The story of Marie-Antoinette

Chapter I Page

Character of Maria Theresa — Her political views — Birth of Marie- Antoinette — A bad omen — Marriages of the daughters of Maria Theresa — The destiny of Marie -Antoiaette — Her education — Affianced at fourteen to the heir of the crown of Prance — Her mother's parting advice — An accredited spy — Her mother's aim — Picture of the Court of France — The King — Madame du Barry — The Dauphin— The daughters of the King — Adverse elements 1

Chapter II

The Archduchess arrives at the Pavilion of Exchange in an island on the Rhine — The etiquette observed — Arrival at Compi^gne, where she meets the King and the Dauphin — Arrival at Versailles — The marriage ceremony — The apartments of the Dauphine — The beauty of the young bride — The Abbe de Vermond — Hostility of the Due de la Vauguyon — Madame de Noailles — Worries over etiquette — Daily life described in a letter to Maria Theresa — How pictures were painted by a queen — The neglected

> education of Marie-Antoiaette — Incessant spying on her actions — A duke hstening at doors — Madame du Barry — Intrigues to influence the Dauphin 13

Chapter III

Objections to the Dauphine's wish to ride on horseback — Donkeys allowed, as " these animals are not at all dangeri CONTENTS

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ous" — What is to be done when a Dauphine of France fails from a donkey '? — The Dauphine yields to the temptation of riding a horse — A solemn ambassador — Threats of anger on the part of Maria Theresa — The Dauphine greatly frightened — Amiable nature of Marie- Antoinette

— A Danphine of France loses her shoe in the mud — Picture of the court of Louis XV ^ The Dauphine's position — Difficulties and court cabals — Disgrace of Choiseul — The Dauphine proudly refuses to propitiate Madame du Barry

— The Dauphin and his brother fight in the presence of Marie-Antoinette — Marriages of the Comte de Provence and the Comte d'Artois — Letters of Maria Theresa — Illness of the King — Particulars of his death — What etiquette required of a gentleman in waiting 32

Chapter IV

The young King and Queen — Marie -Antoinette receives in state the great ladies of the land — Difficulties in obtaining due respect from the King's brothers and their wives ^ Too much kindness and indulgence — The Queen prepares private apartments as a refuge from too much splendor — • Her daily life — The beauty and grace of the Queen — Etiquette and customs — Trianon and its improvements — The Queen's dairy — The Queen's extravagant fashions •jir' Tastes of the King — His love of hunting — Dangerous influence of the Comte d'Artois — Public criticism 62

Chapter V

The King's coronation — A painful crown — A royal brother — Blunders of an archduke — An imprudent correspondence — The Queen's likes and dislikes — Intimacy with the Princesse de Lamballe — The King's sledges — Danger in diamond bracelets — Reprimands and prophecies of Maria Theresa — Marriage of Madame Clotilde — The Queen described by Horace Walpole — Intimacy with the Priacesse de Guemenee 85

CONTENTS vii

Chapter VI Page

Rivalries and court jealousies — Evenings in the apartments of the Princesse de Guemenee — A chilling visitor — Noisy, undignified society — Privileges of the milHner MUe. Bertin

>^ — The Queen's extravagance — Her frivolity — An adoption — Journey to France of Joseph II — The Queen's simplicity and ingenuousness — Impressions made by Joseph II on the King and Queen — A head-dress '' too fragile to support a crown " — Impressions made on Joseph II by his

' visit — Return of her " evil genius " — Reports in the English newspapers — The Queen and Hume's " History of England." 102

Chapter VII

Fontainebleau in 1777 — The Queen's day at Fontaiuebleau — Constant association with the Comtesse de PoUgnac — Extravagance of Comte d'Artois — Hopes of an heir to the crown — P olitic al_di.fficultieSj— Interference of Marie-Antoinette in favor of Austria — Pressing letters from Maria Theresa — The Queen is more than ever called "the Austrian " — Madame Elisabeth's household — Household of the future heir — Birth of a daughter — Chimney-sweepers at the birth of a royal child — Witchcraft and a wedding-ring — Madame de Genlis 124

Chapter VIII

The Queen coldly received at the thanksgiving service — Fresh resolutions — The Opera masked balls — A Queen in a hackney-coach — False reports — The Queen has the measles — Unexpected sick-nurses — The Queen goes to Trianon for her convalescence — ^bpiition_of_etigu^Jte^ Trianon — Unfounded rumors concerning the Queen — An old coxcomb — Story of a heron plume — Causes of bitter enmity against the Queen — Perilous friendship — The theater of Trianon — A majestic soubrette — Madame de Lamballe — Death of Maria Theresa — Grief of the Queen. 138 viii CONTENTS

Chapter IX Fage

Birth of the Dauphin — Joy of the King and Queen — Bankruptcy of the Prince de Guemenee — Its consequences — Duchesse de Polignac appointed State Governess of the " Children of France " —Visit of the King of Sweden — An unexpected guest at a royal dinner- table — Visit of the Grand Duke Paul of Eussia and his consort — Etiquette concerning a bracelet — Death of the prime minister Maurepas — Appo intment of Calonne _aad- its conseq uences — Combined economy and extravagance of Louis XVI — PurchTase of EambouiUet and St. Cloud — Montreuil and Madame Ehsabeth — " Pauvre Jacques " — Unpopularity of the Queen 152

Chapter X

A wonderful necklace — Generosity of Louis XVI refused by Marie-Antoinette — An imworthy prelate — An adventuress connectecUwith the reigning family of France — A cardinal duped — A moonlight scene in the park of Versailles — Gift of a rose — An extraordinary resemblance — Forged letters of the Queen — A prelate arrested in his pontifical robes — A^trialjconceriiing, the.-highest nobility of France — Indignation of the Queen at the verdict — What was the truth "? 162

Chapter XI

The last theatrical performance at Trianon — The Queen ' now entirely devoted to her children — She perseveres unfortunately in her Austrian policy — Her amiable disposition — The old keeper at Trianon — Madame Vigee Lebrun, the artist — The beauty of the Queen — Anecdotes — Affectionate intercourse with Madame Elisabeth — Death of the little Princesse Sophie — Strange prophecy of Cazotte — Painting by Madame Lebrun — Alarming condition of tie Dauphin — Pohticaldifficulties and compUcations 184

CONTENTS ix

Chapter XII Page

Convocation of the States-General — Eoyal pomp shown for the last time — The Queen subjected to insulting cries — Death of the Dauphin — Superstition and wax candles — The Bastille taken— Murder of the governor, de Launay, and of the provost FlesseUes — Scenes of "Sentiment" — Fhght of the Pohgnac family — Departure of several princes of the royal blood — Delusion of Lafayette — Banquet of the Guards at Versailles 198

CHAPTEE XIII

Insurrection in Paris — The populace force Lafayette to lead them to VersaUles — Advice of the Minister of the Interior, Comte de Saint-Priest — Mistaken refusal of the Queen to leave the King — His indecision — Mistaken views of Necker and Lafayette — Attack on the Queen's apartments — Devoted bravery of the Guards — The Queen forced to seek refuge in the King's apartments — Her intrepidity — The Eoyal Family taken forcibly to Paris — Arrival at the Tuileries — The little Dauphin — The Princesse de Lamballe — Daily hfe of Marie- Antoinette 206

Chapter XIV

Attempt of the royahsts to carry off the King by force — The King will not consent — The two guards, Miomandre de Ste. -Marie and his companion, received and thanked by the Queen — Unfortunate shyness of the King — St. Cloud

— Fears of poison for the Queen — Interview with Mirabeau

— Plans for flight — Procrastination — Return of Fersen — What the Queen thought absolutely necessary for precipitate flight — Rumors in the public world 221

Chapter XV

FHght of the royal family — They are recognized on the road, and stopped at Varennes — Scenes in the house of the

CONTENTS

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mayor — Return to Paris — Barnave and Pethion — Madame Elisabeth, and Barnave — Thraldom ia Paris — Disappointment of the Queen — Return of the Princesse de Lamballe — Kindness of the Queen toward those whose mismanagement had caused the failure of the journey — Mercy ' 233

Chapter XVI

A new Assembly — A new constitution — Fears of poison — Death of Leopold II — Assassination of 'Grustavus III — The Uttle Dauphin — The Queen's comfort — Barnave sacrifices his life— "War with Austria declared — Unfortunate attempt of the King to destroy a libel against the Queen — The King refuses his consent to a decree sentencing to transportation the priests who had refused to take the schismatic oath — Insurrection of the populace — Insurrection of the 20th of June — The populace burst into the Tuileries — Coolness and courage of the King — Heroic conduct of Madame EKsabeth — Dignity of the Queen — Napoleon and the " Canaille " — The Queen seeks the intervention of the European powers — The terrible 10th of August — The royal family take refuge in the National Assembly — Forfeiture of the crown decreed 246

CHAPTER XYII

The three days at Les Feuillants — The royal family removed to the Temple tower — Arrest of the Princesse de Lamballe, and of Madame and Mademoiselle de Tourzel — Madame Ehsabeth's gown — Privations and anxieties— Daily Hfe of the royal family— The Queen's dress — The King directs the studies of his son and the Queen those of her daughter — Gross insults and petty vexations 262

Chapter XVIII

Horrible death of the Princesse de Lamballe — Ferocity of the mob — Savage incident at the Temple tower — Effect

CONTENTS xi

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on tlie Queen — The King removed to the large tower — Distress of the Queen — Eemoval of the whole royal family to the large tower — The King's trial announced

— Separation from his family 272

Chapter XIX

The Eling's trial — Malesherbes a faithful friend — A sad Christmas — How the royal family corresponded with the King — The New Year — The King's sentence — His last requests — A reprieve of three days refused — Farewell interview with his family — The Abb6 Edgeworth de Firmont 281

Chapter XX

The King prepares for death — His kindness to the last — He hears mass and receives communion — The Abbe Edgeworth persuades him to give up the last interview with the Queen and royal family — He bids farewell to Clery — His last words to the porter of the prison — A fruitless attempt to save him on his way to the scaffold — He prepares for his execution — His address to the people — His death 290

CHAPTER XXI Grrief of the Queen — She remains in the closest seclusion

— The Dauphin is taken away from the Queen — Her desperate resistance — The Princesses left without attendance

— They perform menial work and wait on the Queen — She is removed to the Conciergerie prison — Madame Eichard

— Narrative of her servant, Eosalie Lamorhfere — Arrival

of the Queen — Her cell— The child of Madame Eichard. . 297

Chapter XXII

Gentleness and patience of the Queen — Care of Eosahe — Enforced idleness — Her watch and diamond rings taken from her — A fatal flower — A pricked paper — Arrest of xii CONTENTS

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the jailer and his family — The Queen transferred to another cell — A new jailer — The Queen brought to trial — Attempt to obtain scandalous testimony from her own children — Her sentence unexpected by her — Her letter to Madame EUsabeth — Rosalie — Ministrations of a constitutional priest refused — '' Errors, but not crimes." 307

Chapter XXIII

The last insults — Dress of the Queen when going to the scaffold — The sentence read to her — The executioner ties her hands and cuts off her hair — The cart — The last progress through the streets — An American witness — The Tuileries — Scene on the scaffold — The last look of Marie- Antoinette 320

Chapter XXIV

Sequel — The trial of Madame EHsabeth — Her fortitude at the scaffold — The cruelty practised on the Dauphin — His horrible isolation — The pity that was shown too late — His last words of his mother — Strength of character shown by the surviving princess, Madame Royale — Sent to Austria in 1795 — Married to her cousin 326

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Maeie-Antoinette Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

Maria Theresa of Austria, Mother op Marie-Antoinette 8

Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette at the Age of Fifteen Years 16

The Palace and Park op Versailles 24

Marie-Adelaide-Clotilde-Xaviere de France 32

Louis-Stanislas-Xavier de Bourbon, Comte de Provence, afterward Louis XVIII 40

Antoine-Paul- Jacques de Quelen de Stuer^ de Caus-

SADE, Due DE LA VaUGUYON 48

Marie-Louise-Thjer^jse-Victoire de France „ . „ 56

Marie-Adelaide de France 64

Salle des Glaces, Palace op Versailles 72

The Temple op Love, Versailles 80

The Dairy and Tower op Marlborough, Versailles . . 80

Sophie-Philippine-Elisabeth- Justine de France . . 96

Louise-Marie de France 112

duchesse de polignac 128

•nil xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

House of the Seigneur, Petit Trianon 144

Arm AND Gastgn, Cardinal de Eohan 160

comtesse de la mottb 168

Diamond Necklace 176

Bed op Marie- Antoinette 192

Petit Trianon, Versailles 208

Madame Elisabeth 224

Chamber op Louis XIV 240

The Dauphin Louis-Joseph and his Sister the Du- CHESSE D'Angouleme 256

Marie-Therese-Louise de Savoie-Carignan, Princesse DE Lamballe 272

Louis XVI 288

Marie-Antoinette and her Children 304

Marie-Antoinette 320

Chapter I

Character of Maria Theresa — Her political views — Birth of Marie-Antoiaette — A bad omen — Marriages of the daughters of Maria Theresa — The destiny of Marie- Antoinette — Her education — Affianced at fourteen to the heir of the crown of France — Her mother's parting advice — An accredited spy — Her mother's aim — Picture of the Court of France — The King — Madame du Barry — The Dauphin — The daughters of the King — Adverse elements.

THE story of Marie- Antoinette is universally admitted to be full of interest. All have heard more or less of her beauty, her brave spirit, her harrowing misfortunes, her tragic death. And this history, more enthralling than any romance, belongs almost to our own time: the fathers of men who may be still living saw her, and talked of her to their sons. This gives a peculiar, life-like reality to the sad tale, of which so many traces still remain in France. The beautiful portraits at Versailles, recalling the features of the young and lovely Queen ; the regal bedchamber from which she fled, where the populace rushed to shed the blood of the hated

"Austrian," while her faithful guards laid down their lives to defend her ; the cell at the Conciergerie prison, from which, one October morning, the still brave, still dignified victim was led to the scaffold, to expiate, as she said herself, "errors, but not crimes ^^ — all these may yet be seen.

The Eoyalist writers have drawn a glorified and saintly picture of the unhappy Queen ; those of the opposite party have striven to blacken her fame in order to explain, if not to justify, the judicial murder by which her life was sacrificed. But the real Marie- Antoinette has not yet been fully depicted. Recent publications of undoubted authenticity^ throw a new light on the true character of one who was neither a saint nor yet a sinner in any grave degree, but an amiable and lovable woman, frivolous in her prosperous days, engrossed in the pursuit of amusement, thoughtless and imprudent in many of her actions and words, but who, nevertheless, in the time of adversity showed that she had inherited the heroic spirit of her mother, Maria Theresa.

The history of the great Empress, and of her early struggles when, forsaken and desolate, with her child in her arms, she made her passionate appeal to "her" Hungarians, who proclaimed in response that they would die for their "King — Maria Theresa," is well known. She was a great sovereign, a woman of masculine mind; and although the mother of sixteen children, she remained essentially

1 Taken from the State Papers at Vienna.

BIRTH OF MAEEE-ANTOINETTE 3

a politician — a statesman, if sucli an expression maybe used. Her husband, Francis of Lorraine, and after bis death her sons in succession, were nominally Emperors of Germany ; but Maria Theresa, who possessed, as Queen in her own right, a large portion of the Empire, was the ruling spirit and the real sovereign. Her life was one long struggle with the surrounding powers, more especially Prussia, then governed by Frederick the Great, and resistance to his encroachments became the chief aim of her life. Her daughters were regarded principally as instruments for obtaining political alliances by their marriages in the reigning families, whose influence might be brought forward as a counterpoise to that of her opponent. Thus, her daughter Caroline was married to the King of Naples ; Spain was conciliated by the marriage of the Archduchess Amelia to the Duke of Parma ; ^ Maria Christina became the wife of Albert of Saxe-Teschen, governor of the Netherlands ; but the youngest and fairest of her daughters she had destined from her earliest years for the heir to the throne of France. To secure the French alliance she had already made many sacrifices, even that of her dignity as an empress and a Christian woman by stooping to conciliate the King's favorite, Madame de Pompadour. But her cherished dream was to unite her daughter Marie- Antoinette to the Dauphin, grandson of Louis XY and heir to the French crown.

1 Parma then beloDged to the Spanish Bourbons.

Marie-Antoinette Joseplie Jeanne, of Hapsburg- Lorraine, Archduchess of Austria and future Queen of France, was born on November 2 (feast of All Souls), 1755 — the very day of the terrible catastrophe at Lisbon when that city was nearly destroyed by an earthquake.

The superstitious might see here an omen of the fate which awaited the innocent child in a social convulsion far more disastrous in its consequences than the calamity which marked the day of her birth !

The son of the first Dauphin of France in the reign of Louis XV, and future heir to the crown, was born a year before the daughter of Maria Theresa, who, from her earliest years, was carefully prepared for the destiny which her mother hoped to secure for her. She was taught the correct pronunciation of French by two actors of the Theatre Fran^ais, while the French Abbe de Vermond was appointed to direct her education, which, however, was unhappily very incomplete. The writers who glorify the maternal care and vigilance of Maria Theresa are contradicted by the most trustworthy witnesses ; the truth seeming to be that the great Empress, engrossed by her political cares, left her children far too completely to the discretion of governesses and subordinates, who were neither very capable nor, perhaps, very conscientious. Drawings were shown to the Empress as the work of Marie- Antoinette which the latter afterward declared she had never touched, and this "make-believe" system seems to have been carried on throughout.

APFIANCED AT FOURTEEN 5

The Abb^ de Vermond directed only her French studies; but although a good and well-meaning man, the results which he obtained were far from creditable to his efforts. He does not seem to have had the art either of interesting her in any serious pursuit, or of acquiring proper control over her mind and character. Her handwriting even, as proved by autographs, was utterly unformed and childish at the time of her arrival at the court of France, and her spelling was defective.

Through the manoeuvers of her imperial mother, and the influence of the Due de Choiseul, then Prime Minister of France, who favored the Austrian alliance, the marriage was settled at the earliest possible age of the Dauphin and of the Archduchess, the bride being only fourteen, and the bridegroom a year older.

On the 21st of January, 1770, Marie- Antoinette received the wedding-ring sent by the Dauphin. The 21st of January! On that very day, twenty-three years later, Louis XVI ascended the scaffold ! But who could then foresee what the future would bring forth?

On April 16 the official demand was made to the widowed Empress, in the name of the " most Christian King," by the Marquis de Durf ort.

On the 17th the Archduchess solemnly renounced her rights in Austria. On the 19th a ceremony of marriage by proxy was performed (the Archduke Maximilian representing the Dauphin of France), and the official signatiires were then appended to the imperial register of births, deaths, and man-iages. It is said that through one of those mysterious forebodings which are sometimes felt on solemn occasions, the hand of Maria Theresa trembled as she signed her name to the record sealing her daughter's fate.

The young Princess was then required to spend three days in meditation and prayer, as a preparation for her future state. On April 21, after receiving holy communion, she was taken to pray before the tombs of her ancestors, where lay the father who had loved her with peculiar affection, and whom she had lost in her early childhood.

Then came the final parting from her mother, the last meeting in this world, for in those days few people traveled, and sovereigns never left their states.

In the case of Marie-Antoinette not only her mother and the imperial family deeply felt the pangs attending such a separation, but the household and even the city of Vienna mourned the departure of the bright, amiable girl, whom aU loved. But it must be; and, amidst the tears of all who knew and loved her, Marie- Antoinette went forth to her unknown fate.

Before the last heartrending embrace, Maria Theresa gave her daughter a plan and rule of life " to be read over every month." Part of this seems to be the "cut-and-dried" advice taken from a devotional book; but here and there, more particularly

HER MOTHER'S PARTING ADVICE 7

in a private supplement of instructions, the eager, earnest tones, evidently of tlie Empress herself, are in marked contrast with the rest.

"Have no curiosity — this is a point on which I have great fears for you. Avoid all familiarity with yom' subordinates. Ask Monsieur and Madame de Noailles,^ and even insist, that they should tell you what you ought to do ; and request that they should warn you sincerely of anything to be corrected in your manner or your speech, or in any other respect. Do not be ashamed of asking advice, and do nothing out of your own head. At the beginning of every month I will despatch a special messenger to Paris ; meanwhile you can prepare your letters so as to send them immediately on the arrival of this messenger. Mercy ^ will have orders for his return. You can also write to me by post, but only on unimportant matters such as every one may know. Destroy my letters, which will enable me to write to you more openly; I will do the same as regards yours. Say nothing about domestic affairs here; there is nothing but what would be uninteresting and even wearisome. Speak of your family with truth and moderation.''

Elsewhere she says very sagely : " I should in no wise be desirous of your introducing any novelties or doing anything contrary to the custom of France ; you must pretend to nothing peculiar to yourself,

1 They were appointed to conduct the Princess to Versailles. 2 The Ambassador of the German Empire at the court of France.

nor quote what is done here, nor try that such should be imitated."

This judicious advice might be followed with advantage by many young brides even in private life, but the state of the court of France at that time was such as to render the future position of the innocent but thoughtless and imperfectly educated young Princess one of peculiar difficulty and peril.

The King was an aged libertine, entirely engrossed by disgraceful pleasures, worn out physically and mentally by the excesses of his life, bearing the yoke of his favorite, the Comtesse du Barry, who reigned supreme, but who was in fact the tool of ambitious politicians by whom she had been pushed into her prominent position for the sole purpose of having a ready instrument at their service.

The Comtesse du Barry was a woman of previously disreputable character, and the lowest possible social condition, with whom a ruined spendthrift, the Comte du Barry, had been induced by bribery to go through a form of marriage in order to give her sufficient rank for admittance at the court, where she at once became the reigning favorite of Louis XV. The first Dauphin, son of the King, had died several years before, to the gi'eat grief of the nation, for his conduct and principles were in strong contrast to those of his father. His wife, the Dauphine, an exceedingly estimable woman strongly attached to her husband, did not long survive his loss. They left five children: three sons^ — the Due de

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H H m

THE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING 9

Berry, who after his father's death became Dauphin and heir apparent to the throne of France (afterward king as Louis XVI), the Comte de Provence, and the Comte d'Artois (later known respectively as Louis XVIII and Charles X); and two daughters — Madame ClotHde and Madame Elisabeth. The title of "Madame'' used at the French court was attended with such complications that some explanation is necessary to make the following narrative intelligible.

The son or grandson of the King, heir apparent to the throne, was called the "Dauphin," and his wife the "Dauphine"; this was the title of the ancient sovereigns of the province of Dauphine, annexed to the possessions of the French crown. The brother of the King was called "Monsieur," without any other appellation, and his wife "Madame." The younger brothers and sons of the King were also called "Monsieur," but with a title annexed, thus: "Monsieur" Comte de Provence, "Monsieur" Comte d'Artois ; their wives were " Madame " Comtesse de Provence, "Madame" Comtesse d'Artois. The King's daughters and granddaughters in the direct line, the " Filles de France," or Daughters of France, as they were proudly entitled, were also called " Madame," but distinguished by their Christian names. Thus, the unmarried daughters of Louis XV were called collectively "Mesdames de France," and individually Madame Adelaide, Madame Victoire, Madame Sophie, Madame Louise.

The Queen, Marie Leckzinska, liad died some time before the marriage of the Dauphin, her grandson ; and since her death the position of "first lady in the land" had been held by Madame Adelaide, a clever woman of an imperious, domineering temper, who was by no means pleased to yield her prerogatives, as she must needs do, to the child-wife of a boyish nephew. Madame Victoire, fat, sleepy, and good-natured, cared little for any thing beyond a good dinner and her other comforts, but was led and governed by her elder sister; Madame Sophie was singularly ill-favored, very shy, very disagreeable, and utterly insignificant; the youngest and most amiable of the four sisters, Madame Louise, had recently left the court for a Carmelite convent, with the intention of enduring the terrible austerities of that order, according to the faith of the Catholic Church, as a victim of expiation to obtain the salvation of her father's soul, which seemed in considerable peril when his licentious life was considered. This act of self-immolation deprived the young Marie-Antoinette of one who might have been her best friend at the court of Louis XV, for Madame Louise was thoroughly good and sincere. The other "Mesdames de France" were, in fact, estimable but narrow-minded and ill-educated spinsters, holding a small court of their own (wheels within wheels), greatly influenced by their attendants, in open war with their father's favorite, and strongly antagonistic to the party led by the Due de Choiseul,

ADVEESE ELEMENTS 11

who shocked their feelings by his so-called "philosophical" and really anti-religions views, as well as by the part which he had played in the expulsion of the Jesuits. They disliked Austria, and they disliked Choiseul ; consequently they were not disposed to give a very cordial welcome to an Austrian archduchess chosen by Choiseul as a bride for their nephew : the latter, a heavy, good-natured lad of fifteen, well-meaning, but overpowered with shyness, and wholly undeveloped ; unformed in mind as well as in manners.

Such was the court to which a thoughtless child was sent, where a woman of ripe years and cultivated intellect would have required the greatest prudence and caution to steer her way among innumerable difficulties.

Maria Theresa, though not fully informed of the real state of the case, yet knew enough to have a strong desire to give suitable guidance to her daughter. She consequently arranged with the German ambassador, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, a secret correspondence by which she was to be informed of everything concerning the young Dauphine. Mercy kept a journal, which was regularly sent to the Empress, in which the most minute details of the daily life of the Princess are jotted down; every act, every incautious word, is registered. Being in utter ignorance of this agreement, Marie-Antoinette treated Mercy with full confidence, often expressing astonishment at the information possessed by the Empress