t of his many reforms, but her primary reason
was rather one of personal vengeance. Turgot had been openly hostile
to her friend and favorite, the Duc de Guines. She was then in the
midst of her period of dissipation; "dazzled by the glory of the
throne, intoxicated by public approval," she overstepped the bounds
of royal propriety, neglecting etiquette and forgetting that she was
secretly hated by the people because of her origin; her greatest error
was in forgetting that she was Queen of France and no longer the mere
dauphiness.

Under the escort of her brother-in-law, the Comte d'Artois, she was
constantly occupied with pleasures and had time for little else. The
king, retiring every night at eleven and rising at five, had all the
doors locked; so the queen, who returned early in the morning, was
compelled to enter by the back door and pass through the servants'
apartments. Such behavior gave plentiful material to M. de Provence,
the king's brother, who remained at home and composed, for the
_Mercure de France_, all sorts of stories, from so-called trustworthy
information, on the king, on society, and especially on the doings of
the queen.

Marie Antoinette's fondness for the chase and the English racing fad,
for gambling, billiards, and her _petits soupers_ after the riding and
racing, gave ample opportunity to the gossipmongers and enemies. In
spite of the vigorous remonstrances of her mother, the empress, she
persisted in her wild career of dissipation and extravagance, and drew
upon herself more and more the disrespect of the people, especially in
appearing at places frequented by the disreputable of both sexes, by
entering into all noisy and vulgar amusements, by her disregard and
disdain of all the conventionalities of the court. She increased her
unpopularity by reviving the sport of sleighing; for this purpose
she had gorgeous sleighs constructed at a time when the population of
France was in misery. Such proceedings caused libels, epigrams, and
satirical chansonnettes to flow thick and fast from her enemies. Her
one idea was to seek congenial pleasures: she appeared to be wholly
oblivious to the disapproval of public opinion.

The slanderous tongues of her husband's aunts, the "jealousies and
bitter backbiting of her own intimate circle of friends," the infamous
accusations brought against her by her sisters-in-law, the attacks of
the Comte de Provence, and the indifference of the king himself, all
helpe