few
pieces of embroidered silk, striped cloth, and cambric: while the queen's
present consisted of nothing more valuable than a few bottles of perfume
of no very exquisite quality, and a few boxes of powdered scents, pastils,
and matches. The king and queen gave nearly the whole present to M.
Bertrand for his grandchildren, the queen only reserving a bottle of attar
of rose and a couple of pieces of cambric; and that chiefly to afford a
pretext for seeing M. Bertrand once or twice, without his reception being
imputed to a desire to promote some Austrian intrigue; for the Jacobins
had lately revived the clamor against Austrian influence with greater
vehemence than ever.

As M. Bertrand had grandchildren, he could well appreciate the pleasure of
the queen at an incident which closed one of his audiences. While he was
thus receiving her commands, the little dauphin, "beautiful as an angel,"
as the minister describes him, was capering about the room in high
delight, brandishing a wooden sword, a new toy which had just been given
him. An attendant called him to go to supper; and he bounded toward the
door. "How is this, my boy?" said Marie Antoinette, calling him back; "are
you going off without making M. Bertrand a bow?" "Oh, mamma," said the
little prince, still skipping about, and smiling, "that is because I know
well that M. Bertrand is one of our friends.... Good-evening, M.
Bertrand." "Is not he a nice child?[10]" said the queen, after he had left
the room. "He is very happy to be so young. He does not feel what we
suffer, and his gayety does us good." Alas! that which was now perhaps her
only pleasure--the contemplation of her child's opening grace and
amiability--before long became even an addition to her affliction, as the
probabilities increased that the madness of the people and the wickedness
of their leaders would deprive him of the inheritance, to preserve which
to him was the principal object of all her cares and exertions.

But these moments of gratification were becoming fewer as time went on.
Each month, each week brought fresh and increasing anxieties to engross
all her thoughts. As the Girondin leaders began to feel their strength,
the votes of the Assembly became more violent. One day it passed a fresh
decree against the priests, depriving all who refused to take the oath to
the new ecclesiastical constitution of the stipends for which their former
preferments had been commuted, placing them under stric