MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, QUEEN OF FRANCE

Being the Historic Memoirs of Madam Campan, First Lady in Waiting to the Queen

Volume 4

CHAPTER XI. 

About the close of the last century several of the Northern sovereignstook a fancy for travelling. Christian III. , King of Denmark, visited theCourt of France in 1763, during the reign of Louis XV. We have seen theKing of Sweden and Joseph II. At Versailles. The Grand Duke of Russia(afterwards Paul I. ), son of Catherine II. , and the Princess ofWurtemberg, his wife, likewise resolved to visit France. They travelledunder the titles of the Comte and Comtesse du Nord. They were presentedon the 20th of May, 1782. The Queen received them with grace and dignity. On the day of their arrival at Versailles they dined in private with theKing and Queen. 

The plain, unassuming appearance of Paul I. Pleased Louis XVI. He spoketo him with more confidence and cheerfulness than he had spoken to JosephII. The Comtesse du Nord was not at first so successful with the Queen. This lady was of a fine height, very fat for her age, with all the Germanstiffness, well informed, and perhaps displaying her acquirements withrather too much confidence. When the Comte and Comtesse du Nord werepresented the Queen was exceedingly nervous. She withdrew into her closetbefore she went into the room where she was to dine with the illustrioustravellers, and asked for a glass of water, confessing "she had justexperienced how much more difficult it was to play the part of a queen inthe presence of other sovereigns, or of princes born to become so, thanbefore courtiers. " She soon recovered from her confusion, and reappearedwith ease and confidence. The dinner was tolerably cheerful, and theconversation very animated. 

Brilliant entertainments were given at Court in honour of the King ofSweden and the Comte du Nord. They were received in private by the Kingand Queen, but they were treated with much more ceremony than the Emperor, and their Majesties always appeared to me to be very, cautious beforethese personages. However, the King one day asked the Russian Grand Dukeif it were true that he could not rely on the fidelity of any one of thosewho accompanied him. The Prince answered him without hesitation, andbefore a considerable number of persons, that he should be very sorry tohave with him even a poodle that was much attached to him, because hismother would take care to have it thrown into the Seine, with a stoneround its neck, before he should leave Paris. This reply, which I myselfheard, horrified me, whether it depicted the disposition of Catherine, oronly expressed the Prince's prejudice against her. 

The Queen gave the Grand Duke a supper at Trianon, and had the gardensilluminated as they had been for the Emperor. The Cardinal de Rohan veryindiscreetly ventured to introduce himself there without the Queen'sknowledge. Having been treated with the utmost coolness ever since hisreturn from Vienna, he had not dared to ask her himself for permission tosee the illumination; but he persuaded the porter of Trianon to admit himas soon as the Queen should have set off for Versailles, and his Eminenceengaged to remain in the porter's lodge until all the carriages shouldhave left the chateau. He did not keep his word, and while the porter wasbusy in the discharge of his duty, the Cardinal, who wore his redstockings and had merely thrown on a greatcoat, went down into the garden, and, with an air of mystery, drew up in two different places to see theroyal family and suite pass by. 

Her Majesty was highly offended at this piece of boldness, and next dayordered the porter to be discharged. There was a general feeling ofdisgust at the Cardinal's conduct, and of commiseration towards the porterfor the loss of his place. Affected at the misfortune of the father of afamily, I obtained his forgiveness; and since that time I have oftenregretted the feeling which induced me to interfere. The notoriety of thedischarge of the porter of Trianon, and the odium that circumstance wouldhave fixed upon the Cardinal, would have made the Queen's dislike to himstill more publicly known, and would probably have prevented thescandalous and notorious intrigue of the necklace. 

The Queen, who was much prejudiced against the King of Sweden, receivedhim very coldly. 

[Gustavus III. , King of Sweden, travelled in France under the title ofComte d'Haga. Upon his accession to the throne, he managed the revolutionwhich prostrated the authority of the Senate with equal skill, coolness, and courage. He was assassinated in 1792, at a masked ball, byAuckarstrum. --NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

All that was said of the private character of that sovereign, hisconnection with the Comte de Vergennes, from the time of the Revolution ofSweden, in 1772, the character of his favourite Armfeldt, and theprejudices of the monarch himself against the Swedes who were wellreceived at the Court of Versailles, formed the grounds of this dislike. He came one day uninvited and unexpected, and requested to dine with theQueen. The Queen received him in the little closet, and desired me tosend for her clerk of the kitchen, that she might be informed whetherthere was a proper dinner to set before Comte d'Haga, and add to it ifnecessary. The King of Sweden assured her that there would be enough forhim; and I could not help smiling when I thought of the length of the menuof the dinner of the King and Queen, not half of which would have made itsappearance had they dined in private. The Queen looked significantly atme, and I withdrew. In the evening she asked me why I had seemed soastonished when she ordered me to add to her dinner, saying that I oughtinstantly to have seen that she was giving the King of Sweden a lesson forhis presumption. I owned to her that the scene had appeared to me so muchin the bourgeois style, that I involuntarily thought of the cutlets on thegridiron, and the omelette, which in families in humble circumstancesserve to piece out short commons. She was highly diverted with my answer, and repeated it to the King, who also laughed heartily at it. 

The peace with England satisfied all classes of society interested in thenational honour. The departure of the English commissary from Dunkirk, who had been fixed at that place ever since the shameful peace of 1763 asinspector of our navy, occasioned an ecstasy of joy. 

[By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) it was stipulated that the fortificationsand port of Dunkirk should be destroyed. By the Treaty of Paris (1763) acommissary was to reside at Dunkirk to see that no attempt was made tobreak this treaty. This stipulation was revoked by the Peace ofVersailles, in 1783. --see DYER'S "Modern Europe, " 1st edition, vol. I. , pp. 205-438 and 539. ]

The Government communicated to the Englishman the order for his departurebefore the treaty was made public. But for that precaution the populacewould have probably committed some excess or other, in order to make theagent of English power feel the effects of the resentment which hadconstantly increased during his stay at that port. Those engaged in tradewere the only persons dissatisfied with the treaty of 1783. That articlewhich provided for, the free admission of English goods annihilated at oneblow the trade of Rouen and the other manufacturing towns throughout thekingdom. The English swarmed into Paris. A considerable number of themwere presented at Court. The Queen paid them marked attention; doubtlessshe wished them to distinguish between the esteem she felt for their noblenation and the political views of the Government in the support it hadafforded to the Americans. Discontent was, however, manifested at Courtin consequence of the favour bestowed by the Queen on the Englishnoblemen; these attentions were called infatuations. This was illiberal;and the Queen justly complained of such absurd jealousy. 

The journey to Fontainebleau and the winter at Paris and at Court wereextremely brilliant. The spring brought back those amusements which theQueen began to prefer to the splendour of fetes. The most perfect harmonysubsisted between the King and Queen; I never saw but one cloud betweenthem. It was soon dispelled, and the cause of it is perfectly unknown tome. 

My father-in-law, whose penetration and experience I respected greatly, recommended me, when he saw me placed in the service of a young queen, toshun all kinds of confidence. "It procures, " said he, "but a veryfleeting, and at the same time dangerous sort of favour; serve with zealto the best of your judgment, but never do more than obey. Instead ofsetting your wits to work to discover why an order or a commission whichmay appear of consequence is given to you, use them to prevent thepossibility of your knowing anything of the matter. " I had occasion toact on this wise advice. One morning at Trianon I went into the Queen'schamber; there were letters lying upon the bed, and she was weepingbitterly. Her tears and sobs were occasionally interrupted byexclamations of "Ah! that I were dead!--wretches! monsters! What have Idone to them?" I offered her orange-flower water and ether. "Leave me, "said she, "if you love me; it would be better to kill me at once. " Atthis moment she threw her arm over my shoulder and began weeping afresh. Isaw that some weighty trouble oppressed her heart, and that she wanted aconfidant. I suggested sending for the Duchesse de Polignac; this shestrongly opposed. I renewed my arguments, and her opposition grew weaker. I disengaged myself from her arms, and ran to the antechamber, where Iknew that an outrider always waited, ready to mount and start at amoment's warning for Versailles. I ordered him to go full speed, and tellthe Duchesse de Polignac that the Queen was very uneasy, and desired tosee her instantly. The Duchess always had a carriage ready. In less thanten minutes she was at the Queen's door. I was the only person there, having been forbidden to send for the other women. Madame de Polignaccame in; the Queen held out her arms to her, the Duchess rushed towardsher. I heard her sobs renewed and withdrew. 

A quarter of an hour afterwards the Queen, who had become calmer, rang tobe dressed. I sent her woman in; she put on her gown and retired to herboudoir with the Duchess. Very soon afterwards the Comte d'Artois arrivedfrom Compiegne, where he had been with the King. He eagerly inquiredwhere the Queen was; remained half an hour with her and the Duchess; andon coming out told me the Queen asked for me. I found her seated on thecouch by the side of her friend; her features had resumed their usualcheerful and gracious appearance. She held out her hand to me, and saidto the Duchess, "I know I have made her so uncomfortable this morning thatI must set her poor heart at ease. " She then added, "You must have seen, on some fine summer's day, a black cloud suddenly appear and threaten topour down upon the country and lay it waste. The lightest wind drives itaway, and the blue sky and serene weather are restored. This is just theimage of what has happened to me this morning. " She afterwards told methat the King would return from Compiegne after hunting there, and supwith her; that I must send for her purveyor, to select with him from hisbills of fare all such dishes as the King liked best; that she would haveno others served up in the evening at her table; and that this was a markof attention that she wished the King to notice. The Duchesse de Polignacalso took me by the hand, and told me how happy she was that she had beenwith the Queen at a moment when she stood in need of a friend. I neverknew what could have created in the Queen so lively and so transient analarm; but I guessed from the particular care she took respecting the Kingthat attempts had been made to irritate him against her; that the maliceof her enemies had been promptly discovered and counteracted by the King'spenetration and attachment; and that the Comte d'Artois had hastened tobring her intelligence of it. 

It was, I think, in the summer of 1787, during one of the Trianonexcursions, that the Queen of Naples--[Caroline, sister of MarieAntoinette. ]--sent the Chevalier de Bressac to her Majesty on a secretmission relative to a projected marriage between the Hereditary Prince, her son, and Madame, the King's daughter; in the absence of the lady ofhonour he addressed himself to me. Although he said a great deal to meabout the close confidence with which the Queen of Naples honoured him, and about his letter of credit, I thought he had the air of anadventurer. --[He afterwards spent several years shut up in the Chateau del'Oeuf. ]--He had, indeed, private letters for the Queen, and his missionwas not feigned; he talked to me very rashly even before his admission, and entreated me to do all that lay in my power to dispose the Queen'smind in favour of his sovereign's wishes; I declined, assuring him that itdid not become me to meddle with State affairs. He endeavoured, but invain, to prove to me that the union contemplated by the Queen of Naplesought not to be looked upon in that light. 

I procured M. De Bressac the audience he desired, but without sufferingmyself even to seem acquainted with the object of his mission. The Queentold me what it was; she thought him a person ill-chosen for the occasion;and yet she thought that the Queen, her sister, had done wisely in notsending a man worthy to be avowed, --it being impossible that what shesolicited should take place. I had an opportunity on this occasion, asindeed on many others, of judging to what extent the Queen valued andloved France and the dignity of our Court. She then told me that Madame, in marrying her cousin, the Duc d'Angouleme, would not lose her rank asdaughter of the Queen; and that her situation would be far preferable tothat of queen of any other country; and that there was nothing in Europeto be compared to the Court of France; and that it would be necessary, inorder to avoid exposing a French Princess to feelings of deep regret, incase she should be married to a foreign prince, to take her from thepalace of Versailles at seven years of age, and send her immediately tothe Court in which she was to dwell; and that at twelve would be too late;for recollections and comparisons would ruin the happiness of all the restof her life. The Queen looked upon the destiny of her sisters as farbeneath her own; and frequently mentioned the mortifications inflicted bythe Court of Spain upon her sister, the Queen of Naples, and the necessityshe was under of imploring the mediation of the King of France. 

She showed me several letters that she had received from the Queen ofNaples relative to her differences with the Court of Madrid respecting theMinister Acton. She thought him useful to her people, inasmuch as he wasa man of considerable information and great activity. In these lettersshe minutely acquainted her Majesty with the nature of the affronts shehad received, and represented Mr. Acton to her as a man whom malevolenceitself could not suppose capable of interesting her otherwise than by hisservices. She had had to suffer the impertinences of a Spaniard named LasCasas, who had been sent to her by the King, her father-in-law, topersuade her to dismiss Mr. Acton from the business of the State, and fromher intimacy. She complained bitterly to the Queen, her sister, of theinsulting proceedings of this charge d'affaires, whom she told, in orderto convince him of the nature of the feelings which attached her to Mr. Acton, that she would have portraits and busts of him executed by the mosteminent artists of Italy, and that she would then send them to the King ofSpain, to prove that nothing but the desire to retain a man of superiorcapacity had induced her to bestow on him the favour he enjoyed. This LasCasas dared to answer her that it would be useless trouble; that theugliness of a man did not always render him displeasing; and that the Kingof Spain had too much experience not to know that there was no accountingfor the caprices of a woman. 

This audacious reply filled the Queen of Naples with indignation, and heremotion caused her to miscarry on the same day. In consequence of themediation of Louis XVI. The Queen of Naples obtained completesatisfaction, and Mr. Acton continued Prime Minister. 

Among the characteristics which denoted the goodness of the Queen, herrespect for personal liberty should have a place. I have seen her put upwith the most troublesome importunities from people whose minds werederanged rather than have them arrested. Her patient kindness was put toa very disagreeable trial by an ex-councillor of the Bordeaux Parliament, named Castelnaux; this man declared himself the lover of the Queen, andwas generally known by that appellation. For ten successive years did hefollow the Court in all its excursions. Pale and wan, as people who areout of their senses usually are, his sinister appearance occasioned themost uncomfortable sensations. During the two hours that the Queen'spublic card parties lasted, he would remain opposite her Majesty. Heplaced himself in the same manner before her at chapel, and never failedto be at the King's dinner or the dinner in public. At the theatre heinvariably seated himself as near the Queen's box as possible. He alwaysset off for Fontainebleau or St. Cloud the day before the Court, and whenher Majesty arrived at her various residences, the first person she met ongetting out of her carriage was this melancholy madman, who never spoke toany one. When the Queen stayed at Petit Trianon the passion of thisunhappy man became still more annoying. He would hastily swallow a morselat some eating-house, and spend all the rest of the day, even when itrained, in going round and round the garden, always walking at the edge ofthe moat. The Queen frequently met him when she was either alone or withher children; and yet she would not suffer any violence to be used torelieve her from this intolerable annoyance. Having one day given M. DeSeze permission to enter Trianon, she sent to desire he would come to me, and directed me to inform that celebrated advocate of M. De Castelnaux'sderangement, and then to send for him that M. De Seze might have someconversation with him. He talked to him nearly an hour, and madeconsiderable impression upon his mind; and at last M. De Castelnauxrequested me to inform the Queen positively that, since his presence wasdisagreeable to her, he would retire to his province. The Queen was verymuch rejoiced, and desired me to express her full satisfaction to M. DeSeze. Half an hour after M. De Seze was gone the unhappy madman wasannounced. He came to tell me that he withdrew his promise, that he hadnot sufficient command of himself to give up seeing the Queen as often aspossible. This new determination: was a disagreeable message to take toher Majesty but how was I affected at hearing her say, "Well, let himannoy me! but do not let him be deprived of the blessing of freedom. "

[On the arrest of the King and Queen at Varennes, this unfortunateCastelnaux attempted to starve himself to death. The people in whosehouse he lived, becoming uneasy at his absence, had the door of his roomforced open, when he was found stretched senseless on the floor. I do notknow what became of him after the 10th of August. --MADAME CAMPAN. ]

The direct influence of the Queen on affairs during the earlier years ofthe reign was shown only in her exertions to obtain from the King arevision of the decrees in two celebrated causes. It was contrary to herprinciples to interfere in matters of justice, and never did she availherself of her influence to bias the tribunals. The Duchesse de Praslin, through a criminal caprice, carried her enmity to her husband so far as todisinherit her children in favour of the family of M. De Guemenee. TheDuchesse de Choiseul, who, was warmly interested in this affair, one dayentreated the Queen, in my presence, at least to condescend to ask thefirst president when the cause would be called on; the Queen replied thatshe could not even do that, for it would manifest an interest which it washer duty not to show. 

If the King had not inspired the Queen with a lively feeling of love, itis quite certain that she yielded him respect and affection for thegoodness of his disposition and the equity of which he gave so many proofsthroughout his reign. One evening she returned very late; she came out ofthe King's closet, and said to M. De Misery and myself, drying her eyes, which were filled with tears, "You see me weeping, but do not be uneasy atit: these are the sweetest tears that a wife can shed; they are caused bythe impression which the justice and goodness of the King have made uponme; he has just complied with my request for a revision of the proceedingsagainst Messieurs de Bellegarde and de Monthieu, victims of the Ducd'Aiguillon's hatred to the Duc de Choiseul. He has been equally just tothe Duc de Guines in his affair with Tort. It is a happy thing for a queento be able to admire and esteem him who has admitted her to aparticipation of his throne; and as to you, I congratulate you upon yourhaving to live under the sceptre of so virtuous a sovereign. "

The Queen laid before the King all the memorials of the Duc de Guines, who, during his embassy to England, was involved in difficulties by asecretary, who speculated in the public funds in London on his ownaccount, but in such a manner as to throw a suspicion of it on theambassador. Messieurs de Vergennes and Turgot, bearing but littlegood-will to the Duc de Guines, who was the friend of the Duc de Choiseul, were not disposed to render the ambassador any service. The Queensucceeded in fixing the King's particular attention on this affair, andthe innocence of the Duc de Guines triumphed through the equity of LouisXVI. 

An incessant underhand war was carried on between the friends andpartisans of M. De Choiseul, who were called the Austrians, and those whosided with Messieurs d'Aiguillon, de Maurepas, and de Vergennes, who, forthe same reason, kept up the intrigues carried on at Court and in Parisagainst the Queen. Marie Antoinette, on her part, supported those who hadsuffered in this political quarrel, and it was this feeling which led herto ask for a revision of the proceedings against Messieurs de Bellegardeand de Monthieu. The first, a colonel and inspector of artillery, and thesecond, proprietor of a foundry at St. Etienne, were, under the Ministryof the Duc d'Aiguillon, condemned to imprisonment for twenty years and aday for having withdrawn from the arsenals of France, by order of the Ducde Choiseul, a vast number of muskets, as being of no value except as oldiron, while in point of fact the greater part of those muskets wereimmediately embarked and sold to the Americans. It appears that the Ducde Choiseul imparted to the Queen, as grounds of defence for the accused, the political views which led him to authorise that reduction and sale inthe manner in which it had been executed. It rendered the case ofMessieurs de Bellegarde and de Monthieu more unfavourable that theartillery officer who made the reduction in the capacity of inspector was, through a clandestine marriage, brother-in-law of the owner of thefoundry, the purchaser of the rejected arms. The innocence of the twoprisoners was, nevertheless, made apparent; and they came to Versailleswith their wives and children to throw themselves at the feet of theirbenefactress. This affecting scene took place in the grand gallery, atthe entrance to the Queen's apartment. She wished to restrain the womenfrom kneeling, saying that they had only had justice done them; and thatshe ought to be congratulated upon the most substantial happinessattendant upon her station, that of laying just appeals before the King. 

On every occasion, when the Queen had to speak in public, she used themost appropriate and elegant language, notwithstanding the difficulty aforeigner might be expected to experience. She answered all addressesherself, a custom which she learned at the Court of Maria Theresa. ThePrincesses of the House of Bourbon had long ceased to take the trouble ofspeaking in such cases. Madame Addlaide blamed the Queen for not doing asthey did, assuring her that it was quite sufficient to mutter a few wordsthat might sound like an answer, while the addressers, occupied with whatthey had themselves been saying, would always take it for granted that aproper answer had been returned. The Queen saw that idleness alonedictated such a proceeding, and that as the practice even of muttering afew words showed the necessity of answering in some way, it must be moreproper to reply simply but clearly, and in the best style possible. Sometimes indeed, when apprised of the subject of the address, she wouldwrite down her answer in the morning, not to learn it by heart, but inorder to settle the ideas or sentiments she wished to introduce. 

The influence of the Comtesse de Polignac increased daily; and her friendsavailed themselves of it to effect changes in the Ministry. The dismissalof M. De Montbarrey, a man without talents or character, was generallyapproved of. It was rightly attributed to the Queen. He had been placedin administration by M. De Maurepas, and maintained by his aged wife;both, of course, became more inveterate than ever against the Queen andthe Polignac circle. 

The appointment of M. De Segur to the place of Minister of War, and of M. De Castries to that of Minister of Marine, were wholly the work of thatcircle. The Queen dreaded making ministers; her favourite often wept whenthe men of her circle compelled her to interfere. Men blame women formeddling in business, and yet in courts it is continually the menthemselves who make use of the influence of the women in matters withwhich the latter ought to have nothing to do. 

When M. De Segur was presented to the Queen on his new appointment, shesaid to me, "You have just seen a minister of my making. I am very glad, so far as regards the King's service, that he is appointed, for I thinkthe selection a very good one; but I almost regret the part I have takenin it. I take a responsibility upon myself. I was fortunate in beingfree from any; and in order to relieve myself from this as much aspossible I have just promised M. De Segur, and that upon my word ofhonour, not to back any petition, nor to hinder any of his operations bysolicitations on behalf of my proteges. "

During the first administration of M. Necker, whose ambition had not thendrawn him into schemes repugnant to his better judgment, and whose viewsappeared to the Queen to be very judicious, she indulged in hopes of therestoration of the finances. Knowing that M. De Maurepas wished to driveM. Necker to resign, she urged him to have patience until the death of anold man whom the King kept about him from a fondness for his first choice, and out of respect for his advanced age. She even went so far as to tellhim that M. De Maurepas was always ill, and that his end could not be verydistant. M. Necker would not wait for that event. The Queen's predictionwas fulfilled. M. De Maurepas ended his days immediately after a journeyto Fontainebleau in 1781. 

M. Necker had retired. He had been exasperated by a piece of treachery inthe old minister, for which he could not forgive him. I knew something ofthis intrigue at the time; it has since been fully explained to me byMadame la Marechale de Beauvau. M. Necker saw that his credit at Courtwas declining, and fearing lest that circumstance should injure hisfinancial operations, he requested the King to grant him some favour whichmight show the public that he had not lost the confidence of hissovereign. He concluded his letter by pointing out five requests--such anoffice, or such a mark of distinction, or such a badge of honour, and soon, and handed it to M. De Maurepas. The or's were changed into and's;and the King was displeased at M. Necker's ambition, and the assurancewith which he displayed it. Madame la Marechale de Beauvau assured methat the Marechal de Castries saw the minute of M. Necker's letter, andthat he likewise saw the altered copy. 

The interest which the Queen took in M. Necker died away during hisretirement, and at last changed into strong prejudice against him. Hewrote too much about the measures he would have pursued, and the benefitsthat would have resulted to the State from them. The ministers whosucceeded him thought their operations embarrassed by the care that M. Necker and his partisans incessantly took to occupy the public with hisplans; his friends were too ardent. The Queen discerned a party spirit inthese combinations, and sided wholly with his enemies. 

After those inefficient comptrollers-general, Messieurs Joly de Fleury andd'Ormesson, it became necessary to resort to a man of more acknowledgedtalent, and the Queen's friends, at that time combining with the Comted'Artois and with M. De Vergennes, got M. De Calonne appointed. The Queenwas highly displeased, and her close intimacy with the Duchesse dePolignac began to suffer for this. 

Her Majesty, continuing to converse with me upon the difficulties she hadmet with in private life, told me that ambitious men without meritsometimes found means to gain their ends by dint of importunity, and thatshe had to blame herself for having procured M. D'Adhemar's appointment tothe London embassy, merely because he teased her into it at the Duchess'shouse. She added, however, that it was at a time of perfect peace withthe English; that the Ministry knew the inefficiency of M. D'Adhemar aswell as she did, and that he could do neither harm nor good. 

Often in conversations of unreserved frankness the Queen owned that shehad purchased rather dearly a piece of experience which would make hercarefully watch over the conduct of her daughters-in-law, and that shewould be particularly scrupulous about the qualifications of the ladieswho might attend them; that no consideration of rank or favour should biasher in so important a choice. She attributed several of her youthfulmistakes to a lady of great levity, whom she found in her palace on herarrival in France. She also determined to forbid the Princesses comingunder her control the practice of singing with professors, and said, candidly, and with as much severity as her slanderers could have done, "Iought to have heard Garat sing, and never to have sung duets with him. "

The indiscreet zeal of Monsieur Augeard contributed to the public beliefthat the Queen disposed of all the offices of finance. He had, withoutany authority for doing so, required the committee of fermiers-general toinform him of all vacancies, assuring them that they would be meeting thewishes of the Queen. The members complied, but not without murmuring. When the Queen became aware of what her secretary had done, she highlydisapproved of it, caused her resentment to be made known to thefermiers-general, and abstained from asking for appointments, --making onlyone request of the kind, as a marriage portion for one of her attendants, a young woman of good family. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Queen did not sufficiently conceal the dissatisfaction she felt athaving been unable to prevent the appointment of M. De Calonne; she evenone day went so far as to say at the Duchess's, in the midst of thepartisans and protectors of that minister, that the finances of Francepassed alternately from the hands of an honest man without talent intothose of a skilful knave. M. De Calonne was thus far from acting inconcert with the Queen all the time that he continued in office; and, while dull verses were circulated about Paris describing the Queen and herfavourite dipping at pleasure into the coffers of the comptroller-general, the Queen was avoiding all communication with him. 

During the long and severe winter of 1783-84 the King gave three millionsof livres for the relief of the indigent. M. De Calonne, who felt thenecessity of making advances to the Queen, caught at this opportunity ofshowing her respect and devotion. He offered to place in her hands onemillion of the three, to be distributed in her name and under herdirection. His proposal was rejected; the Queen answered that the charityought to be wholly distributed in the King's name, and that she would thisyear debar herself of even the slightest enjoyments, in order tocontribute all her savings to the relief of the unfortunate. 

The moment M. De Calonne left the closet the Queen sent for me:"Congratulate me, my dear, " said she; "I have just escaped a snare, or atleast a matter which eventually might have caused me much regret. " Sherelated the conversation which had taken place word for word to me, adding, "That man will complete the ruin of the national finances. It issaid that I placed him in his situation. The people are made to believethat I am extravagant; yet I have refused to suffer a sum of money fromthe royal treasury, although destined for the most laudable purpose, evento pass through my hands. "

The Queen, making monthly retrenchments from the expenditure of her privypurse, and not having spent the gifts customary at the period of herconfinement, was in possession of from five to six hundred thousandfrancs, her own savings. She made use of from two to three hundredthousand francs of this, which her first women sent to M. Lenoir, to thecures of Paris and Versailles, and to the Soeurs Hospitalieres, and sodistributed them among families in need. 

Desirous to implant in the breast of her daughter not only a desire tosuccour the unfortunate, but those qualities necessary for the duedischarge of that duty, the Queen incessantly talked to her, though shewas yet very young, about the sufferings of the poor during a season soinclement. The Princess already had a sum of from eight to ten thousandfrancs for charitable purposes, and the Queen made her distribute part ofit herself. 

Wishing to give her children yet another lesson of beneficence, shedesired me on New Year's eve to get from Paris, as in other years, all thefashionable playthings, and have them spread out in her closet. Thentaking her children by the hand, she showed them all the dolls andmechanical toys which were ranged there, and told them that she hadintended to give them some handsome New Year's gifts, but that the coldmade the poor so wretched that all her money was spent in blankets andclothes to protect them from the rigour of the season, and in supplyingthem with bread; so that this year they would only have the pleasure oflooking at the new playthings. When she returned with her children intoher sitting-room, she said there was still an unavoidable expense to beincurred; that assuredly many mothers would at that season think as shedid, --that the toyman must lose by it; and therefore she gave him fiftyLouis to repay him for the cost of his journey, and console him for havingsold nothing. 

The purchase of St. Cloud, a matter very simple in itself, had, on accountof the prevailing spirit, unfavourable consequences to the Queen. 

The palace of Versailles, pulled to pieces in the interior by a variety ofnew arrangements, and mutilated in point of uniformity by the removal ofthe ambassadors' staircase, and of the peristyle of columns placed at theend of the marble court, was equally in want of substantial and ornamentalrepair. The King therefore desired M. Micque to lay before him severalplans for the repairs of the palace. He consulted me on certainarrangements analogous to some of those adopted in the Queen'sestablishment, and in my presence asked M. Micque how much money would bewanted for the execution of the whole work, and how many years he would bein completing it. I forget how many millions were mentioned: M. Micquereplied that six years would be sufficient time if the Treasury made thenecessary periodical advances without any delay. "And how many yearsshall you require, " said the King, "if the advances are not punctuallymade?"--"Ten, Sire, " replied the architect. "We must then reckon upon tenyears, " said his Majesty, "and put off this great undertaking until theyear 1790; it will occupy the rest of the century. "

The King afterwards talked of the depreciation of property which tookplace at Versailles whilst the Regent removed the Court of Louis XV. Tothe Tuileries, and said that he must consider how to prevent thatinconvenience; it was the desire to do this that promoted the purchase ofSt. Cloud. The Queen first thought of it one day when she was riding outwith the Duchesse de Polignac and the Comtesse Diane; she mentioned it tothe King, who was much pleased with the thought, --the purchase confirminghim in the intention, which he had entertained for ten years, of quittingVersailles. 

The King determined that the ministers, public officers, pages, and aconsiderable part of his stabling should remain at Versailles. Messieursde Breteuil and de Calonne were instructed to treat with the Duc d'Orleansfor the purchase of St. Cloud; at first they hoped to be able to concludethe business by a mere exchange. The value of the Chateau de Choisy, dela Muette, and a forest was equivalent to the sum demanded by the House ofOrleans; and in the exchange which the Queen expected she only saw asaving to be made instead of an increase of expense. By this arrangementthe government of Choisy, in the hands of the Duc de Coigny, and that ofLa Muette, in the hands of the Marechal de Soubise, would be suppressed. At the same time the two concierges, and all the servants employed inthese two royal houses, would be reduced; but while the treaty was goingforward Messieurs de Breteuil and de Calonne gave up the point ofexchange, and some millions in cash were substituted for Choisy and LaMuette. 

The Queen advised the King to give her St. Cloud, as a means of avoidingthe establishment of a governor; her plan being to have merely a conciergethere, by which means the governor's expenses would be saved. The Kingagreed, and St. Cloud was purchased for the Queen. She provided the sameliveries for the porters at the gates and servants at the chateau as forthose at Trianon. The concierge at the latter place had put up someregulations for the household, headed, "By order of the Queen. " The samething was done at St. Cloud. The Queen's livery at the door of a palacewhere it was expected none but that of the King would be seen, and thewords "By order of the Queen" at the head of the printed papers pastednear the iron gates, caused a great sensation, and produced a veryunfortunate effect, not only among the common people, but also. Amongpersons of a superior class. They saw in it an attack upon the customs ofmonarchy, and customs are nearly equal to laws. The Queen heard of this, but she thought that her dignity would be compromised if she made anychange in the form of these regulations, though they might have beenaltogether superseded without inconvenience. "My name is not out ofplace, " said she, "in gardens belonging to myself; I may give orders therewithout infringing on the rights of the State. " This was her only answerto the representations which a few faithful servants ventured to make onthe subject. The discontent of the Parisians on this occasion probablyinduced M. D'Espremenil, upon the first troubles about the Parliament, tosay that it was impolitic and immoral to see palaces belonging to a Queenof France. 

[The Queen never forgot this affront of M. D'Espremenil's; she said thatas it was offered at a time when social order had not yet been disturbed, she had felt the severest mortification at it. Shortly before thedownfall of the throne M. Espremenil, having openly espoused the King'sside, was insulted in the gardens of the Tuileries by the Jacobins, and soill-treated that he was carried home very ill. Somebody recommended theQueen, on account of the royalist principles he then professed, to sendand inquire for him. She replied that she was truly grieved at what hadhappened to M. D'Espremenil, but that mere policy should never induce herto show any particular solicitude about the man who had been the first tomake so insulting an attack upon her character. --MADAME CAMPAN]

The Queen was very much dissatisfied with the manner in which M. DeCalonne had managed this matter. The Abbe de Vermond, the most active andpersevering of that minister's enemies, saw with delight that theexpedients of those from whom alone new resources might be expected weregradually becoming exhausted, because the period when the Archbishop ofToulouse would be placed over the finances was thereby hastened. 

The royal navy had resumed an imposing attitude during the war for theindependence of America; glorious peace with England had compensated forthe former attacks of our enemies upon the fame of France; and the thronewas surrounded by numerous heirs. The sole ground of uneasiness was inthe finances, but that uneasiness related only to the manner in which theywere administered. In a word, France felt confident in its own strengthand resources, when two events, which seem scarcely worthy of a place inhistory, but which have, nevertheless, an important one in that of theFrench Revolution, introduced a spirit of ridicule and contempt, not onlyagainst the highest ranks, but even against the most august personages. Iallude to a comedy and a great swindling transaction. 

Beaumarchais had long possessed a reputation in certain circles in Parisfor his wit and musical talents, and at the theatres for dramas more orless indifferent, when his "Barbier de Seville" procured him a higherposition among dramatic writers. His "Memoirs" against M. Goesman hadamused Paris by the ridicule they threw upon a Parliament which wasdisliked; and his admission to an intimacy with M. De Maurepas procuredhim a degree of influence over important affairs. He then becameambitious of influencing public opinion by a kind of drama, in whichestablished manners and customs should be held up to popular derision andthe ridicule of the new philosophers. After several years of prosperitythe minds of the French had become more generally critical; and whenBeaumarchais had finished his monstrous but diverting "Mariage de Figaro, "all people of any consequence were eager for the gratification of hearingit read, the censors having decided that it should not be performed. These readings of "Figaro" grew so numerous that people were daily heardto say, "I have been (or I am going to be) at the reading ofBeaumarchais's play. " The desire to see it performed became universal; anexpression that he had the art to use compelled, as it were, theapprobation of the nobility, or of persons in power, who aimed at rankingamong the magnanimous; he made his "Figaro" say that "none but littleminds dreaded little books. " The Baron de Breteuil, and all the men ofMadame de Polignac's circle, entered the lists as the warmest protectorsof the comedy. Solicitations to the King became so pressing that hisMajesty determined to judge for himself of a work which so much engrossedpublic attention, and desired me to ask M. Le Noir, lieutenant of police, for the manuscript of the "Mariage de Figaro. " One morning I received anote from the Queen ordering me to be with her at three o'clock, and notto come without having dined, for she should detain me some time. When Igot to the Queen's inner closet I found her alone with the King; a chairand a small table were ready placed opposite to them, and upon the tablelay an enormous manuscript in several books. The King said to me, "Thereis Beaumarchais's comedy; you must read it to us. You will find severalparts troublesome on account of the erasures and references. I havealready run it over, but I wish the Queen to be acquainted with the work. You will not mention this reading to any one. "

I began. The King frequently interrupted me by praise or censure, whichwas always just. He frequently exclaimed, "That's in bad taste; this mancontinually brings the Italian concetti on the stage. " At that soliloquyof Figaro in which he attacks various points of government, and especiallyat the tirade against State prisons, the King rose up and said, indignantly:

"That's detestable; that shall never be played; the Bastille must bedestroyed before the license to act this play can be any other than an actof the most dangerous inconsistency. This man scoffs at everything thatshould be respected in a government. "

"It will not be played, then?" said the Queen. 

"No, certainly, " replied Louis XVI. ; "you may rely upon that. "

Still it was constantly reported that "Figaro" was about to be performed;there were even wagers laid upon the subject; I never should have laid anymyself, fancying that I was better informed as to the probability thananybody else; if I had, however, I should have been completely deceived. The protectors of Beaumarchais, feeling certain that they would succeed intheir scheme of making his work public in spite of the King's prohibition, distributed the parts in the "Mariage de Figaro" among the actors of theTheatre Francais. Beaumarchais had made them enter into the spirit of hischaracters, and they determined to enjoy at least one performance of thisso-called chef d'oeuvre. The first gentlemen of the chamber agreed thatM. De la Ferte should lend the theatre of the Hotel des Menus Plaisirs, atParis, which was used for rehearsals of the opera; tickets weredistributed to a vast number of leaders of society, and the day for theperformance was fixed. The King heard of all this only on the verymorning, and signed a 'lettre de cachet, '--[A 'lettre de cachet' was anywritten order proceeding from the King. The term was not confined merelyto orders for arrest. ]--which prohibited the performance. When themessenger who brought the order arrived, he found a part of the theatrealready filled with spectators, and the streets leading to the Hotel desMenus Plaisirs filled with carriages; the piece was not performed. Thisprohibition of the King's was looked upon as an attack on public liberty. 

The disappointment produced such discontent that the words oppression andtyranny were uttered with no less passion and bitterness at that time thanduring the days which immediately preceded the downfall of the throne. Beaumarchais was so far put off his guard by rage as to exclaim, "Well, gentlemen, he won't suffer it to be played here; but I swear it shall beplayed, --perhaps in the very choir of Notre-Dame!" There was somethingprophetic in these words. It was generally insinuated shortly afterwardsthat Beaumarchais had determined to suppress all those parts of his workwhich could be obnoxious to the Government; and on pretence of judging ofthe sacrifices made by the author, M. De Vaudreuil obtained permission tohave this far-famed "Mariage de Figaro" performed at his country house. M. Campan was asked there; he had frequently heard the work read, and didnot now find the alterations that had been announced; this he observed toseveral persons belonging to the Court, who maintained that the author hadmade all the sacrifices required. M. Campan was so astonished at thesepersistent assertions of an obvious falsehood that he replied by aquotation from Beaumarchais himself, and assuming the tone of Basilio inthe "Barbier de Seville, " he said, "Faith, gentlemen, I don't know who isdeceived here; everybody is in the secret. " They then came to the point, and begged him to tell the Queen positively that all which had beenpronounced reprehensible in M. De Beaumarchais's play had been cut out. My father-in-law contented himself with replying that his situation atCourt would not allow of his giving an opinion unless the Queen shouldfirst speak of the piece to him. The Queen said nothing to him about thematter. Shortly, afterwards permission to perform this play was at lengthobtained. The Queen thought the people of Paris would be finely trickedwhen they saw merely an ill-conceived piece, devoid of interest, as itmust appear when deprived of its Satire. 

["The King, " says Grimm, "made sure that the public would judgeunfavourably of the work. " He said to the Marquis de Montesquiou, who wasgoing to see the first representation, 'Well, what do you augur of itssuccess?'--'Sire, I hope the piece will fail. '--'And so do I, ' replied theKing. 

"There is something still more ridiculous than my piece, " saidBeaumarchais himself; "that is, its success. " Mademoiselle Arnouldforesaw it the first day, and exclaimed, "It is a production that willfail fifty nights successively. " There was as crowded an audience on theseventy-second night as on the first. The following is extracted fromGrimm's 'Correspondence. '

"Answer of M. De Beaumarchais to -----, who requested the use of hisprivate box for some ladies desirous of seeing 'Figaro' without beingthemselves seen. 

"I have no respect for women who indulge themselves in seeing any playwhich they think indecorous, provided they can do so in secret. I lendmyself to no such acts. I have given my piece to the public, to amuse, and not to instruct, not to give any compounding prudes the pleasure ofgoing to admire it in a private box, and balancing their account withconscience by censuring it in company. To indulge in the pleasure of viceand assume the credit of virtue is the hypocrisy of the age. My piece isnot of a doubtful nature; it must be patronised in good earnest, oravoided altogether; therefore, with all respect to you, I shall keep mybox. " This letter was circulated all over Paris for a week. ]

Under the persuasion that there was not a passage left capable ofmalicious or dangerous application, Monsieur attended the firstperformance in a public box. The mad enthusiasm of the public in favourof the piece and Monsieur's just displeasure are well known. The authorwas sent to prison soon afterwards, though his work was extolled to theskies, and though the Court durst not suspend its performance. 

The Queen testified her displeasure against all who had assisted theauthor of the "Mariage de Figaro" to deceive the King into giving hisconsent that it should be represented. Her reproaches were moreparticularly directed against M. De Vaudreuil for having had it performedat his house. The violent and domineering disposition of her favourite'sfriend at last became disagreeable to her. 

One evening, on the Queen's return from the Duchess's, she desired her'valet de chambre' to bring her billiard cue into her closet, and orderedme to open the box that contained it. I took out the cue, broken in two. It was of ivory, and formed of one single elephant's tooth; the butt wasof gold and very tastefully wrought. "There, " said she, "that is the wayM. De Vaudreuil has treated a thing I valued highly. I had laid it uponthe couch while I was talking to the Duchess in the salon; he had theassurance to make use of it, and in a fit of passion about a blocked ball, he struck the cue so violently against the table that he broke it in two. The noise brought me back into the billiard-room; I did not say a word tohim, but my looks showed him how angry I was. He is the more provoked atthe accident, as he aspires to the post of Governor to the Dauphin. Inever thought of him for the place. It is quite enough to have consultedmy heart only in the choice of a governess; and I will not suffer that ofa Governor to the Dauphin to be at all affected by the influence of myfriends. I should be responsible for it to the nation. The poor man doesnot know that my determination is taken; for I have never expressed it tothe Duchess. Therefore, judge of the sort of an evening he must havepassed!"

CHAPTER XIII. 

Shortly after the public mind had been thrown into agitation by theperformance of the "Mariage de Figaro, " an obscure plot, contrived byswindlers, and matured in a corrupted society, attacked the Queen'scharacter in a vital point and assailed the majesty of the throne. 

I am about to speak of the notorious affair of the necklace purchased, asit was said, for the Queen by Cardinal de Rohan. I will narrate all thathas come to my knowledge relating to this business; the most minuteparticulars will prove how little reason the Queen had to apprehend theblow by which she was threatened, and which must be attributed to afatality that human prudence could not have foreseen, but from which, tosay the truth, she might have extricated herself with more skill. 

I have already said that in 1774 the Queen purchased jewels of Boehmer tothe value of three hundred and sixty thousand franca, that she paid forthem herself out of her own private funds, and that it required severalyears to enable her to complete the payment. The King afterwardspresented her with a set of rubies and diamonds of a fine water, andsubsequently with a pair of bracelets worth two hundred thousand francs. The Queen, after having her diamonds reset in new patterns, told Boehmerthat she found her jewel case rich enough, and was not desirous of makingany addition to it. 

[Except on those days when the assemblies at Court were particularlyattended, such as the 1st of January and the 2d of February, devoted tothe procession of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and on the festivals ofEaster, Whitsuntide, and Christmas, the Queen no longer wore any dressesbut muslin or white Florentine taffety. Her head-dress was merely a hat;the plainest were preferred; and her diamonds never quitted their casketsbut for the dresses of ceremony, confined to the days I have mentioned. Before the Queen was five and twenty she began to apprehend that she mightbe induced to make too frequent use of flowers and of ornaments, which atthat time were exclusively reserved for youth. Madame Bertin havingbrought a wreath for the head and neck, composed of roses, the Queenfeared that the brightness of the flowers might be disadvantageous to hercomplexion. She was unquestionably too severe upon herself, her beautyhaving as yet experienced no alteration; it is easy to conceive theconcert of praise and compliment that replied to the doubt she hadexpressed. The Queen, approaching me, said, "I charge you, from this day, to give me notice when flowers shall cease to become me. "--"I shall do nosuch thing, " I replied, immediately; "I have not read 'Gil Bias' withoutprofiting in some degree from it, and I find your Majesty's order too muchlike that given him by the Archbishop of Granada, to warn him of themoment when he should begin to fall off in the composition of hishomilies. "--"Go, " said the Queen; "You are less sincere than Gil Blas; andI world have been more amenable than the Archbishop. "--MADAME CAMPAN. ]

Still, this jeweller busied himself for some years in forming a collectionof the finest diamonds circulating in the trade, in order to compose anecklace of several rows, which he hoped to induce her Majesty topurchase; he brought it to M. Campan, requesting him to mention it to theQueen, that she might ask to see it, and thus be induced to wish topossess it. This M. Campan refused to do, telling him that he should bestepping out of the line of his duty were he to propose to the Queen anexpense of sixteen hundred thousand francs, and that he believed neitherthe lady of honour nor the tirewoman would take upon herself to executesuch a commission. Boehmer persuaded the King's first gentleman for theyear to show this superb necklace to his Majesty, who admired it so muchthat he himself wished to see the Queen adorned with it, and sent the caseto her; but she assured him she should much regret incurring so great anexpense for such an article, that she had already very beautiful diamonds, that jewels of that description were now worn at Court not more than fouror five times a year, that the necklace must be returned, and that themoney would be much better employed in building a man-of-war. 

[Messieurs Boehmer and Bassange, jewellers to the Crown, were proprietorsof a superb diamond necklace, which had, as it was said, been intended forthe Comtesse du Barry. Being under the necessity of selling it, theyoffered it, during the last war, to the king and Queen; but theirMajesties made the following prudent answer: "We stand more in need ofships than of jewels. "--"Secret Correspondence of the Court of LouisXVI. "]

Boehmer, in sad tribulation at finding his expectations delusive, endeavoured for some time, it is said, to dispose of his necklace amongthe various Courts of Europe. 

A year after his fruitless attempts, Boehmer again caused his diamondnecklace to be offered to the King, proposing that it should be paid forpartly by instalments, and partly in life annuities; this proposal wasrepresented as highly advantageous, and the King, in my presence, mentioned the matter once more to the Queen. I remember the Queen toldhim that, if the bargain really was not bad, he might make it, and keepthe necklace until the marriage of one of his children; but that, for herpart, she would never wear it, being unwilling that the world should haveto reproach her with having coveted so expensive an article. The Kingreplied that their children were too young to justify such an expense, which would be greatly increased by the number of years the diamonds wouldremain useless, and that he would finally decline the offer. Boehmercomplained to everybody of his misfortune, and all reasonable peopleblamed him for having collected diamonds to so considerable an amountwithout any positive order for them. This man had purchased the office ofjeweller to the Crown, which gave him some rights of entry at Court. After several months spent in ineffectual attempts to carry his point, andin idle complaints, he obtained an audience of the Queen, who had with herthe young Princess, her daughter; her Majesty did not know for whatpurpose Boehmer sought this audience, and had not the slightest idea thatit was to speak to her again about an article twice refused by herself andthe King. 

Boehmer threw himself upon his knees, clasped his hands, burst into tears, and exclaimed, "Madame, I am ruined and disgraced if you do not purchasemy necklace. I cannot outlive so many misfortunes. When I go hence Ishall throw myself into the river. "

"Rise, Boehmer, " said the Queen, in a tone sufficiently severe to recallhim to himself; "I do not like these rhapsodies; honest men have nooccasion to fall on their knees to make their requests. If you were todestroy yourself I should regret you as a madman in whom I had taken aninterest, but I should not be in any way responsible for that misfortune. Not only have I never ordered the article which causes your presentdespair, but whenever you have talked to me about fine collections ofjewels I have told you that I should not add four diamonds to those whichI already possessed. I told you myself that I declined taking thenecklace; the King wished to give it to me, but I refused him also; nevermention it to me again. Divide it and try to sell it piecemeal, and donot drown yourself. I am very angry with you for acting this scene ofdespair in my presence and before this child. Let me never see you behavethus again. Go. " Baehmer withdrew, overwhelmed with confusion, andnothing further was then heard of him. 

When Madame Sophie was born the Queen told me M. De Saint-James, a richfinancier, had apprised her that Boehmer was still intent upon the sale ofhis necklace, and that she ought, for her own satisfaction, to endeavourto learn what the man had done with it; she desired me the first time Ishould meet him to speak to him about it, as if from the interest I tookin his welfare. I spoke to him about his necklace, and he told me he hadbeen very fortunate, having sold it at Constantinople for the favouritesultana. I communicated this answer to the Queen, who was delighted withit, but could not comprehend how the Sultan came to purchase his diamondsin Paris. 

The Queen long avoided seeing Boehmer, being fearful of his rashcharacter; and her valet de chambre, who had the care of her jewels, madethe necessary repairs to her ornaments unassisted. On the baptism of theDuc d'Angouleme, in 1785, the King gave him a diamond epaulet and buckles, and directed Baehmer to deliver them to the Queen. Boehmer presented themon her return from mass, and at the same time gave into her hands a letterin the form of a petition. In this paper he told the Queen that he washappy to see her "in possession of the finest diamonds known in Europe, "and entreated her not to forget him. The Queen read Boehmer's address toher aloud, and saw nothing in it but a proof of mental aberration; shelighted the paper at a wax taper standing near her, as she had someletters to seal, saying, "It is not worth keeping. " She afterwards muchregretted the loss of this enigmatical memorial. After having burnt thepaper, her Majesty said to me, "That man is born to be my torment; he hasalways some mad scheme in his head; remember, the first time you see him, to tell him that I do not like diamonds now, and that I will buy no moreso long as I live; that if I had any money to spare I would rather add tomy property at St. Cloud by the purchase of the land surrounding it; now, mind you enter into all these particulars and impress them well upon him. "I asked her whether she wished me to send for him; she replied in thenegative, adding that it would be sufficient to avail myself of the firstopportunity afforded by meeting him; and that the slightest advancetowards such a man would be misplaced. 

On the 1st of August I left Versailles for my country house at Crespy; onthe 3d came Boehmer, extremely uneasy at not having received any answerfrom the Queen, to ask me whether I had any commission from her to him; Ireplied that she had entrusted me with none; that she had no commands forhim, and I faithfully repeated all she had desired me to say to him. 

"But, " said Boehmer, "the answer to the letter I presented to her, --towhom must I apply for that?"

"To nobody, " answered I; "her Majesty burnt your memorial without evencomprehending its meaning. "

"Ah! madame, " exclaimed he, "that is impossible; the Queen knows that shehas money to pay me!"

"Money, M. Boehmer? Your last accounts against the Queen were dischargedlong ago. "

"Madame, you are not in the secret. A man who is ruined for want ofpayment of fifteen hundred thousand francs cannot be said to besatisfied. "

"Have you lost your senses?" said I. "For what can the Queen owe you soextravagant a sum?"

"For my necklace, madame, " replied Boehmer, coolly. 

"What!" I exclaimed, "that necklace again, which you have teased the Queenabout so many years! Did you not tell me you had sold it atConstantinople?"

"The Queen desired me to give that answer to all who should speak to me onthe subject, " said the wretched dupe. He then told me that the Queenwished to have the necklace, and had had it purchased for her byMonseigneur, the Cardinal de Rohan. 

"You are deceived, " I exclaimed; "the Queen has not once spoken to theCardinal since his return from Vienna; there is not a man at her Courtless favourably looked upon. "

"You are deceived yourself, madame, " said Boehmer; "she sees him so muchin private that it was to his Eminence she gave thirty thousand francs, which were paid me as an instalment; she took them, in his presence, outof the little secretaire of Sevres porcelain next the fireplace in herboudoir. "

"And the Cardinal told you all this?"

"Yes, madame, himself. "

"What a detestable plot!" cried I. 

"Indeed, to say the truth, madame, I begin to be much alarmed, for hisEminence assured me that the Queen would wear the necklace on Whit-Sunday, but I did not see it upon her, and it was that which induced me to writeto her Majesty. "

He then asked me what he ought to do. I advised him to go on toVersailles, instead of returning to Paris, whence he had just arrived; toobtain an immediate audience from the Baron de Breteuil, who, as head ofthe King's household, was the minister of the department to which Boehmerbelonged, and to be circumspect; and I added that he appeared to meextremely culpable, --not as a diamond merchant, but because being a swornofficer it was unpardonable of him to have acted without the direct ordersof the King, the Queen, or the Minister. He answered, that he had notacted without direct orders; that he had in his possession all the notessigned by the Queen, and that he had even been obliged to show them toseveral bankers in order to induce them to extend the time for hispayments. I urged his departure for Versailles, and he assured me hewould go there immediately. Instead of following my advice, he went tothe Cardinal, and it was of this visit of Boehmer's that his Eminence madea memorandum, found in a drawer overlooked by the Abbe Georgel when heburnt, by order of the Cardinal, all the papers which the latter had atParis. The memorandum was thus worded: "On this day, 3d August, Boehmerwent to Madame Campan's country house, and she told him that the Queen hadnever had his necklace, and that he had been deceived. "

When Boehmer was gone, I wanted to follow him, and go to the Queen; myfather-in-law prevented me, and ordered me to leave the minister toelucidate such an important affair, observing that it was an infernalplot; that I had given Boehmer the best advice, and had nothing more to dowith the business. Boehmer never said one word to me about the woman DeLamotte, and her name was mentioned for the first time by the Cardinal inhis answers to the interrogatories put to him before the King. Afterseeing the Cardinal, Boehmer went to Trianon, and sent a message to theQueen, purporting that I had advised him to come and speak to her. Hisvery words were repeated to her Majesty, who said, "He is mad; I havenothing to say to him, and will not see him. " Two or three daysafterwards the Queen sent for me to Petit Trianon, to rehearse with me thepart of Rosina, which she was to perform in the "Barbier de Seville. " Iwas alone with her, sitting upon her couch; no mention was made ofanything but the part. After we had spent an hour in the rehearsal, herMajesty asked me why I had sent Boehmer to her; saying he had been in myname to speak to her, and that she would not see him. It was in thismanner I learnt that he had not followed my advice in the slightestdegree. The change of my countenance, when I heard the man's name, wasvery perceptible; the Queen perceived it, and questioned me. I entreatedher to see him, and assured her it was of the utmost importance for herpeace of mind; that there was a plot going on, of which she was not aware;and that it was a serious one, since engagements signed by herself wereshown about to people who had lent Boehmer money. Her surprise andvexation were great. She desired me to remain at Trianon, and sent off acourier to Paris, ordering Boehmer to come to her upon some pretext whichhas escaped my recollection. He came next morning; in fact it was the dayon which the play was performed, and that was the last amusement the Queenallowed herself at that retreat. 

The Queen made him enter her closet, and asked him by what fatality it wasthat she was still doomed to hear of his foolish pretence of selling heran article which she had steadily refused for several years. He repliedthat he was compelled, being unable to pacify his creditors any longer. "What are your creditors to me?" said her Majesty. Boehmer thenregularly related to her all that he had been made to believe had passedbetween the Queen and himself through the intervention of the Cardinal. She was equally incensed and surprised at each thing she heard. In vaindid she speak; the jeweller, equally importunate and dangerous, repeatedincessantly, "Madame, there is no longer time for feigning; condescend toconfess that you have my necklace, and let some assistance be given to me, or my bankruptcy will soon bring the whole to light. "

It is easy to imagine how the Queen must have suffered. On Boehmer'sgoing away, I found her in an alarming condition; the idea that any onecould have believed that such a man as the Cardinal possessed her fullconfidence; that she should have employed him to deal with a tradesmanwithout the King's knowledge, for a thing which she had refused to acceptfrom the King himself, drove her to desperation. She sent first for theAbbe de Vermond, and then for the Baron de Breteuil. Their hatred andcontempt for the Cardinal made them too easily forget that the lowestfaults do not prevent the higher orders of the empire from being defendedby those to whom they have the honour to belong; that a Rohan, a Prince ofthe Church, however culpable he might be, would be sure to have aconsiderable party which would naturally be joined by all the discontentedpersons of the Court, and all the frondeurs of Paris. They too easilybelieved that he would be stripped of all the advantages of his rank andorder, and given up to the disgrace due to his irregular conduct; theydeceived themselves. 

I saw the Queen after the departure of the Baron and the Abbe; heragitation made me shudder. "Fraud must be unmasked, " said she; "when theRoman purple and the title of Prince cover a mere money-seeker, a cheatwho dares to compromise the wife of his sovereign, France and all Europeshould know it. " It is evident that from that moment the fatal plan wasdecided on. The Queen perceived my alarm; I did not conceal it from her. I knew too well that she had many enemies not to be apprehensive on seeingher attract the attention of the whole world to an intrigue that theywould try to complicate still more. I entreated her to seek the mostprudent and moderate advice. She silenced me by desiring me to makemyself easy, and to rest satisfied that no imprudence would be committed. 

On the following Sunday, the 15th of August, being the Assumption, attwelve o'clock, at the very moment when the Cardinal, dressed in hispontifical garments, was about to proceed to the chapel, he was sent forinto the King's closet, where the Queen then was. 

The King said to him, "You have purchased diamonds of Boehmer?"

"Yes, Sire. "

"What have you done with them?"

"I thought they had been delivered to the Queen. "

"Who commissioned you?"

"A lady, called the Comtesse de Lamotte-Valois, who handed me a letterfrom the Queen; and I thought I was gratifying her Majesty by taking thisbusiness on myself. "

The Queen here interrupted him and said, "How, monsieur, could you believethat I should select you, to whom I have not spoken for eight years, tonegotiate anything for me, and especially through the mediation of a womanwhom I do not even know?"

"I see plainly, " said the Cardinal, "that I have been duped. I will payfor the necklace; my desire to please your Majesty blinded me; I suspectedno trick in the affair, and I am sorry for it. "

He then took out of his pocket-book a letter from the Queen to Madame deLamotte, giving him this commission. The King took it, and, holding ittowards the Cardinal, said:

"This is neither written nor signed by the Queen. How could a Prince ofthe House of Rohan, and a Grand Almoner of France, ever think that theQueen would sign Marie Antoinette de France? Everybody knows that queenssign only by their baptismal names. But, monsieur, " pursued the King, handing him a copy of his letter to Baehmer, "have you ever written such aletter as this?"

Having glanced over it, the Cardinal said, "I do not remember havingwritten it. "

"But what if the original, signed by yourself, were shown to you?"

"If the letter be signed by myself it is genuine. "

He was extremely confused, and repeated several times, "I have beendeceived, Sire; I will pay for the necklace. I ask pardon of yourMajesties. "

"Then explain to me, " resumed the King, "the whole of this enigma. I donot wish to find you guilty; I had rather you would justify yourself. Account for all the manoeuvres with Baehmer, these assurances and theseletters. "

The Cardinal then, turning pale, and leaning against the table, said, "Sire, I am too much confused to answer your Majesty in a way--"

"Compose yourself, Cardinal, and go into my cabinet; you will there findpaper, pens, and ink, --write what you have to say to me. "

The Cardinal went into the King's cabinet, and returned a quarter of anhour afterwards with a document as confused as his verbal answers hadbeen. The King then said, "Withdraw, monsieur. " The Cardinal left theKing's chamber, with the Baron de Breteuil, who gave him in custody to alieutenant of the Body Guard, with orders to take him to his apartment. M. D'Agoult, aide-major of the Body Guard, afterwards took him into custody, and conducted him to his hotel, and thence to the Bastille. But while theCardinal had with him only the young lieutenant of the Body Guard, who wasmuch embarrassed at having such an order to execute, his Eminence met hisheyduc at the door of the Salon of Hercules; he spoke to him in German andthen asked the lieutenant if he could lend him a pencil; the officer gavehim that which he carried about him, and the Cardinal wrote to the AbbeGeorgel, his grand vicar and friend, instantly to burn all Madame deLamotte's correspondence, and all his other letters. 

[The Abbe Georgel thus relates the circumstance: The Cardinal, at thattrying moment, gave an astonishing proof of his presence of mind;notwithstanding the escort which surrounded him, favoured by the attendantcrowd, he stopped, and stooping down with his face towards the wall, as ifto fasten his buckle, snatched out his pencil and hastily wrote a fewwords upon a scrap of paper placed under his hand in his square red cap. He rose again and proceeded. On entering his house, his people formed alane; he slipped this paper, unperceived, into the hand of a confidentialvalet de chambre, who waited for him at the door of his apartment. " Thisstory is scarcely credible; it is not at the moment of a prisoner'sarrest, when an inquisitive crowd surrounds and watches him, that he canstop and write secret messages. However, the valet de chambre posts offto Paris. He arrives at the palace of the Cardinal between twelve and oneo'clock; and his horse falls dead in the stable. "I was in my apartment, "said the Abbe Georgel, "the valet de chambre entered wildly, with a deadlypaleness on his countenance, and exclaimed, 'All is lost; the Prince isarrested. ' He instantly fell, fainting, and dropped the note of which hewas the bearer. " The portfolio containing the papers which mightcompromise the Cardinal was immediately placed beyond the reach of allsearch. Madame de Lamotte also was foolishly allowed sufficient timeafter she heard of the arrest of the Cardinal to burn all the letters shehad received from him. Assisted by Beugnot, she completed this at threethe same morning that she was: arrested at four. --See "Memoirs of Comte deBeugnot, " vol i. , p. 74. ]

This commission was executed before M. De Crosne, lieutenant of police, had received an order from the Baron de Breteuil to put seals upon theCardinal's papers. The destruction of all his Eminence's correspondence, and particularly that with Madame de Lamotte, threw an impenetrable cloudover the whole affair. 

From that moment all proofs of this intrigue disappeared. Madame deLamotte was apprehended at Bar-sur-Aube; her husband had already gone toEngland. From the beginning of this fatal affair all the proceedings ofthe Court appear to have been prompted by imprudence and want offoresight; the obscurity resulting left free scope for the fables of whichthe voluminous memorials written on one side and the other consisted. TheQueen so little imagined what could have given rise to the intrigue, ofwhich she was about to become the victim, that, at the moment when theKing was interrogating the Cardinal, a terrific idea entered her mind. With that rapidity of thought caused by personal interest and extremeagitation, she fancied that, if a design to ruin her in the eyes of theKing and the French people were the concealed motive of this intrigue, theCardinal would, perhaps, affirm that she had the necklace; that he hadbeen honoured with her confidence for this purchase, made without theKing's knowledge; and point out some secret place in her apartment, wherehe might have got some villain to hide it. Want of money and the meanestswindling were the sole motives for this criminal affair. The necklacehad already been taken to pieces and sold, partly in London, partly inHolland, and the rest in Paris. 

The moment the Cardinal's arrest was known a universal clamour arose. Every memorial that appeared during the trial increased the outcry. Onthis occasion the clergy took that course which a little wisdom and theleast knowledge of the spirit of such a body ought to have foreseen. TheRohans and the House of Conde, as well as the clergy, made theircomplaints heard everywhere. The King consented to having a legaljudgment, and early in September he addressed letters-patent to theParliament, in which he said that he was "filled with the most justindignation on seeing the means which, by the confession of his Eminencethe Cardinal, had been employed in order to inculpate his most dear spouseand companion. "

Fatal moment! in which the Queen found herself, in consequence of thishighly impolitic step, on trial with a subject, who ought to have beendealt with by the power of the King alone. The Princes and Princesses ofthe House of Conde, and of the Houses of Rohan, Soubise, and Guemenee, puton mourning, and were seen ranged in the way of the members of the GrandChamber to salute them as they proceeded to the palace, on the days of theCardinal's trial; and Princes of the blood openly canvassed against theQueen of France. 

The Pope wished to claim, on behalf of the Cardinal de Rohan, the rightbelonging to his ecclesiastical rank, and demanded that he should bejudged at Rome. The Cardinal de Bernis, ambassador from France to hisHoliness, formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs, blending the wisdom of anold diplomatist with the principles of a Prince of the Church, wished thatthis scandalous affair should be hushed up. The King's aunts, who were onvery intimate terms with the ambassador, adopted his opinion, and theconduct of the King and Queen was equally and loudly censured in theapartments of Versailles and in the hotels and coffee-houses of Paris. 

Madame, the King's sister-in-law, had been the sole protectress of DeLamotte, and had confined her patronage to granting her a pension oftwelve to fifteen hundred francs. Her brother was in the navy, but theMarquis de Chabert, to whom he had been recommended, could never train agood officer. The Queen in vain endeavoured to call to mind the featuresof this person, of whom she had often heard as an intriguing woman, whocame frequently on Sundays to the gallery of Versailles. At the time whenall France was engrossed by the persecution against the Cardinal, theportrait of the Comtesse de Lamotte Valois was publicly sold. HerMajesty desired me one day, when I was going to Paris, to buy her theengraving, which was said to be a tolerable likeness, that she mightascertain whether she could recognise in it any person whom she might haveseen in the gallery. 

[The public, with the exception of the lowest class, were admitted intothe gallery and larger apartments of Versailles, as they were into thepark. --MADAME CAMPAN. ]

The woman De Lamotte's father was a peasant at Auteuil, though he calledhimself Valois. Madame de Boulainvilliers once saw from her terrace twopretty little peasant girls, each labouring under a heavy bundle ofsticks. The priest of the village, who was walking with her, told herthat the children possessed some curious papers, and that he had no doubtthey were descendants of a Valois, an illegitimate son of one of theprinces of that name. 

The family of Valois had long ceased to appear in the world. Hereditaryvices had gradually plunged them into the deepest misery. I have heardthat the last Valois then known occupied the estate called Gros Bois; thatas he seldom came to Court, Louis XIII. Asked him what he was about thathe remained so constantly in the country; and that this M. De Valoismerely answered, "Sire, I only do there what I ought. " It was shortlyafterwards discovered that he was coining. 

Neither the Queen herself nor any one near her ever had the slightestconnection with the woman De Lamotte; and during her prosecution she couldpoint out but one of the Queen's servants, named Desclos, a valet of theQueen's bedchamber, to whom she pre tended she had delivered Boehmer'snecklace. This Desclos was a very honest man; upon being confronted withthe woman De Lamotte, it was proved that she had never seen him but once, which was at the house of the wife of a surgeon-accoucheur at Versailles, the only person she visited at Court; and that she had not given him thenecklace. Madame de Lamotte married a private in Monsieur's body-guard;she lodged at Versailles at the Belle Image, a very inferior furnishedhouse; and it is inconceivable how so obscure a person could succeed inmaking herself believed to be a friend of the Queen, who, though soextremely affable, seldom granted audiences, and only to titled persons. 

The trial of the Cardinal is too generally known to require me to repeatits details here. The point most embarrassing to him was the interview hehad in February, 1785, with M. De Saint-James, to whom he confided theparticulars of the Queen's pretended commission, and showed the contractapproved and signed Marie Antoinette de France. The memorandum found in adrawer of the Cardinal's bureau, in which he had himself written whatBaehmer told him after having seen me at my country house, was likewise anunfortunate document for his Eminence. 

I offered to the King to go and declare that Baehmer had told me that theCardinal assured him he had received from the Queen's own hand the thirtythousand francs given on account upon the bargain being concluded, andthat his Eminence had seen her Majesty take that sum in bills from theporcelain secretaire in her boudoir. The King declined my offer, and saidto me, "Were you alone when Boehmer told you this?" I answered that I wasalone with him in my garden. "Well, " resumed he, "the man would deny thefact; he is now sure of being paid his sixteen hundred thousand francs, which the Cardinal's family will find it necessary to make good to him; wecan no longer rely upon his sincerity; it would look as if you were sentby the Queen, and that would not be proper. "

[The guilty woman no sooner knew that all was about to be discovered thanshe sent for the jewellers, and told them the Cardinal had perceived thatthe agreement, which he believed to have been signed by the Queen, was afalse and forged document. "However, " added she, "the Cardinal possessesa considerable fortune, and he can very well pay you. " These words revealthe whole secret. The Countess had taken the necklace to herself, andflattered herself that M. De Rohan, seeing himself deceived and cruellyimposed upon, would determine to pay and make the beat terms he could, rather than suffer a matter of this nature to become public. -"SecretCorrespondence of the Court of Louis XVI. "]

The procureur general's information was severe on the Cardinal. TheHouses of Conde and Rohan and the majority of the nobility saw in thisaffair only an attack on the Prince's rank, the clergy only a blow aimedat the privileges of a cardinal. The clergy demanded that the unfortunatebusiness of the Prince Cardinal de Rohan should be submitted toecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the Archbishop of Narbonne, thenPresident of the Convocation, made representations upon the subject to theKing; the bishops wrote to his Majesty to remind him that a privateecclesiastic implicated in the affair then pending would have a right toclaim his constitutional judges, and that this right was refused to acardinal, his superior in the hierarchical order. In short, the clergyand the greater part of the nobility were at that time outrageous againstauthority, and chiefly against the Queen. 

The procureur-general's conclusions, and those of a part of the heads ofthe magistracy, were as severe towards the Cardinal as the information hadbeen; yet he was fully acquitted by a majority of three voices; the womanDe Lamotte was condemned to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned; and herhusband, for contumacy, was condemned to the galleys for life. 

[The following extract is from the "Memoirs" of the Abbe Georgel: "Thesittings were long and multiplied; it was necessary to read the wholeproceedings; more than fifty judges sat; a master of requests; a friend ofthe Prince, wrote down all that was said there, and sent it to hisadvisers, who found means to inform the Cardinal of it, and to add theplan of conduct he ought to pursue. " D'Epremesnil, and other youngcounsellors, showed upon that occasion but too much audacity in bravingthe Court, too much eagerness in seizing an opportunity of attacking it. They were the first to shake that authority which their functions made ita duty in them to respect. --NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

M. Pierre de Laurencel, the procureur general's substitute, sent the Queena list of the names of the members of the Grand Chamber, with the meansmade use of by the friends of the Cardinal to gain their votes during thetrial. I had this list to keep among the papers which the Queen depositedin the house of M. Campan, my father-in-law, and which, at his death, sheordered me to preserve. I burnt this statement, but I remember ladiesperformed a part not very creditable to their principles; it was by them, in consideration of large sums which they received, that some of theoldest and most respected members were won over. I did not see a singlename amongst the whole Parliament that was gained directly. 

The belief confirmed by time is, that the Cardinal was completely duped bythe woman De Lamotte and Cagliostro. The King may have been in error inthinking him an accomplice in this miserable and criminal scheme, but Ihave faithfully repeated his Majesty's judgment about it. 

However, the generally received opinion that the Baron de Breteuil'shatred for the Cardinal was the cause of the scandal and the unfortunateresult of this affair contributed to the disgrace of the former still morethan his refusal to give his granddaughter in marriage to the son of theDuc de Polignac. The Abbe de Vermond threw the whole blame of theimprudence and impolicy of the affair of the Cardinal de Rohan upon theminister, and ceased to be the friend and supporter of the Baron deBreteuil with the Queen. 

In the early part of the year 1786, the Cardinal, as has been said, wasfully acquitted, and came out of the Bastille, while Madame de Lamotte wascondemned to be whipped, branded, and imprisoned. The Court, persistingin the erroneous views which had hitherto guided its measures, conceivedthat the Cardinal and the woman De Lamotte were equally culpable andunequally punished, and sought to restore the balance of justice byexiling the Cardinal to La Chaise-Dieu, and suffering Madame de Lamotte toescape a few days after she entered l'Hopital. This new error confirmedthe Parisians in the idea that the wretch De Lamotte, who had never beenable to make her way so far as to the room appropriated to the Queen'swomen, had really interested the Queen herself. 

[Further particulars will be found in the "Memoirs of the Comte deBeugnot" (London: Hurst & Blackett, 1871), as he knew Madame de Lamottefrom the days of her early childhood (when the three children, the Baronde Valois, who died captain of a frigate, and the two Mademoiselles deSaint-Remi, the last descendants of the Baron de Saint-Remi, a natural sonof Henri II. , were almost starving) to the time of her temporaryprosperity. In fact, he was with her when she burnt the correspondence ofthe Cardinal, in the interval the Court foolishly allowed between hisarrest and her capture, and De Beugnot believed he had met at her house, at the moment of their return from their successful trick, the whole partyengaged in deluding the Cardinal. It is worth noting that he was thenstruck by the face of Mademoiselle d'Oliva, who had just personated theQueen in presenting a rose to the Cardinal. It may also be cited as apleasing quality of Madame de Lamotte that she, "in her ordinaryconversation, used the words stupid and honest as synonymous. "--See"Beugnot, " vol. I. , p. 60. ]

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Abbe de Vermond could not repress his exultation when he succeeded ingetting the Archbishop of Sens appointed head of the council of finance. Ihave more than once heard him say that seventeen years of patience werenot too long a term for success in a Court; that he spent all that time ingaining the end he had in view; but that at length the Archbishop waswhere he ought to be for the good of the State. The Abbe, from this time, in the Queen's private circle no longer concealed his credit andinfluence; nothing could equal the confidence with which he displayed theextent of his pretensions. He requested the Queen to order that theapartments appropriated to him should be enlarged, telling her that, beingobliged to give audiences to bishops, cardinals, and ministers, herequired a residence suitable to his present circumstances. The Queencontinued to treat him as she did before the Archbishop's arrival atCourt; but the household showed him increased consideration: the word"Monsieur" preceded that of Abbe; and from that moment not only the liveryservants, but also the people of the antechambers rose when Monsieurl'Abbe was passing, though there never was, to my knowledge, any ordergiven to that effect. 

The Queen was obliged, on account of the King's disposition and the verylimited confidence he placed in the Archbishop of Sens, to take a part inpublic affairs. While M. De Maurepas lived she kept out of that danger, as may be seen by the censure which the Baron de Besenval passes on her inhis memoirs for not availing herself of the conciliation he had promotedbetween the Queen and that minister, who counteracted the ascendency whichthe Queen and her intimate friends might otherwise have gained over theKing's mind. 

The Queen has often assured me that she never interfered respecting theinterests of Austria but once; and that was only to claim the execution ofthe treaty of alliance at the time when Joseph II. Was at war with Prussiaand Turkey; that, she then demanded that an army of twenty-four thousandmen should be sent to him instead of fifteen millions, an alternativewhich had been left to option in the treaty, in case the Emperor shouldhave a just war to maintain; that she could not obtain her object, and M. De Vergennes, in an interview which she had with him upon the subject, putan end to her importunities by observing that he was answering the motherof the Dauphin and not the sister of the Emperor. The fifteen millionswere sent. There was no want of money at Vienna, and the value of aFrench army was fully appreciated. 

"But how, " said the Queen, "could they be so wicked as to send off thosefifteen millions from the general post-office, diligently publishing, evento the street porters, that they were loading carriages with money that Iwas sending to my brother!--whereas it is certain that the money wouldequally have been sent if I had belonged to another house; and, besides, it was sent contrary to my inclination. "

[This was not the first time the Queen had become unpopular in consequenceof financial support afforded by France to her brother. The Emperor JosephII, made, in November, 1783, and in May, 1784, startling claims on therepublic of the United Provinces; he demanded the opening of the Scheldt, the cession of Maeatricht with its dependencies, of the country beyond theMeuse, the county of Vroenhoven, and a sum of seventy millions of florins. The first gun was fired by the Emperor on the Scheldt 6th November, 1784. Peace was concluded 8th November, 1785, through the mediation of France. The singular part was the indemnification granted to the Emperor: this wasa sum of ten millions of Dutch florins; the articles 15, 16, and 17 of thetreaty stipulated the quotas of it. Holland paid five millions and ahalf, and France, under the direction of M. De Vergennes, four millionsand a half of florins, that is to say, nine millions and forty-fivethousand francs, according to M. Soulavie. M. De augur, in his "Policy ofCabinets" (vol. Iii. ), says relative to this affair:

"M. De Vergennes has been much blamed for having terminated, by asacrifice of seven millions, the contest that existed between the UnitedProvinces and the Emperor. In that age of philosophy men were still veryuncivilised; in that age of commerce they made very erroneouscalculations; and those who accused the Queen of sending the gold ofFrance to her brother would have been better pleased if, to support arepublic devoid of energy, the blood of two hundred thousand men, andthree or four hundred millions of francs, had been sacrificed, and at thesame time the risk run of losing the advantage of peace dictated toEngland. " MADAME CAMPAN. ]

When the Comte de Moustier set out on his mission to the United States, after having had his public audience of leave he came and asked me toprocure him a private one. I could not succeed even with the strongestsolicitations; the Queen desired me to wish him a good voyage, but addedthat none but ministers could have anything to say to him in private, since he was going to a country where the names of King and Queen must bedetested. 

Marie Antoinette had then no direct influence over State affairs untilafter the deaths of M. De Maurepas and M. De Vergennes, and the retirementof M. De Calonne. She frequently regretted her new situation, and lookedupon it as a misfortune which she could not avoid. One day, while I wasassisting her to tie up a number of memorials and reports, which some ofthe ministers had handed to her to be given to the King, "Ah!" said she, sighing, "there is an end of all happiness for me, since they have made anintriguer of me. " I exclaimed at the word. 

"Yes, " resumed, the Queen, "that is the right term; every woman whomeddles with affairs above her understanding or out of her line of duty isan intriguer and nothing else; you will remember, however, that it is notmy own fault, and that it is with regret I give myself such a title;Queens of France are happy only so long as they meddle with nothing, andmerely preserve influence sufficient to advance their friends and reward afew zealous servants. Do you know what happened to me lately? One daysince I began to attend private committees at the King's, while crossingthe oiel-de-boeuf, I heard one of the musicians of the chapel say so loudthat I lost not a single word, 'A Queen who does her duty will remain inher apartment to knit. ' I said within myself, 'Poor wretch, thou artright; but thou knowest not my situation; I yield to necessity and my evildestiny. '"

This situation was the more painful to the Queen inasmuch as Louis XVI. Had long accustomed himself to say nothing to her respecting Stateaffairs; and when, towards the close of his reign, she was obliged tointerfere in the most important matters, the same habit in the Kingfrequently kept from her particulars which it was necessary she shouldhave known. Obtaining, therefore, only insufficient information, andguided by persons more ambitious than skilful, the Queen could not beuseful in important affairs; yet, at the same time, her ostensibleinterference drew upon her, from all parties and all classes of society, an unpopularity the rapid progress of which alarmed all those who weresincerely attached to her. 

Carried away by the eloquence of the Archbishop of Sens, and encouraged inthe confidence she placed in that minister by the incessant eulogies ofthe Abbe de Vermond on his abilities, the Queen unfortunately followed upher first mistake of bringing him into office in 1787 by supporting him atthe time of his disgrace, which was obtained by the despair of a wholenation. She thought it was due to her dignity to give him some markedproof of her regard at the moment of his departure; misled by herfeelings, she sent him her portrait enriched with jewelry, and a brevetfor the situation of lady of the palace for Madame de Canisy, his niece, observing that it was necessary to indemnify a minister sacrificed to theintrigues of the Court and a factious spirit of the nation; that otherwisenone would be found willing to devote themselves to the interests of thesovereign. 

On the day of the Archbishop's departure the public joy was universal, both at Court and at Paris there were bonfires; the attorneys' clerksburnt the Archbishop in effigy, and on the evening of his disgrace morethan a hundred couriers were sent out from Versailles to spread the happytidings among the country seats. I have seen the Queen shed bitter tearsat the recollection of the errors she committed at this period, whensubsequently, a short time before her death, the Archbishop had theaudacity to say, in a speech which was printed, that the sole object ofone part of his operations, during his administration, was the salutarycrisis which the Revolution had produced. 

The benevolence and generosity shown by the King and Queen during thesevere winter of 1788, when the Seine was frozen over and the cold wasmore intense than it had been for eighty years, procured them somefleeting popularity. The gratitude of the Parisians for the succour theirMajesties poured forth was lively if not lasting. The snow was soabundant that since that period there has never been seen such aprodigious quantity in France. In different parts of Paris pyramids andobelisks of snow were erected with inscriptions expressive of thegratitude of the people. The pyramid in the Rue d'Angiviller wassupported on a base six feet high by twelve broad; it rose to the heightof fifteen feet, and was terminated by a globe. Four blocks of stone, placed at the angles, corresponded with the obelisk, and gave it anelegant appearance. Several inscriptions, in honour of the King andQueen, were affixed to it. I went to see this singular monument, andrecollect the following inscription

"TO MARIE ANTOINETTE. " "Lovely and good, to tender pity true, Queen of a virtuous King, this trophy view; Cold ice and snow sustain its fragile form, But ev'ry grateful heart to thee is warm. Oh, may this tribute in your hearts excite, Illustrious pair, more pure and real delight, Whilst thus your virtues are sincerely prais'd, Than pompous domes by servile flatt'ry rais'd. "The theatres generally rang with praises of the beneficence of thesovereigns: "La Partie de Chasse de Henri IV. " was represented for thebenefit of the poor. The receipts were very considerable. 

When the fruitless measure of the Assembly of the Notables, and therebellious spirit in the parliaments, [The Assembly of the Notables, as may be seen in "Weber's Memoirs, " vol. I. , overthrew the plans and caused the downfall of M. De Calonne. Aprince of the blood presided over each of the meetings of that assembly. Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVIII. , presided over the first meeting. 

"Monsieur, " says a contemporary, "gained great reputation at the Assemblyof the Notables in 1787. He did not miss attending his meeting a singleday, and he displayed truly patriotic virtues. His care in discussing theweighty matters of administration, in throwing light upon them, and indefending the interests and the cause of the people, was such as even toinspire the King with some degree of jealousy. Monsieur openly said thata respectful resistance to the orders of the monarch was not blamable, andthat authority might be met by argument, and forced to receive informationwithout any offence whatever. "--NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

had created the necessity for States General, it was long discussed incouncil whether they should be assembled at Versailles or at forty orsixty leagues from the capital; the Queen was for the latter course, andinsisted to the King that they ought to be far away from the immensepopulation of Paris. She feared that the people would influence thedeliberations of the deputies; several memorials were presented to theKing upon that question; but M. Necker prevailed, and Versailles was theplace fixed upon. 

The day on which the King announced that he gave his consent to theconvocation of the States General, the Queen left the public dinner, andplaced herself in the recess of the first window of her bedchamber, withher face towards the garden. Her chief butler followed her, to presenther coffee, which she usually took standing, as she was about to leave thetable. She beckoned to me to come close to her. The King was engaged inconversation with some one in his room. When the attendant had served herhe retired; and she addressed me, with the cup still in her hand: "GreatHeavens! what fatal news goes forth this day! The King assents to theconvocation of the States General. " Then she added, raising her eyes toheaven, "I dread it; this important event is a first fatal signal ofdiscord in France. " She cast her eyes down, they were filled with tears. She could not take the remainder of her coffee, but handed me the cup, andwent to join the King. In the evening, when she was alone with me, shespoke only of this momentous decision. "It is the Parliament, " said she, "that has compelled the King to have recourse to a measure long consideredfatal to the repose of the kingdom. These gentlemen wish to restrain thepower of the King; but they give a great shock to the authority of whichthey make so bad a use, and they will bring on their own destruction. "

The double representation granted to the Tiers Etat was now the chieftopic of conversation. The Queen favoured this plan, to which the Kinghad agreed; she thought the hope of obtaining ecclesiastical favours wouldsecure the clergy of the second order, and that M. Necker was sure to havethe same degree of influence over the lawyers, and other people of thatclass comprised in the Tiers Dat. The Comte d'Artois, holding thecontrary opinion, presented a memorial in the names of himself and severalprinces of the blood to the King against the double representation. TheQueen was displeased with him for this; her confidential advisers infusedinto her apprehensions that the Prince was made the tool of a party; buthis conduct was approved of by Madame de Polignac's circle, which theQueen thenceforward only frequented to avoid the appearance of a change inher habits. She almost always returned unhappy; she was treated with theprofound respect due to a queen, but the devotion of friendship hadvanished, to make way for the coldness of etiquette, which wounded herdeeply. The alienation between her and the Comte Artois was also verypainful to her, for she had loved him almost as tenderly as if he had beenher own brother. 

The opening of the States General took place on the 4th of May, 1789. TheQueen on that occasion appeared for the last time in her life in regalmagnificence. During the procession some low women, seeing the Queenpass, cried out "Vive le Duc d' Orleans!" in so threatening a manner thatshe nearly fainted. She was obliged to be supported, and those about herwere afraid it would be necessary to stop the procession. The Queen, however, recovered herself, and much regretted that she had not been ableto command more presence of mind. 

The rapidly increasing distrust of the King and Queen shown by thepopulace was greatly attributable to incessant corruption by English gold, and the projects, either of revenge or of ambition, of the Duc d'Orleans. Let it not be thought that this accusation is founded on what has been sooften repeated by the heads of the French Government since the Revolution. Twice between the 14th of July and the 6th of October, 1789, the day onwhich the Court was dragged to Paris, the Queen prevented me from makinglittle excursions thither of business or pleasure, saying to me, "Do notgo on such a day to Paris; the English have been scattering gold, we shallhave some disturbance. " The repeated visits of the Duc d'Orleans toEngland had excited the Anglomania to such a pitch that Paris was nolonger distinguishable from London. The French, formerly imitated by thewhole of Europe, became on a sudden a nation of imitators, withoutconsidering the evils that arts and manufactures must suffer inconsequence of the change. Since the treaty of commerce made with Englandat the peace of 1783, not merely equipages, but everything, even toribands and common earthenware, were of English make. If thispredominance of English fashions had been confined to filling ourdrawing-rooms with young men in English frock-coats, instead of the Frenchdress, good taste and commerce might alone have suffered; but theprinciples of English government had taken possession of these youngheads. Constitution, Upper House, Lower House, national guarantee, balance of power, Magna Charta, Law of Habeas Corpus, --all these wordswere incessantly repeated, and seldom understood; but they were offundamental importance to a party which was then forming. 

The first sitting of the States took place on the following day. The Kingdelivered his speech with firmness and dignity; the Queen told me that hehad taken great pains about it, and had repeated it frequently. HisMajesty gave public marks of attachment and respect for the Queen, who wasapplauded; but it was easy to see that this applause was in fact renderedto the King alone. 

It was evident, during the first sittings, that Mirabeau would be verydangerous to the Government. It affirmed that at this period hecommunicated to the King, and still more fully to the Queen, part of hisschemes for abandoning them. He brandished the weapons afforded him byhis eloquence and audacity, in order to make terms with the party he meantto attack. This man played the game of revolution to make his ownfortune. The Queen told me that he asked for an embassy, and, if mymemory does not deceive me, it was that of Constantinople. He was refusedwith well-deserved contempt, though policy would doubtless have concealedit, could the future have been foreseen. 

The enthusiasm prevailing at the opening of this assembly, and the debatesbetween the Tiers Etat, the nobility, and even the clergy, daily increasedthe alarm of their Majesties, and all who were attached to the cause ofmonarchy. The Queen went to bed late, or rather she began to be unable torest. One evening, about the end of May, she was sitting in her room, relating several remarkable occurrences of the day; four wax candles wereplaced upon her toilet-table; the first went out of itself; I relightedit; shortly afterwards the second, and then the third went out also; uponwhich the Queen, squeezing my hand in terror, said to me: "Misfortunemakes us superstitious; if the fourth taper should go out like the rest, nothing can prevent my looking upon it as a sinister omen. " The fourthtaper went out. It was remarked to the Queen that the four tapers hadprobably been run in the same mould, and that a defect in the wick hadnaturally occurred at the same point in each, since the candles had allgone out in the order in which they had been lighted. 

The deputies of the Tiers Etat arrived at Versailles full of the strongestprejudices against the Court. They believed that the King indulged in thepleasures of the table to a shameful excess; and that the Queen wasdraining the treasury of the State in order to satisfy the most unbridledluxury. They almost all determined to see Petit Trianon. The extremeplainness of the retreat in question not answering the ideas they hadformed, some of them insisted upon seeing the very smallest closets, saying that the richly furnished apartments were concealed from them. Theyparticularised one which, according to them, was ornamented with diamonds, and with wreathed columns studded with sapphires and rubies. The Queencould not get these foolish ideas out of her mind, and spoke to the Kingon the subject. From the description given of this room by the deputiesto the keepers of Trianon, the King concluded that they were looking forthe scene enriched with paste ornaments, made in the reign of Louis XV. For the theatre of Fontainebleau. 

The King supposed that his Body Guards, on their return to the country, after their quarterly duty at Court, related what they had seen, and thattheir exaggerated accounts, being repeated, became at last totallyperverted. This idea of the King, after the search for the diamondchamber, suggested to the Queen that the report of the King's propensityfor drinking also sprang from the guards who accompanied his carriage whenhe hunted at Rambouillet. The King, who disliked sleeping out of hisusual bed, was accustomed to leave that hunting-seat after supper; hegenerally slept soundly in his carriage, and awoke only on his arrival atthe courtyard of his palace; he used to get down from his carriage in themidst of his Body Guards, staggering, as a man half awake will do, whichwas mistaken for intoxication. 

The majority of the deputies who came imbued with prejudices produced byerror or malevolence, went to lodge with the most humble privateindividuals of Versailles, whose inconsiderate conversation contributednot a little to nourish such mistakes. Everything, in short, tended torender the deputies subservient to the schemes of the leaders of therebellion. 

Shortly after the opening of the States General the first Dauphin died. That young Prince suffered from the rickets, which in a few months curvedhis spine, and rendered his legs so weak that he could not walk withoutbeing supported like a feeble old man. 

[Louis, Dauphin of France, who died at Versailles on the 4th of June, 1789, gave promise of intellectual precocity. The following particulars, which convey some idea of his disposition, and of the assiduous attentionbestowed upon him by the Duchesse de Polignac, will be found in a work ofthat time: "At two years old the Dauphin was very pretty; he articulatedwell, and answered questions put to him intelligently. While he was atthe Chateau de La Muette everybody was at liberty to see him. The Dauphinwas dressed plainly, like a sailor; there was nothing to distinguish himfrom other children in external appearance but the cross of Saint Louis, the blue ribbon, and the Order of the Fleece, decorations that are thedistinctive signs of his rank. The Duchesse Jules de Polignac, hisgoverness, scarcely ever left him for a single instant: she gave up allthe Court excursions and amusements in order to devote her whole attentionto him. The Prince always manifested a great regard for M. De Bourset, his valet de chambre. During the illness of which he died, he one dayasked for a pair of scissors; that gentleman reminded him that they wereforbidden. The child insisted mildly, and they were obliged to yield tohim. Having got the scissors, he cut off a lock of his hair, which hewrapped in a sheet of paper: 'There, monsieur, ' said he to his valet dechambre, ' there is the only present I can make you, having nothing at mycommand; but when I am dead you will present this pledge to my papa andmamma; and while they remember me, I hope they will not forgetyou. '"--NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

How many maternal tears did his condition draw from the Queen, alreadyoverwhelmed with apprehensions respecting the state of the kingdom! Hergrief was enhanced by petty intrigues, which, when frequently renewed, became intolerable. An open quarrel between the families and friends ofthe Duc Harcourt, the Dauphin's governor, and those of the Duchesse dePolignac, his governess, added greatly to the Queen's affliction. Theyoung Prince showed a strong dislike to the Duchesse de Polignac, whoattributed it either to the Duc or the Duchesse d'Harcourt, and came tomake her complaints respecting it to the Queen. The Dauphin twice senther out of his room, saying to her, with that maturity of manner whichlong illness always gives to children: "Go out, Duchess; you are so fondof using perfumes, and they always make me ill;" and yet she never usedany. The Queen perceived, also, that his prejudices against her friendextended to herself; her son would no longer speak in her presence. Sheknew that he had become fond of sweetmeats, and offered him somemarshmallow and jujube lozenges. The under-governors and the first valetde chambre requested her not to give the Dauphin anything, as he was toreceive no food of any kind without the consent of the faculty. I forbearto describe the wound this prohibition inflicted upon the Queen; she feltit the more deeply because she was aware it was unjustly believed she gavea decided preference to the Duc de Normandie, whose ruddy health andamiability did, in truth, form a striking contrast to the languid look andmelancholy disposition of his elder brother. She even suspected that aplot had for some time existed to deprive her of the affection of a childwhom she loved as a good and tender mother ought. Previous to theaudience granted by the King on the 10th August, 1788, to the envoy of theSultan Tippoo Saib, she had begged the Duc d'Harcourt to divert theDauphin, whose deformity was already apparent, from his, intention to bepresent at that ceremony, being unwilling to expose him to the gaze of thecrowd of inquisitive Parisians who would be in the gallery. Notwithstanding this injunction, the Dauphin was suffered to write to hismother, requesting her permission to be present at the audience. TheQueen was obliged to refuse him, and warmly reproached the governor, whomerely answered that he could not oppose the wishes of a sick child. Ayear before the death of the Dauphin the Queen lost the Princesse Sophie;this was, as the Queen said, the first of a series of misfortunes. 

NOTE: As Madame Campan has stated in the foregoing pages that the moneyto foment sedition was furnished from English sources, the decree of theConvention of August, 1793, maybe quoted as illustrative of the ententecordiale alleged to exist between the insurrectionary Government and itsfriends across the Channel! The endeavours made by the English Governmentto save the unfortunate King are well known. The motives prompting theconduct of the Duc d'Orleans are equally well known. 

Art. I. The National Convention denounces the British Government toEurope and the English nation. 

Art. Ii. Every Frenchman that shall place his money in the English fundsshall be declared a traitor to his country. 

Art. Iii. Every Frenchman who has money in the English funds or those ofany other Power with whom France is at war shall be obliged to declare thesame. 

Art. Iv. All foreigners, subjects of the Powers now at war with France, particularly the English, shall be arrested, and seals put upon theirpapers. 

Art. V. The barriers of Paris shall be instantly shut. 

Art. Vi. All good citizens shall be required in the name of the countryto search for the foreigners concerned in any plot denounced. 

Art. Vii. Three millions shall be at the disposal of the Minister at Warto facilitate the march of the garrison of Mentz to La Vendee. 

Art. Viii. The Minister at War shall send to the army on the coast ofRochelle all the combustible materials necessary to set fire to theforests and underwood of La Vendee. 

Art. Ix. The women, the children, and old men shall be conducted to theinterior parts of the country. 

Art. X. The property of the rebels shall be confiscated for the benefitof the Republic. 

Art. Xi. A camp shall be formed without delay between Paris and theNorthern army. 

Art. Xii. All the family of the Capets shall be banished from the Frenchterritory, those excepted who are under the sword of the law, and theoffspring of Louis Capet, who shall both remain in the Temple. 

Art. Xiii. Marie Antoinette shall be delivered over to the RevolutionaryTribunal, and shall be immediately conducted to the prison of theConciergerie. Louise Elisabeth shall remain in the Temple till after thejudgment of Marie Antoinette. 

Art. Xiv. All the tombs of the Kings which are at St. Denis and in thedepartments shall be destroyed on August the 10th. 

Art. Xv. The present decree shall be despatched by extraordinarycouriers to all the departments. 

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Customs are nearly equal to lawsDisplaying her acquirements with rather too much confidenceI do not like these rhapsodiesIndulge in the pleasure of vice and assume the credit of virtueNo accounting for the caprices of a womanNone but little minds dreaded little booksShun all kinds of confidenceThe author (Beaumarchais) was sent to prison soon afterwardsThose muskets were immediately embarked and sold to the AmericansYoung Prince suffered from the rickets