Marie Antoinette and Her Son

to cheer her friend with light and pleasant talk, and drive away the clouds from her lofty brow. Marie Antoinette had only responded by enforced smiles and half-words

oach of the queen, appeared to awaken her from her sorrowful thoughts, and she straightened herself up and cast her glances about. They fell quite accidentally

tretched out her arms to the child and drew it to

y into Paris, and heard the acclamations of the people. May you, so long as you live, always be the r

at near the open portal the hostlers and lackeys were awaiting in a respectful posture the dismounting of the queen; that the

as she passed by, hurried into the palace and ran up the great marble staircase. The Duchess de Polignac made haste to follow her, while the Princess Therese and the dauphin were received by their dames of honor and led into their respective apartments. The Norman nurse, shaking her head, hurried after the que

ids of honor of the cavaliers, and receiv

ss de Mailly. "Perhaps her majesty will have the ki

Chimay, "we shall have to stand here the whole day, while the quee

shrugging his shoulders, "and it might easily happen that we should be forgotten, and, like th

esolved in secret council at the Count de Provence's, that Madame Adelaide should make one more attempt to bring the queen to reason, and make her understand what is becoming

, drove through the great gate into the guarded vestibule of the palace; two outriders rode in advance, two lacke

still. The lackeys hastened to open the gate, and a lady, advanced in years, gross in form, with an irritable face well pitted with pock-marks, and wearing no other expression than

that led to the apartments of the queen. "Madame Adelaide!" shouted he with a loud voice, and the lackey repeated it in the same tone, quickly ope

which interrupted her while engaged in charming unrestrained conversatio

east suspicion of this upon her fine and dearly-loved face, and just because they are not there, I must tell you, my dear friend, to leave me. But hold yourself in readiness, after Madame Annoyance has left me, to ride with

e hand of the queen to her lips, and taking her leave with inimitable grace, in order to pass out through the little side-

, and the two maids of honor of the queen advanced to the threshold, and made so deep a reverence that their immense petticoats expanded like a kettle.

one voice, slowly straightening themselves up

s of honor and master of ceremonies, the grand-chamberlain, the pa

n in the middle of the chamber, and could not repress a faint smile, as with er

her position nor hasten toward her as she had perhaps expected; he

e, with a tart smile. "The queen perhaps was just upon the point of

atch such a trifling rumor, while my younger ones have never caught the least hint of the important approach of the

lips together in just such a way as if she wanted to check an outcry of pain or suppress some hidden rage. Marie Antoinette, while speaking of the sharp ears which madame alw

Madame Adelaide, who did not possess the power of entering on a

en, cheerfully; "and it depends entirely upon madam

entire privacy," said Ma

hand she dismissed them. Then she directed her great brilliant eyes to the door of the antec

nto the great antechamber, an

Madame Adela

ncess to an arm-chair, while she took her own place upon a simple ottoman

ear my words," said Madame Adelaide, with a sigh

I certainly shall," s

family. Madame, allow me first to disburden myself of something that has been committed to me. My noble and pious sister, Madame Lo

attached to her arm by its silken cords, a

, but shook her head as if in refusal, and yet with so ea

at St. Denis; for you well know that when Madame Louise sent me some years ago, through your highness, a letter which I read,

affront directed against a princess

similar affront. Unquestionably this letter is similar in tone to that one. That one contained charges which went so far as to involve open condemnation, and contained proffers of counsel which mea

r to that of the former letter; for, unfortunately, the causes are

ten in the presence of your highness, in the pious cell of the prioress. She gave over for a while her prayers for the repose of the departed king, in order to busy herself a little with worldly thing

d, madame, that it were calumnies with which we have to do, and that all these thin

ate these facts to me?" said the queen, undisturbed, but

choose out any separate ones among them," cried she, with fiery tone. "Eve

I had no idea that your highne

of things. You do it-you do it, scorning every thing established with the random wantonness of a child that plays with fire, and

time!" cried the queen, with

r children's, change your course; take a new direction; leave the pat

ted, now darkened. Her smile gave way to a deep earnestnes

reverence due to age, and not to forget the harsh eyes with which the aged always look upon the deeds of youth. But you compel me to take the matter more earnestly to he

lity, your culpable s

ur extravagance, your

ics, your excessi

inments

with loud, merry laughter, which more enraged the pr

devout meditation, in the exercise of beneficence, in pious deeds. You are a spendthrift, for you give the income of France to your favorites, to this Polignac family, which it has been reckoned receives alone a twentieth part of the whole income of the state; to these gracious lords and ladies of your so-called 'society,' supporting them in their frivolity, allowing them to make golden gain out of you. You are a lover of finery, not holding it beneath y

of them, horrid names. We have, for example, the 'hog's bristles coiffure,' the

daughters, infected with the millinery tastes of the queen and the court, shun all noble thoughts, and only busy themselves with mere affairs of taste. I have shown you, and you will not be able to deny it, madame, that this decline in manners, which has been engendered by this love of finery, proceeds

highness mean?"

tainments are

orgies where the king, enchanted by the charms of his wife, and allured by her coquetry, so far forgets his royal rank as even to take part himself in this stupid frivolity, and to bear a share in this trivial masquerading. And this queen, whose loud laughter fills the groves of Trianon, and who sometimes finds her pleasure in imitating the lowing of cows or the bleating of goats- this queen will

had been taught to prize lightly and to despise, and then he found that she was not so simple, stupid, and ugly, as she had been painted. He began to take some notice of her, and then, God be thanked, he overlooked the fact that she was of Austrian blood, and that the policy of his predecessor had urged her upon him; his heart warmed to her in love, and Marie Antoinette received this love as a gracious gift of God, as the happiness of her life. Yes, madame, I may say it with pride and joy, the king loves me, he trusts me, and therefore his wife stands nearer to him than even his exalted aunts, and I am the one whom he most trusts and whom he selects to be his chief adviser. But this is just the offence which will never be forgiven me: it has fallen to my lot to take from my enemies and opponents their influence over my husband. The time has gone by when Madame Adelaide could gain an attentive ear when she came to the king, and in her passionate rage charged me with unheard of crimes, which had no basis excepting that in some little matters I had loosened the ancient chains of etiquette; the time is past when Madame Louise could presume to drive me with her flashing anger from her pious cell and make me kneel in the dust; and when it was permitted to the Count de la Morch to accuse the queen before the king of having risen in time to behold the rising of the sun at Versailles, in company with her whole court. The king loves me, and Madame Adelaide is no longer the po

ess Adelaide, "Madame, wh

to accuse her, and she has answered you as becomes her station. Now we have nothing more to say to each other. You requested a half-hour's private audience with me, and the time has gone. Farewell, madam

und, and, with lofty carriage and prou

he queen had just vanished. "I shall not forget nor forgive," muttered she. "I shall have my revenge on this impudent person who dares to threaten me and even to defy me, and who calls herself my sovereign. This Austria

e had hardly entered her own room and closed the door which separated her from her e

the queen, who had just then entered the porcelain room, hastened to her mistress, and, sinking upon her knees, pressed the fallen hand of the queen to her lips. "Your majesty is weeping!" she whispere

yes. "I will be merry, and why do I weep? She sought to make me sick; she sought to wound me, but I

flicted anything upo

Campan, in

for I have distinctly intimated to her that I am Queen of France, and she my subject. I have told

ardon that. Your majesty has now become her irreconcilable enemy,

arrows will fall powerless at my feet, for the love of my husband and my pure conscience form the protection which secures me. And what can these people accomplis

hat the bad have it in their power to corrupt public opinion; and that then the good have not the courage to meet this corrupting influence. But public opinion is a monster that brings the charge, passe

rgin. I am pure and blameless. I pledged my troth to my husband before he loved me, and how shall I now break it, when he does love me, and is the father of my dear children? And now, enough of these dis

dy-in-waiting, who followed, sighing and shaking her head, and endeavored with her own hands to loosen the

g out of the stiff apparel, and standing in a light, white undergarment, with bar

ppear again in this

e Campan

week with me at Trianon, and that there we are going to enjoy life, nature, and solitude. So, for a whole week, the king will only be king in the forenoon, and in the afternoo

, in which they complain of the decadence of the silk manufacture, explaining it on the ground that your majesty has a preference fo

I wear white percale because I want to do my brother, the Emperor Joseph, a service, and so ordered these white goods from the Netherlands? Ah, let us leave

he ladies of the robing-room," answered Madame de

er be free from the fetters of all this ceremony? Could

on their rights and separate them from the adored person of the queen. It is their right, it is their duty to draw the robe upon

here in Versailles until the last moment. I shall have my compen

roportions had been concealed by the rigid state dress. A simple waist encircled her bust, and was held together by a blue sash, which hung in long ends at her left side. Broad cuffs, held together with simple, narrow lace, fell down as far as the wrist, but through the thin material could be seen the fair form of her beautiful arms; and the white triangle of gauze which she had thrown over her naked neck, did not entirely veil the graceful l

lips; thus, all innocence, merriment, and cheerfulness, Marie Antoinette entered the sitting- room

ss of a young girl, with the tenderness of a si

, "let us leave the wor

ed the duchess, with a merry smile

rm of the duchess to herself. "Lean upon me, my friend, and be persuaded th

than for myself. What is there in me to harm? But

stiff, formal title of majesty when we are alone together? Why do you

duchess, "we are in Versaill

s your exculpation. Come, let us hasten to leave this proud, royal palace, and get away to the soci

staircase, and over the small court to one of the minor gates of the palace, leading to the park. The coupe of the qu

duchess to assist her to ascend. "Forward, forward!" cried the queen to the coachman, " an