第 75 节
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雨帆 更新:2022-08-21 16:33 字数:9322
but when the Queen was free from the inner guard she said she would see him。 The very great precautions which it was necessary for the deputy to take in order to conceal his connection with the King and Queen compelled them to spend two hours waiting for him in one of the corridors of the Tuileries; and all in vain。 The first day that he was to be admitted; a man whom Barnave knew to be dangerous having met him in the courtyard of the palace; he determined to cross it without stopping; and walked in the gardens in order to lull suspicion。 I was desired to wait for Barnave at a little door belonging to the entresols of the palace; with my hand upon the open lock。 I was in that position for an hour。 The King came to me frequently; and always to speak to me of the uneasiness which a servant belonging to the Chateau; who was a patriot; gave him。 He came again to ask me whether I had heard the door called de Decret opened。 I assured him nobody had been in the corridor; and he became easy。 He was dreadfully apprehensive that his connection with Barnave would be discovered。 〃It would;〃 said the King; 〃be a ground for grave accusations; and the unfortunate man would be lost。〃 I then ventured to remind his Majesty that as Barnave was not the only one in the secret of the business which brought him in contact with their Majesties; one of his colleagues might be induced to speak of the association with which they were honoured; and that in letting them know by my presence that I also was informed of it; a risk was incurred of removing from those gentlemen part of the responsibility of the secret。 Upon this observation the King quitted me hastily and returned a moment afterwards with the Queen。 〃Give me your place;〃 said she; 〃I will wait for him in my turn。 You have convinced the King。 We must not increase in their eyes the number of persons informed of their communications with us。〃
The police of M。 de Laporte; intendant of the civil list; apprised him; as early as the latter end of 1791; that a man belonging to the King's offices who had set up as a pastrycook at the Palais Royal was about to resume the duties of his situation; which had devolved upon him again on the death of one who held it for life; that he was so furious a Jacobin that he had dared to say it would be a good thing for France if the King's days were shortened。 His duty was confined to making the pastry; he was closely watched by the head officers of the kitchen; who were devoted to his Majesty; but it is so easy to introduce a subtle poison into made dishes that it was determined the King and Queen should eat only plain roast meat in future; that their bread should be brought to them by M。 Thierry de Ville…d'Avray; intendant of the smaller apartments; and that he should likewise take upon himself to supply the wine。 The King was fond of pastry; I was directed to order some; as if for myself; sometimes of one pastry…cook; and sometimes of another。 The pounded sugar; too; was kept in my room。 The King; the Queen; and Madame Elisabeth ate together; and nobody remained to wait on them。 Each had a dumb waiter and a little bell to call the servants when they were wanted。 M。 Thierry used himself to bring me their Majesties' bread and wine; and I locked them up in a private cupboard in the King's closet on the ground floor。 As soon as the King sat down to table I took in the pastry and bread。 All was hidden under the table lest it might be necessary to have the servants in。 The King thought it dangerous as well as distressing to show any apprehension of attempts against his person; or any mistrust of his officers of the kitchen。 As he never drank a whole bottle of wine at his meals (the Princesses drank nothing but water); he filled up that out of which he had drunk about half from the bottle served up by the officers of his butlery。 I took it away after dinner。 Although he never ate any other pastry than that which I brought; he took care in the same manner that it should seem that he had eaten of that served at table。 The lady who succeeded me found this duty all regulated; and she executed it in the same manner; the public never was in possession of these particulars; nor of the apprehensions which gave rise to them。 At the end of three or four months the police of M。 de Laporte gave notice that nothing more was to be dreaded from that sort of plot against the King's life; that the plan was entirely changed; and that all the blows now to be struck would be directed as much against the throne as against the person of the sovereign。
There are others besides myself who know that at this time one of the things about which the Queen most desired to be satisfied was the opinion of the famous Pitt。 She would sometimes say to me; 〃I never pronounce the name of Pitt without feeling a chill like that of death。〃 (I repeat here her very expressions。) 〃That man is the mortal enemy of France; and he takes a dreadful revenge for the impolitic support given by the Cabinet of Versailles to the American insurgents。 He wishes by our destruction to guarantee the maritime power of his country forever against the efforts made by the King to improve his marine power and their happy results during the last war。 He knows that it is not only the King's policy but his private inclination to be solicitous about his fleets; and that the most active step he has taken during his whole reign was to visit the port of Cherbourg。 Pitt had served the cause of the French Revolution from the first disturbances; he will perhaps serve it until its annihilation。 I will endeavour to learn to what point he intends to lead us; and I am sending M。… to London for that purpose。 He has been intimately connected with Pitt; and they have often had political conversations respecting the French Government。 I will get him to make him speak out; at least so far as such a man can speak out。〃 Some time afterwards the Queen told me that her secret envoy was returned from London; and that all he had been able to wring from Pitt; whom he found alarmingly reserved; was that he would not suffer the French monarchy to perish; that to suffer the revolutionary spirit to erect an organised republic in France would be a great error; affecting the tranquillity of Europe。 〃Whenever;〃 said she; 〃Pitt expressed himself upon the necessity of supporting monarchy in France; he maintained the most profound silence upon what concerns the monarch。 The result of these conversations is anything but encouraging; but; even as to that monarchy which he wishes to save; will he have means and strength to save it if he suffers us to fall?〃
The death of the Emperor Leopold took place on the 1st of March; 1792。 When the news of this event reached the Tuileries; the Queen was gone out。 Upon her return I put the letter containing it into her hands。 She exclaimed that the Emperor had been poisoned; that she had remarked and preserved a newspaper; in which; in an article upon the sitting of the Jacobins; at the time when the Emperor Leopold declared for the coalition; it was said; speaking of him; that a pie…crust would settle that matter。 At this period Barnave obtained the Queen's consent that he should read all the letters she should write。 He was fearful of private correspondences that might hamper the plan marked out for her; he mistrusted her Majesty's sincerity on this point; and the diversity of counsels; and the necessity of yielding; on the one hand; to some of the views of the constitutionalists; and on the other; to those of the French Princes; and even of foreign Courts; were unfortunately the circumstances which most rapidly impelled the Court towards its ruin。
However; the emigrants showed great apprehensions of the consequences which might follow in the interior from a connection with the constitutionalists; whom they described as a party existing only in idea; and totally without means of repairing their errors。 The Jacobins were preferred to them; because; said they; there would be no treaty to be made with any one at the moment of extricating the King and his family from the abyss in which they were plunged。
CHAPTER VII。
In the beginning of the year 1792; a worthy priest requested a private interview with me。 He had learned the existence of a new libel by Madame de Lamotte。 He told me that the people who came from London to get it printed in Paris only desired gain; and that they were ready to deliver the manuscript to him for a thousand louis; if he could find any friend of the Queen disposed to make that sacrifice for her peace; that he had thought of me; and if her Majesty would give him the twenty…four thousand francs; he would hand the manuscript to me。
I communicated this proposal to the Queen; who rejected it; and desired me to answer that at the time when she had power to punish the hawkers of these libels she deemed them so atrocious and incredible that she despised them too much to stop them; that if she were imprudent and weak enough to buy a single one of them; the Jacobins might possibly discover the circumstance through their espionage; that were this libel brought up; it would be printed nevertheless; and would be much more dangerous when they apprised the public of the