III. not aware how much, amidst all the homage with which CHAP. they are surrounded, the great are really the object of envy to their inferiors; with what ceaseless jealousies they are environed; and with what avidity, especially in 1 Mad. troubled times, the slightest and most innocent impru- 0,73. dences are seized on, by court jealousy or popular malig- Lac. v. 8. nity, to blast the happiness of those to whom, in appear- 63, 68. ance, every mark of respect is shown.1 Camp. i. Weber, i. 14. dences, and hoods to This purity of heart, joined to inexperience of the world, led her into many imprudences which those more versed Her impruin its ways, or more habituated to its vices, would have the falsesedulously avoided. During the early years when Louis which they was estranged from her, she preserved the most studious gave rise." correctness of deportment, and never suffered a complaint to escape her lips, though a tear often fell from her eye. But when she found herself secure of his affections, and blessed by a rising offspring, the buoyancy of her disposition led her to mingle in amusements with an ardour which, though always innocent, was often indiscreet, sometimes blameable. Accustomed to the simple life of the imperial palace at Vienna, the minutiae of etiquette at Versailles, which fettered every action of life in the King and Queen, even the most inconsiderable, were to her a perfect horror,* and she gladly fled from its frigid circles and senseless formalities, to enjoy in privacy the ease of unrestrained intercourse, and the charm of confidential friendship. The intimacies to which these habits gave rise, especially with the Countess Polignac, excited the jealousy of the old nobility; the theatrical representations, in which she so much delighted, and sometimes bore a * See a very curious account of this ceremonial and etiquette, now a relic of past times, in MADAME CAMPAN, i. 309, 320. "Dès qu'elle eut pris le parti de se soustraire à l'ennui du cérémoniel, cette Princesse se livra sans contrainte à tous les charmes de la vie privée. Enfin je ne suis plus Reine,' disait-elle avec délices, en rentrant au milieu de ses amis, après de longues cérémonies qui l'en avaient éloignée trop longtemps. Elle venait de se dépouiller à la hâte de ses ajustemens, et l'activité de ses femmes ne répondant pas à son impatience, elles les avait arrachées de ses mains et dispersées dans l'appartement."-MICHAUD, in art. MARIE ANTOINETTE, in Biographie Universelle, xxvii. 74. VOL. I. R III. CHAP. part, gave rise to malignant reports; and the charming seclusion of Trianon, where she sought a retreat from the cares, and a compensation for the anxieties, of royalty, was converted, by the voice of popular malignity, into the gardens of Armida, where rank was lavish of its favours, and beauty prodigal of its seductions. But if the French nation at that period had been capable of reflection, they would have seen that vice seldom appears in the open and almost childish amusements which were there carried on. Conscious of evil, it seeks seclusion, or pays to virtue the homage of hypocrisy. And while those who loved her most often lamented the imprudent levity which sometimes Meilhan, 74. prevailed in her private circle, those who knew her best are Wraxall, i. unanimous in affirming that the Queen's conduct was unii. 461, 464. formly as irreproachable as her manners were dignified.* Her very air was too pure to permit impropriety to be thought of. Beloved by all, she was approached by none.1† When the growing dangers of the kingdom, and the Her heroic increasing cares of royalty, drew her from those scenes of and domes- amusement into a more active part in the administration tic virtues. of affairs, she showed herself the daughter of Maria 1 Senac de 115. Weber, Campan, i. 143, 195. 15. qualities Theresa. Undaunted in courage, quick in discernment, decided in determination, she was fitted to have acted, if she had stood alone, at the head of faithful followers, the part of Zenobia, or rivalled, in devotion to her husband and children, the perseverance of Agrippina. Yet were these very qualities, situated as she was, more disastrous * So delicate was her perception of the boundaries of female decorum, especially in elevated stations, that she said, alluding to Garat, a celebrated singer at the time, who was often at Versailles, "Je devais entendre chanter Garat, et ne jamais chanter de duo avec lui ;" and declared she would never allow her daughters to sing with professional singers.-CAMPAN, i. 266. 66 "Sa prétendue galanterie," says the Prince de Ligne, one of her intimate circle, 'ne fut jamais qu'un sentiment profond d'amitié, et peut-être distingué pour une ou deux personnes, et une coquetterie générale de femme et de reine, pour plaire à tout le monde. Dans le temps même où la jeunesse et le défaut d'expérience pouvaient engager à se mettre trop à son aise vis-à-vis d'elle, il n'y eut jamais aucun de nous qui avions le bonheur de la voir tous les jours qui osât en abuser par la plus petite inconvenance. Elle faisait la reine sans s'en douter; on l'adorait sans songer à l'aimer."-PRINCE DE LIGNE, quoted in WEBER, i. 462, 463. III. to her than the opposite set of weaknesses would have CHAP. been, for they led her into hostile measures when the King was set on conciliatory-they prompted bold counsels when prudence recommended temporising ones, and often inclined her to draw the sword when her faithless followers were not prepared to stand by her side. She was in a great degree uninformed on public measures, and still more on public men, as the King for long never conversed with her on affairs of state; and hence her interference in administration was often ill-judged and pernicious. Yet did the native clearness of her understanding lead her not unfrequently to discern the wisest course, when almost every head around was reeling; and, if her counsels had been followed on some important occasions, it is probable that the disasters of the Revolution would have been avoided. But it was in domestic life, and in the scenes of affliction, that she stood preeminent; and there a more faultless character never existed. Though fond of dress, and not insensible to the magnificence which her rank on public occasions required in her attire, she indulged in no unseemly extravagance in that particular; the strictest economy pervaded her establishment; and the sums, often very considerable, which she saved off her allowance as Queen of France, were invariably devoted to deeds of beneficence.+ In the She from the first, and throughout, strenuously opposed the war with America, as unjust towards England, and taking advantage of the distresses of a friendly power, and dangerous to France, as encouraging revolt; and she as firmly contended against Necker's determination to assemble the Statesgeneral at Versailles, insisting they should meet at least forty leagues from the capital.-MADAME CAMPAN, i. 234, and ii. 35. In the dreadful famine of the winter of 1783-4, Calonne, then primeminister, proposed to her, that 1,000,000 francs (£40,000) out of the 3,000,000 francs (£120,000,) which the King had set apart for relief of the poor, should be distributed in her name. She declined this, as interfering with the King's beneficence, adding, that she had enough of her own to answer the purpose without burdening any one. In effect, she bestowed 300,000 francs, (£12,000,) the fruit of her economy, on the poor on that occasion; and 600,000 francs, (£24,000,) which she saved off her allowance for pin-money, received the same destination at different times. To inspire her daughter with the same feelings, she put at her disposal 10,000 francs, (£400,) and made her direct its distribution in person.-CAMPAN, i. 270. III. 1774. CHAP. circle of her intimate friends she was easy and affable, even to a fault; the distinction of rank was almost forgotten in the uniform affability of her manner*-if she had any failing in this respect, it sprang from the warmth of her affections, which led her to form intimacies with a few friends of her own sex, of which they made sometimes an improper use, and which led to requests to the King on behalf of their relations which she never made for her own, and afterwards regretted. Her attachment to her husband and children was unbounded and unchangeable it only strengthened with the misfortunes in which they were involved, and shone forth with the brightest lustre in the solitude of the Temple. Finally, she preConserved through life, and equally in the sunshine of the la Cour de palace as in the gloom of the dungeon, the strongest 99. Campan, sense of religious duty; and this supported her through 257. Weber, all the changes of her eventful career, and enabled her to 291, 298. bear a reverse of fortune, unparalleled even in those days of woe, with a heroism which never was surpassed.1 Secrète i. 270, 227, i. 270,271, 16. Popular acts of the King and Queen on their acces sion. The first act of the King upon his accession to the throne was to order 200,000 francs (£8000) to be distributed among the poor of Paris; his next, to forbid his brothers to call him Your Majesty, or King. "I would lose too much," said he, "in renouncing the name of brother." At the same time he remitted a tribute * "Our young and charming Queen, by resolving to live without ceremony, has abolished from the private life of the court all the ancient etiquette. Every evening that amiable princess is to be seen traversing the palace, leaning on the arm of the King, attended only by a single valet. The new custom introduced of small suppers, with lords and ladies, titled or not, has been adopted not less from the taste of the Queen for private retired society, than from a sense of the danger of the King supping, after returning from the chase, with the nobles who attended him there, without the princesses-a custom to which all the disorders of the reign of Louis XV. are to be ascribed. At present the King is never absent from the Queen, but when he is at the chase or the council-room; and the vile courtiers who would attempt to corrupt him can no longer find an opportunity for doing so."-Correspondance Secrète de la Cour pendant le Règne de Louis XVI., p. 99. Such was the ease of manners which prevailed in the intimate circle which frequented the Queen's charming retreat at Trianon, that when she entered the room the ladies did not rise from the piano, or leave the tapestry they were working, nor the gentlemen stop their game of billiards.-MADAME CAMPAN, i. 227. III. 1774. amounting to a very large sum, usually paid to sovereigns CHAP. on their accession, entitled, "Le joyeux avènement." Marie Antoinette, in a similar spirit, renounced an offering of considerable amount which custom had long sanctioned to the Queen of France, on the same occasion, entitled "The girdle of the Queen." Having learned that the tax from which this payment was drawn fell with peculiar weight on the humblest classes, she besought the King that it might be remitted-a request with which he gladly complied, and which gave rise to an elegantlyturned compliment, that she had no need of the girdle of the Queen, for she already possessed that of Venus.* The selection of a prime-minister was a more difficult matter, and the intrigues of the court instantly commenced in reference to that important point. It was generally supposed that the choice would fall on the Duc de Choiseul, long the favourite minister of Louis XV., and only overturned in his later years by the combined efforts of Madame du Barri and the Duc d'Aiguillon. This appointment was deemed the more probable, as he had been the originator of the Austrian alliance; and it was naturally imagined that the Queen would use her influence in favour of the minister to whom her elevation to the throne had been owing. The same belief gained ground from the fact, that Madame du Barri had already received intimation that she should remain at her country residence of Pont-aux-Dames, whither she had retired on the illness of Louis XV.t But Marie Antoinette * "Vous renoncez, charmante souveraine, Au plus beau de vos revenus; A quoi vous servirait la ceinture de Reine? WEBER, i. 3. + It was indispensable to remove Madame du Barri from the court, both to restore its character and break the influence she had acquired in public affairs. But she was allowed to retain her fortune and jewels, which were very considerable, and was treated with such kindness and consideration, though always kept at a distance from Versailles, by the King and Queen, both then and in after years, that she felt and expressed the most unbounded gratitude for it. Her name, long unheard in history, will appear again in the darkest days of the Revolution.-MADAME CAMPAN, i. 83, note. |