A princess of adventure

Preface

THE nineteenth century, so fertile in interesting feminine personalities, contains no more romantic figure than that of Marie Caroline, Duchesse de Berry. Few princesses have experienced such strange vicissitudes, and few have faced misfortune and danger with so much courage and sang-froid. " Dans la tcte de cette Jieroique princesse il y a de qnoi a faire vingt rots ! " exclaimed the celebrated advocate Berryer during the insurrection of 1832 in la Vendee; and he was not far from the truth.

Born at the Palace of Caserta, near Naples, on November 5, 1798, Marie Caroline lived to within a few months of the fall of the Second Empire, dying at the Chateau of Brunnsee, in Styria, on April 16, 1870. But it is only with what may be termed her public career, which ended with her release from the citadel of Blaye and her final departure from France in June 1833, that this work is concerned. To have attempted to deal with the whole of her long and eventful life within the scope of a single volume would have involved the omission of much which serves to justify the title of "A Princess of Adventure." Moreover, it is a task which has never yet been successfully undertaken.

In my endeavour to give a full and impartial account of the early life of the Duchesse de Berry, and of the historical events in which she was more or less directly concerned, I have consulted practically all the chief contemporary sources of information—some of which have only seen the light within recent years — and also a very large number of more modern works and review articles.

Among the former, may be mentioned the memoirs of the Duchesse de Gontaut, the Comtesse de Boigne, Chateaubriand, Castellane, Marmont, and Rochechouart : the Mhnoires historiques de S.A.R. Madame ; duchesse Berri, depuis sa naissance viii A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE

jusqu'd ce jour, published by that fervent Legitimist, Alfred Nettement, in 1837, for which Marie Caroline herself is believed to have furnished much valuable material ; the Journal militaire d'un chef de I'Ouest of Charette ; the Relation fidele et detaillie de I'arrestation de S.A.R. Madame, duchesse de Berry, by the advocate Achille Guibourg, who was arrested at the same time as the princess ; the Journal de la Captivite de la dudiesse de Berry a Blaye, by Ferdinand Petit-Pierre, one of the officers of the fortress ; la Captivite' de la duchesse de Berry a Blaye, by Dr. Prosper Meniere, who attended her during the last months of her imprisonment ; and the files of the leading journals of the period, such as the Monitetir, the Journal des Dibats, the Constitutionnel, and the Journal de Paris.

Among the latter, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to the exhaustive studies of different phases of the princess's life by Imbert de Saint- Amand ; to the scholarly monographs of the Vicomte de Reiset, M. Thirria, and M. Charles Nauroy ; to the histories of Lamartine and Vieil-Castel ; to Cretineau-Joly's Histoire de la Vendee militaire ; to M. Henri Bouchot's le Luxe frangais : la Restaur ation ; to M. Charles Nauroy's les Derniers Bourbons, and les Secrets des Bourbons; to the Vicomte de Reiset's les Enfants du due de Berry ; to a remarkable article on the assassin Louvel, by Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, in the Revue des Deux Mondes, May 1830 ; and to another, on the Duchesse de Berry's mysterious journey to Rotterdam in 1832, by the Baron de Mesnard, in the Revue Angevine, May 1902.

H. NOEL WILLIAMS

London,

August jgii

Chapter I

The Bourbons of the Two Sicilies — Charles VII. — Ferdinand IV. — His deplorable education — His singular character — His marriage with the Archduchess Maria Carolina, who acquires complete ascendency over her husband and governs the kingdom in his name — Arrival of Acton at Naples — His reforms — Violent resistance of the Queen to the revolutionary movement both at home and abroad — Peace of Brescia — Matrimonial projects of Maria Carolina— Marriage of the Prince-Royal to the Archduchess Maria Clementina — Letter of the Princess-Royal describing her life at Naples — Birth of the Princess Caroline, the future Duchesse de Berry — Renewal of the war with France — The Neapolitan troops occupy Rome, but are soon obliged to evacuate the city and retreat — Anarchy at Naples — Flight of the Royal Family to Palermo — A terrible voyage — The French occupy Naples, and the Parthenopean Republic is proclaimed — Fall of the republic and restoration of Ferdinand, who wreaks savage vengeance upon the leading spirits of the revolutionary movement — Luisa di Sanfelice — The Princess-Royal endeavours to obtain a commutation of her sentence, but Ferdinand is inexorable — Illness and death of the Princess- Royal

Chapter II

Respect of the Princess Caroline for her mother's memory — Second marriage of her father — Her early years — Ferdinand, at the instigation of the Queen, joins the Third Coalition — The French advance against Naples, and the Royal Family is again compelled to take refuge at Palermo — Second sojourn of the Court in Sicily — Girlhood of the Princess Caroline — Her education— Maria Carolina's affection for her — Arrival of the Due d'Orleans at Palermo — His marriage with the Princess Amalia — Troubles in Sicily — Maria Carolina and Lord William Bentinck — Establishment of a constitution on the English model — bentinck insists on the departure of the Queen from Sicily, and she is compelled to retire to Austria — Maria Carolina and the Empress Marie Louise at the Castle of Hetzendorf — Death of the Queen — Grief of the Princess Caroline — Her resentment against Bentinck, whom she regards as her grandmother's " murderer " — Second restoration of Ferdinand ........ 14

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Chapter III Page

Portrait of the Princess Caroline at the age of seventeen — Her affection for Sicily — -Arrival of the Comte de Blacas at Naples to propose a marriage between her and the Due de Berry — Political considerations which induce Louis XVIII. to seek this alliance — The proposition favourably received by Ferdinand and the Prince-Royal, who, however, leave the princess free to decide for herself — Blacas comes to Palermo — The princess gives her consent — Portrait of her by Blacas — Letters of Louis XVIII. and the Due de Berry to the princess, and of the princess to the Due de Berry — The princess returns to Naples — The marriage-contract — The marriage by procuration — Letters of the princess and the Due de Berry — Illness of the princess — She sails for Marseilles .......... 23

Chapter IV

Arrival of the Duchesse de Berry at Marseilles — She is subjected to ten days' quarantine in the lazaretto — Madame de la Ferronays, her dame d'atours, joins her there — She is visited by her French Household, with whom she converses through a grating — Letters of Louis XVIII. and the Due de Berry to the princess — Her diversions in the lazaretto — She makes her official entry into Marseilles — Ceremony of her delivery to the representative of Louis XVIII. — Her reception at Marseilles — Her visit to Toulon — Correspondence between her and the Due de Berry — She leaves Marseilles on her journey to Fontainebleau — The Fete-Dieu at Aix — Her reception at Lyons — Her arrival at Nemours — Increasing ardour of the Due de Berry's letters — -Meeting between the princess and the Royal Family at the Croix de Saint-Herem in the Forest of Fontainebleau — The Duchesse de Berry at Fontainebleau 36

Chapter V

Departure of the Duchesse de Berry and the Royal Family from Fontainebleau — Entry of the princess into Paris — A magnificent reception — Enthusiasm of the inhabitants of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine — Arrival at the Tuileries — The marriage ceremony at Notre-Dame — The Royal Family dines au grand convert at the Tuileries — The Due and Duchesse de Berry depart for the Elysee-Bourbon — A singular ceremony ....... 53

Chapter VI

The Due de Berry — His boyhood — A pretty story — He emigrates with his family in 1789 — The School of Artillery at Turin — The duke joins the Army of Conde — A manage manque — The duke takes up his residence in London — His appearance and character — An incorrigible gallant — Amy Brown — Parentage of Amy Brown — Her four elder children : John and Robert Freeman, Emma Georgiana Marshall, and George Brown — Baptismal certificates of her two daughters by the Due de Berry, Charlotte

CONTENTS xi and Louise Brown — Mystery of the paternity of the elder children — Assertion of the Prince de Lucinge, husband of Charlotte Brown, that all the children of Amy Brown were the issue of a lawful marriage between her and the Due de Berry which Louis XVIII. had refused to recognise — The legend of George Brown, the " child of mystery " — Article in the Telegraphe of April 14, 1877 — Appearance of M. Charles Nauroy's work, les Secrets des Bourbons — The brochure of M. Grave — Improbability of the supposed marriage having taken place at the time alleged by M. Nauroy shown by the narrative of Madame de Gontaut and the letters of the Due de Berry to the Comte de Clermont-Lodeve — The tradition of the marriage very firmly established, notwithstanding that the balance of authoritative contemporary opinion is against it 61

Chapter VII

Evidence upon which the partisans of the marriage rely to establish their claim — The death-certificate of Amy Brown — The letters of the Due de Berry to the Comte de Clermont-Lodeve — Inability of M. Nauroy and his supporters to produce any documentary evidence of the smallest value — Two wills of the Due de Berry, executed in 1810 and 181 7, held by the Vicomte de Reiset to be an unanswerable proof that the prince had never contracted a marriage with Amy Brown — His conclusions considered — Return of the Due de Berry to France at the Restoration — Amy Brown and his little daughter follow him to Paris — Episode at the Opera — The Due de Berry visits Amy incognito — The danseuse Virginie Oreille becomes the mistress of the prince — " The Amours of Paul and Virginie " — The violent language of the Due de Berry towards the officers under his command contributes to alienate the Army from the Bourbons — The Due de Berry and Virginie during the Hundred Days — Conduct of the prince after the Second Restoration 81

Chapter VIII

The Due and Duchesse de Berry at the Elysee-Bourbon — History of the palace — The duchess's apartments — A happy marriage — Simple habits of the young couple— Anecdotes of the ticket-collector of the Champs-Elysees and of the young man with the umbrella — Their love of the arts^Their musical tastes — Household of the Duchesse de Berry— The Duchesse de Reggio, dame d'honneur — The Comtesse de la Ferronays, dame d'atours — Madame de Gontaut — Mesdames de Lauriston, de Hautefort, de Bouille, and de Gourgues — Monseigneur de Bombelles, first almoner — The Due de Levis, first equerry — The Comte de Mesnard, cluvalier d'honneur — The Elysee and the Tuileries— Attachment of Louis XVIII. to the Duchesse de Berry — Affectionate relations between the young princess and Madame, the Due d'Angouleme, and Monsieur — Visit of the Duchesse de Berry to the old Prince de Conde at Chantilly— The Elysee and the Palais-Royal — Louis XVIII. 's distrust of the Due d'Orleans — The Duchesse de Berry endeavours to persuade the King to confer the title of " Royal Highness" upon Louis- Philippe, but without success 96 xii A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE

Chapter IX Page

Dissensions in the Royal Family owing to the opposition between the liberal ideas of Louis XVIII. and the reactionary views of his brother and the Duchesse d'Angouleme — Indignation of the Comte d'Artois and Madame at the royal decree dissolving the " Chambre introuvable " — The action of the Due de Berry in canvassing openly for votes against the Government leads to a violent scene at the Tuileries — Prudent conduct of the Duchesse de Berry, who holds studiously aloof from politics and makes no distinction between the members of the rival parties — Growing popularity of the young princess with the Parisians — Infidelity of the Due de Berry, who resumes his pre-nuptial relations with Virginie Oreille — Indignation of the King on learning of his nephew's presence at a ball given by the danseuse — Liaison between the Due de Berry and Mile. Sophie de la Roche — Other amours of the prince — Jealousy of the duchess — Her conversation with the Neapolitan Ambassador, the Prince Castelcicala — The Duchesse de Berry gives birth to a daughter, who, however, dies on the following day — Humiliation inflicted by Louis XVIII. on the Due d'Orleans at the signing of the acte de naissance — Affair of the layette : rupture between the Due de Berry and the Comte de la Ferronays — Premature birth of a son, who only survives two hours — Disappointment of the Due de Berry — -Enviable position of the duchess — Life at the Elysee — Birth of Mademoiselle — The etiquette of the royal nursery — Portrait of the Duchesse de Berry by Hesse . . . • • . . . . . .114

Chapter X

Brilliant winter season of 1819-20 — Balls at the Elysee — The Duchesse de Berry accompanies her husband's shooting-parties — Threatening political situation — Louis XVIII. and the Comte Decazes — Violent hostility of the "Ultras" to the King's favourite — Election of the Abbe Gregoire for Grenoble — Proposed alteration of the electoral system — Decazes becomes Prime Minister — Happy influence of married life upon the character of the Due de Berry — His charity and kindness of heart — Anecdote of the boy with the basket — Anecdote of the charcoal-burner — Threatening anonymous letters received by the Due de Berry — Gloomy presentiments of the prince — Ball at the Comte de Greffulhe's — A disturbing letter — Regret of the Due de Berry for his loss of temper at a shooting-party : his atonement — The duchess again pregnant — Visit of the Due and Duchesse de Berry to the Opera on the evening of Shrove-Sunday, February 13, 1820 . . . 129

Chapter XI

Louvel — His early life — His violent animosity against the Bourbons, whom he resolves to " exterminate " — He determines to commence operations with the assassination of the Due de Berry, but his courage repeatedly fails him — His conduct on the night of February 13, 1820 — The Due and Duchesse de Berry at the Opera—The princess, having met with a slight

CONTENTS xiii

PAGE

accident, decides to return to the Elysee before the end of the performance — The duke conducts his wife to her carriage, and is stabbed by Louvel as he turns to re-enter the Opera-house — Pursuit and capture of the assassin — The wounded prince is carried into the salon behind his box — Courage and presence of mind of the Duchesse de Berry — An extraordinary scene — The Due de Berry and the Bishop of Amyclee — Arrival of Monsieur and the Due and Duchesse d'Angouleme — A futile operation — Administration of the last Sacraments — Madame de Gontaut brings Mademoiselle to the Opera-house — The Duchesse de Berry, at her husband's request, sends for the duke's daughters by Amy Brown — -Arrival of Louis XVIII. — "Sire, grace, gr&cepour la vie de Pihomme! " — The last moments — Death of the Due de Berry ......... 140

Chapter XII

The body of the Due de Berry transported to the Louvre — Consternation in Paris — Decazes tenders his resignation to the King, who refuses to accept it — An unfortunate incident — Meeting of the Chambers — Clausel de Coussergues demands the impeachment of Decazes, "as an accomplice of the assassination of the Due de Berry " — Furious outcry against the Minister — The resistance of Louis XVIII. eventually overcome by the representation of Monsieur and the Duchesse d'Angouleme — Fall of Decazes — Grief of the King — Lying-in-state of the Due de Berry— His obsequies at Saint-Denis — Monuments erected to his memory . . . . .160

Chapter XIII

The Duchesse de Berry installed at the Pavilion de Marsan at the Tuileries — A cruel contrast — First appearance of the princess in public since the death of her husband — Jacobin attempts against her and her unborn child — Courage of the princess — Singular dream— Her conviction that she is destined to bear a prince — Violent agitation against the Government— Riots in Paris— Trial of Louvel — His behaviour while in prison — His remarkable speech before the Chamber of Peers — He is sentenced to death — His last hours — His execution — Formidable conspiracy against the reigning dynasty discovered — The hopes of the Royalists are centred in the child which the Duchesse de Berry is to bear — Verses of Victor Hugo — Arrival of a deputation from the market-women of Bordeaux to present a cradle to the Duchesse de Berry — A present from Pau — The name of Henri chosen for the hoped-for prince — A rumour is circulated by the enemies of the Monarchy that the princess is not pregnant, and that there is to be a supposititious child — Precautions adopted by Louis XVIII. to refute this calumy . . . 167

Chapter XIV

Birth of the Due de Bordeaux — Singular circumstances attending this event — Madame de Gontaut's narrative — Remarkable courage and sa?ig-froid of the Duchesse de Berry — Arrival of the King — The Jurancon wine and the clove of garlic — " That is for you, and this is for me ! " — Indescribable enthusiasm xiv A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE

PAGE

of the Parisians — The Due de Bordeaux and the soldiers — Speech of Louis XVIII. to the crowd at the Tuileries— The public admitted to see the little prince — Rejoicings in Paris — The " child of miracle " and the "child of Europe" — Hysterical jubilation of the Royalist journals — Adulation of the poets 1 80

Chapter XV

Appearance of a libel, under the name of the Due d'Orleans, declaring the Due de Bordeaux to be a supposititious child — The Due d'Orleans hastens to disavow any connection with this publication — New popularity of the Monarchy — The Chateau of Chambord purchased by public subscription and presented to the little prince, in the name of the nation— The Duchesse de Berry, notwithstanding the birth of her son, continues to feel very keenly the loss of her husband — Baptism of the Due de Bordeaux — An alarming incident — The baptismal fetes — Pilgrimage of the Duchesse de Berry to Notre-Dame de Liesse 189

Chapter XVI

The Duchesse de Berry resumes the habits of the early days of her married life — Kindness and generosity of the princess — Method which she adopts to extend her patronage as widely as possible among the tradespeople of the capital — Her visit to Mont-Dore — She begins to entertain again at the Pavilion de Marsan — The Bourbons triumphant in Naples and Spain, as well as in France — Situation at the Tuileries — Louis XVIII. and his favourites — Madame du Cayla — Her history — Sosthene de la Rochefoucauld urges her " to essay the rSle of Esther to the Ahasuerus of Louis XVIII." — Her first interview with the King — Infatuation of Louis XVIII. for her — He presents her with the Pavilion of Saint-Ouen — Influence which she exercises over the King — Her relations with the Duchesse de Berry — Visit of the duchess to Dieppe — Her reception— Her first " dip " — Illness of Louis XVIII. — Heroic fortitude of the King who, despite his sufferings, continues to discharge his official duties — Madame du Cayla persuades him to send for his confessor — Administration of the Sacraments -Death of Louis XVIII

Chapter XVII

The new King and the Royal Family at Saint-Cloud— Lying-in-state of Louis XVIII. — The procession to Saint-Denis — The funeral ceremony — Character of Charles X. — The new reign opens under the happiest auspices — Entry of the King into Paris— Review in the Champ de Mars— A colonel of four years of age— Opening of the Chambers : incident of the King's hat — Death of Ferdinand I. of the Two Sicilies— Charles X. decides to be crowned at Rheims— Arrival of the King at Rheims— The Duchesse de Berry and Jeanne d'Arc— The Sucre— The return to Paris . . . . 215

CONTENTS xv

Chapter XVIII Page

The Duchesse de Berry assumes the title of Madame — The period between the coronation of Charles X. and the fall of the Monarchy that of her greatest social triumphs — The Chateau of Rosny — Her life there — Her kindness to the poor of the neighbourhood — The heart of the Due de Berry deposited in the chapel of the hospital which she erects at Rosny — Madame at Dieppe — The royal yacht, le Triton — An intrepid sailor — Benevolence of Madame — Visit of Mademoiselle to Dieppe — A gallant mayor — Picnic in the valley of Arques — The Due de Bordeaux and Mademoiselle — Anecdotes of their early years — Admirable educational system of Madame de Gontaut — Anxiety of the gotivertiante to protect her charges from flatterers — An invaluable object-lesson — The Due de Bordeaux leaves Madame de Gontaut's care for that of the Due de Riviere, who has been appointed his gouverneur — The nomination of the duke and that of Mgr. Thalin, Bishop of Strasbourg, to the post of preceptor, severely criticised by the Opposition journals — Death of the Due de Riviere, who is succeeded by the Baron de Damas . ........... 225

Chapter XIX

Tour of the Duchesse de Berry in the West of France — Visit to Chambord — Frenzied enthusiasm of the Vendeens at Saint-Florent — Sainte-Anne d'Auray — Madame in the Bocage — Reception at Bordeaux — Her stay in the Pyrenees — Her campaign of 1832 the natural consequence of the impressions concerning the loyalty of Western France which she had conceived during this tour — Decline of the popularity of Charles X. — The review of April 29, 1827 — "A das les jesuitesses ! '" — Disbanding of the National Guard — Fall of the Villele Government — The Martignac Ministry — Incurable illusions of the King as to the true sentiments of the nation . 237

Chapter XX

The Carnival of 1829— The Mary Stuart ball — Calumny concerning the Duchesse de Berry and her first equerry, the Comte de Mesnard — Last visit of Madame to Dieppe — Madame and the Orleans family — Project of marriage between the Due de Chartres and Mademoiselle — Journey of the Duchesse de Berry to the South of France to meet the King and Queen of the Two Sicilies — Critical condition of affairs — The Martignac Ministry is dismissed, and succeeded by one of avowed reactionaries under the leadership of the Prince Jules de Polignac — Widespread indignation and alarm — The "Address of the 221 " — The King prorogues, and then dissolves the Chamber of Deputies — Visit of the King and Queen of the Two Sicilies to Paris — The ball at the Palais-Royal 244

Chapter XXI

The elections of 1830 disastrous for the Polignac Ministry — Charles X., encouraged by the taking of Algiers, resolves on a coup d'Jitat — The Ordinances of July 25, 1830 — Conversation between the King and Madame de xvi A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE

PAGE

Gontaut on the morning on which the Ordinances are published in the Moniteur — Reception of the Ordinances in Paris — Fatal optimism of the Government — The Revolution begins on the morning of July 27, 1830 — Unpreparedness of the Government — Formidable outbreak on the morning of the 28th — Mistaken tactics of Marmont, who commands the troops — Desperate fighting in the streets — Alarm of the Court at Saint-Cloud — Anguish of the Duchesse de Berry, who entreats Charles X. to allow her to go with her son to Paris — Childish obstinacy of the King, who refuses to promise the withdrawal of the Ordinances — The evening of July 28 at Saint-Cloud — Renewal of the fighting on the 29th : the Tuileries stormed by the insurgents — " Ah, mon Dim ! I see the tricolour ! " — The King still unable to realise the situation — The evening of July 29 at Saint-Cloud — The royal children and the wounded soldiers — Charles X. appoints Mortemart President of the Council, and sends him to Paris with the revocation of the Ordinances — But his belated concessions are received with derision — Arrival of the Due d'Orleans in the capital 255

Chapter XXII

The Duchesse de Berry, alarmed for the safety of her children, begs the Dauphin to persuade Charles X. to leave Saint-Cloud — Departure of the Court at daybreak on July 31 — Arrival at the Grand-Trianon— Astonishment of the King at the costume assumed by Madame — The Court continues its retreat to Rambouillet — A frugal supper — The Dauphine joins her relatives — Charles X. and the Due d'Orleans — Abdication of the King in favour of the Due de Bordeaux — Efforts of the Duchesse de Berry to induce Charles X. to allow her to go to Paris — " Vive Henri V. /" — Duplicity of the Due d'Orleans — A game of bluff— Charles X. decides to leave France — Departure of the Royal Family from Rambouillet — Arrival at the Chateau of Maintenon — The King takes leave of the troops — The journey to the coast — Madame urges the King not to abandon the struggle — The Royal Family at Valognes — Farewell to the Gardes du corps — Arrival at Cherbourg—The Royal Family sail for England 268

Chapter XXIII

Arrival of the exiled family at Cowes — Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, is placed at their disposal — Refusal of the British Government to treat them otherwise than as private persons of distinction — Ungenerous attitude of the Press — Sympathy of the Duke of Wellington — Kindness shown by the Marquis of Anglesey and his daughters to the Duchesse de Berry — The Royal Family at Lulworth Castle — Tour made by Madame through the West and Midlands — Charles X., persecuted by his old creditors, obtains permission to remove to Holyrood — The Duchesse de Berry in London — She rejoins her relatives in Scotland — Death of her father, Francis I. of the Two Sicilies — Determination of Madame to endeavour to recover the Crown for her son, and to play an active part in the projected expedition herself —

CONTENTS xvii

Extraordinary influence of Sir Walter Scott's novels upon her imagination — Futile efforts of Charles X. to persuade her to renounce her bellicose projects — The title of Regent of France conferred upon her — Madame at Bath— She receives enthusiastic promises of support from all parts of France — She sails for Rotterdam en route for Italy 2 ^S

Chapter XXIV

The Duchesse de Berry and her companions arrive at Sestri — The French Ambassador insists on their expulsion from the Sardinian States — Madame establishes herself at Massa, where she is treated en soiiveraine — Her letter to her friend the Comtesse de Meffray — She visits Florence, but her expulsion from Tuscany is immediately demanded, and she removes to Lucca — She sets out for Naples, on a visit to her half-brother, Ferdinand II., King of the Two Sicilies— Her stay in Rome— The Count Ettore Lucchesi- Palli— His friendship with Madame— Arrival of the princess at Naples — A sad contrast — Second visit of Madame to Rome — Her court at Massa — Illusions of the princess and her partisans in regard to the situation of affairs in France — Attitude of Madame on the question of foreign intervention on behalf of her son — Her adherents in Fiance urge her to action — She sends orders to the Legitimist leaders to prepare to rise in arms — And departs secretly for Marseilles, on board a Sardinian steamer, the Carlo Alberto 295

Chapter XXV

Arrival of the Carlo Alberto off Marseilles — A perilous landing— The Duchesse de Berry and her companions take refuge in a gamekeeper's hut amidst the woods, to await the promised rising at Marseilles — A sleepless night — A comic-opera insurrection — "All has failed; you must leave France!" — Madame refuses to accept defeat, and insists on setting out for la Vendee — A night's journey on foot — A chivalrous Republican — Madame and her companions reach the Chateau of Bonrecueil— The Government, under the delusion that the princess is still on board the Carlo Alberto, despatches a cruiser in pursuit of that vessel — Capture of the Carlo Alberto — Mile. ~Lebzsch\\, femme d'atours to Madame, is mistaken for her mistress — Arrival of the Carlo Alberto at Toulon : absurd situation — The authorities order the supposed Duchesse de Berry to be conducted to Ajaccio, where the mistake is discovered — Total ignorance of the Government as to the whereabouts of the princess : letter of the Minister of the Interior to the Minister of the Marine 3°4

Chapter XXVI

Journey of the Duchesse de Berry to la Vendee— A titled coachman — The princess arrives at the Chateau of Plaissac, near Saintes — Incidents of the journey — Review of the situation in la Vendee since the July Revolution — Decision of the la Fetelliere conference of September 1S31 — Madame 's xviii A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE proclamation — She issues orders to her adherents to take up arms on May 24 — She leaves Plaissac for the Chateau of Preuille, near Montaigu, where she assumes masculine attire — Narrow escape of the princess from drowning in crossing the Moine — Arrival at Bellecour with Charette and Mesnard — Letter addressed to her by certain Vendeen chiefs entreating her to countermand her orders for May 24 — Refusal of the princess — She is compelled to fly from Bellecour — A night in a stable — The Chateau of Louvardiere — Le Magasin — Madame receives further protests against the rising from the Vendeen leaders, but they fail to shake her resolution — Arrival of the advocate Berryer, who has induced the Marechal de Bourmont to issue a counter-order — And endeavours to persuade the princess to abandon the enterprise and leave France — Madame consents, but soon recalls her decision — Council of war at le Meslier — Issue of a new order fixing the rising for the night of June 3-4 . . . . . ■ 3 X 3