'What They Said' Saturday: "Goodbye, dear sister. I kiss you on both cheeks."

'What They Said' Saturday: a day for quotations of all kinds, including excerpts from letters written by Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries, memoirs, non-fiction, novels and everything in between.

 [image: Madame Clotilde and Madame Elisabeth/Bibliothèque nationale de France]

 One of the more interesting aspects of Marie Antoinette's first few years at Versailles is her correspondance with her siblings, which at times was more carefree and open than the letters she wrote to her mother. In a letter to her sister Christina dated September 8th, 1772, Marie Antoinette described her "beautiful little sisters," Clotilde and Elisabeth. 

"You reproach me, my dear Christine, for not talking to you about my beautiful little sisters Clotilde and Elisabeth; it is true that I have not had the opportunity. Their education being not yet finished, they are entrusted to a lady, Madame de Marsan, and [I see them little] in the summer; I see them very much when I am at Versailles. 

Madame, that is to say, Clotilde, remains what she was, a very kind child, smiling, open, who wants to please everyone and succeeds in being loved by everyone. [At] 13 she is as reasonable as if she was 20. Elisabeth is 8 years old and requires a lot of attention for her education. 

… [In regards to a feast hosted by the sisters] Clotilde enchanted everyone at the party by [greeting all the ladies with kisses on the cheek] one after the other, while Elisabeth gave them only her hand to kiss. 

Goodbye, dear sister, I kiss you on both cheeks."

Readers will no doubt notice Marie Antoinette's valediction, which references Clotilde's 'enchanting' actions at the party (kissing the ladies on the cheek) while also expressing Marie Antoinette's affectionation for her sister. Christina and Antoinette's relationship would become frostier over the years, but their correspondence was notably warm for most of their relationship, despite Maria Christina's status as the favored daughter of Maria Theresa.

'What They Said' Saturday: "It was done with dignity and in such a way as to displease no one."

'What They Said' Saturday: a day for quotations of all kinds, including excerpts from letters written by Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries, memoirs, non-fiction, novels and everything in between.

Although the rivalry between the dauphine Marie Antoinette and Louis XV's mistress Madame du Barry would eventually cause a months-long feud at court, Marie Antoinette did not enter Versailles with a mind to snub the king's favorite.

On June 15th, 1770, the Austrian ambassador Mercy reported to Maria Theresa that Marie Antoinette received Madame du Barry cordially:

"Madame du Barry thought it necessary to go and pay court to [the dauphine] one morning. She was received simply and easily. It was done with dignity and in such a way as to displease no one." [translation: Olivier Bernier, Secrets of Marie Antoinette]

This is a far cry from Marie Antoinette's later behavior of snubbing the favorite, which caused such a furor that it was a subject of discussion between Maria Theresa, Louis XV and the ambassador Mercy. Yet Marie Antoinette's behavior did not come from thin air: Louis XV's daughters, the 'Mesdames,' encouraged the young Marie Antoinette to show disdain for Madame du Barry. 

Ambassador Mercy would share his thoughts on the subject with Maria Theresa, noting that it seemed as if the king's daughters were using Marie Antoinette to express what they dared not:

"It has always struck me that Mesdames, while encouraging Mme la dauphine to be severe and silent [to Madame to Barry] act in a measured way themselves in their behavior to [her], and this conduct is all the more strange as it would appear that they wish to use Mme la dauphine as an instrument of a hatred that they themselves dare not admit." [translation: Margaret Anne Macleod, There Were Three of Us in the Relationship]

Eventually, of course, Marie Antoinette would break away from the influence of her new aunts and placate both the king and Madame du Barry with those famous words; "There are many people at Versailles today."

What They Said Saturday: "I think there will be a great hubbub resulting in nothing."

'What They Said' Saturday: a day for quotations of all kinds, including excerpts from letters written by Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries, memoirs, non-fiction, novels and everything in between.

"… Rumors says the Assembly does not want the King’s deposition, but that it will be forced to it. It is also rumored that the King will leave here somewhere forcibly… they say also that a strong movement will take place in Paris to bring this about. Do you think this is true? As for me, I do not believe it. I think there will be a great hubbub resulting in nothing. There you have my profession of faith. Furthermore, things are as calm as possible today. Yesterday was the same, and I think that today will follow in its footsteps. Adieu. I tell you nothing, because there are too many things I want to tell you… I embrace you and love you with all my heart. "

--Madame Elisabeth to the Marquise de Raigecourt, August 8th, 1792

The above letter was the last letter written by Madame Elisabeth before she--along with the rest of the royal family--were swept up in the events of August 10th, imprisoned in the Temple, and locked away from the rest of the world. One has to wonder if her confident"profession of faith" regarding the supposed calmnness of Paris, just 2 days before what would become the end of her brother's reign, came back to her mind as the tumultous events of August 10th unfolded.

What They Said Saturday: "I will write to you soon–if I can."

'What They Said' Saturday: a day for quotations of all kinds, including excerpts from letters written by Marie Antoinette and her contemporaries, memoirs, non-fiction, novels and everything in between.

 In the immediate aftermath of the royal family's failed flight to Montmédy, their friends and loved ones who either knew about the flight or had heard about it when the news broke out in Paris were left with great uncertainty as to the royal family's fate. As with any incident involving the royal family, rumors abounded. Were they to be killed? Imprisoned? As soon as they were able, the members of the royal family had letters sent (or in some cases, smuggled) out of the Tuileries to let their closet friends know that they were still alive. Uncertain--but alive.

On June 29th, Elisabeth sent this short note to the marquise de Raigecourt, acknowledging the uncertainty of their current position:

"I hope, my heart, that your health is good, and that it does not suffer from the situation of your friend. Hers is excellent; you know that her body is never conscious of the sensations of her soul. This latter is not what it should be towards its Creator, the indulgence of God is its only hope of mercy. I neither can nor will I enter into details as to all that concerns me; let it suffice you to know that I am well, that I am tranquil, that I love you with all my heart, and that I will write to you soon–if I can."

In a letter written to the marquise de Bombelle (her "dear Bombe") on July 10th, Elisabeth did offer some details about the recent events, remarking on the family's return from Varennes in the crowded coach with Barnave and Pétion:

"Our journey with Barnave and Pétion went on most ridiculously. You believe, no doubt, that we were in torture; not at all. They behaved well, especially the first, who has much intelligence and is not ferocious as people say. I began by showing them frankly my opinion as to their actions, and after that we talked for the rest of the journey as if we ignored the whole thing. Barnave saved the gardes du corps who were with us and whom the National guards wanted to massacre. "

'All depends on the right beginning for the day...'

Although Marie Antoinette was not extensively prepared for her life as the dauphine of France--the fast-track tutoring she received in French, history, etc., was more like an 18th century cram session than a proper education-- Maria Theresa did not neglect to write her daughter 'rules to be read every month,' which contained advice and instruction intended to help Marie Antoinette adjust to her new role. Part of this advice included instruction on how Marie Antoinette should begin her day, immediately after waking:

'... When you wake up, you will immediately upon arising go through your morning prayers on your knees and read some religious text, even if it is only for six or seven minutes, without concerning yourself about anything else or speaking to anyone. All depends on the right beginning for the day and the intention with which you begin it, for it may change even indifferent actions into good, praiseworthy ones.' [translation: Olivier Bernier, Secrets of Marie Antoinette]

It does not seem that Marie Antoinette followed this advice too strictly--she writes in a later letter, also dated 1770, that she says her morning prayers after she has been dressed.

A letter from Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa: Louis XVI is innoculated against smallpox

 image: Louis XVI being innoculated, from Versailles: Countdown to Revolution

image credit: tiny-librarian 

After the death of Louis XV, it was decided that the king and several other members of the royal family would undergo a smallpox innoculation to help protect themselves from the same disease. After her husband underwent the procedure, Marie Antoinette wrote to her mother:

Marie Antoinette to her mother, Maria Theresa, 27 June 1774: 

... the King, my brothers, and the comtesse d'Artois were inoculated [against smallpox] on Saturday; since then they have missed taking a walk at least two or three times a day. The King had a rather high fever for three days; on the day before yesterday the eruption started and the fever went down so that it is now quite gone. He will not have many pustules, but he has some very remarkable ones on his nose, on the wrists, and chest; they are already beginning to turn white.

[The doctors] have made four small incisions; these little openings are suppurating properly, which showed the doctors that the inoculation was completely successful. 

Primary Sources

Public Domain Memoirs and Letters

Narrative of Marie Therese de France, Duchesse d'Angouleme

Journal of the Tower of the Temple, by Clery

Life and Letters of Madame Elisabeth de France

Memoirs of the Court of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan

Diary and correspondence of Count Axel Fersen: relating to the court of France

The guardian of Marie Antoinette; letters from Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Austrian ambassador to the court of Versailles, to Marie Therese, empress of Austria, 1770-1780

Recollections of Leonard, hairdresser to Queen Marie Antoinette

Memoirs of the Duchess de Tourzel, governess to the children of France during the years 1789-1793 and 1795

Narrative of Rosalie Lamorliere, servant at the Concergerie August - October 1793

Memoirs of Madame Vigee Lebrun

Memoirs of the Countess de Valois de La Motte: Containing a Compleat Justification of Her Conduct, and an Explanation of the Intrigues and Artifices Used Against Her by Her Enemies, Relative to the Diamond Necklace by Comtesse de Valois de La Motte

A lady in waiting : being extracts from the diary of Julie de Chesnil, sometime lady in waiting to her Majesty, Queen Marie Antoinette by Charles Woodcock-Savage

Court Memoirs of France Series — Complete (Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois — Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz — Memoirs of Madame de Montespan — Memoirs Louis XIV, by Duch d'Orleans — Memoirs of Louis XIV, by Saint-Simon — Memoirs Louis XV./XVI, by Hausset — Memoirs Marie Antoinette, by Campan — Memoirs of Court of St. Cloud.)

Letter Translations (Books)

There were Three of Us in the Relationship: The Secret Letters of Marie Antoinette (vol I) by Margaret Anne MacLeod

A book of selected letters from the empress Maria Theresa, ambassador Mercy, and Marie Antoinette. This book includes many letters previously untranslated into English.

Secrets of Marie Antoinette: A Collection of Letters by Olivier Bernier

A collection of letters by Marie Antoinette and empress Maria Theresa.

Imperial Mother, Royal Daughter: Correspondence Between Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa by Olivier Bernier

Another collection of letters between Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa.

Other

Gazette des atours de Marie-Antoinette de 1782

A reproduction of a register, which once belonged to Madame d’Ossun, the Lady-in-Waiting responsible for the attire of Marie-Antoinette, dated 1782, containing different pieces of fabric used for the wardrobe of the Queen. (As far as I know the book does not contain reproduction fabric, but scans of the fabric pieces themselves. French text is untranslated.)