s than to allow ourselves to be
utterly crushed in a state of absolute inaction.[1]"

And she held the same language to her brother, the emperor, assuring him
that "the king and herself were both convinced of the necessity of acting
with prudence, but there were cases in which dilatoriness might ruin every
thing; and that the factious and disloyal were prosecuting their objects
with such celerity, aiming at nothing less than the utter subversion of
the kingly power, that it would be extremely dangerous not to offer a
resistance to their plans.[2]" And referring to her project of foreign
aid, she reported to him that she had promises of assistance from both
Spain and Switzerland, if they could depend on the co-operation of the
empire.

And still the emigrant princes were adding to her perplexity by their
perverseness. She wrote herself to the Count d'Artois to expostulate with
him, and to entreat him "not to abandon himself to projects of which the
success, to say the least, was doubtful, and which would expose himself to
danger without the possibility of serving the king.[3]" No description of
the relative influence of the king and queen at this time can be so
forcible as the fact that it was she who conducted all the correspondence
of the court, even with the king's brothers. But her remonstrances had no
influence. We may not impute to the king's brothers any intention to
injure him; but unhappily they had both not only a mean idea of his
capacity, but a very high one, much worse founded, of their own; and full
of self-confidence and self-conceit, they took their own line, perfectly
regardless of the suspicions to which their perverse and untractable
conduct exposed the king, carrying their obstinacy so far that it was not
without difficulty, that the emperor himself, though they were in his
dominions, was able to restrain their machinations.

Meanwhile, the queen was steadily carrying on the necessary arrangements
for flight. Money had to be provided, for which trustworthy agents were
negotiating in Switzerland and Holland, while some the emperor might be
expected to furnish. Mirabeau marked out for himself what he regarded as a
most important share in the enterprise, undertaking to defend and justify
their departure to the Assembly, and nothing doubting that he should be
able to bring over the majority of the members to his view of that
subject, as he had before prevailed upon them to sanction the journey of
the pr