wed
the flowers, swept the carpets, etc. The Queen received back the key,
when the woman had finished putting them in order, from her own hands;
but, desirous of doing her duty well, and sometimes having the key in her
possession for a few minutes only, she had probably on that account
ordered one without the Queen's knowledge. It is impossible not to
believe this, since the despatch of the diamonds was the subject of a
second accusation which the Queen heard of after the return from Varennes.
She made a formal declaration that her Majesty, with the assistance of
Madame Campan, had packed up all her jewelry some time before the
departure; that she was certain of it, as she had found the diamonds, and
the cotton which served to wrap them, scattered upon the sofa in the
Queen's closet in the 'entresol'; and most assuredly she could only have
seen these preparations in the interval between seven in the evening and
seven in the morning. The Queen having met me next day at the time
appointed, the box was handed over to Leonard, her Majesty's
hairdresser,--[This unfortunate man, after having emigrated for some time,
returned to France, and perished upon the scaffold.--NOTE BY EDITOR]--who
left the country with the Duc de Choiseul. The box remained a long time
at Brussels, and at length got into the hands of Madame la Duchesse
d'Angouleme, being delivered to her by the Emperor on her arrival at
Vienna.

In order not to leave out any of the Queen's diamonds, I requested the
first tirewoman to give me the body of the full dress, and all the
assortment which served for the stomacher of the full dress on days of
state, articles which always remained at the wardrobe.

The superintendent and the dame d'honneur being absent, the first
tirewoman required me to sign a receipt, the terms of which she dictated,
and which acquitted her of all responsibility for these diamonds. She had
the prudence to burn this document on the 10th of August, 1792.--[The date
of the sack of the Tuileries and slaughter of the Swiss Guard]--The Queen
having determined, upon the arrest at Varennes, not to have her diamonds
brought back to France, was often anxious about them during the year which
elapsed between that period and the 10th of August, and dreaded above all
things that such a secret should be discovered.

In consequence of a decree of the Assembly, which deprived the King of the
custody of the Crown diamonds, the Queen had at this time alrea