“Ah!“sighedthequeen，“IshouldhavebeenhappyifIhadnotbeencompelledtotroublemyselfwiththesedreadfulpolitics。Itcertainlywasnotinmywishnorinmycharacter。Myenemieshavecompelledmetoit；itistheywhohaveturnedthesimple，artlessqueenintoanintriguer。“
“Ah!madam!“saidtheminister，astonished，“youusetheretooharshaword；youspeakasiftheybelongedtoyourenemies。“
“No，Iusetherightword，“criedMarieAntoinette，sadly。“Myenemieshavemadeanintriguerofme。Everywomanwhogoesbeyondherknowledgeandtheboundsofherdutyinmeddlingwithpoliticsisnothingbetterthananintriguer。YouseeatleastthatIdonotflattermyself，althoughittroublesmetohavetogivemyselfsobadaname。TheQueensofFrancearehappyonlywhentheyhavenothingtotroublethemselvesabout，andreserveonlyinfluenceenoughtogivepleasuretotheirfriends，andrewardtheirfaithfulservants。Doyouknowwhatrecentlyhappenedtome？“continuedthequeen，withasadsmile。“AsIwasgoingintotheprivycouncilchambertohaveaconsultationwiththeking，Iheard，whilepassingOEildeBoeuf，oneofthemusicianssayingsoloudthatIhadtolistentoeveryword，’Aqueenwhodoesherdutystaysinherownroomandbusiesherselfwithhersewingandknitting。’Isaidwithinmyself，’Poorfellow，youareright，butyoudon’tknowmyunhappycondition；Iyieldonlytonecessity，andmybadluckurgesmeforward。“[Footnote：Thequeen’sownwords——See“MemoiresdeMadamedeCampan，“volii。，p。32。]
“Ah!madame，“saidtheministerwithasigh，“wouldthattheywhoaccuseyouofminglinginpoliticsoutofambitionandloveofpower——wouldthattheycouldhearyourmajestycomplainofyourselfinthesemovingwords!“
“Myfriend，“saidMarieAntoinette，withasadsmile，“iftheyheardittheywouldsaythatitwasonlysomethinglearnedbyheart，withwhichIwastryingtodisarmtherighteousangerofmyenemies。Itisinvaintowanttoexcuseorjustifymyself，fornoonewillhearaword。Imustbeguilty，Imustbecriminal，thattheywhoaccusememayappeartohavedoneright；thattheymayascendwhiletheypullmedown。Butletusnotspeakmoreofthis!Iknowmyfuture，I