The Queen's Confession Part 2

"Always remember you are a German ..."

I wanted to yawn. Joseph in his labored way was trying to impress upon me the importance of my marriage. Did I realize that my retinue consisted of one hundred and thirty-two persons? Yes, Joseph, I had heard it all before.

"Ladies in waiting, your servants, your hairdressers, dressmakers, secretaries, surgeons, pages, furriers, chaplains, cooks, and so on. Your grand postmaster the Prince de Paar has thirty-four subordinates."

"Yes, Joseph, it is a great number."

"It is not to be supposed that we should allow the French to think that we cannot send you off in a style to match their own. Did you know that we are using three hundred and seventy-six horses and that these horses have to be changed four or five times a day?"

"No, Joseph. But now you have told me."

"You should know these things. Twenty thousand horses have been placed along the road from Vienna to Strasbourg to convey you and your retinue there."

"It is a great number."

I wished that he had talked to me more of his marriage and had warned me what to expect of mine. I was bored by these figures, and all the time I was fighting my desire to cry.

At Molck, which we reached after eight hours' driving, we stayed at the Benedictine convent where the scholars performed an opera for us. It was a bore. I felt very sleepy and as I kept thinking of the previous night, which I had spent in my mother's bedroom in the Hofburg, I felt I wanted to cry for the comfort she could give me. For oddly enough, in spite of the lectures, she had comforted me; without knowing it I had felt that while she was there - omnipotent and omniscient - I was safe because all her care was for me.

Joseph left me the next day and I was not sorry. He was a good brother who loved me, but his conversation made me so tired and I always found it difficult to concentrate at the best of times.

What a long journey! The Princess de Paar shared my carriage and tried to comfort me by talking of the wonders of Versailles and what a brilliant future lay before me. To Enns, to Lambach, on to Nymphenburg. At Gunsburg we rested for two days with my father's sister, Princess Charlotte. I had vague memories of her at Schonbrunn, for she had at one time been a member of our household. My father had been very fond of her and they used to take long walks together, but my mother resented her presence. Perhaps she resented anyone of whom my father was fond; and eventually Charlotte retired to Remiremont, where she became the Abbess. She talked lovingly of my father and I went with her to distribute food to the poor, which was a change from all the banquets and b.a.l.l.s.

We crossed the Black Forest and came to the Abbey of Schuttern, where I was visited by the Comte de Noailles, who was to be my guardian. He was old and very proud of the duty which had been entrusted to him by his friend, the Duc de Choiseul. I thought he was a vain old fellow and I was not sure whether I liked him. He did not stay long with me, for there arose a difficulty about the ceremony which lay before me. It was again a matter of whose names should come first on a doc.u.ment. Prince Starhemburg, who was going to hand me formally over to the French, was in a great pa.s.sion about this; and so was the Duc de Noailles.

I felt very sad that night because I knew it was going to be my last on German soil. I suddenly found myself crying bitterly in the arms of the Princess de Paar and saying over and over again: "I shall never see my mother again."

That day a letter had reached me from her. She must have sat down and written as soon as I left; and I knew that she had written it in tears. s.n.a.t.c.hes of it come back to me now: "My dear child, you are now where Providence has placed you. Even if one were to think no more of the greatness of your position, you are the happiest of your brothers and sisters. You will find a tender father who will be at the same time your friend. Have every confidence in him. Love him and be submissive to him. I do not speak of the Dauphin. You know my delicacy on that subject. A wife is subject to her husband in all things and you should have no other aim than to please him and do his will. The only real happiness in the world comes through a happy marriage. I can say this from experience. And all depends on the woman, who should be willing, gentle and able to amuse ..."

I read and reread that letter. That night it was my greatest comfort. The next day I would pa.s.s into my new country; I would say good-bye to so many of the people who had accompanied me so far. There was so much I had to learn, so much which would be expected of me; and all I could do was cry for my mother.

"I shall never see her again," I murmured into my pillow.

CHAPTER 2.

"The Golden Age will be born from such a union and under the happy rule of Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste our nephews will see the continuation of the happiness we enjoy under Louis the Well-Beloved."

-Prince de Rohan at Strasbourg The Bewildered Bride ON THE NO-MAN'S LAND OF A SANDBANK in the middle of the Rhine a building had been erected and in this was to take place the ceremony of the Remise. The Princess de Paar had impressed on me that this was the most important ceremony so far, for during it I should cease to become Austrian. I was to walk into that building on one side as an Austrian Archd.u.c.h.ess and emerge on the other as a French Dauphine.

It was not a very impressive building, for it had been hastily constructed; it would be used for this purpose only and that would be an end of it. Once on the island I was led into a kind of antechamber, where my women stripped me of all my clothes, and I felt so wretched standing there naked before them all that I had to think of my mother at her most stem to prevent myself breaking into sobs. I put my hand up to the chain necklace which I had worn for so many years, as though I were trying to hide it But I could not save it The poor thing was Austrian and therefore had to come off.

I was s.h.i.+vering as they dressed me in my French clothes, but I could not help noticing that they were finer than anything I had had in Austria and this lifted my spirits. Clothes meant a great deal to me and I never lost my excitement for a new material, a new fas.h.i.+on or a diamond. When I was dressed, I was taken to the Prince Starhemburg, who was waiting for me; he held my hand firmly and led me into the hall which formed the center of this building. It seemed large after the little antechamber and in the center was a table which was covered with a crimson velvet cloth. Prince Starhemburg referred to this room as the Salon de Remise, and he pointed out that the table symbolized the frontier between my old country and my new. The walls of the room were hung with tapestries which were beautiful, though the scenes depicted on them were horrible, for they represented the story of Jason and Medea. I found my eyes straying to them during the short ceremony and when I should have been listening to what was being said, I was thinking of Jason's murdered children and the Furies' flaming chariot. Years later I heard that, before the ceremony, the poet Goethe, then a young law student as the Strasbourg University, had come to look at the hall and had expressed his horror at the tapestries, adding that he could not believe anyone could have put them where a young bride was to enter her husband's country. They were pictures, he said, of "the most horrible marriage that could be imagined." People would see that as an omen, too.

The ceremony was fortunately short. I was led to the other side of the table, a few words were spoken, and I had become French.

I was then relinquished by Prince Starhemburg and given into the hands of the Comte de Noailles, who led me into the antechamber on the French side of the building, where he presented me to his wife, who with him was to share the guardians.h.i.+p. I felt bewildered and scarcely glanced at her. All I knew was that I felt lonely and frightened, and that this woman was to look after me, and, without thinking, I threw myself into her arms, subconsciously feeling sure that this childish and impulsive gesture would charm her.

When I felt her stiffen, I looked up into her face. She seemed old ... very old; her face was wrinkled and set into lines of severity. For a second or so my behavior had startled her; and then gently but firmly she withdrew herself and said: "I beg leave of Madame la Dauphine to present to her her Mistress of the Robes, the d.u.c.h.esse de Villars."

I was too surprised to show that I was hurt. In any case dignity had been stressed in my upbringing and my mother's instructions to such an extent that it was almost intuitive, so accepting the fact that I could hope for small comfort from Madame de Noailles, I turned to the d.u.c.h.esse de Villars to find that she too was old, cold, and remote.

"And Madame la Dauphine's maids of honor." There they stood: the d.u.c.h.esse de Picquigny, the Marquise de Duras, the Comtesse de Saulx-Tavannes, and the Comtesse de Mailly - and all old. A band of severe old ladies!

I found myself coolly acknowledging their greeting.

From no-man's island the brilliant cavalcade made its way to Strasbourg, the Alsace possession which had gone to France at the conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick nearly a hundred years before. The people of Strasbourg were delighted with the wedding because they were so dangerously near the frontier, and they were anxious to show their pleasure. The greeting I received in that town took away the flavor of the chilly reception in the Salon de Remise and my introduction to the ladies who had been chosen for me. This was the sort of occasion in which I reveled. In the streets of the city children, dressed as shepherds and shepherdesses, brought flowers to me and I loved the pretty little creatures and wished that all the solemn men and women would leave me with the children. The people of Strasbourg had had the happy idea of lining the route with small boys dressed as Swiss Guards; they looked adorable; and when I arrived at the Bishop's Palace, where I was to stay that night, I asked if these little boys might be my guard for the night. When the little boys heard this, they jumped about and laughed with pleasure; and next morning I peeped out of my window and saw them there. They saw me and cheered me. That was my most pleasant memory of Strasbourg.

At the Cathedral I was met by Cardinal de Rohan, an ancient man who moved as though he suffered acutely from the gout. There followed a grand banquet and a visit to the theater. From a balcony of the Palace we watched the decorated barges on the river, and the firework display was very exciting, particularly when I saw my initials entwined with those of the Dauphin, high in the sky. After that - to bed, to be guarded by my little Swiss Guards.

The next morning I went to the Cathedral to hear Ma.s.s, expecting to see the old Cardinal again; but on this occasion he was too unwell to attend and in his place was his nephew, a very handsome young man, Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese, Prince Louis de Rohan, who would most certainly become a Cardinal when his uncle died, which from the look of the old man could not be long.

He had one of the most beautiful voices I had ever heard - but perhaps I thought this because I was unaccustomed to the French love of the gracefully spoken word. In a few days' time I was to think that the King of France had the most beautiful voice in the world. But on this occasion I was charmed by that of Prince Louis. He was very respectful, but there was a gleam in his eyes which disturbed me. He made me feel very young and inexperienced, even though his words were all that even my mother could have wished for.

"For us, Madame," he said, "you will be the living image of that dear Empress who for so long has been the admiration of Europe, as she will be in the ages to come. The soul of Maria Theresa will be united with that of the Bourbons."

That sounded very fine, and I was happy to hear that they thought so highly of my mother.

"The golden age will be born from such a union and under the happy rule of Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste our nephews will see the continuation of the happiness we enjoy under Louis the Well-Beloved."

I caught a fleeting expression on the faces of several people when the Prince said those words - almost a sneer, it seemed. I wondered briefly what it meant; then I was bending my head to receive the blessing.

I was to remember that man later - my enemy. My dearest Campan believed that his follies and his license played a great part in bringing me where I am today. But on that occasion he was merely a handsome young man who had taken the place of a gouty old one, and I thought no more of him as we left Strasbourg and made our way across France.

Our progress was fete after fete. I grew tired of pa.s.sing under triumphal arches, of listening to my praises sung, except when they were sung by children; then I enjoyed them. It was all very strange and I was often lonely in spite of being surrounded by crowds. The only people with me whom I had known during my life in Vienna were the Abbe Vermond, whom they had decided should stay with me for a while, Prince Starhemburg, and the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau - all serious old men, and I longed for companions of my own age. My ladies-in-waiting I could well have done without. There was no one, simply no one, to chat with, to laugh with.

On went the cavalcade with two wagons in front, which contained my bedroom furniture. In each place where we Stayed the night they would unload and the bed and stools and armchairs would be taken out and put into a room which had been prepared for me. Through Saverne, Nancy, Commercy to Rheims, the town where the French crowned their Kings and Queens.

"I hope," I said with great feeling, "that it will be long before I come to this town again."

Being at Rheims had reminded me that I could at any time be Queen of France, for my new grandfather was an old man of sixty. I felt alarmed at the thought. Many times during that journey a cold s.h.i.+ver would creep over me; but I dismissed my apprehensions and it all seemed like a game once more.

From Rheims to Chalons and on ... to the forest of Compiegne.

It was the fourteenth of May when I first saw my husband. I had been traveling for nearly three weeks and my mother's Court seemed remote. I wished now that I knew a little more about my new family. I tried to find out, but I could discover nothing from Madame de Noailles, nor from any of my ladies-in-waiting. Their replies were always conventional and a little chilling, as though they were reminding me that it was not etiquette to ask questions. Etiquette! It was a word which was already beginning to weary me.

It was a brilliant day; the budding trees were breaking into leaf, the birds were in full song, and the glories of nature seemed as though they were trying in vain to compete with the extravagance of the court scene.

I was aware that the King of France - and with him my bridegroom - could not be far away, for the trumpets had started and the musketeers were beating their drums. It was a tremendously exciting moment. We were on the edge of the forest and the trees were like a beautiful backcloth; there ahead of me I saw the gay uniform of guards and the bright livery of servants. I saw men and women more gorgeously attired than I had ever seen before. And I was aware of the most magnificent figure of them all, standing there ... waiting for me. I knew immediately by his clothes, but chiefly by his bearing, that he was the King of France. He had that dignity, that grace, that complete kingliness which he must have inherited from his great-grandfather, le Roi Soleil.

My carriage had stopped and I alighted immediately, which shocked Madame de Noailles, who, I knew, was undoubtedly thinking that etiquette demanded I wait until someone came forward to conduct me to the King. It simply did not occur to me to wait. For three weeks I had been starved of affection and this was my dear grandfather who, my mother had a.s.sured me, would care for me and love me and be my friend. I believed that, and I wanted nothing so much as to throw myself into his arms and tell him how lonely I was.

A man was coming toward me - a very elegant man with a rosy laughing face which reminded me of a pug dog I had once had. I smiled at him as I ran past him. He seemed astonished, but he was smiling too; and I discovered almost immediately afterward that he was the much-talked-of Duc de Choiseul, whom the King had sent to bring me to him.

But I needed no one to take me to the King. I went straight to him and knelt.

He raised me up and kissed me on either cheek. He said: "But ... you are beautiful, my child." His voice was melodious, far more beautiful than that of the Prince de Rohan; and his eyes were warm and friendly.

"Your Majesty is gracious ..."

He laughed and held me against his magnificent coat, which was decorated with the most beautiful gems I had ever seen.

"We are happy that you have come to us at last," he went on.

When we looked into each other's faces and he smiled, I lost my fear and that hateful sense of loneliness. He was old, but one did not think of age in his presence. Regal yet kind, his manners were perfect. I flushed, remembering my own imperfect French. I so wanted to please him.

He embraced me again as though he really felt affectionate toward me. His eyes studied me intently from head to foot. I did not know then of his penchant for young girls of my age but thought all this kindness, all this interest and flattering attention was because he had taken a particular fancy to me. Then he turned his head slightly and a boy came forward. He was tall and ungainly; he s.h.i.+fted his gaze from my face as though he were not the least bit interested in me, and his indifference, after the warmth of the King's greeting, struck me almost like a blow. The feelings he roused in me were so mixed that I could not attempt to a.n.a.lyze them, for this was my husband. He was gorgeously dressed, but how different he looked from his grandfather! He did not seem to know what to do with his hands.

The King said: "Madame la Dauphine honors and delights us with her presence."

The boy looked sheepish and stood there saying nothing, doing nothing except look at the tips of his boots. I thought I would break through his indifference, so I took a step closer to him and held my face up to be kissed, for since the King had kissed me, why should I not kiss my bridegroom? He looked startled, recoiled, then made a move toward me as though he were forcing himself to some distasteful task. I felt his cheek against mine, but his lips did not touch my skin as the King's had.

I turned to the King and, although he gave no sign that he thought the Dauphin's conduct strange, I had always been quick to grasp people's reactions, and I knew he was exasperated. I thought blankly: The Dauphin does not like me. Then I remembered Caroline, who had cried so much because they had married her to an ugly old man. But I was neither old nor ugly. The King himself thought me charming; most people thought me charming. Even old Kaunitz had thought there was nothing in my appearance to spoil the match.

The King had slipped his arm through mine and was presenting me to three of the strangest old ladies I had ever seen. These were my aunts, he told me: Adelaide, Victoire, and Sophie. I thought them all very ugly indeed, but more than that - strange. They reminded me of the old witches in a play I had once seen. The eldest of them, who was obviously the leader, stood half a pace in front of the others; the second was plump and had the kindest face of the three; and the third was the ugliest. But they were my aunts and I must try to love them, so I went first to Madame Adelaide and kissed her. She then made a sign for Madame Victoire to step half a pace forward, which she did, and I kissed her. Then it was Madame Sophie's turn. They looked like two soldiers on parade, Adelaide being the commanding officer. I wanted to laugh, but I knew I dared not. Then I thought what fun it would have been if I could have gone to my room in the Hofburg with Caroline and told her about these new relations of mine, imitating them all in turn. I could have acted each of the three weird sisters - and the Dauphin.

The King said I should meet the rest of the family later and, taking my hand, he himself helped me into his carriage, where I sat between him and the Dauphin. The trumpets blew and the drums rolled and we started on the road toward the town of Compiegne where we were to stay the night before we continued our journey to Versailles.

The King talked to me as we rode along and his soft voice was like a caress. He did caress me too, patting my hand and stroking it. He told me he loved me already, and that I was his dear granddaughter and he counted this one of the happiest days he had ever known because it had brought me into the family.

I felt the laughter bubbling up inside me. I had been dreading this meeting, for I had always heard this man spoken of with awe. He was the greatest monarch in Europe, my mother had said. I had imagined him stem and forbidding and here he was, holding my hand, behaving almost like a lover, saying such charming things as though I had done him a great honor by coming to marry his grandson - not, as my mother had impressed on me, that a great honor had been done to me. While the King chatted and behaved as though he were my bridegroom, the Dauphin sat beside me sullenly silent.

Later I was to learn a great deal about this King who was always charmed by youth and innocence, qualities which I undoubtedly possessed. He might have been wis.h.i.+ng I was his bride, for he could never see a pretty young girl without contemplating seducing her. As for the Dauphin, he could never see a young girl without wanting to run away from her; but my imagination was adding drama and producing a situation which did not exist. It was not, as I wildly believed, that the King had fallen in love with me; nor that the Dauphin hated me. It was nothing so dramatic. I had a great deal to learn of the ways of the French in general, and in particular of the family of which I was now a member.

When we arrived at Compiegne, the King told me he wished to present me to some of his cousins, the Princes of the Blood Royal. I replied that I enjoyed meeting all people and that the members of my new family were of particular interest to me.

"And you will be of particular interest to them," he replied with a smile. "They will be charmed and delighted and we shall have them all envying poor Berry here."

The Dauphin, who was the Duc de Berry, half-turned away from us as though to say they were welcome to me; at which the King pressed my hand gently and whispered: "He is overcome by his good fortune, poor Berry!"

I was taken to the King's apartments and there I met the Princes, the first of whom was the Duc d'Orleans, a grandson of the King's uncle; then there was the Duc de Penthievre, grandson of Louis XIV (I later heard that his grandmother was Madame de Montespan, who had been that King's mistress) and after that the Princes of Conde and Conti. They all seemed very old and uninteresting; but there were some young members of the family who were presented to me that day and one of these was the Princesse de Lamballe. She was twenty-one, which seemed old to me, but I was immediately interested in her and felt I could be fond of her, for I was desperately looking for a friend in whom I could confide. She was already a widow and had had a very unhappy marriage, which fortunately for her lasted only two years. Her husband had become "ill" after a love affair, I was told, for he had led a very wild life and he subsequently died. Poor Marie Therese! At the time of our meeting she was obliged to be the constant companion of her father-in-law, who was eccentric and mourned all the time for his son; all he cared about besides that was his collection of watches, and when he was not in a state of melancholy over the death of his son, he was clucking over his watches, winding them, displaying them to anyone whom he could bore with them. At least if I was apprehensive, I was excited. The Princesse de Lamballe's life was just one morbid journey from castle to castle with her peculiar father-in-law and his watches. Yet I found comfort in our meeting and the moment when she was presented to me stands out clearly in my mind even now, among all those introductions which seemed to go on for hours and hours.

Everything was done with the utmost ceremony - even the trying on of my wedding ring. They had to be sure that they had one which would fit, so the Master of Ceremonies came to my apartment accompanied by the King. With them came the Princes of the Blood Royal and the aunts, although the sole purpose of this little ceremony was that I should try on twelve rings to see which fitted me. When it had been found, it was taken from me to be put on my finger by the Dauphin. The King embraced me and took his leave; and then, one by one, in order of precedence, the others did the same.

I was tired out and longing for my bed and as my women prepared me I began to think of the Dauphin, who seemed so different from everyone else. He had scarcely spoken to me; he had scarcely looked at me; and I could hardly remember what he looked like. Yet I could remember the face of the King and that of the Princesse de Lamballe perfectly.

"Madame is thoughtful," said one of my women.

"She is thinking of the Dauphin," whispered another coyly.

I smiled at the two girls; they looked gay, as though they were rather pleased to escape from the supervision of Madame de Noailles and my severe ladies-in-waiting.

"Yes," I admitted. "I was." And as I spoke I seemed to hear my mother's voice: "Do not be too familiar with subordinates." But I must talk to someone. I longed for a little conversation which was not governed by etiquette.

"It's natural for a bride to think of her bridegroom."

I smiled encouragingly.

"He will sleep under a different roof tonight." The girl's voice rose on a giggle.

"Why?"

They smiled at me in the indulgent way people did at home in Vienna.

"Because he could not be under the same roof as the bride until the wedding night. He will stay in the house of the Comte de Saint-Florentin, the Minister and Secretary of State of the King's Household."

"It's interesting," I said, suppressing a yawn.

I lay in my bed and went on thinking about the Dauphin. I wondered whether he was thinking about me and if so what his thoughts might be.

Years later, when I came to know him very well, I saw what he had written in his journal on that night. It was characteristic of him and it told nothing (but by that time I had learned his secret and I knew the reason for his strange conduct toward me). It simply said: "Interview with Madame la Dauphine".

The next day we were to leave for the Chateau de la Muette where we were to spend one night before going to Versailles the next day.

As we set out I was immediately aware that something was wrong. In the first place the King did not accompany us. He had gone on ahead. I wondered why. I learned later that it was because the road to Versailles from La Muette pa.s.sed Paris and the King never rode in state near or through his capital if he could help it. He had no intention, on an occasion like this, of receiving the hostile silence of the people. This is why I had seen those cynical looks on the people's faces in the Strasbourg Cathedral when the Prince de Rohan referred to him as Louis the Well-Beloved. When he was a young man, he had been called that; but it was a different matter now. The people of Paris hated their King. They were poor, often short of bread, and they were furious because he squandered large sums of money on his palaces and his mistresses while they went hungry.

But this was not the matter which was causing great uneasiness among my friends. Mercy was in a state of uncertainty and had despatched couriers to Vienna. The Abbe looked worried and so did Starhemburg. I wished they would tell me what was wrong but of course they did not. I had noticed, however, the looks of sly amus.e.m.e.nt on the faces of some of my women. Something was going to happen at La Muette.

On the way we called at the Carmelite Convent of St. Denis, where I was to be presented to Louise, the fourth aunt - youngest sister of Adelaide, Victoire, and Sophie. I was interested in Louise, she was different from the other three, and although I should have been sorry for her because she limped painfully and was pitiably deformed with one shoulder higher than the other, I wasn't, because she seemed so much happier than her three sisters. Dignified and, in spite of her Abbess's habit, behaving like a royal personage, she was very friendly and seemed to sense that I wanted to talk to somebody, so she asked me many questions and talked about herself too, telling me how much happier she was at the convent than in the royal palaces, and that treasures on Earth were not found in palaces. She had known this for a long time and had made up her mind that she wished to live her life in seclusion as an expiation of sin.

I could not imagine that she had been very sinful and my expression must have conveyed this for she said rather fiercely: "My own sins and those of another."

Questions trembled on my lips. What other? But whenever I was about to ask some indiscreet question which would no doubt bring an interesting answer, I would see my mother's face warning me against any lighthearted indiscretions and pause. Then it would be too late.

As we came nearer to La Muette, Mercy's preoccupation grew deeper. I heard him whisper to Starhemburg: "There is nothing ... nothing we can do. That he should have chosen this time ... it is inconceivable."

My attention was caught by the people who lined the route, particularly as we drew nearer to Paris. We did not enter the city but wound our way round it and the cheers were deafening. So I smiled and inclined my head as I had been taught to do; and the people shouted that I was "mignonne" and I forgot all about Mercy's worries because I always enjoyed this kind of applause so much.

I was rather sorry when we came to La Muette. The King was already there and waiting to present my brothers-in-law to me. The Comte de Provence was fourteen years old - in fact he was sixteen days younger than I was and much more handsome than the Dauphin but inclined to be a little plump, like his elder brother. He was more lively, though, and he seemed very interested in me. His brother, the Comte d'Artois, was about a year or so younger than I but there was a lively knowledgeable look in his eyes which made him seem older than his two brothers - more worldly wise, I mean. He took my hand and kissed it lingeringly, while his bold eyes were very admiring and as I was always responsive to admiration I preferred Artois of the two brothers - perhaps of the three. But I was not going to bring the Dauphin into the comparison. In fact I was trying not to think of the Dauphin because to do so bewildered me a great deal and depressed me a little. In fact I did not know what to think of him and I was certainly afraid to think too deeply; so I successfully managed to put him from my mind. I could always live in the present and there was plenty to occupy my thoughts.

Meanwhile, having met my two brothers-in-law, I must be prepared for the banquet which was to be eaten in private - a family affair and therefore much more intimate than all the others I had attended. Now I should be in the very heart of my new family.

The King came to my apartments and told me he had a gift for me, which was a casket of jewels. These delighted me, and he in turn was delighted to see my pleasure, and kept saying how enchanting it was to be young and so excited over trifles. Then he took from the casket a pearl necklace and held it up. Each pearl was the size of a hazel nut and they were all of perfect matching color.

"It was brought to France by Anne of Austria," he told me. "So how fitting that it should be worn by another Princess from Austria! This necklace was worn by my mother and by my wife. It is the property of all the Dauphines and Queens of France."

As he ceremoniously fastened it himself, his fingers lingered on my neck and he said the pearls had never been shown to greater perfection. I had beautiful shoulders and when I grew up, I would be a beautiful woman, an ornament to the throne of France.

I thanked him demurely, and then I looked up at him and flung my arms about his neck. This was wrong, I saw immediately from Madame de Noailles, who was standing by nearly fainting with horror at my presumption; but I did not care and nor did he.

He murmured: "Charming ... charming. I am writing to your mother to tell her that we are all enchanted by her daughter."