he intended to
combine a sorrowful tenderness with loyal respect:

"Madame," said he, "I am overwhelmed with the painful confidence which
your majesty has reposed in me. I will not betray it; but I am placed
between the king and the nation, and I belong to my country. Permit me to
represent to you that the safety of the king, of yourself, and of your
august children is bound up with the Constitution, as well as is the
re-establishment of the king's legitimate authority. You are both
surrounded with enemies who are sacrificing you to their own interests."
The unfortunate queen, shocked as well as surprised at this opposition to
her views, replied, raising her voice, "That will not last; take care of
yourself." "Madame," replied he, in his turn, "I am more than fifty years
old. My life has been passed in countless dangers, and when I took office
I reflected deeply that its responsibility was not the greatest of its
perils." "This was alone wanting," cried out the queen, with an accent of
indignant grief, and as if astonished herself at her own vehemence.

"This alone was wanting to calumniate me! You seem to suppose that I am
capable of causing you to be assassinated!" and she burst into tears.
Dumouriez was as agitated as she was. "God forbid," he replied, "that I
should do you such an injustice!" And he added some flattering expressions
of attachment, such as he thought calculated to soothe a mind so proud,
yet so crushed. And presently she calmed herself, and came up to him,
putting her hand on his arm; and he resumed: "Believe me, madame, I have
no object in deceiving you; I abhor anarchy and crime as much as you do.
Believe me, I have experience; I am better placed than your majesty for
judging of events. This is not a short-lived popular movement, as you seem
to think. It is the almost unanimous insurrection of a great nation
against inveterate abuses. There are great factions which fan this flame.
In all factions there are many scoundrels and many madmen. In the
Revolution I see nothing but the king and the entire nation. Every thing
which tends to separate them tends to their mutual ruin: I am laboring as
much as I can to reunite them. It is for you to help me. If I am an
obstacle to your designs, and if you persist in thinking so, tell me so.
and I will at once send in my resignation to the king, and will retire
into a corner to grieve over the fate of my country and of you." And he
concludes his narrative by