Gertrude-Marguerite-Rose, etc., etc., of
Portugal, although younger than the first-mentioned lady, was yet
considered as past the age that would have rendered her a suitable match
for so young a bridegroom. The daughter of any of the electoral houses
of Germany was not considered an eligible match, and the pride of the
house of Bourbon could not stoop to so ignoble an alliance. There was no
alternative left therefore, but to return to the house of Savoy, and
take a sister of the comtesse de Provence. This proposal was well
received by the royal family, with the exception of the dauphiness, who
dreaded the united power and influence of the two sisters, if
circumstances should ever direct it against herself or her wishes; and I
heard from good authority, that both the imperial Marie Therese and her
daughter made many remonstrances to the king upon the subject. "The
empress," said Louis XV, one day, "believes that things are still
managed here as in the days of the marquise de Pompadour and the duc de
Choiseul. Thank heaven, I am no longer under the dominion of my friend
and her pensionaries. I shall follow my own inclinations, and consult,
in the marriage of my grandson, the interests of France rather than
those of Austria."

The little attention paid by Louis XV to the representations of Marie
Therese furnished my enemies with a fresh pretext for venting their
spleen. They accused me of having been bribed by the court of Turin,
which ardently desired a second alliance with France. I was most
unjustly accused, for I can with truth affirm, that the comte de la
Marmora, ambassador from Piedmont to Paris, neither by word nor deed
made any attempt to interest me in his success. The king was the first
person who informed me of the contemplated marriage, and my only fault
(if it could be called one) was having approved of the match.

More than one intrigue was set on foot within the chateau to separate
the princes. Many were the attempts to sow the seeds of dissension
between the dauphin and the comte d'Artois, as well as to embroil the
dauphin with _monsieur_. The first attempt proved abortive, but the
faction against _monsieur_ succeeded so far as to excite a lasting
jealousy and mistrust in the mind of Marie Antoinette. This princess
was far from contemplating the marriage of the comte d'Artois with any
feelings of pleasure, and when her new sister-in-law became a mother,
she bewailed her own misfortune in being without chi