, and +wrote poetry. Madame de Pompadour was the theme of his gallant verses. +He sometimes received the compliments of his friends upon his success +with a smile which left some room for conjecture, although he denied the +thing in words. It was, for some time, reported at Court that she was in +love with the Prince de Beauvau: he is a man distinguished for his +gallantries, his air of rank and fashion, and his high play; he is +brother to the little Marechale: for all these reasons, Madame is very +civil to him, but there is nothing marked in her behaviour. She knows, +besides, that he is in love with a very agreeable woman. + +Now that I am on the subject of lovers, I cannot avoid speaking of M. de +Choiseul. Madame likes him better than any of those I have just +mentioned, but he is not her lover. A lady, whom I know perfectly well, +but whom I do not chose to denounce to Madame, invented a story about +them, which was utterly false. She said, as I have good reason to +believe, that one day, hearing the King coming, I ran to Madame's closet +door; that I coughed in a particular manner; and that the King having, +happily, stopped a moment to talk to some ladies, there was time to +adjust matters, so that Madame came out of the closet with me and M. de +Choiseul, as if we had been all three sitting together. It is very true +that I went in to carry something to Madame, without knowing that the +King was come, and that she came out of the closet with M. de Choiseul, +who had a paper in his hand, and that I followed her a few minutes after. +The King asked M. de Choiseul what that paper was which he had in his +hand. He replied that it contained the remonstrance from the Parliament. + +Three or four ladies witnessed what I now relate, and as, with the +exception of one, they were all excellent women, and greatly attached to +Madame, my suspicions could fall on none but the one in question, whom I +will not name, because her brother has always treated me with great +kindness. Madame de Pompadour had a lively imagination and great +sensibility, but nothing could exceed the coldness of her temperament. It +would, besides, have been extremely difficult for her, surrounded as she +was, to keep up an intercourse of that kind with any man. It is true +that this difficulty would have been diminished in the case of an +all-powerful Minister, who had constant pretexts for seeing her in +private. But there was a much more decisive fact--M. de Choiseul had a +charming mistress--the Princess de R------, and Madame knew it, and often +spoke of her. He had, besides, some remains of liking for the Princess +de Kinski, who followed him from Vienna. It is true that he soon after +discovered how ridiculous she was. All these circumstances combined +were, surely, sufficient to deter Madame from engaging in a love affair +with the Duke; but his talents and agreeable qualities captivated her. +He was not handsome, but he had manners peculiar to himself, an agreeable +vivacity, a delightful gaiety; this was the general opinion of his +character. He was much attached to Madame, and though this might, at +first, be inspired by a consciousness of the importance of her friendship +to his interest, yet, after he had acquired sufficient political strength +to stand alone, he was not the less devoted to her, nor less assiduous in +his attentions. He knew her friendship for me, and he one day said to me, +with great feeling, "I am afraid, my dear Madame du Hausset, that she +will sink into a state of complete dejection, and die of melancholy. Try +to divert her." What a fate for the favourite of the greatest monarch in +existence! thought I. + +One day, Madame de Pompadour had retired to her closet with M. Berryer. +Madame d'Amblimont stayed with Madame de Gontaut, who called me to talk +about my son. A moment after, M. de Gontaut came in and said, +"D'Amblimont, who shall have the Swiss guards?"--"Stop a moment," said +she; "let me call my council----, M. de Choiseul."--"That is not so very +bad a thought," said M. de Gontaut, "but I assure you, you are the first +person who has suggested it." He immediately left us, and Madame +d'Amblimont said, "I'll lay a wager he is going to communicate my idea to +M. de Choiseul." He returned very shortly, and, M. Berrier having left +the room, he said to Madame de Pompadour, "A singular thought has entered +d'Amblimont's head."--"What absurdity now?" said Madame. "Not so great +an absurdity neither," said he. "She says the Swiss guards ought to be +given to M. de Choiseul, and, really, if the King has not positively +promised M. de Soubise, I don't see what he can do better."--"The King +has promised nothing," said Madame, "and the hopes I gave him were of the +vaguest kind. I only told him it was possible. But though I have a +great regard for M. de Soubise, I do not think his merits comparable to +those of M. de Choiseul." When the King came in, Madame, doubtless, told +him of this suggestion. A quarter of an hour afterwards, I went into the +room to speak to her, and I heard the King say, "You will see that, +because the Duc du Maine, and his children, had that place, he will think +he ought to have it, on account of his rank as Prince (Soubise); but the +Marechal de Bassompierre was not a Prince; and, by the bye, the Duc de +Choiseul is his grandnephew; do you know that?"--"Your Majesty is better +acquainted with the history of France than anybody," replied Madame. Two +days after this, Madame de said to me, "I have two great delights; M. de +Soubise will not have the Swiss guards, and Madame de Marsan will be +ready to burst with rage at it; this is the first: and M. de Choiseul +will have them; this is the greatest." + +........................... + +[The whole of this passage is in a different handwriting.] + +There was a universal talk of a young lady with whom the King was as much +in love as it was possible for him to be. Her name was Romans. She was +said to be a charming girl. Madame de Pompadour knew of the King's +visits, and her confidantes brought her most alarming reports of the +affair. The Marechale de Mirepoix, who had the best head in Madame's +council, was the only one who encouraged her. "I do not tell you," said +she, "that he loves you better than her; and if she could be transported +hither by the stroke of a fairy's wand; if she could entertain him this +evening at supper; if she were familiar with all his tastes, there would, +perhaps, be sufficient reason for you to tremble for your power. But +Princes are, above all, pre-eminently the slaves of habit. The King's +attachment to you is like that he bears to your apartment, your +furniture. You have formed yourself to his manners and habits; you know +how to listen and reply to his stories; he is under no constraint with +you; he has no fear of boring you. How do you think he could have +resolution to uproot all this in a day, to form a new establishment, and +to make a public exhibition of himself by so striking a change in his +arrangements?" The young lady became pregnant; the reports current among +the people, and even those at Court, alarmed Madame dreadfully. It was +said that the King meant to legitimate the child, and to give the mother +a title. "All that," said Madame de Mirepoix, "is in the style of Louis +XIV.--such dignified proceedings are very unlike those of our master." +Mademoiselle Romans lost all her influence over the King by her +indiscreet boasting. She was even treated with harshness and violence, +which were in no degree instigated by Madame. Her house was searched, +and her papers seized; but the most important, those which substantiated +the fact of the King's paternity, had been withdrawn. At length she gave +birth to a son, who was christened under the name of Bourbon, son of +Charles de Bourbon, Captain of Horse. The mother thought the eyes of all +France were fixed upon her, and beheld in her son a future Duc du Maine. +She suckled him herself, and she used to carry him in a sort of basket to +the Bois de Boulogne. Both mother and child were covered with the finest +laces. She sat down upon the grass in a solitary spot, which, however, +was soon well known, and there gave suck to her royal babe. Madame had +great curiosity to see her, and took me, one day, to the manufactory at +Sevres, without telling me what she projected. After she had bought some +cups, she said, "I want to go and walk in the Bois de Boulogne," and gave +orders to the coachman to stop at a certain spot where she wished to +alight. She had got the most accurate directions, and when she drew near +the young lady's haunt she gave me her arm, drew her bonnet over her +eyes, and held her pocket-handkerchief before the lower part of her face. +We walked, for some minutes, in a path, from whence we could see the lady +suckling her child. Her jet black hair was turned up, and confined by a +diamond comb. She looked earnestly at us. Madame bowed to her, and +whispered to me, pushing me by the elbow, "Speak to her." I stepped +forward, and exclaimed, "What a lovely child!"--"Yes, Madame," replied +she, "I must confess that he is, though I am his mother." Madame, who +had hold of my arm, trembled, and I was not very firm. Mademoiselle +Romans said to me, "Do you live in this neighbourhood?"--"Yes, Madame," +replied I, "I live at Auteuil with this lady, who is just now suffering +from a most dreadful toothache."--"I pity her sincerely, for I know that +tormenting pain well." I looked all around, for fear any one should come +up who might recognise us. I took courage to ask her whether the child's +father was a handsome man. "Very handsome, and, if I told you his name, +you would agree with me."--"I have the honour of knowing him, then, +Madame?"--"Most probably you do." Madame, fearing, as I did, some +rencontre, said a few words in a low tone, apologizing for having +intruded upon her, and we took our leave. We looked behind us, +repeatedly, to see if we were followed, and got into the carriage without +being perceived. "It must be confessed that both mother and child are +beautiful creatures," said Madame--"not to mention the father; the infant +has his eyes. If the King had come up while we were there, do you think +he would have recognised us?"--"I don't doubt that he would, Madame, and +then what an agitation I should have been in, and what a scene it would +have been for the bystanders! and, above all, what a surprise to her!" In +the evening, Madame made the King a present of the cups she had bought, +but she did not mention her walk, for fear Mademoiselle Romans should +tell him that two ladies, who knew him, had met her there such a day. +Madame de Mirepoix said to Madame, "Be assured, the King cares very +little about children; he has enough of them, and he will not be troubled +with the mother or the son. See what sort of notice he takes of the +Comte de I-----, who is strikingly like him. He never speaks of him, and +I am convinced that he will never do anything for him. Again and again I +tell you, we do not live under Louis XIV." Madame de Mirepoix had been +Ambassadress to London, and had often heard the English make this remark. + +Some alterations had been made in Madame de Pompadour's rooms, and I had +no longer, as heretofore, the niche in which I had been permitted to sit, +to hear Caffarelli, and, in later times, Mademoiselle Fel and Jeliotte. +I, therefore, went more frequently to my lodgings in town, where I +usually received my friends: more particularly when Madame visited her +little hermitage, whither M. de Gontaut commonly accompanied her. Madame +du Chiron, the wife of the Head Clerk in the War-Office, came to see me. +"I feel," said she, "greatly embarrassed, in speaking to you about an +affair, which will, perhaps, embarrass you also. This is the state of +the case. A very poor woman, to whom I have sometimes given a little +assistance, pretends to be a relation of the Marquise de Pompadour. Here +is her petition." I read it, and said that the woman had better write +directly to Madame, and that I was sure, if what she asserted was true, +her application would be successful. Madame du Chiron followed my +advice. The woman wrote she was in the lowest depth of poverty, and I +learnt that Madame sent her six Louis until she could gain more accurate +information as to the truth of her story. Colin, who was commissioned to +take the money, made inquiries of M. de Malvoiain, a relation of Madame, +and a very respectable officer. The fact was found to be as she had +stated it. Madame then sent her a hundred louis, and promised her a +pension of sixty louis a year. All this was done with great expedition, +and Madame had a visit of thanks from her poor relation, as soon as she +had procured decent clothes to come in. That day the King happened to +come in at an unusual hour, and saw this person going out. He asked who +it was. "It is a very poor relation of mine," replied Madame. "She +came, then, to beg for some assistance?"--"No," said she. "What did she +come for, then?"--"To thank me for a little service I have rendered her," +said she, blushing from the fear of seeming to boast of her liberality. +"Well," said the King; "since she is your relation, allow me to have the +pleasure of serving her too. I will give her fifty louis a year out of +my private purse, and, you know, she may send for the first year's +allowance to-morrow." Madame burst into tears, and kissed the King's +hand several times. She told me this three days afterwards, when I was +nursing her in a slight attack of fever. I could not refrain from +weeping myself at this instance of the King's kindness. The next day, I +called on Madame du Chiron to tell her of the good fortune of her +protege; I forgot to say that, after Madame had related the affair to me, +I told her what part I had taken in it. She approved my conduct, and +allowed me to inform my friend of the King's goodness. This action, +which showed no less delicate politeness towards her than sensibility to +the sufferings of the poor woman, made a deeper impression on Madame's +heart than a pension of two thousand a year given to herself. + +Madame had terrible palpitations of the heart. Her heart actually seemed +to leap. She consulted several physicians. I recollect that one of them +made her walk up and down the room, lift a weight, and move quickly. On +her expressing some surprise, he said, "I do this to ascertain whether +the organ is diseased; in that case motion quickens the pulsation; if +that effect is not produced, the complaint proceeds from the nerves." I +repeated this to my oracle, Quesnay. He knew very little of this +physician, but he said his treatment was that of a clever man. His name +was Renard; he was scarcely known beyond the Marais. Madame often +appeared suffocated, and sighed continually. One day, under pretence of +presenting a petition to M. de Choiseul, as he was going out, I said, in +a low voice, that I wished to see him a few minutes on an affair of +importance to my mistress. He told me to come as soon as I pleased, and +that I should be admitted. I told him that Madame was extremely +depressed; that she gave way to distressing thoughts, which she would not +communicate; that she, one day, said to me, "The fortune-teller told me I +should have time to prepare myself; I believe it, for I shall be worn to +death by melancholy." M. de Choiseul appeared much affected; he praised +my zeal, and said that he had already perceived some indications of what +I told him; that he would not mention my name, but would try to draw from +her an explanation. I don't know what he said to her; but, from that +time, she was much more calm. One day, but long afterwards, Madame said +to M. de Gontaut, "I am generally thought to have great influence, but if +it were not for M. de Choiseul, I should not be able to obtain a Cross of +St. Louis." + +The King and Madame de Pompadour had a very high opinion of Madame de +Choiseul. Madame said, "She always says the right thing in the right +place." Madame de Grammont was not so agreeable to them; and I think +that this was to be attributed, in part, to the sound of her voice, and +to her blunt manner of speaking; for she was said to be a woman of great +sense, and devotedly attached to the King and Madame de Pompadour. Some +people pretended that she tried to captivate the King, and to supplant +Madame: nothing could be more false, or more ridiculously improbable. +Madame saw a great deal of these two ladies, who were extremely attentive +to her. She one day remarked to the Duc d'Ayen,--[Afterwards Marechal de +Noaines.] that M. de Choiseul was very fond of his sisters. "I know it, +Madame," said he, "and many sisters are the better for that."--"What do +you mean?" said she. "Why," said he, "as the Duc de Choiseul loves his +sister, it is thought fashionable to do the same; and I know silly girls, +whose brothers formerly cared nothing about them, who are now most +tenderly beloved. No sooner does their little finger ache, than their +brothers are running about to fetch physicians from all corners of Paris. +They flatter themselves that somebody will say, in M. de Choiseul's +drawing-room, 'How passionately M. de ------ loves his sister; he would +certainly die if he had the misfortune to lose her.'" Madame related +this to her brother, in my presence, adding, that she could not give it +in the Duke's comic manner. M. de Marigny said, "I have had the start of +them all, without making so much noise; and my dear little sister knows +that I loved her tenderly before Madame de Grammont left her convent. +The Duc d'Ayen, however, is not very wrong; he has made the most of it in +his lively manner, but it is partly true."--"I forgot," replied Madame, +"that the Duke said, 'I want extremely to be in the fashion, but which +sister shall I take up? Madame de Caumont is a devil incarnate, Madame +de Villars drinks, Madame d'Armagnac is a bore, Madame de la Marck is +half mad.'"--"These are fine family portraits, Duke," said Madame. The +Duc de Gontaut laughed, during the whole of this conversation, +immoderately. Madame repeated it, one day, when she kept her bed. M. de +G----- also began to talk of his sister, Madame du Roure. I think, at +least, that is the name he mentioned. He was very gay, and had the art +of creating gaiety. Somebody said, he is an excellent piece of furniture +for a favourite. He makes her laugh, and asks for nothing either for +himself or for others; he cannot excite jealousy, and he meddles in +nothing. He was called the White Eunuch. Madame's illness increased so +rapidly that we were alarmed about her; but bleeding in the foot cured +her as if by a miracle. The King watched her with the greatest +solicitude; and I don't know whether his attentions did not contribute as +much to the cure as the bleeding. M. de Choiseul remarked, some days +after, that she appeared in better spirits. I told him that I thought +this improvement might be attributed to the same cause. + + + + + + +SECRET COURT MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XVI. AND THE ROYAL FAMILY OF FRANCE + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +I should consider it great presumption to intrude upon the public +anything respecting myself, were there any other way of establishing the +authenticity of the facts and papers I am about to present. To the +history of my own peculiar situation, amid the great events I record, +which made me the depositary of information and documents so important, I +proceed, therefore, though reluctantly, without further preamble. + +I was for many years in the confidential service of the Princesse de +Lamballe, and the most important materials which form my history have +been derived not only from the conversations, but the private papers of +my lamented patroness. It remains for me to show how I became acquainted +with Her Highness, and by what means the papers I allude to came into my +possession. + +Though, from my birth, and the rank of those who were the cause of it +(had it not been from political motives kept from my knowledge), in point +of interest I ought to have been very independent, I was indebted for my +resources in early life to His Grace the late Duke of Norfolk and Lady +Mary Duncan. By them I was placed for education in the Irish Convent, +Rue du Bacq, Faubourg St. Germain, at Paris, where the immortal Sacchini, +the instructor of the Queen, gave me lessons in music. Pleased with my +progress, the celebrated composer, when one day teaching Marie +Antoinette, so highly overrated to that illustrious lady my infant +natural talents and acquired science in his art, in the presence of her +very shadow, the Princesse de Lamballe, as to excite in Her Majesty an +eager desire for the opportunity of hearing me, which the Princess +volunteered to obtain by going herself to the convent next morning with +Sacchini. It was enjoined upon the composer, as I afterwards learned, +that he was neither to apprise me who Her Highness was, nor to what +motive I was indebted for her visit. To this Sacchini readily agreed, +adding, after disclosing to them my connections and situation, "Your +Majesty will be, perhaps, still more surprised, when I, as an Italian, +and her German master, who is a German, declare that she speaks both +these languages like a native, though born in England; and is as well +disposed to the Catholic faith, and as well versed in it, as if she had +been a member of that Church all her life." + +This last observation decided my future good fortune: there was no +interest in the minds of the Queen and Princess paramount to that of +making proselytes to their creed. + +The Princess, faithful to her promise, accompanied Sacchini. Whether it +was chance, ability, or good fortune, let me not attempt to conjecture; +but from that moment I became the protege of this ever-regretted angel. +Political circumstances presently facilitated her introduction of me to +the Queen. My combining a readiness in the Italian and German languages, +with my knowledge of English and French, greatly promoted my power of +being useful at that crisis, which, with some claims to their confidence +of a higher order, made this august, lamented, injured pair more like +mothers to me than mistresses, till we were parted by their murder. + +The circumstances I have just mentioned show that to mere curiosity, the +characteristic passion of our sex and so often its ruin, I am to ascribe +the introduction, which was only prevented by events unparalleled in +history from proving the most fortunate in my life as it is the most +cherished in my recollection. + +It will be seen, in the course of the following pages, how often I was +employed on confidential missions, frequently by myself, and, in some +instances, as the attendant of the Princess. The nature of my situation, +the trust reposed in me, the commissions with which I was honoured, and +the affecting charges of which I was the bearer, flattered my pride and +determined me to make myself an exception to the rule that "no woman can +keep a secret." Few ever knew exactly where I was, what I was doing, and +much less the importance of my occupation. I had passed from England to +France, made two journeys to Italy and Germany, three to the Archduchess +Maria Christiana, Governess of the Low Countries, and returned back to +France, before any of my friends in England were aware of my retreat, or +of my ever having accompanied the Princess. Though my letters were +written and dated at Paris, they were all forwarded to England by way of +Holland or Germany, that no clue should be given for annoyances from idle +curiosity. It is to this discreetness, to this inviolable secrecy, +firmness, and fidelity, which I so early in life displayed to the august +personages who stood in need of such a person, that I owe the unlimited +confidence of my illustrious benefactress, through which I was furnished +with the valuable materials I am now submitting to the public. + +I was repeatedly a witness, by the side of the Princesse de Lamballe, of +the appalling scenes of the bonnet rouge, of murders a la lanterne, and +of numberless insults to the unfortunate Royal Family of Louis XVI., when +the Queen was generally selected as the most marked victim of malicious +indignity. Having had the honour of so often beholding this much injured +Queen, and never without remarking how amiable in her manners, how +condescendingly kind in her deportment towards every one about her, how +charitably generous, and withal, how beautiful she was,--I looked upon +her as a model of perfection. But when I found the public feeling so +much at variance with my own, the difference became utterly +unaccountable. I longed for some explanation of the mystery. One day I +was insulted in the Tuileries, because I had alighted from my horse to +walk there without wearing the national ribbon. On this I met the +Princess: the conversation which grew out of my adventure emboldened me +to question her on a theme to me inexplicable. + +"What," asked I, "can it be which makes the people so outrageous against +the Queen?" + +Her Highness condescended to reply in the complimentary terms which I am +about to relate, but without answering my question. + +"My dear friend!" exclaimed she, "for from this moment I beg you will +consider me in that light, never having been blessed with children of my +own, I feel there is no way of acquitting myself of the obligations you +have heaped upon me, by the fidelity with which you have executed the +various commissions entrusted to your charge, but by adopting you as one +of my own family. I am satisfied with you, yes, highly satisfied with +you, on the score of your religious principles; and as soon as the +troubles subside, and we have a little calm after them, my father-in-law +and myself will be present at the ceremony of your confirmation." + +The goodness of my benefactress silenced me gratitude would not allow me +to persevere for the moment. But from what I had already seen of Her +Majesty the Queen, I was too much interested to lose sight of my +object,--not, let me be believed, from idle womanish curiosity, but from +that real, strong, personal interest which I, in common with all who ever +had the honour of being in her presence, felt for that much-injured, most +engaging sovereign. + +A propitious circumstance unexpectedly occurred, which gave me an +opportunity, without any appearance of officious earnestness, to renew +the attempt to gain the end I had in view. + +I was riding in the carriage with the Princesse de Lamballe, when a lady +drove by, who saluted my benefactress with marked attention and respect. +There was something in the manner of the Princess, after receiving the +salute, which impelled me, spite of myself, to ask who the lady was. + +"Madame de Genlis," exclaimed Her Highness, with a shudder of disgust, +"that lamb's face with a wolf's heart, and a fog's cunning." Or, to +quote her own Italian phrase which I have here translated, "colla faccia +d'agnello, il cuore dun lupo, a la dritura della volpe." + +In the course of these pages the cause of this strong feeling against +Madame de Genlis will be explained. To dwell on it now would only turn +me aside from my narrative. To pursue my story, therefore: + +When we arrived at my lodgings (which were then, for private reasons, at +the Irish Convent, where Sacchini and other masters attended to further +me in the accomplishments of the fine arts), "Sing me something," said +the Princess, "'Cantate mi qualche cosa', for I never see that woman" +(meaning Madame de Genlis) "but I feel ill and out of humour. I wish it +may not be the foreboding of some great evil!" + +I sang a little rondo, in which Her Highness and the Queen always +delighted, and which they would never set me free without making me sing, +though I had given them twenty before it. + +[The rondo I allude to was written by Sarti for the celebrated Marches! +Lungi da to ben mio, and is the same in which he was so successful in +England, when he introduced it in London in the opera of Giulo Sabino.] + +Her Highness honoured me with even more than usual praise. I kissed the +hand which had so generously applauded my infant talents, and said, "Now, +my dearest Princess, as you are so kind and good-humoured, tell me +something about the Queen!" + +She looked at me with her eyes full of tears. For an instant they stood +in their sockets as if petrified: and then, after a pause, "I cannot," +answered she in Italian, as she usually did, "I cannot refuse you +anything. 'Non posso neyarti niente'. It would take me an age to tell +you the many causes which have conspired against this much-injured Queen! +I fear none who are near her person will escape the threatening storm +that hovers over our heads. The leading causes of the clamour against +her have been, if you must know, Nature; her beauty; her power of +pleasing; her birth; her rank; her marriage; the King himself; her +mother; her imperfect education; and, above all, her unfortunate +partialities for the Abbe Vermond; for the Duchesse de Polignac; for +myself, perhaps; and last, but not least, the thorough, unsuspecting +goodness of her heart! + +"But, since you seem to be so much concerned for her exalted, persecuted +Majesty, you shall have a Journal I myself began on my first coming to +France, and which I have continued ever since I have been honoured with +the confidence of Her Majesty, in graciously giving me that unlooked-for +situation at the head of her household, which honour and justice prevent +my renouncing under any difficulties, and which I never will quit but +with my life!" + +She wept as she spoke, and her last words were almost choked with sobs. + +Seeing her so much affected, I humbly begged pardon for having +unintentionally caused her tears, and begged permission to accompany her +to the Tuileries. + +"No," said she, "you have hitherto conducted yourself with a profound +prudence, which has insured you my confidence. Do not let your curiosity +change your system. You shall have the Journal. But be careful. Read +it only by yourself, and do not show it to any one. On these conditions +you shall have it." + +I was in the act of promising, when Her Highness stopped me. + +"I want no particular promises. I have sufficient proofs of your +adherence to truth. Only answer me simply in the affirmative." + +I said I would certainly obey her injunctions most religiously. + +She then left me, and directed that I should walk in a particular part of +the private alleys of the Tuileries, between three and four o'clock in +the afternoon. I did so; and from her own hand I there received her +private Journal. + +In the following September of this same year (1792) she was murdered! + +Journalising copiously, for the purpose of amassing authentic materials +for the future historian, was always a favourite practice of the French, +and seems to have been particularly in vogue in the age I mention. The +press has sent forth whole libraries of these records since the +Revolution, and it is notorious that Louis XV. left Secret Memoirs, +written by his own hand, of what passed before this convulsion; and had +not the papers of the Tuileries shared in the wreck of royalty, it would +have been seen that Louis XVI. had made some progress in the memoirs of +his time; and even his beautiful and unfortunate Queen had herself made +extensive notes and collections for the record of her own disastrous +career. Hence it must be obvious how one so nearly connected in +situation and suffering with her much-injured mistress, as the Princesse +de Lamballe, would naturally fall into a similar habit had she even no +stronger temptation than fashion and example. But self-communion, by +means of the pen, is invariably the consolation of strong feeling, and +reflecting minds under great calamities, especially when their +intercourse with the world has been checked or poisoned by its malice. + +The editor of these pages herself fell into the habit of which she +speaks; and it being usual with her benefactress to converse with all the +unreserve which every honest mind shows when it feels it can confide, her +humble attendant, not to lose facts of such importance, commonly made +notes of what she heard. In any other person's hands the Journal of the +Princess would have been incomplete; especially as it was written in a +rambling manner, and was never intended for publication. But connected +by her confidential conversations with me, and the recital of the events +to which I personally bear testimony, I trust it will be found the basis +of a satisfactory record, which I pledge myself to be a true one. + +I do not know, however, that, at my time of life, and after a lapse of +thirty years, I should have been roused to the arrangement of the papers +which I have combined to form this narrative, had I not met with the work +of Madame Campan upon the same subject. + +This lady has said much that is true respecting the Queen; but she has +omitted much, and much she has misrepresented: not, I dare say, +purposely, but from ignorance, and being wrongly informed. She was often +absent from the service, and on such occasions must have been compelled +to obtain her knowledge at second-hand. She herself told me, in 1803, at +Rouen, that at a very important epoch the peril of her life forced her +from the seat of action. With the Princesse de Lamballe, who was so much +about the Queen, she never had any particular connexion. The Princess +certainly esteemed her for her devotedness to the Queen; but there was a +natural reserve in the Princess's character, and a mistrust resulting +from circumstances of all those who saw much company, as Madame Campan +did. Hence no intimacy was encouraged. Madame Campan never came to the +Princess without being sent for. + +An attempt has been made since the Revolution utterly to destroy faith in +the alleged attachment of Madame Campan to the Queen, by the fact of her +having received the daughters of many of the regicides for education into +her establishment at Rouen. Far be it from me to sanction so unjust a +censure. Although what I mention hurt her character very much in the +estimation of her former friends, and constituted one of the grounds of +the dissolution of her establishment at Rouen, on the restoration of the +Bourbons, and may possibly in some degree have deprived her of such aids +from their adherents as might have made her work unquestionable, yet what +else, let me ask, could have been done by one dependent upon her +exertions for support, and in the power of Napoleon's family and his +emissaries? On the contrary, I would give my public testimony in favour +of the fidelity of her feelings, though in many instances I must withhold +it from the fidelity of her narrative. Her being utterly isolated from +the illustrious individual nearest to the Queen must necessarily leave +much to be desired in her record. During the whole term of the Princesse +de Lamballe's superintendence of the Queen's household, Madame Campan +never had any special communication with my benefactress, excepting once, +about the things which were to go to Brussels, before the journey to +Varennes; and once again, relative to a person of the Queen's household, +who had received the visits of Petion, the Mayor of Paris, at her private +lodgings. This last communication I myself particularly remember, +because on that occasion the Princess, addressing me in her own native +language, Madame Campan, observing it, considered me as an Italian, till, +by a circumstance I shall presently relate, she was undeceived. + +I should anticipate the order of events, and incur the necessity of +speaking twice of the same things, were I here to specify the express +errors in the work of Madame Campan. Suffice it now that I observe +generally her want of knowledge of the Princesse de Lamballe; her +omission of many of the most interesting circumstances of the Revolution; +her silence upon important anecdotes of the King, the Queen, and several +members of the first assembly; her mistakes concerning the Princesse de +Lamballe's relations with the Duchesse de Polignac, Comte de Fersan, +Mirabeau, the Cardinal de Rohan, and others; her great miscalculation of +the time when the Queen's confidence in Barnave began, and when that of +the Empress-mother in Rohan ended; her misrepresentation of particulars +relating to Joseph II.; and her blunders concerning the affair of the +necklace, and regarding the libel Madame Lamotte published in England, +with the connivance of Calonne:--all these will be considered, with +numberless other statements equally requiring correction in their turn. +What she has omitted I trust I shall supply; and where she has gone +astray I hope to set her right; that, between the two, the future +biographer of my august benefactresses may be in no want of authentic +materials to do full justice to their honoured memories. + +I said in a preceding paragraph that I should relate a circumstance about +Madame Campan, which happened after she had taken me for an Italian and +before she was aware of my being in the service of the Princess. + +Madame Campan, though she had seen me not only at the time I mention but +before and after, had always passed me without notice. One Sunday, when +in the gallery of the Tuileries with Madame de Stael, the Queen, with her +usual suite, of which Madame Campan formed one, was going, according to +custom, to hear Mass, Her Majesty perceived me and most graciously +addressed me in German. Madame Campan appeared greatly surprised at +this, but walked on and said nothing. Ever afterwards, however, she +treated me whenever we met with marked civility. + +Another edition of Boswell to those who got a nod from Dr. Johnson! + +The reader will find in the course of this work that on the 2nd of +August, 1792, from the kindness and humanity of my august +benefactresses, I was compelled to accept a mission to Italy, devised +merely to send me from the sanguinary scenes of which they foresaw they +and theirs must presently become victims. Early in the following month +the Princesse de Lamballe was murdered. As my history extends beyond the +period I have mentioned, it is fitting I should explain the indisputable +authorities whence I derived such particulars as I did not see. + +A person, high in the confidence of the Princess, through the means of +the honest coachman of whom I shall have occasion to speak, supplied me +with regular details of whatever took place, till she herself, with the +rest of the ladies and other attendants, being separated from the Royal +Family, was immured in the prison of La Force. When I returned to Paris +after this dire tempest, Madame Clery and her friend, Madame de Beaumont, +a natural daughter of Louis XV., with Monsieur Chambon of Rheims, who +never left Paris during the time, confirmed the correctness of my papers. +The Madame Clery I mention is the same who assisted her husband in his +faithful attendance upon the Royal Family in the Temple; and this +exemplary man added his testimony to the rest, in the presence of the +Duchesse de Guiche Grammont, at Pyrmont in Germany, when I there met him +in the suite of the late sovereign of France, Louis XVIII., at a concert. +After the 10th of August, I had also a continued correspondence: with +many persons at Paris, who supplied me with thorough accounts of the +succeeding horrors, in letters directed to Sir William Hamilton, at +Naples, and by him forwarded to me. And in addition to all these high +sources, many particular circumstances: have been disclosed to me by +individuals, whose authority, when I have used it, I have generally +affixed to the facts they have enabled me to communicate. + +It now only remains for me to mention that I have endeavoured to arrange +everything, derived either from the papers of the Princesse de Lamballe, +or from her remarks, my own observation, or the intelligence of others, +in chronological order. It will readily be seen by the reader where the +Princess herself speaks, as I have invariably set apart my own +recollections and remarks in paragraphs and notes, which are not only +indicated by the heading of each chapter, but by the context of the +passages themselves. I have also begun and ended what the Princess says +with inverted commas. All the earlier part, of the work preceding her +personal introduction proceeds principally from her pen or her lips: I +have done little more than change it from Italian into English, and +embody thoughts and sentiments that were often disjointed and detached. +And throughout, whether she or others speak, I may safely say this work +will be found the most circumstantial, and assuredly the most authentic, +upon the subject of which it treats, of all that have yet been presented +to the public of Great Britain. The press has been prolific in fabulous +writings upon these times, which have been devoured with avidity. I hope +John Bull is not so devoted to gilded foreign fictions as to spurn the +unadorned truth from one of his downright countrywomen: and let me advise +him en passant, not to treat us beauties of native growth with +indifference at home; for we readily find compensation in the regard, +patronage, and admiration of every nation in Europe. I am old now, and +may speak freely. + +I have no interest whatever in the work I submit but that of endeavouring +to redeem the character of so many injured victims. Would to Heaven my +memory were less acute, and that I could obliterate from the knowledge of +the world and posterity the names of their infamous destroyers; I mean, +not the executioners who terminated their mortal existence for in their +miserable situation that early martyrdom was an act of grace--but I mean +some, perhaps still living, who with foul cowardice, stabbing like +assassins in the dark, undermined their fair fame, and morally murdered +them, long before their deaths, by daily traducing virtues the slanderers +never possessed, from mere jealousy of the glory they knew themselves +incapable of deserving. + +Montesquieu says, "If there be a God, He must be just!" That divine +justice, after centuries, has been fully established on the descendants +of the cruel, sanguinary conquerers of South America and its butchered +harmless Emperor Montezuma and his innocent offspring, who are now +teaching Spain a moral lesson in freeing themselves from its insatiable +thirst for blood and wealth, while God Himself has refused that blessing +to the Spaniards which they denied to the Americans! Oh, France! what +hast thou not already suffered, and what hast thou not yet to suffer, +when to thee, like Spain, it shall visit their descendants even unto the +fourth generation? + +To my insignificant losses in so mighty a ruin perhaps I ought not to +allude. I should not presume even to mention that fatal convulsion which +shook all Europe and has since left the nations in that state of agitated +undulation which succeeds a tempest upon the ocean, were it not for the +opportunity it gives me to declare the bounty of my benefactresses. All +my own property went down in the wreck; and the mariner who escapes only +with his life can never recur to the scene of his escape without a +shudder. Many persons are still living, of the first respectability, who +well remember my quitting this country, though very young, on the budding +of a brilliant career. Had those prospects been followed up they would +have placed me beyond the caprice of fickle fortune. But the dazzling +lustre of crown favours and princely patronage outweighed the slow, +though more solid hopes of self-achieved independence. I certainly was +then almost a child, and my vanity, perhaps, of the honour of being +useful to two such illustrious personages got the better of every other +sentiment. But now when I reflect, I look back with consternation on the +many risks I ran, on the many times I stared death in the face with no +fear but that of being obstructed in my efforts to serve, even with my +life, the interests dearest to my heart--that of implicit obedience to +these truly benevolent and generous Princesses, who only wanted the means +to render me as happy and independent as their cruel destiny has since +made me wretched and miserable! Had not death deprived me of their +patronage I should have had no reason to regret any sacrifice I could +have made for them, for through the Princess, Her Majesty, unasked, had +done me the honour to promise me the reversion of a most lucrative as +well as highly respectable post in her employ. In these august +personages I lost my best friends; I lost everything--except the tears, +which bathe the paper as I write tears of gratitude, which will never +cease to flow to the memory of their martyrdom. + + + + + + +SECTION II. + +JOURNAL COMMNENCED: + +"The character of Maria Theresa, the Empress-mother of Marie Antoinette, +is sufficiently known. The same spirit of ambition and enterprise which +had already animated her contentions with France in the latter part of +her career impelled her to wish for its alliance. In addition to other +hopes she had been encouraged to imagine that LOUIS XV. might one day aid +her in recovering the provinces which the King of Prussia had violently +wrested from her ancient dominions. She felt the many advantages to be +derived from a union with her ancient enemy, and she looked for its +accomplishment by the marriage of her daughter. + +"Policy, in sovereigns, is paramount to every other consideration. They +regard beauty as a source of profit, like managers of theatres, who, when +a female candidate is offered, ask whether she is young and +handsome,--not whether she has talent. Maria Theresa believed that her +daughter's beauty would prove more powerful over France than her own +armies. Like Catharine II., her envied contemporary, she consulted no +ties of nature in the disposal of her children,--a system more in +character where the knout is the logician than among nations boasting +higher civilization: indeed her rivalry with Catharine even made her +grossly neglect their education. Jealous of the rising power of the +North, she saw that it was the purpose of Russia to counteract her views +in Poland and Turkey through France, and so totally forgot her domestic +duties in the desire to thwart the ascendency of Catharine that she often +suffered eight or ten days to go by without even seeing her children, +allowing even the essential sources of instruction to remain unprovided. +Her very caresses were scarcely given but for display, when the children +were admitted to be shown to some great personage; and if they were +overwhelmed with kindness, it was merely to excite a belief that they +were the constant care and companions of her leisure hours. When they +grew up they became the mere instruments of her ambition. The fate of +one of them will show how their mother's worldliness was rewarded. + +"A leading object of Maria Theresa's policy was the attainment of +influence over Italy. For this purpose she first married one of the +Archduchesses to the imbecile Duke of Parma. Her second manoeuvre was to +contrive that Charles III. should seek the Archduchess Josepha for his +younger son, the King of Naples. When everything had been settled, and +the ceremony by proxy had taken place, it was thought proper to sound the +Princess as to how far she felt inclined to aid her mother's designs in +the Court of Naples. 'Scripture says,' was her reply, 'that when a woman +is married she belongs to the country of her husband.' + +"'But the policy of State?' exclaimed Maria Theresa. + +"'Is that above religion?' cried the Princess. + +"This unexpected answer of the Archduchess was so totally opposite to the +views of the Empress that she was for a considerable time undecided +whether she would allow her daughter to depart, till, worn out by +perplexities, she at last consented, but bade the Archduchess, previous +to setting off for this much desired country of her new husband, to go +down to the tombs, and in the vaults of her ancestors offer up to Heaven +a fervent prayer for the departed souls of those she was about to leave. + +"Only a few days before that a Princess had been buried in the vaults--I +think Joseph the Second's second wife, who had died of the small-pox. + +"The Archduchess Josepha obeyed her Imperial mother's cruel commands, +took leave of all her friends and relatives, as if conscious of the +result, caught the same disease, and in a few days died! + +"The Archduchess Carolina was now tutored to become her sister's +substitute, and when deemed adequately qualified was sent to Naples, +where she certainly never forgot she was an Austrian nor the interest of +the Court of Vienna. One circumstance concerning her and her mother +fully illustrates the character of both. On the marriage, the +Archduchess found that Spanish etiquette did not allow the Queen to have +the honour of dining at the same table as the King. She apprised her +mother. Maria Theresa instantly wrote to the Marchese Tenucei, then +Prime Minister at the Court of Naples, to say that, if her daughter, now +Queen of Naples, was to be considered less than the King her husband, she +would send an army to fetch her back to Vienna, and the King might +purchase a Georgian slave, for an Austrian Princess should not be thus +humbled. Maria Theresa need not have given herself all this trouble, for +before, the letter arrived the Queen of Naples had dismissed all the +Ministry, upset the Cabinet of Naples, and turned out even the King +himself from her bedchamber! So much for the overthrow of Spanish +etiquette by Austrian policy. The King of Spain became outrageous at the +influence of Maria Theresa, but there was no alternative. + +"The other daughter of the Empress was married, as I have observed +already, to the Duke of Parma for the purpose of promoting the Austrian +strength in Italy against that of France, to which the Court of, Parma, +as well as that of Modena, had been long attached. + +"The fourth Archduchess, Marie Antoinette, being the youngest and most +beautiful of the family, was destined for France. There were three older +than Marie Antoinette; but she, being much lovelier than her sisters, was +selected on account of her charms. Her husband was never considered by +the contrivers of the scheme: he was known to have no sway whatever, not +even in the choice of his own wife! But the character of Louis XV. was +recollected, and calculations drawn from it, upon the probable power +which youth and beauty might obtain over such a King and Court. + +"It was during the time when Madame de Pompadour directed, not only the +King, but all France with most despotic sway, that the union of the +Archduchess Marie Antoinette with the grandson of Louis XV. was +proposed. The plan received the warmest support of Choiseul, then +Minister, and the ardent co-operation of Pompadour. Indeed it was to +her, the Duc de Choiseul, and the Comte de Mercy, the whole affair may be +ascribed. So highly was she flattered by the attention with which Maria +Theresa distinguished her, in consequence of her zeal, by presents and by +the title 'dear cousin,' which she used in writing to her, that she left +no stone unturned till the proxy of the Dauphin was sent to Vienna, to +marry Marie Antoinette in his name. + +"All the interest by which this union was supported could not, however, +subdue a prejudice against it, not only among many of the Court, the +Cabinet, and the nation, but in the Royal Family itself. France has +never looked with complacency upon alliances with the House of Austria: +enemies to this one avowed themselves as soon as it was declared. The +daughters of Louis XV. openly expressed their aversion; but the stronger +influence prevailed, and Marie Antoinette became the Dauphine. + +"Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, and afterwards of Sens, suggested the +appointment of the Librarian of the College des Quatre Nations, the Abbe +Vermond, as instructor to the Dauphine in French. The Abbe Vermond was +accordingly despatched by Louis XV. to Vienna. The consequences of this +appointment will be seen in the sequel. Perhaps not the least fatal of +them arose from his gratitude to the Archbishop, who recommended him. +Some years afterwards, in influencing his pupil, when Queen, to help +Brienne to the Ministry, he did her and her kingdom more injury than +their worst foes. Of the Abbe's power over Marie Antoinette there are +various opinions; of his capacity there is but one--he was superficial +and cunning. On his arrival at Vienna he became the tool of Maria +Theresa. While there, he received a salary as the daughter's tutor, and +when he returned to France, a much larger one as the mother's spy. He was +more ambitious to be thought a great man, in his power over his pupil, +than a rich one. He was too Jesuitical to wish to be deemed rich. He +knew that superfluous emoluments would soon have overthrown the authority +he derived from conferring, rather than receiving favours; and hence he +never soared to any higher post. He was generally considered to be +disinterested. How far his private fortunes benefited by his station has +never appeared; nor is it known whether, by the elevation of his friend +and patron to the Ministry in the time of Louis XVI., he gained anything +beyond the gratification of vanity, from having been the cause: it is +probable he did not, for if he had, from the general odium against that +promotion, no doubt it would have been exposed, unless the influence of +the Queen was his protection, as it proved in so many cases where he +grossly erred. From the first he was an evil to Marie Antoinette; and +ultimately habit rendered him a necessary evil. + +"The education of the Dauphine was circumscribed; though very free in her +manners, she was very deficient in other respects; and hence it was she +so much avoided all society of females who were better informed than +herself, courting in preference the lively tittle-tattle of the other +sex, who were, in turn, better pleased with the gaieties of youth and +beauty than the more substantial logical witticisms of antiquated +Court-dowagers. To this may be ascribed her ungovernable passion for +great societies, balls, masquerades, and all kinds of public and private +amusements, as well as her subsequent attachment to the Duchesse de +Polignac, who so much encouraged them for the pastime of her friend and +sovereign. Though naturally averse to everything requiring study or +application, Marie Antoinette was very assiduous in preparing herself for +the parts she performed in the various comedies, farces, and cantatas +given at her private theatre; and their acquirement seemed to cost her no +trouble. These innocent diversions became a source of calumny against +her; yet they formed almost the only part of her German education, about +which Maria Theresa had been particular: the Empress-mother deemed them +so valuable to her children that she ordered the celebrated Metastasio to +write some of his most sublime cantatas for the evening recreations of +her sisters and herself. And what can more conduce to elegant literary +knowledge, or be less dangerous to the morals of the young, than domestic +recitation of the finest flights of the intellect? Certain it is that +Marie Antoinette never forgot her idolatry of her master Metastasio; and +it would have been well for her had all concerned in her education done +her equal justice. The Abbe Vermond encouraged these studies; and the +King himself afterwards sanctioned the translation of the works of his +Queen's revered instructor, and their publication at her own expense, in +a superb edition, that she might gratify her fondness the more +conveniently by reciting them in French. When Marie Antoinette herself +became a mother, and oppressed from the change of circumstances, she +regretted much that she had not in early life cultivated her mind more +extensively. 'What a resource,' would she exclaim, is a mind well stored +against human casualties!' She determined to avoid in her own offspring +the error, of which she felt herself the victim, committed by her +Imperial mother, for whose fault, though she suffered, she would invent +excuses. 'The Empress,' she would say, was left a young widow with ten +or twelve children; she had been accustomed, even during the Emperor's +life, to head her vast empire, and she thought it would be unjust to +sacrifice to her own children the welfare of the numerous family which +afterwards devolved upon her exclusive government and protection.' + +"Most unfortunately for Marie Antoinette, her great supporter, Madame de +Pompadour, died before the Archduchess came to France. The pilot who was +to steer the young mariner safe into port was no more, when she arrived +at it. The Austrian interest had sunk with its patroness. The +intriguers of the Court no sooner saw the King without an avowed +favourite than they sought to give him one who should further their own +views and crush the Choiseul party, which had been sustained by +Pompadour. The licentious Duc de Richelieu was the pander on this +occasion. The low, vulgar Du Barry was by him introduced to the King, +and Richelieu had the honour of enthroning a successor to Pompadour, and +supplying Louis XV. with the last of his mistresses. Madame de Grammont, +who had been the royal confidante during the interregnum, gave up to the +rising star. The effect of a new power was presently seen in new events. +All the Ministers known to be attached to the Austrian interest were +dismissed; and the time for the arrival of the young bride, the +Archduchess of Austria, who was about to be installed Dauphine of France, +was at hand, and she came to meet scarcely a friend, and many foes--of +whom even her beauty, her gentleness, and her simplicity, were doomed to +swell the phalanx." + + + + +SECTION III. + + +"On the marriage night, Louis XV. said gaily to the Dauphin, who was +supping with his usual heartiness, 'Don't overcharge your stomach +to-night.' + +"'Why, I always sleep best after a hearty supper,' replied the Dauphin, +with the greatest coolness. + +"The supper being ended, he accompanied his Dauphine to her chamber, and +at the door, with the greatest politeness, wished her a good night. Next +morning, upon his saying, when he met her at breakfast, that he hoped she +had slept well, Marie Antoinette replied, 'Excellently well, for I had no +one to disturb me!' + +"The Princesse de Guemenee, who was then at the head of the household, on +hearing the Dauphine moving very early in her apartment, ventured to +enter it, and, not seeing the Dauphin, exclaimed, 'Bless me! he is risen +as usual!'--'Whom do you mean?' asked Marie Antoinette. The Princess +misconstruing the interrogation, was going to retire, when the Dauphine +said, 'I have heard a great deal of French politeness, but I think I am +married to the most polite of the nation!'--'What, then, he is +risen?'--'No, no, no!' exclaimed the Dauphine, 'there has been no rising; +he has never lain down here. He left me at the door of my apartment with +his hat in his hand, and hastened from me as if embarrassed with my +person!' + +"After Marie Antoinette became a mother she would often laugh and tell +Louis XVI. of his bridal politeness, and ask him if in the interim +between that and the consummation he had studied his maiden aunts or his +tutor on the subject. On this he would laugh most excessively. + +"Scarcely was Marie Antoinette seated in her new country before the +virulence of Court intrigue against her became active. She was beset on +all sides by enemies open and concealed, who never slackened their +persecutions. All the family of Louis XV., consisting of those maiden +aunts of the Dauphin just adverted to (among whom Madame Adelaide was +specially implacable), were incensed at the marriage, not only from their +hatred to Austria, but because it had accomplished the ambition of an +obnoxious favourite to give a wife to the Dauphin of their kingdom. On +the credulous and timid mind of the Prince, then in the leading strings +of this pious sisterhood, they impressed the misfortunes to his country +and to the interest of the Bourbon family, which must spring from the +Austrian influence through the medium of his bride. No means were left +unessayed to steel him against her sway. I remember once to have heard +Her Majesty remark to Louis XVI., in answer to some particular +observations he made, 'These, Sire, are the sentiments of our aunts, I am +sure.' And, indeed, great must have been their ascendency over him in +youth, for up to a late date he entertained a very high respect for their +capacity and judgment. Great indeed must it have been to have prevailed +against all the seducing allurements of a beautiful and fascinating young +bride, whose amiableness, vivacity, and wit became the universal +admiration, and whose graceful manner of address few ever equalled and +none ever surpassed; nay, even so to have prevailed as to form one of the +great sources of his aversion to consummate the marriage! Since the +death of the late Queen, their mother, these four Princesses (who, it was +said, if old maids, were not so from choice) had received and performed +the exclusive honours of the Court. It could not have diminished their +dislike for the young and lovely new-comer to see themselves under the +necessity of abandoning their dignities and giving up their station. So +eager were they to contrive themes of complaint against her, that when +she visited them in the simple attire in which she so much delighted, +'sans ceremonie', unaccompanied by a troop of horse and a squadron of +footguards, they complained to their father, who hinted to Marie +Antoinette that such a relaxation of the royal dignity would be attended +with considerable injury to French manufactures, to trade, and to the +respect due to her rank. 'My State and Court dresses,' replied she, +'shall not be less brilliant than those of any former Dauphine or Queen +of France, if such be the pleasure of the King,--but to my grandpapa I +appeal for some indulgence with respect to my undress private costume of +the morning. + +"It was dangerous for one in whose conduct so many prying eyes were +seeking for sources of accusation to gratify herself even by the +overthrow of an absurdity, when that overthrow might incur the stigma of +innovation. The Court of Versailles was jealous of its Spanish +inquisitorial etiquette. It had been strictly wedded to its pageantries +since the time of the great Anne of Austria. The sagacious and prudent +provisions of this illustrious contriver were deemed the ne plus ultra of +royal female policy. A cargo of whalebone was yearly obtained by her to +construct such stays for the Maids of Honour as might adequately conceal +the Court accidents which generally--poor ladies!--befell them in +rotation every nine months. + +"But Marie Antoinette could not sacrifice her predilection for a +simplicity quite English, to prudential considerations. Indeed, she was +too young to conceive it even desirable. So much did she delight in +being unshackled by finery that she would hurry from Court to fling off +her royal robes and ornaments, exclaiming, when freed from them, 'Thank +Heaven, I am out of harness!' + +"But she had natural advantages, which gave her enemies a pretext for +ascribing this antipathy to the established fashion to mere vanity. It +is not impossible that she might have derived some pleasure from +displaying a figure so beautiful, with no adornment except its native +gracefulness; but how great must have been the chagrin of the Princesses, +of many of the Court ladies, indeed, of all in any way ungainly or +deformed, when called to exhibit themselves by the side of a bewitching +person like hers, unaided by the whalebone and horse-hair paddings with +which they had hitherto been made up, and which placed the best form on a +level with the worst? The prudes who practised illicitly, and felt the +convenience of a guise which so well concealed the effect of their +frailties, were neither the least formidable nor the least numerous of +the enemies created by this revolution of costume; and the Dauphine was +voted by common consent--for what greater crime could there be in +France?--the heretic Martin Luther of female fashions! The four +Princesses, her aunts, were as bitter against the disrespect with which +the Dauphine treated the armour, which they called dress, as if they +themselves had benefited by the immunities it could, confer. + +"Indeed, most of the old Court ladies embattled themselves against Marie +Antoinette's encroachments upon their habits. The leader of them was a +real medallion, whose costume, character, and notions spoke a genealogy +perfectly antediluvian; who even to the latter days of Louis XV., amid a +Court so irregular, persisted in her precision. So systematic a +supporter of the antique could be no other than the declared foe of any +change, and, of course, deemed the desertion of large sack gowns, +monstrous Court hoops, and the old notions of appendages attached to +them, for tight waists and short petticoats, an awful demonstration of +the depravity of the time!--[The editor needs scarcely add, that the +allusion of the Princess is to Madame de Noailles.] + +"This lady had been first lady to the sole Queen of Louis XV. She was +retained in the same station for Marie Antoinette. Her motions were +regulated like clock-work. So methodical was she in all her operations +of mind and body, that, from the beginning of the year to its end, she +never deviated a moment. Every hour had its peculiar occupation. Her +element was etiquette, but the etiquette of ages before the flood. She +had her rules even for the width of petticoats, that the Queens and +Princesses might have no temptation to straddle over a rivulet, or +crossing, of unroyal size. + +"The Queen of Louis XV. having been totally subservient in her movements +night and day to the wishes of the Comtesse de Noailles, it will be +readily conceived how great a shock this lady must have sustained on +being informed one morning that the Dauphine had actually risen in the +night, and her ladyship not by to witness a ceremony from which most +ladies would have felt no little pleasure in being spared, but which, on +this occasion, admitted of no delay! Notwithstanding the Dauphine +excused herself by the assurance of the urgency allowing no time to call +the Countess, she nearly fainted at not having been present at that, +which others sometimes faint at, if too near! This unaccustomed +watchfulness so annoyed Marie Antoinette, that, determined to laugh her +out of it, she ordered an immense bottle of hartshorn to be placed upon +her toilet. Being asked what use was to be made of the hartshorn, she +said it was to prevent her first Lady of Honour from falling into +hysterics when the calls of nature were uncivil enough to exclude her +from being of the party. This, as may be presumed, had its desired +effect, and Marie Antoinette was ever afterwards allowed free access at +least to one of her apartments, and leave to perform that in private +which few individuals except Princesses do with parade and publicity. + +"These things, however, planted the seeds of rancour against Marie +Antoinette, which Madame de Noailles carried with her to the grave. It +will be seen that she declared against her at a crisis of great +importance. The laughable title of Madame Etiquette, which the Dauphine +gave her, clung to her through life; though conferred only in merriment, +it never was forgiven. + +"The Dauphine seemed to be under a sort of fatality with regard to all +those who had any power of doing her mischief either with her husband or +the Court. The Duc de Vauguyon, the Dauphin's tutor, who both from +principle and interest hated everything Austrian, and anything whatever +which threatened to lessen his despotic influence so long exercised over +the mind of his pupil, which he foresaw would be endangered were the +Prince once out of his leading-strings and swayed by a young wife, made +use of all the influence which old courtiers can command over the minds +they have formed (more generally for their own ends than those of +uprightness) to poison that of the young Prince against his bride. + +"Never were there more intrigues among the female slaves in the Seraglio +of Constantinople for the Grand Signior's handkerchief than were +continually harassing one party against the other at the Court of +Versailles. The Dauphine was even attacked through her own tutor, the +Abbe Vermond. A cabal was got up between the Abbe and Madame Marsan, +instructress of the sisters of Louis XVI. (the Princesses Clotilde and +Elizabeth) upon the subject of education. Nothing grew out of this +affair excepting a new stimulus to the party spirit against the Austrian +influence, or, in other words, the Austrian Princess; and such was +probably its purpose. Of course every trifle becomes Court tattle. This +was made a mighty business of, for want of a worse. The royal aunts +naturally took the part of Madame Marsan. They maintained that their +royal nieces, the French Princesses, were much better educated than the +German Archduchesses had been by the Austrian Empress. They attempted to +found their assertion upon the embonpoint of the French Princesses. They +said that their nieces, by the exercise of religious principles, obtained +the advantage of solid flesh, while the Austrian Archduchesses, by +wasting themselves in idleness and profane pursuits, grew thin and +meagre, and were equally exhausted in their minds and bodies! At this +the Abbe Vermond, as the tutor of Marie Antoinette, felt himself highly +offended, and called on Comte de Mercy, then the Imperial Ambassador, to +apprise him of the insult the Empire had received over the shoulders of +the Dauphine's tutor. The Ambassador gravely replied that he should +certainly send off a courier immediately to Vienna to inform the Empress +that the only fault the French Court could find with Marie Antoinette was +her being not so unwieldy as their own Princesses, and bringing charms +with her to a bridegroom, on whom even charms so transcendent could make +no impression! Thus the matter was laughed off, but it left, ridiculous +as it was, new bitter enemies to the cause of the illustrious stranger. + +"The new favourite, Madame du Barry, whose sway was now supreme, was of +course joined by the whole vitiated intriguing Court of Versailles. The +King's favourite is always that of his parasites, however degraded. The +politics of the De Pompadour party were still feared, though De Pompadour +herself was no more, for Choiseul had friends who were still active in +his behalf. The power which had been raised to crush the power that was +still struggling formed a rallying point for those who hated Austria, +which the deposed Ministry had supported; and even the King's daughters, +much as they abhorred the vulgarity of Du Barry, were led, by dislike for +the Dauphine, to pay their devotions to their father's mistress. The +influence of the rising sun, Marie Antoinette, whose beauteous rays of +blooming youth warmed every heart in her favour, was feared by the new +favourite as well as by the old maidens. Louis XV. had already expressed +a sufficient interest for the friendless royal stranger to awaken the +jealousy of Du Barry, and she was as little disposed to share the King's +affections with another, as his daughters were to welcome a future Queen +from Austria in their palace. Mortified at the attachment the King daily +evinced, she strained every nerve to raise a party to destroy his +predilections. She called to her aid the strength of ridicule, than +which no weapon is more false or deadly. She laughed at qualities she +could not comprehend, and underrated what she could not imitate. The Duc +de Richelieu, who had been instrumental to her good fortune, and for whom +(remembering the old adage: when one hand washes the other both are made +clean) she procured the command of the army--this Duke, the triumphant +general of Mahon and one of the most distinguished noblemen of France, +did not blush to become the secret agent of a depraved meretrix in the +conspiracy to blacken the character of her victim! The Princesses, of +course, joined the jealous Phryne against their niece, the daughter of +the Caesars, whose only faults were those of nature, for at that time she +could have no other excepting those personal perfections which were the +main source of all their malice. By one considered as an usurper, by the +others as an intruder, both were in consequence industrious in the quiet +work of ruin by whispers and detraction. + +"To an impolitic act of the Dauphine herself may be in part ascribed the +unwonted virulence of the jealousy and resentment of Du Barry. The old +dotard, Louis XV., was so indelicate as to have her present at the first +supper of the Dauphine at Versailles. Madame la Marechale de Beaumont, +the Duchesse de Choiseul, and the Duchesse de Grammont were there also; +but upon the favourite taking her seat at table they expressed themselves +very freely to Louis XV. respecting the insult they conceived offered to +the young Dauphine, left the royal party, and never appeared again at +Court till after the King's death. In consequence of this scene, Marie +Antoinette, at the instigation of the Abbe Vermond, wrote to her mother, +the Empress, complaining of the slight put upon her rank, birth, and +dignity, and requesting the Empress would signify her displeasure to the +Court of France, as she had done to that of Spain on a similar occasion +in favour of her sister, the Queen of Naples. + +"This letter, which was intercepted, got to the knowledge of the Court +and excited some clamour. To say the worst, it could only be looked upon +as an ebullition of the folly of youth. But insignificant as such +matters were in fact, malignity converted them into the locust, which +destroyed the fruit she was sent to cultivate. + +"Maria Theresa, old fox that she was, too true to her system to retract +the policy, which formerly, laid her open to the criticism of all the +civilised Courts of Europe for opening the correspondence with De +Pompadour, to whose influence she owed her daughter's footing in +France--a correspondence whereby she degraded the dignity of her sex and +the honour of her crown--and at the same time suspecting that it was not +her daughter, but Vermond, from private motives, who complained, wrote +the following laconic reply to the remonstrance: + +"'Where the sovereign himself presides, no guest can be exceptionable.' + +"Such sentiments are very much in contradiction with the character of +Maria Theresa. She was always solicitous to impress the world with her +high notion of moral rectitude. Certainly, such advice, however politic, +ought not to have proceeded from a mother so religious as Maria Theresa +wished herself to be thought; especially to a young Princess who, though +enthusiastically fond of admiration, at least had discretion to see and +feel the impropriety of her being degraded to the level of a female like +Du Barry, and, withal, courage to avow it. This, of itself, was quite +enough to shake the virtue of Marie Antoinette; or, at least, Maria +Theresa's letter was of a cast to make her callous to the observance of +all its scruples. And in that vitiated, depraved Court, she too soon, +unfortunately, took the hint of her maternal counsellor in not only +tolerating, but imitating, the object she despised. Being one day told +that Du Barry was the person who most contributed to amuse Louis XV., +'Then,' said she, innocently, 'I declare myself her rival; for I will try +who can best amuse my grandpapa for the future. I will exert all my +powers to please and divert him, and then we shall see who can best +succeed.' + +"Du Barry was by when this was said, and she never forgave it. To this, +and to the letter, her rancour may principally be ascribed. To all those +of the Court party who owed their places and preferments to her exclusive +influence, and who held them subject to her caprice, she, of course, +communicated the venom. + +"Meanwhile, the Dauphin saw Marie Antoinette mimicking the monkey tricks +with which this low Sultana amused her dotard, without being aware of the +cause. He was not pleased; and this circumstance, coupled with his +natural coolness and indifference for a union he had been taught to deem +impolitic and dangerous to the interests of France, created in his +virtuous mind that sort of disgust which remained so long an enigma to +the Court and all the kingdom, excepting his royal aunts, who did the +best they could to confirm it into so decided an aversion as might induce +him to impel his grandfather to annul the marriage and send the Dauphine +back to Vienna." + +"After the Dauphin's marriage, the Comte d'Artois and his brother +Monsieur--[Afterwards Louis XVIII., and the former the present Charles +X.]--returned from their travels to Versailles. The former was delighted +with the young Dauphine, and, seeing her so decidedly neglected by her +husband, endeavoured to console her by a marked attention, but for which +she would have been totally isolated, for, excepting the old King, who +became more and more enraptured with the grace, beauty, and vivacity of +his young granddaughter, not another individual in the Royal Family was +really interested in her favour. The kindness of a personage so +important was of too much weight not to awaken calumny. It was, of +course, endeavoured to be turned against her. Possibilities, and even +probabilities, conspired to give a pretext for the scandal which already +began to be whispered about the Dauphine and D'Artois. It would have +been no wonder had a reciprocal attachment arisen between a virgin wife, +so long neglected by her husband, and one whose congeniality of character +pointed him out as a more desirable partner than the Dauphin. But there +is abundant evidence of the perfect innocence of their intercourse. Du +Barry was most earnest in endeavouring, from first to last, to establish +its impurity, because the Dauphine induced the gay young Prince to join +in all her girlish schemes to tease and circumvent the favourite. But +when this young Prince and his brother were married to the two Princesses +of Piedmont, the intimacy between their brides and the Dauphine proved +there could have been no doubt that Du Barry had invented a calumny, and +that no feeling existed but one altogether sisterly. The three stranger +Princesses were indeed inseparable; and these marriages, with that of the +French Princess, Clotilde, to the Prince of Piedmont, created +considerable changes in the coteries of Court. + +"The machinations against Marie Antoinette could not be concealed from +the Empress-mother. An extraordinary Ambassador was consequently sent +from Vienna to complain of them to the Court of Versailles, with +directions that the remonstrance should be supported and backed by the +Comte de Mercy, then Austrian Ambassador at the Court of France. Louis +XV. was the only person to whom the communication was news. This old +dilettanti of the sex was so much engaged between his seraglio of the +Parc-aux-cerfs and Du Barry that he knew less of what was passing in his +palace than those at Constantinople. On being informed by the Austrian +Ambassador, he sent an Ambassador of his own to Vienna to assure the +Empress that he was perfectly satisfied of the innocent conduct of his +newly acquired granddaughter. + +"Among the intrigues within intrigues of the time I mention, there was +one which shows that perhaps Du Barry's distrust of the constancy of her +paramour, and apprehension from the effect on him of the charms of the +Dauphine, in whom he became daily more interested, were not utterly +without foundation. In this instance even her friend, the Duc de +Richelieu, that notorious seducer, by lending himself to the secret +purposes of the King, became a traitor to the cause of the King's +favourite, to which he had sworn allegiance, and which he had supported +by defaming her whom he now became anxious to make his Queen. + +"It has already been said, that the famous Duchesse de Grammont was one +of the confidential friends of Louis XV. before he took Du Barry under +his especial protection. Of course, there can be no difficulty in +conceiving how likely a person she would be, to aid any purpose of the +King which should displace the favourite, by whom she herself had been +obliged to retire, by ties of a higher order, to which she might prove +instrumental. + +"Louis XV. actually flattered himself with the hope of obtaining +advantages from the Dauphin's coolness towards the Dauphine. He +encouraged it, and even threw many obstacles in the way of the +consummation of the marriage. The apartments of the young couple were +placed at opposite ends of the palace, so that the Dauphin could not +approach that of his Dauphine without a publicity which his bashfulness +could not brook. + +"Louis XV. now began to act upon his secret passion to supplant his +grandson, and make the Dauphine his own Queen, by endeavouring to secure +her affections to himself. His attentions were backed by gifts of +diamonds, pearls, and other valuables, and it was at this period that +Boehmer, the jeweller, first received the order for that famous necklace, +which subsequently produced such dreadful consequences, and which was +originally meant as a kingly present to the intended Queen, though +afterwards destined for Du Barry, had not the King died before the +completion of the bargain for it. + +"The Queen herself one day told me, 'Heaven knows if ever I should have +had the blessing of being a mother had I not one evening surprised the +Dauphin, when the subject was adverted to, in the expression of a sort of +regret at our being placed so far asunder from each other. Indeed, he +never honoured me with any proof of his affection so explicit as that you +have just witnessed'--for the King had that moment kissed her, as he left +the apartment--'from the time of our marriage till the consummation. The +most I ever received from him was a squeeze of the hand in secret. His +extreme modesty, and perhaps his utter ignorance of the intercourse with +woman, dreaded the exposure of crossing the palace to my bedchamber; and +no doubt the accomplishment would have occurred sooner, could it have +been effectuated in privacy. The hint he gave emboldened me with +courage, when he next left me, as usual, at the door of my apartment, to +mention it to the Duchesse de Grammont, then the confidential friend of +Louis XV., who laughed me almost out of countenance; saying, in her gay +manner of expressing herself, "If I were as young and as beautiful a wife +as you are I should certainly not trouble myself to remove the obstacle +by going to him while there were others of superior rank ready to supply +his place." Before she quitted me, however, she said: "Well, child, make +yourself easy: you shall no longer be separated from the object of your +wishes: I will mention it to the King, your grandpapa, and he will soon +order your husband's apartment to be changed for one nearer your own." +And the change shortly afterwards took place. + +"'Here,' continued the Queen, 'I accuse myself of a want of that courage +which every virtuous wife ought to exercise in not having complained of +the visible neglect shown me long, long before I did; for this, perhaps, +would have spared both of us the many bitter pangs originating in the +seeming coldness, whence have arisen all the scandalous stories against +my character--which have often interrupted the full enjoyment I should +have felt had they not made me tremble for the security of that +attachment, of which I had so many proofs, and which formed my only +consolation amid all the malice that for yearn had been endeavouring to +deprive me of it! So far as regards my husband's estimation, thank fate, +I have defied their wickedness! Would to Heaven I could have been +equally secure in the estimation of my people--the object nearest to my +heart, after the King and my dear children!'" + +[The Dauphine could not understand the first allusion of the Duchess; but +it is evident that the vile intriguer took this opportunity of sounding +her upon what she was commissioned to carry on in favour of Louis XV., +and it is equally apparent that when she heard Marie Antoinette express +herself decidedly in favour of her young husband, and distinctly saw how +utterly groundless were the hopes of his secret rival, she was led +thereby to abandon her wicked project; and perhaps the change of +apartments was the best mask that could have been devised to hide the +villany.] + +"The present period appears to have been one of the happiest in the life +of Marie Antoinette. Her intimate society consisted of the King's +brothers, and their Princesses, with the King's saint-like sister +Elizabeth; and they lived entirely together, excepting when the Dauphine +dined in public. These ties seemed to be drawn daily closer for some +time, till the subsequent intimacy with the Polignacs. Even when the +Comtesse d'Artois lay-in, the Dauphine, then become Queen, transferred +her parties to the apartments of that Princess, rather than lose the +gratification of her society. + +"During all this time, however, Du Barry, the Duc d'Aiguillon, and the +aunts-Princesses, took special care to keep themselves between her and +any tenderness on the part of the husband Dauphin, and, from different +motives uniting in one end, tried every means to get the object of their +hatred sent back to Vienna." + + + + +SECTION IV. + + +"The Empress-mother was thoroughly aware of all that was going on. Her +anxiety, not only about her daughter, but her State policy, which it may +be apprehended was in her mind the stronger motive of the two, encouraged +the machinations of an individual who must now appear upon the stage of +action, and to whose arts may be ascribed the worst of the sufferings of +Marie Antoinette. + +"I allude to the Cardinal Prince de Rohan. + +"At this time he was Ambassador at the Court of Vienna. The reliance the +Empress placed on him favoured his criminal machinations against her +daughter's reputation. He was the cause of her sending spies to watch +the conduct of the Dauphine, besides a list of persons proper for her to +cultivate, as well as of those it was deemed desirable for her to exclude +from her confidence. + +"As the Empress knew all those who, though high in office in Versailles, +secretly received pensions from Vienna, she could, of course, tell, +without much expense of sagacity, who were in the Austrian interest. The +Dauphine was warned that she was surrounded by persons who were not her +friends. + +"The conduct of Maria Theresa towards her daughter, the Queen of Naples, +will sufficiently explain how much the Empress must have been chagrined +at the absolute indifference of Marie Antoinette to the State policy +which was intended to have been served in sending her to France. A less +fitting instrument for the purpose could not have been selected by the +mother. Marie Antoinette had much less of the politician about her than +either of her surviving sisters; and so much was she addicted to +amusement, that she never even thought of entering into State affairs +till forced by the King's neglect of his most essential prerogatives, and +called upon by the Ministers themselves to screen them from +responsibility. Indeed, the latter cause prevailed upon her to take her +seat in the Cabinet Council (though she took it with great reluctance) +long before she was impelled thither by events and her consciousness of +its necessity. She would often exclaim to me: 'How happy I was during +the lifetime of Louis XV.! No cares to disturb my peaceful slumbers! No +responsibility to agitate my mind! No fears of erring, of partiality, of +injustice, to break in upon my enjoyments! All, all happiness, my dear +Princess, vanishes from the bosom of a woman if she once deviate from the +prescribed domestic character of her sex! Nothing was ever framed more +wise than the Salique Laws, which in France and many parts of Germany +exclude women from reigning, for few of us have that masculine capacity +so necessary to conduct with impartiality and justice the affairs of +State!' + +"To this feeling of the impropriety of feminine interference in masculine +duties, coupled with her attachment to France, both from principle and +feeling, may be ascribed the neglect of her German connexions, which led +to many mortifying reproaches, and the still more galling espionage to +which she was subjected in her own palace by her mother. These are, +however, so many proofs of the falsehood of the allegations by which she +suffered so deeply afterwards, of having sacrificed the interests of her +husband's kingdom to her predilection for her mother's empire. + +"The subtle Rohan designed to turn the anxiety of Maria Theresa about the +Dauphine to account, and he was also aware that the ambition of the +Empress was paramount in Maria Theresa's bosom to the love for her child. +He was about to play a deep and more than double game. By increasing the +mother's jealousy of the daughter, and at the same time enhancing the +importance of the advantages afforded by her situation, to forward the +interests of the mother, he, no doubt, hoped to get both within his +power: for who can tell what wild expectation might not have animated +such a mind as Rohan's at the prospect of governing not only the Court of +France but that of Austria?--the Court of France, through a secret +influence of his own dictation thrown around the Dauphine by the mother's +alarm; and that of Austria, through a way he pointed out, in which the +object that was most longed for by the mother's ambition seemed most +likely to be achieved! While he endeavoured to make Maria Theresa beset +her daughter with the spies I have mentioned, and which were generally of +his own selection, he at the same time endeavoured to strengthen her +impression of how important it was to her schemes to insure the +daughter's co-operation. Conscious of the eagerness of Maria Theresa for +the recovery of the rich province which Frederick the Great of Prussia +had wrested from her ancient dominions, he pressed upon her credulity the +assurance that the influence of which the Dauphine was capable over Louis +XV., by the youthful beauty's charms acting upon the dotard's admiration, +would readily induce that monarch to give such aid to Austria as must +insure the restoration of what it lost. Silesia, it has been before +observed, was always a topic by means of which the weak side of Maria +Theresa could be attacked with success. There is generally some peculiar +frailty in the ambitious, through which the artful can throw them off +their guard. The weak and tyrannical Philip II., whenever the recovery +of Holland and the Low Countries was proposed to him, was always ready to +rush headlong into any scheme for its accomplishment; the bloody Queen +Mary, his wife, declared that at her death the loss of Calais would be +found engraven on her heart; and to Maria Theresa, Silesia was the +Holland and the Calais for which her wounded pride was thirsting. + +"But Maria Theresa was wary, even in the midst of the credulity of her +ambition. The Baron de Neni was sent by her privately to Versailles to +examine, personally, whether there was anything in Marie Antoinette's +conduct requiring the extreme vigilance which had been represented as +indispensable. The report of the Baron de Neni to his royal mistress was +such as to convince her she had been misled and her daughter +misrepresented by Rohan. The Empress instantly forbade him her presence. + +"The Cardinal upon this, unknown to the Court of Vienna, and indeed, to +every one, except his factotum, principal agent, and secretary, the Abbe +Georgel, left the Austrian capital, and came to Versailles, covering his +disgrace by pretended leave of absence. On seeing Marie Antoinette he +fell enthusiastically in love with her. To gain her confidence he +disclosed the conduct which had been observed towards her by the Empress, +and, in confirmation of the correctness of his disclosure, admitted that +he had himself chosen the spies which had been set on her. Indignant at +such meanness in her mother, and despising the prelate, who could be base +enough to commit a deed equally corrupt and uncalled for, and even thus +wantonly betrayed when committed, the Dauphine suddenly withdrew from his +presence, and gave orders that he should never be admitted to any of her +parties. + +"But his imagination was too much heated by a guilty passion of the +blackest hue to recede; and his nature too presumptuous and fertile in +expedients to be disconcerted. He soon found means to conciliate both +mother and daughter; and both by pretending to manage with the one the +self-same plot which, with the other, he was recommending himself by +pretending to overthrow. To elude detection he interrupted the regular +correspondence between the Empress and the Dauphine, and created a +coolness by preventing the communications which would have unmasked him, +that gave additional security to the success of his deception. + +"By the most diabolical arts he obtained an interview with the Dauphine, +in which he regained her confidence. He made her believe that he had +been commissioned by her mother, as she had shown so little interest for +the house of Austria, to settle a marriage for her sister, the +Archduchess Elizabeth, with Louis XV. The Dauphine was deeply affected +at the statement. She could not conceal her agitation. She +involuntarily confessed how much she should deplore such an alliance. The +Cardinal instantly perceived his advantage, and was too subtle to let it +pass. He declared that, as it was to him the negotiation had been +confided, if the Dauphine would keep her own counsel, never communicate +their conversation to the Empress, but leave the whole matter to his +management and only assure him that he was forgiven, he would pledge +himself to arrange things to her satisfaction. The Dauphine, not wishing +to see another raised to the throne over her head and to her scorn, under +the assurance that no one knew of the intention or could prevent it but +the Cardinal, promised him her faith and favour; and thus rashly fell +into the springs of this wily intriguer. + +"Exulting to find Marie Antoinette in his power, the Cardinal left +Versailles as privately as he arrived there, for Vienna. His next object +was to ensnare the Empress, as he had done her daughter; and by a +singular caprice, fortune, during his absence, had been preparing for him +the means. + +"The Abbe Georgel, his secretary, by underhand manoeuvres, to which he +was accustomed, had obtained access to all the secret State +correspondence, in which the Empress had expressed herself fully to the +Comte de Mercy relative to the views of Russia and Prussia upon Poland, +whereby her own plans were much thwarted. The acquirement of copies of +these documents naturally gave the Cardinal free access to the Court and +a ready introduction once more to the Empress. She was too much +committed by his possession of such weapons not to be most happy to make +her peace with him; and he was too sagacious not to make the best use of +his opportunity. To regain her confidence, he betrayed some of the +subaltern agents, through whose treachery he had procured his evidences, +and, in farther confirmation of his resources, showed the Empress several +dispatches from her own Ministers to the Courts of Russia and Prussia. He +had long, he said, been in possession of similar views of aggrandisement, +upon which these Courts were about to act; and had, for a while, even +incurred Her Imperial Majesty's displeasure, merely because he was not in +a situation fully to explain; but that he had now thought of the means to +crush their schemes before they could be put in practice. He apprised her +of his being aware that Her Imperial Majesty's Ministers were actively +carrying on a correspondence with Russia, with a view of joining her in +checking the French co-operation with the Grand Signior; and warned her +that if this design were secretly pursued, it would defeat the very views +she had in sharing in the spoliation of Poland; and if openly, it would +be deemed an avowal of hostilities against the Court of France, whose +political system would certainly impel it to resist any attack upon the +divan of Constantinople, that the balance of power in Europe might be +maintained against the formidable ambition of Catherine, whose gigantic +hopes had been already too much realised. + +"Maria Theresa was no less astonished at these disclosures of the +Cardinal than the Dauphine had been at his communication concerning her. +She plainly saw that all her plans were known, and might be defeated from +their detection. + +"The Cardinal, having succeeded in alarming the Empress, took from his +pocket a fabulous correspondence, hatched by his secretary, the Abbe +Georgel. 'There, Madame,' said he, 'this will convince Your Majesty that +the warm interest I have taken in your Imperial house has carried me +farther than I was justified in having gone; but seeing the sterility of +the Dauphine, or, as it is reported by some of the Court, the total +disgust the Dauphin has to consummate the marriage, the coldness of your +daughter towards the interest of your Court, and the prospect of a race +from the Comtesse d'Artois, for the consequences of which there is no +answering, I have, unknown to Your Imperial Majesty, taken upon myself to +propose to LOUIS XV. a marriage with the Archduchess Elizabeth, who, on +becoming Queen of France, will immediately have it in her power to +forward the Austrian interest; for LOUIS XV., as the first proof of his +affection to his young bride, will at once secure to your Empire the aid +you stand so much in need of against the ambition of these two rising +States. The recovery of Your Imperial Majesty's ancient dominions may +then be looked upon as accomplished from the influence of the French +Cabinet. + +"The bait was swallowed. Maria Theresa was so overjoyed at this scheme +that she totally forgot all former animosity against the Cardinal. She +was encouraged to ascribe the silence of Marie Antoinette (whose letters +had been intercepted by the Cardinal himself) to her resentment of this +project concerning her sister; and the deluded Empress, availing herself +of the pretended zeal of the Cardinal for the interest of her family, +gave him full powers to return to France and secretly negotiate the +alliance for her daughter Elizabeth, which was by no means to be +disclosed to the Dauphine till the King's proxy should be appointed to +perform the ceremony at Vienna. This was all the Cardinal wished for. + +"Meanwhile, in order to obtain a still greater ascendency over the Court +of France, he had expended immense sums to bribe secretaries and +Ministers; and couriers were even stopped to have copies taken of all the +correspondence to and from Austria. + +"At the same crisis the Empress was informed by Prince Kaunitz that the +Cardinal and his suite at the palace of the French Ambassador carried on +such an immense and barefaced traffic of French manufactures of every +description that Maria Theresa thought proper, in order to prevent future +abuse, to abolish the privilege which gave to Ministers and Ambassadors +an opportunity of defrauding the revenue. Though this law was levelled +exclusively at the Cardinal, it was thought convenient under the +circumstances to avoid irritating him, and it was consequently made +general. But, the Comte de Mercy now obtaining some clue to his +duplicity, an intimation was given to the Court at Versailles, to which +the King replied, 'If the Empress be dissatisfied with the French +Ambassador, he shall be recalled.' But though completely unmasked, none +dared publicly to accuse him, each party fearing a discovery of its own +intrigue. His official recall did not in consequence take place for some +time; and the Cardinal, not thinking it prudent to go back till Louis XV. +should be no more, lest some unforeseen discovery of his project for +supplying her royal paramour with a Queen should rouse Du Barry to get +his Cardinalship sent to the Bastille for life, remained fixed in his +post, waiting for events. + +"At length Louis XV. expired, and the Cardinal returned to Versailles. He +contrived to obtain a private audience of the young Queen. He presumed +upon her former facility in listening to him, and was about to betray the +last confidence of Maria Theresa; but the Queen, shocked at the knowledge +which she had obtained of his having been equally treacherous to her and +to her mother, in disgust and alarm left the room without receiving a +letter he had brought her from Maria Theresa, and without deigning to +address a single word to him. In the heat of her passion and resentment, +she was nearly exposing all she knew of his infamies to the King, when +the coolheaded Princesse Elizabeth opposed her, from the seeming +imprudence of such an abrupt discovery; alleging that it might cause an +open rupture between the two Courts, as it had already been the source of +a reserve and coolness, which had not yet been explained. The Queen was +determined never more to commit herself by seeing the Cardinal. She +accordingly sent for her mother's letter, which he himself delivered into +the hands of her confidential messenger, who advised the Queen not to +betray the Cardinal to the King, lest, in so doing, she should never be +able to guard herself against the domestic spies, by whom, perhaps, she +was even yet surrounded! The Cardinal, conceiving, from the impunity of +his conduct, that he still held the Queen in check, through the influence +of her fears of his disclosing her weakness upon the subject of the +obstruction she threw in the way of her sister's marriage, did not resign +the hope of converting that ascendency to his future profit. + +"The fatal silence to which Her Majesty was thus unfortunately advised I +regret from the bottom of my soul! All the successive vile plots of the +Cardinal against the peace and reputation of the Queen may be attributed +to this ill-judged prudence! Though it resulted from an honest desire of +screening Her Majesty from the resentment or revenge to which she might +have subjected herself from this villain, who had already injured her in +her own estimation for having been credulous enough to have listened to +him, yet from this circumstance it is that the Prince de Rohan built the +foundation of all the after frauds and machinations with which he +blackened the character and destroyed the comfort of his illustrious +victim. It is obvious that a mere exclusion from Court was too mild a +punishment for such offences, and it was but too natural that such a mind +as his, driven from the royal presence, and, of course, from all the +noble societies to which it led (the anti-Court party excepted), should +brood over the means of inveigling the Queen into a consent for his +reappearance before her and the gay world, which was his only element, +and if her favour should prove unattainable to revenge himself by her +ruin. + +"On the Cardinal's return to France, all his numerous and powerful +friends beset the King and Queen to allow of his restoration to his +embassy; but though on his arrival at Versailles, finding the Court had +removed to Compiegne, he had a short audience there of the King, all +efforts in his favour were thrown away. Equally unsuccessful was every +intercession with the Empress-mother. She had become thoroughly awakened +to his worthlessness, and she declared she would never more even receive +him in her dominions as a visitor. The Cardinal, being apprised of this +by some of his intimates, was at last persuaded to give up the idea of +further importunity; and, pocketing his disgrace, retired with his hey +dukes and his secretary, the Abbe Georgel, to whom may be attributed all +the artful intrigues of his disgraceful diplomacy. + +"It is evident that Rohan had no idea, during all his schemes to supplant +the Dauphine by marrying her sister to the King, that the secret hope of +Louis XV. had been to divorce the Dauphin and marry the slighted bride +himself. Perhaps it is fortunate that Rohan did not know this. A brain +so fertile in mischief as his might have converted such a circumstance to +baneful uses. But the death of Louis XV. put an end to all the then +existing schemes for a change in her position. It was to her a real, +though but a momentary triumph. From the hour of her arrival she had a +powerful party to cope with; and the fact of her being an Austrian, +independent of the jealousy created by her charms, was, in itself, a +spell to conjure up armies, against which she stood alone, isolated in +the face of embattled myriads! But she now reared her head, and her foes +trembled in her presence. Yet she could not guard against the moles busy +in the earth secretly to undermine her. Nay, had not Louis XV. died at +the moment he did, there is scarcely a doubt, from the number and the +quality of the hostile influences working on the credulity of the young +Dauphin, that Marie Antoinette would have been very harshly dealt +with,--even the more so from the partiality of the dotard who believed +himself to be reigning. But she has been preserved from her enemies to +become their sovereign; and if her crowned brow has erewhile been stung +by thorns in its coronal, let me not despair of their being hereafter +smothered in yet unblown roses." + + + + +SECTION V. + + +"The accession of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette to the crown of France +took place (May 10, 1774) under the most propitious auspices! + +"After the long, corrupt reign of an old debauched Prince, whose vices +were degrading to himself and to a nation groaning under the lash of +prostitution and caprice, the most cheering changes were expected from +the known exemplariness of his successor and the amiableness of his +consort. Both were looked up to as models of goodness. The virtues of +Louis XVI. were so generally known that all France hastened to +acknowledge them, while the Queen's fascinations acted like a charm on +all who had not been invincibly prejudiced against the many excellent +qualities which entitled her to love and admiration. Indeed, I never +heard an insinuation against either the King or Queen but from those +depraved minds which never possessed virtue enough to imitate theirs, or +were jealous of the wonderful powers of pleasing that so eminently +distinguished Marie Antoinette from the rest of her sex. + +"On the death of Louis XV. the entire Court removed from Versailles to +the palace of La Muette, situate in the Bois de Boulogne, very near +Paris. The confluence of Parisians, who came in crowds joyfully to hail +the death of the old vitiated Sovereign, and the accession of his adored +successors, became quite annoying to the whole Royal Family. The +enthusiasm with which the Parisians hailed their young King, and in +particular his amiable young partner, lasted for many days. These +spontaneous evidences of attachment were regarded as prognostics of a +long reign of happiness. If any inference can be drawn from public +opinion, could there be a stronger assurance than this one of +uninterrupted future tranquility to its objects? + +"To the Queen herself it was a double triumph. The conspirators, whose +depravity had been labouring to make her their victim, departed from the +scene of power. The husband, who for four years had been callous to her +attractions, became awakened to them. A complete change in the domestic +system of the palace was wrought suddenly. The young King, during the +interval which elapsed between the death and the interment of his +grandfather, from Court etiquette was confined to his apartments. The +youthful couple therefore saw each other with less restraint. The +marriage was consummated. Marie Antoinette from this moment may date +that influence over the heart (would I might add over the head and +policy!) of the King, which never slackened during the remainder of their +lives. + +"Madame du Barry was much better dealt with by the young King, whom she +had always treated with the greatest levity, than she, or her numerous +courtiers, expected. She was allowed her pension, and the entire +enjoyment of all her ill-gotten and accumulated wealth; but, of course, +excluded from ever appearing at Court, and politically exiled from Paris +to the Chateau aux Dames. + +"This implacable foe and her infamous coadjutors being removed from +further interference in matters of State by the expulsion of all their +own Ministers, their rivals, the Duc de Choiseul and his party, by whom +Marie Antoinette had been brought to France, were now in high expectation +of finding the direction of the Government, by the Queen's influence, +restored to that nobleman. But the King's choice was already made. He +had been ruled by his aunts, and appointed Ministers suggested by them +and his late grandfather's friends, who feared the preponderance of the +Austrian influence. The three ladies, Madame la Marechale de Beauveau, +the Duchesse de Choiseul, and the Duchesse de Grammont, who were all +well-known to Louis XVI. and stood high in his opinion for many excellent +qualities, and especially for their independent assertion of their own +and the Dauphine's dignity by retiring from Court in consequence of the +supper at which Du Barry was introduced these ladies, though received on +their return thither with peculiar welcome, in vain united their efforts +with those of the Queen and the Abbe Vermond, to overcome the prejudice +which opposed Choiseul's reinstatement. It was all in vain. The royal +aunts, Adelaide especially, hated Choiseul for the sake of Austria, and +his agency in bringing Marie Antoinette to France; and so did the King's +tutor and governor, the Duc de Vauguyon, who had ever been hostile to any +sort of friendship with Vienna; and these formed a host impenetrable even +to the influence of the Queen, which was opposed by all the leaders of +the prevailing party, who, though they were beginning externally to +court, admire, and idolize her, secretly surrounded her by their noxious +and viperous intrigues, and, while they lived in her bosom, fattened on +the destruction of her fame! + +"One of the earliest of the paltry insinuations against Marie Antoinette +emanated from her not counterfeiting deep affliction at the decease of +the old King. A few days after that event, the Court received the +regular visits of condolence and congratulation of the nobility, whose +duty prescribes their attendance upon such occasions; and some of them, +among whom were the daughters of Louis XV., not finding a young Queen of +nineteen hypocritically bathed in tears, on returning to their abodes +declared her the most indecorous of Princesses, and diffused a strong +impression of her want of feeling. At the head of these detractors were +Mesdames de Guemenee and Marsan, rival pretenders to the favours of the +Cardinal de Rohan, who, having by the death of Louis XV. lost their +influence and their unlimited power to appoint and dismiss Ministers, +themselves became ministers to their own evil geniuses, in calumniating +her whose legitimate elevation annihilated their monstrous pretensions! + +"The Abbe Vermond, seeing the defeat of the party of the Duc de Choiseul, +by whom he had been sent to the Court of Vienna on the recommendation of +Brienne, began to tremble for his own security. As soon as the Court had +arrived at Choisy, and he was assured of the marriage having been +consummated, he obtained, with the Queen's consent, an audience of the +King, for the purpose of soliciting his sanction to his continuing in his +situation. On submitting his suit to the King, His Majesty merely gave a +shrug of the shoulders, and turned to converse with the Duc d'Aiguillon, +who at that moment entered the room. The Abbe stood stupefied, and the +Queen, seeing the crestfallen humour of her tutor, laughed and cheered +him by remarking, 'There is more meaning in the shrug of a King than in +the embrace of a Minister. The one always promises, but is seldom +sincere; the other is generally sincere, but never promises.' The Abbe, +not knowing how to interpret the dumb answer, finding the King's back +turned and his conversation with D'Aiguillon continuing, was retiring +with a shrug of his own shoulders to the Queen, when she exclaimed, +good-humouredly, to Louis, laughing and pointing to the Abbe, 'Look! +look! see how readily a Church dignitary can imitate the good Christian +King, who is at the head of the Church.' The King, seeing the Abbe still +waiting, said, dryly, 'Monsieur, you are confirmed in your situation,' +and then resumed his conversation with the Duke. + +"This anecdote is a sufficient proof that LOUIS XVI. had no +prepossession in favour of the Abbe Vermond, and that it was merely not +to wound the feelings of the Queen that he was tolerated. The Queen +herself was conscious of this, and used frequently to say to me how much +she was indebted to the King for such deference to her private choice, in +allowing Vermond to be her secretary, as she did not remember the King's +ever having held any communication with the Abbe during the whole time he +was attached to the service, though the Abbe always expressed himself +with the greatest respect towards the King. + +"The decorum of Marie Antoinette would not allow her to endure those +public exhibitions of the ceremony, of dressing herself which had been +customary at Court. This reserve was highly approved by His Majesty; and +one of the first reforms she introduced, after the accession, was in the +internal discipline of her own apartment. + +"It was during one of the visits, apart from Court etiquette, to the +toilet of the Queen, that the Duchesse de Chartres, afterwards Duchesse +d'Orleans, introduced the famous Mademoiselle Bertin, who afterwards +became so celebrated as the Queen's milliner--the first that was ever +allowed to approach a royal palace; and it was months before Marie +Antoinette had courage to receive her milliner in any other than the +private apartment which, by the alteration Her Majesty had made in the +arrangements of the household, she set apart for the purpose of dressing +in comfort by herself and free from all intruders. + +"Till then the Queen was not only very plain in her attire, but very, +economical--a circumstance which, I have often heard her say, gave great +umbrage to the other Princesses of the Court of Versailles, who never +showed themselves, from the moment they rose till they returned to bed, +except in full dress; while she herself made all her morning visits in a +simple white cambric gown and straw hat. This simplicity, unfortunately, +like many other trifles, whose consequences no foresight would have +predicted, tended much to injure Marie Antoinette, not only with the +Court dandies, but the nation; by whom, though she was always censured, +she was as suddenly imitated in all she wore or did. + +"From the private closet, which Marie Antoinette reserved to herself, and +had now opened to her milliner, she would retire, after the great points +of habiliment were accomplished, to those who were waiting with memorials +at her public toilet, where the hairdresser would finish putting the +ornaments in Her Majesty's hair. + +"The King made Marie Antoinette a present of Le Petit Trianon. Much has +been said of the extravagant expense lavished by her upon this spot. I +can only declare that the greater part of the articles of furniture which +had not been worn out by time or were not worm or moth-eaten, and her own +bed among them, were taken from the apartments of former Queens, and some +of them had actually belonged to Anne of Austria, who, like Marie +Antoinette, had purchased them out of her private savings. Hence it is +clear that neither of the two Queens were chargeable to the State even +for those little indulgences which every private lady of property is +permitted from her husband, without coming under the lash of censure. + +"Her allowance as Queen of France was no more than 300,000 francs. It is +well known that she was generous, liberal, and very charitable; that she +paid all her expenses regularly respecting her household, Trianon, her +dresses, diamonds, millinery, and everything else; her Court +establishment excepted, and some few articles, which were paid by the +civil list. She was one of the first Queens in Europe, had the first +establishment in Europe, and was obliged to keep up the most refined and +luxurious Court in Europe; and all upon means no greater than had been +assigned to many of the former bigoted Queens, who led a cloistered life, +retired from the world without circulating their wealth among the nation +which supplied them with so large a revenue; and yet who lived and died +uncensured for hoarding from the nation what ought at least to have been +in part expended for its advantage. + +"And yet of all the extra expenditure which the dignity and circumstances +of Marie Antoinette exacted, not a franc came from the public Treasury; +but everything out of Her Majesty's private purse and savings from the +above three hundred thousand francs, which was an infinitely less sum +than Louis XIV. had lavished yearly on the Duchesse de Montespan, and +less than half what Louis XV. had expended on the last two favourites, De +Pompadour and Du Barry. These two women, as clearly appeared from the +private registers, found among the papers of Louis XV. after his death, +by Louis XVI. (but which, out of respect for the memory of his +grandfather, he destroyed), these two women had amassed more property in +diamonds and other valuables than all the Queens of France from the days +of Catherine de Medicis up to those of Marie Antoinette. + +"Such was the goodness of heart of the excellent Queen of Louis XVI., +such the benevolence of her character, that not only did she pay all the +pensions of the invalids left by her predecessors, but she distributed in +public and private charities greater sums than any of the former Queens, +thus increasing her expenses without any proportionate augmentation of +her resources." + +[Indeed, could Louis XVI. have foreseen--when, in order not to expose the +character of his predecessor and to honour the dignity of the throne and +monarchy of France, he destroyed the papers of his grandfather--what an +arm of strength he would have possessed in preserving them, against the +accusers of his unfortunate Queen and himself, he never could have thrown +away such means of establishing a most honourable contrast between his +own and former reigns. His career exhibits no superfluous expenditure. +Its economy was most rigid. No sovereign was ever more scrupulous with +the public money. He never had any public or private predilection; no +dilapidated Minister for a favourite: no courtesan intrigue. For gaming +he had no fondness; and, if his abilities were not splendid, he certainly +had no predominating vices.] + +NOTE: + +[I must once more quit the journal of the Princess. Her Highness here +ceases to record particulars of the early part of the reign of Louis +XVI., and everything essential upon those times is too well known to +render it desirable to detain the reader by an attempt to supply the +deficiency. It is enough to state that the secret unhappiness of the +Queen at not yet having the assurance of an heir was by no means weakened +by the impatience of the people, nor by the accouchement of the Comtesse +d'Artois of the Duc d'Angouleme. While the Queen continued the intimacy, +and even held her parties at the apartments of the Duchess that she might +watch over her friend, even in this triumph over herself, the poissardes +grossly insulted her in her misfortune, and coarsely called on her to +give heirs to the throne! + +A consolation, however, for the unkind feeling of the populace was about +to arise in the delights of one of her strongest friendships. I am come +to the epoch when Her Majesty first formed an acquaintance with the +Princesse de Lamballe. + +After a few words of my own on the family of Her Highness, I shall leave +her to pursue her beautiful and artless narrative of her parentage, early +sorrows, and introduction to Her Majesty, unbroken. + +The journal of the history of Marie Antoinette, after this slight +interruption for the private history of her friend, will become blended +with the journal of the Princesse de Lamballe, and both thenceforward +will proceed in their course together, like their destinies, which from +that moment never became disunited.] + + + + +SECTION VI. + + +[MARIA THERESA LOUISA CARIGNAN, Princess of Savoy, was born at Turin on +the 8th September, 1749. She had three sisters; two of them were married +at Rome, one to the Prince Doria Pamfili, the other to the Prince +Colonna; and the third at Vienna, to the Prince Lobkowitz, whose son was +the great patron of the immortal Haydn, the celebrated composer. + +The celebrated Haydn was, even at the age of 74, when I last saw him at +Vienna, till the most good-humoured bon vivant of his age. He delighted +in telling the origin of his good fortune, which he said he entirely owed +to a bad wife. + +When he was first married, he said, finding no remedy against domestic +squabbles, he used to quit his bad half and go and enjoy himself with his +good friends, who were Hungarians and Germans, for weeks together. Once, +having returned home after a considerable absence, his wife, while he was +in bed next morning, followed her husband's example: she did even more, +for she took all his clothes, even to his shoes, stockings, and small +clothes, nay, everything he had, along with her! Thus situated, he was +under the necessity of doing something to cover his nakedness; and this, +he himself acknowledged, was the first cause of his seriously applying +himself to the profession which has since made his name immortal. + +He used to laugh, saying, "I was from that time so habituated to study +that my wife, often fearing it would injure me, would threaten me with +the same operation if I did not go out and amuse myself; but then," added +he, "I was grown old, and she was sick and no longer jealous." He spoke +remarkably good Italian, though he had never been in Italy, and on my +going to Vienna to hear his "Creation," he promised to accompany me back +to Italy; but he unfortunately died before I returned to Vienna from +Carlsbad. + +She had a brother also, the Prince Carignan, who, marrying against the +consent of his family, was no longer received by them; but the +unremitting and affectionate attention which the Princesse de Lamballe +paid to him and his new connexions was an ample compensation for the loss +he sustained in the severity of his other sisters. + +With regard to the early life of the Princesse de Lamballe, the arranger +of these pages must now leave her to pursue her own beautiful and artless +narrative unbroken, up to the epoch of her appointment to the household +of the Queen. It will be recollected that the papers of which the +reception has been already described in the introduction formed the +private journal of this most amiable Princess; and those passages +relating to her own early life being the most connected part of them, it +has been thought that to disturb them would be a kind of sacrilege. +After the appointment of Her Highness to the superintendence of the +Queen's household, her manuscripts again become confused, and fall into +scraps and fragments, which will require to be once more rendered clear +by the recollections of events and conversations by which the preceding +chapters have been assisted.] + +"I was the favourite child of a numerous family, and intended, almost at +my birth--as is generally the case among Princes who are nearly allied to +crowned heads--to be united to one of the Princes, my near relation, of +the royal house of Sardinia. + +"A few years after this, the Duc and Duchesse de Penthievre arrived at +Turin, on their way to Italy, for the purpose of visiting the different +Courts, to make suitable marriage contracts for both their infant +children. + +"These two children were Mademoiselle de Penthievre, afterwards the +unhappy Duchesse d'Orleans, and their idolised son, the Prince de +Lamballe. + +[The father of Louis Alexander Joseph Stanislaus de Bourbon Penthievre, +Prince de Lamballe, was the son of Comte de Toulouse, himself a natural +son of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan, who was considered as the most +wealthy of all the natural children, in consequence of Madame de +Montespan having artfully entrapped the famous Mademoiselle de +Moutpensier to make over her immense fortune to him as her heir after her +death, as the price of liberating her husband from imprisonment in the +Bastille, and herself from a ruinous prosecution, for having contracted +this marriage contrary to the express commands of her royal cousin, Louis +XIV.--Vide Histoire de Louis XIV. par Voltaire.] + +"Happy would it have been both for the Prince who was destined to the +former and the Princess who was given to the latter, had these +unfortunate alliances never taken place. + +"The Duc and Duchesse de Penthievre became so singularly attached to my +beloved parents, and, in particular, to myself, that the very day they +first dined at the Court of Turin, they mentioned the wish they had +formed of uniting me to their young son, the Prince de Lamballe. + +"The King of Sardinia, as the head of the house of Savoy and Carignan, +said there had been some conversation as to my becoming a member of his +royal family; but as I was so very young at the time, many political +reasons might arise to create motives for a change in the projected +alliance. 'If, therefore, the Prince de Carignan,' said the King, 'be +anxious to settle his daughter's marriage, by any immediate matrimonial +alliance, I certainly shall not avail myself of any prior engagement, nor +oppose any obstacle in the way of its solemnisation.' + +"The consent of the King being thus unexpectedly obtained by the Prince, +so desirable did the arrangement seem to the Duke and Duchess that the +next day the contract was concluded with my parents for my becoming the +wife of their only son, the Prince de Lamballe. + +"I was too young to be consulted. Perhaps had I been older the result +would have been the same, for it generally happens in these great family +alliances that the parties most interested, and whose happiness is most +concerned, are the least thought of. The Prince was, I believe, at +Paris, under the tuition of his governess, and I was in the nursery, +heedless, and totally ignorant of my future good or evil destination! + +"So truly happy and domestic a life as that led by the Duc and Duchesse +de Penthievre seemed to my family to offer an example too propitious not +to secure to me a degree of felicity with a private Prince, very rarely +the result of royal unions! Of course, their consent was given with +alacrity. When I was called upon to do homage to my future parents, I +had so little idea, from my extreme youthfulness, of what was going on +that I set them all laughing, when, on being asked if I should like to +become the consort of the Prince de Lamballe, I said, 'Yes, I am very +fond of music!' No, my dear,' resumed the good and tender-hearted Duc de +Penthievre, 'I mean, would you have any objection to become his +wife?'--'No, nor any other person's!' was the innocent reply, which +increased the mirth of all the guests at my expense. + +"Happy, happy days of youthful, thoughtless innocence, luxuriously felt +and appreciated under the thatched roof of the cottage, but unknown and +unattainable beneath the massive pile of a royal palace and a gemmed +crown! Scarcely had I entered my teens when my adopted parents strewed +flowers of the sweetest fragrance to lead me to the sacred altar, that +promised the bliss of busses, but which, too soon, from the foul +machinations of envy, jealousy, avarice, and a still more criminal +passion, proved to me the altar of my sacrifice! + +"My misery and my uninterrupted grief may be dated from the day my +beloved sister-in-law, Mademoiselle de Penthievre, sullied her hand by +its union with the Duc de Chartres.--[Afterwards Duc d'Orleans, and the +celebrated revolutionary Philippe Egalite.]--From that moment all +comfort, all prospect of connubial happiness, left my young and +affectionate heart, plucked thence by the very roots, never more again to +bloom there. Religion and philosophy were the only remedies remaining. + +"I was a bride when an infant, a wife before I was a woman, a widow +before I was a mother, or had the prospect of becoming one! Our union +was, perhaps, an exception to the general rule. We became insensibly the +more attached to each other the more we were acquainted, which rendered +the more severe the separation, when we were torn asunder never to meet +again in this world! + +"After I left Turin, though everything for my reception at the palaces of +Toulouse and Rambouillet had been prepared in the most sumptuous style of +magnificence, yet such was my agitation that I remained convulsively +speechless for many hours, and all the affectionate attention of the +family of the Duc de Penthievre could not calm my feelings. + +"Among those who came about me was the bridegroom himself, whom I had +never yet seen. So anxious was he to have his first acquaintance +incognito that he set off from Paris the moment he was apprised of my +arrival in France and presented himself as the Prince's page. As he had +outgrown the figure of his portrait, I received him as such; but the +Prince, being better pleased with me than he had apprehended he should +be, could scarcely avoid discovering himself. During our journey to +Paris I myself disclosed the interest with which the supposed page had +inspired me. 'I hope,' exclaimed I, 'my Prince will allow his page to +attend me, for I like him much.' + +"What was my surprise when the Duc de Penthievre presented me to the +Prince and I found in him the page for whom I had already felt such an +interest! We both laughed and wanted words to express our mutual +sentiments. This was really love at first sight. + +[The young Prince was enraptured at finding his lovely bride so superior +in personal charms to the description which had been given of her, and +even to the portrait sent to him from Turin. Indeed, she must have been +a most beautiful creature, for when I left her in the year 1792, though +then five-and-forty years of age, from the freshness of her complexion, +the elegance of her figure, and the dignity of her deportment, she +certainly did not appear to be more than thirty. She had a fine head of +hair, and she took great pleasure in showing it unornamented. I remember +one day, on her coming hastily from the bath, as she was putting on her +dress, her cap falling off, her hair completely covered her! + +The circumstances of her death always make me shudder at the recollection +of this incident! I have been assured by Mesdames Mackau, de Soucle, the +Comtesse de Noailles (not Duchesse, as Mademoiselle Bertin has created +her in her Memoirs of that name), and others, that the Princesse de +Lamballe was considered the most beautiful and accomplished Princess at +the Court of Louis XV., adorned with all the grace, virtue, and elegance +of manner which so eminently distinguished her through life.] + +"The Duc de Chartres, then possessing a very handsome person and most +insinuating address, soon gained the affections of the amiable +Mademoiselle Penthievre. Becoming thus a member of the same family, he +paid me the most assiduous attention. From my being his sister-in-law, +and knowing he was aware of my great attachment to his young wife, I +could have no idea that his views were criminally levelled at my honour, +my happiness, and my future peace of mind. How, therefore, was I +astonished and shocked when he discovered to me his desire to supplant +the legitimate object of my affections, whose love for me equalled mine +for him! I did not expose this baseness of the Duc de Chartres, out of +filial affection for my adopted father, the Duc de Penthievre; out of the +love I bore his amiable daughter, she being pregnant; and, above all, in +consequence of the fear I was under of compromising the life of the +Prince, my husband, who I apprehended might be lost to me if I did not +suffer in silence. But still, through my silence he was lost--and oh, +how dreadfully! The Prince was totally in the dark as to the real +character of his brother-in-law. He blindly became every day more and +more attached to the man, who was then endeavouring by the foulest means +to blast the fairest prospects of his future happiness in life! But my +guardian angel protected me from becoming a victim to seduction, +defeating every attack by that prudence which has hitherto been my +invincible shield. + +"Guilt, unpunished in its first crime, rushes onward, and hurrying from +one misdeed to another, like the flood-tide, drives all before it! My +silence, and his being defeated without reproach, armed him with courage +for fresh daring, and he too well succeeded in embittering the future +days of my life, as well as those of his own affectionate wife, and his +illustrious father-in-law, the virtuous Duc de Penthievre, who was to all +a father. + +"To revenge himself upon me for the repulse he met with, this man +inveigled my young, inexperienced husband from his bridal bed to those +infected with the nauseous poison of every vice! Poor youth! he soon +became the prey of every refinement upon dissipation and studied +debauchery, till at length his sufferings made his life a burthen, and he +died in the most excruciating agonies both of mind and body, in the arms +of a disconsolate wife and a distracted father--and thus, in a few short +months, at the age of eighteen, was I left a widow to lament my having +become a wife! + +"I was in this situation, retired from the world and absorbed in grief, +with the ever beloved and revered illustrious father of my murdered lord, +endeavouring to sooth his pangs for the loss of those comforts in a child +with which my cruel disappointment forbade my ever being blest--though, +in the endeavour to soothe, I often only aggravated both his and my own +misery at our irretrievable loss--when a ray of unexpected light burst +upon my dreariness. It was amid this gloom of human agony, these +heartrending scenes of real mourning, that the brilliant star shone to +disperse the clouds which hovered over our drooping heads,--to dry the +hot briny tears which were parching up our miserable vegetating +existence--it was in this crisis that Marie Antoinette came, like a +messenger sent down from Heaven, graciously to offer the balm of comfort +in the sweetest language of human compassion. The pure emotions of her +generous soul made her unceasing, unremitting, in her visits to two +mortals who must else have perished under the weight of their +misfortunes. But for the consolation of her warm friendship we must have +sunk into utter despair! + +"From that moment I became seriously attached to the Queen of France. She +dedicated a great portion of her time to calm the anguish of my poor +heart, though I had not yet accepted the honour of becoming a member of +Her Majesty's household. Indeed, I was a considerable time before I +could think of undertaking a charge I felt myself so completely incapable +of fulfilling. I endeavoured to check the tears that were pouring down +my cheeks, to conceal in the Queen's presence the real feelings of my +heart, but the effort only served to increase my anguish when she had +departed. Her attachment to me, and the cordiality with which she +distinguished herself towards the Duc de Penthievre, gave her a place in +that heart, which had been chilled by the fatal vacuum left by its first +inhabitant; and Marie Antoinette was the only rival through life that +usurped his pretensions, though she could never wean me completely from +his memory. + +"My health, from the melancholy life I led, had so much declined that my +affectionate father, the Duc de Penthievre, with whom I continued to +reside, was anxious that I should emerge from my retirement for the +benefit of my health. Sensible of his affection, and having always +honoured his counsels, I took his advice in this instance. It being in +the hard winter, when so many persons were out of bread, the Queen, the +Duchesse d'Orleans, the Duc de Penthievre, and myself, introduced the +German sledges, in which we were followed by most of the nobility and the +rich citizens. This afforded considerable employment to different +artificers. The first use I made of my own new vehicle was to visit, in +company with the Duc de Penthievre, the necessitous poor families and our +pensioners. In the course of our rounds we met the Queen. + +"'I suppose,' exclaimed Her Majesty, 'you also are laying a good +foundation for my work! Heavens! what must the poor feel! I am wrapped +up like a diamond in a box, covered with furs, and yet I am chilled with +cold!' + +"'That feeling sentiment,' said the Duke, 'will soon warm many a cold +family's heart with gratitude to bless Your Majesty!' + +"'Why, yes,' replied Her Majesty, showing a long piece of paper +containing the names of those to whom she intended to afford relief, 'I +have only collected two hundred yet on my list, but the cure will do the +rest and help me to draw the strings of my privy purse! But I have not +half done my rounds. I daresay before I return to Versailles I shall +have as many more, and, since we are engaged in the same business, pray +come into my sledge and do not take my work out of my hands! Let me have +for once the merit of doing something good!' + +"On the coming up of a number of other vehicles belonging to the sledge +party, the Queen added, 'Do not say anything about what I have been +telling you!' for Her Majesty never wished what she did in the way of +charity or donations should be publicly known, the old pensioners +excepted, who, being on the list, could not be concealed; especially as +she continued to pay all those she found of the late Queen of Louis XV. +She was remarkably delicate and timid with respect to hurting the +feelings of any one; and, fearing the Duc de Penthievre might not be +pleased at her pressing me to leave him in order to join her, she said, +'Well, I will let you off, Princess, on your both promising to dine with +me at Trianon; for the King is hunting, not deer, but wood for the poor, +and he will see his game off to Paris before he comes back: + +"The Duke begged to be excused, but wished me to accept the invitation, +which I did, and we parted, each to pursue our different sledge +excursions. + +"At the hour appointed, I made my appearance at Trianon, and had the +honour to dine tete-a-tete with Her Majesty, which was much more +congenial to my feelings than if there had been a party, as I was still +very low-spirited and unhappy. + +"After dinner, 'My dear Princess,' said the Queen to me, 'at your time of +life you must not give yourself up entirely to the dead. You wrong the +living. We have not been sent into the world for ourselves. I have felt +much for your situation, and still do so, and therefore hope, as long as +the weather permits, that you will favour me with your company to enlarge +our sledge excursions. The King and my dear sister Elizabeth are also +much interested about your coming on a visit to Versailles. What think +you of our plan. + +"I thanked Her Majesty, the King, and the Princess, for their kindness, +but I observed that my state of health and mind could so little +correspond in any way with the gratitude I should owe them for their +royal favours that I trusted a refusal would be attributed to the fact of +my consciousness how much rather my society must prove an annoyance and a +burthen than a source of pleasure. + +"My tears flowing down my cheeks rapidly while I was speaking, the Queen, +with that kindness for which she was so eminently distinguished, took me +by the hand, and with her handkerchief dried my face. + +"'I am,' said the Queen, I about to renew a situation which has for some +time past lain dormant; and I hope, my dear Princess, therewith to +establish my own private views, in forming the happiness of a worthy +individual.' + +"I replied that such a plan must insure Her Majesty the desired object +she had in view, as no individual could be otherwise than happy under the +immediate auspices of so benevolent and generous a Sovereign. + +"The Queen, with great affability, as if pleased with my observation, +only said, 'If you really think as you speak, my views are accomplished.' + +"My carriage was announced, and I then left Her Majesty, highly pleased +at her gracious condescension, which evidently emanated from the kind +wish to raise my drooping spirits from their melancholy. + +"Gratitude would not permit me to continue long without demonstrating to +Her Majesty the sentiments her kindness had awakened in my heart. + +"I returned next day with my sister-in-law, the Duchesse d'Orleans, who +was much esteemed by the Queen, and we joined the sledge parties with Her +Majesty. + +"On the third or fourth day of these excursions I again had the honour to +dine with Her Majesty, when, in the presence of the Princesse Elizabeth, +she asked me if I were still of the same opinion with respect to the +person it was her intention to add to her household? + +"I myself had totally forgotten the topic and entreated Her Majesty's +pardon for my want of memory, and begged she would signify to what +subject she alluded. + +"The Princesse Elizabeth laughed. 'I thought,' cried she, 'that you had +known it long ago! The Queen, with His Majesty's consent, has nominated +you, my dear Princess (embracing me), superintendent of her household.' + +"The Queen, also embracing me, said, 'Yes; it is very true. You said the +individual destined to such a situation could not be otherwise than +happy; and I am myself thoroughly happy in being able thus to contribute +towards rendering you so.' + +"I was perfectly at a loss for a moment or two, but, recovering myself +from the effect of this unexpected and unlooked for preferment, I thanked +Her Majesty with the best grace I was able for such an unmerited mark of +distinction. + +"The Queen, perceiving my embarrassment, observed, 'I knew I should +surprise you; but I thought your being established at Versailles much +more desirable for one of your rank and youth than to be, as you were, +with the Duc de Penthievre; who, much as I esteem his amiable character +and numerous great virtues, is by no means the most cheering companion +for my charming Princess. From this moment let our friendships be united +in the common interest of each other's happiness.' + +"The Queen took me by the hand. The Princesse Elizabeth, joining hers, +exclaimed to the Queen, 'Oh, my dear sister! let me make the trio in +this happy union of friends!' + +"In the society of her adored Majesty and of her saint-like sister +Elizabeth I have found my only balm of consolation! Their graciously +condescending to sympathise in the grief with which I was overwhelmed +from the cruel disappointment of my first love, filled up in some degree +the vacuum left by his loss, who was so prematurely ravished from me in +the flower of youth, leaving me a widow at eighteen; and though that loss +is one I never can replace or forget, the poignancy of its effect has +been in a great degree softened by the kindnesses of my excellent +father-in-law, the Duc de Penthievre, and the relations resulting from my +situation with, and the never-ceasing attachment of my beloved royal +mistress." + + + + +SECTION VII. + + +[The connexion of the Princesse de Lamballe with the Queen, of which she +has herself described the origin in the preceding chapter, proved so +important in its influence upon the reputation and fate of both these +illustrious victims, that I must once more withdraw the attention of the +reader, to explain, from personal observation and confidential +disclosures, the leading causes of the violent dislike which was kindled +in the public against an intimacy that it would have been most fortunate +had Her Majesty preferred through life to every other. + +The selection of a friend by the Queen, and the sudden elevation of that +friend to the highest station in the royal household, could not fail to +alarm the selfishness of courtiers, who always feel themselves injured by +the favour shown to others. An obsolete office was revived in favour of +the Princesse de Lamballe. In the time of Maria Leckzinska, wife of +Louis XV., the office of superintendent, then held by Mademoiselle de +Clermont, was suppressed when its holder died. The office gave a control +over the inclinations of Queens, by which Maria Leckzinska was sometimes +inconvenienced; and it had lain dormant ever since. Its restoration by a +Queen who it was believed could be guided by no motive but the desire to +seek pretexts for showing undue favour, was of course eyed askance, and +ere long openly calumniated. + +The Comtesse de Noailles, who never could forget the title the Queen gave +her of Madame Etiquette, nor forgive the frequent jokes which Her Majesty +passed upon her antiquated formality, availed herself of the opportunity +offered by her husband's being raised to the dignity of Marshal of +France, to resign her situation on the appointment of the Princesse de +Lamballe as superintendent. The Countess retired with feelings +embittered against her royal mistress, and her annoyance in the sequel +ripened into enmity. The Countess was attached to a very powerful party, +not only at Court but scattered throughout the kingdom. Her discontent +arose from the circumstance of no longer having to take her orders from +the Queen direct, but from her superintendent. Ridiculous as this may +seem to an impartial observer, it created one of the most powerful +hostilities against which Her Majesty had afterwards to contend. + +Though the Queen esteemed the Comtesse de Noailles for her many good +qualities, yet she was so much put out of her way by the rigour with +which the Countess enforced forms which to Her Majesty appeared puerile +and absurd, that she felt relieved, and secretly gratified, by her +retirement. It will be shown hereafter to what an excess the Countess +was eventually carried by her malice. + +One of the popular objections to the revival of the office of +superintendent in favour of the Princesse de Lamballe arose from its +reputed extravagance. This was as groundless as the other charges +against the Queen. The etiquettes of dress, and the requisite increase +of every other expense, from the augmentation of every article of the +necessaries as well as the luxuries of life, made a treble difference +between the expenditure of the circumscribed Court of Maria Leckzinska +and that of Louis XVI.; yet the Princesse de Lamballe received no more +salary than had been allotted to Mademoiselle de Clermont in the selfsame +situation half a century before. + +(And even that salary she never appropriated to any private use of her +own, being amply supplied through the generous bounty of her +father-in-law, the Duc de Penthievre; and latterly, to my knowledge, so +far from receiving any pay, she often paid the Queen's and Princesse +Elizabeth's bills out of her own purse.) + +So far from possessing the slightest propensity either to extravagance in +herself or to the encouragement of extravagance in others, the Princesse +de Lamballe was a model of prudence, and upon those subjects, as indeed +upon all others, the Queen could not have had a more discreet counsellor. +She eminently contributed to the charities of the Queen, who was the +mother of the fatherless, the support of the widow, and the general +protectress and refuge of suffering humanity. Previously to the purchase +of any article of luxury, the Princess would call for the list of the +pensioners: if anything was due on that account, it was instantly paid, +and the luxury dispensed with. + +She never made her appearance in the Queen's apartments except at +established hours. This was scrupulously observed till the Revolution. +Circumstances then obliged her to break through forms. The Queen would +only receive communications, either written or verbal, upon the subjects +growing out of that wretched crisis, in the presence of the Princess; and +hence her apartments were open to all who had occasion to see Her +Majesty. This made their intercourse more constant and unceremonious. +But before this, the Princess only went to the royal presence at fixed +hours, unless she had memorials to present to the King, Queen, or +Ministers, in favour of such as asked for justice or mercy. Hence, +whenever the Princess entered before the stated times, the Queen would +run and embrace her, and exclaim: "Well, my dear Princesse de Lamballe! +what widow, what orphan, what suffering or oppressed petitioner am I to +thank for this visit? for I know you never come to me empty-handed when +you come unexpectedly!" The Princess, on these occasions, often had the +petitioners waiting in an adjoining apartment, that they might instantly +avail themselves of any inclination the Queen might show to see them. + +Once the Princess was deceived by a female painter of doubtful character, +who supplicated her to present a work she had executed to the Queen. I +myself afterwards returned that work to its owner. Thenceforward, the +Princess became very rigid in her inquiries, previous to taking the least +interest in any application, or consenting to present any one personally +to the King or Queen. She required thoroughly to be informed of the +nature of the request, and of the merit and character of the applicant, +before she would attend to either. Owing to this caution Her Highness +scarcely ever after met with a negative. In cases of great importance, +though the Queen's compassionate and good heart needed no stimulus to +impel her to forward the means of justice, the Princess would call the +influence of the Princesse Elizabeth to her aid; and Elizabeth never sued +in vain. + +Marie Antoinette paid the greatest attention to all memorials. They were +regularly collected every week by Her Majesty's private secretary, the +Abbe Vermond. I have myself seen many of them, when returned from the +Princesse de Lamballe, with the Queen's marginal notes in her own +handwriting, and the answers dictated by Her Majesty to the different, +officers of the departments relative to the nature of the respective +demands. She always recommended the greatest attention to all public +documents, and annexed notes to such as passed through her hands to +prevent their being thrown aside or lost. + +One of those who were least satisfied with the appointment of the +Princesse de Lamballe to the office of superintendent was her +brother-in-law, the Duc d'Orleans, who, having attempted her virtue on +various occasions and been repulsed, became mortified and alarmed at her +situation as a check to his future enterprise. + +At one time the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans were most constant and +assiduous in their attendance on Marie Antoinette. They were at all her +parties. The Queen was very fond of the Duchess. It is supposed that +the interest Her Majesty took in that lady, and the steps to which some +time afterwards that interest led, planted the first seeds of the +unrelenting and misguided hostility which, in the deadliest times of the +Revolution, animated the Orleanists against the throne. + +The Duc d'Orleans, then Duc de Chartres, was never a favourite of the +Queen. He was only tolerated at Court on account of his wife and of the +great intimacy which subsisted between him and the Comte d'Artois. Louis +XVI. had often expressed his disapprobation of the Duke's character, +which his conduct daily justified. + +The Princesse de Lamballe could have no cause to think of her +brother-in-law but with horror. He had insulted her, and, in revenge at +his defeat, had, it was said, deprived her, by the most awful means, of +her husband. The Princess was tenderly attached to her sister-in-law, +the Duchess. Her attachment could not but make her look very +unfavourably upon the circumstance of the Duke's subjecting his wife to +the humiliation of residing in the palace with Madame de Genlis, and +being forced to receive a person of morals so incorrect as the guardian +of her children. The Duchess had complained to her father, the Duc de +Penthievre, in the presence of the Princesse de Lamballe, of the very +great ascendency Madame de Genlis exercised over her husband; and had +even requested the Queen to use her influence in detaching the Duke from +this connexion. + +(It was generally understood that the Duke had a daughter by Madame de +Genlis. This daughter, when grown up, was married to the late Irish Lord +Robert Fitzgerald.) + +But she had too much gentleness of nature not presently to forget her +resentment. Being much devoted to her husband, rather than irritate him +to further neglect by personal remonstrance, she determined to make the +best of a bad business, and tolerated Madame de Genlis, although she made +no secret among her friends and relations of the reason why she did so. +Nay, so far did her wish not to disoblige her husband prevail over her +own feelings as to induce her to yield at last to his importunities by +frequently proposing to present Madame de Genlis to the Queen. But +Madame de Genilis never could obtain either a public or a private +audience. Though the Queen was a great admirer of merit and was fond of +encouraging talents, of which Madame de Genlis was by no means deficient, +yet even the account the Duchess herself had given, had Her Majesty +possessed no other means of knowledge, would have sealed that lady's +exclusion from the opportunities of display at Court which she sought so +earnestly. + +There was another source of exasperation against the Duc d'Orleans; and +the great cause of a new and, though less obtrusive, yet perhaps an +equally dangerous foe under all the circumstances, in Madame de Genlis. +The anonymous slander of the one was circulated through all France by the +other; and spleen and disappointment feathered the venomed arrows shot at +the heart of power by malice and ambition. Be the charge true or false, +these anonymous libels were generally considered as the offspring of this +lady: they were industriously scattered by the Duc d'Orleans; and their +frequent refutation by the Queen's friends only increased the malignant +industry of their inventor. + +An event which proved the most serious of all that ever happened to the +Queen, and the consequences of which were distinctly foreseen by the +Princesse de Lamballe and others of her true friends, was now growing to +maturity. + +The deposed Court oracle, the Comtesse de Noailles, had been succeeded as +literary leader by the Comtesse Diane de Polignac. She was a favourite of +the Comte d'Artois, and was the first lady in attendance upon the +Countess, his wife. + +(The Comtesse Diane de Polignac had a much better education, and +considerably more natural capacity, than her sister-in-law, the Duchess, +and the Queen merely disliked her for her prudish affectation. The +Comtesse d'Artois grew jealous of the Count's intimacy with the Comtesse +Diane. While she considered herself as the only one of the Royal Family +likely to be mother of a future sovereign, she was silent, or perhaps too +much engrossed by her castles in the air to think of anything but +diadems; but when she saw the Queen producing heirs, she grew out of +humour at her lost popularity, and began to turn her attention to her +husband's Endymionship to this now Diana! When she had made up her mind +to get her rival out of her house, she consulted one of the family; but +being told that the best means for a wife to keep her husband out of +harm's way was to provide him with a domestic occupation for his leisure +hours at home, than which nothing could be better than a handmaid under +the same roof, she made a merit of necessity and submitted ever after to +retain the Comtesse Diane, as she had been prudently advised. The +Comtesse Diane, in consequence, remained in the family even up to the +17th October, 1789, when she left Versailles in company with the De +Polignacs and the D'Artois, who all emigrated together from France to +Italy and lived at Stria on the Brenta, near Venice, for some time, till +the Comtesse d'Artois went to Turin.) + +The Queen's conduct had always been very cool to her. She deemed her a +self-sufficient coquette. However, the Comtesse Diane was a constant +attendant at the gay parties which were then the fashion of the Court, +though not greatly admired. + +The reader will scarcely need to be informed that the event to which I +have just alluded is the introduction by the Comtesse Diane of her +sister-in-law, the Comtesse Julie de Polignac, to the Queen; and having +brought the record up to this point I here once more dismiss my own pen +for that of the Princesse de Lamballe. + +It will be obvious to every one that I must have been indebted to the +conversations of my beloved patroness for most of the sentiments and +nearly all the facts I have just been stating; and had the period on +which she has written so little as to drive me to the necessity of +writing for her been less pregnant with circumstances almost entirely +personal to herself, no doubt I should have found more upon that period +in her manuscript. But the year of which Her Highness says so little was +the year of happiness and exclusive favour; and the Princess was above +the vanity of boasting, even privately in the self-confessional of her +diary. She resumes her records with her apprehensions; and thus +proceeds, describing the introduction of the Comtesse Julie de Polignac, +regretting her ascendency over the Queen, and foreseeing its fatal +effects.] + +"I had been only a twelvemonth in Her Majesty's service, which I believe +was the happiest period of both our lives, when, at one of the Court +assemblies, the Comtesse Julie de Polignac was first introduced by her +sister-in-law, the Comtesse Diane de Polignac, to the Queen. + +"She had lived in the country, quite a retired life, and appeared to be +more the motherly woman, and the domestic wife, than the ambitious Court +lady, or royal sycophant. She was easy of access, and elegantly plain in +her dress and deportment. + +"Her appearance at Court was as fatal to the Queen as it was propitious +to herself! + +"She seemed formed by nature to become a royal favourite, unassuming, +remarkably complaisant, possessing a refined taste, with a good-natured +disposition, not handsome, but well formed, and untainted by haughtiness +or pomposity. + +"It would appear, from the effect her introduction had on the Queen, that +her domestic virtues were written in her countenance; for she became a +royal favourite before she had time to become a candidate for royal +favour. + +"The Queen's sudden attachment to the Comtesse Julie produced no +alteration in my conduct, while I saw nothing extraordinary to alarm me +for the consequences of any particular marked partiality, by which the +character and popularity of Her Majesty might be endangered. + +"But, seeing the progress this lady made in the feelings of the Queen's +enemies, it became my duty, from the situation I held, to caution Her +Majesty against the risks she ran in making her favourites friends; for +it was very soon apparent how highly the Court disapproved of this +intimacy and partiality: and the same feeling soon found its way to the +many-headed monster, the people, who only saw the favourite without +considering the charge she held. Scarcely had she felt the warm rays of +royal favour, when the chilling blasts of envy and malice began to nip it +in the bud of all its promised bliss. Even long before she touched the +pinnacle of her grandeur as governess of the royal children the blackest +calumny began to show itself in prints, caricatures, songs, and pamphlets +of every description. + +"A reciprocity of friendship between a Queen and a subject, by those who +never felt the existence of such a feeling as friendship, could only be +considered in a criminal point of view. But by what perversion could +suspicion frown upon the ties between two married women, both living in +the greatest harmony with their respective husbands, especially when both +became mothers and were so devoted to their offspring? This boundless +friendship did glow between this calumniated pair calumniated because the +sacredness and peculiarity of the sentiment which united them was too +pure to be understood by the grovelling minds who made themselves their +sentencers. The friend is the friend's shadow. The real sentiment of +friendship, of which disinterested sympathy is the sign, cannot exist +unless between two of the same sex, because a physical difference +involuntarily modifies the complexion of the intimacy where the sexes are +opposite, even though there be no physical relations. The Queen of +France had love in her eyes and Heaven in her soul. The Duchesse de +Polignac, whose person beamed with every charm, could never have been +condemned, like the Friars of La Trappe, to the mere memento mori. + +"When I had made the representations to Her Majesty which duty exacted +from me on perceiving her ungovernable partiality for her new favourite, +that I might not importune her by the awkwardness naturally arising from +my constant exposure to the necessity of witnessing an intimacy she knew +I did not sanction, I obtained permission from my royal mistress to visit +my father-in-law, the Duc de Penthievre, at Rambouillet, his +country-seat. + +"Soon after I arrived there, I was taken suddenly ill after dinner with +the most excruciating pains in my stomach. I thought myself dying. +Indeed, I should have been so but for the fortunate and timely discovery +that I was poisoned certainly, not intentionally, by any one belonging to +my dear father's household; but by some execrable hand which had an +interest in my death. + +"The affair was hushed up with a vague report that some of the made +dishes had been prepared in a stew-pan long out of use, which the clerk +of the Duke's kitchen had forgotten to get properly tinned. + +"This was a doubtful story for many reasons. Indeed, I firmly believe +that the poison given me had been prepared in the salt, for every one at +table had eaten of the same dish without suffering the smallest +inconvenience. + +"The news of this accident had scarcely arrived at Versailles, when the +Queen, astounded, and, in excessive anxiety, instantly sent off her +physician, and her private secretary, the Abbe Vermond, to bring me back +to my apartments at Versailles, with strict orders not to leave me a +moment at the Duke's, for fear of a second attempt of the same nature. +Her Majesty had imputed the first to the earnestness I had always shown +in support of her interests, and she seemed now more ardent in her +kindness towards me from the idea of my being exposed through her means +to the treachery of assassins in the dark. The Queen awaited our coming +impatiently, and, not seeing the carriages return so quickly as she +fancied they ought to arrive, she herself set off for Rambouillet, and +did not leave me till she had prevailed on me to quit my father-in-law's, +and we both returned together the same night to Versailles, where the +Queen in person dedicated all her attention to the restoration of my +health. + +"As yet, however, nothing in particular had discovered that splendour for +which the De Polignacs were afterwards so conspicuous. + +"Indeed, so little were their circumstances calculated for a Court life, +that when the friends of Madame de Polignac perceived the growing +attachment of the young Queen to the palladium of their hopes, in order +to impel Her Majesty's friendship to repair the deficiencies of fortune, +they advised the magnet to quit the Court abruptly, assigning the want of +means as the motive of her retreat. The story got wind, and proved +propitious. + +"The Queen, to secure the society of her friend, soon supplied the +resources she required and took away the necessity for her retirement. +But the die was cast. In gaining one friend she sacrificed a host. By +this act of imprudent preference she lost forever the affections of the +old nobility. This was the gale which drove her back among the breakers. + +"I saw the coming storm, and endeavoured to make my Sovereign feel its +danger. Presuming that my example would be followed, I withdrew from the +De Polignac society, and vainly flattered myself that prudence would +impel others not to encourage Her Majesty's amiable infatuation till the +consequences should be irretrievable. But Sovereigns are always +surrounded by those who make it a point to reconcile them to their +follies, however flagrant, and keep them on good terms with themselves, +however severely they may be censured by the world. + +"If I had read the book of fate I could not have seen more distinctly the +fatal results which actually took place from this unfortunate connexion. +The Duchess and myself always lived in the greatest harmony, and equally +shared the confidence of the Queen; but it was my duty not to sanction +Her Majesty's marked favouritism by my presence. The Queen often +expressed her discontent to me upon the subject. She used to tell me how +much it grieved her to be denied success in her darling desire of uniting +her friends with each other, as they were already united in her own +heart. Finding my resolution unalterable, she was mortified, but gave up +her pursuit. When she became assured that all importunity was useless, +she ever after avoided wounding my feelings by remonstrance, and allowed +me to pursue the system I had adopted, rather than deprive herself of my +society, which would have been the consequence had I not been left at +liberty to follow the dictates of my own sense of propriety in a course +from which I was resolved that even Her Majesty's displeasure should not +make me swerve. + +"Once in particular, at an entertainment given to the Emperor Joseph at +Trianon, I remember the Queen took the opportunity to repeat how much she +felt herself mortified at the course in which I persisted of never making +my appearance at the Duchesse de Polignac's parties. + +"I replied, 'I believe, Madame, we are both of us disappointed; but Your +Majesty has your remedy, by replacing me by a lady less scrupulous.' + +"'I was too sanguine,' said the Queen, 'in having flattered myself that I +had chosen two friends who would form, from their sympathising and +uniting their sentiments with each other, a society which would embellish +my private life as much as they adorn their public stations.' + +"I said it was by my unalterable friendship and my loyal and dutiful +attachment to the sacred person of Her Majesty that I had been prompted +to a line of conduct in which the motives whence it arose would impel me +to persist while I had the honour to hold a situation under Her Majesty's +roof. + +"The Queen, embracing me, exclaimed, 'That will be for life, for death +alone can separate us!' + +"This is the last conversation I recollect to have had with the Queen +upon this distressing subject. + +"The Abbe Vermond, who had been Her Majesty's tutor, but who was now her +private secretary, began to dread that his influence over her, from +having been her confidential adviser from her youth upwards, would suffer +from the rising authority of the all-predominant new favourite. +Consequently, he thought proper to remonstrate, not with Her Majesty, but +with those about her royal person. The Queen took no notice of these +side-wind complaints, not wishing to enter into any explanation of her +conduct. On this the Abbe withdrew from Court. But he only retired for +a short time, and that to make better terms for the future. Here was a +new spring for those who were supplying the army of calumniators with +poison. Happy had it been, perhaps, for France and the Queen if Vermond +had never returned. But the Abbe was something like a distant country +cousin of an English Minister, a man of no talents, but who hoped for +employment through the power of his kinsman. 'There is nothing on hand +now,' answered the Minister, 'but a Bishop's mitre or a Field-marshal's +staff.'--'Oh, very well,' replied the countryman; 'either will do for me +till something better turns up.' The Abbe, in his retirement finding +leisure to reflect that there was no probability of anything 'better +turning up' than his post of private secretary, tutor, confidant, and +counsellor (and that not always the most correct) of a young and amiable +Queen of France, soon made his reappearance and kept his jealousy of the +De Polignacs ever after to himself. + +"The Abbe Vermond enjoyed much influence with regard to ecclesiastical +preferments. He was too fond of his situation ever to contradict or +thwart Her Majesty in any of her plans; too much of a courtier to assail +her ears with the language of truth; and by far too much a clergyman to +interest himself but for Mother Church. + +"In short, he was more culpable in not doing his duty than in the +mischief he occasioned, for he certainly oftener misled the Queen by his +silence than by his advice." + + + + +SECTION VIII. + + +"I have already mentioned that Marie Antoinette had no decided taste for +literature. Her mind rather sought its amusements in the ball-room, the +promenade, the theatre, especially when she herself was a performer, and +the concert-room, than in her library and among her books. Her coldness +towards literary men may in, some degree be accounted for by the disgust +which she took at the calumnies and caricatures resulting from her +mother's partiality for her own revered teacher, the great Metastasio. +The resemblance of most of Maria Theresa's children to that poet was +coupled with the great patronage he received from the Empress; and much +less than these circumstances would have been quite enough to furnish a +tale for the slanderer, injurious to the reputation of any exalted +personage. + +"The taste of Marie Antoinette for private theatricals was kept up till +the clouds of the Revolution darkened over all her enjoyments. + +"These innocent amusements were made subjects of censure against her by +the many courtiers who were denied access to them; while some, who were +permitted to be present, were too well pleased with the opportunity of +sneering at her mediocrity in the art, which those, who could not see +her, were ready to criticise with the utmost severity. It is believed +that Madame de Genlis found this too favourable an opportunity to be +slighted. Anonymous satires upon the Queen's performances, which were +attributed to the malice of that authoress, were frequently shown to Her +Majesty by good-natured friends. The Duc de Fronsac also, from some +situation he held at Court, though not included in the private household +of Her Majesty at Trianon, conceiving himself highly injured by not being +suffered to interfere, was much exasperated, and took no pains to prevent +others from receiving the infection of his resentment. + +"Of all the arts, music was the only one which Her Majesty ever warmly +patronised. For music she was an enthusiast. Had her talents in this +art been cultivated, it is certain from her judgment in it that she would +have made very considerable progress. She sang little French airs with +great taste and feeling. She improved much under the tuition of the +great composer, her master, the celebrated Sacchini. After his death, +Sapio was named his successor; but, between the death of one master and +the appointment of another, the revolutionary horrors so increased that +her mind was no longer in a state to listen to anything but the howlings +of the tempest. + +"In her happier days of power, the great Gluck was brought at her request +from Germany to Paris. He cost nothing to the public Treasury, for Her +Majesty paid all his expenses out of her own purse, leaving him the +profits of his operas, which attracted immense sums to the theatre. + +"Marie Antoinette paid for the musical education of the French singer, +Garat, and pensioned him for her private concerts. + +"Her Majesty was the great patroness of the celebrated Viotti, who was +also attached to her private musical parties. Before Viotti began to +perform his concertos, Her Majesty, with the most amiable condescension, +would go round the music saloon, and say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, I +request you will be silent, and very attentive, and not enter into +conversation, while Mr. Viotti is playing, for it interrupts him in the +execution of his fine performance. + +"Gluck composed his Armida in compliment to the personal charms of Marie +Antoinette. I never saw Her Majesty more interested about anything than +she was for its success. She became a perfect slave to it. She had the +gracious condescension to hear all the pieces through, at Gluck's +request, before they were submitted to the stage for rehearsal. Gluck +said he always improved his music after he saw the effect it had upon Her +Majesty. + +"He was coming out of the Queen's apartment one day, after he had been +performing one of these pieces for Her Majesty's approbation, when I +followed and congratulated him on the increased success he had met with +from the whole band of the opera at every rehearsal. 'O my dear +Princess!' cried he, 'it wants nothing to make it be applauded up to the +seven skies but two such delightful heads as Her Majesty's and your +own.'--'Oh, if that be all,' answered I, 'we'll have them painted for +you, Mr. Gluck!'--'No, no, no! you do not understand me,' replied Gluck, +'I mean real, real heads. My actresses are very ugly, and Armida and her +confidential lady ought to be very handsome: + +"However great the success of the opera of Armida, and certainly it was +one of the best productions ever exhibited on the French stage, no one +had a better opinion of its composition than Gluck himself. He was quite +mad about it. He told the Queen that the air of France had invigorated +his musical genius, and that, after having had the honour of seeing Her +Majesty, his ideas were so much inspired that his compositions resembled +her, and became alike angelic and sublime! + +"The first artist who undertook the part of Armida was Madame Saint +Huberti. The Queen was very partial to her. She was principal female +singer at the French opera, was a German by birth, and strongly +recommended by Gluck for her good natural voice. At Her Majesty's +request, Gluck himself taught Madame Saint Huberti the part of Armida. +Sacchini, also, at the command of Marie Antoinette, instructed her in the +style and sublimity of the Italian school, and Mdlle. Benin, the Queen's +dressmaker and milliner, was ordered to furnish the complete dress for +the character. + +"The Queen, perhaps, was more liberal to this lady than to any other +actress upon the stage. She had frequently paid her debts, which were +very considerable, for she dressed like a Queen whenever she represented +one. + +"Gluck's consciousness of the merit of his own works, and of their +dignity, excited no small jealousy, during the getting up of Armida, in +his rival with the public, the great Vestris, to whom he scarcely left +space to exhibit the graces of his art; and many severe disputes took +place between the two rival sharers of the Parisian enthusiasm. Indeed, +it was at one time feared that the success of Armida would be endangered, +unless an equal share of the performance were conceded to the dancers. +But Gluck, whose German obstinacy would not give up a note, told Vestris +he might compose a ballet in which he would leave him his own way +entirely; but that an artist whose profession only taught him to reason +with his heels should not kick about works like Armida at his pleasure. +'My subject,' added Gluck, 'is taken from the immortal Tasso. My music +has been logically composed, and with the ideas of my head; and, of +course, there is very little room left for capering. If Tasso had +thought proper to make Rinaldo a dancer he never would have designated +him a warrior.' + +"Rinaldo was the part Vestris wished to be allotted to his son. However, +through the interference of the Queen, Vestris prudently took the part as +it had been originally finished by Gluck. + +"The Queen was a great admirer and patroness of Augustus Vestris, the god +of dance, as he was styled. Augustus Vestris never lost Her Majesty's +favour, though he very often lost his sense of the respect he owed to the +public, and showed airs and refused to dance. Once he did so when Her +Majesty was at the opera. Upon some frivolous pretext he refused to +appear. He was, in consequence, immediately arrested. His father, +alarmed at his son's temerity, flew to me, and with the most earnest +supplications implored I would condescend to endeavour to obtain the +pardon of Her Majesty. 'My son,' cried he, 'did not know that Her +Majesty had honoured the theatre with her presence. Had he been aware of +it, could he have refused to dance for his most bounteous benefactress? +I, too, am grieved beyond the power of language to describe, by this mal +apropos contretemps between the two houses of Vestris and Bourbon, as we +have always lived in the greatest harmony ever since we came from +Florence to Paris. My son is very sorry and will dance most bewitchingly +if Her Majesty will graciously condescend to order his release!' + +"I repeated the conversation verbatim, to Her Majesty, who enjoyed the +arrogance of the Florentine, and sent her page to order young Vestris to +be set immediately at liberty. + +"Having exerted all the wonderful powers of his art, the Queen applauded +him very much. When Her Majesty was about leaving her box, old Vestris +appeared at the entrance, leading his son to thank the Queen. + +"'Ah, Monsieur Vestris,' said the Queen to the father, you never danced +as your son has done this evening.' + +"'That's very natural, Madame,' answered old Vestris, 'I never had a +Vestris, please Your Majesty, for a master.' + +"'Then you have the greater merit,' replied the Queen, turning round to +old Vestris--'Ah, I shall never forget you and Mademoiselle Guimard +dancing the minuet de la cour.' + +"On this old Vestris held up his head with that peculiar grace for which +he was so much distinguished. The old man, though ridiculously vain, was +very much of a gentleman in his manners. The father of Vestris was a +painter of some celebrity at Florence, and originally from Tuscany." + + + + +SECTION IX. + + +"The visit of the favourite brother of Marie Antoinette, the Emperor +Joseph the Second, to France, had been long and anxiously expected, and +was welcomed by her with delight. The pleasure Her Majesty discovered at +having him with her is scarcely credible; and the affectionate tenderness +with which the Emperor frequently expressed himself on seeing his +favourite sister evinced that their joys were mutual. + +"Like everything else, however, which gratified and obliged the Queen, +her evil star converted even this into a misfortune. It was said that +the French Treasury, which was not overflowing, was still more reduced by +the Queen's partiality for her brother. She was accused of having given +him immense sums of money; which was utterly false. + +"The finances of Joseph were at that time in a situation too superior to +those of France to admit of such extravagance, or even to render it +desirable. The circumstance which gave a colour to the charge was this: + +"The Emperor, in order to facilitate the trade of his Brabant subjects, +had it in contemplation to open the navigation of the Scheldt. This +measure would have been ruinous to many of the skippers, as well as to +the internal commerce of France. It was considered equally dangerous to +the trade and navigation of the North Hollanders. To prevent it, +negotiations were carried on by the French Minister, though professedly +for the mutual interest of both countries, yet entirely at the +instigation and on account of the Dutch. The weighty argument of the +Dutch to prevent the Emperor from accomplishing a purpose they so much +dreaded was a sum of many millions, which passed by means of some monied +speculation in the Exchange through France to its destination at Vienna. +It was to see this affair settled that the Emperor declared in Vienna his +intention of taking France in his way from Italy, before he should go +back to Austria. + +"The certainty of a transmission of money from France to Austria was +quite enough to awaken the malevolent, who would have taken care, even +had they inquired into the source whence the money came, never to have +made it public. The opportunity was too favourable not to be made the +pretext to raise a clamour against the Queen for robbing France to favour +and enrich Austria. + +"The Emperor, who had never seen me, though he had often heard me spoken +of at the Court of Turin, expressed a wish, soon after his arrival, that +I should be presented to him. The immediate cause of this let me +explain. + +"I was very much attached to the Princesse Clotilde, whom I had caused to +be united to Prince Charles Emanuel of Piedmont. Our family had, indeed, +been principally instrumental in the alliances of the two brothers of the +King of France with the two Piedmontese Princesses, as I had been in the +marriage of the Piedmontese Prince with the Princess of France. When the +Emperor Joseph visited the Court of Turin he was requested when he saw me +in Paris to signify the King of Sardinia's satisfaction at my good +offices. Consequently, the Emperor lost no time in delivering his +message. + +"When I was just entering the Queen's apartment to be presented, 'Here,' +said Her Majesty, leading me to the Emperor, 'is the Princess,' and, then +turning to me, exclaimed, 'Mercy, how cold you are!' The Emperor answered +Her Majesty in German, 'What heat can you expect from the hand of one +whose heart resides with the dead?' and subjoined, in the same language, +'What a pity that so charming a head should be fixed on a dead body.' + +"I affected to understand the Emperor literally, and set him and the +Queen laughing by thanking His Imperial Majesty for the compliment. + +"The Emperor was exceedingly affable and full of anecdote. Marie +Antoinette resembled him in her general manners. The similitude in their +easy openness of address towards persons of merit was very striking. Both +always endeavoured to encourage persons of every class to speak their +minds freely, with this difference, that Her Majesty in so doing never +forgot her dignity or her rank at Court. Sometimes, however, I have seen +her, though so perfect in her deportment with inferiors, much intimidated +and sometimes embarrassed in the presence of the Princes and Princesses, +her equals, who for the first time visited Versailles: indeed, so much as +to give them a very incorrect idea of her capacity. It was by no means an +easy matter to cause Her Majesty to unfold her real sentiments or +character on a first acquaintance. + +"I remember the Emperor one evening at supper when he was exceedingly +good-humoured, talkative, and amusing. He had visited all his Italian +relations, and had a word for each, man, woman, or child--not a soul was +spared. The King scarcely once opened his mouth, except to laugh at some +of the Emperor's jokes upon his Italian relations. + +"He began by asking the Queen if she punished her husband by making him +keep as many Lents in the same year as her sister did the King of Naples. +The Queen not knowing what the Emperor meant, he explained himself, and +said, 'When the King of Naples offends his Queen she keeps him on short +commons and 'soupe maigre' till he has expiated the offence by the +penance of humbling himself; and then, and not till then, permits him to +return and share the nuptial rights of her bed.' + +"'This sister of mine,' said the Emperor, 'is a proficient Queen in the +art of man training. My other sister, the Duchess of Parma, is equally +scientific in breaking-in horses; for she is constantly in the stables +with her grooms, by which she 'grooms' a pretty sum yearly in buying, +selling, and breaking-in; while the simpleton, her husband, is ringing +the bells with the Friars of Colorno to call his good subjects to Mass. + +"'My brother Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, feeds his subjects with +plans of economy, a dish that costs nothing, and not only saves him a +multitude of troubles in public buildings and public institutions, but +keeps the public money in his private coffers; which is one of the +greatest and most classical discoveries a Sovereign can possibly +accomplish, and I give Leopold much credit for his ingenuity. + +"'My dear brother Ferdinand, Archduke of Milan, considering he is only +Governor of Lombardy, is not without industry; and I am told, when out of +the glimpse of his dragon the holy Beatrice, his Archduchess, sells his +corn in the time of war to my enemies, as he does to my friends in the +time of peace. So he loses nothing by his speculations!' + +"The Queen checked the Emperor repeatedly, though she could not help +smiling at his caricatures. + +"'As to you, my dear Marie Antoinette,' continued the Emperor, not +heeding her, 'I see you have made great progress in the art of painting. +You have lavished more colour on one cheek than Rubens would have +required for all the figures in his cartoons.' Observing one of the +Ladies of Honour still more highly rouged than the Queen, he said, 'I +suppose I look like a death's head upon a tombstone, among all these +high-coloured furies.' + +"The Queen again tried to interrupt the Emperor, but he was not to be put +out of countenance. + +"He said he had no doubt, when he arrived at Brussels, that he should +hear of the progress of his sister, the Archduchess Maria Christina, in +her money negotiations with the banker Valkeers, who made a good stock +for her husband's jobs. + +"'If Maria Christina's gardens and palace at Lakin could speak,' observed +he, 'what a spectacle of events would they not produce! What a number of +fine sights my own family would afford! + +"'When I get to Cologne,' pursued the Emperor, there I shall see my great +fat brother Maximilian, in his little electorate, spending his yearly +revenue upon an ecclesiastical procession; for priests, like opposition, +never bark but to get into the manger; never walk empty-handed; rosaries +and good cheer always wind up their holy work; and my good Maximilian, as +head of his Church, has scarcely feet to waddle into it. Feasting and +fasting produce the same effect. In wind and food he is quite an +adept--puffing, from one cause or the other, like a smith's bellows!' + +"Indeed, the Elector of Cologne was really grown so very fat, that, like +his Imperial mother, he could scarcely walk. He would so over-eat +himself at these ecclesiastical dinners, to make his guests welcome, +that, from indigestion, he would be puffing and blowing, an hour +afterwards, for breath. + +"'As I have begun the family visits,' continued the Emperor, 'I must not +pass by the Archduchess Mariana and the Lady Abbess at Clagenfurt; or, +the Lord knows, I shall never hear the end of their klagens.--[A German +word which signifies complaining.]--The first, I am told, is grown so +ugly, and, of course, so neglected by mankind, that she is become an +utter stranger to any attachment, excepting the fleshy embraces of the +disgusting wen that encircles her neck and bosom, and makes her head +appear like a black spot upon a large sheet of white paper. Therefore +klagen is all I can expect from that quarter of female flesh, and I dare +say it will be levelled against the whole race of mankind for their want +of taste in not admiring her exuberance of human craw! + +"'As to the Lady Abbess, she is one of my best recruiting sergeants. She +is so fond of training cadets for the benefit of the army that they learn +more from her system in one month than at the military academy at +Neustadt in a whole year. She is her mother's own daughter. She +understands military tactics thoroughly. She and I never quarrel, except +when I garrison her citadel with invalids. She and the canoness, +Mariana, would rather see a few young ensigns than all the staffs of the +oldest Field-marshals!' + +"The Queen often made signs to the Emperor to desist from thus exposing +every member of his family, and seemed to feel mortified; but the more +Her Majesty endeavoured to check his freedom, and make him silent, the +more he enlarged upon the subject. He did not even omit Maria Theresa, +who, he said, in consequence of some papers found on persons arrested as +spies from the Prussian camp, during the seven years' war, was reported +to have been greatly surprised to have discovered that her husband, the +Emperor Francis I., supplied the enemy's army with all kinds of provision +from her stores. + +"The King scarcely ever answered excepting when the Emperor told the +Queen that her staircase and antechamber at Versailles resembled more the +Turkish bazars of Constantinople than a royal palace. 'But,' added he, +laughing, 'I suppose you would not allow the nuisance of hawkers and +pedlars almost under your nose, if the sweet perfumes of a handsome +present did not compensate for the disagreeable effluvia exhaling from +their filthy traffic.' + +[It was an old custom, in the passages and staircase of all the royal +palaces, for tradespeople to sell their merchandise for the accommodation +of the Court.] + +"On this, Louis XVI., in a tone of voice somewhat varying from his usual +mildness, assured the Emperor that neither himself nor the Queen derived +any advantage from the custom, beyond the convenience of purchasing +articles inside the palace at any moment they were wanted, without being +forced to send for them elsewhere. + +"'That is the very reason, my dear brother,' replied Joseph, 'why I would +not allow these shops to be where they are. The temptation to lavish +money to little purpose is too strong; and women have not philosophy +enough to resist having things they like, when they can be obtained +easily, though they may not be wanted.' + +"'Custom,' answered the King-- + +"'True,' exclaimed the Queen, interrupting him; custom, my dear brother, +obliges us to tolerate in France many things which you, in Austria, have. +long since abolished; but the French are not to be: treated like the +Germans. A Frenchman is a slave to habit. His very caprice in the +change of fashion proceeds more from habit than genius or invention. His +very restlessness of character is systematic; and old customs and +national habits in a nation virtually spirituelle must not be trifled +with. The tree torn up by the roots dies for want of nourishment; but, +on the contrary, when lopped carefully only of its branches the pruning +makes it more valuable to the cultivator and more pleasing to the +beholder. So it is with national prejudices, which are often but the +excrescences of national virtues. Root them out and you root out virtue +and all. They must only be: pruned and turned to profit. A Frenchman is +more easily killed than subdued. Even his follies generally spring from +a high sense of national dignity and honour, which foreigners cannot but +respect.' + +"The Emperor Joseph while in France mixed in all sorts of society, to +gain information with respect, to the popular feeling towards his sister, +and instruction as to the manners and modes of life and thinking of the +French. To this end he would often associate with the lowest of the +common people, and generally gave them a louis for their loss of time in +attending to him. + +"One day, when he was walking with the young Princesse Elizabeth and +myself in the public gardens at Versailles and in deep conversation with +us, two or three of these louis ladies came up to my side and, not +knowing who I was, whispered, 'There's no use in paying such attention to +the stranger: after all, when he has got what he wants, he'll only give +you a louis apiece and then send you about your business.'" + + + + +SECTION X. + + +"I remember an old lady who could not bear to be told of deaths. 'Psha! +Pshaw!' she would exclaim. 'Bring me no tales of funerals! Talk of +births and of those who are likely to be blest with them! These are the +joys which gladden old hearts and fill youthful ones with ecstasy! It is +our own reproduction in children which makes us quit the world happy and +contented; because then we only retire to make room for another race, +bringing with them all those faculties which are in us decayed; and +capable, which we ourselves have ceased to be, of taking our parts and +figuring on the stage of life so long as it may please the Supreme +Manager to busy them in earthly scenes! Then talk no more to me of weeds +and mourning, but show me christenings and all those who give employ to +the baptismal font!' + +"Such also was the exulting feeling of Marie Antoinette when she no +longer doubted of her wished-for pregnancy. The idea of becoming a +mother filled her soul with an exuberant delight, which made the very +pavement on which she trod vibrate with the words, 'I shall be a mother! +I shall be a mother!' She was so overjoyed that she not only made it +public throughout France but despatches were sent off to all her royal +relatives. And was not her rapture natural? so long as she had waited +for the result of every youthful union, and so coarsely as she had been +reproached with her misfortune! Now came her triumph. She could now +prove to the world, like all the descendants of the house of Austria, +that there was no defect with her. The satirists and the malevolent were +silenced. Louis XVI., from the cold, insensible bridegroom, became the +infatuated admirer of his long-neglected wife. The enthusiasm with which +the event was hailed by all France atoned for the partial insults she had +received before it. The splendid fetes, balls, and entertainments, +indiscriminately lavished by all ranks throughout the kingdom on this +occasion, augmented those of the Queen and the Court to a pitch of +magnificence surpassing the most luxurious and voluptuous times of the +great and brilliant Louis XIV. Entertainments were given even to the +domestics of every description belonging to the royal establishments. +Indeed, so general was the joy that, among those who could do no more, +there could scarcely be found a father or mother in France who, before +they took their wine, did not first offer up a prayer for the prosperous +pregnancy of their beloved Queen. + +"And yet, though the situation of Marie Antoinette was now become the +theme of a whole nation's exultation, she herself, the owner of the +precious burthen, selected by Heaven as its special depositary, was the +only one censured for expressing all her happiness! + + + + + +"Those models of decorum, the virtuous Princesses, her aunts, deemed it +highly indelicate in Her Majesty to have given public marks of her +satisfaction to those deputed to compliment her on her prosperous +situation. To avow the joy she felt was in their eyes indecent and +unqueenly. Where was the shrinking bashfulness of that one of these +Princesses who had herself been so clamorous to Louis XV. against her +husband, the Duke of Modena, for not having consummated her own marriage? + +"The party of the dismissed favourite Du Barry were still working +underground. Their pestiferous vapours issued from the recesses of the +earth, to obscure the brightness of the rising sun, which was now rapidly +towering to its climax, to obliterate the little planets which had once +endeavoured to eclipse its beautiful rays, but were now incapable of +competition, and unable to endure its lustre. This malignant nest of +serpents began to poison the minds of the courtiers, as soon as the +pregnancy was obvious, by innuendoes on the partiality of the Comte +d'Artois for the Queen; and at length, infamously, and openly, dared to +point him out as the cause? + +"Thus, in the heart of the Court itself, originated this most atrocious +slander, long before it reached the nation, and so much assisted to +destroy Her Majesty's popularity with a people, who now adored her +amiableness, her general kind-heartedness, and her unbounded charity. + +"I have repeatedly seen the Queen and the Comte d'Artois together under +circumstances in which there could have been no concealment of her real +feelings; and I can firmly and boldly assert the falsehood of this +allegation against my royal mistress. The only attentions Marie +Antoinette received in the earlier part of her residence in France were +from her grandfather and her brothers-in-law. Of these, the Comte +d'Artois was the only one who, from youth and liveliness of character, +thoroughly sympathised with his sister. But, beyond the little freedoms +of two young and innocent playmates, nothing can be charged upon their +intimacy,--no familiarity whatever farther than was warranted by their +relationship. I can bear witness that Her Majesty's attachment for the +Comte d'Artois never differed in its nature from what she felt for her +brother the Emperor Joseph. + +[When the King thought proper to be reconciled to the Queen after the +death of his grandfather, Louis XV., and when she became a mother, she +really was very much attached to Louis XVI., as may be proved from her +never quitting him, and suffering all the horrid sacrifices she endured, +through the whole period of the Revolution, rather than leave her +husband, her children, or her sister. Marie Antoinette might have saved +her life twenty times, had not the King's safety, united with her own and +that of her family, impelled her to reject every proposition of +self-preservation.] + +"It is very likely that the slander of which I speak derived some colour +of probability afterwards with the million, from the Queen's +thoughtlessness, relative to the challenge which passed between the Comte +d'Artois and the Duc de Bourbon. In right of my station, I was one of +Her Majesty's confidential counsellors, and it became my duty to put +restraint upon her inclinations, whenever I conceived they led her wrong. +In this instance, I exercised my prerogative decidedly, and even so much +so as to create displeasure; but I anticipated the consequences, which +actually ensued, and preferred to risk my royal mistress's displeasure +rather than her reputation. The dispute, which led to the duel, was on +some point of etiquette; and the Baron de Besenval was to attend as +second to one of the parties. From the Queen's attachment for her royal +brother, she wished the affair to be amicably arranged, without the +knowledge either of the King, who was ignorant of what had taken place, +or of the parties; which could only be effected by her seeing the Baron +in the most private manner. I opposed Her Majesty's allowing any +interview with the Baron upon any terms, unless sanctioned by the King. +This unexpected and peremptory refusal obliged the Queen to transfer her +confidence to the librarian, who introduced the Baron into one of the +private apartments of Her Majesty's women, communicating with that of the +Queen, where Her Majesty could see the Baron without the exposure of +passing any of the other attendants. The Baron was quite gray, and +upwards of sixty years of age! But the self-conceited dotard soon caused +the Queen to repent her misplaced confidence, and from his unwarrantable +impudence on that occasion, when he found himself alone with the Queen, +Her Majesty, though he was a constant member of the societies of the De +Polignacs, ever after treated him with sovereign contempt. + +"The Queen herself afterwards described to me the Baron's presumptuous +attack upon her credulity. From this circumstance I thenceforward totally +excluded him from my parties, where Her Majesty was always a regular +visitor. + +"The coolness to which my determination not to allow the interview gave +rise between Her Majesty and myself was but momentary. The Queen had too +much discernment not to appreciate the basis upon which my denial was +grounded, even before she was convinced by the result how correct had +been my reflection. She felt her error, and, by the mediation of the +Duke of Dorset, we were reunited more closely than ever, and so, I trust, +we shall remain till death! + +"There was much more attempted to be made of another instance, in which I +exercised the duty of my office, than the truth justified--the nightly +promenades on the terrace at Versailles, or at Trianon. Though no +amusement could have been more harmless or innocent for a private +individual, yet I certainly, disapproved it for a Queen, and therefore +withheld the sanction of my attendance. My sole objection was on the +score of dignity. I well knew that Du Barry and her infamous party were +constant spies upon the Queen on every occasion of such a nature; and +that they would not fail to exaggerate her every movement to her +prejudice. Though Du Barry could not form one of the party, which was a +great source of heartburning, it was easy for her, under the +circumstances, to mingle with the throng. When I suggested these +objections to the Queen, Her Majesty, feeling no inward cause of +reproach, and being sanctioned in what she did by the King himself, +laughed at the idea of these little excursions affording food for +scandal. I assured Her Majesty that I had every reason to be convinced +that Du Barry was often in disguise, not far from the seat where Her +Majesty and the Princesse Elizabeth could be overheard in their most +secret conversations with each other. 'Listeners,' replied the Queen, +'never hear any good of themselves.' + +"'My dear Lamballe,' she continued, 'you have taken such a dislike to +this woman that you cannot conceive she can be occupied but in mischief. +This is uncharitable. She certainly has no reason to be dissatisfied +with either the King or myself. We have both left her in the full +enjoyment of all she possessed, except the right of appearing at Court or +continuing in the society her conduct had too long disgraced.' + +"I said it was very true, but that I should be happier to find Her +Majesty so scrupulous as never to give an opportunity even for the +falsehoods of her enemies. + +"Her Majesty turned the matter off, as usual, by saying she had no idea +of injuring others, and could not believe that any one would wantonly +injure her, adding, 'The Duchess and the Princesse Elizabeth, my two +sisters, and all the other ladies, are coming to hear the concert this +evening, and you will be delighted.' + +"I excused myself under the plea of the night air disagreeing with my +health, and returned to Versailles without ever making myself one of the +nocturnal members of Her Majesty's society, well knowing she could +dispense with my presence, there being more than enough ever ready to +hurry her by their own imprudence into the folly of despising criticisms, +which I always endeavoured to avoid, though I did not fear them. Of +these I cannot but consider her secretary as one. The following +circumstance connected with the promenades is a proof: + +"The Abbe Vermond was present one day when Marie Antoinette observed that +she felt rather indisposed. I attributed it to Her Majesty's having +lightened her dress and exposed herself too much to the night air. +'Heavens, madame!' cried the Abbe, 'would you always have Her Majesty +cased up in steel armour, and not take the fresh air, without being +surrounded by a troop of horse and foot, as a Field-marshal is when going +to storm a fortress? Pray, Princess, now that Her Majesty, has freed +herself from the annoying shackles of Madame Etiquette (the Comtesse de +Noailles), let her enjoy the pleasure of a simple robe and breathe freely +the fresh morning dew, as has been her custom all her life (and as her +mother before her, the Empress Maria Theresa, has done and continues to +do, even to this day), unfettered by antiquated absurdities! Let me be +anything rather than a Queen of France, if I must be doomed to the +slavery of such tyrannical rules!' + +"'True; but, sir,' replied I, 'you should reflect that if you were a +Queen of France, France, in making you mistress of her destinies, and +placing you at the head of her nation, would in return look for respect +from you to her customs and manners. I am born an Italian, but I +renounced all national peculiarities of thinking and acting the moment I +set my foot on French ground.' + +"'And so did I,' said Marie Antoinette. + +"'I know you did, Madame,' I answered; but I am replying to your +preceptor; and I only wish he saw things in the same light I do. When we +are at Rome, we should do as Rome does. You have never had a regicide +Bertrand de Gurdon, a Ravillac or a Damiens in Germany; but they have +been common in France, and the Sovereigns of France cannot be too +circumspect in their maintenance of ancient etiquette to command the +dignified respect of a frivolous and versatile people.' + +"The Queen, though she did not strictly adhere to my counsels or the +Abbe's advice, had too much good sense to allow herself to be prejudiced +against me by her preceptor; but the Abbe never entered on the propriety +or impropriety of the Queen's conduct before me, and from the moment I +have mentioned studiously avoided, in my presence, anything which could +lead to discussion on the change of dress and amusements introduced by +Her Majesty. + +"Although I disapproved of Her Majesty's deviations from established +forms in this, or, indeed, any respect, yet I never, before or after, +expressed my opinion before a third person. + +"Never should I have been so firmly and so long attached to Marie +Antoinette, had I not known that her native thorough goodness of heart +had been warped and misguided, though acting at the same time with the +best intentions, by a false notion of her real innocence being a +sufficient shield against the public censure of such innovations upon +national prejudices, as she thought prayer to introduce,--the fatal error +of conscious rectitude, encouraged in its regardlessness of appearances +by those very persons who well knew that it is only by appearances a +nation can judge of its rulers. + +"I remember a ludicrous circumstance arising from the Queen's innocent +curiosity, in which, if there were anything to blame, I myself am to be +censured for lending myself to it so heartily to satisfy Her Majesty. + +"When the Chevalier d'Eon was allowed to return to France, Her Majesty +expressed a particular inclination to see this extraordinary character. +From prudential as well as political motives, she was at first easily +persuaded to repress her desire. However, by a most ludicrous +occurrence, it was revived, and nothing would do but she must have a +sight of the being who had for some time been the talk of every society, +and at the period to which I allude was become the mirth of all Paris. + +"The Chevalier being one day in a very large party of both sexes, in +which, though his appearance had more of the old soldier in it than of +the character he was compelled 'malgre lui', to adopt, many of the +guests having no idea to what sex this nondescript animal really +belonged, the conversation after dinner happened to turn on the manly +exercise of fencing. + +[It may be necessary to observe here that the Chevalier, having for some +particular motives been banished from France, was afterwards permitted to +return only on condition of never appearing but in the disguised dress of +a female, though he was always habited in the male costume underneath +it.] + +Heated by a subject to him so interesting, the Chevalier, forgetful of +the respect due to his assumed garb, started from his seat, and, pulling +up his petticoats, threw himself on guard. Though dressed in male +attire underneath, this sudden freak sent all the ladies--and many of +the gentlemen out of the room in double--quick time. The Chevalier, +however, instantly recovering from the first impulse, quietly pat down +his, upper garment, and begged pardon in, a gentlemanly manner for +having for a moment deviated from the forma of his imposed situation. +All, the gossips of Paris were presently amused with the story, which, +of coarse, reached the Court, with every droll particular of the pulling +up and clapping down the cumbrous paraphernalia of a hoop petticoat. + +"The King and Queen, from the manner in which they enjoyed the tale when +told them (and certainly it lost nothing in the report), would not have +been the least amused of the party had they been present. His Majesty +shook the room with laughing, and the Queen, the Princesse Elizabeth, and +the other ladies were convulsed at the description. + +"When we were alone, 'How I should like,' said the Queen, 'to see this +curious man-woman!'--'Indeed,' replied I, 'I have not less curiosity than +yourself, and I think we may contrive to let Your Majesty have a peep at +him--her, I mean!--without compromising your dignity, or offending the +Minister who interdicted the Chevalier from appearing in your presence. I +know he has expressed the greatest mortification, and that his wish to +see Your Majesty is almost irrepressible.' + +"'But how will you be able to contrive this without its being known to +the King, or to the Comte de Vergennes, who would never forgive me?' +exclaimed Her Majesty. + +"'Why, on Sunday, when you go to chapel, I will cause him, by some means +or other, to make his appearance, en grande costume, among the group of +ladies who are generally waiting there to be presented to Your Majesty.' + +"'Oh, you charming creature!' said the Queen. 'But won't the Minister +banish or exile him for it?' + +"'No, no! He has only been forbidden an audience of Your Majesty at +Court,' I replied. + +"In good earnest, on the Sunday following, the Chevalier was dressed en +costume, with a large hoop, very long train, sack, five rows of ruffles, +an immensely high powdered female wig, very beautiful lappets, white +gloves, an elegant fan in his hand, his beard closely shaved, his neck +and ears adorned with diamond rings and necklaces, and assuming all the +airs and graces of a fine lady! + +"But, unluckily, his anxiety was so great, the moment the Queen made her +appearance, to get a sight of Her Majesty, that, on rushing before the +other ladies, his wig and head-dress fell off his head; and, before they +could be well replaced, he made so, ridiculous a figure, by clapping +them, in his confusion, hind part before, that the King, the Queen, and +the whole suite, could scarcely refrain from laughing; aloud in the +church. + +"Thus ended the long longed for sight of this famous man-woman! + +"As to me, it was a great while before I could recover myself. Even now, +I laugh whenever I think of this great lady deprived of her head +ornaments, with her bald pate laid bare, to the derision of such a +multitude of Parisians, always prompt to divert themselves at the expense +of others. However, the affair passed off unheeded, and no one but the +Queen and myself ever knew that we ourselves had been innocently the +cause of this comical adventure. When we met after Mass, we were so +overpowered, that neither of us could speak for laughing. The Bishop who +officiated said it was lucky he had no sermon to preach that day, for it +would have been difficult for him to have recollected himself, or to have +maintained his gravity. The ridiculous appearance of the Chevalier, he +added, was so continually presenting itself before him during the service +that it was as much as he could do to restrain himself from laughing, by +keeping his eyes constantly riveted on the book. Indeed, the oddity of +the affair was greatly heightened when, in the middle of the Mass, some +charitable hand having adjusted the wig of the Chevalier, he re-entered +the chapel as if nothing had happened, and, placing himself exactly +opposite the altar, with his train upon his arm, stood fanning himself, a +la coquette, with an inflexible self-possession which only rendered it +the more difficult for those around him to maintain their composure. + +"Thus ended the Queen's curiosity. The result only made the Chevalier's +company in greater request, for every one became more anxious than ever +to know the masculine lady who had lost her wig!" + + + + + +BOOK 2. + + +SECTION I. + + +[From the time that the Princesse de Lamballe saw the ties between the +Queen and her favourite De Polignac drawing closer she became less +assiduous in her attendance at Court, being reluctant to importune the +friends by her presence at an intimacy which she did not approve. She +could not, however, withhold her accustomed attentions, as the period of +Her Majesty's accouchement approached; and she has thus noted the +circumstance of the birth of the Duchesse d'Angouleme, on the 19th of +December, 1778.] + +"The moment for the accomplishment of the Queen's darling hope was now at +hand: she was about to become a mother. + +"It had been agreed between Her Majesty and myself, that I was to place +myself so near the accoucheur, Vermond, as to be the first to +distinguish the sex of the new-born infant, and if she should be +delivered of a Dauphin to say, in Italian, 'Il figlio e nato.' + +[Brother to the Abbe, whose pride was so great at this honour conferred +on his relative, that he never spoke of him without denominating him +Monsieur mon frere, d'accoucher de sa Majeste, Vermond.] + +"Her Majesty was, however, foiled even in this the most blissful of her +desires. She was delivered of a daughter instead of a Dauphin. + +"From the immense crowd that burst into the apartment the instant Vermond +said, The Queen is happily delivered, Her Majesty was nearly suffocated. +I had hold of her hand, and as I said 'La regina e andato', mistaking +'andato' for 'nato', between the joy of giving birth to a son and the +pressure of the crowd, Her Majesty fainted. Overcome by the dangerous +situation in which I saw my royal mistress, I myself was carried out of +the room in a lifeless state. The situation of Her Majesty was for some +time very doubtful, till the people were dragged with violence from about +her, that she might have air. On her recovering, the King was the first +person who told her that she was the mother of a very fine Princess. + +"'Well, then,' said the Queen, 'I am like my mother, for at my birth she +also wished for a son instead of a daughter; and you have lost your +wager:' for the King had betted with Maria Theresa that it would be a +son. + +"The King answered her by repeating the lines Metastasio had written on +that occasion. + +"'Io perdei: l'augusta figlia +A pagar, m'a condemnato; +Ma s'e ver the a voi somiglia +Tutto il moudo ha guadagnato.'" + +[The Princesse de Lamballe again ceased to be constantly about the Queen. +Her danger was over, she was a mother, and the attentions of +disinterested friendship were no longer indispensable. She herself about +this time met with a deep affliction. She lost both of her own parents; +and to her sorrows may, in a great degree, be ascribed her silence upon +the events which intervened between the birth of Madame and that of the +Dauphin. She was as assiduous as ever in her attentions to Her Majesty +on her second lying-in. The circumstances of the death of Maria Theresa, +the Queen's mother, in the interval which divided the two accouchements, +and Her Majesty's anguish, and refusal to see any but De Lamballe and De +Polignac, are too well known to detain us longer from the notes of the +Princess. It is enough for the reader to know that the friendship of Her +Majesty for her superintendent seemed to be gradually reviving in all its +early enthusiasm, by her unremitting kindness during the confinements of +the Queen, till, at length, they became more attached than ever. But, not +to anticipate, let me return to the narrative.] + +"The public feeling had undergone a great change with respect to Her +Majesty from the time of her first accouchement. Still, she was not the +mother of a future King. The people looked upon her as belonging to them +more than she had done before, and faction was silenced by the general +delight. But she had not yet attained the climax of her felicity. A +second pregnancy gave a new excitement to the nation; and, at length, on +the 22nd October, 1781, dawned the day of hope. + +"In consequence of what happened on the first accouchement, measures were +taken to prevent similar disasters on the second. The number admitted +into the apartment was circumscribed. The silence observed left the +Queen in uncertainty of the sex to which she had given birth, till, with +tears of joy, the King said to her: 'Madame, the hopes of the nation, and +mine, are fulfilled. You are the mother of a Dauphin.' + +"The Princesse Elizabeth and myself were so overjoyed that we embraced +every one in the room. + +"At this time Their Majesties were adored. Marie Antoinette, with all +her beauty and amiableness, was a mere cipher in the eyes of France +previous to her becoming the mother of an heir to the Crown; but her +popularity now arose to a pitch of unequalled enthusiasm. + +"I have heard of but one expression to Her Majesty upon this occasion in +any way savouring of discontent. This came from the royal aunts. On +Marie Antoinette's expressing to them her joy in having brought a Dauphin +to the nation, they replied, 'We will only repeat our father's +observation on a similar subject. When one of our sisters complained to +his late Majesty that, as her Italian husband had copied the Dauphin's +whim, she could not, though long a bride, boast of being a wife, or hope +to become a mother--"a prudent Princess," replied Louis XV., "never wants +heirs!"' But the feeling of the royal aunts was an exception to the +general sentiment, which really seemed like madness. + +"I remember a proof of this which happened at the time. Chancing to +cross the King's path as he was going to Marly and I coming from +Rambouillet, my two postillions jumped from their horses, threw +themselves on the high road upon their knees, though it was very dirty, +and remained there, offering up their benedictions, till he was out of +sight. + +"The felicity of the Queen was too great not to be soon overcast. The +unbounded influence of the De Polignacs was now at its zenith. It could +not fail of being attacked. Every engine of malice, envy, and detraction +was let loose; and, in the vilest calumnies against the character of the +Duchess, her royal mistress was included. + +"It was, in truth, a most singular fatality, in the life of Marie +Antoinette that she could do nothing, however beneficial or +disinterested, for which she was not either criticised or censured. She +had a tenacity, of character which made her cling more closely to +attachments from which she saw others desirous of estranging her; and +this firmness, however excellent in principle, was, in her case, fatal in +its effects. The Abbe Vermond, Her Majesty's confessor and tutor, and, +unfortunately, in many respects, her ambitious guide, was really alarmed +at the rising favour of the Duchess; and, though he knew the very +obstacles thrown in her way only strengthened her resolution as to any +favourite object, yet he ventured to head an intrigue to destroy the +great influence of the De Polignacs, which, as he might have foreseen, +only served to hasten their aggrandisement. + +"At this crisis the dissipation of the Duc de Guemenee caused him to +become a bankrupt. I know not whether it can be said in principle, but +certainly it may in property, 'It is an ill wind that blows no one any +good.' The Princess, his wife, having been obliged to leave her +residence at Versailles, in consequence of the Duke's dismissal from the +King's service on account of the disordered state of his pecuniary +circumstances, the situation of governess to the royal children became +necessarily vacant, and was immediately transferred to the Duchesse de +Polignac. The Queen, to enable her friend to support her station with +all the eclat suitable to its dignity, took care to supply ample means +from her own private purse. A most magnificent suite of apartments was +ordered to be arranged, under the immediate inspection of the Queen's +maitre d'hotel, at Her Majesty's expense. + +"Is there anything on earth more natural than the lively interest which +inspires a mother towards those who have the care of her offspring? What, +then, must have been the feelings of a Queen of France who had been +deprived of that blessing for which connubial attachments are formed, and +which, vice versa, constitutes the only real happiness of every young +female, what must have been, I say, the ecstasy of Marie Antoinette when +she not only found herself a mother, but the dear pledges of all her +future bliss in the hands of one whose friendship allowed her the +unrestrained exercise of maternal affection,--a climax of felicity +combining not only the pleasures of an ordinary mother, but the +greatness, the dignity, and the flattering popularity of a Queen of +France. + +"Though the pension of the Duchesse de Polignac was no more than that +usually allotted to all former governesses of the royal children of +France, yet circumstances tempted her to a display not a little injurious +to her popularity as well as to that of her royal mistress. She gave too +many pretexts to imputations of extravagance. Yet she had neither +patronage, nor sinecures, nor immunities beyond the few inseparable from +the office she held, and which had been the same for centuries under the +Monarchy of France. But it must be remembered, as an excuse for the +splendour of her establishment, that she entered her office upon a +footing very different from that of any of her predecessors. Her mansion +was not the quiet, retired, simple household of the governess of the +royal children, as formerly: it had become the magnificent resort of the +first Queen in Europe; the daily haunt of Her Majesty. The Queen +certainly visited the former governess, as she had done the Duchesse de +Duras and many other frequenters of her Court parties; but she made the +Duchesse de Polignac's her Court; and all the courtiers of that Court, +and, I may say, the great personages of all France, as well as the +Ministers and all foreigners of distinction, held there their usual +rendezvous; consequently, there was nothing wanting but the guards in +attendance in the Queen's apartments to have made it a royal residence +suitable for the reception of the illustrious personages that were in the +constant habit of visiting these levees, assemblies, balls, routs, +picnics, dinner, supper, and card parties. + +[I have seen ladies at the Princesse de Lamballe's come from these card +parties with their laps so blackened by the quantities of gold received +in them, that they have been obliged to change their dresses to go to +supper. Many a chevalier d'industree and young military spendthrift has +made his harvest here. Thousands were won and lost, and the ladies were +generally the dupes of all those who were the constant speculative +attendants. The Princease de Lamballe did not like play, but when it was +necessary she did play, and won or lost to a limited extent; but the +prescribed sum once exhausted or gained she left off. In set parties, +such as those of whist, she never played except when one was wanted, +often excusing herself on the score of its requiring more attention than +it was in her power to give to it and her reluctance to sacrifice her +partner; though I have heard Beau Dillon, the Duke of Dorset, Lord Edward +Dillon, and many others say that she understood and played the game much +better than many who had a higher opinion of their skill in it. Lord +Edward Fitzgerald was admitted to the parties at the Duchesse de +Polignac's on his first coming to Paris; but when his connection with the +Duc d'Orleans and Madame de Genlis became known he was informed that his +society would be dispensed with. The famous, or rather the infamous, +Beckford was also excluded.] + +"Much as some of the higher classes of the nobility felt aggrieved at the +preference given by the Queen to the Duchesse de Polignac, that which +raised against Her Majesty the most implacable resentment was her +frequenting the parties of her favourite more than those of any other of +the 'haut ton'. These assemblies, from the situation held by the +Duchess, could not always be the most select. Many of the guests who +chanced to get access to them from a mere glimpse of the Queen--whose +general good-humour, vivacity, and constant wish to please all around her +would often make her commit herself unconsciously and +unintentionally--would fabricate anecdotes of things they had neither +seen nor heard; and which never had existence, except in their own wicked +imaginations. The scene of the inventions, circulated against Her +Majesty through France, was, in consequence, generally placed at the +Duchess's; but they were usually so distinctly and obviously false that +no notice was taken of them, nor was any attempt made to check their +promulgation. + +"Exemplary as was the friendship between this enthusiastic pair, how much +more fortunate for both would it have been had it never happened! I +foresaw the results long, long before they took place; but the Queen was +not to be thwarted. Fearful she might attribute my anxiety for her +general safety to unworthy personal views, I was often silent, even when +duty bade me speak. I was, perhaps, too scrupulous about seeming +officious or jealous of the predilection shown to the Duchess. +Experience had taught me the inutility of representing consequences, and +I had no wish to quarrel with the Queen. Indeed, there was a degree of +coldness towards me on the part of Her Majesty for having gone so far as +I had done. It was not until after the birth of the Duc de Normandie, +her third child, in March, 1785, that her friendship resumed its +primitive warmth. + +"As the children grew, Her Majesty's attachment for their governess grew +with them. All that has been said of Tasso's Armida was nothing to this +luxurious temple of maternal affection. Never was female friendship more +strongly cemented, or less disturbed by the nauseous poison of envy, +malice, or mean jealousy. The Queen was in the plenitude of every +earthly enjoyment, from being able to see and contribute to the education +of the children she tenderly loved, unrestrained by the gothic etiquette +with which all former royal mothers had been fettered, but which the kind +indulgence of the Duchesse de Polignac broke through, as unnatural and +unworthy of the enlightened and affectionate. The Duchess was herself an +attentive, careful mother. She felt for the Queen, and encouraged her +maternal sympathies, so doubly endeared by the long, long disappointment +which had preceded their gratification. The sacrifice of all the cold +forms of state policy by the new governess, and the free access she gave +the royal mother to her children, so unprecedented in the Court of +France, rendered Marie Antoinette so grateful that it may justly be said +she divided her heart between the governess and the governed. Habit soon +made it necessary for her existence that she should dedicate the whole of +her time, not taken up in public ceremonies or parties, to the +cultivation of the minds of her children. Conscious of her own +deficiency in this respect, she determined to redeem this error in her +offspring. The love of the frivolous amusements of society, for which +the want of higher cultivation left room in her mind, was humoured by the +gaieties of the Duchesse de Polignac's assemblies; while her nobler +dispositions were encouraged by the privileges of the favourite's +station. Thus, all her inclinations harmonising with the habits and +position of her friend, Marie Antoinette literally passed the greatest +part of some years in company with the Duchesse de Polignac,--either +amidst the glare and bustle of public recreation, or in the private +apartment of the governess and her children, increasing as much as +possible the kindness of the one for the benefit and comfort of the +others. The attachment of the Duchess to the royal children was returned +by the Queen's affection for the offspring of the Duchess. So much was +Her Majesty interested in favour of the daughter of the Duchess, that, +before that young lady was fifteen years of age, she herself contrived +and accomplished her marriage with the Duc de Guiche, then 'maitre de +ceremonie' to Her Majesty, and whose interests were essentially, promoted +by this alliance. + +[The Duc de Guiche, since Duc de Grammont, has proved how much he merited +the distinction he received, in consequence of the attachment between the +Queen and his mother-in-law, by the devotedness with which he followed +the fallen fortunes of the Bourbons till their restoration, since which +he has not been forgotten. The Duchess, his wife, who at her marriage +was beaming with all the beauties of her age, and adorned by art and +nature with every accomplishment, though she came into notice at a time +when the Court had scarcely recovered itself from the debauched morals by +which it had been so long degraded by a De Pompadour and a Du Barry, has +yet preserved her character, by the strictness of her conduct, free from +the censorious criticisms of an epoch in which some of the purest could +not escape unassailed. I saw her at Pyrmont in 1803; and even then, +though the mother of many children, she looked as young and beautiful as +ever. She was remarkably well educated and accomplished, a profound +musician on the harp and pianoforte, graceful in her conversation, and a +most charming dancer. She seemed to bear the vicissitudes of fortune +with a philosophical courage and resignation not often to be met with in +light-headed French women. She was amiable in her manners, easy of +access, always lively and cheerful, and enthusiastically attached to the +country whence she was then excluded. She constantly accompanied the +wife of the late Louis XVIII. during her travels in Germany, as her +husband the Duke did His Majesty during his residence at Mittau, in +Courland, etc. I have had the honour of seeing the Duke twice since the +Revolution; once, on my coming from Russia, at General Binkingdroff's, +Governor of Mittau, and since, in Portland Place, at the French +Ambassador's, on his coming to England in the name of his Sovereign, to +congratulate the King of England on his accession to the throne.] + +"The great cabals, which agitated the Court in consequence of the favour +shown to the De Polignacs, were not slow in declaring themselves. The +Comtesse de Noailles was one of the foremost among the discontented. Her +resignation, upon the appointment of a superintendent, was a sufficient +evidence of her real feeling; but when she now saw a place filled, to +which she conceived her family had a claim, her displeasure could not be +silent, and her dislike to the Queen began to express itself without +reserve. + +"Another source of dissatisfaction against the Queen was her extreme +partiality for the English. After the peace of Versailles, in 1783, the +English flocked into France, and I believe if a poodle dog had come from +England it would have met with a good reception from Her Majesty. This +was natural enough. The American war had been carried on entirely +against her wish; though, from the influence she was supposed to exercise +in the Cabinet, it was presumed to have been managed entirely by herself. +This odious opinion she wished personally to destroy; and it could only +be done by the distinction with which, after the peace, she treated the +whole English nation.' + +[The daughter of the Duchesse de Polignac (of my meeting with whom I have +already spoken in a note), entering with me upon the subject of France +and of old times, observed that had the Queen limited her attachment to +the person of her mother, she would not have given all the annoyance +which she did to the nobility. It was to these partialities to the +English, the Duchesse de Guiche Grammont alluded. I do not know the +lady's name distinctly, but I am certain I have heard the beautiful Lady +Sarah Bunbury mentioned by the Princesse de Lamballe as having received +particular attention from the Queen; for the Princess had heard much +about this lady and "a certain great personage" in England; but, on +discovering her acquaintance with the Duc de Lauzun, Her Majesty withdrew +from the intimacy, though not soon enough to prevent its having given +food for scandal. "You must remember," added the Duchesse de Guiche +Grammont, "how much the Queen was censured for her enthusiasm about Lady +Spencer." I replied that I did remember the much-ado about nothing there +was regarding some English lady, to whom the Queen took a liking, whose +name I could not exactly recall; but I knew well she studied to please +the English in general. Of this Lady Spencer it is that the Princess +speaks in one of the following pages of this chapter.] + +"Several of the English nobility were on a familiar footing at the +parties of the Duchesse de Polignac. This was quite enough for the +slanderers. They were all ranked, and that publicly, as lovers of Her +Majesty. I recollect when there were no less than five different private +commissioners out, to suppress the libels that were in circulation over +all France, against the Queen and Lord Edward Dillon, the Duke of Dorset, +Lord George Conway, Arthur Dillon, as well as Count Fersen, the Duc de +Lauzun, and the Comte d'Artois, who were all not only constant +frequenters of Polignac's but visitors of Marie Antoinette. + +"By the false policy of Her Majesty's advisers, these enemies and +libellers, instead of being brought to the condign punishment their +infamy deserved, were privately hushed into silence, out of delicacy to +the Queen's feelings, by large sums of money and pensions, which +encouraged numbers to commit the same enormity in the hope of obtaining +the same recompense. + +"But these were mercenary wretches, from whom no better could have been +expected. A legitimate mode of robbery had been pressed upon their +notice by the Government itself, and they thought it only a matter of +fair speculation to make the best of it. There were some libellers, +however, of a higher order, in comparison with whose motives for slander, +those of the mere scandal-jobbers were white as the driven snow. Of +these, one of the worst was the Duc de Lauzun. + +"The first motive of the Queen's strong dislike to the Duc de Lauzun +sprang from Her Majesty's attachment to the Duchesse d'Orleans, whom she +really loved. She was greatly displeased at the injury inflicted upon +her valued friend by De Lauzun, in estranging the affection of the Duc +d'Orleans from his wife by introducing him to depraved society. Among +the associates to which this connection led the Duc d'Orleans were a +certain Madame Duthee and Madame Buffon. + +"When De Lauzun, after having been expelled from the drawing-room of the +Queen for his insolent presumption,--[The allusion here is to the affair +of the heron plume.]--meeting with coolness at the King's levee, sought +to cover his disgrace by appearing at the assemblies of the Duchesse de +Polignac, Her Grace was too sincerely the friend of her Sovereign and +benefactress not to perceive the drift of his conduct. She consequently +signified to the self-sufficient coxcomb that her assemblies were not +open to the public. Being thus shut out from Their Majesties, and, as a +natural result, excluded from the most brilliant societies of Paris, De +Lauzun, from a most diabolical spirit of revenge, joined the nefarious +party which had succeeded in poisoning the mind of the Duc d'Orleans, and +from the hordes of which, like the burning lava from Etna, issued +calumnies which swept the most virtuous and innocent victims that ever +breathed to their destruction! + +"Among the Queen's favourites, and those most in request at the De +Polignac parties, was the good Lady Spencer, with whom I became most +intimately acquainted when I first went to England; and from whom, as +well as from her two charming daughters, the Duchess of Devonshire and +Lady Duncannon, since Lady Besborough, I received the greatest marks of +cordial hospitality. In consequence, when her ladyship came to France, I +hastened to present her to the Queen. Her Majesty, taking a great liking +to the amiable Englishwoman, and wishing to profit by her private +conversations and society, gave orders that Lady Spencer should pass to +her private closet whenever she came to Versailles, without the formal +ceremony of waiting in the antechamber to be announced. + +"One day, Her Majesty, Lady Spencer, and myself were observing the +difficulty there was in acquiring a correct pronunciation of the English +language, when Lady Spencer remarked that it only required a little +attention. + +"'I beg your pardon,' said the Queen, 'that's not all, because there are +many things you do not call by their proper names, as they are in the +dictionary.' + +"'Pray what are they, please Your Majesty?' + +"'Well, I will give you an instance. For example, 'les culottes'--what +do you call them?' + +"'Small clothes,' replied her ladyship. + +"'Ma foi! how can they be called small clothes for one large man? Now I +do look in the dictionary, and I find, for the word culottes--breeches.' + +"'Oh, please Your Majesty, we never call them by that name in England.' + +"'Voila done, j'ai raison!' + +"'We say "inexpressibles"!' + +"'Ah, c'est mieux! Dat do please me ver much better. Il y a du bon sens +la dedans. C'est une autre chose!' + +"In the midst of this curious dialogue, in came the Duke of Dorset, Lord +Edward Dillon, Count Fersen, and several English gentlemen, who, as they +were going to the King's hunt, were all dressed in new buckskin breeches. + +"'I do not like,' exclaimed the Queen to them, dem yellow irresistibles!' + +"Lady Spencer nearly fainted. 'Vat make you so frightful, my dear lady?' +said the Queen to her ladyship, who was covering her face with her hands. +'I am terrified at Your Majesty's mistake'--'Comment? did you no tell me +just now, dat in England de lady call les culottes +"irresistibles"?'--'Oh, mercy! I never could have made such a mistake, +as to have applied to that part of the male dress such a word. I said, +please Your Majesty, inexpressibles.' + +"On this the gentlemen all laughed most heartily. + +"'Vell, vell,' replied the Queen, 'do, my dear lady, discompose yourself. +I vill no more call de breeches irresistibles, but say small clothes, if +even elles sont upon a giant!' + +"At the repetition of the naughty word breeches, poor Lady Spencer's +English delicacy quite overcame her. Forgetting where she was, and also +the company she was in, she ran from the room with her cross stick in her +hand, ready to lay it on the shoulders of any one who should attempt to +obstruct her passage, flew into her carriage, and drove off full speed, +as if fearful of being contaminated,--all to the no small amusement of +the male guests. + +"Her Majesty and I laughed till the very tears ran down our cheeks. The +Duke of Dorset, to keep up the joke, said there really were some counties +in England where they called 'culottes irresistibles. + +"Now that I am upon the subject of England, and the peace of 1783, which +brought such throngs of English over to France, there occurs to me a +circumstance, relating to the treaty of commerce signed at that time, +which exhibits the Comte de Vergennes to some advantage; and with that +let me dismiss the topic. + +"The Comte de Vergennes, was one of the most distinguished Ministers of +France. I was intimately acquainted with him. His general character for +uprightness prompted his Sovereign to govern in a manner congenial to his +own goodness of heart, which was certainly most for the advantage of his +subjects. Vergennes cautioned Louis against the hypocritical adulations +of his privileged courtiers. The Count had been schooled in State policy +by the great Venetian senator, Francis Foscari, the subtlest politician +of his age, whom he consulted during his life on every important matter; +and he was not very easily to be deceived. + +"When the treaty of commerce took place, at the period I mention, the +experienced Vergennes foresaw--what afterwards really happened--that +France would be inundated with British manufactures; but Calonne +obstinately maintained the contrary, till he was severely reminded of the +consequence of his misguided policy, in the insults inflicted on him by +enraged mobs of thousands of French artificers, whenever he appeared in +public. But though the mania for British goods had literally caused an +entire stagnation of business in the French manufacturing towns, and +thrown throngs upon the 'pave' for want of employment, yet M. de Calonne +either did not see, or pretended not to see, the errors he had committed. +Being informed that the Comte de Vergennes had attributed the public +disorders to his fallacious policy, M. de Calonne sent a friend to the +Count demanding satisfaction for the charge of having caused the riots. +The Count calmly replied that he was too much of a man of honour to take +so great an advantage, as to avail himself of the opportunity offered, by +killing a man who had only one life to dispose of, when there were so +many with a prior claim, who were anxious to destroy him 'en societe'. I +Bid M. de Calonne,' continued the Count, 'first get out of that scrape, +as the English boxers do when their eyes are closed up after a pitched +battle. He has been playing at blind man's buff, but the poverty to +which he has reduced so many of our tradespeople has torn the English +bandage from his eyes!' For three or four days the Comte de Vergennes +visited publicly, and showed himself everywhere in and about Paris; but +M. de Calonne was so well convinced of the truth of the old fox's satire +that he pocketed his annoyance, and no more was said about fighting. +Indeed, the Comte de Vergennes gave hints of being able to show that M. +de Calonne had been bribed into the treaty." + +[The Princesse de Lamballe has alluded in a former page to the happiness +which the Queen enjoyed during the visits of the foreign Princes to the +Court of France. Her papers contain a few passages upon the opinions Her +Majesty entertained of the royal travellers; which, although in the order +of time they should have been mentioned before the peace with England, +yet, not to disturb the chain of the narrative, respecting the connection +with the Princesse de Lamballe, of the prevailing libels, and the +partiality shown towards the English, I have reserved them for the +conclusion of the present chapter. The timidity of the Queen in the +presence of the illustrious strangers, and her agitation when about to +receive them, have, I think, been already spoken of. Upon the subject of +the royal travellers themselves, and other personages, the Princess +expresses herself thus:] + +"The Queen had never been an admirer of Catharine II. Notwithstanding +her studied policy for the advancement of civilization in her internal +empire, the means which, aided by the Princess Dashkoff, she made use of +to seat herself on the imperial throne of her weak husband, Peter the +Third, had made her more understood than esteemed. Yet when her son, the +Grand Duke of the North,--[Afterwards the unhappy Emperor Paul.]--and the +Grand Duchess, his wife, came to France, their description of Catharine's +real character so shocked the maternal sensibility of Marie Antoinette +that she could scarcely hear the name of the Empress without shuddering. +The Grand Duke spoke of Catharine without the least disguise. He said he +travelled merely for the security of his life from his mother, who had +surrounded him with creatures that were his sworn enemies, her own spies +and infamous favourites, to whose caprices they were utterly subordinate. +He was aware that the dangerous credulity of the Empress might be every +hour excited by these wretches to the destruction of himself and his +Duchess, and, therefore, he had in absence sought the only refuge. He +had no wish, he said, ever to return to his native country, till Heaven +should check his mother's doubts respecting his dutiful filial affection +towards her, or till God should be pleased to take her into His sacred +keeping. + +"The King was petrified at the Duke's description of his situation, and +the Queen could not refrain from tears when the Duchess, his wife, +confirmed all her husband had uttered on the subject. The Duchess said +she had been warned by the untimely fate of the Princess d'Armstadt, her +predecessor, the first wife of the Grand Duke, to elude similar jealousy +and suspicion on the part of her mother-in-law, by seclusion from the +Court, in a country residence with her husband; indeed, that she had made +it a point never to visit Petersburg, except on the express invitation of +the Empress, as if she had been a foreigner. + +"In this system the Grand Duchess persevered, even after her return from +her travels. When she became pregnant, and drew near her accouchement, +the Empress-mother permitted her to come to Petersburg for that purpose; +but, as soon as the ceremony required by the etiquette of the Imperial +Court on those occasions ended, the Duchess immediately returned to her +hermitage. + +"This Princess was remarkably well-educated; she possessed a great deal +of good, sound sense, and had profited by the instructions of some of the +best German tutors during her very early years. It was the policy of her +father, the Duke of Wirtemberg, who had a large family, to educate his +children as 'quietists' in matters of religion. He foresaw that the +natural charms and acquired abilities of his daughters would one day call +them to be the ornaments of the most distinguished Courts in Europe, and +he thought it prudent not to instil early prejudices in favour of +peculiar forms of religion which might afterwards present an obstacle to +their aggrandisement. + +[The first daughter of the Duke of Wirtemberg was the first wife of the +present Emperor of Austria. She embraced the Catholic faith and died +very young, two days before the Emperor Joseph the Second, at Vienna. +The present Empress Dowager, late wife to Paul, became a proselyte to the +Greek religion on her arrival at Petersburg. The son of the Duke of +Wirtemburg, who succeeded him in the Dukedom, was a Protestant, it being +his interest to profess that religion for the security of his +inheritance. Prince Ferdinand, who was in the Austrian service, and a +long time Governor of Vienna, was a Catholic, as he could not otherwise +have enjoyed that office. He was of a very superior character to the +Duke, his brother. Prince Louis, who held a commission under the +Prussian Monarch, followed the religion of the country where he served, +and the other Princes, who were in the employment of Sweden and other +countries, found no difficulty in conforming themselves to the religion +of the Sovereigns under whom they served. None of them having any +established forms of worship, they naturally embraced that which conduced +most to their aggrandisement, emolument, or dignity.] + +"The notorious vices of the King of Denmark, and his total neglect both +of his young Queen, Carolina Matilda, and of the interest of his distant +dominions, while in Paris, created a feeling in the Queen's mind towards +that house which was not a little heightened by her disgust at the King +of Sweden, when he visited the Court of Versailles. This King, though +much more crafty than his brother-in-law, the King of Denmark, who +revelled openly in his depravities, was not less vicious. The deception +he made use of in usurping part of the rights of his people, combined +with the worthlessness and duplicity, of his private conduct, excited a +strong indignation in the mind of Marie Antoinette, of which she was +scarcely capable of withholding the expression in his presence. + +"It was during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of the North, that the +Cardinal de Rohan again appeared upon the scene. For eight or ten years +he had never been allowed to show himself at Court, and had been totally +shut out of every society where the Queen visited. On the arrival of the +illustrious, travellers at Versailles, the Queen, at her own expense, +gave them a grand fete at her private palace, in the gardens of Trianon, +similar to the one given by the Comte de Provence--[Afterwards Louis +XVIII.]--to Her Majesty, in the gardens of Brunoi. + +"On the eve of the fete, the Cardinal waited upon, me to know if he would +be permitted to appear there in the character he had the honour to hold +at Court, I replied that I had made it a rule never to interfere in the +private or public amusements of the Court, and that His Eminence must be +the best judge how far he, could obtrude himself upon the Queen's private +parties, to which only a select number had been invited, in consequence +of the confined spot where the fete was to be given. + +"The Cardinal left me, not much satisfied at his reception. Determined +to follow, as usual, his own misguided passion, he immediately went too +Trianon, disguised with a large cloak. He saw the porter, and bribed +him. He only wished, he said, to be placed in a situation whence he +might see the Duke and Duchess of the North without being seen; but no +sooner did he perceive the porter engaged at some distance than he left +his cloak at the lodge, and went forward in his Cardinal's dress, as if +he had been one of the invited guests, placing himself purposely in the +Queen's path to attract her attention as she rode by in the carriage with +the Duke and Duchess. + +"The Queen was shocked and thunderstruck at seeing him. But, great as +was her annoyance, knowing the Cardinal had not been invited and ought +not to have been there, she only discharged the porter who had been +seduced to let him in; and, though the King, on being made acquainted +with his treachery, would have banished His Eminence a hundred leagues +from the capital, yet the Queen, the royal aunts, the Princesse +Elizabeth, and myself, not to make the affair public, and thereby +disgrace the high order of his ecclesiastical dignity, prevented the King +from exercising his authority by commanding instant exile. + +"Indeed, the Queen could never get the better of her fears of being some +day, or in some way or other, betrayed by the Cardinal, for having made +him the confidant of the mortification she would have suffered if the +projected marriage of Louis XV. and her sister had been solemnized. On +this account she uniformly opposed whatever harshness the King at any +time intended against the Cardinal. + +"Thus was this wicked prelate left at leisure to premeditate the horrid +plot of the famous necklace, the ever memorable fraud, which so fatally +verified the presentiments of the Queen." + + + + +SECTION II. + + +[The production of 'Le Mariage de Figaro', by Beaumarchais, upon the +stage at Paris, so replete with indecorous and slanderous allusions to +the Royal Family, had spread the prejudices against the Queen through the +whole kingdom and every rank of France, just in time to prepare all minds +for the deadly blow which Her Majesty received from the infamous plot of +the diamond necklace. From this year, crimes and misfortunes trod +closely on each others' heels in the history of the ill-starred Queen; +and one calamity only disappeared to make way for a greater. + +The destruction of the papers which would have thoroughly explained the +transaction has still left all its essential particulars in some degree +of mystery; and the interest of the clergy, who supported one of their +own body, coupled with the arts and bribes of the high houses connected +with the plotting prelate, must, of course, have discoloured greatly even +what was well known. + +It will be recollected that before the accession of Louis XVI. the +Cardinal de Rohan was disgraced in consequence of his intrigues; that all +his ingenuity was afterwards unremittingly exerted to obtain renewed +favour; that he once obtruded himself upon the notice of the Queen in the +gardens of Trianon, and that his conduct in so doing excited the +indignation it deserved, but was left unpunished owing to the entreaties +of the best friends of the Queen, and her own secret horror of a man who +had already caused her so much anguish. + +With the histories of the fraud every one is acquainted. That of Madame +Campan, as far as it goes, is sufficiently detailed and correct to spare +me the necessity of expatiating upon this theme of villany. Yet, to +assist the reader's memory, before returning to the Journal of the +Princesse de Lamballe, I shall recapitulate the leading particulars. + +The Cardinal had become connected with a young, but artful and +necessitous, woman, of the name of Lamotte. It was known that the +darling ambition of the Cardinal was to regain the favour of the Queen. + +The necklace, which has been already spoken of, and which was originally +destined by Louis XV. for Marie Antoinette--had her hand, by divorce, +been transferred to him--but which, though afterwards intended by Louis +XV. for his mistress, Du Barry, never came to her in consequence of his +death--this fatal necklace was still in existence, and in the possession +of the crown jewellers, Boehmer and Bassange. It was valued at eighteen +hundred thousand livres. The jewellers had often pressed it upon the +Queen, and even the King himself had enforced its acceptance. But the +Queen dreaded the expense, especially at an epoch of pecuniary difficulty +in the State, much more than she coveted the jewels, and uniformly and +resolutely declined them, although they had been proposed to her on very +easy terms of payment, as she really did not like ornaments. + +It was made to appear at the parliamentary investigation that the artful +Lamotte had impelled the Cardinal to believe that she herself was in +communication with the Queen; that she had interested Her Majesty in +favour of the long slighted Cardinal; that she had fabricated a +correspondence, in which professions of penitence on the part of De Rohan +were answered by assurances of forgiveness from the Queen. The result of +this correspondence was represented to be the engagement of the Cardinal +to negotiate the purchase of the necklace secretly, by a contract for +periodical payments. To the forgery of papers was added, it was +declared, the substitution of the Queen's person, by dressing up a girl +of the Palais Royal to represent Her Majesty, whom she in some degree +resembled, in a secret and rapid interview with Rohan in a dark grove of +the gardens of Versailles, where she was to give the Cardinal a rose, in +token of her royal approbation, and then hastily disappear. The +importunity of the jewellers, on the failure of the stipulated payment, +disclosed the plot. A direct appeal of theirs to the Queen, to save them +from ruin, was the immediate source of detection. The Cardinal was +arrested, and all the parties tried. But the Cardinal was acquitted, and +Lamotte and a subordinate agent alone punished. The quack Cagliostro was +also in the plot, but he, too, escaped, like his confederate, the +Cardinal, who was made to appear as the dupe of Lamotte. + +The Queen never got over the effect of this affair. Her friends well +knew the danger of severe measures towards one capable of collecting +around him strong support against a power already so much weakened by +faction and discord. But the indignation of conscious innocence +insulted, prevailed, though to its ruin! + +But it is time to let the Princesse de Lamballe give her own impressions +upon this fatal subject, and in her own words.] + +"How could Messieurs Boehmer and Bassange presume that the Queen would +have employed any third person to obtain an article of such value, +without enabling them to produce an unequivocal document signed by her +own hand and countersigned by mine, as had ever been the rule during my +superintendence of the household, whenever anything was ordered from the +jewellers by Her Majesty? Why did not Messieurs Boehmer and Bassange +wait on me, when they saw a document unauthorised by me, and so widely +departing from the established forms? I must still think, as I have +often said to the King, that Boehmer and Bassange wished to get rid of +this dead weight of diamonds in any way; and the Queen having +unfortunately been led by me to hush up many foul libels against her +reputation, as I then thought it prudent she should do, rather than +compromise her character with wretches capable of doing anything to +injure her, these jewellers, judging from this erroneous policy of the +past, imagined that in this instance, also, rather than hazard exposure, +Her Majesty would pay them for the necklace. This was a compromise which +I myself resisted, though so decidedly adverse to bringing the affair +before the nation by a public trial. Of such an explosion, I foresaw the +consequences, and I ardently entreated the King and Queen to take other +measures. But, though till now so hostile to severity with the Cardinal, +the Queen felt herself so insulted by the proceeding that she gave up +every other consideration to make manifest her innocence. + +"The wary Comte de Vergennes did all he could to prevent the affair from +getting before the public. Against the opinion of the King and the whole +council of Ministers, he opposed judicial proceedings. Not that he +conceived the Cardinal altogether guiltless; but he foresaw the fatal +consequences that must result to Her Majesty, from bringing to trial an +ecclesiastic of such rank; for he well knew that the host of the higher +orders of the nobility, to whom the prelate was allied, would naturally +strain every point to blacken the character of the King and Queen, as the +only means of exonerating their kinsman in the eyes of the world from the +criminal mystery attached to that most diabolical intrigue against the +fair fame of Marie Antoinette. The Count could not bear the idea of the +Queen's name being coupled with those of the vile wretches, Lamotte and +the mountebank Cagliostro, and therefore wished the King to chastise the +Cardinal by a partial exile, which might have been removed at pleasure. +But the Queen's party too fatally seconded her feelings, and prevailed. + +"I sat by Her Majesty's bedside the whole of the night, after I heard +what had been determined against the Cardinal by the council of +Ministers, to beg her to use all her interest with the King to persuade +him to revoke the order of the warrant for the prelate's arrest. To this +the Queen replied, 'Then the King, the Ministers, and the people, will +all deem me guilty.' + +"Her Majesty's remark stopped all farther argument upon the subject, and +I had the inconsolable grief to see my royal mistress rushing upon +dangers which I had no power of preventing her from bringing upon +herself. + +"The slanderers who had imputed such unbounded influence to the Queen +over the mind of Louis XVI. should have been consistent enough to +consider that, with but a twentieth part of the tithe of her imputed +power, uncontrolled as she then was by national authority, she might, +without any exposure to third persons, have at once sent one of her pages +to the garde-meuble and other royal depositaries, replete with hidden +treasures of precious stones which never saw the light, and thence have +supplied herself with more than enough to form ten necklaces, or to have +fully satisfied, in any way she liked, the most unbounded passion for +diamonds, for the use of which she would never have been called to +account. + +"But the truth is, the Queen had no love of ornaments. A proof occurred +very soon after I had the honour to be nominated Her Majesty's +superintendent. On the day of the great fete of the Cordon Bleu, when it +was the etiquette to wear diamonds and pearls, the Queen had omitted +putting them on. As there had been a greater affluence of visitors than +usual that morning, and Her Majesty's toilet was overthronged by Princes +and Princesses, I fancied in the bustle that the omission proceeded from +forgetfulness. Consequently, I sent the tirewoman, in the Queen's +hearing, to order the jewels to be brought in. Smilingly, Her Majesty +replied, 'No, no! I have not forgotten these gaudy things; but I do not +intend that the lustre of my eyes should be outshone by the one, or the +whiteness of my teeth by the other; however, as you wish art to eclipse +nature, I'll wear them to satisfy you, ma belle dame!' + +"The King was always so thoroughly indulgent to Her Majesty, with regard +both to her public and private conduct, that she never had any pretext +for those reserves which sometimes tempt Queens as well as the wives of +private individuals to commit themselves to third persons for articles of +high value, which their caprice indiscreetly impels them to procure +unknown to their natural guardians. Marie Antoinette had no reproach or +censure for plunging into excesses beyond her means to apprehend from her +royal husband. On the contrary, the King himself had spontaneously +offered to purchase the necklace from the jewellers, who had urged it on +him without limiting any time for payment. It was the intention of His +Majesty to have liquidated it out of his private purse. But Marie +Antoinette declined the gift. Twice in my presence was the refusal +repeated before Messieurs Boehmer and Bassange. Who, then, can for a +moment presume, after all these circumstances, that the Queen of France, +with a nation's wealth at her feet and thousands of individuals offering +her millions, which she never accepted, would have so far degraded +herself and the honour of the nation, of which she was born to be the +ornament, as to place herself gratuitously in the power of a knot of +wretches, headed by a man whose general bad character for years had +excluded him from Court and every respectable society, and had made the +Queen herself mark him as an object of the utmost aversion. + +"If these circumstances be not sufficient adequately to open the eyes of +those whom prejudice has blinded, and whose ears have been deafened +against truth, by the clamours of sinister conspirators against the +monarchy instead of the monarchs; if all these circumstances, I repeat, +do not completely acquit the Queen, argument, or even ocular +demonstration itself, would be thrown away. Posterity will judge +impartially, and with impartial judges the integrity of Marie Antoinette +needs no defender. + +"When the natural tendency of the character of De Rohan to romantic and +extraordinary intrigue is considered in connection with the associates he +had gathered around him, the plot of the necklace ceases to be a source +of wonder. At the time the Cardinal was most at a loss for means to meet +the necessities of his extravagance, and to obtain some means of access +to the Queen, the mountebank quack, Cagliostro, made his appearance in +France. His fame had soon flown from Strasburg to Paris, the magnet of +vices and the seat of criminals. The Prince-Cardinal, known of old as a +seeker after everything of notoriety, soon became the intimate of one who +flattered him with the accomplishment of all his dreams in the +realization of the philosopher's stone; converting puffs and French paste +into brilliants; Roman pearls into Oriental ones; and turning earth to +gold. The Cardinal, always in want of means to supply the insatiable +exigencies of his ungovernable vices, had been the dupe through life of +his own credulity--a drowning man catching at a straw! But instead of +making gold of base materials, Cagliostro's brass soon relieved his blind +adherent of all his sterling metal. As many needy persons enlisted under +the banners of this nostrum speculator, it is not to be wondered at that +the infamous name of the Comtesse de Lamotte, and others of the same +stamp, should have thus fallen into an association of the Prince-Cardinal +or that her libellous stories of the Queen of France should have found +eager promulgators, where the real diamonds of the famous necklace being +taken apart were divided piecemeal among a horde of the most depraved +sharpers that ever existed to make human nature blush at its own +degradation! + +[Cagliostro, when he came to Rome, for I know not whether there had been +any previous intimacy, got acquainted with a certain Marchese Vivaldi, a +Roman, whose wife had been for years the chere amie of the last Venetian +Ambassador, Peter Pesaro, a noble patrician, and who has ever since his +embassy at Rome been his constant companion and now resides with him in +England. No men in Europe are more constant in their attachments than +the Venetians. Pesaro is the sole proprietor of one of the moat +beautiful and magnificent palaces on the Grand Canal at Venice, though he +now lives in the outskirts of London, in a small house, not so large as +one of the offices of his immense noble palace, where his agent transacts +his business. The husband of Pesaro's chere amie, the Marchese Vivaldi, +when Cagliostro was arrested and sent to the Castello Santo Angelo at +Rome, was obliged to fly his country, and went to Venice, where he was +kept secreted and maintained by the Marquis Solari, and it was only +through his means and those of the Cardinal Consalvi, then known only as +the musical Abbe Consalvi, from his great attachment to the immortal +Cimarosa, that Vivaldi was ever allowed to return to his native country; +but Consalvi, who was the friend of Vivaldi, feeling with the Marquis +Solari much interested for his situation, they together contrived to +convince Pius VI. that he was more to be pitied than blamed, and thus +obtained his recall. I have merely given this note as a further warning +to be drawn from the connections of the Cardinal de Rohan, to deter +hunters after novelty from forming ties with innovators and impostors. +Cagliostro was ultimately condemned, by the Roman laws under Pope Pius +VI., for life, to the galleys, where he died. + +Proverbs ought to be respected; for it is said that no phrase becomes a +proverb until after a century's experience of its truth. In England it is +proverbial to judge of men by the company they keep. Judge of the +Cardinal de Rohan from his most intimate friend, the galley-slave.] + +"Eight or ten years had elapsed from the time Her Majesty had last seen +the Cardinal to speak to him, with the exception of the casual glance as +she drove by when he furtively introduced himself into the garden at the +fete at Trianon, till he was brought to the King's cabinet when arrested, +and interrogated, and confronted with her face to face. The Prince +started when he saw her. The comparison of her features with those of +the guilty wretch who had dared to personate her in the garden at +Versailles completely destroyed his self-possession. Her Majesty's +person was become fuller, and her face was much longer than that of the +infamous D'Oliva. He could neither speak nor write an intelligible reply +to the questions put to him. All he could utter, and that only in broken +accents, was, 'I'll pay! I'll pay Messieurs Bassange.' + +"Had he not speedily recovered himself, all the mystery in which this +affair has been left, so injuriously to the Queen, might have been +prevented. His papers would have declared the history of every +particular, and distinctly established the extent of his crime and the +thorough innocence of Marie Antoinette of any connivance at the fraud, or +any knowledge of the necklace. But when the Cardinal was ordered by the +King's Council to be put under arrest, his self-possession returned. He +was given in charge to an officer totally unacquainted with the nature of +the accusation. Considering only the character of his prisoner as one of +the highest dignitaries of the Church, from ignorance and inexperience, +he left the Cardinal an opportunity to write a German note to his +factotum, the Abbe Georgel. In this note the trusty secretary was +ordered to destroy all the letters of Cagliostro, Madame de Lamotte, and +the other wretched associates of the infamous conspiracy; and the traitor +was scarcely in custody when every evidence of his treason had +disappeared. The note to Georgel saved his master from expiating his +offence at the Place de Grave. + +"The consequences of the affair would have been less injurious, however, +had it been managed, even as it stood, with better judgment and temper. +But it was improperly entrusted to the Baron de Breteuil and the Abbe +Vermond, both sworn enemies of the Cardinal. Their main object was the +ruin of him they hated, and they listened only to their resentments. They +never weighed the danger of publicly prosecuting an individual whose +condemnation would involve the first families in France, for he was +allied even to many of the Princes of the blood. They should have +considered that exalted personages, naturally feeling as if any crime +proved against their kinsman would be a stain upon themselves, would of +course resort to every artifice to exonerate the accused. To criminate +the Queen was the only and the obvious method. Few are those nearest the +Crown who are not most jealous of its wearers! Look at the long civil +wars of York and Lancaster, and the short reign of Richard. The downfall +of Kings meets less resistance than that of their inferiors. + +"Still, notwithstanding all the deplorable blunders committed in this +business of De Rohan, justice was not smothered without great difficulty. +His acquittal cost the families of De Rohan and De Conde more than a +million of livres, distributed among all ranks of the clergy; besides +immense sums sent to the Court of Rome to make it invalidate the judgment +of the civil authority of France upon so high a member of the Church, and +to induce it to order the Cardinal's being sent to Rome by way of +screening him from the prosecution, under the plausible pretext of more +rigid justice. + +"Considerable sums in money and jewels were also lavished on all the +female relatives of the peers of France, who were destined to sit on the +trial. The Abbe Georgel bribed the press, and extravagantly paid all the +literary pens in France to produce the most Jesuitical and sophisticated +arguments in his patron's justification. Though these writers dared not +accuse or in any way criminate the Queen, yet the respectful doubts, with +which their defence of her were seasoned, did indefinitely more mischief +than any direct attack, which could have been directly answered. + +"The long cherished, but till now smothered, resentment of the Comtesse +de Noailles, the scrupulous Madame Etiquette, burst forth on this +occasion. Openly joining the Cardinal's party against her former +mistress and Sovereign, she recruited and armed all in favour of her +protege; for it was by her intrigues De Rohan had been nominated +Ambassador to Vienna. Mesdames de Guemenee and Marsan, rival pretenders +to favours of His Eminence, were equally earnest to support him against +the Queen. In short, there was scarcely a family of distinction in +France that, from the libels which then inundated the kingdom, did not +consider the King as having infringed on their prerogatives and +privileges in accusing the Cardinal. + +"Shortly after the acquittal of this most artful, and, in the present +instance, certainly too fortunate prelate, the Princesse de Conde came to +congratulate me on the Queen's innocence, and her kinsman's liberation +from the Bastille. + +"Without the slightest observation, I produced to the Princess documents +in proof of the immense sums she alone had expended in bribing the judges +and other persons, to save her relation, the Cardinal, by criminating Her +Majesty. + +"The Princesse de Conde instantly fell into violent hysterics, and was +carried home apparently, lifeless. + +"I have often reproached myself for having given that sudden shock and +poignant anguish to Her Highness, but I could not have supposed that one +who came so barefacedly to impress me with the Cardinal's innocence, +could have been less firm in refuting her own guilt. + +"I never mentioned the circumstance to the Queen. Had I done so, Her +Highness would have been forever excluded from the Court and the royal +presence. This was no time to increase the enemies of Her Majesty, and, +the affair of the trial being ended, I thought it best to prevent any +further breach from a discord between the Court and the house of Conde. +However, from a coldness subsisting ever after between the Princess and +myself, I doubt not that the Queen had her suspicions that all was not as +it should be in that quarter. Indeed, though Her Majesty never confessed +it, I think she herself had discovered something at that very time not +altogether to the credit of the Princesse de Conde, for she ceased going, +from that period, to any of the fetes given at Chantilly. + +"These were but a small portion of the various instruments successfully +levelled by parties, even the least suspected, to blacken and destroy the +fair fame of Marie Antoinette. + +"The document which so justly alarmed the Princesse de Conde, when I +showed it to her came into my hands in the following manner: + +"Whenever a distressed family, or any particular individual, applied to +me for relief, or was otherwise recommended for charitable purposes, I +generally sent my little English protegee--whose veracity, well knowing +the goodness of her heart, I could rely--to ascertain whether their +claims were really well grounded. + +[Indeed, I never deceived the Princess on these occasions. She was so +generously charitable that I should have conceived it a crime. When I +could get no satisfactory information, I said I could not trace anything +undeserving her charity, and left Her Highness to exercise her own +discretion.] + +"One day I received an earnest memorial from a family, desiring to make +some private communications of peculiar delicacy. I sent my usual +ambassadress to inquire into its import. On making her mission known, +she found no difficulty in ascertaining the object of the application. It +proceeded from conscientious distress of mind. A relation of this family +had been the regular confessor of a convent. With the Lady Abbess of +this convent and her trusty nuns, the Princesse de Conde had deposited +considerable sums of money, to be bestowed in creating influence in +favour of the Cardinal de Rohan. The confessor, being a man of some +consideration among the clergy, was applied to, to use his influence with +the needier members of the Church more immediately about him, as well as +those of higher station, to whom he had access, in furthering the +purposes of the Princesse de Conde. The bribes were applied as intended. +But, at the near approach of death, the confessor was struck with +remorse. He begged his family, without mentioning his name, to send the +accounts and vouchers of the sums he had so distributed, to me, as a +proof of his contrition, that I might make what use of them I should +think proper. The papers were handed to my messenger, who pledged her +word of honour that I would certainly adhere to the dying man's last +injunctions. She desired they might be sealed up by the family, and by +them directed to me.--[To this day, I neither know the name of the +convent or the confessor.]--She then hastened back to our place of +rendezvous, where I waited for her, and where she consigned the packet +into my own hands. + +"That part of the papers which compromised only the Princesse de Conde +was shown by me to the Princess on the occasion I have mentioned. It was +natural enough that she should have been shocked at the detection of +having suborned the clergy and others with heavy bribes to avert the +deserved fate of the Cardinal. I kept this part of the packet secret +till the King's two aunts, who had also been warm advocates in favour of +the prelate, left Paris for Rome. Then, as Pius VI. had interested +himself as head of the Church for the honour of one of its members, I +gave them these very papers to deliver to His Holiness for his private +perusal. I was desirous of enabling this truly charitable and Christian +head of our sacred religion to judge how far his interference was +justified by facts. I am thoroughly convinced that, had he been sooner +furnished with these evidences, instead of blaming the royal proceeding, +he would have urged it on, nay, would himself have been the first to +advise that the foul conspiracy should be dragged into open day. + +"The Comte de Vergennes told me that the King displayed the greatest +impartiality throughout the whole investigation for the exculpation of +the Queen, and made good his title on this, as he did on every occasion +where his own unbiassed feelings and opinions were called into action, to +great esteem for much higher qualities than the world has usually given +him credit for. + +"I have been accused of having opened the prison doors of the culprit +Lamotte for her escape; but the charge is false. I interested myself, as +was my duty, to shield the Queen from public reproach by having Lamotte +sent to a place of penitence; but I never interfered, except to lessen +her punishment, after the judicial proceedings. The diamonds, in the +hands of her vile associates at Paris, procured her ample means to +escape. I should have been the Queen's greatest enemy had I been the +cause of giving liberty to one who acted, and might naturally have been +expected to act, as this depraved woman did. + +"Through the private correspondence which was carried on between this +country and England, after I had left it, I was informed that M. de +Calonne, whom the Queen never liked, and who was called to the +administration against her will--which he knew, and consequently became +one of her secret enemies in the affair of the necklace--was discovered +to have been actively employed against Her Majesty in the work published +in London by Lamotte. + +"Mr. Sheridan was the gentleman who first gave me this information. + +"I immediately sent a trusty person by the Queen's orders to London, to +buy up the whole work. It was too late. It had been already so widely +circulated that its consequences could no longer be prevented. I was +lucky enough, however, for a considerable sum, to get a copy from a +person intimate with the author, the margin of which, in the handwriting +of M. de Calonne, actually contained numerous additional circumstances +which were to have been published in a second edition! This publication +my agent, aided by some English gentlemen, arrived in time to suppress. + +"The copy I allude to was brought to Paris and shown to the Queen. She +instantly flew with it in her hands to the King's cabinet. + +"'Now, Sire,' exclaimed she, 'I hope you will be convinced that my +enemies are those whom I have long considered as the most pernicious of +Your Majesty's Councillors--your own Cabinet Ministers--your M. de +Calonne!--respecting whom I have often given you my opinion, which, +unfortunately, has always been attributed to mere female caprice, or as +having been biassed by the intrigues of Court favourites! This, I hope, +Your Majesty will now be able to contradict!' + +"The King all this time was looking over the different pages containing +M. de Calonne's additions on their margins. On recognising the +hand-writing, His Majesty was so affected by this discovered treachery of +his Minister and the agitation of his calumniated Queen that he could +scarcely articulate. + +"'Where,' said he, I did you procure this?' + +"'Through the means, Sire, of some of the worthy members of that nation +your treacherous Ministers made our enemy--from England! where your +unfortunate Queen, your injured wife, is compassionated!' + +"'Who got it for you?' + +"'My dearest, my real, and my only sincere friend, the Princesse de +Lamballe!' + +"The King requested I should be sent for. I came. As may be imagined, I +was received with the warmest sentiments of affection by both Their +Majesties. I then laid before the King the letter of Mr. Sheridan, which +was, in substance, as follows: + +"'MADAME, + +"'A work of mine, which I did not choose should be printed, was published +in Dublin and transmitted to be sold in London. As soon as I was +informed of it, and had procured a spurious copy, I went to the +bookseller to put a stop to its circulation. I there met with a copy of +the work of Madame de Lamotte, which has been corrected by some one at +Paris and sent back to the bookseller for a second edition. Though not +in time to suppress the first edition, owing to its rapid circulation, I +have had interest enough, through the means of the bookseller of whom I +speak, to remit you the copy which has been sent as the basis of a new +one. The corrections, I am told, are by one of the King's Ministers. If +true, I should imagine the writer will be easily traced. + +"'I am happy that it has been in my power to make this discovery, and I +hope it will be the means of putting a stop to this most scandalous +publication. I feel myself honoured in having contributed thus far to +the wishes of Her Majesty, which I hope I have fulfilled to the entire +satisfaction of Your Highness. + +"'Should anything further transpire on this subject, I will give you the +earliest information. + +"'I remain, madame, with profound respect, Your Highness' most devoted, + +"'very humble servant, + +"'RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN.' + +[Madame Campan mentions in her work that the Queen had informed her of +the treachery of the Minister, but did not enter into particulars, nor +explain the mode or source of its detection. Notwithstanding the parties +had bound themselves for the sums they received not to reprint the work, +a second edition appeared a short time afterwards in London. This, which +was again bought up by the French Ambassador, was the same which was to +have been burned by the King's command at the china manufactory at +Sevres.] + +"M. de Calonne immediately received the King's mandate to resign the +portfolio. The Minister desired that he might be allowed to give his +resignation to the King himself. His request was granted. The Queen was +present at the interview. The work in question was produced. On +beholding it, the Minister nearly fainted. The King got up and left the +room. The Queen, who remained, told M. de Calonne that His Majesty had +no further occasion for his services. He fell on his knees. He was not +allowed to speak, but was desired to leave Paris. + +"The dismissal and disgrace of M. de Calonne were scarcely known before +all Paris vociferated that they were owing to the intrigues of the +favourite De Polignac, in consequence of his having refused to administer +to her own superfluous extravagance and the Queen's repeated demands on +the Treasury to satisfy the numerous dependants of the Duchess. + +"This, however, was soon officially disproved by the exhibition of a +written proposition of Calonne's to the Queen, to supply an additional +hundred thousand francs that year to her annual revenue, which Her +Majesty refused. As for the Duchesse de Polignac, so far from having +caused the disgrace, she was not even aware of the circumstance from +which it arose; nor did the Minister himself ever know how, or by what +agency, his falsehood was so thoroughly unmasked." + +NOTE: + +[The work which is here spoken of, the Queen kept, as a proof of the +treachery of Calonne towards her and his Sovereign, till the storming of +the Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792, when, with the rest of the +papers and property plundered on that memorable occasion, it fell into +the hands of the ferocious mob. + +M. de Calonne soon after left France for Italy. There he lived for some +time in the palace of a particular friend of mine and the Marquis, my +husband, the Countess Francese Tressino, at Vicenza. + +In consequence of our going every season to take the mineral waters and +use the baths at Valdagno, we had often occasion to be in company with M. +de Calonne, both at Vicenza and Valdagno, where I must do him the justice +to say he conducted himself with the greatest circumspection in speaking +of the Revolution. + +Though he evidently avoided the topic which terminates this chapter, yet +one day, being closely pressed upon the subject, he said forgeries were +daily committed on Ministers, and were most particularly so in France at +the period in question; that he had borne the blame of various +imprudencies neither authorized nor executed by him; that much had been +done and supposed to have been done with his sanction, of which he had +not the slightest knowledge. This he observed generally, without +specifying any express instance. + +He was then asked whether he did not consider himself responsible for the +mischief he occasioned by declaring the nation in a state of bankruptcy. +He said, "No, not in the least. There was no other way of preventing +enormous sums from being daily lavished, as they then were, on herds of +worthless beings; that the Queen had sought to cultivate a state of +private domestic society, but that, in the attempt, she only warmed in +her bosom domestic vipers, who fed on the vital spirit of her +generosity." He mentioned no names. + +I then took the liberty of asking him his opinion of the Princesse de +Lamballe. + +"Oh, madame! had the rest of Her Majesty's numerous attendants possessed +the tenth part of that unfortunate Victim's virtues, Her Majesty would +never have been led into the errors which all France must deplore! + +"I shall never forget her," continued he, "the day I went to take leave +of her. She was sitting on a sofa when I entered. On seeing me, she +rose immediately. Before I could utter a syllable, 'Monsieur,' said the +Princess, 'you are accused of being the Queen's enemy. Acquit yourself +of the foul deed imputed to you, and I shall be happy to serve you as far +as lies in my power. Till then, I must decline holding any communication +with an individual thus situated. I am her friend, and cannot receive any +one known to be otherwise.' + +"There was something," added he, "so sublime, so dignified, and +altogether so firm, though mild in her manner, that she appeared not to +belong to a race of earthly beings!" + +Seeing the tears fall from his eyes, while he was thus eulogising her +whose memory I shall ever venerate, I almost forgave him the mischief of +his imprudence, which led to her untimely end. I therefore carefully +avoided wounding his few gray hairs and latter days, and left him still +untold that it was by her, of whom he thought so highly, that his +uncontradicted treachery had been discovered. + + + + +SECTION III. + + +"Of the many instances in which the Queen's exertions to serve those whom +she conceived likely to benefit and relieve the nation, turned to the +injury, not only of herself, but those whom she patronised and the cause +she would strengthen, one of the most unpopular was that of the promotion +of Brienne, Archbishop of Sens, to the Ministry. Her interest in his +favour was entirely created by the Abbe Vermond, himself too superficial +to pronounce upon any qualities, and especially such as were requisite +for so high a station. By many, the partiality which prompted Vermond to +espouse the interests of the Archbishop was ascribed to the amiable +sentiment of gratitude for the recommendation of that dignitary, by which +Vermond himself first obtained his situation at Court; but there were +others, who have been deemed deeper in the secret, who impute it to the +less honourable source of self-interest, to the mere spirit of +ostentation, to the hope of its enabling him to bring about the +destruction of the De Polignacs. Be this as it may, the Abbe well knew +that a Minister indebted for his elevation solely to the Queen would be +supported by her to the last. + +"This, unluckily, proved the case. Marie Antoinette persisted in +upholding every act of Brienne, till his ignorance and unpardonable +blunders drew down the general indignation of the people against Her +Majesty and her protege, with whom she was identified. The King had +assented to the appointment with no other view than that of not being +utterly isolated and to show a respect for his consort's choice. But the +incapable Minister was presently compelled to retire not only from +office, but from Paris. Never was a Minister more detested while in +power, or a people more enthusiastically satisfied at his going out. His +effigy was burnt in every town of France, and the general illuminations +and bonfires in the capital were accompanied by hooting and hissing the +deposed statesman to the barriers. + +"The Queen, prompted by the Abbe Vermond, even after Brienne's +dismission, gave him tokens of her royal munificence. Her Majesty feared +that her acting otherwise to a Minister, who had been honoured by her +confidence, would operate as a check to prevent all men of celebrity from +exposing their fortunes to so ungracious a return for lending their best +services to the State, which now stood in need of the most skilful +pilots. Such were the motives assigned by Her Majesty herself to me, +when I took the liberty, of expostulating with her respecting the dangers +which threatened herself and family, from this continued devotedness to a +Minister against whom the nation had pronounced so strongly. I could not +but applaud the delicacy of the feeling upon which her conduct had been +grounded; nor could I blame her, in my heart, for the uprightness of her +principle, in showing that what she had once undertaken should not be +abandoned through female caprice. I told Her Majesty that the system +upon which she acted was praiseworthy; and that its application in the +present instance would have been so had the Archbishop possessed as much +talent as he lacked; but, that now it was quite requisite for her to stop +the public clamour by renouncing her protection of a man who had so +seriously endangered the public tranquillity and her own reputation. + +"As a proof how far my caution was well founded, there was an immense +riotous mob raised about this time against the Queen, in consequence of +her having, appointed the dismissed Minister's niece, Madame de Canisy, +to a place at Court, and having given her picture, set in diamonds, to +the Archbishop himself. + +"The Queen, in many cases, was by far too communicative to some of her +household, who immediately divulged all they gathered from her unreserve. +How could these circumstances have transpired to the people but from +those nearest the person of Her Majesty, who, knowing the public feeling +better than their royal mistress could be supposed to know it, did their +own feeling little credit by the mischievous exposure? The people were +exasperated beyond all conception. The Abbe Vermond placed before Her +Majesty the consequences of her communicativeness, and from this time +forward she never repeated the error. After the lesson she had received, +none of her female attendants, not even the Duchesse de Polignac, to whom +she would have confided her very existence, could, had they been ever so +much disposed, have drawn anything upon public matters from her. With +me, as her superintendent and entitled by my situation to interrogate and +give her counsel, she was not, of course, under the same restriction. To +his other representations of the consequences of the Queen's indiscreet +openness, the Abbe Vermond added that, being obliged to write all the +letters, private and public, he often found himself greatly embarrassed +by affairs having gone forth to the world beforehand. One misfortune of +putting this seal upon the lips of Her Majesty was that it placed her +more thoroughly in the Abbe's power. She was, of course, obliged to rely +implicitly upon him concerning many points, which, had they undergone the +discussion necessarily resulting from free conversation, would have been +shown to her under very different aspects. A man with a better heart, +less Jesuitical, and not so much interested as Vermond was to keep his +place, would have been a safer monitor. + +"Though the Archbishop of Sens was so much hated and despised, much may +be said in apology for his disasters. His unpopularity, and the Queen's +support of him against the people, was certainly a vital blow to the +monarchy. There is no doubt of his having been a poor substitute for the +great men who had so gloriously beaten the political paths of +administration, particularly the Comte de Vergennes and Necker. But at +that time, when France was threatened by its great convulsion, where is +the genius which might not have committed itself? And here is a man +coming to rule amidst revolutionary feelings, with no knowledge whatever +of revolutionary principles--a pilot steering into one harbour by the +chart of another. I am by no means a vindicator of the Archbishop's +obstinacy in offering himself a candidate for a situation entirely +foreign to the occupations, habits, and studies of his whole life; but +his intentions may have been good enough, and we must not charge the +physician with murder who has only mistaken the disease, and, though +wrong in his judgment, has been zealous and conscientious; nor must we +blame the comedians for the faults of the comedy. The errors were not so +much in the men who did not succeed as in the manners of the times. + +"The part which the Queen was now openly compelled to bear, in the +management of public affairs, increased the public feeling against her +from dislike to hatred. Her Majesty was unhappy, not only from the +necessity which called her out of the sphere to which she thought her sex +ought to be confined, but from the divisions which existed in the Royal +Family upon points in which their common safety required a common scheme +of action. Her favourite brother-in-law, D'Artois, had espoused the side +of D'ORLEANS, and the popular party seemed to prevail against her, even +with the King. + +"The various parliamentary assemblies, which had swept on their course, +under various denominations, in rapid and stormy succession, were now +followed by one which, like Aaron's rod, was to swallow up the rest. Its +approach was regarded by the Queen with ominous reluctance. At length, +however, the moment for the meeting of the States General at Versailles +arrived. Necker was once more in favour, and a sort of forlorn hope of +better times dawned upon the perplexed monarch, in his anticipations from +this assembly. + +"The night before the procession of the instalment of the States General +was to take place, it being my duty to attend Her Majesty, I received an +anonymous letter, cautioning me not to be seen that day by her side. I +immediately went to the King's apartments and showed him the letter. His +Majesty humanely enjoined me to abide by its counsels. I told him I +hoped he would for once permit me to exercise my own discretion; for if +my royal Sovereign were in danger, it was then that her attendants should +be most eager to rally round her, in order to watch over her safety and +encourage her fortitude. + +"While we were thus occupied, the Queen and my sister-in-law, the +Duchesse d'Orleans, entered the King's apartment, to settle some part of +the etiquette respecting the procession. + +"'I wish,' exclaimed the Duchess, 'that this procession were over; or +that it were never to take place; or that none of us had to be there; or +else, being obliged, that we had all passed, and were comfortably at home +again.' + +"'Its taking place,' answered the Queen, 'never had my sanction, +especially at Versailles. M. Necker appears to be in its favour, and +answers for its success. I wish he may not be deceived; but I much fear +that he is guided more by the mistaken hope of maintaining his own +popularity by this impolitic meeting, than by any conscientious +confidence in its advantage to the King's authority.' + +"The King, having in his hand the letter which I had just brought him, +presented it to the Queen. + +"'This, my dear Duchess,' cried the Queen, I comes from the Palais Royal +manufactory, [Palais d' Orleans. D.W.] to poison the very first +sentiments of delight at the union expected between the King and his +subjects, by innuendoes of the danger which must result from my being +present at it. Look at the insidiousness of the thing! Under a pretext +of kindness, cautions against the effect of their attachment are given to +my most sincere and affectionate attendants, whose fidelity none dare +attack openly. I am, however, rejoiced that Lamballe has been +cautioned.' + +"'Against what?' replied I. + +"'Against appearing in the procession,' answered the Queen. + +"'It is only,' I exclaimed, 'by putting me in the grave they can ever +withdraw me from Your Majesty. While I have life and Your Majesty's +sanction, force only will prevent me from doing my duty. Fifty thousand +daggers, Madame, were they all raised against me, would have no power to +shake the firmness of my character or the earnestness of my attachment. I +pity the wretches who have so little penetration. Victim or no victim, +nothing shall ever induce me to quit Your Majesty.' + +"The Queen and Duchess, both in tears, embraced me. After the Duchess +had taken her leave, the King and Queen hinted their suspicions that she +had been apprised of the letter, and had made this visit expressly to +observe what effect it had produced, well knowing at the time that some +attempt was meditated by the hired mob and purchased deputies already +brought over to the D'ORLEANS faction. Not that the slightest suspicion +of collusion could ever be attached to the good Duchesse d'Orleans +against the Queen. The intentions of the Duchess were known to be as +virtuous and pure as those of her husband's party were criminal and +mischievous. But, no doubt, she had intimations of the result intended; +and, unable to avert the storm or prevent its cause, had been instigated +by her strong attachment to me, as well as the paternal affection her +father, the Duc de Penthievre, bore me, to attempt to lessen the +exasperation of the Palais Royal party and the Duke, her husband, against +me, by dissuading me from running any risk upon the occasion. + +"The next day, May 5, 1789, at the very moment when all the resources of +nature and art seemed exhausted to render the Queen a paragon of +loveliness beyond anything I had ever before witnessed, even in her; when +every impartial eye was eager to behold and feast on that form whose +beauty warmed every heart in her favour; at that moment a horde of +miscreants, just as she came within sight of the Assembly, thundered in +her ears, 'Orleans forever!' three or four times, while she and the King +were left to pass unheeded. Even the warning of the letter, from which +she had reason to expect some commotions, suggested to her imagination +nothing like this, and she was dreadfully shaken. I sprang forward to +support her. The King's party, prepared for the attack, shouted 'Vive le +roi! Vive la reine!' As I turned, I saw some of the members lividly +pale, as if fearing their machinations had been discovered; but, as they +passed, they said in the hearing of Her Majesty, 'Remember, you are the +daughter of Maria Theresa.'--'True,' answered the Queen. The Duc de +Biron, Orleans, La Fayette, Mirabeau, and the Mayor of Paris, seeing Her +Majesty's emotion, came up, and were going to stop the procession. All, +in apparent agitation, cried out 'Halt!' The Queen, sternly looking at +them, made a sign with her head to proceed, recovered herself, and moved +forward in the train, with all the dignity and self-possession for which +she was so eminently distinguished. + +"But this self-command in public proved nearly fatal to Her Majesty on +her return to her apartment. There her real feelings broke forth, and +their violence was so great as to cause the bracelets on her wrists and +the pearls in her necklace to burst from the threads and settings, before +her women and the ladies in attendance could have time to take them off. +She remained many hours in a most alarming state of strong convulsions. +Her clothes were obliged to be cut from her body, to give her ease; but +as soon as she was undressed, and tears came to her relief, she flew +alternately to the Princesse Elizabeth and to myself; but we were both +too much overwhelmed to give her the consolation of which she stood so +much in need. + +"Barnave that very evening came to my private apartment, and tendered his +services to the Queen. He told me he wished Her Majesty to be convinced +that he was a Frenchman; that he only desired his country might be +governed by salutary laws, and not by the caprice of weak sovereigns, or +a vitiated, corrupt Ministry; that the clergy and nobility ought to +contribute to the wants of the State equally with every other class of +the King's subjects; that when this was accomplished, and abuses were +removed, by such a national representation as would enable the Minister, +Necker, to accomplish his plans for the liquidation of the national debt, +I might assure Her Majesty that both the King and herself would find +themselves happier in a constitutional government than they had ever yet +been; for such a government would set them free from all dependence on +the caprice of Ministers, and lessen a responsibility of which they now +experienced the misery; that if the King sincerely entered into the +spirit of regenerating the French nation, he would find among the present +representatives many members of probity, loyal and honourable in their +intentions, who would never become the destroyers of a limited legitimate +monarchy, or the corrupt regicides of a rump Parliament, such as brought +the wayward Charles the First, of England, to the fatal block. + +"I attempted to relate the conversation to the Queen. She listened with +the greatest attention till I came to the part concerning the +constitutional King, when Her Majesty lost her patience, and prevented me +from proceeding. + +[This and other conversations, which will be found in subsequent pages, +will prove that Barnave's sentiments in favour of the Royal Family long +preceded the affair at Varennes, the beginning of which Madame Campan +assigns to it. Indeed it must by this time be evident to the reader that +Madame Campan, though very correct in relating all she knew, with respect +to the history of Marie Antoinette, was not in possession of matters +foreign to her occupation about the person of the Queen, and, in +particular, that she could communicate little concerning those important +intrigues carried on respecting the different deputies of the first +Assembly, till in the latter days of the Revolution, when it became +necessary, from the pressure of events, that she should be made a sort of +confidante, in order to prevent her from compromising the persons of the +Queen and the Princesse de Lamballe: a trust, of her claim to which her +undoubted fidelity was an ample pledge. Still, however, she was often +absent from Court at moments of great importance, and was obliged to take +her information, upon much which she has recorded, from hearsay, which +has led her, as I have before stated, into frequent mistakes.] + +"The expense of the insulting scene, which had so overcome Her Majesty, +was five hundred thousand francs! This sum was paid by the agents of the +Palais Royal, and its execution entrusted principally to Mirabeau, +Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, and another individual, who was afterwards +brought over to the Court party. + +"The history of the Assembly itself on the day following, the 6th of May, +is too well known. The sudden perturbation of a guilty conscience, which +overcame the Duc d'Orleans, seemed like an awful warning. He had +scarcely commenced his inflammatory address to the Assembly, when some +one, who felt incommoded by the stifling heat of the hall, exclaimed, +'Throw open the windows!' The conspirator fancied he heard in this his +death sentence. He fainted, and was conducted home in the greatest +agitation. Madame de Bouffon was at the Palais Royal when the Duke was +taken thither. The Duchesse d'Orleans was at the palace of the Duc de +Penthievre, her father, while the Duke himself was at the Hotel Thoulouse +with me, where he was to dine, and where we were waiting for the Duchess +to come and join us, by appointment. But Madame de Bouffon was so +alarmed by the state in which she saw the Duc d'Orleans that she +instantly left the Palais Royal, and despatched his valet express to +bring her thither. My sister-in-law sent an excuse to me for not coming +to dinner, and an explanation to her father for so abruptly leaving his +palace, and hastened home to her husband. It was some days before he +recovered; and his father-in-law, his wife, and myself were not without +hopes that he would see in this an omen to prevent him from persisting +any longer in his opposition to the Royal Family. + +"The effects of the recall of the popular Minister, Necker, did not +satisfy the King. Necker soon became an object of suspicion to the Court +party, and especially to His Majesty and the Queen. He was known to have +maintained an understanding with D'ORLEANS. The miscarriage of many +plans and the misfortunes which succeeded were the result of this +connection, though it was openly disavowed. The first suspicion of the +coalition arose thus: + +"When the Duke had his bust carried about Paris, after his unworthy +schemes against the King had been discovered, it was thrown into the +mire. Necker passing, perhaps by mere accident, stopped his carriage, +and expressing himself with some resentment for such treatment to a +Prince of the blood and a friend of the people, ordered the bust to be +taken to the Palais Royal, where it was washed, crowned with laurel, and +thence, with Necker's own bust, carried to Versailles. The King's aunts, +coming from Bellevue as the procession was upon the road, ordered the +guards to send the men away who bore the busts, that the King and Queen +might not be insulted with the sight. This circumstance caused another +riot, which was attributed to Their Majesties. The dismission of the +Minister was the obvious result. It is certain, however, that, in +obeying the mandate of exile, Necker had no wish to exercise the +advantage he possessed from his great popularity. His retirement was +sudden and secret; and, although it was mentioned that very evening by +the Baroness de Stael to the Comte de Chinon, so little bustle was made +about his withdrawing from France, that it was even stated at the time to +have been utterly unknown, even to his daughter. + +"Necker himself ascribed his dismission to the influence of the De +Polignacs; but he was totally mistaken, for the Duchesse de Polignac was +the last person to have had any influence in matters of State, whatever +might have been the case with those who surrounded her. She was devoid +of ambition or capacity to give her weight; and the Queen was not so +pliant in points of high import as to allow herself to be governed or +overruled, unless her mind was thoroughly convinced. In that respect, +she was something like Catharine II., who always distinguished her +favourites from her Minister; but in the present case she had no choice, +and was under the necessity of yielding to the boisterous voice of a +faction. + +"From this epoch, I saw all the persons who had any wish to communicate +with the Queen on matters relative to the public business, and Her +Majesty was generally present when they came, and received them in my +apartments. The Duchesse de Polignac never, to my knowledge, entered +into any of these State questions; yet there was no promotion in the +civil, military, or ministerial department, which she has not been +charged with having influenced the Queen to make, though there were few +of them who were not nominated by the King and his Ministers, even +unknown to the Queen herself. + +"The prevailing dissatisfaction against Her Majesty and the favourite De +Polignac now began to take so many forms, and produce effects so +dreadful, as to wring her own feelings, as well as those of her royal +mistress, with the most intense anguish. Let me mention one gross and +barbarous instance in proof of what I say. + +"After the birth of the Queen's second son, the Duc de Normandie, who was +afterwards Dauphin, the Duke and Duchess of Harcourt, outrageously +jealous of the ascendency of the governess of the Dauphin, excited the +young Prince's hatred toward Madame de Polignac to such a pitch that he +would take nothing from her hands, but often, young as he was at the +time, order her out of the apartment, and treat her remonstrances with +the utmost contempt. The Duchess bitterly complained of the Harcourts to +the Queen; for she really sacrificed the whole of her time to the care +and attention required by this young Prince, and she did so from sincere +attachment, and that he might not be irritated in his declining state of +health. The Queen was deeply hurt at these dissensions between the +governor and governess. Her Majesty endeavoured to pacify the mind of +the young Prince, by literally making herself a slave to his childish +caprices, which in all probability would have created the confidence so +desired, when a most cruel, unnatural, I may say diabolical, report +prevailed to alienate the child's affections even from his mother, in +making him believe that, owing to his deformity and growing ugliness, she +had transferred all her tenderness to his younger brother, who certainly +was very superior in health and beauty to the puny Dauphin. Making a +pretext of this calumny, the governor of the heir-apparent was malicious +enough to prohibit him from eating or drinking anything but what first +passed through the hands of his physicians; and so strong was the +impression made by this interdict on the mind of the young Dauphin that +he never after saw the Queen but with the greatest terror. The feelings +of his disconsolate parent may be more readily conceived than described. +So may the mortification of his governess, the Duchesse de Polignac, +herself so tender, so affectionate a mother. Fortunately for himself, +and happily for his wretched parents, this royal youth, whose life, +though short, had been so full of suffering, died at Versailles on the +4th of June, 1789, and, though only between seven and eight years of age +at the time of his decease, he had given proofs of intellectual +precocity, which would probably have made continued life, amidst the +scenes of wretchedness, which succeeded, anything to him but a blessing. + +"The cabals of the Duke of Harcourt, to which I have just adverted, +against the Duchesse de Polignac, were the mere result of foul malice and +ambition. Harcourt wished to get his wife, who was the sworn enemy of De +Polignac, created governess to the Dauphin, instead of the Queen's +favourite. Most of the criminal stories against the Duchesse de +Polignac, and which did equal injury to the Queen, were fabricated by the +Harcourts, for the purpose of excluding their rival from her situation. + +"Barnave, meanwhile, continued faithful to his liberal principles, but +equally faithful to his desire of bringing Their Majesties over to those +principles, and making them republican Sovereigns. He lost no +opportunity of availing himself of my permission for him to call whenever +he chose on public business; and he continued to urge the same points, +upon which he had before been so much in earnest, although with no better +effect. Both the King and the Queen looked with suspicion upon Barnave, +and with still more suspicion upon his politics. + +"The next time I received him, 'Madame,' exclaimed the deputy to me, +'since our last interview I have pondered well on the situation of the +King; and, as an honest Frenchman, attached to my lawful Sovereign, and +anxious for his future prosperous reign, I am decidedly of opinion that +his own safety, as well as the dignity of the crown of France, and the +happiness of his subjects, can only be secured by his giving his country +a Constitution, which will at once place his establishment beyond the +caprice and the tyranny of corrupt administrations, and secure hereafter +the first monarchy in Europe from the possibility of sinking under weak +Princes, by whom the royal splendour of France has too often been debased +into the mere tool of vicious and mercenary noblesse, and sycophantic +courtiers. A King, protected by a Constitution, can do no wrong. He is +unshackled with responsibility. He is empowered with the comfort of +exercising the executive authority for the benefit of the nation, while +all the harsher duties, and all the censures they create, devolve on +others. It is, therefore, madame, through your means, and the well-known +friendship you have ever evinced for the Royal Family, and the general +welfare of the French nation, that I wish to obtain a private audience of +Her Majesty, the Queen, in order to induce her to exert the never-failing +ascendency she has ever possessed over the mind of our good King, in +persuading him to the sacrifice of a small proportion of his power, for +the sake of preserving the monarchy to his heirs; and posterity will +record the virtues of a Prince who has been magnanimous enough, of his +own free will, to resign the unlawful part of his prerogatives, usurped +by his predecessors, for the blessing and pleasure of giving liberty to a +beloved people, among whom both the King and Queen will find many +Hampdens and Sidneys, but very few Cromwells. Besides, madame, we must +make a merit of necessity. The times are pregnant with events, and it is +more prudent to support the palladium of the ancient monarchy than risk +its total overthrow; and fall it must, if the diseased excrescences, of +which the people complain, and which threaten to carry death into the +very heart of the tree, be not lopped away in time by the Sovereign +himself.' + +"I heard the deputy with the greatest attention. I promised to fulfil +his commission. The better to execute my task, I retired the moment he +left me, and wrote down all I could recollect of his discourse, that it +might be thoroughly placed before the Queen the first opportunity. + +"When I communicated the conversation to Her Majesty, she listened with +the most gracious condescension, till I came to the part wherein Barnave +so forcibly impressed the necessity of adopting a constitutional +monarchy. Here, as she had done once before, when I repeated some former +observations of Barnave to her, Marie Antoinette somewhat lost her +equanimity. She rose from her seat, and exclaimed: + +"'What! is an absolute Prince, and the hereditary Sovereign of the +ancient monarchy of France, to become the tool of a plebeian faction, who +will, their point once gained, dethrone him for his imbecile +complaisance? Do they wish to imitate the English Revolution of 1648, +and reproduce the sanguinary times of the unfortunate and weak Charles +the First? To make France a commonwealth! Well! be it so! But before I +advise the King to such a step, or give my consent to it, they shall bury +me under the ruins of the monarchy.' + +"'But what answer,' said I, 'does Your Majesty wish me to return to the +deputy's request for a private audience?' + +"'What answer?' exclaimed the Queen. No answer at all is the best answer +to such a presumptuous proposition! I tremble for the consequences of +the impression their disloyal manoeuvres have made upon the minds of the +people, and I have no faith whatever in their proffered services to the +King. However, on reflection, it may be expedient to temporise. Continue +to see him. Learn, if possible, how far he may be trusted; but do not +fix any time, as yet, for the desired audience. I wish to apprise the +King, first, of his interview with you, Princess. This conversation does +not agree with what he and Mirabeau proposed about the King's recovering +his prerogatives. Are these the prerogatives with which he flattered the +King? Binding him hand and foot, and excluding him from every privilege, +and then casting him a helpless dependant on the caprice of a volatile +plebeian faction! The French nation is very different from the English. +The first rules of the established ancient order of the government broken +through, they will violate twenty others, and the King will be +sacrificed, before this frivolous people again organise themselves with +any sort of regular government.' + +"Agreeably to Her Majesty's commands, I continued to see Barnave. I +communicated with him by letter,' at his private lodgings at Passy, and +at Vitry; but it was long before the Queen could be brought to consent to +the audience he solicited. + +[Of these letters I was generally the bearer. I recollect that day +perfectly. I was copying some letters for the Princesse de Lamballe, +when the Prince de Conti came in. The Prince lived not only to see, but +to feel the errors of his system. He attained a great age. He outlived +the glory of his country. Like many others, the first gleam of political +regeneration led him into a system, which drove him out of France, to +implore the shelter of a foreign asylum, that he might not fall a victim +to his own credulity. I had an opportunity of witnessing in his latter +days his sincere repentance; and to this it is fit that I should bear +testimony. There were no bounds to the execration with which he expressed +himself towards the murderers of those victims, whose death he lamented +with a bitterness in which some remorse was mingled, from the impression +that his own early errors in favour of the Revolution had unintentionally +accelerated their untimely end. This was a source to him of deep and +perpetual self-reproach. + +There was an eccentricity in the appearance, dress, and manners of the +Prince de Conti, which well deserves recording. + +He wore to the very last--and it was in Barcelona, so late as 1803, that +I last had the honour of conversing with him--a white rich stuff dress +frock coat, of the cut and fashion of Louis XIV., which, being without +any collar, had buttons and button-holes from the neck to the bottom of +the skirt, and was padded and stiffened with buckram. The cuffs were +very large, of a different colour, and turned up to the elbows. The +whole was lined with white satin, which, from its being very much +moth-eaten, appeared as if it had been dotted on purpose to show the +buckram between the satin lining. His waistcoat was of rich green striped +silk, bound with gold lace; the buttons and buttonholes of gold; the +flaps very large, and completely covering his small clothes; which +happened very apropos, for they scarcely reached his knees, over which he +wore large striped silk stockings, that came half-way up his thighs. His +shoes had high heels, and reached half up his legs; the buckles were +small, and set round with paste. A very narrow stiff stock decorated his +neck. He carried a hat, with a white feather on the inside, under his +arm. His ruffles were of very handsome point lace. His few gray hairs +were gathered in a little round bag. The wig alone was wanting to make +him a thorough picture of the polished age of the founder of Versailles +and Marly. + +He had all that princely politeness of manner which so eminently +distinguished the old school of French nobility, previous to the +Revolution. He was the thorough gentleman, a character by no means so +readily to be met with in these days of refinement as one would imagine. +He never addressed the softer sex but with ease and elegance, and +admiration of their persons. + +Could Louis XIV. have believed, had it been told to him when he placed +this branch of the Bourbons on the throne of Iberia, that it would one +day refuse to give shelter at the Court of Madrid to one of his family, +for fear of offending a Corsican usurper!] + +"Indeed, Her Majesty had such an aversion to all who had declared +themselves for any innovation upon the existing power of the monarchy, +that she was very reluctant to give audience upon the subject to any +person, not even excepting the Princes of the blood. The Comte d'Artois +himself, leaning as he did to the popular side, had ceased to be welcome. +Expressions he had made use of, concerning the necessity for some change, +had occasioned the coolness, which was already of considerable standing. + +"One day the Prince de Conti came to me, to complain of the Queen's +refusing to receive him, because he had expressed himself to the same +effect as had the Comte d'Artois on the subject of the Tiers Etat. + +"'And does Your Highness,' replied I, 'imagine that the Queen is less +displeased with the conduct of the Comte d'Artois on that head than she +is with you, Prince? I can assure Your Highness, that at this moment +there subsists a very great degree of coolness between Her Majesty and +her royal brother-in-law, whom she loves as if he were her own brother. +Though she makes every allowance for his political inexperience, and well +knows the goodness of his heart and the rectitude of his intentions, yet +policy will not permit her to change her sentiments.' + +"'That may be,' said the Prince, 'but while Her Majesty continues to +honour with her royal presence the Duchesse de Polignac, whose friends, +as well as herself, are all enthusiastically mad in favour of the +constitutional system, she shows an undue partiality, by countenancing +one branch of the party and not the other; particularly so, as the great +and notorious leader of the opposition, which the Queen frowns upon, is +the sister-in-law of this very Duchesse de Polignac, and the avowed +favourite of the Comte d'Artois, by whom, and the councils of the Palais +Royal, he is supposed to be totally governed in his political career.' + +"'The Queen,' replied I, 'is certainly her own mistress. She sees, I +believe, many persons more from habit than any other motive; to which, +Your Highness is aware, many Princes often make sacrifices. Your +Highness cannot suppose I can have the temerity to control Her Majesty, +in the selection of her friends, or in her sentiments respecting them.' + +"'No,' exclaimed the Prince, 'I imagine not. But she might just as well +see any of us; for we are no more enemies of the Crown than the party she +is cherishing by constantly appearing among them; which, according to her +avowed maxims concerning the not sanctioning any but supporters of the +absolute monarchy, is in direct opposition to her own sentiments. + +"'Who,' continued His Highness, 'caused that infernal comedy, 'Le Mariage +de Figaro', to be brought out, but the party of the Duchesse de Polignac? + +[Note of the Princesse de Lamballe:--The Prince de Conti never could +speak of Beaumarchais but with the greatest contempt. There was +something personal in this exasperation. Beaumarchais had satirized the +Prince. 'The Spanish Barber' was founded on a circumstance which +happened at a country house between Conti and a young lady, during the +reign of Louis XV., when intrigues of every kind were practised and +almost sanctioned. The poet has exposed the Prince by making him the +Doctor Bartolo of his play. The affair which supplied the story was +hushed up at Court, and the Prince was punished only by the loss of his +mistress, who became the wife of another.] + +The play is a critique on the whole Royal Family, from the drawing up of +the curtain to its fall. It burlesques the ways and manners of every +individual connected with the Court of Versailles. Not a scene but +touches some of their characters. Are not the Queen herself and the +Comte d'Artois lampooned and caricatured in the garden scenes, and the +most slanderous ridicule cast upon their innocent evening walks on the +terrace? Does not Beaumarchais plainly show in it, to every impartial +eye, the means which the Comtesse Diane has taken publicly to demonstrate +her jealousy of the Queen's ascendency over the Comte d'Artois? Is it +not from the same sentiment that she roused the jealousy of the Comtesse +d'Artois against Her Majesty?' + +"'All these circumstances,' observed I, 'the King prudently foresaw when +he read the manuscript, and caused it to be read to the Queen, to +convince her of the nature of its characters and the dangerous tendency +likely to arise from its performance. Of this Your Highness is aware. It +is not for me to apprise you that, to avert the excitement inevitable +from its being brought upon the stage, and under a thorough conviction of +the mischief it would produce in turning the minds of the people against +the Queen, His Majesty solemnly declared that the comedy should not be +performed in Paris; and that he would never sanction its being brought +before the public on any stage in France.' + +"'Bah! bah! madame!' exclaimed De Conti. The Queen has acted like a +child in this affair, as in many others. In defiance of His Majesty's +determination, did not the Queen herself, through the fatal influence of +her favourite, whose party wearied her out by continued importunities, +cause the King to revoke his express mandate? And what has been the +consequence of Her Majesty's ungovernable partiality for these De +Polignacs?' + +"'You know, Prince,' said I, 'better than I do.' + +"'The proofs of its bad consequences,' pursued His Highness, 'are more +strongly verified than ever by your own withdrawing from the Queen's +parties since her unreserved acknowledgment of her partiality (fatal +partiality!) for those who will be her ruin; for they are her worst +enemies.' + +"'Pardon me, Prince,' answered I, 'I have not withdrawn myself from the +Queen, but from the new parties, with whose politics I cannot identify +myself, besides some exceptions I have taken against those who frequent +them.' + +"'Bah! bah!' exclaimed De Conti, 'your sagacity has got the better of +your curiosity. All the wit and humour of that traitor Beaumarchais +never seduced you to cultivate his society, as all the rest of the +Queen's party have done.' + +"'I never knew him to be accused of treason.' + +"'Why, what do you call a fellow who sent arms to the Americans before +the war was declared, without his Sovereign's consent?' + +"'In that affair, I consider the Ministers as criminal as himself; for +the Queen, to this day, believes that Beaumarchais was sanctioned by them +and, you know, Her Majesty has ever since had an insuperable dislike to +both De Maurepas and De Vergennes. But I have nothing to do with these +things.' + +"'Yes, yes, I understand you, Princess. Let her romp and play with the +'compate vous',--[A kind of game of forfeits, introduced for the +diversion of the royal children and those of the Duchesse de +Polignac.]--but who will 'compatire' (make allowance for) her folly? +Bah! bah! bah! She is inconsistent, Princess. Not that I mean by this to +insinuate that the Duchess is not the sincere friend and well-wisher of +the Queen. Her immediate existence, her interest, and that of her +family, are all dependent on the royal bounty. But can the Duchess +answer for the same sincerity towards the Queen, with respect to her +innumerable guests? No! Are not the sentiments of the Duchesses +sister-in-law, the Comtesse Diane, in direct opposition to the absolute +monarchy? Has she not always been an enthusiastic advocate for all those +that have supported the American war? Who was it that crowned, at a +public assembly, the democratical straight hairs of Dr. Franklin? Why +the same Madame Comtesse Diane! Who was 'capa turpa' in applauding the +men who were framing the American Constitution at Paris? Madame Comtesse +Diane! Who was it, in like manner, that opposed all the Queen's +arguments against the political conduct of France and Spain, relative to +the war with England, in favour of the American Independence? The +Comtesse Diane! Not for the love of that rising nation, or for the sacred +cause of liberty; but from a taste for notoriety, a spirit of envy and +jealousy, an apprehension lest the personal charms of the Queen might rob +her of a part of those affections, which she herself exclusively hoped to +alienate from that abortion, the Comtesse d'Artois, in whose service she +is Maid of Honour, and handmaid to the Count. My dear Princess, these +are facts proved. Beaumarchais has delineated them all. Why, then, +refuse to see me? Why withdraw her former confidence from the Comte +d'Artois, when she lives in the society which promulgates antimonarchical +principles? These are sad evidences of Her Majesty's inconsistency. She +might as well see the Duc d'Orleans' + +"Here my feelings overwhelmed me. I could contain myself no longer. The +tears gushed from my eyes. + +"'Oh, Prince!' exclaimed I, in a bitter agony of grief--'Oh, Prince! +touch not that fatal string. For how many years has he not caused these +briny tears of mine to flow from my burning eyes! The scalding drops +have nearly parched up the spring of life!'" + + + + +SECTION IV. + + +"The dismissal of M. Necker irritated the people beyond description. They +looked upon themselves as insulted in their favourite. Mob succeeded +mob, each more mischievous and daring than the former. The Duc d'Orleans +continued busy in his work of secret destruction. In one of the popular +risings, a sabre struck his bust, and its head fell, severed from its +body. Many of the rioters (for the ignorant are always superstitious) +shrunk back at this omen of evil to their idol. His real friends +endeavoured to deduce a salutary warning to him from the circumstance. I +was by when the Duc de Penthievre told him, in the presence of his +daughter, that he might look upon this accident as prophetic of the fate +of his own head, as well as the ruin of his family, if he persisted. He +made no answer, but left the room. + +"On the 14th of July, and two or three days preceding, the commotions +took a definite object. The destruction of the Bastille was the point +proposed, and it was achieved. Arms were obtained from the old +pensioners at the Hotel des Invalides. Fifty thousand livres were +distributed among the chiefs of those who influenced the Invalides to +give up the arms. + +"The massacre of the Marquis de Launay, commandant of the place, and of +M. de Flesselles, and the fall of the citadel itself, were the +consequence. + +"Her Majesty was greatly affected when she heard of the murder of these +officers and the taking of the Bastille. She frequently told me that the +horrid circumstance originated in a diabolical Court intrigue, but never +explained the particulars of the intrigue. She declared that both the +officers and the citadel might have been saved had not the King's orders +for the march of the troops from Versailles, and the environs of Paris, +been disobeyed. She blamed the precipitation of De Launay in ordering up +the drawbridge and directing the few troops on it to fire upon the +people. 'There,' she added, 'the Marquis committed himself; as, in case +of not succeeding, he could have no retreat, which every commander should +take care to secure, before he allows the commencement of a general +attack. + +[Certainly, the French Revolution may date its epoch as far back as the +taking of the Bastille; from that moment the troubles progressively +continued, till the final extirpation of its illustrious victims. I was +just returning from a mission to England when the storms began to +threaten not only the most violent effects to France itself, but to all +the land which was not divided from it by the watery element. The spirit +of liberty, as the vine, which produces the most luxurious fruit, when +abused becomes the most pernicious poison, was stalking abroad and +revelling in blood and massacre. I myself was a witness to the +enthusiastic national ball given on the ruins of the Bastille, while it +was still stained and reeking with the hot blood of its late keeper, +whose head I saw carried in triumph. Such was the effect on me that the +Princesse de Lamballe asked me if I had known the Marquis de Launay. I +answered in the negative; but told her from the knowledge I had of the +English Revolution, I was fearful of a result similar to what followed +the fall of the heads of Buckingham and Stafford. The Princess +mentioning my observation to the Duc de Penthievre, they both burst into +tears.] + +The death of the Dauphin, the horrible Revolution of the 14th of July, +the troubles about Necker, the insults and threats offered to the Comte +d'Artois and herself,--overwhelmed the Queen with the most poignant +grief.] + +"She was most desirous of some understanding being established between +the government and the representatives of the people, which she urged +upon the King the expediency of personally attempting. + +"The King, therefore, at her reiterated remonstrances and requests, +presented himself, on the following day, with his brothers, to the +National Assembly, to assure them of his firm determination to support +the measures of the deputies, in everything conducive to the general good +of his subjects. As a proof of his intentions, he said he had commanded +the troops to leave Paris and Versailles. + +"The King left the Assembly, as he had gone thither, on foot, amid the +vociferations of 'Vive le roi!' and it was only through the enthusiasm of +the deputies, who thus hailed His Majesty, and followed him in crowds to +the palace, that the Comte d'Artois escaped the fury of an outrageous +mob. + +"The people filled every avenue of the palace, which vibrated with cries +for the King, the Queen, and the Dauphin to show themselves at the +balcony. + +"'Send for the Duchesse de Polignac to bring the royal children,' cried I +to Her Majesty. + +"'Not for the world!' exclaimed the Queen. 'She will be assassinated, +and my children too, if she make her appearance before this infuriate +mob. Let Madame and the Dauphin be brought unaccompanied.' + +"The Queen, on this occasion, imitated her Imperial mother, Maria +Theresa. She took the Dauphin in her arms, and Madame by her side, as +that Empress had done when she presented herself to the Hungarian +magnates; but the reception here was very different. It was not +'moriamur pro nostra regina'. Not that they were ill received; but the +furious party of the Duc d'Orleans often interrupted the cries of 'Vive +le roi! Vive la reine!' etc., with those of 'Vive la nation! Vive d' +Orleans!' and many severe remarks on the family of the De Polignacs, +which proved that the Queen's caution on this occasion was exceedingly +well-judged. + +"Not to wound the feelings of the Duchesse de Polignac, I kept myself at +a distance behind the Queen; but I was loudly called for by the mobility, +and, 'malgre moi', was obliged, at the King and Queen's request, to come +forward. + +"As I approached the balcony, I perceived one of the well-known agents of +the Duc d'Orleans, whom I had noticed some time before in the throng, +menacing me, the moment I made my appearance, with his upreared hand in +fury. I was greatly terrified, but suppressed my agitation, and saluted +the populace; but, fearful of exhibiting my weakness in sight of the +wretch who had alarmed me, withdrew instantly, and had no sooner +re-entered than I sunk motionless in the arms of one of the attendants. +Luckily, this did not take place till I left the balcony. Had it been +otherwise, the triumph to my declared enemies would have been too great. + +"Recovering, I found myself surrounded by the Royal Family, who were all +kindness and concern for my situation; but I could not subdue my tremor +and affright. The horrid image of that monster seemed, still to threaten +me. + +"'Come, come!' said the King, 'be not alarmed, I shall order a council of +all the Ministers and deputies to-morrow, who will soon put an end to +these riots!' + +"We were ere long joined by the Prince de Conde, the Duc de Bourbon, and +others, who implored the King not to part with the army, but to place +himself, with all the Princes of the blood, at its head, as the only +means to restore tranquillity to the country, and secure his own safety. + +"The Queen was decidedly of the same opinion; and added, that, if the +army were to depart, the King and his family ought to go with it; but the +King, on the contrary, said he would not decide upon any measures +whatever till he had heard the opinion of the Council. + +"The Queen, notwithstanding the King's indecision, was occupied, during +the rest of the day and the whole of the night, in preparing for her +intended; journey, as she hoped to persuade the King to follow the advice +of the Princes, and not wait the result of the next day's deliberation. +Nay, so desirous was she of this, that she threw herself on her knees to +the King, imploring him to leave Versailles and head the army, and +offering to accompany him herself, on horseback, in uniform; but it was +like speaking to a corpse he never answered. + +"The Duchesse de Polignac came to Her Majesty in a state of the greatest +agitation, in consequence of M. de Chinon having just apprised her that a +most malicious report had been secretly spread among the deputies at +Versailles that they were all to be blown up at their next meeting. + +"The Queen was as much surprised as the Duchess, and scarcely less +agitated. These wretched friends could only, in silence, compare notes +of their mutual cruel misfortunes. Both for a time remained speechless +at this new calamity. Surely this was not wanting to be added to those +by which the Queen was already so bitterly oppressed. + +"I was sent for by Her Majesty. Count Fersen accompanied me. He had +just communicated to me what the Duchess had already repeated from M. +Chinon to the Queen. + +"The rumour had been set afloat merely as a new pretext for the +continuation of the riots. + +"The communication of the report, so likely to produce a disastrous +effect, took place while the King was with his Ministers deliberating +whether he should go to Paris, or save himself and family by joining the +army. + +"His Majesty was called from the council to the Queen's apartment, and +was there made acquainted with the circumstance which had so awakened the +terror of the royal party. He calmly replied, 'It is some days since +this invention has been spread among the deputies; I was aware of it from +the first; but from its being utterly impossible to be listened to for a +moment by any one, I did not wish to afflict you by the mention of an +impotent fabrication, which I myself treated with the contempt it justly +merited. Nevertheless, I did not forget, yesterday, in the presence of +both my brothers, who accompanied me to the National Assembly, there to +exculpate myself from an imputation at which my nature revolts; and, from +the manner in which it was received, I flatter myself that every honest +Frenchman was fully satisfied that my religion will ever be an +insurmountable barrier against my harbouring sentiments allied in the +slightest degree to such actions. + +"The King embraced the Queen, begged she would tranquilise herself, +calmed the fears of the two ladies, thanked the gentlemen for the +interest they took in his favour, and returned to the council, who, in +his absence, had determined on his going to the Hotel de Ville at Paris, +suggesting at the same time the names of several persons likely to be +well received, if His Majesty thought proper to allow their accompanying +him. + +"During this interval, the Queen, still flattering herself that she +should pursue her wished-for journey, ordered the carriages to be +prepared and sent off to Rambouillet, where she said she should sleep; +but this Her Majesty only stated for the purpose of distracting the +attention of her pages and others about her from her real purpose. As it +was well known that M. de St. Priest had pointed out Rambouillet as a fit +asylum for the mob, she fancied that an understanding on the part of her +suite that they were to halt there, and prepare for her reception, would +protect her project of proceeding much farther. + +"When the council had broken up and the King returned, he said to the +Queen, 'It is decided.' + +"'To go, I hope?' said Her Majesty. + +"'No'--(though in appearance calm, the words remained on the lips of the +King, and he stood for some moments incapable of utterance; but, +recovering, added)--'To Paris!' + +"The Queen, at the word Paris, became frantic. She flung herself wildly +into the arms of her friends. + +"'Nous sommes perdus! nous sommes perdus!' cried she, in a passion of +tears. But her dread was not for herself. She felt only for the danger +to which the King was now going to expose himself; and she flew to him, +and hung on his neck. + +"'And what,' exclaimed she, 'is to become of all our faithful friends and +attendants!' + +"'I advise them all,' answered His Majesty, 'to make the best of their +way out of France; and that as soon as possible.' + +"By this time, the apartments of the Queen were filled with the +attendants and the royal children, anxiously expecting every moment to +receive the Queen's command to proceed on their journey, but they were +all ordered to retire to whence they came. + +"The scene was that of a real tragedy. Nothing broke the silence but +groans of the deepest affliction. Our consternation at the counter order +cast all into a state of stupefied insensibility. + +"The Queen was the only one whose fortitude bore her up proudly under +this weight of misfortunes. Recovering from the frenzy of the first +impression, she adjured her friends, by the love and obedience they had +ever shown her and the King, to prepare immediately to fulfil his mandate +and make themselves ready for the cruel separation! + +"The Duchesse de Polignac and myself were, for some hours, in a state of +agony and delirium. + +"When the Queen saw the body-guards drawn up to accompany the King's +departure, she ran to the window, threw apart the sash, and was going to +speak to them, to recommend the King to their care; but the Count Fersen +prevented it. + +"'For God's sake, Madame,'--exclaimed he, 'do not commit yourself to the +suspicion of having any doubts of the people!' + +"When the King entered to take leave of her, and of all his most faithful +attendants, he could only articulate, 'Adieu!' But when the Queen saw him +accompanied by the Comte d'Estaing and others, whom, from their new +principles, she knew to be popular favourites, she had command enough of +herself not to shed a tear in their presence. + +"No sooner, however, had the King left the room than it was as much as +the Count Fersen, Princesse Elizabeth, and all of us could do to recover +her from the most violent convulsions. At last, coming to herself, she +retired with the Princess, the Duchess, and myself to await the King's +return; at the same time requesting the Count Fersen to follow His +Majesty to the Hotel de Ville. Again and again she implored the Count, +as she went, in case the King should be detained, to interest himself +with all the foreign Ministers to interpose for his liberation. + +"Versailles, when the King was gone, seemed like a city deserted in +consequence of the plague. The palace was completely abandoned. All the +attendants were dispersed. No one was seen in the streets. Terror +prevailed. It was universally believed that the King would be detained +in Paris. The high road from Versailles to Paris was crowded with all +ranks of people, as if to catch a last look of their Sovereign. + +"The Count Fersen set off instantly, pursuant to the Queen's desire. He +saw all that passed, and on his return related to me the history of that +horrid day. + +"He arrived at Paris just in time to see His Majesty take the national +cockade from M. Bailly and place it in his hat. He, felt the Hotel de +Ville shake with the long-continued cries of 'Vive le roi!' in +consequence, which so affected the King that, for some moments, he was +unable to express himself. 'I myself,' added the Count, 'was so moved at +the effect on His Majesty, in being thus warmly received by his Parisian +subjects, which portrayed the paternal emotions of his long-lacerated +heart, that every other feeling was paralysed for a moment, in exultation +at the apparent unanimity between the Sovereign and his people. But it +did not,' continued the Ambassador, 'paralyse the artful tongue of +Bailly, the Mayor of Paris. I could have kicked the fellow for his +malignant impudence; for, even in the cunning compliment he framed, he +studied to humble the afflicted Monarch by telling the people it was to +them he owed the sovereign authority. + +"'But,' pursued the Count, 'considering the situation of Louis XVI. and +that of his family, agonised as they must have been during his absence, +from the Queen's impression that the Parisians would never again allow +him to see Versailles, how great was our rapture when we saw him safely +replaced in his carriage, and returning to those who were still lamenting +him as lost! + +"'When I left Her Majesty in the morning, she was nearly in a state of +mental aberration. When I saw her again in the evening, the King by her +side, surrounded by her family, the Princesse Eizabeth, and yourself, +madame' said the kind Count, 'she appeared to me like a person risen from +the dead and restored to life. Her excess of joy at the first moment was +beyond description!' + +"Count Fersen might well say the first moment, for the pleasure of the +Queen was of short duration. Her heart was doomed to bleed afresh, when +the thrill of delight, at what she considered the escape of her husband, +was past, for she had already seen her chosen friend, the Duchesse de +Polignac, for the last time. + +"Her Majesty was but just recovered from the effects of the morning's +agitation, when the Duchess, the Duke, his sister, and all his family set +off. It was impossible for her to take leave of her friend. The hour +was late--about midnight. At the same time departed the Comte d'Artois +and his family, the Prince de Conde and his, the Prince of Hesse +d'Armstadt, and all those who were likely to be suspected by the people. + +"Her Majesty desired the Count Fersen to see the Duchess in her name. +When the King heard the request, he exclaimed: + +"'What a cruel state for Sovereigns, my dear Count! To be compelled to +separate ourselves from our most faithful attendants, and not be allowed, +for fear of compromising others or our own lives, to take a last +farewell!' + +"'Ah!' said the Queen, 'I fear so too. I fear it is a last farewell to +all our friends!' + +"The Count saw the Duchess a few moments before she left Versailles. +Pisani, the Venetian Ambassador, and Count Fersen, helped her on the +coachbox, where she rode disguised. + +"What must have been most poignantly mortifying to the fallen favourite +was, that, in the course of her journey, she met with her greatest enemy, +(Necker) who was returning, triumphant, to Paris, called by the voice of +that very nation by whom she and her family were now forced from its +territory,--Necker, who himself conceived that she, who now went by him +into exile, while he himself returned to the greatest of victories, had +thwarted all his former plans of operation, and, from her influence over +the Queen, had caused his dismission and temporary banishment. + +"For my own part, I cannot but consider this sudden desertion of France +by those nearest the throne as ill-judged. Had all the Royal Family, +remained, is it likely that the King and Queen would have been watched +with such despotic vigilance? Would not confidence have created +confidence, and the breach have been less wide between the King and his +people? + +"When the father and his family will now be thoroughly reconciled, Heaven +alone can tell!" + + + + +SECTION V. + + +"Barnave often lamented his having been betrayed, by a love of notoriety, +into many schemes, of which his impetuosity blinded him to the +consequences. With tears in his eyes, he implored me to impress the +Queen's mind with the sad truths he inculcated. He said his motives had +been uniformly the same, however he might have erred in carrying them +into action; but now he relied on my friendship for my royal mistress to +give efficacy to his earnest desire to atone for those faults, of which +he had become convinced by dear-bought experience. He gave me a list of +names for Her Majesty, in which were specified all the Jacobins who had +emissaries throughout France, for the purpose of creating on the same +day, and at the same hour, an alarm of something like the 'Vesparo +Siciliano' (a general insurrection to murder all the nobility and burn +their palaces, which, in fact, took place in many parts of France), the +object of which was to give the Assembly, by whom all the regular troops +were disbanded, a pretext for arming the people as a national guard, thus +creating a perpetual national faction. + +"The hordes of every faubourg now paraded in this new democratic livery. +Even some of them, who were in the actual service of the Court, made no +scruple of decorating themselves thus, in the very face of their +Sovereign. The King complained, but the answer made to him was that the +nation commanded. + +"The very first time Their Majesties went to the royal chapel, after the +embodying of the troops with the national guards, all the persons +belonging to it were accoutred in the national uniform. The Queen was +highly incensed, and deeply affected at this insult offered to the King's +authority by the persons employed in the sacred occupations of the +Church. 'Such persons,' said Her Majesty, 'would, I had hoped, have been +the last to interfere with politics.' She was about to order all those +who preferred their uniforms to their employments to be discharged from +the King's service; but my advice, coupled with that of Barnave, +dissuaded her from executing so dangerous a threat. On being assured +that those, perhaps, who might be selected to replace the offenders might +refuse the service, if not allowed the same ridiculous prerogatives, and +thus expose Their Royal Majesties to double mortification, the Queen +seemed satisfied, and no more was said upon the subject, except to an +Italian soprano, to whom the King signified his displeasure at his +singing a 'salva regina' in the dress of a grenadier of the new faction. + +"The singer took the hint and never again intruded his uniform into the +chapel. + +"Necker, notwithstanding the enthusiasm his return produced upon the +people, felt mortified in having lost the confidence of the King. He +came to me, exclaiming that, unless Their Majesties distinguished him by +some mark of their royal favour, his influence must be lost with the +National Assembly. He perceived, he said, that the councils of the King +were more governed by the advice of the Queen's favourite, the Abbe +Vermond, than by his (Necker's). He begged I would assure Her Majesty +that Vermond was quite as obnoxious to the people as the Duchesse de +Polignac had ever been; for it was generally known that Her Majesty was +completely guided by him, and, therefore, for her own safety and the +tranquillity of national affairs, he humbly suggested the prudence of +sending him from the Court, at least for a time. + +"I was petrified at hearing a Minister dare presume thus to dictate the +line of conduct which the Queen of France, his Sovereign, should pursue +with respect to her most private servants. Such was my indignation at +this cruel wish to dismiss every object of her choice, especially one +from whom, owing to long habits of intimacy since her childhood, a +separation would be rendered, by her present situation, peculiarly cruel, +that nothing but the circumstances in which the Court then stood could +have given me patience to listen to him. + +"I made no answer. Upon my silence, Necker subjoined, 'You must +perceive, Princess, that I am actuated for the general good of the +nation.' + +"'And I hope, monsieur, for the prerogatives of the monarchy also,' +replied I. + +"'Certainly,' said Necker. 'But if Their Majesties continue to be guided +by others, and will not follow my advice, I cannot answer for the +consequences.' + +"I assured the Minister that I would be the faithful bearer of his +commission, however unpleasant. + +"Knowing the character of the Queen, in not much relishing being dictated +to with respect to her conduct in relation to the persons of her +household, especially the Abbe Vermond, and aware, at the same time, of +her dislike to Necker, who thus undertook to be her director, I felt +rather awkward in being the medium of the Minister's suggestions. But +what was my surprise, on finding her prepared, and totally indifferent as +to the privation. + +"'I foresaw,' replied Her Majesty, 'that Vermond would become odious to +the present order of things, merely because he had been a faithful +servant, and long attached to my interest; but you may tell M. Necker +that the Abbe leaves Versailles this very night, by my express order, for +Vienna.' + +"If the proposal of Necker astonished me, the Queen's reception of it +astonished me still more. What a lesson is this for royal favourites! +The man who had been her tutor, and who, almost from her childhood, never +left her, the constant confidant for fifteen or sixteen years, was now +sent off without a seeming regret. + +"I doubt not, however, that the Queen had some very powerful secret +motive for the sudden change in her conduct towards the Abbe, for she was +ever just in all her concerns, even to her avowed enemies; but I was +happy that she seemed to express no particular regret at the Minister's +suggested policy. I presume, from the result, that I myself had +overrated the influence of the Abbe over the mind of his royal pupil; +that he had by no means the sway imputed to him; and that Marie +Antoinette merely considered him as the necessary instrument of her +private correspondence, which he had wholly managed. + +[The truth is, Her Majesty had already taken leave of the Abbe, in the +presence of the King, unknown to the Princess; or, more properly, the +Abbe had taken an affectionate leave of them.] + +"But a circumstance presently occurred which aroused Her Majesty from +this calmness and indifference. The King came in to inform her that La +Fayette, during the night, had caused the guards to desert from the +palace of Versailles. + +"The effect on her of this intelligence was like the lightning which +precedes a loud clap of thunder. + +"Everything that followed was perfectly in character, and shook every +nerve of the royal authority. + +"'Thus,' exclaimed Marie Antoinette, 'thus, Sire, have you humiliated +yourself, in condescending to go to Paris, without having accomplished +the object. You have not regained the confidence of your subjects. Oh, +how bitterly do I deplore the loss of that confidence! It exists no +longer. Alas! when will it be restored!' + +"The French guards, indeed, had been in open insurrection through the +months of June and July, and all that could be done was to preserve one +single company of grenadiers, by means of their commander, the Baron de +Leval, faithful to their colours. This company had now been influenced +by General La Fayette to desert and join their companions, who had +enrolled themselves in the Paris national guard. + +"Messieurs de Bouille and de Luxembourg being interrogated by the Queen +respecting the spirit of the troops under their immediate command, M. de +Bouille answered, Madame, I should be very sorry to be compelled to +undertake any internal operation with men who have been seduced from +their allegiance, and are daily paid by a faction which aims at the +overthrow of its legitimate Sovereign. I would not answer for a man that +has been in the neighbourhood of the seditious national troops, or that +has read the inflammatory discussions of the National Assembly. If Your +Majesty and the King wish well to the nation--I am sorry to say it--its +happiness depends on your quitting immediately the scenes of riot and +placing yourselves in a situation to treat with the National Assembly on +equal terms, whereby the King may be unbiassed and unfettered by a +compulsive, overbearing mob; and this can only be achieved by your flying +to a place of safety. That you may find such a place, I will answer with +my life!' + +"'Yes,' said M. de Luxembourg, 'I think we may both safely answer that, +in such a case, you will find a few Frenchmen ready to risk a little to +save all!' And both concurred that there was no hope of salvation for +the King or country but through the resolution they advised. + +"'This,' said the Queen, 'will be a very difficult task. His Majesty, I +fear, will never consent to leave France.' + +"'Then, Madame,' replied they, 'we can only regret that we have nothing +to offer but our own perseverance in the love and service of our King and +his oppressed family, to whom we deplore we can now be useful only with +our feeble wishes.' + +"'Well, gentlemen,' answered Her Majesty, 'you must not despair of better +prospects. I will take an early opportunity of communicating your loyal +sentiments to the King, and will hear his opinion on the subject before I +give you a definite answer. I thank you, in the name of His Majesty, as +well as on my own account, for your good intentions towards us.' + +"Scarcely had these gentlemen left the palace, when a report prevailed +that the King, his family, and Ministers, were about to withdraw to some +fortified situation. It was also industriously rumoured that, as soon as +they were in safety, the National Assembly would be forcibly dismissed, +as the Parliament had been by Louis XIV. The reports gained universal +belief when it became known that the King had ordered the Flanders +regiment to Versailles. + +"The National Assembly now daily watched the royal power more and more +assiduously. New sacrifices of the prerogatives of the nobles were +incessantly proposed by them to the King. + +"When His Majesty told the Queen that he had been advised by Necker to +sanction the abolition of the privileged nobility, and that all +distinctions, except the order of the Holy Ghost to himself and the +Dauphin, were also annihilated by the Assembly, even to the order of +Maria Theresa, which she could no longer wear, 'These, Sire,' answered +she, in extreme anguish, 'are trifles, so far as they regard myself. I do +not think I have twice worn the order of Maria Theresa since my arrival +in this once happy country. I need it not. The immortal memory of her +who gave me being is engraven on my heart; that I shall wear forever, +none can wrest it from me. But what grieves me to the soul is your +having sanctioned these decrees of the National Assembly upon the mere +'ipse dixit' of M. Necker.' + +"'I have only, given my sanction to such as I thought most necessary to +tranquilise the minds of those who doubted my sincerity; but I have +withheld it from others, which, for the good of my people, require +maturer consideration. On these, in a full Council, and in your +presence, I shall again deliberate.' + +"'Oh, said the Queen, with tears in her eyes, could but the people hear +you, and know, once for all, how to appreciate the goodness of your +heart, as I do now, they would cast themselves at your feet, and +supplicate your forgiveness for having shown such ingratitude to your +paternal interest for their welfare!' + +"But this unfortunate refusal to sanction all the decrees sent by the +National Assembly, though it proceeded from the best motives, produced +the worst effects. Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave well knew the troubles +such a course must create. Of this they forewarned His Majesty, before +any measure was laid before him for approval. They cautioned him not to +trifle with the deputies. They assured him that half measures would only +rouse suspicion. They enforced the necessity of uniform assentation, in +order to lull the Mirabeau party, who were canvassing for a majority to +set up D'ORLEANS, to whose interest Mirabeau and his myrmidons were then +devoted. The scheme of Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave was to thwart and +weaken the Mirabeau and Orleans faction, by gradually persuading them, in +consequence of the King's compliance with whatever the Assembly exacted, +that they could do no better than to let him into a share of the +executive power; for now nothing was left to His Majesty but +responsibility, while the privileges of grace and justice had become +merely nominal, with the one dangerous exception of the veto, to which he +could never have recourse without imminent peril to his cause and to +himself. + +"Unfortunately for His Majesty's interest, he was too scrupulous to act, +even through momentary policy, distinctly against his conscience. When +he gave way, it was with reluctance, and often with an avowal, more or +less express, that he only complied with necessity against conviction. +His very sincerity made him appear the reverse. His adherents +consequently dwindled, while the Orleans faction became immeasurably +augmented. + +"In the midst of these perplexities, an Austrian courier was stopped with +despatches from Prince Kaunitz. These, though unsought for on the part +of Her Majesty, though they contained a friendly advice to her to submit +to the circumstances of the times, and though, luckily, they were couched +in terms favourable to the Constitution, showed the mob that there was a +correspondence with Vienna, carried on by the Queen, and neither Austria +nor the Queen were deemed the friends either of the people or of the +Constitution. To have received the letters was enough for the faction. + +"Affairs were now ripening gradually into something like a crisis, when +the Flanders regiment arrived. The note of preparation had been sounded. +'Let us go to Versailles, and bring the King away from his evil +counsellors,' was already in the mouths of the Parisians. + +"In the meantime, Dumourier, who had been leagued with the Orleans +faction, became disgusted with it. He knew the deep schemes of treason +which were in train against the Royal Family, and, in disguise, sought +the Queen at Versailles, and had an interview with Her Majesty in my +presence. He assured her that an abominable insurrection was ripe for +explosion among the mobs of the faubourgs; gave her the names of the +leaders, who had received money to promote its organisation; and warned +her that the massacre of the Royal Family was the object of the +manoeuvre, for the purpose of declaring the Duke of Orleans the +constitutional King; that he was to be proclaimed by Mirabeau, who had +already received a considerable sum in advance, for distribution among +the populace, to ensure their support; and that Mirabeau, in return for +his co-operation, was to be created a Duke, with the office of Prime +Minister and Secretary of State, and to have the framing of the +Constitution, which was to be modelled from that of Great Britain. It +was farther concerted that D'ORLEANS was to show himself in the midst of +the confusion, and the crown to be conferred upon him by public +acclamation. + +"On his knees Dumourier implored Her Majesty to regard his voluntary +discovery of this infamous and diabolical plot as a proof of his sincere +repentance. He declared he came disinterestedly to offer himself as a +sacrifice to save her, the King, and her family from the horrors then +threatening their lives, from the violence of an outrageous mob of +regicides; he called God to witness that he was actuated by no other wish +than to atone for his error, and die in their defence; he looked for no +reward beyond the King's forgiveness of his having joined the Orleans +faction; he never had any view in joining that faction but that of aiding +the Duke, for the good of his country, in the reform of ministerial +abuses, and strengthening the royal authority by the salutary laws of the +National Assembly; but he no sooner discovered that impure schemes of +personal aggrandisement gave the real impulse to these pretended +reformers than he forsook their unholy course. He supplicated Her +Majesty to lose no time, but to allow him to save her from the +destruction to which she would inevitably be exposed; that he was ready +to throw himself at the King's feet, to implore his forgiveness also, and +to assure him of his profound penitence, and his determination to +renounce forever the factious Orleans party. + +"As Her Majesty would not see any of those who offered themselves, except +in my presence, I availed myself, in this instance, of the opportunity it +gave me by enforcing the arguments of Dumourier. But all I could say, +all the earnest representations to be deduced from this critical crisis, +could not prevail with her, even so far as to persuade her to temporise +with Dumourier, as she had done with many others on similar occasions. +She was deaf and inexorable. She treated all he had said as the effusion +of an overheated imagination, and told him she had no faith in traitors. +Dumourier remained upon his knees while she was replying, as if +stupefied; but at the word traitor he started and roused himself; and +then, in a state almost of madness, seized the Queen's dress, exclaiming, +'Allow yourself to be persuaded before it is too late! Let not your +misguided prejudice against me hurry you to your own and your children's +destruction; let it not get the better, Madame, of your good sense and +reason; the fatal moment is near; it is at hand!' Upon this, turning, he +addressed himself to me. + +"'Oh, Princess,' he cried, 'be her guardian angel, as you have hitherto +been her only friend, and use your never-failing influence. I take God +once more to witness, that I am sincere in all I have said; that all I +have disclosed is true. This will be the last time I shall have it in my +power to be of any essential service to you, Madame, and my Sovereign. +The National Assembly will put it out of my power for the future, without +becoming a traitor to my country.' + +"'Rise, monsieur,' said the Queen, 'and serve your country better than +you have served your King!' + +"'Madame, I obey.' + +"When he was about to leave the room, I again, with tears, besought Her +Majesty not to let him depart thus, but to give him some hope, that, +after reflection, she might perhaps endeavour to soothe the King's anger. +But in vain. He withdrew very much affected. I even ventured, after his +departure, to intercede for his recall. + +"'He has pledged himself,' said I, 'to save you, Madame!' + +"'My dear Princess,' replied the Queen, 'the goodness of your own heart +will not allow you to have sinister ideas of others. This man is like +all of the same stamp. They are all traitors; and will only hurry us the +sooner, if we suffer ourselves to be deceived by them, to an ignominious +death! I seek no safety for myself.' + +"'But he offered to serve the King also, Madame.' + +"'I am not,' answered Her Majesty, 'Henrietta of France. I will never +stoop to ask a pension of the murderers of my husband; nor will I leave +the King, my son, or my adopted country, or even meanly owe my existence +to wretches who have destroyed the dignity of the Crown and trampled +under foot the most ancient monarchy in Europe! Under its ruins they +will bury their King and myself. To owe our safety to them would be more +hateful than any death they can prepare for us.' + +"While the Queen was in this state of agitation, a note was presented to +me with a list of the names of the officers of the Flanders regiment, +requesting the honour of an audience of the Queen. + +"The very idea of seeing the Flanders officers flushed Her Majesty's +countenance with an ecstasy of joy. She said she would retire to compose +herself, and receive them in two hours. + +"The Queen saw the officers in her private cabinet, and in my presence. +They were presented to her by me. They told Her Majesty that, though +they had changed their paymaster, they had not changed their allegiance +to their Sovereign or herself, but were ready to defend both with their +lives. They placed one hand on the hilt of their swords, and, solemnly +lifting the other up to Heaven, swore that the weapons should never be +wielded but for the defence of the King and Queen, against all foes, +whether foreign or domestic. + +"This unexpected loyalty burst on us like the beauteous rainbow, after a +tempest, by the dawn of which we are taught to believe the world is saved +from a second deluge. + +"The countenance of Her Majesty brightened over the gloom which had +oppressed her, like the heavenly sun dispersing threatening clouds, and +making the heart of the poor mariner bound with joy. Her eyes spoke her +secret rapture. It was evident she felt even unusual dignity in the +presence of these noble-hearted warriors, when comparing them with him +whom she had just dismissed. She graciously condescended to speak to +every one of them, and one and all were enchanted with her affability. + +"She said she was no longer the Queen who could compensate loyalty and +valour; but the brave soldier found his reward in the fidelity of his +service, which formed the glory of his immortality. She assured them she +had ever been attached to the army, and would make it her study to +recommend every individual, meriting attention, to the King. + +"Loud bursts of repeated acclamations and shouts of 'Vive la reine!' +instantly followed her remarks. She thanked the officers most +graciously; and, fearing to commit herself, by saying more, took her +leave, attended by me; but immediately sent me back, to thank them again +in her name. + +"They departed, shouting as they went, 'Vive la reine! Vive la Princesse! +Vive le roi, le Dauphin, et toute la famille royale!' + +"When the National Assembly saw the officers going to and coming from the +King's palace with such demonstrations of enthusiasm, they took alarm, +and the regicide faction hastened on the crisis for which it had been +longing. It was by no means unusual for the chiefs of regiments, +destined to form part of the garrison of a royal residence, to be +received by the Sovereign on their arrival, and certainly only natural +that they should be so; but in times of excitement trifling events have +powerful effects. + +"But if the National Assembly began to tremble for their own safety, and +had already taken secret, measures to secure it, by conspiring to put an +instantaneous end to the King's power, against which they had so long +been plotting, when the Flanders regiment arrived, it may be readily +conceived what must have been their emotions on the fraternisation of +this regiment with the body-guard, and on the scene to which the dinner, +given to the former troops by the latter, so unpremeditatedly led. + +"On the day of this fatal dinner I remarked to the Queen, 'What a +beautiful sight it must be to behold, in these troublesome times, the +happy union of such a meeting!' + +"'It must indeed!' replied the King; 'and the pleasure I feel in knowing +it would be redoubled had I the privilege of entertaining the Flanders +regiment, as the body-guards are doing.' + +"'Heaven forbid!' cried Her Majesty; 'Heaven forbid that you should think +of such a thing! The Assembly would never forgive us!' + +"After we had dined, the Queen sent to the Marquise de Tourzel for the +Dauphin. When he came, the Queen told him about her having seen the +brave officers on their arrival; and how gaily those good officers had +left the palace, declaring they would die rather than suffer any harm to +come to him, or his papa and mamma; and that at that very time they were +all dining at the theatre. + +"'Dining in the theatre, mamma?' said the young, Prince. 'I never heard +of people dining in a theatre!' + +"'No, my dear child,' replied Her Majesty, 'it is not generally allowed; +but they are doing so, because the body-guards are giving a dinner to +this good Flanders regiment; and the Flanders regiment are so brave that +the guards chose the finest place they could think of to entertain them +in, to show how much they like them; that is the reason why they are +dining in the gay, painted theatre.' + +"'Oh, mamma!' exclaimed the Dauphin, whom the Queen adored, 'Oh, papa!' +cried he, looking at the King, 'how I should like to see them!' + +"'Let us go and satisfy the child!' said the King, instantly starting up +from his seat. + +"The Queen took the Dauphin by the hand, and they proceeded to the +theatre. It was all done in a moment. There was no premeditation on the +part of the King or Queen; no invitation on the part of the officers. Had +I been asked, I should certainly have followed the Queen; but just as the +King rose, I left the room. The Prince being eager to see the festival, +they set off immediately, and when I returned to the apartment they were +gone. Not being very well, I remained where I was; but most of the +household had already followed Their Majesties. + +"On the Royal Family making their appearance, they were received with the +most unequivocal shouts of general enthusiasm by the troops. Intoxicated +with the pleasure of seeing Their Majesties among them, and overheated +with the juice of the grape, they gave themselves up to every excess of +joy, which the circumstances and the situation of Their Majesties were so +well calculated to inspire. 'Oh! Richard! oh, mon roi!' was sung, as +well as many other loyal songs. The healths of the King, Queen, and +Dauphin were drunk, till the regiments were really inebriated with the +mingled influence of wine and shouting vivas! + +"When the royal party retired, they were followed by all the military to +the very palace doors, where they sung, danced, embraced each other, and +gave way to all the frantic demonstrations of devotedness to the royal +cause which the excitement of the scene and the table could produce. +Throngs, of course, collected to get near the Royal Family. Many persons +in the rush were trampled on, and one or two men, it was said, crushed to +death. The Dauphin and King were delighted; but the Queen, in giving the +Princesse Elizabeth and myself an account of the festival, foresaw the +fatal result which would ensue; and deeply deplored the marked enthusiasm +with which they had been greeted and followed by the military. + +"There was one more military spectacle, a public breakfast which took +place on the second of October. Though none of the Royal Family appeared +at it, it was no less injurious to their interests than the former. The +enemies of the Crown spread reports all over Paris, that the King and +Queen had manoeuvred to pervert the minds of the troops so far as to make +them declare against the measures of the National Assembly. It is not +likely that the Assembly, or politics, were even spoken of at the +breakfast; but the report did as much mischief as the reality would have +done. This was quite sufficient to encourage the D'ORLEANS and Mirabeau +faction in the Assembly to the immediate execution of their +long-meditated scheme, of overthrowing the monarchy. + +"On the very day following, Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave sent their +confidential agent to apprise the Queen that certain deputies had already +fully matured a plot to remove the King, nay, to confine Her Majesty from +him in a distant part of France, that her influence over his mind might +no farther thwart their premeditated establishment of a Constitution. + +"But others of this body, and the more powerful and subtle portion, had a +deeper object, so depraved, that, even when forewarned, the Queen could +not deem it possible; but of which she was soon convinced by their +infernal acts. + +"The riotous faction, for the purpose of accelerating this denouement, +had contrived, by buying up all the corn and sending it out of the +country, to reduce the populace to famine, and then to make it appear +that the King and Queen had been the monopolisers, and the extravagance +of Marie Antoinette and her largesses to Austria and her favourites, the +cause. The plot was so deeply laid that the wretches who, undertook to +effect the diabolical scheme were metamorphosed in the Queen's livery, so +that all the odium might fall on her unfortunate Majesty. At the head of +the commission of monopolisers was Luckner, who had taken a violent +dislike to the Queen, in consequence of his having been refused some +preferment, which he attributed to her influence. Mirabeau, who was +still in the background, and longing to take a more prominent part, +helped it on as much as possible. Pinet, who had been a confidential +agent of the Duc d'Orleans, himself told the Duc de Penthievre that +D'ORLEANS had monopolised all the corn. This communication, and the +activity of the Count Fersen, saved France, and Paris in particular, from +perishing for the want of bread. Even at the moment of the abominable +masquerade, in which Her Majesty's agents were made to appear the enemies +who were starving the French people, out of revenge for the checks +imposed by them on the royal authority, it was well known to all the +Court that both Her Majesty and the King were grieved to the soul at +their piteous want, and distributed immense sums for the relief of the +poor sufferers, as did the Duc de Penthievre, the Duchesse d'Orleans, the +Prince de Conde, the Duc and Duchesse de Bourbon, and others; but these +acts were done privately, while he who had created the necessity took to +himself the exclusive credit of the relief, and employed thousands daily +to propagate reports of his generosity. Mirabeau, then the factotum +agent of the operations of the Palais Royal and its demagogues, greatly +added to the support of this impression. Indeed, till undeceived +afterwards, he believed it to be really the Duc d'Orleans who had +succoured the people. + +"I dispensed two hundred and twenty thousand livres merely to discover +the names of the agents who had been employed to carry on this nefarious +plot to exasperate the people against the throne by starvation imputed to +the Sovereign. Though money achieved the discovery in time to clear the +characters of my royal mistress and the King, the detection only followed +the mischief of the crime. But even the rage thus wickedly excited was +not enough to carry through the plot. In the faubourgs of Paris, where +the women became furies, two hundred thousand livres were distributed ere +the horror could be completely exposed. + +"But it is time for me to enter upon the scenes to which all the +intrigues I have detailed were intended to lead--the removal of the Royal +Family from Versailles. + +"My heart sickens when I retrace these moments of anguish. The point to +which they are to conduct us yet remains one of the mysteries of fate." + + + + +SECTION VI. + + +"Her Majesty had been so thoroughly lulled into security by the +enthusiasm of the regiments at Versailles that she treated all the +reports from Paris with contempt. Nothing was apprehended from that +quarter, and no preparations were consequently made for resistance or +protection. She was at Little Trianon when the news of the approach of +the desolating torrent arrived. The King was hunting. I presented to +her the commandant of the troops at Versailles, who assured Her Majesty +that a murderous faction, too powerful, perhaps, for resistance, was +marching principally against her royal person, with La Fayette at their +head, and implored her to put herself and valuables in immediate safety; +particularly all her correspondence with the Princes, emigrants, and +foreign Courts, if she had no means of destroying them. + +"Though the Queen was somewhat awakened to the truth by this earnest +appeal, yet she still considered the extent of the danger as exaggerated, +and looked upon the representation as partaking, in a considerable +degree, of the nature of all reports in times of popular commotion. + +"Presently, however, a more startling omen appeared, in a much milder but +ambiguous communication from General La Fayette. He stated that he was +on his march from Paris with the national guard, and part of the people, +coming to make remonstrances; but he begged Her Majesty to rest assured +that no disorder would take place, and that he himself would vouch that +there should be none. + +"The King was instantly sent for to the heights of Meudon, while the +Queen set off from Little Trianon, with me, for Versailles. + +"The first movements were commenced by a few women, or men in women's +clothes, at the palace gates of Versailles. The guards refused them +entrance, from an order they had received to that effect from La Fayette. +The consternation produced by their resentment was a mere prelude to the +horrid tragedy that succeeded. + +"The information now pouring in from different quarters increased Her +Majesty's alarm every moment. The order of La Fayette, not to let the +women be admitted, convinced her that there was something in agitation, +which his unexplained letter made her sensible was more to be feared than +if he had signified the real situation and danger to which she was +exposed. + +"A messenger was forthwith despatched for M. La Fayette, and another, by +order of the Queen, for M. de St. Priest, to prepare a retreat for the +Royal Family, as the Parisian mob's advance could no longer be doubted. +Everything necessary was accordingly got ready. + +"La Fayette now arrived at Versailles in obedience to the message, and, +in the presence of all the Court and Ministers, assured the King that he +could answer for the Paris army, at the head of which he intended to +march, to prevent disorders; and advised the admission of the women into +the palace, who, he said, had nothing to propose but a simple memorial +relative to the scarcity of bread. + +"The Queen said to him, 'Remember, monsieur, you have pledged your honour +for the King's safety.' + +"'And I hope, Madame, to be able to redeem it.' + +"He then left Versailles to return to his post with the army. + +"A limited number of the women were at length admitted; and so completely +did they seem satisfied with the reception they met with from the King, +as, in all appearance, to have quieted their riotous companions. The +language of menace and remonstrance had changed into shouts of 'Vive le +roi!' The apprehensions of Their Majesties were subdued; and the whole +system of operation, which had been previously adopted for the Royal +Family's quitting Versailles, was, in consequence, unfortunately changed. + +"But the troops, that had been hitherto under arms for the preservation +of order, in going back to their hotel, were assailed and fired at by the +mob. + +"The return of the body-guards, thus insulted in going to and coming from +the palace, caused the Queen and the Court to resume the resolution of +instantly retiring from Versailles; but it was now too late. They were +stopped by the municipality and the mob of the city, who were animated to +excess against the Queen by one of the bass singers of the French +opera.--[La Haise] + +"Every hope of tranquillity was now shaken by the hideous howlings which +arose from all quarters. Intended flight had become impracticable. +Atrocious expressions were levelled against the Queen, too shocking for +repetition. I shudder when I reflect to what a degree of outrage the +'poissardes' of Paris were excited, to express their abominable designs +on the life of that most adored of Sovereigns. + +"Early in the evening Her Majesty came to my apartment, in company with +one of her female attendants. She was greatly agitated. She brought all +her jewels and a considerable quantity of papers, which she had begun to +collect together immediately on her arrival from Trianon, as the +commandant had recommended. + +[Neither Her Majesty nor the Princess ever returned to Versailles after +the sixth of that fatal October! Part of the papers, brought by the +Queen to the apartment of the Princess, were tacked by me on two of my +petticoats; the under one three fold, one on the other, and outside; and +the upper one, three or four fold double on the inside; and thus I left +the room with this paper undergarment, which put me to no inconvenience. +Returning to the Princess, I was ordered to go to Lisle, there take the +papers from their hiding-place, and deliver them, with others, to the +same person who received the box, of which mention will be found in +another part of this work. I was not to take any letters, and was to +come back immediately. + +As I was leaving the apartment Her Majesty said something to Her Highness +which I did not hear. The Princess turned round very quickly, and +kissing me on the forehead, said in Italian, "My dear little +Englishwoman, for Heaven's sake be careful of yourself, for I should +never forgive myself if any misfortune were to befall you." "Nor I," said +Her Majesty.] + +"Notwithstanding the fatigue and agitation which the Queen must have +suffered during the day, and the continued threats, horrible howlings, +and discharge of firearms during the night, she had courage enough to +visit the bedchambers of her children and then to retire to rest in her +own. + +"But her rest was soon fearfully interrupted. Horrid cries at her +chamber door of 'Save the Queen! Save the Queen! or she will be +assassinated!' aroused her. The faithful guardian who gave the alarm was +never heard more. He was murdered in her defence! Her Majesty herself +only escaped the poignards of immediate death by flying to the King's +apartment, almost in the same state as she lay in bed, not having had +time to screen herself with any covering but what was casually thrown +over her by the women who assisted her in her flight; while one well +acquainted with the palace is said to have been seen busily engaged in +encouraging the regicides who thus sought her for midnight murder. The +faithful guards who defended the entrance to the room of the intended +victim of these desperadoes took shelter in the room itself upon her +leaving it, and were alike threatened with instant death by the grenadier +assassins for having defeated them in their fiend-like purpose; they +were, however, saved by the generous interposition and courage of two +gentlemen, who, offering themselves as victims in their place, thus +brought about a temporary accommodation between the regular troops and +the national guard. + +"All this time General La Fayette never once appeared. It is presumed +that he himself had been deceived as to the horrid designs of the mob, +and did not choose to show himself, finding it impossible to check the +impetuosity of the horde he had himself brought to action, in concurring +to countenance their first movements from Paris. Posterity will decide +how far he was justified in pledging himself for the safety of the Royal +Family, while he was heading a riotous mob, whose atrocities were +guaranteed from punishment or check by the sanction of his presence and +the faith reposed in his assurance. Was he ignorant, or did he only +pretend to be so, of the incalculable mischief inevitable from giving +power and a reliance on impunity to such an unreasoning mass? By any +military operation, as commander-in-chief, he might have turned the tide. +And why did he not avail himself of that authority with which he had been +invested by the National Assembly, as the delegates of the nation, for +the general safety and guardianship of the people? for the people, of +whom he was the avowed protector, were themselves in peril: it was only +the humanity (or rather, in such a crisis, the imbecility) of Louis XVI. +that prevented them from being fired on; and they would inevitably have +been sacrificed, and that through the want of policy in their leader, had +not this mistaken mercy of the King prevented his guards from offering +resistance to the murderers of his brave defenders! + +"The cry of 'Queen! Queen!' now resounded from the lips of the cannibals +stained with the blood of her faithful guards. She appeared, shielded by +filial affection, between her two innocent children, the threatened +orphans! But the sight of so much innocence and heroic courage paralysed +the hands uplifted for their massacre! + +"A tiger voice cried out, 'No children!' The infants were hurried away +from the maternal side, only to witness the author of their being +offering up herself, eagerly and instantly, to the sacrifice, an ardent +and delighted victim to the hoped-for preservation of those, perhaps, +orphans, dearer to her far than life! Her resignation and firm step in +facing the savage cry that was thundering against her, disarmed the +ferocious beasts that were hungering and roaring for their prey! + +"Mirabeau, whose immense head and gross figure could not be mistaken, is +said to have been the first among the mob to have sonorously chanted, 'To +Paris!' His myrmidons echoed and re-echoed the cry upon the signal. He +then hastened to the Assembly to contravene any measures the King might +ask in opposition. The riots increasing, the Queen said to His Majesty: + +"'Oh, Sire! why am I not animated with the courage of Maria Theresa? Let +me go with my children to the National Assembly, as she did to the +Hungarian Senate, with my Imperial brother, Joseph, in her arms and +Leopold in her womb, when Charles the Seventh of Bavaria had deprived her +of all her German dominions, and she had already written to the Duchesse +de Lorraine to prepare her an asylum, not knowing where she should be +delivered of the precious charge she was then bearing; but I, like the +mother of the Gracchi, like Cornelia, more esteemed for my birth than for +my marriage, am the wife of the King of France, and I see we shall be +murdered in our beds for the want of our own exertions!' + +"The King remained as if paralysed and stupefied, and made no answer. The +Princesse Elizabeth then threw herself at the Queen's feet, imploring her +to consent to go to Paris. + + + + + +"'To Paris!' exclaimed Her Majesty. + +"'Yes, Madame,' said the King. 'I will put an end to these horrors; and +tell the people so.' + +"On this, without waiting for the Queen's answer, he opened the balcony, +and told the populace he was ready to depart with his family. + +"This sudden change caused a change equally sudden in the rabble mob. All +shouted, 'Vive le roi! Vive la nation!' + +"Re-entering the room from the window, the King said, 'It is done. This +affair will soon be terminated.' + +"'And with it,' said the Queen, 'the monarchy!' + +"'Better that, Madame, than running the risk, as I did some hours since, +of seeing you and my children sacrificed!' + +"'That, Sire, will be the consequence of our not having left Versailles. +Whatever you determine, it is my duty to obey. As to myself, I am +resigned to my fate.' On this she burst into a flood of tears. 'I only +feel for your humiliated state, and for the safety of our children.' + +"The Royal Family departed without having consulted any of the Ministers, +military or civil, or the National Assembly, by whom they were followed. + +"Scarcely had they arrived at Paris when the Queen recollected that she +had taken with her no change of dress, either for herself or her +children, and they were obliged to ask permission of the National +Assembly to allow them to send for their different wardrobes. + +"What a situation for an absolute King and Queen, which, but a few hours +previous, they had been! + +"I now took up my residence with Their Majesties at the Tuileries,--that +odious Tuileries, which I can not name but with horror, where the +malignant spirit of rebellion has, perhaps, dragged us to an untimely +death! + +"Monsieur and Madame had another residence. Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, +and La Fayette became the royal jailers. + +"The Princesse Elizabeth and myself could not but deeply deplore, when we +saw the predictions of Dumourier so dreadfully confirmed by the result, +that Her Majesty should have so slighted his timely information, and +scorned his penitence. But delicacy bade us lament in silence; and, +while we grieved over her present sufferings, we could not but mourn the +loss of a barrier against future aggression, in the rejection of this +general's proffered services. + +"It will be remembered, that Dumourier in his disclosure declared that +the object of this commotion was to place the Duc d'Orleans upon the +throne, and that Mirabeau, who was a prime mover, was to share in the +profits of the usurpation. + +[But the heart of the traitor Duke failed him at the important crisis. +Though he was said to have been recognised through a vulgar disguise, +stimulating the assassins to the attempted murder of Her Majesty, yet, +when the moment to show himself had arrived, he was nowhere to be found. +The most propitious moment for the execution of the foul crime was lost, +and with it the confidence of his party. Mirabeau was disgusted. So far +from wishing longer to offer him the crown, he struck it forever from his +head, and turned against him. He openly protested he would no longer set +up traitors who were cowards.] + +"Soon after this event, Her Majesty, in tears, came to tell me that the +King, having had positive proof of the agency of the Duc d'Orleans in the +riots of Versailles, had commenced some proceedings, which had given the +Duke the alarm, and exiled him to Villers-Cotterets. The Queen added +that the King's only object had been to assure the general tranquillity, +and especially her own security, against whose life the conspiracy seemed +most distinctly levelled. + +"'Oh, Princess!' continued Her Majesty, in a flood of tears, 'the King's +love for me, and his wish to restore order to his people, have been our +ruin! He should have struck off the head of D'ORLEANS, or overlooked his +crime! Why did he not consult me before he took a step so important? I +have lost a friend also in his wife! For, however criminal he may be, +she loves him.' + +"I assured Her Majesty that I could not think the Duchesse d'Orleans +would be so inconsiderate as to withdraw her affection on that account. + +"'She certainly will,' replied Marie Antoinette. 'She is the +affectionate mother of his children, and cannot but hate those who have +been the cause of his exile. I know it will be laid to my charge, and +added to the hatred the husband has so long borne me; I shall now become +the object of the wife's resentment.' + +"In the midst of one of the paroxysms of Her Majesty's agonising +agitation after leaving Versailles, for the past, the present, and the +future state of the Royal Family, when the Princesse Elizabeth and myself +were in vain endeavouring to calm her, a deputation was announced from +the National Assembly and the City of Paris, requesting the honour of the +appearance of the King and herself at the theatre. + +"'Is it possible, my dear Princess,' cried she, on the announcement, +'that I can enjoy any public amusement while I am still chilled with +horror at the blood these people have spilled, the blood of the faithful +defenders of our lives? I can forgive them, but I cannot so easily +forget it.' + +"Count Fersen and the Austrian Ambassador now entered, both anxious to +know Her Majesty's intentions with regard to visiting the theatre, in +order to make a party to ensure her a good reception; but all their +persuasions were unavailing. She thanked the deputation for their +friendship; but at the same time told them that her mind was still too +much agitated from recent scenes to receive any pleasure but in the +domestic cares of her family, and that, for a time, she must decline +every other amusement. + +"At this moment the Spanish and English Ambassadors came to pay their +respects to Her Majesty on the same subject as the others. As they +entered, Count Fersen observed to the Queen, looking around: + +"'Courage, Madame! We are as many nations as persons in this +room--English, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and French; and all +equally ready to form a rampart around you against aggression. All these +nations will, I believe, admit that the French (bowing to the Princesse +Elizabeth) are the most volatile of the six; and Your Majesty may rely on +it that they will love you, now that you are more closely among them, +more tenderly than ever.' + +"'Let me live to be convinced of that, monsieur, and my happiness will be +concentrated in its demonstration.' + +"'Indeed, gentlemen,' said the Princesse Elizabeth, the Queen has yet had +but little reason to love the French.' + +"'Where is our Ambassador,' said I, 'and the Neapolitan?' + +"'I have had the pleasure of seeing them early this morning,' replied the +Queen; 'but I told them, also, that indisposition prevented my going into +public. They will be at our card-party in your apartment this evening, +where I hope to see these gentlemen. The only parties,' continued Her +Majesty, addressing herself to the Princesse Elizabeth and the +Ambassadors, 'the only parties I shall visit in future will be those of +the Princesse de Lamballe, my superintendent; as, in so doing, I shall +have no occasion to go out of the palace, which, from what has happened, +seems to me the only prudent course.' + +"'Come, come, Madame,' exclaimed the Ambassadors; I do not give way to +gloomy ideas. All will yet be well.' + +"'I hope so,' answered Her Majesty; 'but till that hope is realized, the +wounds I have suffered will make existence a burden to me!' + +"The Duchesse de Luynes, like many others, had been a zealous partisan of +the new order of things, and had expressed herself with great +indiscretion in the presence of the Queen. But the Duchess was brought +to her senses when she saw herself, and all the mad, democratical +nobility, under the overpowering weight of Jacobinism, deprived of every +privileged prerogative and levelled and stripped of hereditary +distinction. + +"She came to me one day, weeping, to beg I would make use of my good +offices in her favour with the Queen, whom she was grieved that she had +so grossly offended by an unguarded speech. + +"'On my knees,' continued the Duchess, I am I ready to supplicate the +pardon of Her Majesty. I cannot live without her forgiveness. One of my +servants has opened my eyes, by telling me that the Revolution can make a +Duchess a beggar, but cannot make a beggar a Duchess.' + +"'Unfortunately,' said I, 'if some of these faithful servants had been +listened to, they would still be such, and not now our masters; but I can +assure you, Duchess, that the Queen has long since forgiven you. See! +Her Majesty comes to tell you so herself.' + +"The Duchess fell upon her knees. The Queen, with her usual goodness of +heart, clasped her in her arms, and, with tears in her eyes, said: + +"'We have all of us need of forgiveness. Our errors and misfortunes are +general. Think no more of the past; but let us unite in not sinning for +the future: + +"'Heaven knows how many sins I have to atone for,' replied the Duchess, +'from the follies of youth; but now, at an age of discretion and in +adversity, oh, how bitterly do I reproach myself for my past levities! +But,' continued she, 'has Your Majesty really forgiven me?' + +"'As I hope to be forgiven!' exclaimed Marie Antoinette. 'No penitent in +the sight of God is more acceptable than the one who makes a voluntary +sacrifice by confessing error. Forget and forgive is the language of our +Blessed Redeemer. I have adopted it in regard to my enemies, and surely +my friends have a right to claim it. Come, Duchess, I will conduct you +to the King and Elizabeth, who will rejoice in the recovery of one of our +lost sheep; for we sorely feel the diminution of the flock that once +surrounded us!' + +"At this token of kindness, the Duchess was so much overcome that she +fell at the Queen's feet motionless, and it was some time before she +recovered. + +"From the moment of Her Majesty's arrival at Paris from Versailles, she +solely occupied herself with the education of her children,-excepting +when she resorted to my parties, the only ones, as she had at first +determined, which she ever honoured with her attendance. In order to +discover, as far as possible, the sentiments of certain persons, I gave +almost general invitations, whereby, from her amiable manners and +gracious condescension, she became very popular. By these means I hoped +to replace Her Majesty in the good estimation of her numerous visitors; +but, notwithstanding every exertion, she could not succeed in dispelling +the gloom with which the Revolution had overcast all her former gaiety. +Though treated with ceremonious respect, she missed the cordiality to +which she had been so long accustomed, and which she so much prized. From +the great emigration of the higher classes of the nobility, the societies +themselves were no longer what they had been. Madame Necker and Madame +de Stael were pretty regular visitors. But the most agreeable company +had lost its zest for Marie Antoinette; and she was really become afraid +of large assemblies, and scarcely ever saw a group of persons collected +together without fearing some plot against the King. + +"Indeed, it is a peculiarity which has from the first marked, and still +continues to distinguish, the whole conduct and distrust of my royal +mistress, that it never operates to create any fears for herself, but +invariably refers to the safety of His Majesty. + +"I had enlarged my circle and made my parties extensive, solely to +relieve the oppressed spirits of the Queen; but the very circumstance +which induced me to make them so general soon rendered them intolerable +to her; for the conversations at last became solely confined to the +topics of the Revolution, a subject frequently the more distressing from +the presence of the sons of the Duc d'Orleans. Though I loved my +sister-in-law and my nephews, I could not see them without fear, nor +could my royal mistress be at ease with them, or in the midst of such +distressing indications as perpetually intruded upon her, even beneath my +roof, of the spirit which animated the great body of the people for the +propagation of anti-monarchical principles. + +"My parties were, consequently, broken up; and the Queen ceased to be +seen in society. Then commenced the unconquerable power over her of +those forebodings which have clung to her with such pertinacity ever +since. + +"I observed that Her Majesty would often indulge in the most melancholy +predictions long before the fatal discussion took place in the Assembly +respecting the King's abdication. The daily insolence with which she saw +His Majesty's authority deprived forever of the power of accomplishing +what he had most at heart for the good of his people gave her more +anguish than the outrages so frequently heaped upon herself; but her +misery was wrought up to a pitch altogether unutterable, whenever she saw +those around her suffer for their attachment to her in her misfortunes. + +"The Princesse Elizabeth has been from the beginning an unwavering +comforter. She still flatters Marie Antoinette that Heaven will spare +her for better times to reward our fidelity and her own agonies. The +pious consolations of Her Highness have never failed to make the most +serious impression on our wretched situation. Indeed, each of us strives +to pour the balm of comfort into the wounded hearts of the others, while +not one of us, in reality, dares to flatter herself with what we all so +ardently wish for in regard to our fellow-sufferers. Delusions, even +sustained by facts, have long since been exhausted. Our only hope on +this side of the grave is in our all-merciful Redeemer!" + + + + +SECTION VII. + + +Editors Commentary: + +The reader will not, I trust, be dissatisfied at reposing for a moment +from the sad story of the Princesse de Lamballe to hear some ridiculous +circumstances which occurred to me individually; and which, though they +form no part of the history, are sufficiently illustrative of the temper +of the times. + +I had been sent to England to put some letters into the postoffice for +the Prince de Conde, and had just returned. The fashion then in England +was a black dress, Spanish hat, and yellow satin lining, with three +ostrich feathers forming the Prince of Wales's crest, and bearing his +inscription, 'Ich dien,' ("I serve.") I also brought with me a white +satin cloak, trimmed with white fur. This crest and motto date as far +back, I believe, as the time of Edward, the Black Prince. + +In this dress, I went to the French opera. Scarcely was I seated in the +bog, when I heard shouts of, "En bas les couleurs de d'empereur! En +bas!" + +I was very busy talking to a person in the box, and, having been +accustomed to hear and see partial riots in the pit, I paid no attention; +never dreaming that my poor hat and feathers, and cloak, were the cause +of the commotion, till an officer in the national guard very politely +knocked at the door of the box, and told me I must either take them off +or leave the theatre. + +There is nothing I more dislike than the being thought particular, or +disposed to attract attention by dress. The moment, therefore, I found +myself thus unintentionally the object of a whole theatre's disturbance, +in the first impulse of indignation, I impetuously caught off the cloak +and hat, and flung them into the pit, at the very faces of the rioters. + +The theatre instantly rang with applause. The obnoxious articles were +carefully folded up and taken to the officer of the guard, who, when I +left the box, at the end of the opera, brought them to me and offered to +assist me in putting them on; but I refused them with true cavalier-like +loftiness, and entered my carriage without either hat or cloak. + +There were many of the audience collected round the carriage at the time, +who, witnessing my rejection of the insulted colours, again loudly +cheered me; but insisted on the officer's placing the hat and cloak in +the carriage, which drove off amidst the most violent acclamations. + +Another day, as I was going to walk in the Tuileries (which I generally +did after riding on horseback), the guards crossed their bayonets at the +gate and forbade my entering. I asked them why. They told me no one was +allowed to walk there without the national ribbon. + +Now, I always had one of these national ribbons about me, from the time +they were first worn; but I kept it in the inside of my riding-habit; and +on that day, in particular, my supply was unusually ample, for I had on a +new riding-habit, the petticoat of which was so very long and heavy that +I bought a large quantity to tie round my waist, and fasten up the dress, +to prevent it from falling about my feet. + +However, I was determined to plague the guards for their impudence. My +English beau, who was as pale as death, and knew I had the ribbon, kept +pinching my arm, and whispering, "Show it, show it; zounds, madame, show +it! We shall be sent to prison! show it! show it!" But I took care to +keep my interrupters in parley till a sufficient mob was collected, and +then I produced my colours. + +The soldiers were consequently most gloriously hissed, and would have +been maltreated by the mob, and sent to the guard-house by their officer, +but for my intercession; on which I was again applauded all through the +gardens as La Brave Anglaise. But my beau declared he would never go +out with me again: unless I wore the ribbon on the outside of my hat, +which I never did and never would do. + +At that time the Queen used to occupy herself much in fancy needle-works. +Knowing, from arrangements, that I was every day in a certain part of the +Tuileries, Her Majesty, when she heard the shout of La Brave Anglaise! +immediately called the Princesse de Lamballe to know if she had sent me +on any message. Being answered in the negative, one of the pages was +despatched to ascertain the meaning of the cry. The Royal Family lived +in so continual a state of alarm that it was apprehended I had got into +some scrape; but I had left the Tuileries before the messenger arrived, +and was already with the Princesse de Lamballe, relating the +circumstances. The Princess told Her Majesty, who graciously observed, +"I am very happy that she got off so well; but caution her to be more +prudent for the future. A cause, however bad, is rather aided than +weakened by unreasonable displays of contempt for it. These unnecessary +excitements of the popular jealousy do us no good." + +I was, of course, severely reprimanded by the Princess for my frolic, +though she enjoyed it of all things, and afterwards laughed most +heartily. + +The Princess told me, a few days after these circumstances of the +national ribbon and the Austrian colours had taken place at the theatre, +that some one belonging to the private correspondence at the palace had +been at the French opera on the night the disturbance took place there, +and, without knowing the person to whom it related, had told the whole +story to the King. + +The Queen and the Princesses Elizabeth and de Lamballe being present, +laughed very heartily. The two latter knew it already from myself, the +fountain head, but the Princesse Elizabeth said: + +"Poor lady! what a fright she must have been in, to have had her things +taken away from her at the theatre." + +"No fright at all," said the King; "for a young woman who could act thus +firmly under such an insolent outrage will always triumph over cowards, +unmanly enough to abuse their advantages by insulting her. She was not a +Frenchwoman, I'll answer for it." + +"Oh, no, Sire. She is an Englishwoman," said the Princesse de Lamballe. + +"I am glad of it," exclaimed the King; "for when she returns to England +this will be a good personal specimen for the information of some of her +countrymen, who have rejoiced at what they call the regeneration of the +French nation; a nation once considered the most polished in Europe, but +now become the most uncivil, and I wish I may never have occasion to add, +the most barbarous! An insult offered, wantonly, to either sex, at any +time, is the result of insubordination; but when offered to a woman, it +is a direct violation of civilised hospitality, and an abuse of power +which never before tarnished that government now so much the topic of +abuse by the enemies of order and legitimate authority. The French +Princes, it is true, have been absolute; still I never governed +despotically, but always by the advice of my counsellors and Cabinet +Ministers. If they have erred, my conscience is void of reproach. I +wish the National Assembly may govern for the future with equal prudence, +equity, and justice; but they have given a poor earnest in pulling down +one fabric before they have laid the solid foundation of another. I am +very happy that their agents, who, though they call themselves the +guardians of public order have hitherto destroyed its course, have, in +the courage of this English lady, met with some resistance to their +insolence, in foolishly occupying themselves with petty matters, while +those of vital import are totally neglected." + +It is almost superfluous to mention that, at the epoch of which I am +speaking in the Revolution, the Royal Family were in so much distrust of +every one about them, and very necessarily and justly so, that none were +ever confided in for affairs, however trifling, without first having +their fidelity repeatedly put to the test. I was myself under this +probation long before I knew that such had ever been imposed. + +With the private correspondence I had already been for some time +entrusted; and it was only previous to employing me on secret missions of +any consequence that I was subject to the severer scrutiny. Even before +I was sent abroad, great art was necessary to elude the vigilance of +prying eyes in the royal circle; and, in order to render my activity +available to important purposes, my connection with the Court was long +kept secret. Many stratagems were devised to mislead the Arguses of the +police. To this end, after the disorders of the Revolution began, I +never entered the palaces but on an understood signal, for which I have +been often obliged to attend many hours in the gardens of Versailles, as +I had subsequently done in that of the Tuileries. + +To pass the time unnoticed, I used generally to take a book, and seat +myself, occupied in reading, sometimes in one spot, sometimes in another; +but with my man and maid servant always within call, though never where +they could be seen. + +On one of these occasions, a person, though not totally masked yet +sufficiently disguised to prevent my recognising his features, came +behind my seat, and said he wished to speak to me. I turned round and +asked his business. + +"That's coming to the point!" he answered. "Walk a little way with me, +and I will tell you." + +Not to excite suspicion, I walked into a more retired part of the garden, +after a secret signal to my man servant, who followed me unperceived by +the stranger. + +"I am commissioned," said my mysterious companion, "to make you a very +handsome present, if you will tell me what you are waiting for." + +I laughed, and was turning from him, saying, "Is this all your business?" + +"No," he replied. + +"Then keep it to yourself. I am not waiting here for any one or +anything; but am merely occupied in reading and killing time to the best +advantage." + +"Are you a poetess?" + +"No." + +"And scarcely a woman; for your answers are very short." + +"Very likely." + +"But I have something of importance to communicate-----" + +"That is impossible." + +"But listen to me-----" + +"You are mistaken in your person." + +"But surely you will not be so unreasonable as not to hear what I have to +say?" + +"I am a stranger in this country, and can have nothing of importance with +one I do not know." + +"You have quarrelled with your lover and are in an ill-humour. + +"Perhaps so. Well! come! I believe you have guessed the cause." + +"Ah! it is the fate of us all to get into scrapes! But you will soon +make it up; and now let me entreat your attention to what I have to +offer." + +I became impatient, and called my servant. + +"Madame," resumed the stranger, "I am a gentleman, and mean no harm. But +I assure you, you stand in your own light. I know more about you than +you think I do." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yes, madame, you are waiting here for an august personage." + +At this last sentence, my lips laughed, while my heart trembled. + +"I wish to caution you," continued he, "how you embark in plans of this +sort." + +"Monsieur, I repeat, you have taken me for some other person. I will no +longer listen to one who is either a maniac or an officious intruder." + +Upon this, the stranger bowed and left me; but I could perceive that he +was not displeased with my answers, though I was not a little agitated, +and longed to see Her Highness to relate to her this curious adventure. + +In a few hours I did so. The Princess was perfectly satisfied with my +manner of proceeding, only she thought it singular, she said, that the +stranger should suspect I was there in attendance for some person of +rank; and she repeated, three or four times, "I am heartily glad that you +did not commit yourself by any decided answer. What sort of a man was +he?" + +"Very much of the gentleman; above the middle stature; and, from what I +could see of his countenance, rather handsome than otherwise." + +"Was he a Frenchman?" + +"No. I think he spoke good French and English, with an Irish accent." + +"Then I know who it is," exclaimed she. "It is Dillon: I know it from +some doubts which arose between Her Majesty, Dillon, and myself, +respecting sending you upon a confidential mission. Oh, come hither! +come hither!" continued Her Highness, overwhelming me with kisses. "How +glad, how very glad I am, that the Queen will be convinced I was not +deceived in what I told Her Majesty respecting you. Take no notice of +what I am telling you; but he was sent from the Queen, to tempt you into +some imprudence, or to be convinced, by your not falling into the snare, +that she might rely on your fidelity." + +"What! doubt my fidelity?" said I. + +"Oh, my dear, you must excuse Her Majesty. We live in critical times. +You will be the more rewarded, and much more esteemed, for this proof of +your firmness. Do you think you should know him, if you were to see him +again?" + +"Certainly, I should, if he were in the same disguise. + +"That, I fear, will be rather difficult to accomplish. However, you +shall go in your carriage and wait at the door of his sister, the +Marquise of Desmond; where I will send for him to come to me at four +o'clock to-morrow. In this way, you will have an opportunity of seeing +him on horseback, as he always pays his morning visits riding." + +I would willingly have taken a sleeping draught, and never did I wait +more anxiously than for the hour of four. + +I left the Princess, and, in crossing from the Carrousel to go to the +Place Vendome, it rained very fast, and there glanced by me, on +horseback, the same military cloak in which the stranger had been +wrapped. My carriage was driving so fast that I still remained in doubt +as to the wearer's person. + +Next day, however, as appointed, I repaired to the place of rendezvous; +and I could almost have sworn, from the height of the person who alighted +from his horse, that he was my mysterious questioner. + +Still, I was not thoroughly certain. I watched the Princess coming out, +and followed her carriage to the Champs Elysees and told her what I +thought. + +"Well," replied she, "we must think no more about it; nor must it ever be +mentioned to him, should you by any chance meet him." + +I said I should certainly obey Her Highness. + +A guilty conscience needs no accuser. A few days after I was riding on +horseback in the Bois de Boulogne, when Lord Edward Fitzgerald came up to +speak to me. Dillon was passing at the time, and, seeing Lord Edward, +stopped, took off his hat, and observed, "A very pleasant day for riding, +madame!" Then, looking me full in the face, he added, "I beg your +pardon, madame, I mistook you for another lady with whom Lord Edward is +often in company." + +I said there was no offence; but the moment I heard him speak I was no +longer in doubt of his being the identical person. + +When I had learnt the ciphering and deciphering, and was to be sent to +Italy, the Queen acknowledged to the Princesse de Lamballe that she was +fully persuaded I might be trusted, as she had good reason to know that +my fidelity was not to be doubted or shaken. + +Dear, hapless Princess! She said to me, in one of her confidential +conversations on these matters, "The Queen has been so cruelly deceived +and so much watched that she almost fears her own shadow; but it gives me +great pleasure that Her Majesty had been herself confirmed by one of her +own emissaries in what I never for a moment doubted. + +"But do not fancy," continued the Princess, laughing, "that you have had +only this spy to encounter. Many others have watched your motions and +your conversations, and all concur in saying you are the devil, and they +could make nothing of you. But that, 'mia cara piccola diavolina', is +just what we want!" + + + + +SECTION VIII. + +Editor in continuation. + + +I am compelled, with reluctance, to continue personally upon the stage, +and must do so for the three ensuing chapters, in order to put my readers +in possession of circumstances explanatory of the next portion of the +Journal of the Princesse de Lamballe. + +Even the particulars I am about to mention can give but a very faint idea +of the state of alarm in which the Royal Family lived, and the perpetual +watchfulness and strange and involved expedients that were found +necessary for their protection. Their most trifling communications were +scrutinized with so much jealousy that when any of importance were to be +made it required a dexterity almost miraculous to screen them from the +ever-watchful eye of espionage. + +I was often made instrumental in evading the curiosity of others, without +ever receiving any clue to the gratification of my own, even had I been +troubled with such impertinence. The anecdote I am about to mention will +show how cautious a game it was thought necessary to play; and the result +of my half-information will evince that over-caution may produce evils +almost equal to total carelessness. + +Some time previous to the flight of the Royal Family from Paris, the +Princesse de Lamballe told me she wanted some repairs made to the locks +of certain dressing and writing-desks; but she would prefer having them +done at my apartments, and by a locksmith who lived at a distance from +the palace. + +When the boxes were repaired, I was sent with one of them to Lisle, where +another person took charge of it for the Archduchess at Brussels. + +There was something which strongly marked the kind-heartedness of the +Princesse de Lamballe in a part of this transaction. I had left Paris +without a passport, and Her Highness, fearing it might expose me to +inconvenience, sent an express after me. The express arrived three hours +before I did, and the person to whom I have alluded came out of Brussels +in his carriage to meet me and receive the box. At the same time, he +gave me a sealed letter, without any address. I asked him from whom he +received it, and to whom it was to be delivered. He said he was only +instructed to deliver it to the lady with the box, and he showed me the +Queen's cipher. I took the letter, and, after partaking of some +refreshments, returned with it, according to my orders. + +On my arrival at Paris, the Princesse de Lamballe told me her motive for +sending the express, who, she said, informed her, on his return, that I +had a letter for the Queen. I said it was more than I knew. "Oh, I +suppose that is because the letter bears no address," replied she; "but +you were shown the cipher, and that is all which is necessary." + +She did not take the letter, and I could not help remarking how far, in +this instance, the rigour of etiquette was kept up, even between these +close friends. The Princess, not having herself received the letter, +could not take it from my hands to deliver without Her Majesty's express +command. This being obtained, she asked me for it, and gave it to Her +Majesty. The circumstance convinced me that the Princess exercised much +less influence over the Queen, and was much more directed by Her +Majesty's authority, than has been imagined. + +Two or three days after my arrival at Paris, my servant lost the key of +my writing-desk, and, to remedy the evil, he brought me the same +locksmith I had employed on the repairs just mentioned. As it was +necessary I should be present to remove my papers when the lock was taken +off, of course I saw the man. While I was busy clearing the desk, with +an air of great familiarity he said, "I have had jobs to do here before +now, my girl, as your sweetheart there well knows." + +I humoured his mistake in taking me for my own maid and my servant's +sweetheart, and I pertly answered, "Very likely." + +"Oh, yes, I have," said he; "it was I who repaired the Queen's boxes in +this very room." + +Knowing I had never received anything of the sort from Her Majesty, and +utterly unaware that the boxes the Princess sent to my apartments had +been the Queen's, I was greatly surprised. Seeing my confusion, he said, +"I know the boxes as well as I know myself. I am the King's locksmith, +my dear, and I and the King worked together many years. Why, I know +every creek and corner of the palace, aye, and I know everything that's +going on in them, too--queer doings! Lord, my pretty damsel, I made a +secret place in the palace to hide the King's papers, where the devil +himself would never find them out, if I or the King didn't tell!" + +Though I wished him at the devil every moment he detained me from +disclosing his information at the palace, yet I played off the soubrette +upon him till he became so interested I thought he never would have gone. +At last, however, he took his departure, and the moment he disappeared, +out of the house I flew. + +The agitation and surprise of the Princess at what I related were +extreme. "Wait," cried she; "I must go and inform the Queen instantly." +In going out of the room, "Great God, what a discovery!" exclaimed Her +Highness. + +It was not long before she returned. Luckily, I was dressed for dinner. +She took me by the hand and, unable to speak, led me to the private +closet of the Queen. + +Her Majesty graciously condescended to thank me for the letter I had +taken charge of. She told me that for the future all letters to her +would be without any superscription; and desired me, if any should be +given to me by persons I had not before seen, and the cipher were shown +at the same time, to receive and deliver them myself into her hands, as +the production of the cipher would be a sufficient pledge of their +authenticity. + +Being desired to repeat the conversation with Gamin, "There, Princess!" +exclaimed Her Majesty, "Am I not the crow of evil forebodings? I trust +the King will never again be credulous enough to employ this man. I have +long had an extreme aversion to His Majesty's familiarity with him; but +he shall hear his impudence himself from your own lips, my good little +Englishwoman; and then he will not think it is prepossession or +prejudice." + +A few evenings elapsed, and I thought no more of the subject, till one +night I was ordered to the palace by the Princess, which never happened +but on very particular occasions, as she was fearful of exciting +suspicion by any appearance of close intimacy with one so much about +Paris upon the secret embassies of the Court. + +When I entered the apartment, the King, the Queen, and the Princesse +Elizabeth were, as if by accident, in an adjoining room; but, from what +followed, I am certain they all came purposely to hear my deposition. I +was presently commanded to present myself to the august party. + +The King was in deep conversation with the Princesse Elizabeth. I must +confess I felt rather embarrassed. I could not form an idea why I was +thus honoured. The Princesse de Lamballe graciously took me by the hand. + +"Now tell His Majesty, yourself, what Gamin said to you." + +I began to revive, perceiving now wherefore I was summoned. I accordingly +related, in the presence of the royal guests assembled, as I had done +before Her Majesty and the Princesse de Lamballe, the scene as it +occurred. + +When I came to that part where he said, "where the devil himself could +never find them out," His Majesty approached from the balcony, at which +he had been talking with the Princesse Elizabeth, and said, "Well! he is +very right--but neither he nor the devil shall find them out, for they +shall be removed this very night." + +[Which was done; and these are, therefore, no doubt, the papers and +portfolio of which Madame Campan speaks, vol. ii., p. 142, as having +been entrusted to her care after being taken from their hiding-place by +the King himself.] + +The King, the Queen, and the Princesse Elizabeth most graciously said, +"Nous sommes bien obligis, ma petite anglaise!" and Her Majesty added, +"Now, my dear, tell me all the rest about this man, whom I have long +suspected for his wickedness." + +I said he had been guilty of no hostile indications, and that the chief +fault I had to find with him was his exceeding familiarity in mentioning +himself before the King, saying, "I and the King." + +"Go on," said Her Majesty; "give us the whole as it occurred, and let us +form our own conclusions." + +"Yes," cried the Princess, "parlate sciolto."--"Si Si," rejoined the +Queen, "parlate tutto--yes, yes, speak out and tell us all." + +I then related the remainder of the conversation, which very much alarmed +the royal party, and it was agreed that, to avoid suspicion, I should +next day send for the locksmith and desire him, as an excuse, to look at +the locks of my trunks and travelling carriage, and set off in his +presence to take up my pretended mistress on the road to Calais, that he +might not suspect I had any connection with any one about the Court. I +was strictly enjoined by Her Majesty to tell him that the man servant had +had the boxes from some one to get them repaired, without either my +knowledge or that of my mistress, and, by her pretended orders, to give +him a discharge upon the spot for having dared to use her apartments as a +workshop for the business of other people. + +"Now," said the Princesse de Lamballe, "now play the comic part you acted +between your servant and Gamin:" which I did, as well as I could +recollect it, and the royal audience were so much amused, that I had the +honour to remain in the room and see them play at cards. At length, +however, there came three gentle taps at the outer door. "Ora a tempo +perche vene andata," exclaimed Her Highness at the sound, having ordered +a person to call with this signal to see me out of the palace to the Rue +Nicaise, where my carriage was in waiting to conduct me home. + +It is not possible for me to describe the gracious condescension of the +Queen and the Princesse Elizabeth, in expressing their sentiments for the +accidental discovery I had made. Amid their assurances of tender +interest and concern, they both reproved me mildly for my imprudence in +having, when I went to Brussels, hurried from Paris without my passport. +They gave me prudential cautions with regard to my future conduct and +residence at Paris; and it was principally owing to the united +persuasions and remonstrances of these three angels in human form that I +took six or seven different lodgings, where the Princesse de Lamballe +used to meet me by turns; because had I gone often to the palace, as many +others did, or waited for Her Highness regularly in any one spot, I +should, infallibly, have been discovered. + +"Gracious God!" exclaimed Her Majesty in the course of this +conversation, "am I born to be the misfortune of every one who shows an +interest in serving me? Tell my sister, when you return to Brussels +again--and do not forget to say I desired you to tell her--our cruel +situation! She does not believe that we are surrounded by enemies, even +in our most private seclusions! in our prison! that we are even thrown +exclusively upon foreigners in our most confidential affairs; that in +France there is scarcely an individual to whom we can look! They betray +us for their own safety, which is endangered by any exertions in our +favour. Tell her this," repeated the Queen three or four times. + +The next day I punctually obeyed my orders. Gamin was sent for to look +at the locks, and received six francs for his opinion. The man servant +was reproved by me on behalf of my supposed mistress, and, in the +presence of Gamin, discharged for having brought suspicious things into +the house. + +The man being tutored in his part, begged Gamin to plead for my +intercession with our mistress. I remained inexorable, as he knew I +should. While Gamin was still by I discharged the bill at the house, got +into my carriage, and took the road towards Calais. + +At Saint Denis, however, I feigned to be taken ill, and in two days +returned to Paris. + +Even this simple act required management. I contrived it in the +following manner. I walked out on the high road leading to the capital +for the purpose of meeting my servant at a place which had been fixed for +the meeting before I left Paris. I found him on horseback at his post, +with a carriage prepared for my return. As soon as I was out of sight he +made the best of his way forward, went to the inn with a note from me, +and returned with my carriage and baggage I had to lodgings at Passy. + +The joy of the Princess on seeing me safe again brought tears into her +eyes; and, when I related the scene I played off before Gamin against my +servant, she laughed most heavily. "But surely," said she, "you have not +really discharged the poor man?"--"Oh, no," replied I; "he acted his part +so well before the locksmith, that I should be very sorry to lose such an +apt scholar." + +"You must perform this 'buffa scena'," observed Her Highness, "to the +Queen. She has been very anxious to know the result; but her spirits are +so depressed that I fear she will not come to my party this evening. +However, if she do not, I will see her to-morrow, and you shall make her +laugh. It would be a charity, for she has not done so from the heart for +many a day!" + + + + +SECTION IX. + +Editor in continuation: + + +Every one who has read at all is familiar with the immortal panegyric of +the great Edmund Burke upon Marie Antoinette. It is known that this +illustrious man was not mean enough to flatter; yet his eloquent praises +of her as a Princess, a woman, and a beauty, inspiring something beyond +what any other woman could excite, have been called flattery by those who +never knew her; those who did, must feel them to be, if possible, even +below the truth. But the admiration of Mr. Burke was set down even to a +baser motive, and, like everything else, converted into a source of +slander for political purposes, long before that worthy palladium of +British liberty had even thought of interesting himself for the welfare +of France, which his prophetic eye saw plainly was the common cause of +all Europe. + +But, keenly as that great statesman looked into futurity, little did he +think, when he visited the Queen in all her splendour at Trianon, and +spoke so warmly of the cordial reception he had met with at Versailles +from the Duc and Duchesse de Polignac, that he should have so soon to +deplore their tragic fate! + +Could his suggestions to Her Majesty, when he was in France, have been +put in force, there is scarcely a doubt that the Revolution might have +been averted, or crushed. But he did not limit his friendship to +personal advice. It is not generally known that the Queen carried on, +through the medium of the Princesse de Lamballe, a very extensive +correspondence with Mr. Burke. He recommended wise and vast plans; and +these, if possible, would have been adopted. The substance of some of +the leading ones I can recall from the journal of Her Highness and +letters which I have myself frequently deciphered. I shall endeavour, +succinctly, to detail such of them as I remember. + +Mr. Burke recommended the suppression of all superfluous religious +institutions, which had not public seminaries to support. Their lands, +he advised, should be divided, without regard to any distinction but that +of merit, among such members of the army and other useful classes of +society, as, after having served the specified time, should have risen, +through their good conduct, to either civil or military preferment. By +calculations upon the landed interest, it appeared that every individual +under the operation of this bounty would, in the course of twenty years, +possess a yearly income of from five to seven hundred francs. + +Another of the schemes suggested by Mr. Burke was to purge the kingdom of +all the troops which had been corrupted from their allegiance by the +intrigues growing out of the first meeting of the Notables. He proposed +that they should sail at the same time, or nearly so, to be colonized in +the different French islands and Madagascar; and, in their place, a new +national guard created, who should be bound to the interest of the +legitimate Government by receiving the waste crown lands to be shared +among them, from the common soldier to its generals and Field-marshals. +Thus would the whole mass of rebellious blood have been reformed. To +ensure an effectual change, Mr. Burke advised the enrolment, in rotation, +of sixty thousand Irish troops, twenty thousand always to remain in +France, and forty thousand in reversion for the same service. The +lynx-eyed statesman saw clearly, from the murders of the Marquis de +Launay and M. Flesselles, and from the destruction of the Bastille, and +of the ramparts of Paris, that party had not armed itself against Louis, +but against the throne. It was therefore necessary to produce a +permanent revolution in the army. + +[Mr. Burke was too great a statesman not to be the friend of his +country's interest. He also saw that, from the destruction of the +monarchy in France, England had more to fear than to gain. He well knew +that the French Revolution was not, like that of the Americans, founded +on grievances and urged in support of a great and disinterested +principle. He was aware that so restless a people, when they had +overthrown the monarchy, would not limit the overthrow to their own +country. After Mr. Burke's death, Mr. Fox was applied to, and was +decidedly of the same opinion. Mr. Sheridan was interrogated, and, at +the request of the Princesse de Lamballe, he presented, for the Queen's +inspection, plans nearly equal to those of the above two great statesmen; +and what is most singular and scarcely credible is that one and all of +the opposition party in England strenuously exerted themselves for the +upholding of the monarchy in France. Many circumstances which came to my +knowledge before and after the death of Louis XVI. prove that Mr. Pitt +himself was averse to the republican principles being organized so near a +constitutional monarchy as France was to Great Britain. Though the +conduct of the Duc d'Orleans was generally reprobated, I firmly believe +that if he had possessed sufficient courage to have usurped the crown and +re-established the monarchy, he would have been treated with in +preference to the republicans. I am the more confirmed in this opinion +by a conversation between the Princesse de Lamballe and Mirabeau, in +which he said a republic in France would never thrive.] + +There was another suggestion to secure troops around the throne of a more +loyal temper. It was planned to incorporate all the French soldiers, who +had not voluntarily deserted the royal standard, with two-thirds of +Swiss, German, and Low Country forces, among whom were to be divided, +after ten years' service, certain portions of the crown lands, which were +to be held by presenting every year a flag of acknowledgment to the King +and Queen; with the preference of serving in the civil or military +departments, according to the merit or capacity of the respective +individuals. Messieurs de Broglie, de Bouille, de Luxembourg, and +others, were to have been commanders. But this plan, like many others, +was foiled in its birth, and, it is said, through the intrigues of +Mirabeau. + +However, all concurred in the necessity of ridding France, upon the most +plausible pretexts, of the fomenters of its ruin. Now arose a fresh +difficulty. Transports were wanted, and in considerable numbers. + +A navy agent in England was applied to for the supply of these +transports. So great was the number required, and so peculiar the +circumstances, that the agent declined interfering without the sanction +of his Government. + +A new dilemma succeeded. Might not the King of England place improper +constructions on this extensive shipment of troops from the different +ports of France for her West India possessions? Might it not be fancied +that it involved secret designs on the British settlements in that +quarter? + +All these circumstances required that some communication should be opened +with the Court of St. James; and the critical posture of affairs exacted +that such communication should be less diplomatic than confidential. + +It will be recollected that, at the very commencement of the reign of +Louis XVI., there were troubles in Britanny, which the severe +governorship of the Duc d'Aiguillon augmented. The Bretons took +privileges with them, when they became blended with the kingdom of +France, by the marriage of Anne of Brittany with Charles VIII., beyond +those of any other of its provinces. These privileges they seemed rather +disposed to extend than relinquish, and were by no means reserved in the +expression of their resolution. It was considered expedient to place a +firm, but conciliatory, Governor over them, and the Duc de Penthievre was +appointed to this difficult trust. The Duke was accompanied to his +vice-royalty by his daughter-in-law, the Princesse de Lamballe, who, by +her extremely judicious management of the female part of the province, +did more for the restoration of order than could have been achieved by +armies. The remembrance of this circumstance induced the Queen to regard +Her Highness as a fit person to send secretly to England at this very +important crisis; and the purpose was greatly encouraged by a wish to +remove her from a scene of such daily increasing peril. + +For privacy, it was deemed expedient that Her Highness should withdraw to +Aumale, under the plea of ill-health, and thence proceed to England; and +it was also by way of Aumale that she as secretly returned, after the +fatal disaster of the stoppage, to discourage the impression of her ever +having been out of France. + +The mission was even unknown to the French Minister at the Court of St. +James. + +The Princess was ordered by Her Majesty to cultivate the acquaintance of +the late Duchess of Gordon, who was supposed to possess more influence +than any woman in England--in order to learn the sentiments of Mr. Pitt +relative to the revolutionary troubles. The Duchess, however, was too +much of an Englishwoman, and Mr. Pitt too much interested in the ruin of +France, to give her the least clue to the truth. + +In order to fathom the sentiments of the opposition party, the Princess +cultivated the society also of the late Duchess of Devonshire, but with +as little success. The opposition party foresaw too much risk in +bringing anything before the house to alarm the prejudices of the nation. + +The French Ambassador, too, jealous of the unexplained purpose of the +Princess, did all he could to render her expedition fruitless. + +Nevertheless, though disappointed in some of her main objects with regard +to influence and information, she became so great a favourite at the +British Court that she obtained full permission of the King and Queen of +England to signify to her royal mistress and friend that the specific +request she came to make would be complied with. + +[The Princess visited Bath, Windsor, Brighton, and many other parts of +England, and associated with all parties. She managed her conduct so +judiciously that the real object of her visit was never suspected. In +all these excursions I had the honour to attend her confidentially. I +was the only person entrusted with papers from Her Highness to Her +Majesty. I had many things to copy, of which the originals went to +France. Twice during the term of Her Highness's residence in England I +was sent by Her Majesty with papers communicating the result of the +secret mission to the Queen of Naples. On the second of these two trips, +being obliged to travel night and day, I could only keep my eyes open by +means of the strongest coffee. When I reached my destination I was +immediately compelled to decipher the despatches with the Queen of Naples +in the office of the Secretary of State. That done, General Acton +ordered some one, I know not whom, to conduct me, I know not where, but +it was to a place where, after a sound sleep of twenty-four hours, I +awoke thoroughly refreshed, and without a vestige of fatigue either of +mind or body. On waking, lest anything should transpire, I was desired +to quit Naples instantly, without seeing the British Minister. To make +assurance doubly sure, General Acton sent a person from his office to +accompany me out of the city on horseback; and, to screen me from the +attack of robbers, this person went on with me as far as the Roman +frontier.] + +In the meantime, however, the troubles in France were so rapidly +increasing from hour to hour, that it became impossible for the +Government to carry any of their plans into effect. This particular one, +on the very eve of its accomplishment, was marred, as it was imagined, by +the secret intervention of the friends of Mirabeau. The Government +became more and more infirm and wavering in its purposes; the Princess +was left without instructions, and under such circumstances as to expose +her to the supposition of having trifled with the good-will of Their +Majesties of England. + +In this dilemma I was sent off from England to the Queen of France. I +left Her Highness at Bath, but when I returned she had quitted Bath for +Brighton. I am unacquainted with the nature of all the papers she +received, but I well remember the agony they seemed to inflict on her. +She sent off a packet by express that very night to Windsor. + +The Princess immediately began the preparations for her return. Her own +journal is explicit on this point of her history, and therefore I shall +leave her to speak for herself. I must not, however, omit to mention the +remark she made to me upon the subject of her reception in Great Britain. +With these, let me dismiss the present chapter. + +"The general cordiality with which I have been received in your country," +said Her Highness, "has made a lasting impression upon my heart. In +particular, never shall I forget the kindness of the Queen of England, +the Duchess of Devonshire, and her truly virtuous mother, Lady Spencer. +It gave me a cruel pang to be obliged to undervalue the obligations with +which they overwhelmed me by leaving England as I did, without giving +them an opportunity of carrying their good intentions, which, I had +myself solicited, into effect. But we cannot command fate. Now that the +King has determined to accept the Constitution (and you know my +sentiments upon the article respecting ecclesiastics), I conceive it my +duty to follow Their Majesties' example in submitting to the laws of the +nation. Be assured, 'Inglesina', it will be my ambition to bring about +one of the happiest ages of French history. I shall endeavour to create +that confidence so necessary for the restoration to their native land of +the Princes of the blood, and all the emigrants who abandoned the King, +their families, and their country, while doubtful whether His Majesty +would or would not concede this new charter; but now that the doubt +exists no longer, I trust we shall all meet again, the happier for the +privation to which we have been doomed from absence. As the limitation +of the monarchy removes every kind of responsibility from the monarch, +the Queen will again taste the blissful sweets she once enjoyed during +the reign of Louis XV. in the domestic tranquillity of her home at +Trianon. Often has she wept those times in which she will again rejoice. +Oh, how I long for their return! I fly to greet the coming period of +future happiness to us all!" + + + + +POSTSCRIPT: + + +Although I am not making myself the historian of France, yet it may not +be amiss to mention that it was during this absence of Her Highness that +Necker finally retired from power and from France. + +The return of this Minister had been very much against the consent of Her +Majesty and the King. They both feared what actually happened soon +afterwards. They foresaw that he would be swept away by the current of +popularity from his deference to the royal authority. It was to preserve +the favour of the mob that he allowed them to commit the shocking murders +of M. de Foulon (who had succeeded him on his first dismission as +Minister of Louis XVI.) and of Berthier, his son-in-law. The union of +Necker with D'ORLEANS, on this occasion, added to the cold indifference +with which Barnave in one of his speeches expressed himself concerning +the shedding of human blood, certainly animated the factious assassins to +methodical murder, and frustrated all the efforts of La Fayette to save +these victims from the enraged populace, to whom both unfortunately fell +a sacrifice. + +Necker, like La Fayette, when too late, felt the absurdity of relying +upon the idolatry of the populace. The one fancied he could command the +Parisian 'poissardes' as easily as his own battalions; and the other +persuaded himself that the mob, which had been hired to carry about his +bust, would as readily promulgate his theories. + +But he forgot that the people in their greatest independence are only the +puppets of demagogues; and he lost himself by not gaining over that class +which, of all others, possesses most power over the million, I mean the +men of the bar, who, arguing more logically than the rest of the world, +felt that from the new Constitution the long robe was playing a losing +game, and therefore discouraged a system which offered nothing to their +personal ambition or private emolument. Lawyers, like priests, are never +over-ripe for any changes or innovations, except such as tend to their +personal interest. The more perplexed the state of public and private +affairs, the better for them. Therefore, in revolutions, as a body, they +remain neuter, unless it is made for their benefit to act. Individually, +they are a set of necessary evils; and, for the sake of the bar, the +bench, and the gibbet, require to be humoured. But any legislator who +attempts to render laws clear, concise, and explanatory, and to divest +them of the quibbles whereby these expounders--or confounders--of codes +fatten on the credulity of States and the miseries of unfortunate +millions, will necessarily encounter opposition, direct or indirect, in +every measure at all likely to reduce the influence of this most +abominable horde of human depredators. It was Necker's error to have +gone so directly to the point with the lawyers that they at once saw his +scope; and thus he himself defeated his hopes of their support, the want +of which utterly baffled all his speculations. + +[The great Frederick of Prussia, on being told of the numbers of lawyers +there were in England, said he wished he had them in his country. "Why?" +some one enquired. "To do the greatest benefit in my power to +society."--"How so?"--"Why to hang one-half as an example to the other!"] + +When Necker undertook to re-establish the finances, and to reform +generally the abuses in the Government, he was the most popular Minister +(Lord Chatham, when the great Pitt, excepted) in Europe. Yet his errors +were innumerable, though possessing such sound knowledge and judgment, +such a superabundance of political contrivance, diplomatic coolness, and +mathematical calculation, the result of deep thought aided by great +practical experience. + +But how futile he made all these appear when he declared the national +bankruptcy. Could anything be more absurd than the assumption, by the +individual, of a personal instead of a national guarantee of part of a +national debt?--an undertaking too hazardous and by far too ambiguous, +even for a monarch who is not backed by his kingdom--flow doubly frantic, +then, for a subject! Necker imagined that the above declaration and his +own Quixotic generosity would have opened the coffers of the great body +of rich proprietors, and brought them forward to aid the national crisis. +But he was mistaken. The nation then had no interest in his financial +system. The effect it produced was the very reverse of what was +expected. Every proprietor began to fear the ambition of the Minister, +who undertook impossibilities. The being bound for the debts of an +individual, and justifying bail in a court of law in commercial matters, +affords no criterion for judging of, or regulating, the pecuniary +difficulties of a nation. Necker's conduct in this case was, in my +humble opinion, as impolitic as that of a man who, after telling his +friends that he is ruined past redemption, asks for a loan of money. The +conclusion is, if he obtains the loan, that "the fool and his money are +soon parted." + +It was during the same interval of Her Highness's stay in England, that +the discontent ran so high between the people and the clergy. + +I have frequently heard the Princesse de Lamballe ascribe the King's not +sanctioning the decrees against the clergy to the influence of his aunt, +the Carmelite nun, Madame Louise. During the life of her father, Louis +XV., she nearly engrossed all the Church benefices by her intrigues. She +had her regular conclaves of all orders of the Church. From the Bishop +to the sexton, all depended on her for preferment; and, till the +Revolution, she maintained equal power over the mind of Louis XVI. upon +similar matters. The Queen would often express her disapprobation; but +the King was so scrupulous, whenever the discussion fell on the topic of +religion, that she made it a point not to contrast her opinion with his, +from a conviction that she was unequal to cope with him on that head, +upon which he was generally very animated. + +It is perfectly certain that the French clergy, by refusing to contribute +to the exigencies of the State, created some of the primary horrors of +the Revolution. They enjoyed one-third the national revenues, yet they +were the first to withhold their assistance from the national wants. I +have heard the Princesse de Lamballe say, "The Princesse Elizabeth and +myself used our utmost exertion to induce some of the higher orders of +the clergy to set the example and obtain for themselves the credit of +offering up a part of the revenues, the whole of which we knew must be +forfeited if they continued obstinate; but it was impossible to move +them." + +The characters of some of the leading dignitaries of the time +sufficiently explain their selfish and pernicious conduct; when churchmen +trifle with the altar, be their motives what they may, they destroy the +faith they possess, and give examples to the flock entrusted to their +care, of which no foresight can measure the baleful consequences. Who +that is false to his God can be expected to remain faithful to his +Sovereign? When a man, as a Catholic Bishop, marries, and, under the +mask of patriotism, becomes the declared tool of all work to every +faction, and is the weathercock, shifting to any quarter according to the +wind,--such a man can be of no real service to any party: and yet has a +man of this kind been by turns the primum mobile of them all, even to the +present times, and was one of those great Church fomenters of the +troubles of which we speak, who disgraced the virtuous reign of Louis +XVI. + + + + +SECTION X. + + +Amidst the perplexities of the Royal Family it was perfectly unavoidable +that repeated proposals should have been made at various times for them +to escape these dangers by flight. The Queen had been frequently and +most earnestly entreated to withdraw alone; and the King, the Princesse +Elizabeth, the Princesse de Lamballe, the royal children, with their +little hands uplifted, and all those attached to Marie Antoinette, after +the horrid business at Versailles, united to supplicate her to quit +France and shelter herself from the peril hanging over her existence. +Often and often have I heard the Princesse de Lamballe repeat the words +in which Her Majesty uniformly rejected the proposition. "I have no +wish," cried the Queen, "for myself. My life or death must be encircled +by the arms of my husband and my family. With them, and with them only, +will I live or die." + +It would have been impossible to have persuaded her to leave France +without her children. If any woman on earth could have been justified in +so doing, it would have been Marie Antoinette. But she was above such +unnatural selfishness, though she had so many examples to encourage her; +for, even amongst the members of her own family, self-preservation had +been considered paramount to every other consideration. + +I have heard the Princess say that Pope Pius VI. was the only one of all +the Sovereigns who offered the slightest condolence or assistance to +Louis XVI. and his family. "The Pope's letter," added she, "when shown +to me by the Queen, drew tears from my eyes. It really was in a style of +such Christian tenderness and princely feeling as could only be dictated +by a pious and illuminated head of the Christian Church. He implored not +only all the family of Louis XVI., but even extended his entreaties to me +[the Princesse de Lamballe] to leave Paris, and save themselves, by +taking refuge in his dominions, from the horrors which so cruelly +overwhelmed them. The King's aunts were the only ones who profited by +the invitation. Madame Elizabeth was to have been of the party, but +could not be persuaded to leave the King and Queen." + +As the clouds grew more threatening, it is scarcely to be credited how +many persons interested themselves for the same purpose, and what +numberless schemes were devised to break the fetters which had been +imposed on the Royal Family, by their jailers, the Assembly. + +A party, unknown to the King and Queen, was even forming under the +direction of the Princesse Elizabeth; but as soon as Their Majesties were +apprised of it, it was given up as dangerous to the interests of the +Royal Family, because it thwarted the plans of the Marquis de Bouille. +Indeed, Her Majesty could never be brought to determine on any plan for +her own or the King's safety until their royal aunts, the Princesses +Victoria and Adelaide, had left Paris. + +The first attempt to fly was made early in the year 1791, at St. Cloud, +where the horses had been in preparation nearly a fortnight; but the +scheme was abandoned in consequence of having been entrusted to too many +persons. This the Queen acknowledged. She had it often in her power to +escape alone with her son, but would not consent. + +The second attempt was made in the spring of the same year at Paris. The +guards shut the gates of the Tuileries, and would not allow the King's +carriage to pass. Even though a large sum of money had been expended to +form a party to overpower the mutineers, the treacherous mercenaries did +not appear. The expedition was, of course, obliged to be relinquished. + +Many of the royal household were very ill-treated, and some lives +unfortunately lost. + +At last, the deplorable journey did take place. The intention had been +communicated by Her Majesty to the Princesse de Lamballe before she went +abroad, and it was agreed that, whenever it was carried into effect, the +Queen should write to Her Highness from Montmedi, where the two friends +were once more to have been reunited. + +Soon after the departure of the Princess, the arrangements for the fatal +journey to Varennes were commenced, but with blamable and fatal +carelessness. + +Mirabeau was the first person who advised the King to withdraw; but he +recommended that it should be alone, or, at most, with the Dauphin only. +He was of opinion that the overthrow of the Constitution could not be +achieved while the Royal Family remained in Paris. His first idea was +that the King should go to the sea-coast, where he would have it in his +power instantly to escape to England, if the Assembly, through his +(Mirabeau's), means, did not comply with the royal propositions. Though +many of the King's advisers were for a distinct and open rejection of the +Constitution, it was the decided impression of Mirabeau that he ought to +stoop to conquer, and temporize by an instantaneous acceptance, through +which he might gain time to put himself in an attitude to make such terms +as would at once neutralize the act and the faction by which it was +forced upon him. Others imagined that His Majesty was too conscientious +to avail himself of any such subterfuge, and that, having once given his +sanction, he would adhere to it rigidly. This third party of the royal +counsellors were therefore for a cautious consideration of the document, +clause by clause, dreading the consequences of an 'ex abrupto' signature +in binding the Sovereign, not only against his policy, but his will. + +In the midst of all these distracting doubts, however, the departure was +resolved upon. Mirabeau had many interviews with the Count Fersen upon +the subject. It was his great object to prevent the flight from being +encumbered. But the King would not be persuaded to separate himself from +the Queen and the rest of the family, and entrusted the project to too +many advisers. Had he been guided by Fersen only, he would have +succeeded. + +The natural consequence of a secret being in so many hands was felt in +the result. Those whom it was most important to keep in ignorance were +the first on the alert. The weakness of the Queen in insisting upon +taking a remarkable dressing-case with her, and, to get it away +unobserved, ordering a facsimile to be made under the pretext of +intending it as a present to her sister at Brussels, awakened the +suspicion of a favourite, but false female attendant, then intriguing +with the aide-de-camp of La Fayette. The rest is easily to be conceived. +The Assembly were apprised of all the preparations for the departure a +week or more before it occurred. La Fayette, himself, it is believed, +knew and encouraged it, that he might have the glory of stopping the +fugitive himself; but he was overruled by the Assembly. + +When the secretary of the Austrian Ambassador came publicly, by +arrangement, to ask permission of the Queen to take the model of the +dressing-case in question, the very woman to whom I have alluded was in +attendance at Her Majesty's toilet. The paramour of the woman was with +her, watching the motions of the Royal Family on the night they passed +from their own apartments to those of the Duc de Villequier in order to +get into the carriage; and by this paramour was La Fayette instantly +informed of the departure. The traitress discovered that Her Majesty was +on the eve of setting off by seeing her diamonds packed up. All these +things were fully known to the Assembly, of which the Queen herself was +afterwards apprised by the Mayor of Paris. + +In the suite of the Count Fersen there was a young Swede who had an +intrigue purposely with one of the Queen's women, from whom he obtained +many important disclosures relative to the times. + +[Alvise de Pisani, the last venetian Ambassador to the King, who was my +husband's particular friend, and with whom I was myself long acquainted, +and have been ever since to this day, as well as with all his noble +family, during my many years' residence at Venice, told me this +circumstance while walking with him at his country-seat at Stra, which +was subsequently taken from him by Napoleon, and made the Imperial palace +of the viceroy, and is now that of the German reigning Prince.] + +The Swede mentioned this to his patron, who advised Her Majesty to +discharge a certain number of these women, among whom was the one who +afterwards proved her betrayer. It was suggested to dismiss a number at +once, that the guilty person might not suspect the exclusion to be +levelled against her in particular. Had the Queen allowed herself to be +directed in this affair by Fersen, the chain of communication would have +been broken, and the Royal Family would not have been stopped at +Varennes, but have got clear out of France, many hours before they could +have been perceived by the Assembly; but Her Majesty never could believe +that she had anything to fear from the quarter against which she was +warned. + +It is not generally known that a very considerable sum had been given to +the head recruiting sergeant, Mirabeau, to enlist such of the +constituents as could be won with gold to be ready with a majority in +favour of the royal fugitives. But the death of Mirabeau, previous to +this event, leaves it doubtful how far he distributed the bribes +conscientiously; indeed, it is rather to be questioned whether he did not +retain the money, or much of it, in his own hands, since the strongly +hoped for and dearly paid majority never gave proof of existence, either +before or after the journey to Varennes. Immense bribes were also given +to the Mayor of Paris, which proved equally ineffective. + +Had Mirabeau lived till the affair of Varennes, it is not impossible that +his genius might have given a different complexion to the result. He had +already treated with the Queen and the Princess for a reconciliation; and +in the apartments of Her Highness had frequent evening, and early +morning, audiences of the Queen. + +It is pretty certain, however, that the recantation of Mirabeau, from +avowed democracy to aristocracy and royalty, through the medium of +enriching himself by a 'salva regina', made his friends prepare for him +that just retribution, which ended in a 'de profundis'. At a period when +all his vices were called to aid one virtuous action, his thread of +vicious life was shortened, and he; no doubt, became the victim of his +insatiable avarice. That he was poisoned is not to be disproved; though +it was thought necessary to keep it from the knowledge of the people. + +I have often heard Her Highness say, "When I reflect on the precautions +which were taken to keep the interviews with Mirabeau profoundly secret +that he never conversed but with the King, the Queen, and myself--his +untimely death must be attributed to his own indiscreet enthusiasm, in +having confidentially entrusted the success with which he flattered +himself, from the ascendency he had gained over the Court, to some one +who betrayed him. His death, so very unexpectedly, and at that crisis, +made a deep impression on the mind of the Queen. She really believed him +capable of redressing the monarchy, and he certainly was the only one of +the turncoat constitutionalists in whom she placed any confidence. Would +to Heaven that she had had more in Barnave, and that she had listened to +Dumourier! These I would have trusted more, far more readily than the +mercenary Mirabeau!" + +I now return, once more, to the journal of the Princess. + + + + + +SECTION XI. + + +"In the midst of the perplexing debates upon the course most advisable +with regard to the Constitution after the unfortunate return from +Varennes, I sent off my little English amanuensis to Paris to bring me, +through the means of another trusty person I had placed about the Queen, +the earliest information concerning the situation of affairs. On her +return she brought me a ring, which Her Majesty had graciously, +condescended to send me, set with her own hair, which had whitened like +that of a person of eighty, from the anguish the Varennes affair had +wrought upon her mind; and bearing the inscription, 'Bleached by sorrow.' +This ring was accompanied by the following letter: + +"'MY DEAREST FRIEND,-- + +"'The King has made up his mind to the acceptance of the Constitution, +and it will ere long be proclaimed publicly. A few days ago I was +secretly waited upon and closeted in your apartment with many of our +faithful friends,--in particular, Alexandre de Lameth, Duport, Barnave, +Montmorin, Bertrand de Moleville, et cetera. The two latter opposed the +King's Council, the Ministers, and the numerous other advisers of an +immediate and unscrutinizing acceptance. They were a small minority, and +could not prevail with me to exercise my influence with His Majesty in +support of their opinion, when all the rest seemed so confident that a +contrary course must re-establish the tranquillity of the nation and our +own happiness, weaken the party of the Jacobins against us, and greatly +increase that of the nation in our favor. + +"'Your absence obliged me to call Elizabeth to my aid in managing the +coming and going of the deputies to and from the Pavilion of Flora, +unperceived by the spies of our enemies. She executed her charge so +adroitly, that the visitors were not seen by any of the household. Poor +Elizabeth! little did I look for such circumspection in one so +unacquainted with the intrigues of Court, or the dangers surrounding us, +which they would now fain persuade us no longer exist. God grant it may +be so! and that I may once more freely embrace and open my heart to the +only friend I have nearest to it. But though this is my most ardent +wish, yet, my dear, dearest Lamballe, I leave it to yourself to act as +your feelings dictate. Many about us profess to see the future as clear +as the sun at noon-day. But, I confess, my vision is still dim. I +cannot look into events with the security of others--who confound logic +with their wishes. The King, Elizabeth, and all of us, are anxious for +your return. But it would grieve us sorely for you to come back to such +scenes as you have already witnessed. Judge and act from your own +impressions. If we do not see you, send me the result of your interview +at the precipice.--[The name the Queen gave to Mr. Pitt]--'Vostra cara +picciolca Inglesina' will deliver you many letters. After looking over +the envelopes, you will either send her with them as soon as possible or +forward them as addressed, as you may think most advisable at the time +you receive them. + + "'Ever, ever, and forever, + + "'Your affectionate, + + "'MARIE ANTOINETTE! + +"There was another hurried and abrupt note from Her Majesty among these +papers, obviously written later than the first. It lamented the cruel +privations to which she was doomed at the Tuileries, in consequence of +the impeded flight, and declared that what the Royal Family were forced +to suffer, from being totally deprived of every individual of their +former friends and attendants to condole with, excepting the equally +oppressed and unhappy Princesse Elizabeth, was utterly insupportable. + +"On the receipt of these much esteemed epistles, I returned, as my duty +directed, to the best of Queens, and most sincere of friends. My arrival +at Paris, though so much wished for, was totally unexpected. + +"At our first meeting, the Queen was so agitated that she was utterly at +a loss to explain the satisfaction she felt in beholding me once more +near her royal person. Seeing the ring on my finger, which she had done +me the honour of sending me, she pointed to her hair, once so beautiful, +but now, like that of an old woman, not only gray, but deprived of all +its softness, quite stiff and dried up. + +"Madame Elizabeth, the King, and the rest of our little circle, lavished +on me the most endearing caresses. The dear Dauphin said to me, 'You +will not go away again, I hope, Princess? Oh, mamma has cried so since +you left us!' + +"I had wept enough before, but this dear little angel brought tears into +the eyes of us all." + +"When I mentioned to Her Majesty the affectionate sympathy expressed by +the King and Queen of England in her sufferings, and their regret at the +state of public affairs in France, 'It is most noble and praiseworthy in +them to feel thus,' exclaimed Marie Antoinette; 'and the more so +considering the illiberal part imputed to us against those Sovereigns in +the rebellion of their ultramarine subjects, to which, Heaven knows, I +never gave my approbation. Had I done so, how poignant would be my +remorse at the retribution of our own sufferings, and the pity of those I +had so injured! No. I was, perhaps, the only silent individual amongst +millions of infatuated enthusiasts at General La Fayette's return to +Paris, nor did I sanction any of the fetes given to Dr. Franklin, or the +American Ambassadors at the time. I could not conceive it prudent for +the Queen of an absolute monarchy to countenance any of their newfangled +philosophical experiments with my presence. Now, I feel the reward in my +own conscience. I exult in my freedom from a self-reproach, which would +have been altogether insupportable under the kindness of which you +speak.' + +"As soon as I was settled in my apartment, which was on the same floor +with that of the Queen, she condescended to relate to me every particular +of her unfortunate journey. I saw the pain it gave her to retrace the +scenes, and begged her to desist till time should have, in some degree, +assuaged the poignancy of her feelings. 'That,' cried she, embracing me, +I can never be! Never, never will that horrid circumstance of my life +lose its vividness in my recollection. What agony, to have seen those +faithful servants tied before us on the carriage, like common criminals! +All, all may be attributed to the King's goodness of heart, which +produces want of courage, nay, even timidity, in the most trying scenes. +As poor King Charles the First, when he was betrayed in the Isle of +Wight, would have saved himself, and perhaps thousands, had he permitted +the sacrifice of one traitor, so might Louis XVI. have averted calamities +so fearful that I dare not name, though I distinctly foresee them, had he +exerted his authority where he only called up his compassion.' + +"'For Heaven's sake,' replied I, 'do not torment yourself by these cruel +recollections!' + +"'These are gone by,' continued Her Majesty, and greater still than even +these. How can I describe my grief at what I endured in the Assembly, +from the studied humiliation to which the King and the royal authority +were there reduced in the face of the national representatives! from +seeing the King on his return choked with anguish at the mortifications +to which I was doomed to behold the majesty of a French Sovereign +humbled! These events bespeak clouds, which, like the horrid waterspout +at sea, nothing can dispel but cannon! The dignity of the Crown, the +sovereignty itself, is threatened; and this I shall write this very night +to the Emperor. I see no hope of internal tranquillity without the +powerful aid of foreign force. + +[The only difference of any moment which ever existed between the Queen +and the Princesse de Lamballe as to their sentiments on the Revolution +was on this subject. Her Highness wished Marie Antoinette to rely on the +many persons who had offered and promised to serve the cause of the +monarchy with their internal resources, and not depend on the Princes and +foreign armies. This salutary advice she never could enforce on the +Queen's mind, though she had to that effect been importuned by upwards of +two hundred persona, all zealous to show their penitence for former +errors by their present devotedness. + +"Whenever," observed Her Highness, "we came to that point, the Queen +(upon seriously reflecting that these persons had been active instruments +in promoting the first changes in the monarchy, for which she never +forgave them from her heart) would hesitate and doubt; and never could I +bring Her Majesty definitely to believe the profferers to be sincere. +Hence, they were trifled with, till one by one she either lost them, or +saw them sacrificed to an attachment, which her own distrust and +indecision rendered fruitless."] + +The King has allowed himself to be too much led to attempt to recover his +power through any sort of mediation. Still, the very idea of owing our +liberty to any foreign army distracts me for the consequences.' + +"My reinstatement in my apartments at the Pavilion of Flora seemed not +only to give universal satisfaction to every individual of the Royal +Family, but it was hailed with much enthusiasm by many deputies of the +constituent Assembly. I was honoured with the respective visits of all +who were in any degree well disposed to the royal cause. + +"One day, when Barnave and others were present with the Queen, 'Now,' +exclaimed one of the deputies, 'now that this good Princess is returned +to her adopted country, the active zeal of Her Highness, coupled with +Your Majesty's powerful influence over the mind of the King for the +welfare of his subjects, will give fresh vigour to the full execution of +the Constitution.' + +"My visitors were earnest in their invitations for me to go to the +Assembly to hear an interesting discussion, which was to be brought +forward upon the King's spontaneous acceptance of the Constitution. + +"I went; and amidst the plaudits for the good King's condescension, how +was my heart lacerated to hear Robespierre denounce three of the most +distinguished of the members, who had requested my attendance, as +traitors to their country! + +"This was the first and only Assembly discussion I ever attended; and how +dearly did I pay for my curiosity! I was accompanied by my 'cara +Inglesina', who, always on the alert, exclaimed, 'Let me entreat Your +Highness not to remain any longer in this place. You are too deeply +moved to dissemble.' + +"I took her judicious advice, and the moment I could leave the Assembly +unperceived, I hastened back to the Queen to beg her, for God's sake, to +be upon her guard; for, from what I had just heard at the Assembly, I +feared the Jacobins had discovered her plans with Barnave, De Lameth, +Duport, and others of the royal party. Her countenance, for some +minutes, seemed to be the only sensitive part of her. It was perpetually +shifting from a high florid colour to the paleness of death. When her +first emotions gave way to nature, she threw herself into my arms, and, +for some time, her feelings were so overcome by the dangers which +threatened these worthy men, that she could only in the bitterness of her +anguish exclaim, 'Oh! this is all on my account!' And I think she was +almost as much alarmed for the safety of these faithful men, as she had +been for that of the King on the 17th of July, when the Jacobins in the +Champ de Mars called out to have the King brought to trial--a day of +which the horrors were never effaced from her memory! + +"The King and Princesse Elizabeth fortunately came in at the moment; but +even our united efforts were unavailable. The grief of Her Majesty at +feeling herself the cause of the misfortunes of these faithful adherents, +now devoted victims of their earnestness in foiling the machinations +against the liberty and life of the King and herself, made her nearly +frantic. She too well knew that to be accused was to incur instant +death. That she retained her senses under the convulsion of her feelings +can only be ascribed to that wonderful strength of mind, which triumphed +over every bodily weakness, and still sustains her under every emergency. + +"The King and the Princesse Elizabeth, by whom Barnave had been much +esteemed ever since the journey from Varennes, were both inconsolable. I +really believe the Queen entirely owed her instantaneous recovery from +that deadly lethargic state, in which she had been thrown by her grief +for the destined sacrifice, to the exuberant goodness of the King's +heart, who instantly resolved to compromise his own existence, to save +those who had forfeited theirs for him and his family. + +"Seeing the emotion of the Queen, 'I will go myself to the Assembly,' +said Louis XVI., 'and declare their innocence.' + +"The Queen sprang forward, as if on the wings of an angel, and grasping +the King in her arms, cried, 'Will you hasten their deaths by confirming +the impression of your keeping up an understanding with them? Gracious +Heaven! Oh, that I could recall the acts of attachment they have shown +us, since to these they are now falling victims! I would save them,' +continued Her Majesty, 'with my own blood; but, Sire, it is useless. We +should only expose ourselves to the vindictive spirit of the Jacobins +without aiding the cause of our devoted friends.' + +"'Who,' asked she, I was the guilty wretch that accused our unfortunate +Barnave?' + +"'Robespierre.' + +"'Robespierre!' echoed Her Majesty. 'Oh, God! then he is numbered with +the dead! This fellow is too fond of blood to be tempted with money. But +you, Sire, must not interfere!' + +"Notwithstanding these doubts, however, I undertook, at the King's and +Queen's most earnest desire, to get some one to feel the pulse of +Robespierre, for the salvation of these our only palladium to the +constitutional monarchy. To the first application, though made through +the medium of one of his earliest college intimates, Carrier, the wretch +was utterly deaf and insensible. Of this failure I hastened to apprise +Her Majesty. 'Was any, sum,' asked she, 'named as a compensation for +suspending this trial?'--'None,' replied I. 'I had no commands to that +effect.'--'Then let the attempt be renewed, and back it with the argument +of a cheque for a hundred thousand livres on M. Laborde. He has saved my +life and the King's, and, as far as is in my power, I am determined to +save his. Barnave has exposed his life more than any of our unfortunate +friends, and if we can but succeed in saving him, he will speedily be +enabled to save his colleagues. Should the sum I name be insufficient, +my jewels shall be disposed of to make up a larger one. Fly to your +agent, dear Princess! Lose not a moment to intercede in behalf of these +our only true friends!' + +"I did so, and was fortunate enough to gain over to my personal +entreaties one who had the courage to propose the business; and a hundred +and fifty thousand livres procured them a suspension of accusation. All, +however, are still watched with such severity of scrutiny that I tremble, +even now, for the result. + +[And with reason; for all, eventually, were sacrificed upon the scaffold. +Carrier was the factotum in all the cool, deliberate, sanguinary +operations of Robespierre; when he saw the cheque, he said to the +Princesse de Lamballe: "Madame, though your personal charms and mental +virtues had completely influenced all the authority I could exercise in +favour of your protege, without this interesting argument I should not +have had courage to have renewed the business with the principal agent of +life and death."] + +"It was in the midst of such apprehensions, which struck terror into the +hearts of the King and Queen, that the Tuileries resounded with cries of +multitudes hired to renew those shouts of 'Vive le roi! vive la famille +royale!' which were once spontaneous. + +"In one of the moments of our deepest affliction, multitudes were +thronging the gardens and enjoying the celebration of the acceptance of +the Constitution. What a contrast to the feelings of the unhappy inmates +of the palace! We may well say, that many an aching heart rides in a +carriage, while the pedestrian is happy! + +"The fetes on this occasion were very brilliant. The King, the Queen, +and the Royal Family were invited to take part in this first national +festival. They did so, by appearing in their carriage through the +streets of Paris, and the Champs Elysees, escorted only by the Parisian +guard, there being no other at the time. The mob was so great that the +royal carriage could only keep pace with the foot-passengers. + +"Their Majesties were in general well received. The only exceptions were +a few of the Jacobin members of the Assembly, who, even on this occasion, +sought every means to afflict the hearts, and shock the ears, of Their +Majesties, by causing republican principles to be vociferated at the very +doors of their carriage. + +"The good sense of the King and Queen prevented them from taking any +notice of these insults while in public; but no sooner had they returned +to the castle, than the Queen gave way to her grief at the premeditated +humiliation she was continually witnessing to the majesty of the +constitutional monarchy,--an insult less to the King himself than to the +nation, which had acknowledged him their Sovereign. + +"When the royal party entered the apartment, they found M. de Montmorin +with me, who had come to talk over these matters, secure that at such a +moment we should not be surprised. + +"On hearing the Queen's observation, M. de Montmorin made no secret of +the necessity there was of Their Majesties dissembling their feelings; +the avowal of which, he said, would only tend to forward the triumph of +Jacobinism, 'which,' added he, 'I am sorry to see predominates in the +Assembly, and keeps in subordination all the public and private clubs.' + +"'What!' exclaimed the Princesse Elizabeth, can that be possible, after +the King has accepted the Constitution?' + +"'Yes,' said the Queen; these people, my dear Elizabeth, wish for a +Constitution which sanctions the overthrow of him by whom it has been +granted.' + +"'In this,' observed M. de Montmorin, 'as on some other points, I +perfectly agree with Your Majesty and the King, notwithstanding I have +been opposed by the whole Council and many other honest constituent +members, as well as the Cabinet of Vienna. And it is still, as it has +ever been, my firm opinion, that the King ought, previous to the +acceptance of the Constitution, to have been allowed, for the security of +its future organization, to have examined it maturely; which, not having +been the case, I foresee the dangerous situation in which His Majesty +stands, and I foresee, too, the non-promulgation of this charter. +Malouet, who is an honest man, is of my opinion. Duport, De Lameth, +Barnave, and even La Fayette are intimidated at the prevailing spirit of +the Jacobins. They were all with the best intentions for Your Majesty's +present safety, for the acceptance in toto, but without reflecting on the +consequences which must follow should the nation be deceived. But I, who +am, and ever shall be, attached to royalty, regret the step, though I am +clear in my impression as to the only course which ought to succeed it. +The throne can now only be made secure by the most unequivocal frankness +of proceeding on the part of the Crown. It is not enough to have +conceded, it is necessary also to show that the concession has some more +solid origin than mere expediency. It should be made with a good grace. +Every motive of prudence, as well as of necessity, requires that the +monarch himself, and all those most interested for his safety, should, +neither in looks, manners, or conversation, seem as if they felt a regret +for what has been lost, but rather appear satisfied with what has been +bestowed.' + +"'In that case,' said the Queen, 'we should lose all the support of the +royalists.' + +"'Every royalist, Madame,' replied he, 'who, at this critical crisis, +does not avow the sentiments of a constitutionalist, is a nail in the +King's untimely coffin.' + +"'Gracious God!' cried the Queen; 'that would destroy the only hope +which still flatters our drooping existence. Symptoms of moderation, or +any conciliatory measures we might be inclined to show, of our free will, +to the constitutionalists, would be immediately considered as a desertion +of our supporters, and treachery to ourselves, by the royalists.' + +"'It would be placed entirely out of my power, Madame,' replied M. de +Montmorin, 'to make my attachment to the persons of Your Majesties +available for the maintenance of your rights, did I permit the factious, +overbearing party which prevails to see into my real zeal for the +restoration of the royal authority, so necessary for their own future +honour, security, and happiness. Could they see this, I should be +accused as a national traitor, or even worse, and sent out of the world +by a sudden death of ignominy, merely to glut their hatred of monarchy; +and it is therefore I dissemble.' + +"'I perfectly agree with you,' answered the Queen. That cruel moment +when I witnessed the humiliating state to which royalty had been reduced +by the constituents, when they placed the President of their Assembly +upon a level with the King; gave a plebeian, exercising his functions pro +tempore, prerogatives in the face of the nation to trample down +hereditary monarchy and legislative authority--that cruel moment +discovered the fatal truth. In the anguish of my heart, I told His +Majesty that he had outlived his kingly authority: Here she burst into +tears, hiding her face in her handkerchief. + +"With the mildness of a saint, the angelic Princesse Elizabeth exclaimed, +turning to the King, 'Say something to the Queen, to calm her anguish!' + +"'It will be of no avail,' said the King; 'her grief adds to my +affliction. I have been the innocent cause of her participating in this +total ruin, and as it is only her fortitude which has hitherto supported +me, with the same philosophical and religious resignation we must await +what fate destines!' + +"'Yes,' observed M. de Montmorin; 'but Providence has also given us the +rational faculty of opposing imminent danger, and by activity and +exertion obviating its consequences.' + +"'In what manner, sir?' cried the Queen; 'tell me how this is to be +effected, and, with the King's sanction, I am ready to do anything to +avert the storm, which so loudly threatens the august head of the French +nation.' + +"'Vienna, Madame,' replied he; 'Vienna! Your Majesty's presence at +Vienna would do more for the King's safety, and the nation's future +tranquillity, than the most powerful army.' + +"'We have long since suggested,' said the Princesse Elizabeth, 'that Her +Majesty should fly from France and take refuge----' + +"'Pardon me, Princess,' interrupted M. de Montmorin, 'it is not for +refuge solely I would have Her Majesty go thither. It is to give +efficacy to the love she bears the King and his family, in being there +the powerful advocate to check the fallacious march of a foreign army to +invade us for the subjection of the French nation. All these external +attempts will prove abortive, and only tend to exasperate the French to +crime and madness. Here I coincide with my coadjutors, Barnave, Duport, +De Lameth, etc. The principle on which the re-establishment of the order +and tranquillity of France depends, can be effected only by the +non-interference of foreign powers. Let them leave the rational +resources of our own internal force to re-establish our real interests, +which every honest Frenchman will strive to secure, if not thwarted by +the threats and menaces of those who have no right to interfere. +Besides, Madame, they are too far from us to afford immediate relief from +the present dangers internally surrounding us. These are the points of +fearful import. It is not the threats and menaces of a foreign army +which can subdue a nation's internal factions. These only rouse them to +prolong disorders. National commotions can be quelled only by national +spirit, whose fury, once exhausted on those who have aroused it, leave it +free to look within, and work a reform upon itself.' + +"M. de Montmorin, after many other prudent exhortations and remarks, and +some advice with regard to the King and Queen's household, took his. +leave. He was no sooner gone than it was decided by the King that Marie +Antoinette, accompanied by myself and some other ladies, and the +gentlemen of the bedchamber, couriers, etc., should set out forthwith for +Vienna. + +[The Princease de Lamballe sent me directions that very evening, some +time after midnight, to be at our place of rendezvous early in the +morning. I was overjoyed at the style of the note. It was the least +mysterious I had ever received from Her Highness. I inferred that some +fortunate event had occurred, with which, knowing how deeply I was +interested in the fate of her on whom my own so much depended, she was, +eager to make me acquainted. + +But what was my surprise, on entering the church fixed on for the +meeting, to see the Queen's unknown confessor beckoning me to come to +him. I approached. He bade me wait till after Mass, when he had +something to communicate from the Princess. + +This confessor officiated in the place of the one whom Mirabeau had +seduced to take the constitutional oath. The Queen and Princess +confessed to him in the private apartment of Her Highness on the ground +floor; though it was never known where, or to whom they confessed, after +the treachery of the royal confessor. This faithful and worthy successor +was only known as "the known." I never heard who he was, or what was his +name. + +The Mass being over, I followed him into the sacristy. He told me that +the Princess, by Her Majesty's command, wished me to set off immediately +for Strasburg, and there await the arrival of Her Highness, to be in +readiness to follow her and Her Majesty for the copying of the cipher, as +they were going to Vienna. + +When everything, however, had been settled for their departure, which it +was agreed was to take place from the house of Count Fersen, the +resolution was suddenly changed; but I was desired to hold myself in +readiness for another journey.] + +"To say why this purpose was abandoned is unnecessary. The same +fatality, which renders every project unattainable, threw insuperable +impediments, in the way of this." + + + + +SECTION XII. + + +"The news of the death of the Emperor Leopold, in the midst of the other +distresses of Her Majesty, afflicted her very deeply; the more so because +she had every reason to think he fell a victim to the active part he took +in her favour. Externally, this monarch certainly demonstrated no very +great inclination to become a member of the coalition of Pilnitz. He +judged, very justly, that his brother Joseph had not only defeated his +own purposes by too openly and violently asserting the cause of their +unfortunate sister, but had destroyed himself, and, therefore, selected +what he deemed the safer and surer course of secret support. But all his +caution proved abortive. The Assembly knew his manoeuvres as well as he +himself did. He died an untimely death; and the Queen was assured, from +undoubted authority, that both Joseph and Leopold were poisoned in their +medicines. + +"During my short absence in England, the King's household had undergone a +complete change. When the emigration first commenced, a revolution in +the officers of the Court took place, but it was of a nature different +from this last; and, by destroying itself, left the field open to those +who now made the palace so intolerable. The first change to which I +refer arose as follows: + +"The greater part of the high offices being vacated by the secession of +the most distinguished nobility, many places fell to persons who had all +their lives occupied very subordinate situations. These, to retain their +offices, were indiscreet enough publicly to declare their dissent from +all the measures of the Assembly; an absurdity, which, at the +commencement, was encouraged by the Court, till the extreme danger of +encouraging it was discovered too late; and when once the error had been +tolerated, and rewarded, it was found impossible to check it, and stop +these fatal tongues. The Queen, who disliked the character of +capriciousness, for a long time allowed the injury to go on, by +continuing about her those who inflicted it. The error, which arose from +delicacy, was imputed to a very different and less honourable feeling, +till the clamour became so great, that she was obliged to yield to it, +and dismiss those who had acted with so much indiscretion. + +"The King and Queen did not dare now to express themselves on the subject +of the substitutes who were to succeed. Consequently they became +surrounded by persons placed by the Assembly as spies. The most +conspicuous situations were filled by the meanest persons--not, as in the +former case, by such as had risen, though by accident, still regularly to +their places--but by myrmidons of the prevailing power, to whom Their +Majesties were compelled to submit, because their rulers willed it. All +orders of nobility were abolished. All the Court ladies, not attached to +the King and Queen personally, abandoned the Court. No one would be seen +at the Queen's card-parties, once so crowded, and so much sought after. +We were entirely reduced to the family circle. The King, when weary of +playing with the Princesse Elizabeth and the Queen, would retire to his +apartments without uttering a word, not from sullenness, but overcome by +silent grief. + +"The Queen was occupied continually by the extensive correspondence she +had to carry on with the foreign Sovereigns, the Princes, and the +different parties. Her Majesty once gave me nearly thirty letters she +had written in the course of two days, which were forwarded by my cara +Inglesina--cara indeed! for she was of the greatest service. + +"Her Majesty slept very little. But her courage never slackened; and +neither her health, nor her general amiableness, was in the least +affected. Though few persons could be more sensible than herself to +poignant mortification at seeing her former splendour hourly decrease, +yet she never once complained. She was, in this respect, a real stoic. + +"The palace was now become, what it still remains, like a police office. +It was filled with spies and runners. Every member of the Assembly, by +some means or other, had his respective emissary. All the antechambers +were peopled by inveterate Jacobins, by those whose greatest pleasure was +to insult the ears and minds of all whom they considered above themselves +in birth, or rank, or virtue. So completely were the decencies of life +abolished, that common respect was withheld even from the Royal Family. + +"I was determined to persevere in my usual line of conduct, of which the +King and Queen very much approved. Without setting up for a person of +importance, I saw all who wished for public or private audiences of Their +Majesties. I carried on no intrigues, and only discharged the humble +duties of my situation to the best of my ability for the general good, +and to secure, as far as possible, the comfort of Their Majesties, who +really were to be pitied, utterly friendless and forsaken as they were. + +"M. Laporte, the head of the King's private police, came to me one day in +great consternation. He had discovered that schemes were on foot to +poison all the Royal Family, and that, in a private committee of the +Assembly, considerable pensions had been offered for the perpetration of +the crime. Its facility was increased, as far as regarded the Queen, by +the habit to which Her Majesty had accustomed herself of always keeping +powdered sugar at hand, which, without referring to her attendants, she +would herself mix with water and drink as a beverage whenever she was +thirsty. + +"I entreated M. Laporte not to disclose the conspiracy to the Queen till +I had myself had an opportunity of apprising her of his praiseworthy +zeal. He agreed, on condition that precautions should be immediately +adopted with respect to the persons who attended the kitchen. This, I +assured him, should be done on the instant. + +"At the period I mention, all sorts of etiquette had been abolished. The +custom which prevented my appearing before the Queen, except at stated +hours, had long since been discontinued; and, as all the other +individuals who came before or after the hours of service were eyed with +distrust, and I remained the only one whose access to Their Majesties was +free and unsuspected, though it was very early when M. Laporte called, I +thought it my duty to hasten immediately to my royal mistress. + +"I found her in bed. 'Has Your Majesty breakfasted?' said I. + +"'No,' replied she; 'will you breakfast with me?' + +"'Most certainly,' said I, 'if Your Majesty will insure me against being +poisoned.' + +"At the word poison Her Majesty started up and looked at me very +earnestly, and with a considerable degree of alarm. + +"'I am only joking,' continued I; 'I will breakfast with Your Majesty if +you will give me tea.' + +"Tea was presently brought. 'In this,' said I, 'there is no danger.' + +"'What do you mean?' asked Her Majesty. + +"'I am ordered,' replied I, taking up a lump of sugar, 'not to drink +chocolate, or coffee, or anything with powdered sugar. These are times +when caution alone can prevent our being sent out of the world with all +our sins upon our heads.' + +"'I am very glad to hear you say so; for you have reason to be +particular, after what you once so cruelly suffered from poison. But +what has brought that again into your mind just now?' + +"'Well, then, since Your Majesty approves of my circumspection, allow me +to say I think it advisable that we should, at a moment like this +especially, abstain from all sorts of food by which our existence may be +endangered. For my own part, I mean to give up all made dishes, and +confine myself to the simplest diet.' + +"'Come, come, Princess,' interrupted Her Majesty; 'there is more in this +than you wish me to understand. Fear not. I am prepared for anything +that may be perpetrated against my own life, but let me preserve from +peril my King, my husband, and my children!' + +"My feelings prevented me from continuing to dissemble. I candidly +repeated all I had heard from M. Laporte. + +"Her Majesty instantly rang for one of her confidential women. 'Go to +the King,' said Her Majesty to the attendant, 'and if you find him alone, +beg him to come to me at once; but, if there are any of the guards or +other persons within hearing, merely say that the Princesse de Lamballe +is with me and is desirous of the loan of a newspaper.' + +"The King's guard, and indeed most of those about him, were no better +than spies, and this caution in the Queen was necessary to prevent any +jealousy from being excited by the sudden message. + +"When the messenger left us by ourselves, I observed to Her Majesty that +it would be imprudent to give the least publicity to the circumstance, +for were it really mere suspicion in the head of the police, its +disclosure might only put this scheme into some miscreant's head, and +tempt him to realize it. The Queen said I was perfectly right, and it +should be kept secret. + +"Our ambassadress was fortunate enough to reach the King's apartment +unobserved, and to find him unattended, so he received the message +forthwith. On leaving the apartment, however, she was noticed and +watched. She immediately went out of the Tuileries as if sent to make +purchases, and some time afterwards returned with some trifling articles +in her hand. + +[This incident will give the reader an idea of the cruel situation in +which the first Sovereigns of Europe then stood; and how much they +appreciated the few subjects who devoted themselves to thwart and +mitigate the tyranny practised by the Assembly over these illustrious +victims. I can speak from my own experience on these matters. From the +time I last accompanied the Princesse de Lamballe to Paris till I left it +in 1792, what between milliners, dressmakers, flower girls, fancy toy +sellers, perfumers, hawkers of jewellery, purse and gaiter makers, etc., +I had myself assumed twenty different characters, besides that of a +drummer boy, sometimes blackening my face to enter the palace unnoticed, +and often holding conversations analogous to the sentiments of the +wretches who were piercing my heart with the remarks circumstances +compelled me to encourage. Indeed, I can safely say I was known, in some +shape or other, to almost everybody, but to no one in my real character, +except the Princess by whom I was so graciously employed.] + +"The moment the King appeared, 'Sire,' exclaimed Her Majesty, 'the +Assembly, tired of endeavouring to wear us to death by slow torment, have +devised an expedient to relieve their own anxiety and prevent us from +putting them to further inconvenience.' + +"'What do you mean?' said the King. I repeated my conversation with M. +Laporte. 'Bah! bah!' resumed His Majesty, 'They never will attempt it. +They have fixed on other methods of getting rid of us. They have not +policy enough to allow our deaths to be ascribed to accident. They are +too much initiated in great crimes already.' + +"'But,' asked the Queen, 'do you not think it highly necessary to make +use of every precaution, when we are morally sure of the probability of +such a plot?' + +"'Most certainly! otherwise we should be, in the eyes of God, almost +guilty of suicide. But how prevent it? surrounded as we are by persons +who, being seduced to believe that we are plotting against them, feel +justified in the commission of any crime under the false idea of +self-defence!' + +"'We may prevent it,' replied Her Majesty, 'by abstaining from everything +in our diet wherein poison can be introduced; and that we can manage +without making any stir by the least change either in the kitchen +arrangements or in our own, except, indeed, this one. Luckily, as we are +restricted in our attendants, we have a fair excuse for dumb waiters, +whereby it will be perfectly easy to choose or discard without exciting +suspicion.' + +"This, consequently, was the course agreed upon; and every possible +means, direct and indirect, was put into action to secure the future +safety of the Royal Family and prevent the accomplishment of the threat +of poison." + +[On my seeing the Princess next morning, Her Highness condescended to +inform me of the danger to which herself and the Royal Family were +exposed. She requested I would send my man servant to the persons who +served me, to fill a moderate-sized hamper with wine, salt, chocolate, +biscuits, and liquors, and take it to her apartment, at the Pavilion of +Flora, to be used as occasion required. All the fresh bread and butter +which was necessary I got made for nearly a fortnight by persons whom I +knew at a distance from the palace, whither I always conveyed it myself.] + + + + +SECTION XIII. + +Editor in continuation: + + +I am again, for this and the following chapter, compelled to resume the +pen in my own person, and quit the more agreeable office of a transcriber +for my illustrious patroness. + +I have already mentioned that the Princesse de Lamballe, on first +returning from England to France, anticipated great advantages from the +recall of the emigrants. The desertion of France by so many of the +powerful could not but be a deathblow to the prosperity of the monarchy. +There was no reason for these flights at the time they began. The +fugitives only set fire to the four quarters of the globe against their +country. It was natural enough that the servants whom they had left +behind to keep their places should take advantage of their masters' +pusillanimity, and make laws to exclude those who had, uncalled for, +resigned the sway into bolder and more active hands. + +I do not mean to impeach the living for the dead; but, when we see those +bearing the lofty titles of Kings and Princesses, escaping with their +wives and families, from an only brother and sister with helpless infant +children, at the hour of danger, we cannot help wishing for a little +plebeian disinterestedness in exalted minds. + +I have travelled Europe twice, and I have never seen any woman with that +indescribable charm of person, manner, and character, which distinguished +Marie Antoinette. This is in itself a distinction quite sufficient to +detach friends from its possessor through envy. Besides, she was Queen +of France, the woman of highest rank in a most capricious, restless and +libertine nation. The two Princesses placed nearest to her, and who were +the first to desert her, though both very much inferior in personal and +mental qualifications, no doubt, though not directly, may have +entertained some anticipations of her place. Such feelings are not +likely to decrease the distaste, which results from comparisons to our +own disadvantage. It is, therefore, scarcely to be wondered at, that +those nearest to the throne should be least attached to those who fill +it. How little do such persons think that the grave they are thus +insensibly digging may prove their own! In this case it only did not by +a miracle. What the effect of the royal brothers' and the nobility's +remaining in France would have been we can only conjecture. That their +departure caused, great and irreparable evils we know; and we have good +reason to think they caused the greatest. Those who abandon their houses +on fire, silently give up their claims to the devouring element. Thus +the first emigration kindled the French flame, which, though for a while +it was got under by a foreign stream, was never completely, extinguished +till subdued by its native current. + +The unfortunate Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette ceased to be Sovereigns +from the period they were ignominiously dragged to their jail at the +Tuileries. From this moment they were abandoned to the vengeance of +miscreants, who were disgracing the nation with unprovoked and useless +murders. But from this moment also the zeal of the Princesses Elizabeth +and de Lamballe became redoubled. Out of one hundred individuals and +more, male and female, who had been exclusively occupied about the person +of Marie Antoinette, few, excepting this illustrious pair, and the +inestimable Clery, remained devoted to the last. The saint-like virtues +of these Princesses, malice itself has not been able to tarnish. Their +love and unalterable friendship became the shield of their unfortunate +Sovereigns, and their much injured relatives, till the dart struck their +own faithful bosoms. Princes of the earth! here is a lesson of +greatness from the great. + +Scarcely had the Princesse de Lamballe been reinstated in the Pavilion of +Flora at the Tuileries, when, by the special royal command, and in Her +Majesty's presence, she wrote to most of the nobility, entreating their +return to France. She urged them, by every argument, that there was no +other means of saving them and their country from the horrors impending +over them and France, should they persevere in their pernicious absence. +In some of these letters, which I copied, there was written on the +margin, in the Queen's hand, "I am at her elbow, and repeat the necessity +of your returning, if you love your King, your religion, your Government, +and your country. Marie Antoinette. Return! Return! Return!" + +Among these letters, I remember a large envelope directed to the Duchesse +de Brisac, then residing alternately at the baths of Albano and the +mineral waters at Valdagno, near Vicenza, in the Venetian States. Her +Grace was charged to deliver letters addressed to Her Majesty's royal +brothers, the Comte de Provence, and the Comte d'Artois, who were then +residing, I think, at Stra, on the Brenta, in company with Madame de +Polcatre, Diane de Polignac, and others. + +A few days after, I took another envelope, addressed to the Count Dufour, +who was at Turin. It contained letters for M. and Madame de Polignac, M. +and Madame de Guiche Grammont, the King's aunts at Rome, and the two +Princesses of Piedmont, wives of His Majesty's brothers. + +If, therefore, a judgment can be formed from the impressions of the Royal +Family, who certainly must have had ample information with respect to the +spirit which predominated at Paris at that period, could the nobility +have been prevailed on to have obeyed the mandates of the Queen and +prayers and invocations of the Princess, there can be no doubt that much +bloodshed would have been spared, and the page of history never have been +sullied by the atrocious names which now stand there as beacons of human +infamy. + +The storms were now so fearfully increasing that the King and Queen, the +Duc de Penthievre, the Count Fersen, the Princesse Elizabeth, the +Duchesse d'Orleans, and all the friends of the Princesse de Lamballe, +once more united in anxious wishes for her to quit France. Even the Pope +himself endeavoured to prevail upon Her Highness to join the royal aunts +at Rome. To all these applications she replied, "I have nothing to +reproach myself with. If my inviolable duty and unalterable attachment +to my Sovereigns, who are my relations and my friends; if love for my +dear father and for my adopted country are crimes, in the face of God and +the world I confess my guilt, and shall die happy if in such a cause!" + +The Duc de Penthievre, who loved her as well as his own child, the +Duchesse d'Orleans, was too good a man, and too conscientious a Prince, +not to applaud the disinterested firmness of his beloved daughter-in-law; +yet, foreseeing and dreading the fatal consequence which must result from +so much virtue at a time when vice alone predominated, unknown to the +Princesse de Lamballe, he interested the Court of France to write to the +Court of Sardinia to entreat that the King, as head of her family, would +use his good offices in persuading the Princess to leave the scenes of +commotion, in which she was so much exposed, and return to her native +country. The King of Sardinia, her family, and her particular friend, +the Princess of Piedmont, supplicated ineffectually. The answer of Her +Highness to the King, at Turin, was as follows: + +"SIRE, AND MOST AUGUST COUSIN,-- + +"I do not recollect that any of our illustrious ancestors of the house of +Savoy, before or since the great hero Charles Emmanuel, of immortal +memory, ever dishonoured or tarnished their illustrious names with +cowardice. In leaving the Court of France at this awful crisis, I should +be the first. Can Your Majesty pardon my presumption in differing from +your royal counsel? The King, Queen, and every member of the Royal +Family of France, both from the ties of blood and policy of States, +demand our united efforts in their defence. I cannot swerve from my +determination of never quitting them, especially at a moment when they +are abandoned by every one of their former attendants, except myself. In +happier days Your Majesty may command my obedience; but, in the present +instance, and given up as is the Court of France to their most atrocious +persecutors, I must humbly insist on being guided by my own decision. +During the most brilliant period of the reign of Marie Antoinette, I was +distinguished by the royal favour and bounty. To abandon her in +adversity, Sire, would stain my character, and that of my illustrious +family, for ages to come, with infamy and cowardice, much more to be +dreaded than the most cruel death." + +Similar answers were returned to all those of her numerous friends and +relatives, who were so eager to shelter her from the dangers threatening +Her Highness and the Royal Family. + +Her Highness was persuaded, however, to return once more to England, +under the pretext of completing the mission she had so successfully +began; but it is very clear that neither the King or Queen had any +serious idea of her succeeding, and that their only object was to get her +away from the theatre of disaster. Circumstances had so completely +changed for the worst, that, though Her Highness was received with great +kindness, her mission was no longer listened to. The policy of England +shrunk from encouraging twenty thousand French troops to be sent in a +body to the West Indies, and France was left to its fate. A conversation +with Mr. Burke, in which the disinclination of England to interfere was +distinctly owned, created that deep-rooted grief and apprehension in the +mind of the Queen from which Her Majesty never recovered. The Princesse +de Lamballe was the only one in her confidence. It is well known that +the King of England greatly respected the personal virtues of Their +French Majesties; but upon the point of business, both King and Ministers +were now become ambiguous and evasive. Her Highness, therefore, resolved +to return. It had already been whispered that she had left France, only +to save herself, like the rest; and she would no longer remain under so +slanderous an imputation. She felt, too, the necessity of her friendship +to her royal mistress. Though the Queen of England, by whom Her Highness +was very much esteemed, and many other persons of the first consequence +in the British nation, foreseeing the inevitable fate of the Royal +Family, and of all their faithful adherents, anxiously entreated her not +to quit England, yet she became insensible to every consideration as to +her own situation and only felt the isolated one of her august Sovereign, +her friend, and benefactress. + + + + +SECTION XIV. + +Editor in continuation: + + +Events seemed molded expressly to produce the state of feeling which +marked that disastrous day, the 20th of June, 1792. It frequently +happens that nations, like individuals, rush wildly upon the very dangers +they apprehend, and select such courses as invite what they are most +solicitous to avoid. So it was with everything preceding this dreadful +day. By a series of singular occurrences I did not witness its horrors, +though in some degree their victim. Not to detain my readers +unnecessarily, I will proceed directly to the accident which withdrew me +from the scene. + +The apartment of the Princesse de Lamballe, in the Pavilion of Flora, +looked from one side upon the Pont Royal. On the day of which I speak, a +considerable quantity of combustibles had been thrown from the bridge +into one of her rooms. The Princess, in great alarm, sent instantly for +me. She desired to have my English man servant, if he were not afraid, +secreted in her room, while she herself withdrew to another part of the +palace, till the extent of the intended mischief could be ascertained. I +assured Her Highness that I was not only ready to answer for my servant, +but would myself remain with him, as he always went armed, and I was so +certain of his courage and fidelity that I could not hesitate even to +trust my life in his hands. + +"For God's sake, 'mia cara'," exclaimed the Princess, "do not risk your +own safety, if you have any value for my friendship. I desire you not to +go near the Pavilion of Flora. Your servant's going is quite sufficient. +Never again let me hear such a proposition. What! after having hitherto +conducted yourself so punctually, would you, by one rash act, devote +yourself to ruin, and deprive us of your valuable services?" + +I begged Her Highness would pardon the ardour of the dutiful zeal I felt +for her in the moment of danger. + +"Yes, yes," continued she; "that is all very well; but this is not the +first time I have been alarmed at your too great intrepidity; and if ever +I hear of your again attempting to commit yourself so wantonly, I will +have you sent to Turin immediately, there to remain till you have +recovered your senses. I always thought English heads cool; but I +suppose your residence in France has changed the national character of +yours." + +Once more, with tears in my eyes, I begged her forgiveness, and, on my +knees, implored that she would not send me away in the hour of danger. +After having so long enjoyed the honour of her confidence, I trusted she +would overlook my fault, particularly as it was the pure emanation of my +resentment at any conspiracy against one I so dearly loved; and to whom I +had been under so many obligations, that the very idea of being deprived +of such a benefactress drove me frantic. + +Her Highness burst into tears. "I know your heart," exclaimed she; "but +I also know too well our situation, and it is that which makes me tremble +for the consequences which must follow your overstepping the bounds so +necessary to be observed by all of us at this horrid period." And then +she called me again her cars 'Inglesina', and graciously condescended to +embrace me, and bathed my face with her tears, in token of her +forgiveness, and bade me sit down and compose myself, and weep no more. + +Scarcely was I seated, when we were both startled by deafening shouts for +the head of Madame Veto, the name they gave the poor unfortunate Queen. +An immense crowd of cannibals and hired ruffians were already in the +Tuileries, brandishing all sorts of murderous weapons, and howling for +blood! My recollections from this moment are very indistinct. I know +that in an instant the apartment was filled; that the Queen, the +Princesse Elizabeth, all the attendants, even the King, I believe, +appeared there. I myself received a wound upon my hand in warding a blow +from my face; and in the turmoil of the scene, and of the blow, I +fainted, and was conveyed by some humane person to a place of safety, in +the upper part of the palace. + +Thus deprived of my senses for several hours, I was spared the agony of +witnessing the scenes of horror that succeeded. For two or three days I +remained in a state of so much exhaustion and alarm, that when the +Princess came to me I did not know her, nor even where I was. + +As soon as I was sufficiently recovered, places were taken for me and +another person in one of the common diligences, by which I was conveyed +to Passy, where the Princess came to me in the greatest confusion. + +My companion in the palace was the widow of one of the Swiss guards, who +had been murdered on the 6th of October, in defending the Queen's +apartment at Versailles. The poor woman had been herself protected by +Her Majesty, and accompanied me by the express order of the Princesse de +Lamballe. What the Princess said to her on departing, I know not, for I +only caught the words "general insurrection," on hearing which the +afflicted woman fell into a fit. To me, Her Highness merely exclaimed, +"Do not come to Paris till you hear from me;" and immediately set off to +return to the Tuileries. + +However, as usual, my courage soon got the better of my strength, and of +every consideration of personal safety. On the third day, I proposed to +the person who took care of me that we should both walk out together, +and, if there appeared no symptoms of immediate danger, it was agreed +that we might as well get into one of the common conveyances, and proceed +forthwith to Paris; for I could no longer repress my anxiety to learn +what was going on there, and the good creature who was with me was no +less impatient. + +When we got into a diligence, I felt the dread of another severe lecture +like the last, and thought it best not to incur fresh blame by new +imprudence. I therefore told the driver to set us down on the high road +near Paris leading to the Bois de Boulogne. But before we got so far, +the woods resounded with the howling of mobs, and we heard, "Vive le roi" +vociferated, mingled with "Down with the King,"--"Down with the Queen;" +and, what was still more horrible, the two parties were in actual bloody +strife, and the ground was strewn with the bodies of dead men, lying like +slaughtered sheep. + +It was fortunate that we were the only persons in the vehicle. The +driver, observing our extreme agitation, turned round to us. "Nay, nay," +cried he; "do not alarm yourselves. It is only the constitutionalists +and the Jacobins fighting against each other. I wish the devil had them +both." + +It was evident, however, that, though the man was desirous of quieting +our apprehensions, he was considerably disturbed by his own; for though +he acknowledged he had a wife and children in Paris, who he hoped were +safe, still he dared not venture to proceed, but said, if we wished to be +driven back, he would take us to any place we liked, out of Paris. + +Our anxiety to know what was going forward at the Tuileries was now +become intolerable; and the more so, from the necessity we felt of +restraining our feelings. At last, however, we were in some degree +relieved from this agony of reserve. + +"God knows," exclaimed the driver, "what will be the consequence of all +this bloodshed! The poor King and Queen are greatly to be pitied!" + +This ejaculation restored our courage, and we said he might drive us +wherever he chose out of the sight of those horrors; and it was at length +settled that he should take us to Passy. "Oh," cried he, "if you will +allow me, I will take you to my father's house there; for you seem more +dead than alive, both of you, and ought to go where you can rest in quiet +and safety." + +My companion, who was a German, now addressed me in that language. + +"German!" exclaimed the driver on hearing her. "German! Why, I am a +German myself, and served the good King, who is much to be pitied, for +many years; and when I was wounded, the Queen, God bless her! set me up +in the world, as I was made an invalid; and I have ever since been +enabled to support my family respectably. D---- the Assembly! I shall +never be a farthing the better for them!" + +"Oh," replied I, "then I suppose you are not a Jacobin?" + +The driver, with a torrent of curses, then began execrating the very name +of Jacobin. This emboldened me to ask him when he had left Paris. He +replied, "Only this very morning," and added that the Assembly had shut +the gates of the Tuileries under the pretence of preventing the King and +Queen from being assassinated. "But that is all a confounded lie," +continued he, "invented to keep out the friends of the Royal Family. But, +God knows, they are now so fallen, they have few such left to be turned +away!" + +"I am more enraged," pursued he, "at the ingratitude of the nobility than +I am at these hordes of bloodthirsty plunderers, for we all know that the +nobility owe everything to the King. Why do they not rise en masse to +shield the Royal Family from these bloodhounds? Can they imagine they +will be spared if the King should be murdered? I have no patience with +them!" + +I then asked him our fare. "Two livres is the fare, but you shall not +pay anything. I see plainly, ladies, that you are not what you assume to +be." + +"My good man," replied I, "we are not; and therefore take this louis d'or +for your trouble." + +He caught my hand and pressed it to his lips, exclaiming, "I never in my +life knew a man who was faithful to his King, that God did not provide +for." + +He then took us to Passy, but advised us not to remain at the place where +we had been staying; and fortunate enough it was for us that we did not, +for the house was set on fire and plundered by a rebel mob very soon +after. + +I told the driver how much I was obliged to him for his services, and he +seemed delighted when I promised to give him proofs of my confidence in +his fidelity. + +"If," said I, "you can find out my servant whom I left in Paris, I will +give you another louis d'or." I was afraid, at first, to mention where +he was to look for him. + +"If he be not dead," replied the driver, "I will find him out." + +"What!" cried I, "even though he should be at the Tuileries?" + +"Why, madame, I am one of the national guard. I have only to put on my +uniform to be enabled to go to any part of the palace I please. Tell me +his name, and where you think it likely he may be found, and depend upon +it I will bring him to you." + +"Perhaps," continued he, "it is your husband disguised as a servant; but +no matter. Give me a clue, and I'll warrant you he shall tell you the +rest himself by this time to-morrow." + +"Well, then," replied I, "he is in the Pavilion of Flora." + +"What, with the Princesse de Lamballe? Oh, I would go through fire and +water for that good Princess! She has done me the honour to stand +godmother to one of my children, and allows her a pension." + +I took him at his word. We changed our quarters to his father's house, a +very neat little cottage, about a quarter of a mile from the town. He +afterwards rendered me many services in going to and fro from Passy to +Paris; and, as he promised, brought me my servant. + +When the poor fellow arrived, his arm was in a sling. He had been +wounded by a musket shot, received in defence of the Princess. The +history of his disaster was this: + +On the night of the riot, as he was going from the Pont Royal to the +apartment of Her Highness, he detected a group of villains under her +windows. Six of them were attempting to enter by a ladder. He fired, +and two fell. While he was reloading, the others shot at him. Had he +not, in the flurry of the moment, fired both his pistols at the same +time, he thinks he should not have been wounded, but might have punished +the assailant. One of the men, he said, could have been easily taken by +the national guard, who so glaringly encouraged the escape that he could +almost swear the guard was a party concerned. The loss of blood had so +exhausted him that he could not pursue the offender himself, whom +otherwise he could have taken without any difficulty. + +As the employing of my servant had only been proposed, and the sudden +interruption of my conversation with Her Highness by the riot had +prevented my ever communicating the project to him, I wondered how he got +into the business, or ascertained so soon that the apartment of the +Princess was in danger. He explained that he never had heard of its +being so; but my own coachman having left me at the palace that day, and +not hearing of me for some time, had driven home, and, fearing that my +not returning arose from something which had happened, advised him to go +to the Pont Royal and hear what he could learn, as there was a report of +many persons having been murdered and thrown over the bridge. + +My man took the advice, and armed himself to be ready in case of attack. +It was between one and two o'clock after midnight when he went. The +first objects he perceived were these miscreants attempting to scale the +palace. + +He told me that the Queen had been most grossly insulted; that the gates +of the Tuileries had been shut in consequence; that a small part alone +remained open to the public, who were kept at their distance by a +national ribbon, which none could pass without being instantly arrested. +This had prevented his apprising the Princess of the attempt which he had +accidentally defeated, and which he wished me to communicate to her +immediately. I did so by letter, which my good driver carried to Paris, +and delivered safe into the hands of our benefactress. + +The surprise of the Princess on hearing from me, and her pleasure at my +good fortune in finding by accident such means, baffles all description. +Though she was at the time overwhelmed with the imminent dangers which +threatened her, yet she still found leisure to show her kindness to those +who were doing their best, though in vain, to serve her. The following +letter, which she sent me in reply, written amidst all the uneasiness it +describes, will speak for her more eloquently than my praises: + +"I can understand your anxiety. It was well for you that you were +unconscious of the dreadful scenes which were passing around you on that +horrid day. The Princesse de Tarente, Madame de Tourzel, Madame de +Mockau, and all the other ladies of the household owed the safety of +their lives to one of the national guards having given his national +cockade to the Queen. Her Majesty placed it on her head, unperceived by +the mob. One of the gentlemen of the King's wardrobe provided the King +and the Princesse Elizabeth with the same impenetrable shield. Though +the cannibals came for murder, I could not but admire the enthusiastic +deference that was shown to this symbol of authority, which instantly +paralyzed, the daggers uplifted for our extermination. + +"Merlin de Thionville was the stoic head of this party. The Princesse +Elizabeth having pointed him out to me, I ventured to address him +respecting the dangerous situation to which the Royal Family were daily +exposed. I flattered him upon his influence over the majority of the +faubourgs, to which only we could look for the extinction of these +disorders. He replied that the despotism of the Court had set a bad +example to the people; that he felt for the situation of the royal party +as individuals, but he felt much more for the safety of the French +nation, who were in still greater danger than Their Majesties had to +dread, from the Austrian faction, by which a foreign army had been +encouraged to invade the territory of France, where they were now waiting +the opportunity of annihilating French liberty forever! + +"To this Her Majesty replied, 'When the deputies of the Assembly have +permitted, nay, I may say, encouraged this open violation of the King's +asylum, and, by their indifference to the safety of all those who +surround us, have sanctioned the daily insults to which we have been, and +still are, exposed, it is not to be wondered, at that all Sovereigns +should consider it their interest to make common cause with us, to crush +internal commotions, levelled, not only against the throne, and the +persons of the Sovereign and his family, but against the very principle +of monarchy itself.' + +"Here the King, though much intimidated for the situation of the Queen +and his family, for whose heads the wretches were at that very moment +howling in their ears, took up the conversation. + +"'These cruel facts,' said he, 'and the menacing situation you even now +witness, fully justify our not rejecting foreign aid, though God knows +how deeply I deplore the necessity of such a cruel resource! But, when +all internal measures of conciliation have been trodden under foot, and +the authorities, who ought to check it and protect us from these cruel +outrages, are only occupied in daily fomenting the discord between us and +our subjects; though a forlorn hope, what other hope is there of safety? +I foresee the drift of all these commotions, and am resigned; but what +will become of this misguided nation, when the head of it shall be +destroyed?' + +"Here the King, nearly choked by his feelings, was compelled to pause for +a moment, and he then proceeded. + +"'I should not feel it any sacrifice to give up the guardianship of the +nation, could I, in so doing, insure its future tranquillity; but I +foresee that my blood, like that of one of my unhappy brother +Sovereigns,--[Charles the First, of England.]--will only open the +flood-gates of human misery, the torrent of which, swelled with the best +blood of France, will deluge this once peaceful realm.' + +"This, as well as I can recollect, is the substance of what passed at the +castle on this momentous day. Our situation was extremely doubtful, and +the noise and horrid riots were at times so boisterous, that frequently +we could not, though so near them, distinguish a word the King and Queen +said; and yet, whenever the leaders of these organized ruffians spoke or +threatened, the most respectful stillness instantly prevailed. + +"I weep in silence for misfortunes, which I fear are inevitable! The +King, the Queen, the Princesse Elizabeth and myself, with many others +under this unhappy roof, have never ventured to undress or sleep in bed, +till last night. None of us any longer reside on the ground floor. + +"By the very manly exertions of some of the old officers incorporated in +the national army, the awful riot I have described was overpowered, and +the mob, with difficulty, dispersed. Among these, I should particularize +Generals de Vomenil, de Mandat, and de Roederer. Principally by their +means the interior of the Tuileries was at last cleared, though partial +mobs, such as you have often witnessed, still subsist. + +"I am thus particular in giving you a full account of this last +revolutionary commotion, that your prudence may still keep you at a +distance from the vortex. Continue where you are, and tell your man +servant how much I am obliged to him, and, at the same time, how much I +am grieved at his being wounded! I knew nothing of the affair but from +your letter and your faithful messenger. He is an old pensioner of mine, +and a good honest fellow. You may depend on him. Serve yourself, +through him, in communicating with me. Though he has had a limited +education, he is not wanting in intellect. Remember that honesty, in +matters of such vital import, is to be trusted before genius. + +"My apartment appears like a barrack, like a bear garden, like anything +but what it was! Numbers of valuable things have been destroyed, numbers +carried off. Still, notwithstanding all the horrors of these last days, +it delights me to be able to tell you that no one in the service of the +Royal Family failed in duty at this dreadful crisis. I think we may +firmly rely on the inviolable attachment of all around us. No jealousy, +no considerations of etiquette, stood in the way of their exertions to +show themselves worthy of the situations they hold. The Queen showed the +greatest intrepidity during the whole of these trying scenes. + +"At present, I can say no more. Petion, the Mayor of Paris, has just +been announced; and, I believe, he wishes for an audience of Her Majesty, +though he never made his appearance during the whole time of the riots in +the palace. Adieu, mia cara Inglesina!" + +The receipt of this letter, however it might have affected me to hear +what Her Highness suffered, in common with the rest of the unfortunate +royal inmates of the Tuileries, gave me extreme pleasure from the +assurance it contained of the firmness of those nearest to the sufferers. +I was also sincerely gratified in reflecting on the probity and +disinterested fidelity of this worthy man, which contrasted him, so +strikingly and so advantageously to himself, with many persons of birth +and education, whose attachment could not stand the test of the trying +scenes of the Revolution, which made them abandon and betray, where they +had sworn an allegiance to which they were doubly bound by gratitude. + +My man servant was attended, and taken the greatest care of. The +Princess never missed a day in sending to inquire after his health; and, +on his recovery, the Queen herself not only graciously condescended to +see him, but, besides making him a valuable present, said many flattering +and obliging things of his bravery and disinterestedness. + +I should scarcely have deemed these particulars honourable as they are to +the feelings of the illustrious personages from whom they +proceeded--worth mentioning in a work of this kind, did they not give +indications of character rarely to be met with (and, in their case, how +shamefully rewarded!), from having occurred at a crisis when their minds +were occupied in affairs of such deep importance, and amidst the +appalling dangers which hourly threatened their own existence. + +Her Majesty's correspondence with foreign Courts had been so much +increased by these scenes of horror, especially her correspondence with +her relations in Italy, that, ere long, I was sent for back to Paris. + + + + +SECTION XV. + +Journal of the Princess resumed and concluded: + + +"The insurrection of the 20th of June, and the uncertain state of the +safety of the Royal Family, menaced as it was by almost daily riots, +induced a number of well-disposed persons to prevail on General La +Fayette to leave his army and come to Paris, and there personally +remonstrate against these outrages. Had he been sincere he would have +backed the measure by appearing at the head of his army, then +well-disposed, as Cromwell did when he turned out the rogues who were +seeking the Lord through the blood of their King, and put the keys in his +pocket. Violent disorders require violent remedies. With an army and a +few pieces of cannon at the door of the Assembly, whose members were +seeking the aid of the devil, for the accomplishment of their horrors, he +might, as was done when the same scene occurred in England in 1668, by +good management; have averted the deluge of blood. But, by appearing +before the Assembly isolated, without 'voila mon droit,' which the King +of Prussia had had engraven on his cannon, he lost the opinion of all +parties. + +[In this instance the general grossly committed himself, in the opinion +of every impartial observer of his conduct. He should never have shown +himself in the capital, but at the head of his army. France, +circumstanced as it was, torn by intestine commotion, was only to be +intimidated by the sight of a popular leader at the head of his forces. +Usurped authority can only be quashed by the force of legitimate +authority. La Fayette being the only individual in France that in +reality possessed such an authority, not having availed himself at a +crisis like the one in which he was called upon to act, rendered his +conduct doubtful, and all his intended operations suspicious to both +parties, whether his feelings were really inclined to prop up the fallen +kingly authority, or his newly-acquired republican principles prompted +him to become the head of the democratical party, for no one can see into +the hearts of men; his popularity from that moment ceased to exist.] + +"La Fayette came to the palace frequently, but the King would never see +him. He was obliged to return, with the additional mortification of +having been deceived in his expected support from the national guard of +Paris, whose pay had been secretly trebled by the National Assembly, in +order to secure them to itself. His own safety, therefore, required that +he should join the troops under his command. He left many persons in +whom he thought he could confide; among whom were some who came to me one +day requesting I would present them to the Queen without loss of time, as +a man condemned to be shot had confessed to his captain that there was a +plot laid to murder Her Majesty that very night. + +"I hastened to the royal apartment, without mentioning the motive; but +some such catastrophe was no more than what we incessantly expected, from +the almost hourly changes of the national guard, for the real purpose of +giving easy access to all sorts of wretches to the very rooms of the +unfortunate Queen, in order to furnish opportunities for committing the +crime with impunity. + +"After I had seen the Queen, the applicants were introduced, and, in my +presence, a paper was handed by them to Her Majesty. At the moment she +received it, I was obliged to leave her for the purpose of watching an +opportunity for their departure unobserved. These precautions were +necessary with regard to every person who came to us in the palace, +otherwise the jealousy of the Assembly and its emissaries and the +national guard of the interior might have been alarmed, and we should +have been placed under express and open surveillance. The confusion +created by the constant change of guard, however, stood us in good stead +in this emergency. Much passing and repassing took place unheeded in the +bustle. + +"When the visitors had departed, and Her Majesty at one window of the +palace, and I at another, had seen them safe over the Pont Royal, I +returned to Her Majesty. She then graciously handed me the paper which +they had presented. + +"It contained an earnest supplication, signed by many thousand good +citizens, that the King and Queen would sanction the plan of sending the +Dauphin to the army of La Fayette. They pledged themselves, with the +assistance of the royalists, to rescue the Royal Family. They, urged +that if once the King could be persuaded to show himself at the head of +his army, without taking any active part, but merely for his own safety +and that of his family, everything might be accomplished with the +greatest tranquillity. + +"The Queen exclaimed, 'What! send my child! No! never while I breathe! + +[Little did this unfortunate mother think that they, who thus pretended +to interest themselves for this beautiful, angelic Prince only a few +months before, would, when she was in her horrid prison after the +butchery of her husband, have required this only comfort to be violently +torn from her maternal arms! + +Little, indeed, did she think, when her maternal devotedness thus +repelled the very thought of his being trusted to myriads of sworn +defenders, how soon he would be barbarously consigned by the infamous +Assembly as the foot-stool of the inhuman savage cobbler, Simon, to be +the night-boy of the excrements of the vilest of the works of human +nature!] + +Yet were I an independent Queen, or the regent of a minority, I feel that +I should be inclined to accept the offer, to place myself at the head of +the army, as my immortal mother did, who, by that step, transmitted the +crown of our ancestors to its legitimate descendants. It is the monarchy +itself which now requires to be asserted. Though D'ORLEANS is actively +engaged in attempting the dethronement of His Majesty, I do not think the +nation will submit to such a Prince, or to any other monarchical +government, if the present be decidedly destroyed. + +"'All these plans, my dear Princess,' continued she, 'are mere castles in +the air. The mischief is too deeply rooted. As they have already +frantically declared for the King's abdication, any strong measure now, +incompetent as we are to assure its success, would at once arm the +advocates of republicanism to proclaim the King's dethronement. + +"'The cruel observations of Petion to His Majesty, on our ever memorable +return from Varennes, have made a deeper impression than you are aware +of. When the King observed to him, "What do the French nation want?"--"A +republic," replied he. And though he has been the means of already +costing us some thousands, to crush this unnatural propensity, yet I +firmly believe that he himself is at the head of all the civil disorders +fomented for its attainment. I am the more confirmed in this opinion +from a conversation I had with the good old man, M. De Malesherbes, who +assured me the great sums we were lavishing on this man were thrown away, +for he would be certain, eventually, to betray us: and such an inference +could only have been drawn from the lips of the traitor himself. Petion +must have given Malesherbes reason to believe this. I am daily more and +more convinced it will be the case. Yet, were I to show the least energy +or activity in support of the King's authority, I should then be accused +of undermining it. All France would be up in arms against the danger of +female influence. The King would only be lessened in the general opinion +of the nation, and the kingly authority still more weakened. Calm +submission to His Majesty is, therefore, the only safe, course for both +of us, and we must wait events.' + +"While Her Majesty was thus opening her heart to me, the King and +Princesse Elizabeth entered, to inform her that M. Laporte, the head of +the private police, had discovered, and caused to be arrested, some of +the wretches who had maliciously attempted to fire the palace of the +Tuileries. + +"'Set them at liberty!' exclaimed Her Majesty; 'or, to clear themselves +and their party, they will accuse us of something worse.' + +"'Such, too, is my opinion, Sire,' observed I; 'for however I abhor their +intentions, I have here a letter from one of these miscreants which was +found among the combustibles. It cautions us not to inhabit the upper +part of the Pavilion. My not having paid the attention which was +expected to the letter, has aroused the malice of the writer, and caused +a second attempt to be made from the Pont Royal upon my own apartment; in +preventing which, a worthy man has been cruelly wounded in the arm.' + +"'Merciful Heaven!' exclaimed the poor Queen and the Princesse Elizabeth, +I not dangerously, I hope! + +"'I hope not,' added I; 'but the attempt, and its escaping unpunished, +though there were guards all around, is a proof how perilous it will be, +while we are so weak, to kindle their rancour by any show of impotent +resentment; for I have reason to believe it was to that, the want of +attention to the letter of which I speak was imputed.' + +"The Queen took this opportunity, of laying before the King the +above-mentioned plan. His Majesty, seeing it in the name of La Fayette, +took up the paper, and, after he had attentively perused it, tore it in +pieces, exclaiming, 'What! has not M. La Fayette done mischief enough +yet, but must he even expose the names of so many worthy men by +committing them to paper at a critical period like this, when he is fully +aware that we are in immediate danger of being assailed by a banditti of +inhuman cannibals, who would sacrifice every individual attached to us, +if, unfortunately, such a paper should be found? I am determined to have +nothing to do with his ruinous plans. Popularity and ambition made him +the principal promoter of republicanism. Having failed of becoming a +Washington, he is mad to become a Cromwell. I have no faith in these +turncoat constitutionalists.' + +"I know that the Queen heartily concurred in this sentiment concerning +General La Fayette, as soon as she ascertained his real character, and +discovered that he considered nothing paramount to public notoriety. To +this he had sacrificed the interest of his country, and trampled under +foot the throne; but finding he could not succeed in forming a Republican +Government in France as he had in America, he, like many others, lost his +popularity with the demagogues, and, when too late, came to offer his +services, through me, to the Queen, to recruit a monarchy which his +vanity had undermined to gratify, his chimerical ambition. Her Majesty +certainly saw him frequently, but never again would she put herself in +the way of being betrayed by one whom she considered faithless to all." + +[Thus ended the proffered services of General La Fayette, who then took +the command of the national army, served against that of the Prince de +Conde, and the Princes of his native country, and was given up with +General Bournonville, De Lameth, and others, by General Dumourier, on the +first defeat of the French, to the Austrians, by whom they were sent to +the fortress of Olmutz in Hungary, where they remained till after the +death of the wretch Robespierre, when they were exchanged for the +Duchesse d'Angouleme, now Dauphine of France. + +From the retired life led by General La Fayette on his return to France, +there can be but little doubt that he spent a great part of his time in +reflecting on the fatal errors of his former conduct, as he did not +coincide with any of the revolutionary principles which preceded the +short-lived reign of imperialism. But though Napoleon too well knew him +to be attached from principle to republicanism--every vestige of which he +had long before destroyed--to employ him in any military capacity, still +he recalled him from his hiding-place, in order to prevent his doing +mischief, as he politically did--every other royalist whom he could bring +under the banners of his imperialism. + +Had Napoleon made use of his general knowledge of mankind in other +respects, as he politically did in France over his conquered subjects, in +respecting ancient habits, and gradually weaned them from their natural +prejudices instead of violently forcing all men to become Frenchmen, all +men would have fought for him, and not against him. These were the +weapons by which his power became annihilated, and which, in the end, +will be the destruction of all potentates who presume to follow his +fallacious plan of forming individuals to a system instead of +accommodating systems to individuals. The fruits from Southern climes +have been reared in the North, but without their native virtue or vigour. +It is more dangerous to attack the habits of men than their religion. + +The British Constitution, though a blessing to Englishmen, is very +ill-suited to nations not accustomed to the climate and its variations. +Every country has peculiarities of thought and manners resulting from the +physical influence of its sky and soil. Whenever we lose sight of this +truth, we naturally lose the affections of those whose habits we +counteract.] + +Here ends the Journal of my lamented benefactress. I have continued the +history to the close of her career, and that of the Royal Family, +especially as Her Highness herself acted so important a part in many of +the scenes, which are so strongly illustrated by her conversation and +letters. It is only necessary to add that the papers which I have +arranged were received from Her Highness amidst the disasters which were +now thickening around her and her royal friends. + + + + +SECTION XVI. + + +From the time I left Passy till my final departure from Paris for Italy, +which took place on the 2nd of August, 1792, my residence was almost +exclusively at the capital. The faithful driver, who had given such +proofs of probity, continued to be of great service, and was put in +perpetual requisition. I was daily about on the business of the Queen +and the Princess, always disguised, and most frequently as a drummerboy; +on which occasions the driver and my man servant were my companions. My +principal occupation was to hear and take down the debates of the +Assembly, and convey and receive letters from the Queen to the Princesse +de Lamballe, to and from Barnave, Bertrand de Moleville, Alexandre de +Lameth, Deport de Fertre, Duportail, Montmorin, Turbo, De Mandat, the Duc +de Brissac, etc., with whom my illustrious patronesses kept up a +continued correspondence, to which I believe all of them fell a +sacrifice; for, owing to the imprudence of the King in not removing their +communications when he removed the rest of his papers from the Tuileries, +the exposure of their connections with the Court was necessarily +consequent upon the plunder of the palace on the 10th of August, 1792. + +In my masquerade visits to the Assembly, I got acquainted with an editor +of one of the papers; I think he told me his name was Duplessie. Being +pleased with the liveliness of my remarks on some of the organized +disorders, as I termed them, and with some comments I made upon the +meanness of certain disgusting speeches on the patriotic gifts, my new +acquaintance suffered me to take copies of his own shorthand remarks and +reports. By this means the Queen and the Princess had them before they +appeared in print. M. Duplessie was on other occasions of great service +to me, especially as a protector in the mobs, for my man servant and the +honest driver were so much occupied in watching the movements of the +various faubourg factions, that I was often left entirely unattended. + +The horrors of the Tuileries, both by night and day, were now grown +appallingly beyond description. Almost unendurable as they had been +before, they were aggravated by the insults of the national guard to +every passenger to and from the palace. I was myself in so much peril, +that the Princess thought it necessary to procure a trusty person, of +tried courage, to see me through the throngs, with a large bandbox of all +sorts of fashionable millinery, as the mode of ingress and egress least +liable to excite suspicion. + +Thus equipped, and guarded by my cicisbeo, I one day found myself, on +entering the Tuileries, in the midst of an immense mob of regular trained +rioters, who, seeing me go towards the palace, directed their attention +entirely to me. They took me for some one belonging to the Queen's +milliner, Madame Bertin, who, they said, was fattening upon the public +misery, through the Queen's extravagance. The poor Queen herself they +called by names so opprobious that decency will not suffer me to repeat +them. + +With a volley of oaths, pressing upon us, they bore us to another part of +the garden, for the purpose of compelling us to behold six or eight of +the most infamous outcasts, amusing themselves, in a state of exposure, +with their accursed hands and arms tinged with blood up to the elbows. +The spot they had chosen for this exhibition of their filthy persons was +immediately before the windows of the apartments of the Queen and the +ladies of the Court. Here they paraded up and down, to the great +entertainment of a throng of savage rebels, by whom they were applauded +and encouraged with shouts of "Bis! bis!" signifying in English," Again! +again!" + +The demoniac interest excited by this scene withdrew the attention of +those who were enjoying it from me, and gave me the opportunity of +escaping unperceived, merely with the loss of my bandbox. Of that the +infuriated mob made themselves masters; and the hats, caps, bonnets, and +other articles of female attire, were placed on the parts of their +degraded carcases, which, for the honour of human nature, should have +been shot. + +Overcome with agony at these insults, I burst from the garden in a flood +of tears. On passing the gate, I was accosted by a person who exclaimed +in a tone of great kindness, "Qu'as tu, ma bonne? qu'est ce qui vous +afflige?" Knowing the risk I should run in representing the real cause +of my concern, I immediately thought of ascribing it to the loss of the +property of which I had been plundered. I told him I was a poor +milliner, and had been robbed of everything I possessed in the world by +the mob. "Come back with me," said he, "and I will have it restored to +you." I knew it was of no avail, but policy stimulated me to comply; and +I returned with him into the garden toward the palace. + +What should I have felt, had I been aware, when this man came up, that I +was accosted by the villain Danton! The person who was with me knew him, +but dared not speak, and watched a chance of escaping in the crowd for +fear of being discovered. When I looked round and found myself alone, I +said I had lost my brother in the confusion, which added to my grief. + +"Oh, never mind," said Danton; "take hold of my arm; no one shall molest +you. We will look for your brother, and try to recover your things;" and +on we went together: I, weeping, I may truly say, for my life, stopped at +every step, while he related my doleful story to all whose curiosity was +excited by my grief. + +On my appearing arm in arm with Danton before the windows of the Queen's +apartments, we were observed by Her Majesty and the Princesses. Their +consternation and perplexity, as well as alarm for my safety, may readily +be conceived. A signal from the window instantly apprised me that I +might enter the palace, to which my return had been for some time +impatiently expected. + +Finding it could no longer be of any service to carry on the farce of +seeking my pretended brother, I begged to be escorted out of the mob to +the apartments of the Princesse de Lamballe. + +"Oh," said Danton, "certainly! and if you had only told the people that +you were going to that good Princess, I am sure your things would not +have been taken from you. But," added he, "are you perfectly certain +they were not for that detestable Marie Antoinette?" + +"Oh!" I replied, "quite, quite certain!" All this while the mob was at +my heels. + +"Then," said he, "I will not leave you till you are safe in the +apartments of the Princesse de Lamballe, and I will myself make known to +her your loss: she is so good," continued he, "that I am convinced she +will make you just compensation." + +I then told him how much I should be obliged by his doing so, as I had +been commissioned to deliver the things, and if I was made to pay for +them, the loss would be more serious than I could bear. + +"Bah! bah!" exclaimed he. "Laissez moi faire! Laissez moi faire!" + +When he came to the inner door, which I pretended to know nothing about, +he told the gentleman of the chamber his name, and said he wished to see +his mistress. + +Her Highness came in a few minutes, and from her looks and visible +agitation at the sight of Danton, I feared she would have betrayed both +herself and me. However, while he was making a long preamble, I made +signs, from which she inferred that all was safe. + +When Danton had finished telling her the story, she calmly said to me, +"Do you recollect, child, the things you have been robbed of?" + +I replied that, if I had pen and ink, I could even set down the prices. + +"Oh, well, then, child, come in," said Her Highness, "and we will see +what is to be done!" + +"There!" exclaimed Danton; "Did I not tell you this before?" Then, +giving me a hearty squeeze of the hand, he departed, and thus terminated +the millinery speculation, which, I have no doubt, cost Her Highness a +tolerable sum. + +As soon as he was gone, the Princess said, "For Heaven's sake, tell me +the whole of this affair candidly; for the Queen has been in the greatest +agitation at the bare idea of your knowing Danton, ever since we first +saw you walking with him! He is one of our moat inveterate enemies." + +I said that if they had but witnessed one half of the scenes that I saw, +I was sure their feelings would have been shocked beyond description. "We +did not see all, but we heard too much for the ears of our sex." + +I then related the particulars of our meeting to Her Highness, who +observed, "This accident, however unpleasant, may still turn out to our +advantage. This fellow believes you to be a marchande de modes, and the +circumstance of his having accompanied you to my apartment will enable +you, in future, to pass to and from the Pavilion unmolested by the +national guard." + +With tears of joy in her eyes for my safety, she could not, however, help +laughing when I told her the farce I kept up respecting the loss of my +brother, and my bandbox with the millinery, for which I was also soon +congratulated most graciously by Her Majesty, who much applauded my +spirit and presence of mind, and condescended, immediately, to entrust me +with letters of the greatest importance, for some of the most +distinguished members of the Assembly, with which I left the palace in +triumph, but taking care to be ready with a proper story of my losses. + +When I passed the guard-room, I was pitied by the very wretches, who, +perhaps, had already shared in the spoils; and who would have butchered +me, no doubt, into the bargain, could they have penetrated the real +object of my mission. They asked me if I had been paid for the loss I +sustained. I told them I had not, but I was promised that it should be +settled. + +"Settled!" said one of the wretches. "Get the money as soon as you can. +Do not trust to promises of its being settled. They will all be settled +themselves soon!" + +The next day, on going to the palace, I found the Princesse de Lamballe +in the greatest agitation, from the accounts the Court had just received +of the murder of a man belonging to Arthur Dillon, and of the massacres +at Nantes. + +"The horrid prints, pamphlets, and caricatures," cried she, "daily +exhibited under the very windows of the Tuileries, against His Majesty, +the Queen, the Austrian party, and the Coblentz party, the constant +thwarting of every plan, and these last horrors at Nantes, have so +overwhelmed the King that he is nearly become a mere automaton. Daily +and nightly execrations are howled in his ears. Look at our boasted +deliverers! The poor Queen, her children, and all of us belonging to the +palace, are in danger of our lives at merely being seen; while they by +whom we have been so long buoyed up with hope are quarrelling amongst +themselves for the honour and etiquette of precedency, leaving us to the +fury of a race of cannibals, who know no mercy, and will have destroyed +us long before their disputes of etiquette can be settled." + +The utterance of Her Highness while saying this was rendered almost +inarticulate by her tears. + +"What support against internal disorganization," continued she, "is to be +expected from so disorganized a body as the present army of different +nations, having all different interests?" + +I said there was no doubt that the Prussian army was on its march, and +would soon be joined by that of the Princes and of Austria. + +"You speak as you wish, mia cara Inglesina, but it is all to no purpose. +Would to God they had never been applied to, never been called upon to +interfere. Oh, that Her Majesty could have been persuaded to listen to +Dumourier and some other of the members, instead of relying on succours +which, I fear, will never enter Paris in our lifetime! No army can +subdue a nation; especially a nation frenzied by the recent recovery of +its freedom and independence from the shackles of a corrupt and weak +administration. The King is too good; the Queen has no equal as to +heart; but they have both been most grossly betrayed. The royalists on +one side, the constitutionalists on the other, will be the victims of the +Jacobins, for they are the most powerful, they are the most united, they +possess the most talent, and they act in a body, and not merely for the +time being. Believe me, my dear, their plans are too well grounded to be +defeated, as every one framed by the fallacious constitutionalists and +mad-headed royalists has been; and so they will ever be while they +continue to form two separate interests. From the very first moment when +these two bodies were worked upon separately, I told the Queen that, till +they were united for the same object, the monarchy would be unsafe, and +at the mercy of the Jacobins, who, from hatred to both parties, would +overthrow it themselves to rule despotically over those whom they no +longer respected or feared, but whom they hated, as considering them both +equally their former oppressors. + +"May the All-seeing Power," continued Her Highness, "grant, for the good +of this shattered State, that I may be mistaken, and that my predictions +may prove different in the result; but of this I see no hope, unless in +the strength of our own internal resources. God knows how powerful they +might prove could they be united at this moment! But from the anarchy +and division kept up between them, I see no prospect of their being +brought to bear, except in a general overthrow of this, as you have +justly observed, organized system of disorders, from which at some future +period we may obtain a solid, systematic order of government. Would +Charles the Second ever have reigned after the murder of his father had +England been torn to pieces by different factions? No! It was the union +of the body of the nation for its internal tranquillity, the amalgamation +of parties against domestic faction, which gave vigour to the arm of +power, and enabled the nation to check foreign interference abroad, while +it annihilated anarchy at home. By that means the Protector himself laid +the first stone of the Restoration. The division of a nation is the +surest harbinger of success to its invaders, the death-blow to its +Sovereign's authority, and the total destruction of that innate energy by +which alone a country can obtain the dignity of its own independence." + + + + +SECTION XVII. + + +While Her Highness was thus pondering on the dreadful situation of +France, strengthening her arguments by those historical illustrations, +which, from the past, enabled her to look into the future, a message came +to her from Her Majesty. She left me, and, in a few minutes, returned to +her apartment, accompanied by the Queen and Her Royal Highness the +Princesse Elizabeth. I was greatly surprised at seeing these two +illustrious and august personages bathed in tears. Of course, I could +not be aware of any new motive to create any new or extraordinary +emotion; yet there was in the countenances of all of the party an +appearance different from anything I had ever witnessed in them, or any +other person before; a something which seemed to say, they no longer had +any affinity with the rest of earthly beings. + +They had all been just writing to their distant friends and relations. A +fatal presentiment, alas! too soon verified, told them it was for the +last time. + +Her Highness the Princesse de Lamballe now approached me. + +"Her Majesty," observed the Princess, "wishes to give you a mark of her +esteem, in delivering to you, with her own hands, letters to her family, +which it is her intention to entrust to your especial care. + +"On this step Her Majesty has resolved, as much to send you out of the +way of danger, as from the conviction occasioned by the firm reliance +your conduct has created in us, that you will faithfully obey the orders +you may receive, and execute our intentions with that peculiar +intelligence which the emergency of the case requires. + +"But even the desirable opportunity which offers, through you, for the +accomplishment of her mission, might not have prevailed with Her Majesty +to hasten your departure, had not the wretch Danton twice inquired at the +palace for the 'little milliner,' whom he rescued and conducted safe to +the apartments of the Pavilion of Flora. This, probably, may be a matter +of no real consequence whatever; but it is our duty to avoid danger, and +it has been decided that you should, at least for a time, absent Paris. + +"Per cio, mia cara Inglesina, speak now, freely and candidly: is it your +wish to return to England, or go elsewhere? For though we are all sorry +to lose you, yet it would be a source of still greater sorrow to us, +prizing your services and fidelity as we do, should any plans and +purposes of ours lead you into difficulty or embarrassment." + +"Oh, mon Dieu! c'est vrai!" interrupted Her Majesty, her eyes at the +same time filled with tears. + +"I should never forgive myself," continued the Princess, "if I should +prove the cause of any misfortune to you." + +"Nor I!" most graciously subjoined the Queen. + +"Therefore," pursued the Princess, "speak your mind without reserve." + +Here my own feelings, and the sobs of the illustrious party, completely +overcame me, and I could not proceed. The Princesse de Lamballe clasped +me in her arms. "Not only letters," exclaimed she, "but my life I would +trust to the fidelity of my vera, verissima, cara Inglesina! And now," +continued Her Highness, turning round to the Queen, "will it please Your +Majesty to give Inglesina your commands." + +"Here, then," said the Queen, "is a letter for my dear sister, the Queen +of Naples, which you must deliver into her own hands. Here is another +for my sister, the Duchess of Parma. If she should not be at Parma, you +will find her at Colorno. This is for my brother, the Archduke of Milan; +this for my sister-in-law, the Princesse Clotilde Piedmont, at Turin; and +here are four others. You will take off the envelope when you get to +Turin, and then put them into the post yourself. Do not give them to, or +send them by, any person whatsoever. + +"Tell my sisters the state of Paris. Inform them of our cruel situation. +Describe the riots and convulsions you have seen. Above all, assure them +how dear they are to me, and how much I love them." + +At the word love, Her Majesty threw herself on a sofa and wept bitterly. + +The Princesse Elizabeth gave me a letter for her sister, and two for her +aunts, to be delivered to them, if at Rome; but if not, to be put under +cover and sent through the post at Rome to whatever place they might have +made their residence. + +I had also a packet of letters to deliver for the Princesse de Lamballe +at Turin; and another for the Duc de Serbelloni at Milan. + +Her Majesty and the Princesse Elizabeth not only allowed me the honour to +kiss their hands, but they, both gave me their blessing, and good wishes +for my safe return, and then left me with the Princesse de Lamballe. + +Her Majesty had scarcely left the apartment of the Princess, when I +recollected she had forgotten to give me the cipher and the key for the +letters. The Princess immediately went to the Queen's apartment, and +returned with them shortly after. + +"Now that we are alone," said Her Highness, "I will tell you what Her +Majesty has graciously commanded me to signify to you in her royal name. +The Queen commands me to say that you are provided for for life; and +that, on the first vacancy which may occur, she intends fixing you at +Court. + +"Therefore mia cara Inglesina, take especial care what you are about, and +obey Her Majesty's wishes when you are absent, as implicitly as you have +hitherto done all her commands during your abode near her. You are not +to write to any one. No one is to be made acquainted with your route. +You are not to leave Paris in your own carriage. It will be sent after +you by your man servant, who is to join you at Chalon sur Saone. + +"I have further to inform you that Her Majesty the Queen, on sending you +the cipher, has at the same time graciously condescended to add these +presents as further marks of her esteem." + +Her Highness then showed me a most beautiful gold watch, chain and seals. + +"These," said she, placing them with her own hands, "Her Majesty desired +me to put round your neck in testimony of her regard." + +At the same time Her Highness presented me, on her own part, with a +beautiful pocketbook, the covers of which were of gold enamelled, with +the word "SOUVENIR" in diamonds on one side, and a large cipher of her +own initials on the other. The first page contained the names of the +Queen and Her Royal Highness the Princesse Elizabeth, in their own +handwriting. There was a cheque in it on a Swiss banker, at Milan, of +the name of Bonny. + +Having given me these invaluable tokens, Her Highness proceeded with her +instructions. + +"At Chalon," continued she, "mia cara, your man servant will perhaps +bring you other letters. Take two places in the stage for yourself and +your femme de chambre, in her name, and give me the memorandum, that our +old friend, the driver, may procure the passports. You must not be seen; +for there is no doubt that Danton has given the police a full description +of your person. Now go and prepare: we shall see each other again before +your departure." + +Only a few minutes afterwards my man servant came to me to say that it +would be some hours before the stage would set off, and that there was a +lady in her carriage waiting for me in the Bois de Boulogne. I hastened +thither. What was my surprise on finding it was the Princess. I now saw +her for the last time! + +Let me pass lightly over this sad moment. I must not, however, dismiss +the subject, without noticing the visible changes which had taken place +in the short space of a month, in the appearance of all these illustrious +Princesses. Their very complexions were no longer the same, as if grief +had changed the whole mass of their blood. The Queen, in particular, +from the month of July to the 2d of August, looked ten years older. The +other two Princesses were really worn out with fatigue, anxiety, and the +want of rest, as, during the whole month of July, they scarcely ever +slept, for fear of being murdered in their beds, and only threw +themselves on them, now and then, without undressing. The King, three or +four times in the night, would go round to their different apartments, +fearful they might be destroyed in their sleep, and ask, "Etes vous la?" +when they would answer him from within, "Nous sommes encore ici." Indeed, +if, when nature was exhausted, sleep by chance came to the relief of +their worn-out and languid frames, it was only to awaken them to fresh +horrors, which constantly threatened the convulsion by which they were +finally annihilated. + +It would be uncandid in me to be silent concerning the marked difference +I found in the feelings of the two royal sisters of Her Majesty. + +I had never had the honour before to execute any commissions for her +Royal Highness the Duchess of Parma, and, of course, took that city in my +way to Naples. + +I did not reach Parma till after the horrors which had taken place at the +Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792. The whole of the unfortunate +Royal Family of France were then lodged in the Temple. There was not a +feeling heart in Europe unmoved at their afflicting situation. + +I arrived at Colorno, the country residence of the Duchess of Parma, just +as Her Royal Highness was going out on horseback. + +I ordered my servant to inform one of the pages that I came by express +from Paris, and requested the honour to know when it would be convenient +for Her Royal Highness to allow me a private audience, as I was going, +post-haste, to Rome and Naples. Of course, I did not choose to tell my +business either to my own or Her Royal Highness's servant, being in +honour and duty bound to deliver the letter and the verbal message of her +then truly unfortunate sister in person and in privacy. + +The mention of Paris I saw somewhat startled and confused her. Meantime, +she came near enough to my carriage for me to say to her in German, in +order that none of the servants, French or Italian, might understand, +that I had a letter to deliver into her own hands, without saying from +whom. + +She then desired I would alight, and she soon followed me; and, after +having very graciously ordered me some refreshments, asked me from whom I +had been sent. + +I delivered Her Majesty's letter. Before she opened it, she exclaimed, +"'O Dio! tutto e perduto e troppo tardi'! Oh, God! all is lost, it is +too late!" I then gave her the cipher and the key. In a few minutes I +enabled her to decipher the letter. On getting through it, she again +exclaimed, "'E tutto inutile'! it is entirely useless! I am afraid they +are all lost. I am sorry you are so situated as not to allow of your +remaining here to rest from your fatigue. Whenever you come to Parma, I +shall be glad to see you." + +She then took out her pocket handkerchief, shed a few tears, and said +that, as circumstances were now so totally changed, to answer the letter +might only commit her, her sister, and myself; but that if affairs took +the turn she wished, no doubt, her sister would write again. She then +mounted her horse, and wished me a good journey; and I took leave, and +set off for Rome. + +I must confess that the conduct of the Duchess of Parma appeared to me +rather cold, if not unfeeling. Perhaps she was afraid of showing too +much emotion, and wished to encourage the idea that Princesses ought not +to give way to sensibility, like common mortals. + +But how different was the conduct of the Queen of Naples! She kissed the +letter: she bathed it with her tears! Scarcely could she allow herself +time to decipher it. At every sentence she exclaimed, "Oh, my dear, oh, +my adored sister! What will become of her! My brothers are now both no +more! Surely, she will soon be liberated!" Then, turning suddenly to +me, she asked with eagerness, "Do you not think she will? Oh, Marie, +Marie! why did she not fly to Vienna? Why did she not come to me +instead of writing? Tell me, for God's sake, all you know!" + +I said I knew nothing further of what had taken place at Paris, having +travelled night and day, except what I had heard from the different +couriers, which I had met and stopped on my route; but I hoped to be +better informed by Sir William Hamilton, as all my letters were to be +sent from France to Turin, and thence on to Sir William at Naples; and if +I found no letters with him, I should immediately set off and return to +Turin or Milan, to be as near France as possible for my speedy return if +necessary. I ventured to add that it was my earnest prayer that all the +European Sovereigns would feel the necessity of interesting themselves +for the Royal Family of France, with whose fate the fate of monarchy +throughout Europe might be interwoven. + +"Oh, God of Heaven!" cried the Queen, "all that dear family may ere now +have been murdered! Perhaps they are already numbered among the dead! +Oh, my poor, dear, beloved Marie! Oh, I shall go frantic! I must send +for General Acton." + +Wringing her hands, she pulled the bell, and in a few minutes the general +came. On his entering the apartment, she flew to him like one deprived +of reason. + +"There!" exclaimed she. "There! Behold the fatal consequences!" showing +him the letter. "Louis XVI. is in the state of Charles the First of +England, and my sister will certainly be murdered." + +"No, no, no!" exclaimed the general. "Something will be done. Calm +yourself, madame." Then turning to me, "When," said he, "did you leave +Paris?" + +"When all was lost!" interrupted the Queen. + +"Nay," cried the general; "pray let me speak. All is not lost, you will +find; have but a little patience." + +"Patience!" said the Queen. "For two years I have heard of nothing else. +Nothing has been done for these unfortunate beings." She then threw +herself into a chair. "Tell him!" cried she to me, "tell him! tell +him!" + +I then informed the general that I had left Paris on the 2d of August, +but did not believe at the time, though the daily riots were horrible, +that such a catastrophe could have occurred so soon as eight days after. + +The Queen was now quite exhausted, and General Acton rang the bell for +the lady-in-waiting, who entered accompanied by the Duchesse Curigliano +Marini, and they assisted Her Majesty to bed. + +When she had retired, "Do not," said the general to me, "do not go to Sir +William's to-night. He is at Caserte. You seem too much fatigued." + +"More from grief," replied I, "and reflection on the fatal consequences +that might result to the great personages I have so lately left, than +from the journey." + +"Take my advice," resumed he. "You had much better go to bed and rest +yourself. You look very ill." + +I did as he recommended, and went to the nearest hotel I could find. I +felt no fatigue of mind or body till I had got into bed, where I was +confined for several days with a most violent fever. During my illness I +received every attention both from the Court, and our Ambassador and Lady +Hamilton, who kindly visited me every day. The Queen of Naples I never +again saw till my return in 1793, after the murder of the Queen of +France; and I am glad I did not, for her agony would have acted anew upon +my disordered frame, and might have proved fatal. + +I was certainly somewhat prepared for a difference of feeling between the +two Princesses, as the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, in the letters to +the Queen of Naples, always wrote, "To my much beloved sister, the Queen +of the two Sicilies, etc.," and to the other, merely, "To the Duchess of +Parma, etc." But I could never have dreamt of a difference so little +flattering, under such circumstances, to the Duchess of Parma. + + + + +SECTION XVIII. + + +From the moment of my departure from Paris on the 2d of August, 1792, the +tragedy hastened to its denouement. On the night of the 9th, the tocsin +was sounded, and the King and the Royal Family looked upon their fate as +sealed. Notwithstanding the personal firmness of His Majesty, he was a +coward for others. He dreaded the responsibility of ordering blood to be +shed, even in defence of his nearest and dearest interests. Petion, +however, had given the order to repel force by force to De Mandat, who +was murdered upon the steps of the Hotel de Ville. It has been generally +supposed that Petion had received a bribe for not ordering the cannon +against the Tuileries on the night of the 9th, and that De Mandat was +massacred by the agents of Petion for the purpose of extinguishing all +proof that he was only acting under the instructions of the Mayor. + +I shall not undertake to judge of the propriety of the King's impression +that there was no safety from the insurgents but in the hall, and under +the protection of the Assembly. Had the members been well disposed +towards him, the event might have proved very different. But there is +one thing certain. The Queen would never have consented to this step but +to save the King and her innocent children. She would have preferred +death to the humiliation of being under obligations to her sworn enemies; +but she was overcome by the King declaring, with tears in his eyes, that +he would not quit the palace without her. The Princesses Elizabeth and +de Lamballe fell at her feet, implored Her Majesty to obey the King, and +assured her there was no alternative between instant death and refuge +from it in the Assembly. "Well," said the Queen, "if our lot be death, +let us away to receive it with the national sanction." + +I need not expatiate on the succession of horrors which now overwhelmed +the royal sufferers. Their confinement at the Feuillans, and their +subsequent transfer to the Temple, are all topics sufficiently enlarged +upon by many who were actors in the scenes to which they led. The +Princesse de Lamballe was, while it was permitted, the companion of their +captivity. But the consolation of her society was considered too great +to be continued. Her fate had no doubt been predetermined; and, +unwilling to await the slow proceedings of a trial, which it was thought +politic should precede the murder of her royal mistress, it was found +necessary to detach her from the wretched inmates of the Temple, in order +to have her more completely within the control of the miscreants, who +hated her for her virtues. The expedient was resorted to of casting +suspicion upon the correspondence which Her Highness kept up with the +exterior of the prison, for the purpose of obtaining such necessaries as +were required, in consequence of the utter destitution in which the Royal +Family retired from the Tuileries. Two men, of the names of Devine and +Priquet, were bribed to create a suspicion, by their informations against +the Queen's female attendant. The first declared that on the 18th of +August, while he was on duty near the cell of the King, he saw a woman +about eleven o'clock in the day come from a room in the centre, holding +in one hand three letters, and with the other cautiously opening the door +of the right-hand chamber, whence she presently came back without the +letters and returned into the centre chamber. He further asserted that +twice, when this woman opened the door, he distinctly saw a letter +half-written, and every evidence of an eagerness to hide it from +observation. The second informant, Priquet, swore that, while on duty as +morning sentinel on the gallery between the two towers, he saw, through +the window of the central chamber, a woman writing with great earnestness +and alarm during the whole time he was on guard. + +All the ladies were immediately summoned before the authorities. The +hour of the separation between the Princess and her royal friend accorded +with the solemnity of the circumstance. It was nearly midnight when they +were torn asunder, and they never met again. + +The examinations were all separate. That of the Princesse de Lamballe +was as follows: + +Q. Your name? + +A. Marie-Therese-Louise de Savoy, Bourbon Lamballe. + +Q. What do you know of the events which occurred on the 10th of August? + +A. Nothing. + +Q. Where did you pass that day? + +A. As a relative I followed the King to the National Assembly. + +Q. Were you in bed on the nights of the 9th and 10th? + +A. No. + +Q. Where were you then? + +A. In my apartments, at the chateau. + +Q. Did you not go to the apartments of the King in the course of that +night? + +A. Finding there was a likelihood of a commotion, went thither towards +one in the morning. + +Q. You were aware, then, that the people had arisen? + +A. I learnt it from hearing the tocsin. + +Q. Did you see the Swiss and National Guards, who passed the night on +the terrace? + +A. I was at the window, but saw neither. + +Q. Was the King in his apartment when you went thither? + +A. There were a great number of persons in the room, but not the King. + +Q. Did you know of the Mayor of Paris being at the Tuileries? + +A. I heard he was there. + +Q. At what hour did the King go to the National Assembly? + +A. Seven. + +Q. Did he not, before he went, review the troops? Do you know the oath +he made them swear? + +A. I never heard of any oath. + +Q. Have you any knowledge of cannon being mounted and pointed in the +apartments? + +A. No. + +Q. Have you ever seen Messrs. Mandat and d'Affry in the chateau? + +A. No. + +Q. Do you know the secret doors of the Tuileries? + +A. I know of no such doors. + +Q. Have you not, since you have been in the Temple, received and written +letters, which you sought to send away secretly? + +A. I have never received or written any letters, excepting such as have +been delivered to the municipal officer. + +Q. Do you know anything of an article of furniture which is making for +Madame Elizabeth? + +A. No. + +Q. Have you not recently received some devotional books? + +A. No. + +Q. What are the books which you have at the Temple? + +A. I have none. + +Q. Do you know anything of a barred staircase? + +A. No. + +Q. What general officers did you see at the Tuileries, on the nights of +the 9th and 10th? + +A. I saw no general officers, I only saw M. Roederer. + +For thirteen hours was Her Highness, with her female companions in +misfortune, exposed to these absurd forms, and to the gaze of insulting +and malignant curiosity. At length, about the middle of the day, they +were told that it was decreed that they should be detained till further +orders, leaving them the choice of prisons, between that of la Force and +of la Salpetriere. + +Her Highness immediately decided on the former. It was at first +determined that she should be separated from Madame de Tourzel, but +humanity so far prevailed as to permit the consolation of her society, +with that of others of her friends and fellow-sufferers, and for a moment +the Princess enjoyed the only comfort left to her, that of exchanging +sympathy with her partners in affliction. But the cell to which she was +doomed proved her last habitation upon earth. + +On the 1st of September the Marseillois began their murderous operations. +Three hundred persons in two days massacred upwards of a thousand defence +less prisoners, confined under the pretext of malpractices against the +State, or rather devotedness to the royal cause. The spirit which +produced the massacres of the prisons at Paris extended them through the +principal towns and cities all over France. + +Even the universal interest felt for the Princesse de Lamballe was of no +avail against this frenzy. I remember once (as if it were from a +presentiment of what was to occur) the King observing to her, "I never +knew any but fools and sycophants who could keep themselves clear from +the lash of public censure. How is it, then, that you, my dear Princess, +who are neither, contrive to steer your bark on this dangerous coast +without running against the rocks on which so many good vessels like your +own have been dashed to pieces?" "Oh, Sire," replied Her Highness, "my +time is not yet come--I am not dead yet!" Too soon, and too horribly, her +hour did come! + +The butchery of the prisons was now commenced. The Duc de Penthievre set +every engine in operation to save his beloved daughter-in-law. He sent +for Manuel, who was then Procureur of Paris. The Duke declared that half +his fortune should be Manuel's if he could but save the Princesse de +Lamballe and the ladies who were in the same prison with her from the +general massacre. Manuel promised the Duke that he would instantly set +about removing them all from the reach of the blood-hunters. He began +with those whose removal was least likely to attract attention, leaving +the Princesse de Lamballe, from motives of policy, to the last. + +Meanwhile, other messengers had been dispatched to different quarters for +fear of failure with Manuel. It was discovered by one of these that the +atrocious tribunal,--[Thibaudeau, Hebert, Simonier, etc.]--who sat in +mock judgment upon the tenants of these gloomy abodes, after satiating +themselves with every studied insult they could devise, were to pronounce +the word "libre!" It was naturally presumed that the predestined +victims, on hearing this tempting sound, and seeing the doors at the same +moment set open by the clerks of the infamous court, would dart off in +exultation, and, fancying themselves liberated, rush upon the knives of +the barbarians, who were outside, in waiting for their blood! Hundreds +were thus slaughtered. + +To save the Princess from such a sacrifice, it was projected to prevent +her from appearing before the tribunal, and a belief was encouraged that +means would be devised to elude the necessity. The person who interested +himself for her safety contrived to convey a letter containing these +words: "Let what will happen, for God's sake do not quit your cell. You +will be spared. Adieu." + +Manuel, however, who knew not of this cross arrangement, was better +informed than its projector. + +He was aware it would be impossible for Her Highness to escape from +appearing before the tribunal. He had already removed her companions. +The Princesse de Tarente, the Marquise de Tourzel, her daughter, and +others, were in safety. But when, true to his promise, he went to the +Princesse de Lamballe, she would not be prevailed upon to quit her cell. +There was no time for parley. The letter prevailed, and her fate was +inevitable. + +The massacre had begun at daybreak. The fiends had been some hours busy +in the work of death. The piercing shrieks of the dying victims brought +the Princess and her remaining companion upon their knees, in fervent +prayer for the souls of the departed. The messengers of the tribunal now +appeared. The Princess was compelled to attend the summons. She went, +accompanied by her faithful female attendant. + +A glance at the seas of blood, of which she caught a glimpse upon her way +to the Court, had nearly shocked her even to sudden death. Would it had! +She staggered, but was sustained by her companion. Her courage +triumphed. She appeared before the gore-stained tribunes. + +After some questions of mere form, Her Highness was commanded to swear to +be faithful to the new order of government, and to hate the King, the +Queen, and royalty. + +"To the first," replied Her Highness, "I willingly submit. To the +second, how can I accede? There is nothing of which I can accuse the +Royal Family. To hate them is against my nature. They are my +Sovereigns. They are my friends and relations. I have served them for +many years, and never have I found reason for the slightest complaint." + +The Princess could no longer articulate. She fell into the arms of her +attendant. The fatal signal was pronounced. She recovered, and, +crossing the court of the prison, which was bathed with the blood of +mutilated victims, involuntarily exclaimed, "Gracious Heaven! What a +sight is this!" and fell into a fit. + +Nearest to her in the mob stood a mulatto, whom she had caused to be +baptized, educated, and maintained; but whom, for ill-conduct, she had +latterly excluded from her presence. This miscreant struck at her with +his halbert. The blow removed her cap. Her luxuriant hair (as if to +hide her angelic beauty from the sight of the murderers, pressing +tiger-like around to pollute that form, the virtues of which equalled its +physical perfection)--her luxuriant hair fell around and veiled her a +moment from view. An individual, to whom I was nearly allied, seeing the +miscreants somewhat staggered, sprang forward to the rescue; but the +mulatto wounded him. The Princess was lost to all feeling from the +moment the monster first struck at her. But the demons would not quit +their prey. She expired gashed with wounds. + +Scarcely was the breath out of her body, when the murderers cut off her +head. One party of them fixed it, like that of the vilest traitor, on an +immense pole, and bore it in triumph all over Paris; while another +division of the outrageous cannibals were occupied in tearing her clothes +piecemeal from her mangled corpse. The beauty of that form, though +headless, mutilated and reeking with the hot blood of their foul +crime--how shall I describe it?--excited that atrocious excess of lust, +which impelled these hordes of assassins to satiate their demoniac +passions upon the remains of this virtuous angel. + +This incredible crime being perpetrated, the wretches fastened ropes +round the body, arms, and legs, and dragged it naked through the streets +of Paris, till no vestige remained by which it could be distinguished as +belonging to the human species; and then left it among the hundreds of +innocent victims of that awful day, who were heaped up to putrefy in one +confused and disgusting mass. + +The head was reserved for other purposes of cruelty and horror. It was +first borne to the Temple, beneath the windows of the royal prisoners. +The wretches who were hired daily to insult them in their dens of misery, +by proclaiming all the horrors vomited from the national Vesuvius, were +commissioned to redouble their howls of what had befallen the Princesse +de Lamballe. + +[These horrid circumstances I had from the Chevalier Clery, who was the +only attendant allowed to assist Louis XVI. and his unhappy family, +during their last captivity; but who was banished from the Temple as soon +as his royal master was beheaded, and never permitted to return. Clery +told me all this when I met him at Pyrmont, in Germany. He was then in +attendance upon the late Comtesse de Lisle, wife of Louie XVIII., at +whose musical parties I had often the honour of assisting, when on a +visit to the beautiful Duchesse de Guiche. On returning to Paris from +Germany, on my way back into Italy, I met the wife of Clery, and her +friend M. Beaumont, both old friends of mine, who confirmed Clery's +statement, and assured me they were all for two years in hourly +expectation of being sent to the Place de Greve for execution. The death +of Robespierre saved their lives. + +Madame Clery taught Marie Antoinette to play upon the harp. Madame +Beaumont was a natural daughter of Louis XV. I had often occasion to be +in their agreeable society; and, as might be expected, their minds were +stored with the most authentic anecdotes and information upon the topics +of the day.] + +The Queen sprang up at the name of her friend. She heard subjoined to, +it, "la voila en triomphe," and then came shouts and laughter. She +looked out. At a distance she perceived something like a Bacchanalian +procession, and thought, as she hoped, that the Princess was coming to +her in triumph from her prison, and her heart rejoiced in the +anticipation of once more being, blessed with her society. But the King, +who had seen and heard more distinctly from his apartment, flew to that +of the Queen. That the horrid object might not escape observation, the +monsters had mounted upon each other's shoulders so as to lift the +bleeding head quite up to the prison bars. The King came just in time to +snatch Her Majesty from the spot, and thus she was prevented from seeing +it. He took her up in his arms and carried her to a distant part of the +Temple, but the mob pursued her in her retreat, and howled the fatal +truth even at her, very door, adding that her head would be the next, the +nation would require. Her Majesty fell into violent hysterics. The +butchers of human flesh continued in the interior of the Temple, parading +the triumph of their assassination, until the shrieks of the Princesse +Elizabeth at the state in which she saw the Queen, and serious fears for +the safety of the royal prisoners, aroused the commandant to treble the +national guards and chase the barbarians to the outside, where they +remained for hours. + + + + +SECTION XIX. + + +It now remains for me to complete my record by a few facts and +observations relating to the illustrious victims who a short time +survived the Princesse de Lamballe. I shall add to this painful +narrative some details which have been mentioned to me concerning their +remorseless persecutors, who were not long left unpursued by just and +awful retribution. Having done this, I shall dismiss the subject. + +The execrable and sacrilegious modern French Pharisees, who butchered, on +the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of September, 1792, all the prisoners at Paris, by +these massacres only gave the signal for the more diabolical machinations +which led to the destruction of the still more sacred victims of the 21st +of January, and the 16th of October, 1793, and the myriads who followed. + +The King himself never had a doubt with regard to his ultimate fate. His +only wish was to make it the means of emancipation for the Queen and +Royal Family. It was his intention to appeal to the National Assembly +upon the subject, after his trial. Such also was the particular wish of +his saint-like sister, the Princesse Elizabeth, who imagined that an +appeal under such circumstances could not be resisted. But the Queen +strongly opposed the measure; and His Majesty said he should be loath, in +the last moments of his painful existence, in anything to thwart one whom +he loved so tenderly. + +He had long accustomed himself, when he spoke of the Queen and royal +infants, in deference to the temper of the times, only to say, "my wife +and children." They, as he told Clery, formed a tie, and the only one +remaining, which still bound him to earth. Their last embraces, he said, +went so to his aching heart, that he could even yet feel their little +hands clinging about him, and see their streaming eyes, and hear their +agonized and broken voices. The day previous to the fatal catastrophe, +when permitted for the last time to see his family, the Princesse +Elizabeth whispered him, not for herself, but for the Queen and his +helpless innocents, to remember his intentions. He said he should not +feel himself happy if, in his last hour, he did not give them a proof of +his paternal affection, in obtaining an assurance that the sacrifice of +his life should be the guarantee of theirs. So intent was his mind upon +this purpose, said Clery to me, that when his assassins came to take him +to the slaughtering-place, he said, "I hope my death will appease the +nation, and that my innocent family, who have suffered on my account, +will now be released." + +The ruffians answered, "The nation, always magnanimous, only seeks to +punish the guilty. You may be assured your family will be respected." +Events have proved how well they kept their word. + +It was to fulfil the intention of recommending his family to the people +with his dying breath that he commenced his address upon the scaffold, +when Santerre ordered the drums to drown his last accents, and the axe +to fall! + +The Princesse Elizabeth, and perhaps others of the royal prisoners, hoped +he would have been reprieved, till Herbert, that real 'Pere du chene', +with a smile upon his countenance, came triumphantly to announce to the +disconsolate family that Louis was no more! + +Perhaps there never was a King more misrepresented and less understood, +especially by the immediate age in which he lived, than Louis XVI. He +was the victim of natural timidity, increased by the horror of bloodshed, +which the exigencies of the times rendered indispensable to his safety. +He appeared weak in intellect, when he was only so from circumstances. An +overwrought anxiety to be just made him hesitate about the mode of +overcoming the abuses, until its procrastination had destroyed the object +of his wishes. He had courage sufficient, as well as decision, where +others were not menaced and the danger was confined to himself; but, +where his family or his people were involved, he was utterly unfit to +give direction. The want of self-sufficiency in his own faculties have +been his, and his throne's, ruin. He consulted those who caused him to +swerve from the path his own better reason had dictated, and, in seeking +the best course, he often chose the worst. + +The same fatal timidity which pervaded his character extended to his +manners. From being merely awkward, he at last became uncouth; but from +the natural goodness of his heart, the nearest to him soon lost sight of +his ungentleness from the rectitude of his intentions, and, to parody the +poet, saw his deportment in his feelings. + +Previous to the Revolution, Louis XVI. was generally considered gentle +and affable, though never polished. But the numberless outrages suffered +by his Queen, his family, his friends, and himself, especially towards +the close of his career, soured him to an air of rudeness, utterly +foreign to his nature and to his intention. + +It must not be forgotten that he lived in a time of unprecedented +difficulty. He was a lamb governing tigers. So far as his own personal +bearing is concerned, who is there among his predecessors, that, replaced +upon the throne, would have resisted the vicissitudes brought about by +internal discord, rebellion, and riot, like himself? What said he when +one of the heterogeneous, plebeian, revolutionary assemblies not only +insulted him, but added to the insult a laugh? "If you think you can +govern better, I am ready to resign," was the mild but firm reply of +Louis. + +How glorious would have been the triumph for the most civilized nation in +the centre of Europe had the insulter taken him at his word. When the +experimentalists did attempt to govern, we all know, and have too +severely felt, the consequences. Yet this unfortunate monarch has been +represented to the world as imbecile, and taxed with wanting character, +firmness, and fortitude, because he has been vanquished! The +despot-conqueror has been vanquished since! + +His acquirements were considerable. His memory was remarkably retentive +and well-stored,--a quality, I should infer from all I have observed, +common to most Sovereigns. By the multiplicity of persons they are in +the habit of seeing, and the vast variety of objects continually passing +through their minds, this faculty is kept in perpetual exercise. + +But the circumstance which probably injured Louis XVI. more than any +other was his familiarity with the locksmith, Gamin. Innocent as was the +motive whence it arose, this low connection lessened him more with the +whole nation than if he had been the most vicious of Princes. How +careful Sovereigns ought to be, with respect to the attention they bestow +on men in humble life; especially those whose principles may have been +demoralized by the meanness of the associations consequent upon their +occupation, and whose low origin may have denied them opportunities of +intellectual cultivation. + +This observation map even be extended to the liberal arts. It does not +follow because a monarch is fond of these that he should so far forget +himself as to make their professors his boon companions. He loses ground +whenever he places his inferiors on a level with himself. Men are +estimated from the deference they pay to their own stations in society. +The great Frederic of Prussia used to sap, "I must show myself a King, +because my trade is royalty." + +It was only in destitution and anguish that the real character of Louis +developed itself. He was firm and patient, utterly regardless of +himself, but wrung to the heart for others, not even excepting his +deluded murderers. Nothing could swerve him from his trust in Heaven, +and he left a glorious example of how far religion can triumph over every +calamity and every insult this world has power to inflict. + +There was a national guard, who, at the time of the imprisonment of the +Royal Family, was looked upon as the most violent of Jacobins, and the +sworn enemy of royalty. On that account the sanguinary agents of the +self-created Assembly employed him to frequent the Temple. His special +commission was to stimulate the King and Royal Family by every possible +argument to self-destruction. + +But this man was a friend in disguise. He undertook the hateful office +merely to render every service in his power, and convey regular +information of the plots of the Assembly against those whom he was +deputed to persecute. The better to deceive his companions, he would +read aloud to the Royal Family all the debates of the regicides, which +those who were with him encouraged, believing it meant to torture and +insult, when the real motive was to prepare them to meet every +accusation, by communicating to them each charge as it occurred. So +thoroughly were the Assembly deceived, that the friendly guard was +allowed free access to the apartments, in order to facilitate, as was +imagined, his wish to agonize and annoy. By this means, he was enabled +to caution the illustrious prisoners never to betray any emotion at what +he read, and to rely upon his doing his best to soften the rigour of +their fate. + +The individual of whom I speak communicated these circumstances to me +himself. He declared, also, that the Duc d'Orleans came frequently to +the Temple during the imprisonment of Louis XVI., but, always in +disguise; and never, till within a few days after the murder of the poor +King, did he disclose himself. On that occasion he had bribed the men +who were accustomed to light the fires, to admit him in their stead to +the apartment of the Princesse Elizabeth. He found her on her knees, in +fervent prayer for the departed soul of her beloved brother. He +performed this office, totally unperceived by this predestined victim; +but his courage was subdued by her piety. He dared not extend the +stratagem to the apartment of the Queen. On leaving the angelic +Princess, he was so overcome by remorse that he: requested my informant +to give him a glass of water, saying, "that woman has unmanned me." It +was by this circumstance he was discovered. + +The Queen was immediately apprised by the good man of the occurrence. + +"Gracious God!" exclaimed Her Majesty, "I thought once or twice that I +had seen him at our miserable dinner hours, occupied with the other +jailers at the outside door. I even mentioned the circumstance to +Elizabeth, and she replied, "I also have observed a man resembling +D'ORLEANS, but it cannot be he, for the man I noticed had a wooden leg." + +"That was the very disguise he was discovered in this morning, when +preparing, or pretending to prepare, the fire in the Princesse +Elizabeth's apartment," replied the national guard. + +"Merciful Heaven!" said the Queen, "is he not yet satisfied? Must he +even satiate his barbarous brutality with being an eye-witness of the +horrid state into which he has thrown us? Save me," continued Her +Majesty, "oh, save me from contaminating my feeble sight, which is almost +exhausted, nearly parched up for the loss of my dear husband, by looking +on him!--Oh, death! come, come and release me from such a sight!" + +"Luckily," observed the guard to me, "it was the hour of the general jail +dinner, and we were alone; otherwise, I should infallibly have been +discovered, as my tears fell faster than those of the Queen, for really +hers seemed to be nearly exhausted: However," pursued he, "that D'ORLEANS +did see the Queen, and that the Queen saw him, I am very sure. From what +passed between them in the month of July, 1793, she was hurried off from +the Temple to the common prison, to take her trial." This circumstance +combined, with other motives, to make the Assembly hasten the Duke's +trial soon after, who had been sent with his young son to Marseilles, +there being no doubt that he wished to rescue the Queen, so as to have +her in his own power. + +On the 16th of October, Her Majesty was beheaded. Her death was +consistent with her life. She met her fate like a Christian, but still +like a Queen. + +Perhaps, had Marie Antoinette been uncontrolled in the exercise of her +judgment, she would have shown a spirit in emergency better adapted to +wrestle with the times than had been discovered by His Majesty. Certain +it is she was generally esteemed the most proper to be consulted of the +two. From the imperfect idea which many of the persons in office +entertained of the King's capacity, few of them ever made any +communication of importance but to the Queen. Her Majesty never kept a +single circumstance from her husband's knowledge, and scarcely decided on +the smallest trifle without his consent; but so thorough was his +confidence in the correctness of her judgment that he seldom, if ever, +opposed her decisions. The Princesse de Lamballe used to say, "Though +Marie Antoinette is not a woman of great or uncommon talents, yet her +long practical knowledge gave her an insight into matters of moment which +she turned to advantage with so much coolness and address amid +difficulties, that I am convinced she only wanted free scope to have +shone in the history of Princes as a great Queen. Her natural tendencies +were perfectly domestic. Had she been kept in countenance by the manners +of the times, or favoured earlier by circumstances, she would have sought +her only pleasures in the family circle, and, far from Court intrigue, +have become the model of her sex and age." + +It is by no means to be wondered at that, in her peculiar situation, +surrounded by a thoughtless and dissipated Court, long denied the natural +ties so necessary to such a heart, in the heyday of youth and beauty, and +possessing an animated and lively spirit, she should have given way in +the earlier part of her career to gaiety, and been pleased with a round +of amusement. The sincere friendship which she afterwards formed for the +Duchesse de Polignac encouraged this predilection. The plot to destroy +her had already been formed, and her enemies were too sharp-sighted and +adroit not to profit and take advantage of the opportunities afforded by +this weakness. The miscreant had murdered her character long, long +before they assailed her person. + +The charge against her of extravagance has been already refuted. Her +private palace was furnished from the State lumber rooms, and what was +purchased, paid for out of her savings. As for her favourites, she never +had but two, and these were no supernumerary expense or encumbrance to +the State. + +Perhaps it would have been better had she been more thoroughly directed +by the Princesse de Lamballe. She was perfectly conscious of her good +qualities, but De Polignac dazzled and humoured her love of amusement and +display of splendour. Though this favourite was the image of her royal +mistress in her amiable characteristics, the resemblance unfortunately +extended to her weaknesses. This was not the case with the Princesse de +Lamballe; she possessed steadiness, and was governed by the cool +foresight of her father-in-law, the Duc de Penthievre, which both the +other friends wanted. + +The unshaken attachment of the Princesse de Lamballe to the Queen, +notwithstanding the slight at which she at one time had reason to feel +piqued, is one of the strongest evidences against the slanderers of Her +Majesty. The moral conduct of the Princess has never been called in +question. Amid the millions of infamous falsehoods invented to vilify +and degrade every other individual connected with the Court, no +imputation, from the moment of her arrival in France, up to the fatal one +of her massacre, ever tarnished her character. To her opinion, then, the +most prejudiced might look with confidence. Certainly no one had a +greater opportunity of knowing the real character of Marie Antoinette. +She was an eye-witness to her conduct during the most brilliant and +luxurious portion of her reign; she saw her from the meridian of her +magnificence down to her dejection to the depths of unparalleled misery. +If the unfortunate Queen had ever been guilty of the slightest of those +glaring vices of which she was so generally accused, the Princess must +have been aware of them; and it was not in her nature to have remained +the friend and advocate, even unto death, of one capable of depravity. +Yet not a breath of discord ever arose between them on that score. Virtue +and vice can never harmonize; and even had policy kept Her Highness from +avowing a change of sentiments, it never could have continued her +enthusiasm, which was augmented, and not diminished, by the fall of her +royal friend. An attachment which holds through every vicissitude must +be deeply rooted from conviction of the integrity of its object. + +The friendship that subsisted between this illustrious pair is an +everlasting monument that honours their sex. The Queen used to say of +her, that she was the only woman she had ever known without gall. "Like +the blessed land of Ireland," observed Her Majesty, "exempt from the +reptiles elsewhere so dangerous to mankind, so was she freed by +Providence from the venom by which the finest form in others is +empoisoned. No envy, no ambition, no desire, but to contribute to the +welfare and happiness of her fellow creatures--and yet, with all these +estimable virtues, these angelic qualities, she is doomed, from her +virtuous attachment to our persons, to sink under the weight of that +affliction, which, sooner or later, must bury us all in one common +ruin--a ruin which is threatening hourly." + +These presentiments of the awful result of impending storms were mutual. +From frequent conversations with the Princesse de Lamballe, from the +evidence of her letters and her private papers, and from many remarks +which have been repeated to me personally by Her Highness, and from +persons in her confidence, there is abundant evidence of the forebodings +she constantly had of her own and the Queen's untimely end. + +[A very remarkable circumstance was related to me when I was at Vienna, +after this horrid murder. The Princess of Lobkowitz, sister to the +Princesse de Lamballe, received a box, with an anonymous letter, telling +her to conceal the box carefully till further notice. After the riots +had subsided a little in France, she was apprised that the box contained +all, or the greater part, of the jewels belonging to the Princess, and +had been taken from the Tuileries on the 10th of August. + +It is supposed that the jewels had been packed by the Princess in +anticipation of her doom, and forwarded to her sister through her agency +or desire.] + +There was no friend of the Queen to whom the King showed any deference, +or rather anything like the deference he paid to the Princesse de +Lamballe. When the Duchesse de Polignac, the Comtesse Diane de Polignac, +the Comte d'Artois, the Duchesse de Guiche, her husband, the present Duc +de Grammont, the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, etc., fled from Paris, he and +the Queen, as if they had foreseen the awful catastrophe which was to +destroy her so horribly, entreated her to leave the Court, and take +refuge in Italy. So also did her father-in-law, the Duc de Penthievre; +but all in vain. She saw her friend deprived of De Polignac, and all +those near and dear to her heart, and became deaf to every solicitation. +Could such constancy, which looked death in its worst form in the face +unshrinking, have existed without great and estimable qualities in its +possessor? + +The brother-in-law of the Princesse de Lamballe, the Duc d'Orleans, was +her declared enemy merely from her attachment to the Queen. These three +great victims have been persecuted to the tomb, which had no sooner +closed over the last than the hand of Heaven fell upon their destroyer. +That Louis XVI. was not the friend of this member of his family can +excite no surprise, but must rather challenge admiration. He had been +seduced by his artful and designing regicide companions to expend +millions to undermine the throne, and shake it to pieces under the feet +of his relative, his Sovereign, the friend of his earliest youth, who was +aware of the treason, and who held the thunderbolt, but would not crush +him. But they have been foiled in their hope of building a throne for +him upon the ruin they had made, and placed an age where they flattered +him he would find a diadem. + +The Prince de Conti told me at Barcelona that the Duchesse d'Orleans had +assured him that, even had the Duc d'Orleans survived, he never could +have attained, his object. The immense sums he had lavished upon the +horde of his revolutionary satellites had, previous to his death, thrown +him into embarrassment. The avarice of his party increased as his +resources diminished. The evil, as evil generally does, would have +wrought its own punishment in either way. He must have lived suspected +and miserable, had he not died. But his reckless character did not +desert him at the scaffold. It is said that before he arrived at the +Place de Greve he ate a very rich ragout, and drank a bottle of +champagne, and left the world as he had gone through it. + +The supernumerary, the uncalled-for martyr, the last of the four devoted +royal sufferers, was beheaded the following spring. For this murder +there could not have been the shadow of a pretext. The virtues of this +victim were sufficient to redeem the name of Elizabeth from the stain +with which the two of England and Russia, who had already borne it, had +clouded its immortality. + +[The eighteen years' imprisonment and final murder of Mary, Queen of +Scots, by Elizabeth of England, is enough to stigmatize her forever, +independently of the many other acts of tyranny which stain her memory. +The dethronement by Elizabeth of Russia of the innocent Prince Ivan, her +near relation, while yet in the cradle, gives the Northern Empress a +claim to a similar character to the British Queen.] + +She had never, in any way, interfered in political events. Malice +itself had never whispered a circumstance to her dispraise. After this +wanton assassination, it is scarcely to be expected that the innocent +and candid looks and streaming azure eyes of that angelic infant, the +Dauphin, though raised in humble supplication to his brutal assassins, +with an eloquence which would have disarmed the savage tiger, could have +won wretches so much more pitiless than the most ferocious beasts of the +wilderness, or saved him from their slow but sure poison, whose breath +was worse than the upas tree to all who came within its influence. + +The Duchesse d'Angouleme, the only survivor of these wretched captives, +is a living proof of the baleful influence of that contaminated prison, +the infectious tomb of the royal martyrs. That once lovely countenance, +which, with the goodness and amiableness of her royal father, whose +mildness hung on her lips like the milk and honey of human kindness, +blended the dignity, grace, elegance, and innocent vivacity, which were +the acknowledged characteristics of her beautiful mother, lost for some +time all traces of its original attractions. The lines of deep-seated +sorrow are not easily obliterated. If the sanguinary republic had not +wished to obtain by exchange the Generals La Fayette, Bournonville, +Lameth, etc., whom Dumourier had treacherously consigned into the hands +of Austria, there is little: doubt but that, from the prison in which she +was so long doomed to vegetate only to make life a burthen, she would +have been sent to share the fate of her murdered family. + +How can the Parisians complain that they found her Royal Highness, on her +return to France, by no means what they required in a Princess? Can it +be wondered at that her marked grief should be visible when amidst the +murderers of her family? It should rather be a wonder that she can at +all bear the scenes in which she moves, and not abhor the very name of +Paris, when every step must remind her of some out rage to herself, or +those most dear to her, or of some beloved relative or friend destroyed! +Her return can only be accounted for by the spell of that all-powerful +'amor patriae', which sometimes prevails over every other influence. + +Before I dismiss this subject, it may not be uninteresting to my readers +to receive some desultory anecdotes that I have heard concerning one or +two of the leading monsters, by whom the horrors upon which I have +expatiated were occasioned. + +David, the famous painter, was a member of the sanguinary tribunal which +condemned the King. On this account he has been banished from France +since the restoration. + +If any one deserved this severity, it was David. It was at the expense +of the Court of Louis XVI. that this ungrateful being was sent to Rome, +to perfect himself in his sublime art. His studies finished, he was +pensioned from the same patrons, and upheld as an artist by the special +protection of every member of the Royal Family. + +And yet this man, if he may be dignified by the name, had the baseness to +say in the hearing of the unfortunate Louis XVI., when on trial, "Well! +when are we to have his head dressed, a la guillotine." + +At another time, being deputed to visit the Temple, as one of the +committee of public safety, as he held out his snuff-box before the +Princesse Elizabeth, she, conceiving he meant to offer it, took a pinch. +The monster, observing what she had done, darting a look of contempt at +her, instantly threw away the snuff, and dashed the box to pieces on the +floor. + +Robespierre had a confidential physician, who attended him almost to the +period when he ascended the scaffold, and who was very often obliged, +'malgre-lui', to dine tete-a-tete with this monopolizer of human flesh +and blood. One day he happened to be with him, after a very +extraordinary number had been executed, and amongst the rest, some of the +physician's most intimate acquaintances. + +The unwilling guest was naturally very downcast, and ill at ease, and +could not dissemble his anguish. He tried to stammer out excuses and get +away from the table. + +Robespierre, perceiving his distress, interrogated him as to the cause. + +The physician, putting his hand to his head, discovered his reluctance to +explain. + +Robespierre took him by the hand, assured him he had nothing to fear, and +added, "Come, doctor, you, as a professional man, must be well informed +as to the sentiments of the major part of the Parisians respecting me. I +entreat you, my dear friend, frankly to avow their opinion. It may +perhaps serve me for the future, as a guide for governing them." + +The physician answered, "I can no longer resist the impulse of nature. I +know I shall thereby oppose myself to your power, but I must tell you, +you are generally abhorred,--considered the Attila, the Sylla, of the +age,--the two-footed plague, that, walks about to fill peaceful abodes +with miseries and family mournings. The myriads you are daily sending to +the slaughter at the Place de Greve, who have, committed no crime, the +carts of a certain description, you have ordered daily to bear a stated +number to be sacrificed, directing they should be taken from the prisons, +and, if enough are not in the prisons, seized, indiscriminately in the +streets, that no place in the deadly vehicle may be left unoccupied, and +all this without a trial, without even an accusation, and without any +sanction but your own mandate--these things call the public curse upon +you, which is not the less bitter for not being audible." + +"Ah!" said Robespierre, laughing. "This puts me in mind of a story told +of the cruelty and tyranny, of Pope Sixtus the Fifth, who, having one +night, after he had enjoyed himself at a Bacchanalian supper, when heated +with wine, by way of a 'bonne bouche', ordered the first man that should +come through the gate of the 'Strada del popolo' at Rome to be +immediately hanged. Every person at this drunken conclave--nay, all +Rome--considered the Pope a tyrant, the most cruel of tyrants, till it +was made known and proved, after his death, that the wretch so executed +had murdered his father and mother ten years previously. I know whom I +send to the Place de Greve. All who go there are guilty, though they may +not seem so. Go on, what else have you heard?" + +"Why, that you have so terrified all descriptions of persons, that they +fear even your very breath, and look upon you as worse than the plague; +and I should not be surprised, if you persist in this course of conduct, +if something serious to yourself should be the consequence, and that ere +long." + +Not the least extraordinary part of the story is that this dialogue +between the devil and the doctor took place but a very, few hours +previous to Robespierre's being denounced by Tallien and Carriere to the +national convention, as a conspirator against the republican cause. In +defending himself from being arrested by the guard, he attempted to shoot +himself, but the ball missed, broke the monster's jaw-bone only, and +nearly impeded his speaking. + +Singularly enough, it was this physician who was sent for to assist and +dress his wounds. Robespierre replied to the doctor's observations, +laughing, and in the following language: + +"Oh, poor devils! they do not know their own interest. But my plan of +exterminating the evil will soon teach them. This is the only thing for +the good of the nation; for, before you can reform a thousand Frenchmen, +you must first lop off half a million of these vagabonds, and, if God +spare my life, in a few months there will be so many the less to breed +internal commotions, and disturb the general peace of Europe. + +[When Bonaparte was contriving the Consulship for life, and, in the Irish +way, forced the Italian Republic to volunteer an offer of the Consulship +of Italy, by a deputation to him at Paris, I happened to be there. Many +Italians, besides the deputies, went on the occasion, and, among them, we +had the good fortune to meet the Abbe Fortis, the celebrated naturalist, +a gentleman of first-rate abilities, who had travelled three-fourths of +the globe in mineralogical research. The Abbe chanced one day to be in +company with my husband, who was an old acquaintance of his, where many +of the chopfallen deputies, like themselves, true lovers of their +country, could not help declaring their indignation at its degraded +state, and reprobating Bonaparte for rendering it so ridiculous in the +face of Europe and the world. The Abbe Fords, with the voice of a +Stentor, and spreading his gigantic form, which exceeded six feet in +height, exclaimed: "This would not have been the case had that just and +wise man Robespierre lived but a little longer." + +Every one present was struck with horror at the observation. Noticing the +effect of his words, the Abbe resumed: + +"I knew well I should frighten you in showing any partiality for that +bloody monopoliser of human heads. But you do not know the perfidy of +the French nation so well as I do. I have lived among them many years. +France is the sink of human deception. A Frenchman will deceive his +father, wife, and child; for deception is his element. Robespierre knew +this, and acted upon it, as you shall hear." + +The Abbe then related to us the story I have detailed above, verbatim, as +he had it from the son of Esculapius, who himself confirmed it afterwards +in a conversation with the Abbe in our presence. + +Having completed his anecdote, "Well," said the Abbe, "was I not right in +my opinion of this great philosopher and foreseer of evils, when I +observed that had he but lived a few months longer, there would have been +so many less in the world to disturb its tranquillity?"] + +The same physician observed that from the immense number of executions +during the sanguinary reign of that monster, the Place de Greve became so +complete a swamp of human blood that it would scarcely hold the +scaffolding of the instrument of death, which, in consequence, was +obliged to be continually moved from one side of the square to the other. +Many of the soldiers and officers, who were obliged to attend these +horrible executions, had constantly their half-boots and stockings filled +with the blood of the poor sufferers; and as, whenever there was any +national festival to be given, it generally followed one of the most +sanguinary of these massacres, the public places, the theatres +especially, all bore the tracks of blood throughout the saloons and +lobbies. + +The infamous Carrier, who was the execrable agent of his still more +execrable employer, Robespierre, was left afterwards to join Tallien in a +conspiracy against him, merely to save himself; but did not long survive +his atrocious crimes or his perfidy. + +It is impossible to calculate the vast number of private assassinations +committed in the dead of the night, by order of this cannibal, on persons +of every rank and description. + +My task is now ended. Nothing remains for me but the reflections which +these sad and shocking remembrances cannot fail to awaken in all minds, +and especially in mine. Is it not astonishing that, in an age so +refined, so free from the enormous and flagitious crimes which were the +common stains of barbarous centuries, and at an epoch peculiarly +enlightened by liberal views, the French nation, by all deemed the most +polished since the Christian era, should have given an example of such +wanton, brutal, and coarse depravity to the world, under pretences +altogether chimerical, and, after unprecedented bloodshed and horror, +ended at the point where it began! + +The organized system of plunder and anarchy, exercised under different +forms more or less sanguinary, produced no permanent result beyond an +incontestible proof that the versatility of the French nation, and its +puny suppleness of character, utterly incapacitate it for that energetic +enterprise without which there can be no hope of permanent emancipation +from national slavery. It is my unalterable conviction that the French +will never know how to enjoy an independent and free Constitution. + +The tree of liberty unavoidably in all nations has been sprinkled with +human blood; but, when bathed by innocent victims, like the foul weed, +though it spring up, it rots in its infancy, and becomes loathsome and +infectious. Such has been the case in France; and the result justifies +the Italian satire: + +"Un albero senza fruta +Baretta senza testa +Governo che non resta." + + + + + +THE ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + + +A liar ought to have a good memory +Air of science calculated to deceive the vulgar +And scarcely a woman; for your answers are very short +Bad habit of talking very indiscreetly before others +Beaumarchais sent arms to the Americans +Because he is fat, he is thought dull and heavy +Can make a Duchess a beggar, but cannot make a beggar a Duchess +Canvassing for a majority to set up D'Orleans +Clergy enjoyed one-third the national revenues +Clouds--you may see what you please in them +Danger of confiding the administration to noblemen +Dared to say to me, so he writes +Dead always in fault, and cannot be put out of sight too soon +Declaring the Duke of Orleans the constitutional King +Do not repulse him in his fond moments +Educate his children as quietists in matters of religion +Embonpoint of the French Princesses +Fatal error of conscious rectitude +Feel themselves injured by the favour shown to others +Few individuals except Princesses do with parade and publicity +Foolishly occupying themselves with petty matters +Frailty in the ambitious, through which the artful can act +French people do not do things by halves +Fresh proof of the intrigues of the Jesuits +He who quits the field loses it +Honesty is to be trusted before genius +How difficult it is to do good +I dared not touch that string +Infinite astonishment at his sharing the common destiny +It is an ill wind that blows no one any good +Judge of men by the company they keep +Laughed at qualities she could not comprehend +Les culottes--what do you call them?' 'Small clothes' +Listeners never hear any good of themselves +Madame made the Treaty of Sienna +Many an aching heart rides in a carriage +Mind well stored against human casualties +Money the universal lever, and you are in want of it +More dangerous to attack the habits of men than their religion +My little English protegee +No phrase becomes a proverb until after a century's experience +Offering you the spectacle of my miseries +Only retire to make room for another race +Over-caution may produce evils almost equal to carelessness +Panegyric of the great Edmund Burke upon Marie Antoinette +Pension is granted on condition that his poems are never printed +People in independence are only the puppets of demagogues +Pleasure of making a great noise at little expense +Policy, in sovereigns, is paramount to every other +Quiet work of ruin by whispers and detraction +Regardlessness of appearances +Revolution not as the Americans, founded on grievances +Ridicule, than which no weapon is more false or deadly +Salique Laws +Sending astronomers to Mexico and Peru, to measure the earth +Sentiment is more prompt, and inspires me with fear +She always says the right thing in the right place +She drives quick and will certainly be overturned on the road +Suppression of all superfluous religious institutions +Sworn that she had thought of nothing but you all her life +Thank Heaven, I am out of harness +The King remained as if paralysed and stupefied +These expounders--or confounders--of codes +To be accused was to incur instant death +To despise money, is to despise happiness, liberty... +Traducing virtues the slanderers never possessed +Underrated what she could not imitate +We look upon you as a cat, or a dog, and go on talking +We say "inexpressibles" +When the only security of a King rests upon his troops +Where the knout is the logician +Who confound logic with their wishes +Wish art to eclipse nature +You tell me bad news: having packed up, I had rather go + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Memoirs of Louis XV./XVI, +Complete, by Madame du Hausset, an "Unknown English Girl" and the Princess Lamballe + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUIS XV. AND XVI. *** + +***** This file should be named 3883.txt or 3883.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/8/3883/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |