Memoirs of Marie Antoinette : Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI

Contents

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Introduction . 13

Chapter I

The Court of Louis XV. — His Character. — The King's Débotter.— Characters of Mesdames His Daughters. — Retreat of Madame Louise to the Carmelites of St. Denis. — Madame du Barry. — The Court Divided between the Party of the Due de Choiseul and That of the Due d'Aiguillon 17

Chapter II

Birth of Marie Antoinette Attended by a Memorable Calamity.— Maria Theresa's Character. — Education of the Archduchesses.— Preceptors Provided for Marie Antoinette by the Court of Vienna. — Preceptor Sent Her by the Court of France. — Abbé de Vermond. — Change in the French Ministry.— Cardinal de Rohan Succeeds Baron de Breteuil as Ambassador at Vienna.— Portrait of That Prelate . . 31

Chapter III

Arrival of the Archduchess in France. — Brilliant Reception of the Dauphiness at Versailles. — She Charms Louis XV. — Madame du Barry's Jealousy. — Court Intrigues. — The Dauphin. — His Brothers and Their Wives .... 41

Chapter IV

Death of Louis XV. — Picture of the Court. — Madame du Barry Dismissed. — Departure of the Court to Choisy. — M. de Maurepas Minister. — Conduct of the Abbé de Vermond 56

Chapter V

Influence of Example upon the Courtiers. — Enthusiasm Raised by the New Reign. — Mourning at La Muette. — The

CONTENTS

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Queen. — The King and the Princes, His Brothers, Are Inoculated. — Stay at Marly. — Calumnies against the Queen. — Bœhmer, the Jeweller. — Mademoiselle Bertin. — Changes of JFashion. — Simplicity of the Court of Vienna. — Extreme Temperance, Decorum, and Modesty of Marie Antoinette.— The Code of Service. — Public Dinners. — The Queen's Wardrobe. — Her Toilet. — Daily Routine. — Hearing Mass 63

Chapter VI

Examination of the Papers of Louis XV. by Louis XVI. — Man in the Iron Mask. — The Late King's Interest in Certain Financial Companies. — Representation of " Iphigenia in Aulis." — The King Gives Petit Trianon to the Queen. — ^The Archduke Maximilian's Journey to France. — Questions of Precedence. — Misadventure of the Archduke. — Accouchement of the Comtesse d'Artois. — The Poissardes Cry Out to the Queen to Give Heirs to the Throne. — Death of the Due de La Vauguyon. — Portrait of Louis XVI.; of the Comte de Provence; of the Comte d'Artois 83

Chapter VII

Severe Winter. — The Princesse de Lamballe Appointed Superintendent of the Household. — The Comtesse Jules de Polignac Appears at Court. — M. de Vaudreuil. — Due and Duchesse de Duras. — Fashionable Games .... 96

Chapter VIII

The Due de Choiseul Returns to Court.— The Queen Obtains a Pension of 1,200 Francs for Chamfort. — She Invites Gluck to France and Patronises Music. — Encouragement Given to the Art of Printing. — Turgot. — M. de Saint- Germain. — Amusements at Court. — Particulars of the Household. — Masked Balls at the Opéra. — The Queen Goes There in a Fiacre; Slanderous Reports. — The Heron Plume. — The Due de Lauzun. — The Queen's Attachment to the Princesse de Lamballe and the Duchesse de Polignac.— Anecdote of the Abbé de Vermond .... 107

Chapter IX

Joseph II. 's Visit to France. — His Reception at the Opéra. — Fête Given to Him by the Queen at Trianon.— The Queen

FAGS

Enceinte. — Voltaire's Return to Paris. — Duel between the Comte d'Artois and the Due de Bourdon. — Return of the Chevalier d'Eon to France. — Particulars Relative to His Missions, and the Causes of His Disguise. — Night Promenades upon the Terrace of Trianon. — Couplets against the Queen. — Indignation of Louis XVI. — Birth of Madame 121

Chapter X

Public Rejoicing. — Death of Maria Theresa; the Queen's Affliction. — Anecdotes of Maria Theresa. — Birth of the Dauphin. — Bankruptcy of the Prince de Guéménée. — The Duchesse de Polignac Is Appointed Governess of the Children of France. — Jealousy of the Court. — Mode of Life at Trianon. — Presumption of the Due de Fronsac. — American War. — Franklin. — M. de La Fayette, — Order for Admitting None but Gentlemen to the Rank of Ofl&cer. — Spirit of the Third Estate . . ,.. . . _. 139

Chapter XI

Visit of the Grand Duke of Russia and His Duchess to France. — Entertainment and Supper at Trianon. — Cardinal de Rohan. — Cold Reception Given to Comte d'Haga (Gustavus III., King of Sweden). — Peace with England.— The English Flock into France. — Conduct to be Observed at Court. — Mission of the Chevalier de Bressac to the Queen. — Court of Naples. — Queen Caroline. — The Minister Acton. — Debates between the Courts of Naples and Madrid. — Insolent Reply of the Spanish Ambassador to Queen Caroline. — Interference of France. — MM. de Ségur and de Castries Appointed Ministers through the Queen's Influence. — Treachery of M. de Maurepas towards M. Necker. — Appointment of M. de Calonne. — Observations of Marie Antoinette . . . 158

Chapter XII

The Queen Is Dissatisfied with the Appointment of M. de Calonne. — Acts of Benevolence. — Purchase of St. Cloud. — Regulations of Internal Police. — State of France. — Beaumarchais.— " Mariage de Figaro." — Character of M. de Vaudreuil 176

Chapter XIII Page

The Diamond Necklace. — Account of Bœhmer, the Jeweller.— His Interview with Madame Campan. — The Cardinal de Rohan Interrogated in the King's Cabinet. — Particulars Relative to Madame de Lamotte and Her Family. — Steps Taken by the Cardinal's Relations. — The Prosecution. — The Clergy Remonstrate. — Decree of the Parliament. — The Queen's Grief. — Remark of Louis XVI 187

Chapter XIV

The Archbishop of Sens Is Appointed to the Ministry. — The Abbé de Vermond's Joy on the Occasion. — The Queen Is Obliged to Take a Part in Business. — Money Sent to Vienna Contrary to Her Inclination. — Anecdotes. — The Queen Supports the Archbishop of Sens in Office. — Public Rejoicings on His Dismissal. — Opening of the States General. — Cries of " Vive le Duc d'Orléans! " — Their Effect upon the Queen. — Mirabeau. — He Requests an Embassy. — Misfortunes Induce the Queen to Yield to Superstitious Fears. — Anecdotes. — Prejudices of the Provincial Deputies of the Tiers Etat. — Causes of These Prejudices. — Death of the First Dauphin. — Anecdotes , 205

Chapter XV

" Oath of the Tennis Court." — Insurrection of the 14th of July. — The King Goes to the National Assembly. — Anecdotes.— Spectacle Presented by the Courtyards of the Château of Versailles. — Report that the National Assembly Is Threatened. — The King's Speech Rebutting These Suspicions. — Anecdotes. — Disposition of the Troops. — Departure of the Comte d'Artois; the Prince de Condé, and the Due and Duchesse de Polignac. — The Latter Is Recognised by a Postilion, Who Saves Her. — The King Goes to Paris. — Alarm at Versailles. — The Queen Determines to Go to the National Assembly. — Speech Prepared by Her. — The King's Return. — Bailly's Speech. — Assassination of MM. Foulon and Berthier. — Plans Presented by Foulon to the King for Arresting the Progress of the Revolution. — Remark by Barnave. — His Repentance . . 218

Chapter XVI

Creation of the National Guard. — Departure of the Abbé de Vermond. — The Queen Desires Madame Campan to Por-

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tray His Character. — The French Guards Quit Versailles.— Entertainment Given by the Body Guards to the Regiment of Flanders. — The King, the Queen, and the Dauphin Are Present at It. — Proceedings of the 5th and 6th of October. — Detestable Threats against the Queen. — Devotion of One of the Body Guard. — The Life of Marie Antoinette in Danger. — The Queen Is Required to Appear on the Balcony. — The Royal Family Repair to Paris. — • Residence at the Tuileries. — Change of Feeling. — The Queen Applauded with Enthusiasm by the Women of the Populace. — Private Life. — Ingenuous Observations of the Dauphin. — It Is Proposed that the Queen Shall Quit Her Family and France. — Her Noble Refusal. — She Devotes Herself to the Education of Her Children. — Picture of the Court. — Anecdote of Luckner. — Exasperated State of Feeling 230

Chapter XVII

Loyalty of M. de Favras. — His Prosecution and Death. — His Children Are Imprudently Presented to the Queen. — Plan Laid for Carrying off the Royal Family. — Singular Letter- from the Empress Catherine to Louis XVI. — The Queen Is Unwilling to Owe the Reëstablishment of the Throne to the Emigrés. — Death of the Emperor Joseph II. — First Negotiation between the Court and Mirabeau.— Louis XVI. and His Family Inhabit St. Cloud. — New Plans for Escaping 252

Chapter XVIII

First Federation. — Attempts to Assassinate the Queen. — Affecting Scene. — Account of the Affair of Nancy, Written by Madame Campan, at Night, in the Council Chamber, by the King's Dictation. — Madame Campan Becomes the Subject of Calumnious Denunciation. — Marks of Confidence Bestowed upon Her by the Queen. — Interview between the Queen and Mirabeau in the Gardens of St. Cloud. — He Treats with the Court. — Ridicule of the Revolutionary Party. — Stones of the Bastille Offered to the Dauphin. — The Queen Feels Her Aversion to M. de La Fayette Increase. — Plan Formed by the Princes for Reentering France through Lyons. — Imprudence of Persons Attached to the Queen. — Anecdote Relative to M. de La Fayette. — Departure of the King's Aunts. — Death of Mirabeau 263

Chapter XIX Page

Preparations for the Journey to Varennes. — The Queen Watched and Betrayed. — Madame Campan's Departure for Auvergne Precedes That of the Royal Family for Versailles. — Madame Campan Hears of the King's Arrest. — Note Written to Her by the Queen Immediately upon Her Return to Paris. — Anecdotes. — Measures Taken for Keeping the King at the Tuileries. — Barnave Gains the Esteem and Confidence of Marie Antoinette during the Return from Varennes. — His Honourable and Respectful Conduct. — She Contrasts It with That of Pétion. — Bravery of Barnave. — His Advice to the Queen. — Particulars Respecting the Varennes Journey .... 275

Chapter XX

Acceptance of the Constitution. — Opinion of Barnave and His Friends Approved by the Court of Vienna. — Secret Policy of the Court. — ^The Legislative Assembly Deliberates upon the Ceremony to Be Observed on Receiving the King. — Offensive Motion. — Louis XVI. Is Received by the Assembly with Transport. — He Gives Way to Profound Grief When with His Family. — Public Fêtes and Rejoicings. — M. de Montmorin's Conversation with Madame Campan upon the Continual Indiscretions of the People about the Court. — The Royal Family Go to the Théâtre Français. — Play Changed. — Personal Conflicts in the Pit of the Italiens. — Double Correspondence of the Court with Foreign Powers.— Maison Civile. — The Queen's Misfortunes Do Not Alter the Sweetness of Her Disposition. — Method Adopted by the Queen Respecting Her Secret Correspondence. — Madame Campan's Conduct When Attacked by Both Parties. — Particulars Respecting M. Genet, Her Brother, Chargé d'Affaires from France to Russia. — Written Testimony of the Queen in Favour of Madame Campan's Zeal and Fidelity. — The King Comes to See Her, and Confirms These Marks of Confidence and Satisfaction. — Projected Interview between Louis XVI. and Barnave. — Attempts to Poison Louis XVI. — Precautions Taken. — The Queen Consults Pitt about the Revolution. — His Reply. — The Emigrés Oppose All Alliance with the Constitutionals. — Letter from Barnave to the Queen 299

Chapter XXI

Fresh Libel by Madame de Lamotte. — The Queen Refuses to Purchase the Manuscript. — The King Buys It. — The

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Queen Performs Her Easter Devotions Secretly in 1792. — She Dares Not Confide in Général Dumouriez. — Barnave's Last Advice. — Insults Offered to the Royal Family by the Mob. — The King's Dejection. — ^20th of June. — The King's Kindness to Madame Campan. — Iron Closet. — Louis XVI. Entrusts a Portfolio to Madame Campan. — Importance of the Documents It Contained. — Procedure of M. de La Fayette. — Why It Was Unsuccessful. — An Assassin Conceals Himself in the Queen's Apartments 320

Chapter XXII

Madame Campan's Communications with M. Bertrand de MoUeville for the King's Service. — Hope of a Speedy Deliverance. — The Queen's Reflections upon the Character of Louis XVI. — Insults. — Inquiry Set on Foot by the Princesse de Lamballe Respecting the Persons of the Queen's Household. — The loth of August. — Curious Particulars.— Battle. — Scenes of Carnage. — The Royal Family at the Feuillans .......... 3^7.

Chapter XXIII

Pétion Refuses Madame Campan Permission to Be Imprisoned in the Temple with the Queen. — She Excites the Suspicions of Robespierre. — Domiciliary Visits. — Madame Campan Opens the Portfolio She Had Received from the King. — Papers in It, with the Seals of State. — Mirabeau's Secret Correspondence with the Court. — ^Destroyed as Well as the Other Papers. — The Only Document Preserved.— It Is Delivered to M. de Malesherbes on the Trial of the Unfortunate Louis XVI. — The Royal Family in the Temple. — Trial of the King. — Parting of the Royal Family. — Execution. — The Royal Prisoners. — Separation of the Dauphin from His Family. — Removal of the Queen. — The Last Moments of Marie Antoinette. — The Last Separation. — Execution of Madame Elisabeth.— Death of the Dauphin. — Release of Madame Royale. — Her Marriage to the Due d'Angoulême. — Return to France. — Death. — The Ceremony of Expiation . . 359

NOTE

The following titles ing the period covered Monseigneur Monsieur

Monsieur le Prince Monsieur le Duc

Monsieur le Grand

Monsieur le Premier

Enfans de France Madame ) Mesdames )

Madame Elisabeth Madame Royale .

Mademoiselle have the signification given below durby this work:

. The Dauphin.

. The eldest brother of the King, Comte de Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII.

. The Prince de Condé, head of the House of Condé.

. The Due de Bourbon, the eldest son of the Prince de Condé {and the father of the Due d'Enghien sliot by Napoleon).

. The Grand Equerry under the ancien régime.

. The First Equerry under the ancien régime.

. The royal children.

. Sisters or daughters of the King, or Princesses near the Throne (sometimes used also for the wife of Monsieur, the eldest brother of the King, the Princesses Adélaïde, Victoire, Sophie, Louise, daughters of Louis XV., and aunts of Louis XVI.).

. The Princesse Elisabeth, sister of Louis XVI.

. The Princesse Marie Thérèse, daughter of Louis XVI., afterwards Duchesse d'Angouleme.

. The daughter of Monsieur, the brother of the King.

IX

Introduction

The closing years of the French monarchy could scarcely have found a more faithful chronicler, or one better fitted for the task both by training and situation, than Madame Campan. Introduced into the Court of Louis XV. as a young girl, she became one of the household of Marie Antoinette immediately after that princess came from Austria to wed the Dauphin ; and followed the fortunes of her royal mistress with unswerving devotion until the prison gates separated them. Even then she would not have turned aside — despite the ominous shadow of the scaffold — had not the interests of her mistress and an inexorable jailer alike demanded it.

But it is not through loyalty alone that Madame Campan deserves recognition as a biographer and historian. Her education and endowments, which rendered her remarkable even at a tender age, ripened with especial opportunities and experience.

Jeanne Louise Henriette Genet was born in Paris, October 6, 1752. Her father was first clerk in the Foreign Office, and this position brought him into touch with men of affairs and culture from all over the world. His home was one of quiet refinement, in which the talents of his daughter found full development. Her progress in music and languages was rapid. Albanèze instructed her in singing, and Goldoni in Italian. She was equally proficient in English. Tasso, Milton, Dante, and Shakespeare were read in

14 INTRODUCTION

the original. She was also apt in elocution, reciting passages in Racine and Molière to delighted audiences.

Such a prodigy was soon spoken of at Court, and she presently obtained a place as reader to the Princesses — the four daughters of Louis XV. "I was then fifteen," she says; "my father felt some regret at yielding me up at so early an age to the jealousies of the Court. The day on which I first put on my Court dress, and went to embrace him in his study, tears filled his eyes, and mingled with the expression of his pleasure."

She stood somewhat in awe of the King, who was fond of jokes at others' expense. "Louis XV," she says, "had the most imposing presence. His eyes remained fixed upon you all the time he was speaking; and, notwithstanding the beauty of his features, he inspired a sort of fear. I was very young, it is true, when he first spoke to me ; you shall judge whether it was in a very gracious manner. I was fifteen. The King was going out to hunt, and a numerous retinue followed him. As he stopped opposite me he said : 'Mademoiselle Genet, I am assured you are very learned, and understand four or five foreign languages.' T only know two, Sire,' I answered, trembling. 'Which are they?' 'English and Italian.' 'Do you speak them fluently?' 'Yes, Sire, very fluently.' 'That is quite enough to drive a husband mad.' After this pretty compliment the King went on; the retinue saluted me, laughing; and, for my part, I remained for some moments motionless with surprise and confusion."

When Marie Antoinette was married to the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XVI, Mademoiselle Genet became the wife of Campan, son of the Queen's secretary. The King himself gave her a dowry, showing that he was not greatly alarmed about her mar-

INTRODUCTION l^

riageability despite his jests, and she became reader and companion to the Dauphiness. Thenceforth a close sincere attachment was maintained between the two, which was to bear fruit in the volume of Memoirs written by Madame Campan in her old age.

After the stormy events leading to the death of Louis XVI. and his Queen, Madame Campan fled from Paris carrying valuable state papers on behalf of her mistress, and during the Reign of Terror remained concealed at Combertin. After the fall of Robespierre she opened a female boarding school at St. Germain, where among other pupils she received Hortense, daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais. When the latter married Bonaparte he took lively interest in Madame Campan, appointing her lady superintendent of the institution founded by him at Ecouen, for the education of daughters of officers of the Legion of Honour. After the Restoration this school was suppressed, and Madame Campan, again an exile, retired to Mantes, where she died, in 1822.

In her declining years her mind reverted to her life at Court, and she set herself the devoted task of clearing the memory of its ill-fated Queen. She has done far more than this in the resulting work, "Mémoires sur la Vie Privée de la Reine Marie Antoinette." It is an exceedingly valuable source-book of history filled with personal impressions of a momentous period. She gives her reasons for writing, in the following memorandum left with the original work :

"Louis XVI meant to write his own Memoirs; the manner in which his private papers were arranged indicated this design. The Queen also had this intention; she long preserved a large correspondence, and a great number of minute reports, made in the spirit and upon the event of the moment. But after the 20th day of June, 1792, she was obliged to burn a

I6 INTRODUCTION

large portion of what she had collected, and the remainder were conveyed out of France.

"Considering the rank and situation of persons capable of elucidating by their writings the history of our political storms, it will not be imagined that I aim at placing myself on a level with them ; but I have spent half my life either with the daughters of Louis XV or with Marie Antoinette. I knew the character of those Princesses; I became privy to some extraordinary facts, the publication of which may be interesting, and the truth of the details will form the merit of my work.

"Twenty years before the Revolution I often heard it remarked that the imposing character of the power of Louis XIV was no longer to be found in the Palace of Versailles ; that the institutions of the ancient monarchy were rapidly sinking; and that the people, crushed beneath the weight of taxes, were miserable, though silent; but that they began to give ear to the bold speeches of the philosophers, who loudly proclaimed their sufferings and their rights ; and, in short, that the age would not pass away without the occurrence of some great outburst, which would unsettle France, and change the course of its progress.

"Destiny having formerly placed me near crowned heads, I now amuse my solitude when in retirement with collecting a variety of facts which may prove interesting to my family when I shall be no more. I have put together all that concerned the domestic life of an unfortunate princess, whose reputation is not yet cleared of the stains it received from the attacks of calumny, and who justly merited a different lot in life, a different place in the opinion of mankind after her fall."

MEMOIRS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

Chapter I

I WAS fifteen years of age when I was appointed reader to Mesdames. I will begin by describing the Court at that period.

Maria Leczinska was just dead; the death of the Dauphin had preceded hers by three years; the Jesuits were suppressed, and piety was to be found at Court only in the apartments of Mesdames. The Due de Choiseul ruled.

Etiquette still existed at Court with all the forms it had acquired under Louis XIV.; dignity alone was wanting. As to gaiety, there was none. Versailles was not the place at which to seek for assemblies where French spirit and grace were displayed. The focus of wit and intelligence was Paris.

The King thought of nothing but the pleasures of the chase : it might have been imagined that the courtiers indulged themselves in making epigrams by hearing them say seriously, on those days when the King did not hunt, " The King does nothing to-day."

The arrangement beforehand of his movements was also a matter of great importance with Louis XV. On the first day of the year he noted down in his almanac the days of departure for Compiègne, Fontainebleau, Choisy, etc. The weightiest matters, the most serious events, never deranged this distribution of his time.

Since the death of the Marquise de Pompadour, the King had no titled mistress; he contented himself with his seraglio in the Parc-aux-Cerfs. It is well known that the monarch found the separation of Louis de Bourbon from the King of France the most animating feature of his royal existence. " They would have it so; they thought it for the best/' was his way of expressing himself when the measures of his ministers were unsuccessful. The King delighted to manage the most disgraceful points of his private expenses himself; he one day sold to a head clerk in the War Department a house in which one of his mistresses had lodged; the contract ran in the name of Louis de Bourbon, and the purchaser himself took in a bag the price of the house in gold to the King in his private closet.

Louis XV. saw very little of his family. He came every morning by a private staircase into the apartment of Madame Adélaïde. He often brought and drank there coffee that he had made himself. Madame Adélaïde pulled a bell which apprised Madame Victoire of the King's visit; Madame Victoire, on rising to go to her sister's apartment, rang for Madame Sophie, who in her turn rang for Madame Louise. The apartments of Mesdames were of very large dimensions. Madame Louise occupied the farthest room. This latter lady was deformed and very short; the poor Princess used to run with all her might to join the daily meeting, but, having a number of rooms to cross, she frequently, in spite of her haste, had only just time to embrace her father before he set out for the chase.

Every evening, at six, Mesdames interrupted my reading to them to accompany the Princes to Louis XV.; this visit was called the King's débotter, and was marked by a kind of etiquette. Mesdames put on an enormous hoop, which set out a petticoat ornamented with gold or embroidery; they fastened a long train round their waists, and concealed the undress of the rest of their clothing by a long cloak of black taffety which enveloped them up to the chin. The chevaliers d'honneur, the ladies in waiting, the pages, the equerries, and the ushers bearing large flambeaux, accompanied them to the King. In a moment the whole palace, generally so still, was in motion; the King kissed each Princess on the forehead, and the visit was so short that the reading which it interrupted was frequently resumed at the end of a quarter of an hour; Mesdames returned to their apartments, and untied the strings of their petticoats and trains; they resumed their tapestry, and I my book.

During the summer season the King sometimes came to the residence of Mesdames before the hour of his débotter. One day he found me alone in Madame Victoire's closet, and asked me where Coche was; I started, and he repeated his question, but without being at all the more understood. When the King was gone I asked Madame of whom he spoke. She told me that it was herself, and very coolly explained to me, that, being the fattest of his daughters, the King had given her the familiar name ■of Coche; that he called Madame Adélaïde, Loque, Madame Sophie, Graille, and Madame Louise, Chiffe. The people of the King's household observed that he knew a great number of such words; possibly he had amused himself with picking them out from dictionaries. If this style of speaking betrayed the habits and tastes of the King, his manner savoured nothing of such vulgarity; his walk was easy and noble, he had a dignified carriage of the head, and his aspect, without being severe, was imposing; he combined great politeness with a truly regal demeanour, and gracefully saluted the humblest woman whom curiosity led into his path.

He was very expert in a number of trifling matters which never occupy attention but when there is a lack of something better to employ it; for instance, he would knock off the top of an egg-shell at a single stroke of his fork; he therefore always ate eggs when he dined in public, and the Parisians who came on Sundays to see the King dine, returned home less struck with his fine figure than with the dexterity with which he broke his eggs.

Repartees of Louis XV., which marked the keenness of his wit and the elevation of his sentiments, were quoted with pleasure in the assemblies of Versailles.

This Prince was still beloved; it was wished that a style of life suitable to his age and dignity should at length supersede the errors of the past, and justify the love of his subjects. It was painful to judge him harshly. If he had established avowed mistresses at Court, the uniform devotion of the Queen was blamed for it. Mesdames were reproached for not seeking to prevent the King's forming an intimacy with some new favourite. Madame Henriette, twin sister of the Duchess of Parma, was much regretted, for she had considerable influence over the King's mind, and it was remarked that if she had lived she would have been assiduous in finding him amusements in the bosom of his family, would have followed him in his short excursions, and would have done the honours of the petits soupers which he was so fond of giving in his private apartments.

Mesdames too much neglected the means of pleasing the King, but the cause of that was obvious in the little attention he had paid them in their youth.

In order to console the people under their sufferings, and to shut their eyes to the real depredations on the treasury, the ministers occasionally pressed the most extravagant measures of reform in the King's household, and even in his personal expenses.

Cardinal Fleury, who in truth had the merit of reestablishing the finances, carried this system of economy so far as to obtain from the King the suppression of the household of the four younger Princesses. They were brought up as mere boarders in a convent eighty leagues distant from the Court. Saint Cyr would have been more suitable for the reception of the King's daughters; but probably the Cardinal shared some of those prejudices which will always attach to even the most useful institutions, and which, since the death of Louis XIV., had been raised against the noble estabhshment of Madame de Maintenon. Madame Louise often assured me that at twelve years of age she was not mistress of the whole alphabet, and never learnt to read fluently until after her return to Versailles.

Madame Victoire attributed certain paroxysms of terror, which she was never able to conquer, to the violent alarms she experienced at the Abbey of Fontevrault, whenever she was sent, by way of penance, to pray alone in the vault where the sisters were interred.

A gardener belonging to the abbey died raving mad. His habitation, without the walls, was near a chapel of the abbey, where Mesdames were taken to repeat the prayers for those in the agonies of death. Their prayers were more than once interrupted by the shrieks of the dying man.