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 5

BOOK 2. 

CHAPTER I. 

The ever-memorable oath of the States General, taken at the Tennis Courtof Versailles, was followed by the royal sitting of the 23d of June. Inthis seance the King declared that the Orders must vote separately, andthreatened, if further obstacles were met with, to himself act for thegood of the people. The Queen looked on M. Necker's not accompanying theKing as treachery or criminal cowardice: she said that he had converted aremedy into poison; that being in full popularity, his audacity, in openlydisavowing the step taken by his sovereign, had emboldened the factious, and led away the whole Assembly; and that he was the more culpableinasmuch as he had the evening before given her his word to accompany theKing. In vain did M. Necker endeavour to excuse himself by saying thathis advice had not been followed. 

Soon afterwards the insurrections of the 11th, 12th, and 14th ofJuly--[The Bastille was taken on the 14th July, 1789. ]--opened thedisastrous drama with which France was threatened. The massacre of M. DeFlesselles and M. De Launay drew bitter tears from the Queen, and the ideathat the King had lost such devoted subjects wounded her to the heart. 

The character of the movement was no longer merely that of a popularinsurrection; cries of "Vive la Nation! Vive le Roi! Vive la Liberte!"threw the strongest light upon the views of the reformers. Still thepeople spoke of the King with affection, and appeared to think himfavourable to the national desire for the reform of what were calledabuses; but they imagined that he was restrained by the opinions andinfluence of the Comte d'Artois and the Queen; and those two augustpersonages were therefore objects of hatred to the malcontents. Thedangers incurred by the Comte d'Artois determined the King's first stepwith the States General. He attended their meeting on the morning of the15th of July with his brothers, without pomp or escort; he spoke standingand uncovered, and pronounced these memorable words: "I trust myself toyou; I only wish to be at one with my nation, and, counting on theaffection and fidelity of my subjects, I have given orders to the troopsto remove from Paris and Versailles. " The King returned on foot from thechamber of the States General to his palace; the deputies crowded afterhim, and formed his escort, and that of the Princes who accompanied him. The rage of the populace was pointed against the Comte d'Artois, whoseunfavourable opinion of the double representation was an odious crime intheir eyes. They repeatedly cried out, "The King for ever, in spite ofyou and your opinions, Monseigneur!" One woman had the impudence to comeup to the King and ask him whether what he had been doing was donesincerely, and whether he would not be forced to retract it. 

The courtyards of the Chateau were thronged with an immense concourse ofpeople; they demanded that the King and Queen, with their children, shouldmake their appearance in the balcony. The Queen gave me the key of theinner doors, which led to the Dauphin's apartments, and desired me to goto the Duchesse de Polignac to tell her that she wanted her son, and haddirected me to bring him myself into her room, where she waited to showhim to the people. The Duchess said this order indicated that she was notto accompany the Prince. I did not answer; she squeezed my hand, saying, "Ah! Madame Campan, what a blow I receive!" She embraced the child and mewith tears. She knew how much I loved and valued the goodness and thenoble simplicity of her disposition. I endeavoured to reassure her bysaying that I should bring back the Prince to her; but she persisted, andsaid she understood the order, and knew what it meant. She then retired toher private room, holding her handkerchief to her eyes. One of theunder-governesses asked me whether she might go with the Dauphin; I toldher the Queen had given no order to the contrary, and we hastened to herMajesty, who was waiting to lead the Prince to the balcony. 

Having executed this sad commission, I went down into the courtyard, whereI mingled with the crowd. I heard a thousand vociferations; it was easyto see, by the difference between the language and the dress of somepersons among the mob, that they were in disguise. A woman, whose facewas covered with a black lace veil, seized me by the arm with someviolence, and said, calling me by my name, "I know you very well; tellyour Queen not to meddle with government any longer; let her leave herhusband and our good States General to effect the happiness of thepeople. " At the same moment a man, dressed much in the style of amarketman, with his hat pulled down over his eyes, seized me by the otherarm, and said, "Yes, yes; tell her over and over again that it will not bewith these States as with the others, which produced no good to thepeople; that the nation is too enlightened in 1789 not to make somethingmore of them; and that there will not now be seen a deputy of the 'TiersEtat' making a speech with one knee on the ground; tell her this, do youhear?" I was struck with dread; the Queen then appeared in the balcony. "Ah!" said the woman in the veil, "the Duchess is not with her. "--"No, "replied the man, "but she is still at Versailles; she is workingunderground, molelike; but we shall know how to dig her out. " Thedetestable pair moved away from me, and I reentered the palace, scarcelyable to support myself. I thought it my duty to relate the dialogue ofthese two strangers to the Queen; she made me repeat the particulars tothe King. 

About four in the afternoon I went across the terrace to Madame Victoire'sapartments; three men had stopped under the windows of the throne-chamber. "Here is that throne, " said one of them aloud, "the vestiges of which willsoon be sought for. " He added a thousand invectives against theirMajesties. I went in to the Princess, who was at work alone in hercloset, behind a canvass blind, which prevented her from being seen bythose without. The three men were still walking upon the terrace; Ishowed them to her, and told her what they had said. She rose to take anearer view of them, and informed me that one of them was namedSaint-Huruge; that he was sold to the Duc d'Orleans, and was furiousagainst the Government, because he had been confined once under a 'lettrede cachet' as a bad character. 

The King was not ignorant of these popular threats; he also knew the dayson which money was scattered about Paris, and once or twice the Queenprevented my going there, saying there would certainly be a riot the nextday, because she knew that a quantity of crown pieces had been distributedin the faubourgs. 

[I have seen a six-franc crown piece, which certainly served to pay somewretch on the night of the 12th of July; the words "Midnight, 12th July, three pistols, " were rather deeply engraven on it. They were, no doubt, apassword for the first insurrection. --MADAME COMPAN]

On the evening of the 14th of July the King came to the Queen'sapartments, where I was with her Majesty alone; he conversed with herrespecting the scandalous report disseminated by the factious, that he hadhad the Chamber of the National Assembly undermined, in order to blow itup; but he added that it became him to treat such absurd assertions withcontempt, as usual; I ventured to tell him that I had the evening beforesupped with M. Begouen, one of the deputies, who said that there were veryrespectable persons who thought that this horrible contrivance had beenproposed without the King's knowledge. "Then, " said his Majesty, "as theidea of such an atrocity was not revolting to so worthy a man as M. Begouen, I will order the chamber to be examined early to-morrow morning. "In fact, it will be seen by the King's, speech to the National Assembly, on the 15th of July, that the suspicions excited obtained his attention. "I know, " said he in the speech in question, "that unworthy insinuationshave been made; I know there are those who have dared to assert that yourpersons are not safe; can it be necessary to give you assurances upon thesubject of reports so culpable, denied beforehand by my known character?"

The proceedings of the 15th of July produced no mitigation of thedisturbances. Successive deputations of poissardes came to request theKing to visit Paris, where his presence alone would put an end to theinsurrection. 

On the 16th a committee was held in the King's apartments, at which a mostimportant question was discussed: whether his Majesty should quitVersailles and set off with the troops whom he had recently ordered towithdraw, or go to Paris to tranquillise the minds of the people. TheQueen was for the departure. On the evening of the 16th she made me takeall her jewels out of their cases, to collect them in one small box, whichshe might carry off in her own carriage. With my assistance she burnt alarge quantity of papers; for Versailles was then threatened with an earlyvisit of armed men from Paris. 

The Queen, on the morning of the 16th, before attending another committeeat the King's, having got her jewels ready, and looked over all herpapers, gave me one folded up but not sealed, and desired me not to readit until she should give me an order to do so from the King's room, andthat then I was to execute its contents; but she returned herself aboutten in the morning; the affair was decided; the army was to go awaywithout the King; all those who were in imminent danger were to go at thesame time. "The King will go to the Hotel de Ville to-morrow, " said theQueen to me; "he did not choose this course for himself; there were longdebates on the question; at last the King put an end to them by rising andsaying, 'Well, gentlemen, we must decide; am I to go or to stay? I amready to do either. ' The majority were for the King staying; time willshow whether the right choice has been made. " I returned the Queen thepaper she had given me, which was now useless; she read it to me; itcontained her orders for the departure; I was to go with her, as well onaccount of my office about her person as to serve as a teacher to Madame. The Queen tore the paper, and said, with tears in her eyes, "When I wrotethis I thought it would be useful, but fate has ordered otherwise, to themisfortune of us all, as I much fear. "

After the departure of the troops the new administration received thanks;M. Necker was recalled. The artillery soldiers were undoubtedlycorrupted. "Wherefore all these guns?" exclaimed the crowds of women whofilled the streets. "Will you kill your mothers, your wives, yourchildren?"--"Don't be afraid, " answered the soldiers; "these guns shallrather be levelled against the tyrant's palace than against you!"

The Comte d'Artois, the Prince de Conde, and their children set off at thesame time with the troops. The Duc and Duchesse de Polignac, theirdaughter, the Duchesse de Guiche, the Comtesse Diane de Polignac, sisterof the Duke, and the Abbe de Baliviere, also emigrated on the same night. Nothing could be more affecting than the parting of the Queen and herfriend; extreme misfortune had banished from their minds the recollectionof differences to which political opinions alone had given rise. TheQueen several times wished to go and embrace her once more after theirsorrowful adieu, but she was too closely watched. She desired M. Campanto be present at the departure of the Duchess, and gave him a purse offive hundred Louis, desiring him to insist upon her allowing the Queen tolend her that sum to defray her expenses on the road. The Queen addedthat she knew her situation; that she had often calculated her income, andthe expenses occasioned by her place at Court; that both husband and wifehaving no other fortune than their official salaries, could not possiblyhave saved anything, however differently people might think at Paris. 

M. Campan remained till midnight with the Duchess to see her enter hercarriage. She was disguised as a femme de chambre, and got up in front ofthe Berlin; she requested M. Campan to remember her frequently to theQueen, and then quitted for ever that palace, that favour, and thatinfluence which had raised her up such cruel enemies. On their arrival atSens the travellers found the people in a state of insurrection; theyasked all those who came from Paris whether the Polignacs were still withthe Queen. A group of inquisitive persons put that question to the Abbede Baliviere, who answered them in the firmest tone, and with the mostcavalier air, that they were far enough from Versailles, and that we hadgot rid of all such bad people. At the following stage the postilion goton the doorstep and said to the Duchess, "Madame, there are some goodpeople left in the world: I recognised you all at Sens. " They gave theworthy fellow a handful of gold. 

On the breaking out of these disturbances an old man above seventy yearsof age gave the Queen an extraordinary proof of attachment and fidelity. M. Peraque, a rich inhabitant of the colonies, father of M. D'Oudenarde, was coming from Brussels to Paris; while changing horses he was met by ayoung man who was leaving France, and who recommended him if he carriedany letters from foreign countries to burn them immediately, especially ifhe had any for the Queen. M. Peraque had one from the Archduchess, theGouvernante of the Low Countries, for her Majesty. He thanked thestranger, and carefully concealed his packet; but as he approached Paristhe insurrection appeared to him so general and so violent, that hethought no means could be relied on for securing this letter from seizure. He took upon him to unseal it, and learned it by heart, which was awonderful effort for a man at his time of life, as it contained four pagesof writing. On his arrival at Paris he wrote it down, and then presentedit to the Queen, telling her that the heart of an old and faithful subjecthad given him courage to form and execute such a resolution. The Queenreceived M. Peraque in her closet, and expressed her gratitude in anaffecting manner most honourable to the worthy old man. Her Majestythought the young stranger who had apprised him of the state of Paris wasPrince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was very devoted to her, and wholeft Paris at that time. 

The Marquise de Tourzel replaced the Duchess de Polignac. She wasselected by the Queen as being the mother of a family and a woman ofirreproachable conduct, who had superintended the education of her owndaughters with the greatest success. 

The King went to Paris on the 17th of July, accompanied by the Marechal deBeauvau, the Duc de Villeroi, and the Duc de Villequier; he also took theComte d'Estaing, and the Marquis de Nesle, who were then very popular, inhis carriage. Twelve Body Guards, and the town guard of Versailles, escorted him to the Pont du Jour, near Sevres, where the Parisian guardwas waiting for him. His departure caused equal grief and alarm to hisfriends, notwithstanding the calmness he exhibited. The Queen restrainedher tears, and shut herself up in her private rooms with her family. Shesent for several persons belonging to her Court; their doors were locked. Terror had driven them away. The silence of death reigned throughout thepalace; they hardly dared hope that the King would return? The Queen hada robe prepared for her, and sent orders to her stables to have all herequipages ready. She wrote an address of a few lines for the Assembly, determining to go there with her family, the officers of her palace, andher servants, if the King should be detained prisoner at Paris. She gotthis address by heart; it began with these words: "Gentlemen, I come toplace in your hands the wife and family of your sovereign; do not sufferthose who have been united in heaven to be put asunder on earth. " Whileshe was repeating this address she was often interrupted by tears, andsorrowfully exclaimed: "They will not let him return!"

It was past four when the King, who had left Versailles at ten in themorning, entered the Hotel de Ville. At length, at six in the evening, M. De Lastours, the King's first page, arrived; he was not half an hour incoming from the Barriere de la Conference to Versailles. Everybody knowsthat the moment of calm in Paris was that in which the unfortunatesovereign received the tricoloured cockade from M. Bailly, and placed itin his hat. A shout of "Vive le Roi!" arose on all sides; it had not beenonce uttered before. The King breathed again, and with tears in his eyesexclaimed that his heart stood in need of such greetings from the people. One of his equerries (M. De Cubieres) told him the people loved him, andthat he could never have doubted it. The King replied in accents ofprofound sensibility:

"Cubieres, the French loved Henri IV. , and what king ever better deservedto be beloved?"

[Louis XVI. Cherished the memory of Henri IV. : at that moment he thoughtof his deplorable end; but he long before regarded him as a model. Soulavie says on the subject: "A tablet with the inscription 'Resurrexit'placed upon the pedestal of Henri IV. 's statue on the accession of LouisXVI. Flattered him exceedingly. 'What a fine compliment, ' said he, 'if itwere true! Tacitus himself never wrote anything so concise or so happy. 'Louis XVI. Wished to take the reign of that Prince for a model. In thefollowing year the party that raised a commotion among the people onaccount of the dearness of corn removed the tablet inscribed Resurrexitfrom the statue of Henri IV. , and placed it under that of Louis XV. , whosememory was then detested, as he was believed to have traded on thescarcity of food. Louis XVI. , who was informed of it, withdrew into hisprivate apartments, where he was found in a fever shedding tears; andduring the whole of that day he could not be prevailed upon either todine, walk out, or sup. From this circumstance we may judge what heendured at the commencement of the Revolution, when he was accused of notloving the French people. "--NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

His return to Versailles filled his family with inexpressible joy; in thearms of the Queen, his sister, and his children, he congratulated himselfthat no accident had happened; and he repeated several times, "Happily noblood has been shed, and I swear that never shall a drop of French bloodbe shed by my order, "--a determination full of humanity, but too openlyavowed in such factious times!

The King's last measure raised a hope in many that general tranquillitywould soon enable the Assembly to resume its, labours, and promptly bringits session to a close. The Queen never flattered herself so far; M. Bailly's speech to the King had equally wounded her pride and hurt herfeelings. "Henri IV. Conquered his people, and here are the peopleconquering their King. " The word "conquest" offended her; she neverforgave M. Bailly for this fine academical phrase. 

Five days after the King's visit to Paris, the departure of the troops, and the removal of the Princes and some of the nobility whose influenceseemed to alarm the people, a horrible deed committed by hired assassinsproved that the King had descended the steps of his throne without havingeffected a reconciliation with his people. 

M. Foulon, adjoint to the administration while M. De Broglie wascommanding the army assembled at Versailles, had concealed himself atViry. He was there recognised, and the peasants seized him, and draggedhim to the Hotel de Ville. The cry for death was heard; the electors, themembers of committee, and M. De La Fayette, at that time the idol ofParis, in vain endeavoured to save the unfortunate man. After tormentinghim in a manner which makes humanity shudder, his body was dragged aboutthe streets, and to the Palais Royal, and his heart was carried by womenin the midst of a bunch of white carnations! M. Berthier, M. Foulon'sson-in-law, intendant of Paris, was seized at Compiegne, at the same timethat his father-in-law was seized at Viry, and treated with still morerelentless cruelty. 

The Queen was always persuaded that this horrible deed was occasioned bysome indiscretion; and she informed me that M. Foulon had drawn up twomemorials for the direction of the King's conduct at the time of his beingcalled to Court on the removal of M. Necker; and that these memorialscontained two schemes of totally different nature for extricating the Kingfrom the dreadful situation in which he was placed. In the first of theseprojects M. Foulon expressed himself without reserve respecting thecriminal views of the Duc d'Orleans; said that he ought to be put underarrest, and that no time should be lost in commencing a prosecutionagainst him, while the criminal tribunals were still in existence; helikewise pointed out such deputies as should be apprehended, and advisedthe King not to separate himself from his army until order was restored. 

His other plan was that the King should make himself master of therevolution before its complete explosion; he advised his Majesty to go tothe Assembly, and there, in person, to demand the cahiers, [Cahiers, the memorials or lists of complaints, grievances, andrequirements of the electors drawn up by the primary assemblies and sentwith the deputies. ]

and to make the greatest sacrifices to satisfy the legitimate wishes ofthe people, and not to give the factious time to enlist them in aid oftheir criminal designs. Madame Adelaide had M. Foulon's two memorialsread to her in the presence of four or five persons. One of them, ComteLouis de Narbonne, was very intimate with Madame de Stael, and thatintimacy gave the Queen reason to believe that the opposite party hadgained information of M. Foulon's schemes. 

It is known that young Barnave, during an aberration of mind, sinceexpiated by sincere repentance, and even by death, uttered these atrociouswords: "Is then the blood now, flowing so pure?" when M. Berthier's soncame to the Assembly to implore the eloquence of M. De Lally to entreatthat body to save his father's life. I have since been informed that ason of M. Foulon, having returned to France after these first ebullitionsof the Revolution, saw Barnave, and gave him one of those memorials inwhich M. Foulon advised Louis XVI. To prevent the revolutionary explosionby voluntarily granting all that the Assembly required before the 14th ofJuly. "Read this memorial, " said he; "I have brought it to increase yourremorse: it is the only revenge I wish to inflict on you. " Barnave burstinto tears, and said to him all that the profoundest grief could dictate. 

CHAPTER II. 

After the 14th of July, by a manoeuvre for which the most skilful factionsof any age might have envied the Assembly, the whole population of Francewas armed and organised into a National Guard. A report was spreadthroughout France on the same day, and almost at the same hour, that fourthousand brigands were marching towards such towns or villages as it waswished to induce to take arms. Never was any plan better laid; terrorspread at the same moment all over the kingdom. In 1791 a peasant showedme a steep rock in the mountains of the Mont d'Or on which his wifeconcealed herself on the day when the four thousand brigands were toattack their village, and told me they had been obliged to make use ofropes to let her down from the height which fear alone had enabled her toclimb. 

Versailles was certainly the place where the national military uniformappeared most offensive. All the King's valets, even of the lowest class, were metamorphosed into lieutenants or captains; almost all the musiciansof the chapel ventured one day to make their appearance at the King's massin a military costume; and an Italian soprano adopted the uniform of agrenadier captain. The King was very much offended at this conduct, andforbade his servants to appear in his presence in so unsuitable a dress. 

The departure of the Duchesse de Polignac naturally left the Abbe deVermond exposed to all the dangers of favouritism. He was already talkedof as an adviser dangerous to the nation. The Queen was alarmed at it, and recommended him to remove to Valenciennes, where Count Esterhazy wasin command. He was obliged to leave that place in a few days and set offfor Vienna, where he remained. 

On the night of the 17th of July the Queen, being unable to sleep, made mewatch by her until three in the morning. I was extremely surprised tohear her say that it would be a very long time before the Abbe de Vermondwould make his appearance at Court again, even if the existing fermentshould subside, because he would not readily be forgiven for hisattachment to the Archbishop of Sens; and that she had lost in him a verydevoted servant. Then she suddenly remarked to me, that although he wasnot much prejudiced against me I could not have much regard for him, because he could not bear my father-in-law to hold the place of secretaryof the closet. She went on to say that I must have studied the Abbe'scharacter, and, as I had sometimes drawn her portraits of livingcharacters, in imitation of those which were fashionable in the time ofLouis XIV. , she desired me to sketch that of the Abbe, without anyreserve. My astonishment was extreme; the Queen spoke of the man who, theday before, had been in the greatest intimacy with her with the utmostcoolness, and as a person whom, perhaps, she might never see again! Iremained petrified; the Queen persisted, and told me that he had been theenemy of my family for more than twelve years, without having been able toinjure it in her opinion; so that I had no occasion to dread his return, however severely I might depict him. I promptly summarised my ideas aboutthe favourite; but I only remember that the portrait was drawn withsincerity, except that everything which could denote antipathy was keptout of it. I shall make but one extract from it: I said that he had beenborn talkative and indiscreet, and had assumed a character of singularityand abruptness in order to conceal those two failings. The Queeninterrupted me by saying, "Ah! how true that is!" I have since discoveredthat, notwithstanding the high favour which the Abbe de Vermond enjoyed, the Queen took precautions to guard herself against an ascendency theconsequences of which she could not calculate. 

On the death of my father-in-law his executors placed in my hands a boxcontaining a few jewels deposited by the Queen with M. Campan on thedeparture from Versailles of the 6th of October, and two sealed packets, each inscribed, "Campan will take care of these papers for me. " I tookthe two packets to her Majesty, who kept the jewels and the larger packet, and, returning me the smaller, said, "Take care of that for me as yourfather-in-law did. "

After the fatal 10th of August, 1792, --[The day of the attack on theTuileries, slaughter of the Swiss guard, and suspension of the King fromhis functions. ]--when my house was about to be surrounded, I determined toburn the most interesting papers of which I was the depositary; I thoughtit my duty, however, to open this packet, which it might perhaps benecessary for me to preserve at all hazards. I saw that it contained aletter from the Abbe de Vermond to the Queen. I have already related thatin the earlier days of Madame de Polignac's favour he determined to removefrom Versailles, and that the Queen recalled him by means of the Comte deMercy. This letter contained nothing but certain conditions for hisreturn; it was the most whimsical of treaties; I confess I greatlyregretted being under the necessity of destroying it. He reproached theQueen for her infatuation for the Comtesse Jules, her family, and society;and told her several truths about the possible consequences of afriendship which ranked that lady among the favourites of the Queens ofFrance, a title always disliked by the nation. He complained that hisadvice was neglected, and then came to the conditions of his return toVersailles; after strong assurances that he would never, in all his life, aim at the higher church dignities, he said that he delighted in anunbounded confidence; and that he asked but two things of her Majesty asessential: the first was, not to give him her orders through any thirdperson, and to write to him herself; he complained much that he had had noletter in her own hand since he had left Vienna; then he demanded of heran income of eighty thousand livres, in ecclesiastical benefices; andconcluded by saying that, if she condescended to assure him herself thatshe would set about procuring him what he wished, her letter would besufficient in itself to show him that her Majesty had accepted the twoconditions he ventured to make respecting his return. No doubt the letterwas written; at least it is very certain that the benefices were granted, and that his absence from Versailles lasted only a single week. 

In the course of July, 1789, the regiment of French guards, which had beenin a state of insurrection from the latter end of June, abandoned itscolours. One single company of grenadiers remained faithful, to its postat Versailles. M. Le Baron de Leval was the captain of this company. Hecame every evening to request me to give the Queen an account of thedisposition of his soldiers; but M. De La Fayette having sent them a note, they all deserted during the night and joined their comrades, who wereenrolled in the Paris guard; so that Louis XVI. On rising saw no guardwhatever at the various posts entrusted to them. 

The decrees of the 4th of August, by which all privileges were abolished, are well known. 

["It was during the night of the 4th of August, " says Rivarol, "that thedemagogues of the nobility, wearied with a protracted discussion upon therights of man, and burning to signalise their zeal, rose all at once, andwith loud exclamations called for the last sighs of the feudal system. This demand electrified the Assembly. All heads were frenzied. Theyounger sons of good families, having nothing, were delighted to sacrificetheir too fortunate elders upon the altar of the country; a few countrycures felt no less pleasure in renouncing the benefices of others; butwhat posterity will hardly believe is that the same enthusiasm infectedthe whole nobility; zeal walked hand in hand with malevolence; they madesacrifice upon sacrifice. And as in Japan the point of honour lies in aman's killing himself in the presence of the person who has offended him, so did the deputies of the nobility vie in striking at themselves andtheir constituents. The people who were present at this noble contestincreased the intoxication of their new allies by their shouts; and thedeputies of the commons, seeing that this memorable night would onlyafford them profit without honour, consoled their self-love by wonderingat what Nobility, grafted upon the Third Estate, could do. They namedthat night the 'night of dupes'; the nobles called it the 'night ofsacrifices'. "--NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

The King sanctioned all that tended to the diminution of his own personalgratifications, but refused his consent to the other decrees of thattumultuous night; this refusal was one of the chief causes of the fermentsof the month of October. 

In the early part of September meetings were held at the Palais Royal, andpropositions made to go to Versailles; it was said to be necessary toseparate the King from his evil counsellors, and keep him, as well as theDauphin, at the Louvre. The proclamations by the officers of the communefor the restoration of tranquillity were ineffectual; but M. De La Fayettesucceeded this time in dispersing the populace. The Assembly declareditself permanent; and during the whole of September, in which no doubt thepreparations were made for the great insurrections of the following month, the Court was not disturbed. 

The King had the Flanders regiment removed to Versailles; unfortunatelythe idea of the officers of that regiment fraternising with the BodyGuards was conceived, and the latter invited the former to a dinner, whichwas given in the great theatre of Versailles, and not in the Salon ofHercules, as some chroniclers say. Boxes were appropriated to variouspersons who wished to be present at this entertainment. The Queen told meshe had been advised to make her appearance on the occasion, but thatunder existing circumstances she thought such a step might do more harmthan good; and that, moreover, neither she nor the King ought directly tohave anything to do with such a festival. She ordered me to go, anddesired me to observe everything closely, in order to give a faithfulaccount of the whole affair. 

The tables were set out upon the stage; at them were placed one of theBody Guard and an officer of the Flanders regiment alternately. There wasa numerous orchestra in the room, and the boxes were filled withspectators. The air, "O Richard, O mon Roi!" was played, and shouts of"Vive de Roi!" shook the roof for several minutes. I had with me one ofmy nieces, and a young person brought up with Madame by her Majesty. Theywere crying "Vive le Roi!" with all their might when a deputy of the ThirdEstate, who was in the next box to mine, and whom I had never seen, calledto them, and reproached them for their exclamations; it hurt him, he said, to see young and handsome Frenchwomen brought up in such servile habits, screaming so outrageously for the life of one man, and with truefanaticism exalting him in their hearts above even their dearestrelations; he told them what contempt worthy American women would feel onseeing Frenchwomen thus corrupted from their earliest infancy. My niecereplied with tolerable spirit, and I requested the deputy to put an end tothe subject, which could by no means afford him any satisfaction, inasmuchas the young persons who were with me lived, as well as myself, for thesole purpose of serving and loving the King. While I was speaking whatwas my astonishment at seeing the King, the Queen, and the Dauphin enterthe chamber! It was M. De Luxembourg who had effected this change in theQueen's determination. 

The enthusiasm became general; the moment their Majesties arrived theorchestra repeated the air I have just mentioned, and afterwards played asong in the "Deserter, " "Can we grieve those whom we love?" which alsomade a powerful impression upon those present: on all sides were heardpraises of their Majesties, exclamations of affection, expressions ofregret for what they had suffered, clapping of hands, and shouts of "Vivele Roi! Vive la Reine! Vive le Dauphin!" It has been said that whitecockades were worn on this occasion; that was not the case; the fact is, that a few young men belonging to the National Guard of Versailles, whowere invited to the entertainment, turned the white lining of theirnational cockades outwards. All the military men quitted the hall, andreconducted the King and his family to their apartments. There wasintoxication in these ebullitions of joy: a thousand extravagances werecommitted by the military, and many of them danced under the King'swindows; a soldier belonging to the Flanders regiment climbed up to thebalcony of the King's chamber in order to shout "Vive le Roi!" nearer hisMajesty; this very soldier, as I have been told by several officers of thecorps, was one of the first and most dangerous of their insurgents in theriots of the 5th and 6th of October. On the same evening another soldierof that regiment killed himself with a sword. One of my relations, chaplain to the Queen, who supped with me, saw him stretched out in acorner of the Place d'Armes; he went to him to give him spiritualassistance, and received his confession and his last sighs. He destroyedhimself out of regret at having suffered himself to be corrupted by theenemies of his King, and said that, since he had seen him and the Queenand the Dauphin, remorse had turned his brain. 

I returned home, delighted with all that I had seen. 

I found a great many people there. M. De Beaumetz, deputy for Arras, listened to my description with a chilling air, and, when I had finished, told me that all that had passed was terrific; that he knew thedisposition of the Assembly, and that the greatest misfortunes wouldfollow the drama of that night; and he begged my leave to withdraw that hemight take time for deliberate reflection whether he should on the verynext day emigrate, or pass over to the left side of the Assembly. Headopted the latter course, and never appeared again among my associates. 

On the 2d of October the military entertainment was followed up by abreakfast given at the hotel of the Body Guards. It is said that adiscussion took place whether they should not march against the Assembly;but I am utterly ignorant of what passed at that breakfast. From thatmoment Paris was constantly in commotion; there were continual mobs, andthe most virulent proposals were heard in all public places; theconversation was invariably about proceeding to Versailles. The King andQueen did not seem apprehensive of such a measure, and took no precautionagainst it; even when the army had actually left Paris, on the evening ofthe 5th of October, the King was shooting at Meudon, and the Queen wasalone in her gardens at Trianon, which she then beheld for the last timein her life. She was sitting in her grotto absorbed in painfulreflection, when she received a note from the Comte de Saint-Priest, entreating her to return to Versailles. M. De Cubieres at the same timewent off to request the King to leave his sport and return to the palace;the King did so on horseback, and very leisurely. A few minutesafterwards he was informed that a numerous body of women, which precededthe Parisian army, was at Chaville, at the entrance of the avenue fromParis. 

The scarcity of bread and the entertainment of the Body Guards were thepretexts for the insurrection of the 5th and 6th of October, 1789; but itis clear to demonstration that this new movement of the people was a partof the original plan of the factious, insomuch as, ever since thebeginning of September, a report had been industriously circulated thatthe King intended to withdraw, with his family and ministers, to somestronghold; and at all the popular assemblies there had been always agreat deal said about going to Versailles to seize the King. 

At first only women showed themselves; the latticed doors of the Chateauwere closed, and the Body Guard and Flanders regiment were drawn up in thePlace d'Armes. As the details of that dreadful day are given withprecision in several works, I will only observe that general consternationand disorder reigned throughout the interior of the palace. 

I was not in attendance on the Queen at this time. M. Campan remainedwith her till two in the morning. As he was leaving her shecondescendingly, and with infinite kindness, desired him to make me easyas to the dangers of the moment, and to repeat to me M. De La Fayette'sown words, which he had just used on soliciting the royal family to retireto bed, undertaking to answer for his army. 

The Queen was far from relying upon M. De La Fayette's loyalty; but shehas often told me that she believed on that day, that La Fayette, havingaffirmed to the King, in the presence of a crowd of witnesses, that hewould answer for the army of Paris, would not risk his honour as acommander, and was sure of being able to redeem his pledge. She alsothought the Parisian army was devoted to him, and that all he said abouthis being forced to march upon Versailles was mere pretence. 

On the first intimation of the march of the Parisians, the Comte deSaint-Priest prepared Rambouillet for the reception of the King, hisfamily, and suite, and the carriages were even drawn out; but a few criesof "Vive le Roi!" when the women reported his Majesty's favourableanswer, occasioned the intention of going away to be given up, and orderswere given to the troops to withdraw. 

[Compare this account with the particulars given in the "Memoirs" ofFerribres, Weber, Bailly, and Saint-Priest, from the latter of which thefollowing sentence is taken:

"M. D'Estaing knew not what to do with the Body Guards beyond bringingthem into the courtyard of the ministers, and shutting the grilles. Thence they proceeded to the terrace of the Chateau, then to Trianon, andlastly to Rambouillet. 

"I could not refrain from expressing to M. D'Estaing, when he came to theKing, my astonishment at not seeing him make any military disposition. 'Monsieur, ' replied he, 'I await the orders of the King' (who did not openhis mouth). 'When the King gives no orders, ' pursued I, 'a general shoulddecide for himself in a soldierly manner. ' This observation remainedunanswered. "]

The Body Guards were, however, assailed with stones and musketry whilethey were passing from the Place d'Armes to, their hotel. Alarm revived;again it was thought necessary that the royal family should go away; somecarriages still remained ready for travelling; they were called for; theywere stopped by a wretched player belonging to the theatre of the town, seconded by the mob: the opportunity for flight had been lost. 

The insurrection was directed against the Queen in particular; I shuddereven now at the recollection of the poissardes, or rather furies, who worewhite aprons, which they screamed out were intended to receive the bowelsof Marie Antoinette, and that they would make cockades of them, mixing themost obscene expressions with these horrible threats. 

The Queen went to bed at two in the morning, and even slept, tired outwith the events of so distressing a day. She had ordered her two women tobed, imagining there was nothing to dread, at least for that night; butthe unfortunate Princess was indebted for her life to that feeling ofattachment which prevented their obeying her. My sister, who was one ofthe ladies in question, informed me next day of all that I am about torelate. 

On leaving the Queen's bedchamber, these ladies called their femmes dechambre, and all four remained sitting together against her Majesty'sbedroom door. About half-past four in the morning they heard horribleyells and discharges of firearms; one ran to the Queen to awaken her andget her out of bed; my sister flew to the place from which the tumultseemed to proceed; she opened the door of the antechamber which leads tothe great guard-room, and beheld one of the Body Guard holding his musketacross the door, and attacked by a mob, who were striking at him; his facewas covered with blood; he turned round and exclaimed: "Save the Queen, madame; they are come to assassinate her!" She hastily shut the door uponthe unfortunate victim of duty, fastened it with the great bolt, and tookthe same precaution on leaving the next room. On reaching the Queen'schamber she cried out to her, "Get up, Madame! Don't stay to dressyourself; fly to the King's apartment!" The terrified Queen threw herselfout of bed; they put a petticoat upon her without tying it, and the twoladies conducted her towards the oile-de-boeuf. A door, which led fromthe Queen's dressing-room to that apartment, had never before beenfastened but on her side. What a dreadful moment! It was found to besecured on the other side. They knocked repeatedly with all theirstrength; a servant of one of the King's valets de chambre came and openedit; the Queen entered the King's chamber, but he was not there. Alarmedfor the Queen's life, he had gone down the staircases and through thecorridors under the oeil-de-boeuf, by means of which he was accustomed togo to the Queen's apartments without being under the necessity of crossingthat room. He entered her Majesty's room and found no one there but someBody Guards, who had taken refuge in it. The King, unwilling to exposetheir lives, told them to wait a few minutes, and afterwards sent todesire them to go to the oeil-de-boeuf. Madame de Tourzel, at that timegoverness of the children of France, had just taken Madame and the Dauphinto the King's apartments. The Queen saw her children again. The readermust imagine this scene of tenderness and despair. 

It is not true that the assassins penetrated to the Queen's chamber andpierced the bed with their swords. The fugitive Body Guards were the onlypersons who entered it; and if the crowd had reached so far they would allhave been massacred. Besides, when the rebels had forced the doors of theantechamber, the footmen and officers on duty, knowing that the Queen wasno longer in her apartments, told them so with that air of truth whichalways carries conviction. The ferocious horde instantly rushed towardsthe oeil-de-boeuf, hoping, no doubt, to intercept her on her way. 

Many have asserted that they recognised the Duc d'Orleans in a greatcoatand slouched hat, at half-past four in the morning, at the top of themarble staircase, pointing out with his hand the guard-room, which led tothe Queen's apartments. This fact was deposed to at the Chatelet byseveral individuals in the course of the inquiry instituted respecting thetransactions of the 5th and 6th of October. 

[The National Assembly was sitting when information of the march of theParisians was given to it by one of the deputies who came from Paris. Acertain number of the members were no strangers, to this movement. Itappears that Mirabeau wished to avail himself of it to raise the Ducd'Orleans to the throne. Mounier, who presided over the NationalAssembly, rejected the idea with horror. "My good man, " said Mirabeau tohim, "what difference will it make to you to have Louis XVII. For yourKing instead of Louis XVI. ?" (The Duc d'Orleans was baptised Louis. )]

The prudence and honourable feeling of several officers of the Parisianguards, and the judicious conduct of M. De Vaudreuil, lieutenant-generalof marine, and of M. De Chevanne, one of the King's Guards, brought aboutan understanding between the grenadiers of the National Guard of Paris andthe King's Guard. The doors of the oeil-de-boeuf were closed, and theantechamber which precedes that room was filled with grenadiers who wantedto get in to massacre the Guards. M. De Chevanne offered himself to themas a victim if they wished for one, and demanded what they would have. Areport had been spread through their ranks that the Body Guards set themat defiance, and that they all wore black cockades. M. De Chevanne showedthem that he wore, as did the corps, the cockade of their uniform; andpromised that the Guards should exchange it for that of the nation. Thiswas done; they even went so far as to exchange their grenadiers' caps forthe hats of the Body Guards; those who were on guard took off theirshoulder-belts; embraces and transports of fraternisation instantlysucceeded to the savage eagerness to murder the band which had shown somuch fidelity to its sovereign. The cry was now "Vivent le Roi, laNation, et les Gardes-du-corps!"

The army occupied the Place d'Armes, all the courtyards of the Chateau, and the entrance to the avenue. They called for the Queen to appear inthe balcony: she came forward with Madame and the Dauphin. There was acry of "No children!" Was this with a view to deprive her of the interestshe inspired, accompanied as she was by her young family, or did theleaders of the democrats hope that some madman would venture to aim amortal blow at her person? The unfortunate Princess certainly wasimpressed with the latter idea, for she sent away her children, and withher hands and eyes raised towards heaven, advanced upon the balcony like aself-devoted victim. 

A few voices shouted "To Paris!" The exclamation soon became general. Before the King agreed to this removal he wished to consult the NationalAssembly, and caused that body to be invited to sit at the Chateau. Mirabeau opposed this measure. While these discussions were going forwardit became more and more difficult to restrain the immense disorderlymultitude. The King, without consulting any one, now said to the people:"You wish, my children, that I should follow you to Paris: I consent, buton condition that I shall not be separated from my wife and family. " TheKing added that he required safety also for his Guards; he was answered byshouts of "Vivo le Roi! Vivent les Gardes-du-corps!" The Guards, withtheir hats in the air, turned so as to exhibit the. Cockade, shouted "Vivele Roi! Vive la Nation!" shortly afterwards a general discharge of allthe muskets took place, in token of joy. The King and Queen set off fromVersailles at one o'clock. The Dauphin, Madame, the King's daughter, Monsieur, Madame, --[Madame, here, the wife of Monsieur le Comte deProvence. ]--Madame Elisabeth, and Madame de Tourzel, were in the carriage;the Princesse de Chimay and the ladies of the bedchamber for the week, theKing's suite and servants, followed in Court carriages; a hundred deputiesin carriages, and the bulk of the Parisian army, closed the procession. 

The poissardes went before and around the carriage of their Majesties, Crying, "We shall no longer want bread! We have the baker, the baker'swife, and the baker's boy with us!" In the midst of this troop ofcannibals the heads of two murdered Body Guards were carried on poles. Themonsters, who made trophies of them, conceived the horrid idea of forcinga wigmaker of Sevres to dress them up and powder their bloody locks. Theunfortunate man who was forced to perform this dreadful work died inconsequence of the shock it gave him. 

[The King did not leave Versailles till one o'clock. The Queen, theDauphin, Madame Royale, Monsieur, Madame Elisabeth, and Madame de Tourzelwere in his Majesty's carriage. The hundred deputies in their carriagescame next. A detachment of brigands, bearing the heads of the two BodyGuards in triumph, formed the advance guard, and set out two hoursearlier. These cannibals stopped a moment at Sevres, and carried theircruelty to the length of forcing an unfortunate hairdresser to dress thegory heads; the bulk of the Parisian army followed them closely. TheKing's carriage was preceded by the 'poissardes', who had arrived the daybefore from Paris, and a rabble of prostitutes, the vile refuse of theirsex, still drunk with fury and wine. Several of them rode astride uponcannons, boasting, in the most horrible songs, of the crimes they hadcommitted themselves, or seen others commit. Those who were nearest theKing's carriage sang ballads, the allusions in which by means of theirvulgar gestures they applied to the Queen. Wagons, full of corn andflour, --which had been brought into Versailles, formed a train escorted bygrenadiers, and surrounded by women and bullies, some armed with pikes, and some carrying long branches of poplar. At some distance this part ofthe procession had a most singular effect: it looked like a moving forest, amidst which shone pike-heads and gun-barrels. In the paroxysms of theirbrutal joy the women stopped passengers, and, pointing to the King'scarriage, howled in their ears: "Cheer up, friends; we shall no longer bein want of bread! We bring you the baker, the baker's wife, and thebaker's little boy!" Behind his Majesty's carriage were several of hisfaithful Guards, some on foot, and some on horseback, most of themuncovered, all unarmed, and worn out with hunger and fatigue; thedragoons, the Flanders regiment, the hundred Swiss, and the NationalGuards preceded, accompanied, or followed the file of carriages. Iwitnessed this heartrending spectacle; I saw the ominous procession. Inthe midst of all the tumult, clamour, and singing, interrupted by frequentdischarges of musketry, which the hand of a monster or a bungler might soeasily render fatal, I saw the Queen preserving most courageoustranquillity of soul, and an air of nobleness and inexpressible dignity, and my eyes were suffused with tears of admiration and grief. --"Memoirs ofBertrand de Molleville. "]

The progress of the procession was so slow that it was near six in theevening when this august family, made prisoners by their own people, arrived at the Hotel de Ville. Bailly received them there; they wereplaced upon a throne, just when that of their ancestors had beenoverthrown. The King spoke in a firm yet gracious manner; he said that healways came with pleasure and confidence among the inhabitants of his goodcity of Paris. M. Bailly repeated this observation to the representativesof the commune, who came to address the King; but he forgot the wordconfidence. The Queen instantly and loudly reminded him of the omission. The King and Queen, their children, and Madame Elisabeth, retired to theTuileries. Nothing was ready for their reception there. All theliving-rooms had been long given up to persons belonging to the Court;they hastily quitted them on that day, leaving their furniture, which waspurchased by the Court. The Comtesse de la Marck, sister to the Marechauxde Noailles and de Mouchy, had occupied the apartments now appropriated tothe Queen. Monsieur and Madame retired to the Luxembourg. 

The Queen had sent for me on the morning of the 6th of October, to leaveme and my father-in-law in charge of her most valuable property. She tookaway only her casket of diamonds. Comte Gouvernet de la Tour-du-Pin, towhom the military government of Versailles was entrusted 'pro tempore', came and gave orders to the National Guard, which had taken possession ofthe apartments, to allow us to remove everything that we should deemnecessary for the Queen's accommodation. 

I saw her Majesty alone in her private apartments a moment before herdeparture for Paris; she could hardly speak; tears bedewed her face, towhich all the blood in her body seemed to have rushed; she condescended toembrace me, gave her hand to M. Campan to kiss, and said to us, "Comeimmediately and settle at Paris; I will lodge you at the Tuileries; come, and do not leave me henceforward; faithful servants at moments like thesebecome useful friends; we are lost, dragged away, perhaps to death; whenkings become prisoners they are very near it. "

I had frequent opportunities during the course of our misfortunes ofobserving that the people never entirely give their allegiance to factiousleaders, but easily escape their control when some cause reminds them oftheir duty. As soon as the most violent Jacobins had an opportunity ofseeing the Queen near at hand, of speaking to her, and of hearing hervoice, they became her most zealous partisans; and even when she was inthe prison of the Temple several of those who had contributed to place herthere perished for having attempted to get her out again. 

On the morning of the 7th of October the same women who the day beforesurrounded the carriage of the august prisoners, riding on cannons anduttering the most abusive language, assembled under the Queen's windows, upon the terrace of the Chateau, and desired to see her. Her Majestyappeared. There are always among mobs of this description orators, thatis to say, beings who have more assurance than the rest; a woman of thisdescription told the Queen that she must now remove far from her all suchcourtiers as ruin kings, and that she must love the inhabitants of hergood city. The Queen answered that she had loved them at Versailles, andwould likewise love them at Paris. "Yes, yes, " said another; "but on the14th of July you wanted to besiege the city and have it bombarded; and onthe 6th of October you wanted to fly to the frontiers. " The Queenreplied, affably, that they had been told so, and had believed it; thatthere lay the cause of the unhappiness of the people and of the best ofkings. A third addressed a few words to her in German: the Queen told hershe did not understand it; that she had become so entirely French as evento have forgotten her mother tongue. This declaration was answered with"Bravo!" and clapping of hands; they then desired her to make a compactwith them. "Ah, " said she, "how can I make a compact with you, since youhave no faith in that which my duty points out to me, and which I oughtfor my own happiness to respect?" They asked her for the ribbons andflowers out of her hat; her Majesty herself unfastened them and gave them;they were divided among the party, which for above half an hour cried out, without ceasing, "Marie Antoinette for ever! Our good Queen for ever!"

Two days after the King's arrival at Paris, the city and the NationalGuard sent to request the Queen to appear at the theatre, and prove by herpresence and the King's that it was with pleasure they resided in theircapital. I introduced the deputation which came to make this request. Her Majesty replied that she should have infinite pleasure in acceding tothe invitation of the city of Paris; but that time must be allowed her tosoften the recollection of the distressing events which had just occurred, and from which she had suffered too much. She added, that having comeinto Paris preceded by the heads of the faithful Guards who had perishedbefore the door of their sovereign, she could not think that such an entryinto the capital ought to be followed by rejoicings; but that thehappiness she had always felt in appearing in the midst of the inhabitantsof Paris was not effaced from her memory, and that she should enjoy itagain as soon as she found herself able to do so. 

Their Majesties found some consolation in their private life: fromMadame's--[Madame, here, the Princesse Marie Therese, daughter of MarieAntoinette. ]--gentle manners and filial affection, from theaccomplishments and vivacity of the little Dauphin, and the attention andtenderness of the pious Princess Elisabeth, they still derived moments ofhappiness. The young Prince daily gave proofs of sensibility andpenetration; he was not yet beyond female care, but a private tutor, theAbbe Davout, gave him all the instruction suitable to his age; his memorywas highly cultivated, and he recited verses with much grace and feeling. 

[On the 19th of October, that is to say, thirteen days after he had takenup his abode at Paris, the King went, on foot and almost alone, to reviewsome detachments of the National Guard. After the review Louis XVI. Metwith a child sweeping the street, who asked him for money. The childcalled the King "M. Le Chevalier. " His Majesty gave him six francs. Thelittle sweeper, surprised at receiving so large a sum, cried out, "Oh! Ihave no change; you will give me money another time. " A person whoaccompanied the monarch said to the child, "Keep it all, my friend; thegentleman is not chevalier, he is the eldest of the family. "--NOTE BY THEEDITOR. ]

The day after the arrival of the Court at Paris, terrified at hearing somenoise in the gardens of the Tuileries, the young prince threw himself intothe arms of the Queen, crying out, "Grand-Dieu, mamma! will it beyesterday over again?" A few days after this affecting exclamation, hewent up to the King, and looked at him with a pensive air. The King askedhim what he wanted; he answered, that he had something very serious to sayto him. The King having prevailed on him to explain himself, the youngPrince asked why his people, who formerly loved him so well, were all atonce angry with him; and what he had done to irritate them so much. Hisfather took him upon his knees, and spoke to him nearly as follows: "Iwished, child, to render the people still happier than they were; I wantedmoney to pay the expenses occasioned by wars. I asked my people formoney, as my predecessors have always done; magistrates, composing theParliament, opposed it, and said that my people alone had a right toconsent to it. I assembled the principal inhabitants of every town, whether distinguished by birth, fortune, or talents, at Versailles; thatis what is called the States General. When they were assembled theyrequired concessions of me which I could not make, either with due respectfor myself or with justice to you, who will be my successor; wicked meninducing the people to rise have occasioned the excesses of the last fewdays; the people must not be blamed for them. "

The Queen made the young Prince clearly comprehend that he ought to treatthe commanders of battalions, the officers of the National Guard, and allthe Parisians who were about him, with affability; the child took greatpains to please all those people, and when he had had an opportunity ofreplying obligingly to the mayor or members of the commune he came andwhispered in his mother's ear, "Was that right?"

He requested M. Bailly to show him the shield of Scipio, which is in theroyal library; and M. Bailly asking him which he preferred, Scipio orHannibal, the young Prince replied, without hesitation, that he preferredhim who had defended his own country. He gave frequent proofs of readywit. One day, while the Queen was hearing Madame repeat her exercises inancient history, the young Princess could not at the moment recollect thename of the Queen of Carthage; the Dauphin was vexed at his sister's wantof memory, and though he never spoke to her in the second person singular, he bethought himself of the expedient of saying to her, "But 'dis donc'the name of the Queen, to mamma; 'dis donc' what her name was. "

Shortly after the arrival of the King and his family at Paris the Duchessede Luynes came, in pursuance of the advice of a committee of theConstitutional Assembly, to propose to the Queen a temporary retirementfrom France, in order to leave the constitution to perfect itself, so thatthe patriots should not accuse her of influencing the King to oppose it. The Duchess knew how far the schemes of the conspirers extended, and herattachment to the Queen was the principal cause of the advice she gaveher. The Queen perfectly comprehended the Duchesse de Luynes's motive;but replied that she would never leave either the King or her son; that ifshe thought herself alone obnoxious to public hatred she would instantlyoffer her life as a sacrifice;--but that it was the throne which was aimedat, and that, in abandoning the King, she should be merely committing anact of cowardice, since she saw no other advantage in it than that ofsaving her own life. 

One evening, in the month of November, 1790, I returned home rather late;I there found the Prince de Poix; he told me he came to request me toassist him in regaining his peace of mind; that at the commencement of thesittings of the National Assembly he had suffered himself to be seducedinto the hope of a better order of things; that he blushed for his error, and that he abhorred plans which had already produced such fatal results;that he broke with the reformers for the rest of his life; that he hadgiven in his resignation as a deputy of the National Assembly; and, finally, that he was anxious that the Queen should not sleep in ignoranceof his sentiments. I undertook his commission, and acquitted myself of itin the best way I could; but I was totally unsuccessful. The Prince dePoix remained at Court; he there suffered many mortifications, neverceasing to serve the King in the most dangerous commissions with that zealfor which his house has always been distinguished. 

When the King, the Queen, and the children were suitably established atthe Tuileries, as well as Madame Elisabeth and the Princesse de Lamballe, the Queen resumed her usual habits; she employed her mornings insuperintending the education of Madame, who received all her lessons inher presence, and she herself began to work large pieces of tapestry. Hermind was too much occupied with passing events and surrounding dangers toadmit her of applying herself to reading; the needle was the onlyemployment which could divert her. 

[There was long preserved at Paris, in the house of MademoiselleDubuquois, a tapestry-worker, a carpet worked by the Queen and MadameElisabeth for the large room of her Majesty's ground-floor apartments atthe Tuileries. The Empress Josephine saw and admired this carpet, anddesired it might be taken care of, in the hope of one day sending it toMadame--MADAME CAMPAN. ]

She received the Court twice a week before going to mass, and on thosedays dined in public with the King; she spent the rest of the time withher family and children; she had no concert, and did not go to the playuntil 1791, after the acceptation of the constitution. The Princesse deLamballe, however, had some evening parties in her apartments at theTuileries, which were tolerably brilliant in consequence of the greatnumber of persons who attended them. The Queen was present at a few ofthese assemblies; but being soon convinced that her present situationforbade her appearing much in public, she remained at home, and conversedas she sat at work. The sole topic of her discourse was, as may well besupposed, the Revolution. She sought to discover the real opinions of theParisians respecting her, and how she could have so completely lost theaffections of the people, and even of many persons in the higher ranks. She well knew that she ought to impute the whole to the spirit of party, to the hatred of the Duc d'Orleans, and the folly of the French, whodesired to have a total change in the constitution; but she was not theless desirous of ascertaining the private feelings of all the people inpower. 

From the very commencement of the Revolution General Luckner indulged inviolent sallies against her. Her Majesty, knowing that I was acquaintedwith a lady who had been long connected with the General, desired me todiscover through that channel what was the private motive on whichLuckner's hatred against her was founded. On being questioned upon thispoint, he answered that Marechal de Segur had assured him he had proposedhim for the command of a camp of observation, but that the Queen had madea bar against his name; and that this 'par', as he called it, in hisGerman accent, he could not forget. 

The Queen ordered me to repeat this reply to the King myself, and said tohim: "See, Sire, whether I was not right in telling you that yourministers, in order to give themselves full scope in the distribution offavours, persuaded the French that I interfered in everything; there wasnot a single license given out in the country for the sale of salt ortobacco but the people believed it was given to one of my favourites. "

"That is very, true, " replied the King; "but I find it very difficult tobelieve that Marechal de Segur ever said any such thing to Luckner; heknew too well that you never interfered in the distribution of favours. 

"That Luckner is a good-for-nothing fellow, and Segur is a brave andhonourable man who never uttered such a falsehood; however, you are right;and because you provided for a few dependents, you are most unjustlyreported to have disposed of all offices, civil and military. "

All the nobility who had not left Paris made a point of presentingthemselves assiduously to the King, and there was a considerable influx tothe Tuileries. Marks of attachment were exhibited even in externalsymbols; the women wore enormous bouquets of lilies in their bosoms andupon their heads, and sometimes even bunches of white ribbon. At the playthere were often disputes between the pit and the boxes about removingthese ornaments, which the people thought dangerous emblems. Nationalcockades were sold in every corner of Paris; the sentinels stopped all whodid not wear them; the young men piqued themselves upon breaking throughthis regulation, which was in some degree sanctioned by the acquiescenceof Louis XVI. Frays took place, which were to be regretted, because theyexcited a spirit of lawlessness. The King adopted conciliatory measureswith the Assembly in order to promote tranquillity; the revolutionistswere but little disposed to think him sincere; unfortunately the royalistsencouraged this incredulity by incessantly repeating that the King was notfree, and that all that he did was completely null, and in no way boundhim for the time to come. Such was the heat and violence of party spiritthat persons the most sincerely attached to the King were not evenpermitted to use the language of reason, and recommend greater reserve inconversation. People would talk and argue at table without consideringthat all the servants belonged to the hostile army; and it may truly besaid there was as much imprudence and levity in the party assailed asthere was cunning, boldness, and perseverance in that which made theattack. 

CHAPTER III. 

In February, 1790, another matter gave the Court much uneasiness; azealous individual of the name of Favras had conceived the scheme ofcarrying off the King, and affecting a counter-revolution. Monsieur, probably out of mere benevolence, gave him some money, and thence arose areport that he thereby wished to favour the execution of the enterprise. The step taken by Monsieur in going to the Hotel de Ville to explainhimself on this matter was unknown to the Queen; it is more than probablethat the King was acquainted with it. When judgment was pronounced uponM. De Favras the Queen did not conceal from me her fears about theconfessions of the unfortunate man in his last moments. 

I sent a confidential person to the Hotel de Ville; she came to inform theQueen that the condemned had demanded to be taken from Notre-Dame to theHotel de Ville to make a final declaration, and give some particularsverifying it. These particulars compromised nobody; Favras corrected hislast will after writing it, and went to the scaffold with heroic courageand coolness. The judge who read his condemnation to him told him thathis life was a sacrifice which he owed to public tranquillity. It wasasserted at the time that Favras was given up as a victim in order tosatisfy the people and save the Baron de Besenval, who was a prisoner inthe Abbaye. 

[Thomas Mahy, Marquis de Favras, was accused in the month of December, 1789, of having conspired against the Revolution. Having been arrested byorder of the committee of inquiry of the National Assembly, he wastransferred to the Chatelet, where he defended himself with much coolnessand presence of mind, repelling the accusations brought against him byMorel, Turcati, and Marquis, with considerable force. These witnessesdeclared he had imparted his plan to them; it was to be carried intoexecution by 12, 000 Swiss and 12, 000 Germans, who were to be assembled atMontargis, thence to march upon Paris, carry off the King, and assassinateBailly, La Fayette, and Necker. The greater number of these charges hedenied, and declared that the rest related only to the levy of a troopintended to favour the revolution preparing in Brabant. The judge havingrefused to disclose who had denounced him, he complained to the Assembly, which passed to the order of the day. His death was obviously inevitable. During the whole time of the proceedings the populace never ceasedthreatening the judges and shouting, "A la lanterne!" It was evennecessary to keep numerous troops and artillery constantly ready to act inthe courtyard of the Chatelet. The judges, who had just acquitted M. DeBesenval in an affair nearly similar, doubtless dreaded the effects ofthis fury. When they refused to hear Favras's witnesses in exculpation, he compared them to the tribunal of the Inquisition. The principal chargeagainst him was founded on a letter from M. De Foucault, asking him, "where are your troops? in which direction will they enter Paris? Ishould like to be employed among them. " Favras was condemned to make the'amende honorable' in front of the Cathedral, and to be hanged at thePlace de Greve. He heard this sentence with wonderful calmness, and saidto his judges, "I pity you much if the testimony of two men is sufficientto induce you to condemn. " The judge having said to him, "I have no otherconsolation to hold out to you than that which religion affords, " hereplied, nobly, "My greatest consolation is that which I derive from myinnocence. "--"Biographic Universelle"]

On the morning of the Sunday following this execution M. De la Villeurnoycame to my house to tell me that he was going that day to the publicdinner of the King and Queen to present Madame de Favras and her son, bothof them in mourning for the brave Frenchman who fell a sacrifice for hisKing; and that all the royalists expected to see the Queen load theunfortunate family with favours. I did all that lay in my power toprevent this proceeding. I foresaw the effect it would have upon theQueen's feeling heart, and the painful constraint she would experience, having the horrible Santerre, the commandant of a battalion of theParisian guard, behind her chair during dinner-time. I could not make M. De la Villeurnoy comprehend my argument; the Queen was gone to mass, surrounded by her whole Court, and I had not even means of apprising herof his intention. 

When dinner was over I heard a knocking at the door of my apartment, whichopened into the corridor next that of the Queen; it was herself. She askedme whether there was anybody with me; I was alone; she threw herself intoan armchair, and told me she came to weep with me over the foolish conductof the ultras of the King's party. "We must fall, " said she, "attacked aswe are by men who possess every talent and shrink from no crime, while weare defended only by those who are no doubt very estimable, but have noadequate idea of our situation. They have exposed me to the animosity ofboth parties by presenting the widow and son of Favras to me. Were I freeto act as I wish, I should take the child of the man who has justsacrificed himself for us and place him at table between the King andmyself; but surrounded by the assassins who have destroyed his father, Idid not dare even to cast my eyes upon him. The royalists will blame mefor not having appeared interested in this poor child; the revolutionistswill be enraged at the idea that his presentation should have been thoughtagreeable to me. " However, the Queen added that she knew Madame de Favraswas in want, and that she desired me to send her next day, through aperson who could be relied on, a few rouleaus of fifty Louis, and todirect that she should be assured her Majesty would always watch over thefortunes of herself and her son. 

In the month of March following I had an opportunity of ascertaining theKing's sentiments respecting the schemes which were continually proposedto him for making his escape. One night about ten o'clock Comted'Inisdal, who was deputed by the nobility, came to request that I wouldsee him in private, as he had an important matter to communicate to me. Hetold me that on that very night the King was to be carried off; that thesection of the National Guard, that day commanded by M. D'Aumont, wasgained over, and that sets of horses, furnished by some good royalists, were placed in relays at suitable distances; that he had just left anumber of the nobility assembled for the execution of this scheme, andthat he had been sent to me that I might, through the medium of the Queen, obtain the King's positive consent to it before midnight; that the Kingwas aware of their plan, but that his Majesty never would speak decidedly, and that it was necessary he should consent to the undertaking. I greatlydispleased Comte d'Inisdal by expressing my astonishment that the nobilityat the moment of the execution of so important a project should send tome, the Queen's first woman, to obtain a consent which ought to have beenthe basis of any well-concerted scheme. I told him, also, that it wouldbe impossible for me to go at that time to the Queen's apartments withoutexciting the attention of the people in the antechambers; that the Kingwas at cards with the Queen and his family, and that I never broke in upontheir privacy unless I was called for. I added, however, that M. Campancould enter without being called; and if the Count chose to give him hisconfidence he might rely upon him. 

My father-in-law, to whom Comte d'Inisdal repeated what he had said to me, took the commission upon himself, and went to the Queen's apartments. TheKing was playing at whist with the Queen, Monsieur, and Madame; MadameElisabeth was kneeling on a stool near the table. M. Campan informed theQueen of what had been communicated to me; nobody uttered a word. TheQueen broke silence and said to the King, "Do you hear, Sire, what Campansays to us?"--"Yes, I hear, " said the King, and continued his game. Monsieur, who was in the habit of introducing passages from plays into hisconversation, said to my father-in-law, "M. Campan, that pretty littlecouplet again, if you please;" and pressed the King to reply. At lengththe Queen said, "But something must be said to Campan. " The King thenspoke to my father-in-law in these words: "Tell M. D'Inisdal that I cannotconsent to be carried off!" The Queen enjoined M. Campan to take careand, report this answer faithfully. "You understand, " added she, "theKing cannot consent to be carried off. "

Comte d'Inisdal was very much dissatisfied with the King's answer, andwent out, saying, "I understand; he wishes to throw all the blame, beforehand, upon those who are to devote themselves for him. "

He went away, and I thought the enterprise would be abandoned. However, the Queen remained alone with me till midnight, preparing her cases ofvaluables, and ordered me not to go to bed. She imagined the King'sanswer would be understood as a tacit consent, and merely a refusal toparticipate in the design. I do not know what passed in the King'sapartments during the night; but I occasionally looked out at the windows:I saw the garden clear; I heard no noise in the palace, and day at lengthconfirmed my opinion that the project had been given up. "We must, however, fly, " said the Queen to me, shortly afterwards; "who knows howfar the factious may go? The danger increases every day. "

[The disturbances of the 13th of April, 1790, occasioned by the warmth ofthe discussions upon Dom Gerle's imprudent motion in the NationalAssembly, having afforded room for apprehension that the enemies of thecountry would endeavour to carry off the King from the capital, M. De LaFayette promised to keep watch, and told Louis XVI. That if he saw anyalarming movement among the disaffected he would give him notice of it bythe discharge of a cannon from Henri IV. 's battery on the Pont Neuf. Onthe same night a few casual discharges of musketry were heard from theterrace of the Tuileries. The King, deceived by the noise, flew to theQueen's apartments; he did not find her; he ran to the Dauphin's room, where he found the Queen holding her son in her arms. "Madame;" said theKing to her, "I have been seeking you; and you have made me uneasy. " TheQueen, showing her son, said to him, "I was at my post. "--"Anecdotes ofthe Reign of Louis XVI. "]

This Princess received advice and memorials from all quarters. Rivaroladdressed several to her, which I read to her. They were full ofingenious observations; but the Queen did not find that they, containedanything of essential service under the circumstances in which the royalfamily was placed. Comte du Moustier also sent memorials and plans ofconduct. I remember that in one of his writings he said to the King, "Read 'Telemachus' again, Sire; in that book which delighted your Majestyin infancy you will find the first seeds of those principles which, erroneously followed up by men of ardent imaginations, are bringing on theexplosion we expect every moment. " I read so many of these memorials thatI could hardly give a faithful account of them, and I am determined tonote in this work no other events than such as I witnessed; no other wordsthan such as (notwithstanding the lapse of time) still in some measurevibrate in my ears. 

Comte de Segur, on his return from Russia, was employed some time by theQueen, and had a certain degree of influence over her; but that did notlast long. Comte Augustus de la Marck likewise endeavoured to negotiatefor the King's advantage with the leaders of the factious. M. DeFontanges, Archbishop of Toulouse, possessed also the Queen's confidence;but none of the endeavours which were made on the spot produced any, beneficial result. The Empress Catherine II. Also conveyed her opinionupon the situation of Louis XVI. To the Queen, and her Majesty made meread a few lines in the Empress's own handwriting, which concluded withthese words:

"Kings ought to proceed in their career undisturbed by the cries of thepeople, even as the moon pursues her course unimpeded by the baying ofdogs. " This maxim of the despotic sovereign of Russia was veryinapplicable to the situation of a captive king. 

Meanwhile the revolutionary party followed up its audacious enterprise ina determined manner, without meeting any opposition. The advice fromwithout, as well from Coblentz as from Vienna, made various impressionsupon the members of the royal family, and those cabinets were not inaccordance with each other. I often had reason to infer from what theQueen said to me that she thought the King, by leaving all the honour ofrestoring order to the Coblentz party, --[The Princes and the chief of theemigrant nobility assembled at Coblentz, and the name was used todesignate the reactionary party. ]--would, on the return of the emigrants, be put under a kind of guardianship which would increase his ownmisfortunes. She frequently said to me, "If the emigrants succeed, theywill rule the roast for a long time; it will be impossible to refuse themanything; to owe the crown to them would be contracting too great anobligation. " It always appeared to me that she wished her own family tocounterbalance the claims of the emigrants by disinterested services. Shewas fearful of M. De Calonne, and with good reason. She had proof thatthis minister was her bitterest enemy, and that he made use of the mostcriminal means in order to blacken her reputation. I can testify that Ihave seen in the hands of the Queen a manuscript copy of the infamousmemoirs of the woman De Lamotte, which had been brought to her fromLondon, and in which all those passages where a total ignorance of thecustoms of Courts had occasioned that wretched woman to make blunderswhich would have been too palpable were corrected in M. De Calonne's ownhandwriting. 

The two King's Guards who were wounded at her Majesty's door on the 6th ofOctober were M. Du Repaire and M. De Miomandre de Sainte-Marie; on thedreadful night of the 6th of October the latter took the post of theformer the moment he became incapable of maintaining it. 

A considerable number of the Body Guards, who were wounded on the 6th ofOctober, betook themselves to the infirmary at Versailles. The brigandswanted to make their way into the infirmary in order to massacre them. M. Viosin, head surgeon of that infirmary, ran to the entrance hall, invitedthe assailants to refresh themselves, ordered wine to be brought, andfound means to direct the Sister Superior to remove the Guards into a wardappropriated to the poor, and dress them in the caps and greatcoatsfurnished by the institution. The good sisters executed this order sopromptly that the Guards were removed, dressed as paupers, and their bedsmade, while the assassins were drinking. They searched all the wards, andfancied they saw no persons there but the sick poor; thus the Guards weresaved. 

M. De Miomandre was at Paris, living on terms of friendship with anotherof the Guards, who, on the same day, received a gunshot wound from thebrigands in another part of the Chateau. These two officers, who wereattended and cured together at the infirmary of Versailles, were almostconstant companions; they were recognised at the Palais Royal, andinsulted. The Queen thought it necessary for them to quit Paris. Shedesired me to write to M. De Miomandre de Sainte-Marie, and tell him tocome to me at eight o'clock in the evening; and then to communicate to himher wish to hear of his being in safety; and ordered me, when he had madeup his mind to go, to tell him in her name that gold could not repay sucha service as he had rendered; that she hoped some day to be insufficiently happy circumstances to recompense him as she ought; but thatfor the present her offer of money was only that of a sister to a brothersituated as he then was, and that she requested he would take whatevermight be necessary to discharge his debts at Paris and defray the expensesof his journey. She told me also to desire he would bring his. FriendBertrand with him, and to make him the same offer. 

The two Guards came at the appointed hour, and accepted, I think, each oneor two hundred louis. A moment afterwards the Queen opened my door; shewas accompanied by the King and Madame Elisabeth; the King stood with hisback against the fireplace; the Queen sat down upon a sofa and MadameElisabeth sat near her; I placed myself behind the Queen, and the twoGuards stood facing the King. The Queen told them that the King wished tosee before they went away two of the brave men who had afforded him thestrongest proofs of courage and attachment. Miomandre said all that theQueen's affecting observations were calculated to inspire. MadameElisabeth spoke of the King's gratitude; the Queen resumed the subject oftheir speedy departure, urging the necessity of it; the King was silent;but his emotion was evident, and his eyes were suffused with tears. TheQueen rose, the King went out, and Madame Elisabeth followed him; theQueen stopped and said to me, in the recess of a window, "I am sorry Ibrought the King here! I am sure Elisabeth thinks with me; if the Kinghad but given utterance to a fourth part of what he thinks of those bravemen they would have been in ecstacies; but he cannot overcome hisdiffidence. "

The Emperor Joseph died about this time. The Queen's grief was notexcessive; that brother of whom she had been so proud, and whom she hadloved so tenderly, had probably suffered greatly in her opinion; shereproached him sometimes, though with moderation, for having adoptedseveral of the principles of the new philosophy, and perhaps she knew thathe looked upon our troubles with the eye of the sovereign of Germanyrather than that of the brother of the Queen of France. 

The Emperor on one occasion sent the Queen an engraving which representedunfrocked nuns and monks. The first were trying on fashionable dresses, the latter were having their hair arranged; the picture was always left inthe closet, and never hung up. The Queen told me to have it taken away;for she was hurt to see how much influence the philosophers had over herbrother's mind and actions. 

Mirabeau had not lost the hope of becoming the last resource of theoppressed Court; and at this time some communications passed between theQueen and him. The question was about an office to be conferred upon him. This transpired, and it must have been about this period that the Assemblydecreed that no deputy could hold an office as a minister of the Kinguntil the expiration of two years after the cessation of his legislativefunctions. I know that the Queen was much hurt at this decision, andconsidered that the Court had lost a promising opening. 

The palace of the Tuileries was a very disagreeable residence during thesummer, which made the Queen wish to go to St. Cloud. The removal wasdecided on without any opposition; the National Guard of Paris followedthe Court thither. At this period new opportunities of escape werepresented; nothing would have been more easy than to execute them. TheKing had obtained leave (!) to go out without guards, and to beaccompanied only by an aide-de-camp of M. De La Fayette. The Queen alsohad one on duty with her, and so had the Dauphin. The King and Queenoften went out at four in the afternoon, and did not return until eight ornine. 

I will relate one of the plans of emigration which the Queen communicatedto me, the success of which seemed infallible. The royal family were tomeet in a wood four leagues from St. Cloud; some persons who could befully relied on were to accompany the King, who was always followed by hisequerries and pages; the Queen was to join him with her daughter andMadame Elisabeth. These Princesses, as well as the Queen, had equerriesand pages, of whose fidelity no doubt could be entertained. The Dauphinlikewise was to be at the place of rendezvous with Madame de Tourzel; alarge berlin and a chaise for the attendants were sufficient for the wholefamily; the aides-de-camp were to have been gained over or mastered. TheKing was to leave a letter for the President of the National Assembly onhis bureau at St. Cloud. The people in the service of the King and Queenwould have waited until nine in the evening without anxiety, because thefamily sometimes did not return until that hour. The letter could not beforwarded to Paris until ten o'clock at the earliest. The Assembly wouldnot then be sitting; the President must have been sought for at his ownhouse or elsewhere; it would have been midnight before the Assembly couldhave been summoned and couriers sent off to have the royal family stopped;but the latter would have been six or seven hours in advance, as theywould have started at six leagues' distance from Paris; and at this periodtravelling was not yet impeded in France. 

The Queen approved of this plan; but I did not venture to interrogate her, and I even thought if it were put in execution she would leave me inignorance of it. One evening in the month of June the people of theChateau, finding the King did not return by nine o'clock, were walkingabout the courtyards in a state of great anxiety. I thought the family, was gone, and I could scarcely breathe amidst the confusion of my goodwishes, when I heard the sound of the carriages. I confessed to the Queenthat I thought she had set off; she told me she must wait until Mesdamesthe King's aunts had quitted France, and afterwards see whether the planagreed with those formed abroad. 

CHAPTER IV. 

There was a meeting at Paris for the first federation on the 14th of July, 1790, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille. What an astonishingassemblage of four hundred thousand men, of whom there were not perhapstwo hundred who did not believe that the King found happiness and glory inthe order of things then being established. The love which was borne himby all, with the exception of those who meditated his ruin, still reignedin the hearts of the French in the departments; but if I may judge fromthose whom I had an opportunity of seeing, it was totally impossible toenlighten them; they were as much attached to the King as to theconstitution, and to the constitution as to the King; and it wasimpossible to separate the one from the other in their hearts and minds. 

The Court returned to St. Cloud after the federation. A wretch, namedRotondo, made his way into the palace with the intention of assassinatingthe Queen. It is known that he penetrated to the inner gardens: the rainprevented her Majesty from going out that day. M. De La Fayette, who wasaware of this plot, gave all the sentinels the strictest orders, and adescription of the monster was distributed throughout the palace by orderof the General. I do not know how he was saved from punishment. Thepolice belonging to the King discovered that there was likewise a schemeon foot for poisoning the Queen. She spoke to me, as well as to her headphysician, M. Vicq-d'Azyr, about it, without the slightest emotion, butboth he and I consulted what precautions it would be proper to take. Herelied much upon the Queen's temperance; yet he recommended me always tohave a bottle of oil of sweet almonds within reach, and to renew itoccasionally, that oil and milk being, as is known, the most certainantidotes to the divellication of corrosive poisons. 

The Queen had a habit which rendered M. Vicq-d'Azyr particularly uneasy:there was always some pounded sugar upon the table in her Majesty'sbedchamber; and she frequently, without calling anybody, put spoonfuls ofit into a glass of water when she wished to drink. It was agreed that Ishould get a considerable quantity of sugar powdered; that I should alwayshave some papers of it in my bag, and that three or four times a day, whenalone in the Queen's room, I should substitute it for that in hersugar-basin. We knew that the Queen would have prevented all suchprecautions, but we were not aware of her reason. One day she caught mealone making this exchange, and told me, she supposed it was agreed onbetween myself and M. Vicq-d'Azyr, but that I gave myself very unnecessarytrouble. "Remember, " added she, "that not a grain of poison will be putin use against me. The Brinvilliers do not belong to this century: thisage possesses calumny, which is a much more convenient instrument ofdeath; and it is by that I shall perish. "

Even while melancholy presentiments afflicted this unfortunate Princess, manifestations of attachment to her person, and to the King's cause, wouldfrequently raise agreeable illusions in her mind, or present to her theaffecting spectacle of tears shed for her sorrows. I was one day, duringthis same visit to St. Cloud, witness of a very touching scene, which wetook great care to keep secret. It was four in the afternoon; the guardwas not set; there was scarcely anybody at St. Cloud that day, and I wasreading to the Queen, who was at work in a room the balcony of which hungover the courtyard. The windows were closed, yet we heard a sort ofinarticulate murmur from a great number of voices. The Queen desired meto go and see what it was; I raised the muslin curtain, and perceived morethan fifty persons beneath the balcony: this group consisted of women, young and old, perfectly well dressed in the country costume, oldchevaliers of St. Louis, young knights of Malta, and a few ecclesiastics. I told the Queen it was probably an assemblage of persons residing in theneighbourhood who wished to see her. She rose, opened the window, andappeared in the balcony; immediately all these worthy people said to her, in an undertone: "Courage, Madame; good Frenchmen suffer for you, and withyou; they pray for you. Heaven will hear their prayers; we love you, werespect you, we will continue to venerate our virtuous King. " The Queenburst into tears, and held her handkerchief to her eyes. "Poor Queen! sheweeps!" said the women and young girls; but the dread of exposing herMajesty, and even the persons who showed so much affection for her, toobservation, prompted me to take her hand, and prevail upon her to retireinto her room; and, raising my eyes, I gave the excellent people tounderstand that my conduct was dictated by prudence. They comprehendedme, for I heard, "That lady is right;" and afterwards, "Farewell, Madame!"from several of them; and all this in accents of feeling so true and somournful, that I am affected at the recollection of them even after alapse of twenty years. 

A few days afterwards the insurrection of Nancy took place. 

[The insurrection of the troops at Nancy broke out in August 1790, and wasput down by Marechal de Bouille on the last day of that month. See"Bouille, " p. 195. ]

Only the ostensible cause is known; there was another, of which I mighthave been in full possession, if the great confusion I was in upon thesubject had not deprived me of the power of paying attention to it. Iwill endeavour to make myself understood. In the early part of Septemberthe Queen, as she was going to bed, desired me to let all her people go, and to remain with her myself; when we were alone she said to me, "TheKing will come here at midnight. You know that he has always shown youmarks of distinction; he now proves his confidence in you by selecting youto write down the whole affair of Nancy from his dictation. He must haveseveral copies of it. " At midnight the King came to the Queen'sapartments, and said to me, smiling, "You did not expect to become mysecretary, and that, too, during the night. " I followed the King into thecouncil chamber. I found there sheets of paper, an inkstand, and pens allready prepared. He sat down by my side and dictated to me the report ofthe Marquis de Bouille, which he himself copied at the same time. My handtrembled; I wrote with difficulty; my reflections scarcely left mesufficient power of attention to listen to the King. The large table, thevelvet cloth, seats which ought to have been filled by none but the King'schief councillors; what that chamber had been, and what it was at thatmoment, when the King was employing a woman in an office which had solittle affinity with her ordinary functions; the misfortunes which hadbrought him to the necessity of doing so, --all these ideas made such animpression upon me that when I had returned to the Queen's apartments Icould not sleep for the remainder of the night, nor could I remember whatI had written. 

The more I saw that I had the happiness to be of some use to my employers, the more scrupulously careful was I to live entirely with my family; and Inever indulged in any conversation which could betray the intimacy towhich I was admitted; but nothing at Court remains long concealed, and Isoon saw I had many enemies. The means of injuring others in the minds ofsovereigns are but too easily obtained, and they had become still more so, since the mere suspicion of communication with partisans of the Revolutionwas sufficient to forfeit the esteem and confidence of the King and Queen;happily, my conduct protected me, with them, against calumny. I had leftSt. Cloud two days, when I received at Paris a note from the Queen, containing these words:

"Come to St. Cloud immediately; I have something concerning you tocommunicate. " I set off without loss of time. Her Majesty told me shehad a sacrifice to request of me; I answered that it was made. She saidit went so far as the renunciation of a friend's society; that such arenunciation was always painful, but that it must be particularly so tome; that, for her own part, it might have been very useful that a deputy, a man of talent, should be constantly received at my house; but at thismoment she thought only of my welfare. The Queen then informed me thatthe ladies of the bedchamber had, the preceding evening, assured her thatM. De Beaumetz, deputy from the nobility of Artois, who had taken his seaton the left of the Assembly, spent his whole time at my house. Perceivingon what false grounds the attempt to injure, me was based, I repliedrespectfully, but at the same time smiling, that it was impossible for meto make the sacrifice exacted by her Majesty; that M. De Beaumetz, a manof great judgment, had not determined to cross over to the left of theAssembly with the intention of afterwards making himself unpopular byspending his time with the Queen's first woman; and that, ever since the1st of October, 1789, I had seen him nowhere but at the play, or in thepublic walks, and even then without his ever coming to speak to me; thatthis line of conduct had appeared to me perfectly consistent: for whetherhe was desirous to please the popular party, or to be sought after by theCourt, he could not act in any other way towards me. The Queen closedthis explanation by saying, "Oh! it is clear, as clear as the day! thisopportunity for trying to do you an injury is very ill chosen; but becautious in your slightest actions; you perceive that the confidenceplaced in you by the King and myself raises you up powerful enemies. "

The private communications which were still kept up between the Court andMirabeau at length procured him an interview with the Queen, in thegardens of St. Cloud. He left Paris on horseback, on pretence of goinginto the country, to M. De Clavieres, one of his friends; but he stoppedat one of the gates of the gardens of St. Cloud, and was led to a spotsituated in the highest part of the private garden, where the Queen waswaiting for him. She told me she accosted him by saying, "With a commonenemy, with a man who had sworn to destroy monarchy without appreciatingits utility among a great people, I should at this moment be guilty of amost ill-advised step; but in speaking to a Mirabeau, " etc. The poorQueen was delighted at having discovered this method of exalting him aboveall others of his principles; and in imparting the particulars of thisinterview to me she said, "Do you know that those words, 'a Mirabeau, 'appeared to flatter him exceedingly. " On leaving the Queen he said to herwith warmth, "Madame, the monarchy is saved!" It must have been soonafterwards that Mirabeau received considerable sums of money. He showedit too plainly by the increase of his expenditure. Already did some of hisremarks upon the necessity of arresting the progress of the democratscirculate in society. Being once invited to meet a person at dinner whowas very much attached to the Queen, he learned that that person withdrewon hearing that he was one of the guests; the party who invited him toldhim this with some degree of satisfaction; but all were very muchastonished when they heard Mirabeau eulogise the absent guest, and declarethat in his place he would have done the same; but, he added, they hadonly to invite that person again in a few months, and he would then dinewith the restorer of the monarchy. Mirabeau forgot that it was more easyto do harm than good, and thought himself the political Atlas of the wholeworld. 

Outrages and mockery were incessantly mingled with the audaciousproceedings of the revolutionists. It was customary to give serenadesunder the King's windows on New Year's Day. The band of the NationalGuard repaired thither on that festival in 1791; in allusion to theliquidation of the debts of the State, decreed by the Assembly, theyplayed solely, and repeatedly, that air from the comic opera of the"Debts, " the burden of which is, "But our creditors are paid, and thatmakes us easy. "

On the same day some "conquerors of the Bastille, " grenadiers of theParisian guard, preceded by military music, came to present to the youngDauphin, as a New Year's gift, a box of dominoes, made of some of thestone and marble of which that state prison was built. The Queen gave methis inauspicious curiosity, desiring me to preserve it, as it would be acurious illustration of the history of the Revolution. Upon the lid wereengraved some bad verses, the purport of which was as follows: "Stonesfrom those walls, which enclosed the innocent victims of arbitrary power, have been converted into a toy, to be presented to you, Monseigneur, as amark of the people's love; and to teach you their power. "

The Queen said that M. De La Fayette's thirst for popularity induced himto lend himself, without discrimination, to all popular follies. Herdistrust of the General increased daily, and grew so powerful that when, towards the end of the Revolution, he seemed willing to support thetottering throne, she could never bring herself to incur so great anobligation to him. 

M. De J-----, a colonel attached to the staff of the army, was fortunateenough to render several services to the Queen, and acquitted himself withdiscretion and dignity of various important missions. 

[During the Queen's detention in the Temple he introduced himself Intothat prison in the dress of a lamplighter, and there discharged his dutyunrecognised. --MADAME CAMPAN. ]

Their Majesties had the highest confidence in him, although it frequentlyhappened that his prudence, when inconsiderate projects were underdiscussion, brought upon him the charge of adopting the principles of theconstitutionals. Being sent to Turin, he had some difficulty indissuading the Princes from a scheme they had formed at that period ofreentering France, with a very weak army, by way of Lyons; and when, in acouncil which lasted till three o'clock in the morning, he showed hisinstructions, and demonstrated that the measure would endanger the King, the Comte d'Artois alone declared against the plan, which emanated fromthe Prince de Conde. 

Among the persons employed in subordinate situations, whom the criticalcircumstances of the times involved in affairs of importance, was M. DeGoguelat, a geographical engineer at Versailles, and an excellentdraughtsman. He made plans of St. Cloud and Trianon for the Queen; shewas very much pleased with them, and had the engineer admitted into thestaff of the army. At the commencement of the Revolution he was sent toCount Esterhazy, at Valenciennes, in the capacity of aide-de-camp. Thelatter rank was given him solely to get him away from Versailles, wherehis rashness endangered the Queen during the earlier months of theAssembly of the States General. Making a parade of his devotion to theKing's interests, he went repeatedly to the tribunes of the Assembly, andthere openly railed at all the motions of the deputies, and then returnedto the Queen's antechamber, where he repeated all that he had just heard, or had had the imprudence to say. Unfortunately, at the same time thatthe Queen sent away M. De Goguelat, she still believed that, in adangerous predicament, requiring great self-devotion, the man might beemployed advantageously. In 1791 he was commissioned to act in concertwith the Marquis de Bouille in furtherance of the King's intended escape. 

[See the "Memoirs" of M. De Bouille, those of the Duc de Choiseul, and theaccount of the journey to Varennes, by M. De Fontanges, in "Weber'sMemoirs. "--NOTE BY THE EDITOR. ]

Projectors in great numbers endeavoured to introduce themselves not onlyto the Queen, but to Madame Elisabeth, who had communications with manyindividuals who took upon themselves to make plans for the conduct of theCourt. The Baron de Gilliers and M. De Vanoise were of this description;they went to the Baronne de Mackau's, where the Princess spent almost allher evenings. The Queen did not like these meetings, where MadameElisabeth might adopt views in opposition to the King's intentions or herown. 

The Queen gave frequent audiences to M. De La Fayette. One day, when hewas in her inner closet, his aides-de-camp, who waited for him, werewalking up and down the great room where the persons in attendanceremained. Some imprudent young women were thoughtless enough to say, withthe intention of being overheard by those officers, that it was veryalarming to see the Queen alone with a rebel and a brigand. I was annoyedat their indiscretion, and imposed silence on them. One of them persistedin the appellation "brigand. " I told her that M. De La Fayette welldeserved the name of rebel, but that the title of leader of a party wasgiven by history to every man commanding forty thousand men, a capital, and forty leagues of country; that kings had frequently treated with suchleaders, and if it was convenient to the Queen to do the same, it remainedfor us only to be silent and respect her actions. On the morrow theQueen, with a serious air; but with the greatest kindness, asked what Ihad said respecting M. De La Fayette on the preceding day; adding that shehad been assured I had enjoined her women silence, because they did notlike him, and that I had taken his part. I repeated what had passed tothe Queen, word for word. She condescended to tell me that I had doneperfectly right. 

Whenever any false reports respecting me were conveyed to her she was kindenough to inform me of them; and they had no effect on the confidence withwhich she continued to honour me, and which I am happy to think I havejustified even at the risk of my life. 

Mesdames, the King's aunts, set out from Bellevue in the beginning of theyear 1791. Alexandre Berthier, afterwards Prince de Neufchatel, then acolonel on the staff of the army, and commandant of the National Guard ofVersailles, facilitated the departure of Mesdames. The Jacobins of thattown procured his dismissal, and he ran the greatest risk, on account ofhaving rendered this service to these Princesses. 

I went to take leave of Madame Victoire. I little thought that I was thenseeing her for the last time. She received me alone in her closet, andassured

[General Berthier justified the monarch's confidence by a firm and prudentline of conduct which entitled him to the highest military honours, and tothe esteem of the great warrior whose fortune, dangers, and glory heafterwards shared. This officer, full of honour, and gifted with thehighest courage, was shut into the courtyard of Bellevue by his own troop, and ran great risk of being murdered. It was not until the 14th of Marchthat he succeeded in executing his instructions ("Memoirs of Mesdames, " byMontigny, vol. I. )]

me that she hoped, as well as wished, soon to return to France; that theFrench would be much to be pitied if the excesses of the Revolution shouldarrive at such a pitch as to force her to prolong her absence. I knew fromthe Queen that the departure of Mesdames was deemed necessary, in order toleave the King free to act when he should be compelled to go away with hisfamily. It being impossible that the constitution of the clergy should beotherwise than in direct opposition to the religious principles ofMesdames, they thought their journey to Rome would be attributed to pietyalone. It was, however, difficult to deceive an Assembly which weighedthe slightest actions of the royal family, and from that moment they weremore than ever alive to what was passing at the Tuileries. 

Mesdames were desirous of taking Madame Elisabeth to Rome. The freeexercise of religion, the happiness of taking refuge with the head of theChurch, and the prospect of living in safety with her aunts, whom shetenderly loved, were sacrificed by that virtuous Princess to herattachment to the King. 

The oath required of priests by the civil constitution of the clergyintroduced into France a division which added to the dangers by which theKing was already surrounded. 

[The priests were required to swear to the civil constitution of theclergy of 1790, by which all the former bishoprics and parishes wereremodelled, and the priests and bishops elected by the people. Mostrefused, and under the name of 'pretres insermentes' (as opposed to thefew who took the oath, 'pretres assermentes') were bitterly persecuted. Asimple promise to obey the constitution of the State was substituted byNapoleon as soon as he came to power. ]

Mirabeau spent a whole night with the cure of St. Eustache, confessor ofthe King and Queen, to persuade him to take the oath required by thatconstitution. Their Majesties chose another confessor, who remainedunknown. 

A few months afterwards (2d April, 1791), the too celebrated Mirabeau, themercenary democrat and venal royalist, terminated his career. The Queenregretted him, and was astonished at her own regret; but she had hopedthat he who had possessed adroitness and weight enough to throw everythinginto confusion would have been able by the same means to repair themischief he had caused. Much has been said respecting the cause ofMirabeau's death. M. Cabanis, his friend and physician, denied that hewas poisoned. M. Vicq-d'Azyr assured the Queen that the 'proces-verbal'drawn up on the state of the intestines would apply just as well to a caseof death produced by violent remedies as to one produced by poison. Hesaid, also, that the report had been faithful; but that it was prudent toconclude it by a declaration of natural death, since, in the criticalstate in which France then was, if a suspicion of foul play were admitted, a person innocent of any such crime might be sacrificed to publicvengeance. 

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Advised the King not to separate himself from his armyGrand-Dieu, mamma! will it be yesterday over again?Mirabeau forgot that it was more easy to do harm than goodNever shall a drop of French blood be shed by my orderSaw no other advantage in it than that of saving her own lifeThat air of truth which always carries convictionWhen kings become prisoners they are very near deathWhispered in his mother's ear, "Was that right?"