[Illustration: Marie Antoinette]
THE LIFE OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, QUEEN OF FRANCE.
BY CHARLES DUKE YONGE
1876
PREFACE.
The principal authorities for the following work are the four volumes of
Correspondence published by M. Arneth, and the six volumes published by M.
Feuillet de Conches. M. Arneth's two collections[1] contain not only a
number of letters which passed between the queen, her mother the Empress-
queen (Maria Teresa), and her brothers Joseph and Leopold, who
successively became emperors after the death of their father; but also a
regular series of letters from the imperial embassador at Paris, the Count
Mercy d'Argenteau, which may almost be said to form a complete history of
the court of France, especially in all the transactions in which Marie
Antoinette, whether as dauphiness or queen, was concerned, till the death
of Maria Teresa, at Christmas, 1780. The correspondence with her two
brothers, the emperors Joseph and Leopold, only ceases with the death of
the latter in March, 1792.
The collection published by M. Feuillet de Conches[2] has been vehemently
attacked, as containing a series of clever forgeries rather than of
genuine letters. And there does seem reason to believe that in a few
instances, chiefly in the earlier portion of the correspondence, the
critical acuteness of the editor was imposed upon, and that some of the
letters inserted were not written by the persons alleged to be the
authors. But of the majority of the letters there seems no solid ground
for questioning the authenticity. Indeed, in the later and more important
portion of the correspondence, that which belongs to the period after the
death of the Empress-queen, the genuineness of the Queen's letters is
continually supported by the collection of M. Arneth, who has himself
published many of them, having found them in the archives at Vienna, where
M.F. de Conches had previously copied them,[3] and who refers to others,
the publication of which did not come within his own plan. M. Feuillet de
Conches' work also contains narratives of some of the most important
transactions after the commencement of the Revolution, which are of great
value, as having been compiled from authentic sources.
Besides these collections, the author has consulted the lives of Marie
Antoinette by Montjoye, Lafont d'Aussonne, Chambrier, and the MM.
Goncourt; "La Vraie Marie Antoinette" of M. Lescure; the Memoirs of Mme.
Campan, Cléry, Hue, the Duchesse d'Angoulême, Bertrand de Moleville
("Mémoires Particuliers"), the Comte de Tilly, the Baron de Besenval, the
Marquis de la Fayette, the Marquise de Créquy, the Princess Lamballe; the
"Souvenirs de Quarante Ans," by Mlle. de Tourzel; the "Diary" of M. de
Viel Castel; the correspondence of Mme. du Deffand; the account of the
affair of the necklace by M. de Campardon; the very valuable
correspondence between the Count de la Marck and Mirabeau, which also
contains a narrative by the Count de la Marck of many very important
incidents; Dumont's "Souvenirs sur Mirabeau;" "Beaumarchais et son Temps,"
by M. de Loménie; "Gustavus III. et la Cour de Paris," by M. Geoffroy;
the first seven volumes of the Histoire de la Terreur, by M. Mortimer
Ternaux; Dr. Moore's journal of his visit to France, and view of the
French Revolution; and a great number of other works in which there is
cursory mention of different incidents, especially in the earlier part of
the Revolution; such as the journals of Arthur Young, Madame de Staël's
elaborate treatise on the Revolution; several articles in the last series
of the "Causeries de Lundi," by Sainte-Beuve, and others in the _Revue des
Deux Mondes_, etc., etc., and to those may of course be added the regular
histories of Lacretelle, Sismondi, Martin, and Lamartine's "History of the
Girondins."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Importance of Marie Antoinette in the Revolution.--Value of her
Correspondence as a Means of estimating her Character.--Her Birth,
November 2d, 1755.--Epigram of Metastasio.--Habits of the Imperial
Family.--Schönbrunn.--Death of the Emperor.--Projects for the Marriage of
the Archduchess.--Her Education.--The Abbé de Vermond.--Metastasio.--
Gluck.
CHAPTER II.
Proposal for the Marriage of Marie Antoinette to the Dauphin.--Early
Education of the Dauphin.--The Archduchess leaves Vienna in April, 1770.--
Her Reception at Strasburg.--She meets the King at Compiègne.--The
Marriage takes place May 16th, 1770.
CHAPTER III.
Feelings in Germany and France on the Subject of the Marriage.--Letter of
Maria Teresa to the Dauphin.--Characters of the Different Members of the
Royal Family.--Difficulties which beset Marie Antoinette.--Maria Teresa's
Letter of Advice.--The Comte de Mercy is sent as Embassador to France
to act as the Adviser of the Dauphiness.--The Princesse de Lorraine at
the State Ball.--A Great Disaster takes place at the Fire-works in Paris.
--The Peasant at Fontainebleau.--Marie Antoinette pleases the King.--
Description of her Personal Appearance.--Mercy's Report of the Impression
she made on her First Arrival.
CHAPTER IV.
Marie Antoinette gives her Mother her First Impressions of the Court and
of her own Position and Prospects.--Court Life at Versailles.--Marie
Antoinette shows her Dislike of Etiquette.--Character of the Duc
d'Aiguillon.--Cabals against the Dauphiness.--Jealousy of Mme. du Barri.--
The Aunts, too, are Jealous of Her.--She becomes more and more Popular.--
Parties for Donkey-riding.--Scantiness of the Dauphiness's Income.--Her
Influence over the King.--The Duc de Choiseul is dismissed.--She begins
to have Great Influence over the Dauphin.
CHAPTER V.
Mercy's Correspondence with the Empress.--Distress and Discontent pervade
France.--Goldsmith predicts a Revolution.--Apathy of the King.--The
Aunts mislead Marie Antoinette.--Maria Teresa hears that the Dauphiness
neglects her German Visitors.--Marriage of the Count de Provence.--Growing
Preference of Louis XV. for the Dauphiness.--The Dauphiness applies
herself to Study.--Marie Antoinette becomes a Horsewoman.--Her Kindness
to all beneath her.--Cabals of the Adherents of the Mistress.--The
Royal Family become united.--Concerts in the Apartments of the Dauphiness.
CHAPTER VI.
Marie Antoinette wishes to see Paris.--Intrigues of Madame Adelaide.--
Characters of the Dauphin and the Count de Provence.--Grand Review at
Fontainebleau.--Marie Antoinette in the Hunting Field.--Letter from her to
the Empress. Mischievous Influence of the Dauphin's Aunts on her
Character.--Letter of Marie Antoinette to the Empress.--Her Affection for
her Old Home.--The Princes are recalled from Exile.--Lord Stormont.--Great
Fire at the Hôtel-Dieu.--Liberality of Charity of Marie Antoinette.--She
goes to the Bal d'Opéra.--Her Feelings about the Partition of Poland.--The
King discusses Politics with her, and thinks highly of her Ability.
CHAPTER VII.
Marie Antoinette is anxious for the Maintenance of the Alliance between
France and Austria.--She, with the Dauphin, makes a State Entry into
Paris.--The "Dames de la Halle."--She praises the Courtesy of the
Dauphin.--Her Delight at the Enthusiasm of the Citizens.--She, with the
Dauphin, goes to the Theatre, and to the Fair of St. Ovide, and to St.
Cloud.--Is enthusiastically received everywhere.--She learns to drive.
--She makes some Relaxations in Etiquette.--Marriage of the Comte
d'Artois.--The King's Health grows Bad.--Visit of Marshal Lacy to
Versailles.--The King catches the Small-pox.--Madame du Barri quits
Versailles.--The King dies.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Court leaves Versailles for La Muette.--Feelings of the New
Sovereigns.--Madame du Barri is sent to a Convent.--Marie Antoinette
writes to Maria Teresa.--The Good Intentions of the New Sovereigns.--
Madame Adelaide has the Small-pox.--Anxieties of Maria Teresa.--
Mischievous Influence of the Aunts.--Position and Influence of the Count
de Mercy.--Louis consults the Queen on Matters of Policy.--Her Prudence.--
She begins to Purify the Court, and to relax the Rules of Etiquette.--Her
Care of her Pages.--The King and she renounce the Gifts of Le Joyeux
Avénement, and La Ceinture de la Reine.--She procures the Pardon of the
Duc de Choiseul.
CHAPTER IX.
The Comte de Provence intrigues against the Queen.--The King gives her the
Little Trianon.--She lays out an English Garden.--Maria Teresa cautions
her against Expense.--The King and Queen abolish some of the Old Forms.--
The Queen endeavors to establish Friendships with some of her Younger
Ladies.--They abuse her Favor.--Her Eagerness for Amusement.--Louis
enters into her Views.--Etiquette is abridged.--Private Parties at
Choisy.--Supper Parties.--Opposition of the Princesses.--Some of the
Courtiers are dissatisfied at the Relaxation of Etiquette.--Marie
Antoinette is accused of Austrian Preferences.
CHAPTER X.
Settlement of the Queen's Allowance.--Character and Views of Turgot.--She
induces Gluck to visit Paris.--Performance of his Opera of "Iphigénie
en Aulide."--The First Encore.--Marie Antoinette advocates the
Re-establishment of the Parliaments, and receives an Address from them.--
English Visitors at the Court.--The King is compared to Louis XII. and
Henri IV.--The Archduke Maximilian visits his Sister.--Factious Conduct of
the Princes of the Blood.--Anti-Austrian Feeling in Paris.--The War of
Grains.--The King is crowned at Rheims.--Feelings of Marie Antoinette.--
Her Improvements at the Trianon.--Her Garden Parties there.--Description
of her Beauty by Burke, and by Horace Walpole.
CHAPTER XI.
Tea is introduced.--Horse-racing of Count d'Artois.--Marie Antoinette goes
to see it.--The Queen's Submissiveness to the Reproofs of the Empress.--
Birth of the Duc d'Angoulême.--She at times speaks lightly of the King.--
The Emperor remonstrates with her.--Character of some of the Queen's
Friends.--The Princess de Lamballe.--The Countess Jules de Polignac.--They
set the Queen against Turgot.--She procures his Dismissal.--She
gratifies Madame Polignac's Friends.--Her Regard for the French People.--
Water Parties on the Seine.--Her Health is Delicate.--Gambling at
the Palace.
CHAPTER XII.
Marie Antoinette finds herself in Debt.--Forgeries of her Name are
committed.--The Queen devotes herself too much to Madame de Polignac and
others.--Versailles is less frequented.--Remonstrances of the Empress.--
Volatile Character of the Queen.--She goes to the Bals d'Opéra at Paris.--
She receives the Duke of Dorset and other English Nobles with Favor.--
Grand Entertainment given her by the Count de Provence.--Character of
the Emperor Joseph.--He visits Paris and Versailles.--His Feelings toward
and Conversations with the King and Queen.--He goes to the Opera.--His
Opinion of the Queen's Friends.--Marie Antoinette's Letter to the
Empress on his Departure.--The Emperor leaves her a Letter of Advice.
CHAPTER XIII.
Impressions made on the Queen by the Emperor's Visit.--Mutual Jealousies
of her Favorites.--The Story of the Chevalier d'Assas.--The Terrace
Concerts at Versailles.--More Inroads on Etiquette.--Insolence and
Unpopularity of the Count d'Artois.--Marie Antoinette takes Interest in
Politics.--France concludes an Alliance with the United States.--Affairs
of Bavaria.--Character of the Queen's Letters on Politics.--The Queen
expects to become a Mother.--Voltaire returns to Paris.--The Queen
declines to receive him.--Misconduct of the Duke of Orléans in the Action
off Ushant.--The Queen uses her Influence in his Favor.
CHAPTER XIV.
Birth of Madame Royale.--Festivities of Thanksgiving.--The Dames de la
Halle at the Theatre.--Thanksgiving at Notre Dame.--The King goes to a Bal
d'Opéra.--The Queen's Carriage breaks down.--Marie Antoinette has the
Measles.--Her Anxiety about the War.--Retrenchments of Expense.
CHAPTER XV.
Anglomania in Paris.--The Winter at Versailles.--Hunting.--Private
Theatricals.--Death of Prince Charles of Lorraine.--Successes of the
English in America.--Education of the Duc d'Angoulême.--Libelous Attacks
on the Queen.--Death of the Empress.--Favor shown some of the Swedish
Nobles.--The Count de Fersen.--Necker retires from Office.--His Character.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Queen expects to be confined again.--Increasing Unpopularity of the
King's Brothers.--Birth of the Dauphin.--Festivities.--Deputations from
the Different Trades.--Songs of the Dames de la Halle.--Ball given by the
Body-guard,--Unwavering Fidelity of the Regiment.--The Queen offers up
her Thanksgiving at Notre Dame.--Banquet at the Hôtel de Ville.--
Rejoicings in Paris.
CHAPTER XVII.
Madame de Guimenée resigns the Office of Governess of the Royal
Children.--Madame de Polignac succeeds her.--Marie Antoinette's Views of
Education.--Character of Madame Royale.--The Grand Duke Paul and his Grand
Duchess visit the French Court.--Their Characters.--Entertainments given
in their Honor.--Insolence of the Cardinal de Rohan.--His Character and
previous Life.--Grand Festivities at Chantilly.--Events of the War.--
Rodney defeats De Grasse.--The Siege of Gibraltar fails.--M. de Suffrein
fights five Drawn Battles with Sir E. Hughes in the Indian Seas.--The
Queen receives him with Great Honor on his Return.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Peace is re-established.--Embarrassments of the Ministry.--Distress of the
Kingdom.--M. de Calonne becomes Finance Minister.--The Winter of
1783-'84 is very Severe.--The Queen devotes Large Sums to Charity.--Her
Political Influence increases.--Correspondence between the Emperor and
her on European Politics.--The State of France.--The Baron de Breteuil.--
Her Description of the Character of the King.
CHAPTER XIX.
"The Marriage of Figaro."--Previous History and Character of
Beaumarchais.--The Performance of the Play is forbidden.--It is said to be
a little altered.--It is licensed.--Displeasure of the Queen.--Visit of
Gustavus III. of Sweden.--Fête at the Trianon.--Balloon Ascent.
CHAPTER XX.
St. Cloud is purchased for the Queen.--Libelous Attacks on her.--Birth of
the Duc de Normandie.--Joseph presses her to make France support his
Views in the Low Countries.--The Affair of the Necklace.--Share which the
Cardinal de Rohan had in it.--The Queen's Indignation at his Acquittal.—
Subsequent Career of the Cardinal.
CHAPTER XXI.
The King visits Cherbourg.--Rarity of Royal Journeys.--The Princess
Christine visits the Queen.--Hostility of the Duc d'Orléans to the Queen.
--Libels on her.--She is called Madame Deficit.--She has a Second
Daughter, who dies.--Ill Health of the Dauphin.--Unskillfulness and
Extravagance of Calonne's System of Finance.--Distress of the Kingdom.--He
assembles the Notables.--They oppose his Plans.--Letters of Marie
Antoinette on the Subject.--Her Ideas of the English Parliament.--
Dismissal of Calonne.--Character of Archbishop Loménie de Brienne.--
Obstinacy of Necker.--The Archbishop is appointed Minister.--The Distress
increases.--The Notables are dissolved.--Violent Opposition of the
Parliament.--Resemblance of the French Revolution to the English Rebellion
of 1642.--Arrest of D'Esprémesnil and Montsabert.
CHAPTER XXII.
Formidable Riots take place in some Provinces.--The Archbishop invites
Necker to join his Ministry.--Letter of Marie Antoinette describing her
Interview with the Archbishop, and her Views.--Necker refuses.--The
Queen sends Messages to Necker.--The Archbishop resigns, and Necker
becomes Minister.--The Queen's View of his Character.--General Rejoicing.
--Defects in Necker's Character.--He recalls the Parliament.--Riots in
Paris.--Severe Winter.--General Distress.--Charities of the King and
Queen.--Gratitude of the Citizens.--The Princes are concerned in the
Libels published against the Queen.--Preparations for the Meeting of the
States-general.--Long Disuse of that Assembly.--Need of Reform.--Vices
of the Old Feudal System.--Necker's Blunders in the Arrangements for the
Meeting of the States.--An Edict of the King concedes the Chief Demands
of the Commons.--Views of the Queen.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Réveillon Riot.--Opening of the States-general.--The Queen is insulted
by the Partisans of the Duc d'Orléans.--Discussions as to the Number of
Chambers.--Career and Character of Mirabeau.--Necker rejects his Support.
--He determines to revenge himself.--Death of the Dauphin.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Troops are brought up from the Frontier.--The Assembly petitions the King
to withdraw them.--He refuses.--Ho dismisses Necker.--The Baron de
Breteuil is appointed Prime Minister.--Terrible Riots in Paris.--The
Tricolor Flag is adopted.--Storming of the Bastile and Murder of the
Governor.--The Count d'Artois and other Princes fly from the Kingdom.--The
King recalls Necker.--Withdraws the Soldiers and visits Paris.--Formation
of the National Guard.--Insolence of La Fayette and Bailly.--Madame
de Tourzel becomes Governess of the Royal Children.--Letters of Marie
Antoinette on their Character, and on her own Views of Education.
CHAPTER XXV.
Necker resumes Office.--Outrages in the Provinces.--Pusillanimity of the
Body of the Nation.--Parties in the Assembly.--Views of the
Constitutionalists or "Plain."--Barnave makes Overtures to the Court.--The
Queen rejects them.--The Assembly abolishes all Privileges, August
4th.--Debates on the Veto.--An Attack on Versailles is threatened.--Great
Scarcity in Paris.--The King sends his Plate to be melted down.--The
Regiment of Flanders is brought up to Versailles.--A Military Banquet
is held in the Opera-house.--October 5th, a Mob from Paris marches
on Versailles.--Blunders of La Fayette.--Ferocity of the Mob on the 5th.
--Attack on the Palace on the 6th.--Danger and Heroism of the Queen.--The
Royal Family remove to Paris.--Their Reception at the Barrier and
at the Hôtel de Ville.--Shabbiness of the Tuileries.--The King fixes his
Residence there.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Feelings of Marie Antoinette on coming to the Tuileries.--Her Tact in
winning the Hearts of the Common People.--Mirabeau changes his Views.--
Quarrel between La Fayette and the Duc d'Orléans.--Mirabeau desires to
offer his Services to the Queen.--Riots in Paris.--Murder of François.--
The Assembly pass a Vote prohibiting any Member from taking Office.--The
Emigration.--Death of the Emperor Joseph II.--Investigation into
the Riots of October.--The Queen refuses to give Evidence.--Violent
Proceedings in the Assembly.--Execution of the Marquis de Favras.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The King accepts the Constitution so far as it has been settled.--The
Queen makes a Speech to the Deputies.--She is well received at the
Theatre.--Negotiations with Mirabeau.--The Queen's Views of the Position
of Affairs.--The Jacobin Club denounces Mirabeau.--Deputation of
Anacharsis Clootz.--Demolition of the Statue of Louis XIV.--Abolition of
Titles of Honor.--The Queen admits Mirabeau to an Audience.--His
Admiration of her Courage and Talents.--Anniversary of the Capture of the
Bastile.--Fête of the Champ de Mars.--Presence of Mind of the Queen.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Great Tumults in the Provinces.--Mutiny in the Marquis de Bouillé's Army.
--Disorder of the Assembly.--Difficulty of managing Mirabeau.--Mercy is
removed to The Hague.--Marie Antoinette sees constant Changes in the
Aspect of Affairs.--Marat denounces Her.--Attempts are made to assassinate
Her.--Resignation of Mirabeau.--Misconduct of the Emigrant Princes.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Louis and Marie Antoinette contemplate Foreign Intervention.--The Assembly
passes Laws to subordinate the Church to the Civil Power.--Insolence
of La Fayette.--Marie Antoinette refuses to quit France by Herself.--The
Jacobins and La Fayette try to revive the Story of the Necklace.--Marie
Antoinette with her Family.--Flight from Paris is decided on.--The Queen's
Preparations and Views.--An Oath to observe the new Ecclesiastical
Constitution is imposed on the Clergy.--The King's Aunts leave France.
CHAPTER XXX.
The Mob attacks the Castle at Vincennes.--La Fayette saves it.--He insults
the Nobles who come to protect the King.--Perverseness of the Count
d'Artois and the Emigrants.--Mirabeau dies.--General Sorrow for his
Death.--He would probably not have been able to arrest the Revolution.--
The Mob prevent the King from visiting St. Cloud.--The Assembly passes a
Vote to forbid him to go more than twenty Leagues from Paris.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Plans for the Escape of the Royal Family.--Dangers of Discovery.--
Resolution of the Queen.--The Royal Family leave the Palace.--They are
recognized at Ste. Menehould.--Are arrested at Varennes.--Tumult in the
City, and in the Assembly.--The King and Queen are brought back to Paris.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Marie Antoinette's Feelings on her Return.--She sees Hopes of
Improvement.--The 17th of July.--The Assembly inquire into the King's
Conduct on leaving Paris.--They resolve that there is no Reason for taking
Proceedings.--Excitement in Foreign Countries.--The Assembly proceeds to
complete the Constitution.--It declares all the Members Incapable of
Election to the New Assembly.--Letters of Marie Antoinette to the Emperor
and to Mercy.--The Declaration of Pilnitz.--The King accepts the
Constitution.--Insults offered to him at the Festival of the Champ de
Mars.--And to the Queen at the Theatre.--The First or Constituent Assembly
is dissolved.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Composition of the New Assembly.--Rise of the Girondins.--Their Corruption
and Eventual Fate.--Vergniaud's Motions against the King.--Favorable
Reception of the King at the Assembly, and at the Opera.--Changes
in the Ministry.--The King's and Queen's Language to M. Bertrand de
Moleville.--The Count de Narbonne.--Pétion is elected Mayor of Paris.--
Scarcity of Money, and Great Hardships of the Royal Family.--Presents
arrive from Tippoo Sahib.--The Dauphin.--The Assembly passes Decrees
against the Priests and the Emigrants.--Misconduct of the Emigrants.--
Louis refuses his Assent to the Decrees.--He issues a Circular condemning
Emigration.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Death of Leopold.--Murder of Gustavus of Sweden--Violence of Vergniaud.--
The Ministers resign.--A Girondin Ministry is appointed.--Character of
Dumouriez.--Origin of the Name Sans-culottes.--Union of Different Parties
against the Queen.--War is declared against the Empire.--Operations in
the Netherlands.--Unskillfulness of La Fayette.--The King falls into a
State of Torpor.--Fresh Libels on the Queen.--Barnave's Advice.--Dumouriez
has an Audience of the Queen.--Dissolution of the Constitutional
Guard.--Formation of a Camp near Paris.--Louis adheres to his Refusal
to assent to the Decree against the Priests.--Dumouriez resigns his
Office, and takes command of the Army.
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Insurrection of June 20th.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Feelings of Marie Antoinette.--Different Plans are formed for her Escape.
--She hopes for Aid from Austria and Prussia.--La Fayette comes to Paris.
--His Mismanagement--An Attempt is made to assassinate the Queen.--The
Motion of Bishop Lamourette.--The Feast of the Federation.--La Fayette
proposes a Plan for the King's Escape.--Bertrand proposes Another.--Both
are rejected by the Queen.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Preparation for a New Insurrection.--Barbaroux brings up a Gang from
Marseilles.--The King's last Levee.--The Assembly rejects a Motion for the
Impeachment of La Fayette.--It removes some Regiments from Paris.--
Preparations of the Court for Defense.--The 10th of August.--The City
is in Insurrection.--Murder of Mandat.--Louis reviews the Guards.--He
takes Refuge with the Assembly.--Massacre of the Swiss Guards.--Sack
of the Tuileries.--Discussions in the Assembly.--The Royal Authority is
suspended.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Indignities to which the Royal Family are subjected.--They are removed to
the Temple.--Divisions in the Assembly.--Flight of La Fayette.--Advance
of the Prussians.--Lady Sutherland supplies the Dauphin with Clothes.--
Mode of Life in the Temple.--The Massacres of September.--The Death of
the Princess de Lamballe.--Insults are heaped on the King and Queen.--The
Trial of the King.--His Last Interview with his Family.--His Death.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Queen is refused Leave to see Cléry.--Madame Royale is taken Ill.--
Plans are formed for the Queen's Escape by MM. Jarjayes, Toulan, and by
the Baron de Batz.--Marie Antoinette refuses to leave her Son.--Illness
of the young King.--Overthrow of the Girondins.--Insanity of the Woman
Tison.--Kindness of the Queen to her.--Her Son is taken from her, and
intrusted to Simon.--His Ill-treatment.--The Queen is removed to the
Conciergerie.--She is tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal.--She is
condemned.--Her last Letter to the Princess Elizabeth.--Her Death and
Character.
INDEX
LIFE OF MARIE ANTOINETTE.
CHAPTER I.
Importance of Marie Antoinette in the Revolution.--Value of her
Correspondence as a Means of estimating her Character.--Her Birth,
November 2d, 1755.--Epigram of Metastasio.--Habits of the Imperial
Family.--Schönbrunn.--Death of the Emperor.--Projects for the Marriage of
the Archduchess.--Her Education.--The Abbé de Vermond.--Metastasio.--
Gluck.
The most striking event in the annals of modern Europe is unquestionably
the French Revolution of 1789--a Revolution which, in one sense, may be
said to be still in progress, but which, is a more limited view, may be
regarded as having been, consummated by the deposition and murder of the
sovereign of the country. It is equally undeniable that, during its first
period, the person who most attracts and rivets attention is the queen.
One of the moat brilliant of modern French writers[1] has recently
remarked that, in spite of the number of years which have elapsed since
the grave closed over the sorrows of Marie Antoinette, and of the almost
unbroken series of exciting events which have marked the annals of France
in the interval, the interest excited by her story is as fresh and
engrossing as ever; that such as Hecuba and Andromache were to the
ancients, objects never named to inattentive ears, never contemplated
without lively sympathy, such still is their hapless queen to all honest
and intelligent Frenchmen. It may even be said that that interest has
increased of late years. The respectful and remorseful pity which her fate
could not fail to awaken has been quickened by the publication of her
correspondence with her family and intimate friends, which has laid bare,
without disguise, all her inmost thoughts and feelings, her errors as well
as her good deeds, her weaknesses equally with her virtues. Few, indeed,
even of those whom the world regards with its highest favor and esteem,
could endure such an ordeal without some diminution of their fame. Yet it
is but recording the general verdict of all whose judgment is of value, to
affirm that Marie Antoinette has triumphantly surmounted it; and that the
result of a scrutiny as minute and severe as any to which a human being
has ever been subjected, has been greatly to raise her reputation.
Not that she was one of those paragons whom painters of model heroines
have delighted to imagine to themselves; one who from childhood gave
manifest indications of excellence and greatness, and whose whole life was
but a steady progressive development of its early promise. She was rather
one in whom adversity brought forth great qualities, her possession of
which, had her life been one of that unbroken sunshine which is regarded
by many as the natural and inseparable attendant of royalty, might never
have been even suspected. We meet with her first, at an age scarcely
advanced beyond childhood, transported from her school-room to a foreign
court, as wife to the heir of one of the noblest kingdoms of Europe. And
in that situation we see her for a while a light-hearted, merry girl,
annoyed rather than elated by her new magnificence; thoughtless, if not
frivolous, in her pursuits; fond of dress; eager in her appetite for
amusement, tempered only by an innate purity of feeling which never
deserted her; the brightest features of her character being apparently a
frank affability, and a genuine and active kindness and humanity which
were displayed to all classes and on all occasions. We see her presently
as queen, hardly yet arrived at womanhood, little changed in disposition
or in outward demeanor, though profiting to the utmost by the
opportunities which her increased power afforded her of proving the
genuine tenderness of her heart, by munificent and judicious works of
charity and benevolence; and exerting her authority, if possible, still
more beneficially by protecting virtue, discountenancing vice, and
purifying a court whose shameless profligacy had for many generations been
the scandal of Christendom. It is probable, indeed, that much of her early
levity was prompted by a desire to drive from her mind disappointments and
mortifications of which few suspected the existence, but which were only
the more keenly felt because she was compelled to keep them to herself;
but it is certain that during the first eight or ten years of her
residence in France there was little in her habits and conduct, however
amiable and attractive, which could have led her warmest friends to
discern in her the high qualities which she was destined to exhibit before
its close.
Presently, however, she becomes a mother; and in this new relation we
begin to perceive glimpses of a loftier nature. From the moment of the
birth of her first child, she performed those new duties which, perhaps
more than any others, call forth all the best and most peculiar virtues of
the female heart in such a manner as to add esteem and respect to the
good-will which her affability and courtesy had already inspired;
recognizing to the full the claims which the nation had upon her, that
she should, in person, superintend the education of her children, and
especially of her son as its future ruler; and discharging that sacred
duty, not only with the most affectionate solicitude, but also with the
most admirable judgment.
But years so spent were years of happiness; and, though such may suffice
to display the amiable virtues, it is by adversity that the grander
qualities of the head and heart are more strikingly drawn forth. To the
trials of that stern inquisitress, Marie Antoinette was fully exposed in
her later years; and not only did she rise above them, but the more
terrible and unexampled they were, the more conspicuous was the
superiority of her mind to fortune. It is no exaggeration to say that the
history of the whole world has preserved no record of greater heroism, in
either sex, than was shown by Marie Antoinette during the closing years of
her life. No courage was ever put to the proof by such a variety and such
an accumulation of dangers and miseries; and no one ever came out of an
encounter with even far inferior calamities with greater glory. Her moral
courage and her physical courage were equally tried. It was not only that
her own life, and lives far dearer to her than her own, were exposed to
daily and hourly peril, or that to this danger were added repeated
vexations of hopes baffled and trusts betrayed; but these griefs were
largely aggravated by the character and conduct of those nearest to her.
Instead of meeting with counsel and support from her husband and his
brothers, she had to guide and support Louis himself, and even to find him
so incurably weak as to be incapable of being kept in the path of wisdom
by her sagacity, or of deriving vigor from her fortitude; while the
princes were acting in selfish and disloyal opposition to him, and so, in
a great degree, sacrificing him and her to their perverse conceit, if we
may not say to their faithless ambition. She had to think for all, to act
for all, to struggle for all; and to beat up against the conviction that
her thoughts, and actions, and struggles were being balked of their effect
by the very persona for whom she was exerting herself; that she was but
laboring to save those who would not be saved. Yet, throughout that
protracted agony of more than four years she bore herself with an
unswerving righteousness of purpose and an unfaltering fearlessness of
resolution which could not have been exceeded had she been encouraged by
the most constant success. And in the last terrible hours, when the
monsters who had already murdered her husband were preparing the same fate
for herself, she met their hatred and ferocity with a loftiness of spirit
which even hopelessness could not subdue. Long before, she had declared
that she had learned, from the example of her mother, not to fear death;
and she showed that this was no empty boast when she rose in the last
scenes of her life as much even above her earlier displays of courage and
magnanimity as she also rose above the utmost malice of her vile enemies.
* * * * *
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne was the youngest daughter of Francis,
originally Duke of Lorraine, afterward Grand Duke of Tuscany, and
eventually Emperor of Germany, and of Maria Teresa, Archduchess of
Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, more generally known, after the
attainment of the imperial dignity by her husband in 1745, as the Empress-
queen. Of her brothers, two, Joseph and Leopold, succeeded in turn to the
imperial dignity; and one of her sisters, Caroline, became the wife of the
King of Naples. She was born on the 2d of November, 1755, a day which,
when her later years were darkened by misfortune, was often referred to as
having foreshadowed it by its evil omens, since it was that on which the
terrible earthquake which laid Lisbon in ruins reached its height. But, at
the time, the Viennese rejoiced too sincerely at every event which could
contribute to their sovereign's happiness to pay any regard to the
calamities of another capital, and the courtly poet was but giving
utterance to the unanimous feeling of her subjects when he spoke of the
princess's birth as calculated to diffuse universal joy. Daughters had
been by far the larger part of Maria Teresa's family, so that she was,
consequently, anxious for another son; and, knowing her wishes, the Duke
of Tarouka, one of the nobles whom she admitted to her intimacy, laid her
a small wager that they would be realized by the sex of the expected
infant. He lost his bet, but felt some embarrassment, in devising a
graceful mode of paying it. In his perplexity, he sought the advice of the
celebrated Metastasio, who had been for some time established at Vienna as
the favorite poet of the court, and the Italian, with the ready wit of his
country, at once supplied him with a quatrain, which, in her
disappointment itself, could mid ground for compliment:
"Io perdei; l' augusta figlia
A pagar m' ha condannato;
Ma s'è ver che a voi somiglia,
Tutto il mondo ha guadagnato."
The customs of the imperial court had undergone a great change since the
death of Charles VI. It had been pre-eminent for pompous ceremony, which
was thought to become the dignity of the sovereign who boasted of being
the representative of the Roman Caesars. But the Lorraine princes had been
bred up in a simpler fashion; and Francis had an innate dislike to all
ostentation, while Maria Teresa had her attention too constantly fixed on
matters of solid importance to have much leisure to spare for the
consideration of trifles. Both husband and wife greatly preferred to their
gorgeous palace at Vienna a smaller house which they possessed in the
neighborhood, called Schönbrunn, where they could lay aside their state,
and enjoy the unpretending pleasures of domestic and rural life,
cultivating their garden, and, as far as the imperious calls of public
affairs would allow them time, watching over the education of their
children, to whom the example of their own tastes and habits was
imperceptibly affording the best of all lessons, a preference for simple
and innocent pleasures.
In this tranquil retreat, the childhood of Marie Antoinette was happily
passed; her bright looks, which already gave promise of future loveliness,
her quick intelligence, and her affectionate disposition combining to make
her the special favorite of her parents. It was she whom Francis, when
quitting his family in the summer of 1764 for that journey to Innspruck
which proved his last, specially ordered to be brought to him, saying, as
if he felt some foreboding of his approaching illness, that he must
embrace her once more before he departed; and his death, which took place
before she was nine years old, was the first sorrow which ever brought a
tear into her eyes.
The superintendence of her vast empire occupied a greater share of Maria
Teresa's attention than the management of her family. But as Marie
Antoinette grew up, the Empress-queen's ambition, ever on the watch to
maintain and augment the prosperity of her country, perceived in her
child's increasing attractions a prospect of cementing more closely an
alliance which she had contracted some years before, and on which she
prided herself the more because it had terminated an enmity of two
centuries and a half. From the day on which Charles V, prevailed over
Francis I. in the competition for the imperial crown, the attitude of the
Emperor of Germany and of the King of France to each other had been one of
mutual hostility, which, with but rare exceptions, had been greatly in
favor of the latter country. The very first years of Maria Teresa's own
reign had been imbittered by the union of France with Prussia in a war
which had deprived her of an extensive province; and she regarded it as
one of the great triumphs of Austrian diplomacy to have subsequently won
over the French ministry to exchange the friendship of Frederick of
Prussia for her own, and to engage as her ally in a war which had for its
object the recovery of the lost Silesia. Silesia was not recovered. But
she still clung to the French alliance as fondly as if the objects which
she had originally hoped to gain by it had been fully accomplished; and,
as the heir to the French monarchy was very nearly of the same age as the
young archduchess, she began to entertain hopes of uniting the two royal
families by a marriage which should render the union between the two
nations indissoluble. She mentioned the project to some of the French
visitors at her court, whom she thought likely to repeat her conversation
on their return to their own country. She took care that reports of her
daughter's beauty should from time to time reach the ears of Louis XV. She
had her picture painted by French artists. She made a proficiency in the
French language the principal object of her education; bringing over some
French actors to Vienna to instruct her in the graces of elocution, and
subsequently establishing as her chief tutor a French ecclesiastic, the
Abbé de Vermond, a man of extensive learning, of excellent judgment, and
of most conscientious integrity. The appointment would have been in every
respect a most fortunate one, had it not been suggested by Loménie de
Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, who thus laid the abbé under an
obligation which was requited, to the great injury of France, nearly
twenty years afterward, when M. de Vermond, who still remained about the
person of his royal mistress, had an opportunity of exerting his influence
to make the archbishop prime minister.
Not that her studies were confined to French. Metastasio taught her
Italian; Gluck, whose recently published opera of "Orfeo" had, established
for him a reputation as one of the greatest musicians of the age, gave her
lessons on the harpsichord. But we fear it can not be said that she
obtained any high degree of excellence in these or in any other
accomplishments. She was not inclined to study; and, with the exception of
the abbé, her masters and mistresses were too courtly to be peremptory
with an archduchess. Their favorable reports to the Empress-queen were
indeed neutralized by the frankness with which their pupil herself
confessed her idleness and failure to improve. But Maria Teresa was too
much absorbed in politics to give much heed to the confession, or to
insist on greater diligence; though at a later day Marie Antoinette
herself repented of her neglect, and did her best to repair it, taking
lessons in more than one accomplishment with great perseverance during the
first years of her residence at Versailles, because, as she expressed
herself, the dauphiness was bound to take care of the character of the
archduchess.
There are, however, lessons of greater importance to a child than any
which are given by even the most accomplished masters--those which flow
from the example of a virtuous and sensible mother; and those the young
archduchess showed a greater aptitude for learning. Maria Teresa had set
an example not only to her own family, but to all sovereigns, among whom
principles and practices such as hers had hitherto been little recognized,
of regarding an attention to the personal welfare of all her subjects,
even of those of the lowest class, as among the most imperative of her
duties. She had been accessible to all. She had accustomed the peasantry
to accost her in her walks; she had visited their cottages to inquire into
and relieve their wants. And the little Antoinette, who, more than any
other of her children, seems to have taken her for an especial model, had
thus, from her very earliest childhood, learned to feel a friendly
interest in the well-doing of the people in general; to think no one too
lowly for her notice, to sympathize with sorrow, to be indignant at
injustice and ingratitude, to succor misfortune and distress. And these
were habits which, as being implanted in her heart, she was not likely to
forget; but which might be expected rather to gain strength by indulgence,
and to make her both welcome and useful to any people among whom her lot
might be cast.