“Butnotaloneshallthesingerbeflogged,“criedhe,withavoicelouderandsharperthanbefore——“no,notaloneshallthesingerbeflogged,butgreaterpunishmenthavetheydeservedwhourgeontosuchdeeds。IftheAustrianwomancomeshereagaintoturntheheadsofsympathizingsoulswithhermartyrlooks,ifsheundertakesagaintomoveuswithhertearsandherface,wewillserveherasshedeserves,wewillgowhipinhandintoherbox!“[Footnote:
Goneourt’s“HistoiredeMarieAntoinette,“p。365。]
Thequeenrosefromherchairlikeanexasperatedlioness,andadvancedtothefrontofthebox。Standingerect,withflaminglooksofanger,withcheekslikepurple,sheconfrontedthemthere——thetrueheiroftheCaesars,thecourageousdaughterofMariaTheresa——
andhadalreadyopenedherlipstospeakandoverwhelmthetraitorwithherwrath,whenanothervoicewasheardgivinganswertoMarat。
Itcried:“Besilent,Marat,besilent。Whoeverdarestoinsultawoman,beshequeenorbeggar,dishonorshimself,hismother,hiswife,andhisdaughter。Icallonyouall,Icallonthewholepublic,totakethepartofadefencelesswoman,whomMaratventurestomortallyinsult。
Youallhavemothersandwives;youmay,perhaps,somedayhavedaughters。Defendthehonorofwoman!Donotpermitittobedegradedinyourpresence。Marathasinsultedawoman;weowehersatisfactionforit。Joinwithmeinthecry,’Longlivethequeen!
LongliveMarieAntoinette!’“
Andthepublic,carriedawaywiththeenthusiasmofthisyoung,handsomeman,whohadriseninhisbox,andwhoseslender,proudfiguretoweredaboveall——thepublicbrokeintooneunitedstirringcry:“Longlivethequeen!LongliveMarieAntoinette!“
Marat,tremblingwithrage,hiscountenancesuffusedwithalividpaleness,sankbackinhischair。
“IknewverywellthatBarnavewasatraitor,“hewhispered。“I
shallrememberthismoment,andBarnaveshallonedayatoneforitwithhishead。“
“Barnave,itisBarnave,“whisperedthequeentoherself。“Hehasrescuedmefromgreatdanger,forIwasonthepointofbeingcarriedawaybymywrath,andansweringthemonsterthereashedeserves。“
“Longlivethequeen!LongliveMarieAntoinette!“shoutedthepublic。
MarieAntoinettebowedandgreetedtheaudienceonallsideswithasadsmile,butnotonelookdidshecasttotheboxwhereBarnavesat,withnotonesmiledidshethankhimfortheservicehehaddoneher。Forthequeenknewwellthatherfavorbroughtmisfortunetothosewhosharedit;thatheonwhomshebestowedasmilewastheobjectofthepeople’ssuspicion。
Thepubliccontinuedtoshouthername,butthequeenfeltherselfexhausted,anddrawingbackfromthefrontofthebox,shebeckonedtohercompanion。“Come,“shewhispered,“letusgowhilethepublicarecalling’LongliveMarieAntoinette!’Whoknowswhethertheywillnotbeshoutinginanotherminute,’Awaywiththequeen!wewantnoqueen!’Itpainsmyearsotohearthat,soletusgo。“
Andwhilethepublicwereyetcrying,MarieAntoinettelefttheboxandpassedoutintothecorridor,followedbyMademoiselleBugoisandthetwoofficersinattendance。Butthecorridorwhichthequeenhadtopass,thestaircasewhichshehadtodescendinordertoreachhercarriage,werebothoccupiedbyadensethrong。WiththeswiftnessofthewindthenewshadspreadthroughParisthatthequeenwasgoingtovisittheoperathatevening,andthathervisitwouldnottakeplacewithoutwitnessingsomeextraordinaryoutbreak。
Theroyalistshadhastenedthither,tosalutethequeen,andatleasttoseeherontheway。Thecurious,theidle,andthehostile-
mindedhadcometoseewhatshouldtakeplace,andtoshoutasthemajoritymightshout。Thegreatopera-househadthereforenotaccommodatedhalfwhowantedtobepresent,andallthosewhohadbeenrefusedadmittancehadtakentheirstationonthestairwayandthecorridor,orbeforethemainentrance。Anditwasnaturalthatthosewhostoodbeforethedoorshould,bytheirmerelybeingthere,excitethecuriosityofpassers-by,sothatthese,too,stoodstill,toseewhatwasgoingon,andallpressedforwardtothestaircasetoseeeverythingandtoheareverything。
Butthecivilwarwhichwasragingwithinthetheatrehadgivenrise’tobattlesoutsideaswell;thesamecrieswhichhadresoundedwithin,pealedalongthepathofthequeen。Shecouldonlyadvanceslowly;closerandcloserthrongedthecrowd,louderandlouderroaredaroundMarieAntoinettethevariousbattle-criesoftheparties,“Longlivethequeen!““LonglivetheNationalAssembly!
Downwiththequeen!“
MarieAntoinetteappearedtohearneithertheonenortheotherofthesecries。Withproudlyerectedhead,andcalm,gravelooks,shewalkedforward,untroubledaboutthecrowd,whichtheNationalGuardbeforehercouldonlybreakthroughbyarecoursetothreatsandviolence,inordertomakeapassageforthequeen。
Atlastthedifficulttaskwasdone;atlastshehadreachedhercarriage,andcouldrestuponitscushions,and,unobservedbyspyinglooks,couldgivewaytohergriefandhertears。Butalas!
thisconsolationcontinuedonlyforashorttime。Thecarriagesoonstopped;theTuileries,thatsad,silentprisonoftheroyalfamily,wassoonreached,andMarieAntoinettequicklydriedhertears,andcompelledherselftoappearcalm。
“Donotweepmore,Bugois,“shewhispered。“Wewillnotgiveourenemiesthetriumphofseeingthattheyhaveforcedtearsfromus。
Trytobecheerful,andtellnooneoftheinsultsofthisevening。“
Thecarriagedoorwasopened,thequeendismounted,and,surroundedbyNationalGuardsandofficers,returnedtoherapartments。
Noonebadeherwelcome,noonereceivedherasbecomesaqueen。A
fewoftheservantsonlystoodintheouterroom,butMarieAntoinettehadnolooksforthem。Shehadbeencompelledasaconstitutionalqueenought,todismissherowntriedandfaithfulservants;herhouseholdhadbeenreorganized,andsheknewverywellthatthesenewmenialswereherenemies,andservedasspiesfortheNationalAssembly。Thequeenthereforepassedthemwithoutgreeting,andenteredhersitting-room。
Butevenhereshewasnotalone;thedooroftheante-roomwasopen,andtheresattheofficeroftheNationalGuard,whosedutyofthedayitwastowatchher。
MarieAntoinettehadnolongertherightofbeingalonewithhergrief,nolongertherightofbeingalonewithherhusband。Thelittlecorridorwhichranfromtheapartmentsofthequeentothoseoftheking,wasalwaysclosedandguarded。Whenthekingcametovisithiswife,theguardcametooandremained,hearingeverywordandstandingatthedoortillthekingretired。Inlikemanner,bothentrancestotheapartmentsofthequeenwerealwayswatched;forbeforetheonesatanofficerappointedbytheNationalAssembly,andbeforetheotheramemberoftheNationalGuardstoodassentry。
Withadeepsighthequeenenteredhersleeping-room。Theofficersatbeforetheopendooroftheadjacentroom,andlookedsternlyandcoldlyin。Foraninstantanexpressionofangerflittedoverthefaceofthequeen,andherlipsquiveredasthoughshewantedtospeakahastyword。Butshesuppressedit,andwithdrewbehindthegreatscreen,inordertobedisrobedbyhertwowaiting-maidsandbearrayedinhernight-dress。
Thenshedismissedthemaids,andcomingoutfrombehindthescreen,shesaid,loudlyenoughtobeheardbytheofficer:“Iamweary,I
willsleep。“
Atoncehearose,andturningtothetwoguards,whostoodatthedooroftheanteroom,said:
“Thequeenisretiring,andthewatchintheblackcorridorcanwithdraw。TheNationalAssemblyhasgivencommandtolightentheserviceoftheNationalGuard,bywithdrawingasmuchoftheforceaspossible。Aslongasthequeenislyinginbed,twoeyesareenoughtowatchher,andtheyshallwatchherwell!“
Thesoldierslefttheanteroom,andtheofficerreturnedtotheentranceofthesleeping-room。Hedidnot,however,sitdownintheeasy-chairbeforethedoor,butwalkeddirectlyintothechamberofthequeen。
MarieAntoinettetrembledandreachedoutherhandforthebellwhichstoodbyheronthetable。
“Bestill,forGod’ssake,bestill!“whisperedtheofficer。“Makenonoise,yourmajesty。Lookatmyface。“And,kneelingbeforethequeen,heraisedhisheadandlookedatherwithanexpressionalmostofsupplication。“IamToulan,“hewhispered,“thefaithfulservantofmyqueen。Willyourmajestyhavethegoodnesstorecallme?Hereisaletterfrommypatroness,MadamedeCampan,whospeakswellforme。Willyourmajestyreadit?“
Thequeenranoverthepaperquicklyandturnedwithagentlesmiletotheofficer,whowasstillkneelingbeforeher,andwho,inallherhumiliationandmisfortune,stillpaidherthehomageduetomajesty。
“Standup,sir,“shesaid,mildly。“Thethroneliesindust,andmycrownissosadlybroken,thatitisnolongerworththetroubletokneelbeforeit。“
“Madame,Iseetwocrownsuponyournoblehead,“whisperedToulan——
“thecrownofthequeen,andthecrownofmisfortune。TothesetwocrownsIdedicatemyserviceandmyfidelity,andforthemIampreparedtodie。Itistrue,Icandobutlittleforyourmajesty,butthatlittleshallbefaithfullydone。Thankstomybitterhatredofroyalty,andmyrampantJacobinism,Ihavecarriedmatterssofar,thatIhavebeenputuponthelistofofficerstokeepwatch,and,therefore,onceeveryweekIshallkeepguardbeforeyourmajesty’ssleeping-room。“
“AndwillyoudomethefavortosoputyourchairthatIshallnotseeyou——thatduringthenightImaynotalwayshavethefeelingofbeingwatched?“askedthequeen,insupplicanttones。
“No,yourmajesty,“saidToulan,moved。“Iwillremaininmychair,butyourmajestywillprefer,perhaps,toturnthenightintoday,andremainup;asduringmynightsyouwillnotbedisturbed。“