Read Ebook: The Life of Marie Antoinette Queen of France by Yonge Charles Duke

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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.--Sch?nbrunn.--Death of the Emperor.--Projects for the Marriage of the Archduchess.--Her Education.--The Abb? de Vermond.--Metastasio.-- Gluck.

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 Compi?gne.--The Marriage takes place May 16th, 1770.

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.

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.

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 H?tel-Dieu.--Liberality of Charity of Marie Antoinette.--She goes to the Bal d'Op?ra.--Her Feelings about the Partition of Poland.--The King discusses Politics with her, and thinks highly of her Ability.

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.

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 Av?nement, and La Ceinture de la Reine.--She procures the Pardon of the Duc de Choiseul.

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.

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'Angoul?me.--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.

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'Op?ra 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.

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 Orl?ans in the Action off Ushant.--The Queen uses her Influence in his Favor.

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'Op?ra.--The Queen's Carriage breaks down.--Marie Antoinette has the Measles.--Her Anxiety about the War.--Retrenchments of Expense.

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'Angoul?me.--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.

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 H?tel de Ville.-- Rejoicings in Paris.

Madame de Guimen?e 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.

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.

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.

The King visits Cherbourg.--Rarity of Royal Journeys.--The Princess Christine visits the Queen.--Hostility of the Duc d'Orl?ans 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 Lom?nie 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'Espr?mesnil and Montsabert.

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.

The R?veillon Riot.--Opening of the States-general.--The Queen is insulted by the Partisans of the Duc d'Orl?ans.--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.

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.

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 H?tel de Ville.--Shabbiness of the Tuileries.--The King fixes his Residence there.

Great Tumults in the Provinces.--Mutiny in the Marquis de Bouill?'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.--P?tion 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.

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.

The Insurrection of June 20th.

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.

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.

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.

The Queen is refused Leave to see Cl?ry.--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.

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 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 Jos?phe 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'? ver che a voi somiglia, Tutto il mondo ha guadagnato."

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.

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 abb?, 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.

But these deficiencies in his character had as yet hardly had time to display themselves; and, had they been ever so notorious, they were not of a nature to divert Maria Teresa from her purpose. For her political objects, it would not, perhaps, have seemed to her altogether undesirable that the future sovereign of France should be likely to rely on the judgment and to submit to the influence of another, so long as the person who should have the best opportunity of influencing him was her own daughter. A negotiation for the success of which both parties were equally anxious did not require a long time for its conclusion; and by the beginning of July, 1769, all the preliminaries were arranged; the French newspapers were authorized to allude to the marriage, and to speak of the diligence with which preparations for it were being made in both countries; those in which the French king took the greatest interest being the building of some carriages of extraordinary magnificence, to receive the archduchess as soon as she should have arrived on French ground; while those which were being made in Germany indicated a more elementary state of civilization, as the first requisite appeared to be to put the roads between Vienna and the frontier in a state of repair, to prevent the journey from being too fatiguing.

The next day the young princess executed a formal renunciation of all right of succession to any part of her mother's dominions which might at any time devolve on her; though the number of her brothers and elder sisters rendered any such occurrence in the highest degree improbable, and though one conspicuous precedent in the history of both countries had, within the memory of persons still living, proved the worthlessness of such renunciations. A few days were then devoted to appropriate festivities. That which is most especially mentioned by the chroniclers of the court being, in accordance with the prevailing taste of the time, a grand masked ball, for which a saloon four hundred feet long had been expressly constructed. And on the 26th of April the young bride quit her home, the mother from whom she had never been separated, and the friends and playmates among whom her whole life had been hitherto passed, for a country which was wholly strange to her, and in which she had not as yet a single acquaintance. Her very husband, to whom she was to be confided, she had never seen.

Though both mother and daughter felt the most entire confidence that the new position, on which she was about to enter, would be full of nothing but glory and happiness, it was inevitable that they should be, as they were, deeply agitated at so complete a separation. And, if we may believe the testimony of witnesses who were at Vienna at the time, the grief of the mother, who was never to see her child again, was shared not only by the members of the imperial household, whom constant intercourse had enabled to know and appreciate her amiable qualities, but by the population of the capital and the surrounding districts, all of whom had heard of her numerous acts of kindness and benevolence, which, young as she was, many of them had also experienced, and who thronged the streets along which she passed on her departure, mingling tears of genuine sorrow with their acclamations, and following her carriage to the outermost gate of the city that they might gaze their last on the darling of many hearts.

Kehl was the last German town through which she was to pass, Strasburg was the first French city which was to receive her, and, as the islands which dot the Rhine at that portion of the noble boundary river were regarded as a kind of neutral ground, the French monarch had selected the principal one to be occupied by a pavilion built for the purpose and decorated with great magnificence, that it might serve for another stage of the wedding ceremony. In this pavilion she was to cease to be German, and was to become French; she was to bid farewell to her Austrian attendants, and to receive into her service the French officers of her household, male and female, who were to replace them. She was even to divest herself of every article of her German attire, and to apparel herself anew in garments of French manufacture sent from Paris. The pavilion was divided into two compartments. In the chief apartment of the German division, the Austrian officials who had escorted her so far formally resigned their charge, and surrendered her to the Comte de Noailles, who had been appointed embassador extraordinary to receive her; and, when all the deeds necessary to release from their responsibly the German nobles whose duties were now terminated had been duly signed, the doors were thrown open, and Marie Antoinette passed into the French division, as a French princess, to receive the homage of a splendid train of French courtiers, who were waiting in loyal eagerness to offer their first salutations to their new mistress. Yet, as if at every period of her life she was to be beset with omens, the celebrated German writer, Goethe, who was at that time pursuing his studies at Strasburg, perceived one which he regarded as of most inauspicious significance in the tapestry which decorated the walls of the chief saloon. It represented the history of Jason and Medea. On one side was portrayed the king's bride in the agonies of death; on the other, the royal father was bewailing his murdered children. Above them both, Medea was fleeing away in a car drawn by fire-breathing dragons, and driven by the Furies; and the youthful poet could not avoid reflecting that a record of the most miserable union that even the ancient mythology had recorded was a singularly inappropriate and ill-omened ornament for nuptial festivities.

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