, to place in authority over them a man under whom no sailor would
willingly serve. Marie Antoinette in her heart was as indignant as any
one. Constitutionally an admirer of bravery, she had taken especial
interest in the affairs of the fleet and in the details of this action.
She had honored with the most marked eulogy the gallantry of Admiral du
Chaffault, who had been severely wounded; but now she allowed herself to
be persuaded that the duke's public disgrace would reflect on the whole
royal family, and pressed the request so earnestly on the king that at
last he yielded. In outward appearance the duke's honor was saved; but the
public, whose judgment on such matter is generally sound, and who had
revived against him some of the jests with which the comrades of Luxemburg
had shown their scorn of the Duke de Maine, blamed her interference; and
the duke himself, by the vile ingratitude with which he subsequently
repaid her protection, gave but too sad proof that of all offenders
against honor the most unworthy of royal indulgence is a coward.

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

Mercy, while deploring the occasional levity of the queen's conduct, and
her immoderate thirst for amusement, had constantly looked forward to the
birth of a child as the event which, by the fresh and engrossing
occupation it would afford to her mind, would be the surest remedy for her
juvenile heedlessness. And, as we have seen, the absence of any prospect
of becoming a mother had, till recently, been a constant source of anxiety
and vexation to the queen herself--the one drop of bitterness in her cup,
which, but for that, would have been filled with delights. But this
disappointment was now to pass away. From the moment that it was publicly
announced that the queen was in the way to become a mother, one general
desire seemed to prevail to show how deep an interest the whole nation
felt in the event. In cathedrals, monasteries, abbeys, universities, and
parish churches, masses were celebrated and prayers offered for her safe
delivery. In many instances, private individuals even gave extraordinary
alms to bring down the blessing of Heaven on the nation, so interested in
the expect