IRLF 
 
 322 DM2 
 
 I 
 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 J O U R N E Y 
 
 * TO 
 
 BRUSSELS 
 
 AND 
 
 C OBLENTZ. 
 
 1791. 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY 
 
 LOUIS XVIII. 
 
 KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 
 
 Tsucro duce, et auspice Teucro. 
 
 Hor.l. 1. od. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN AND GO. 
 AND iNJ-. BbrsSANGE AND CO. 
 
 

 Wli.NT&D BY J? GRKK.4, <hi 
 
EDITORS PREFACE. 
 
 SINCE the publication of the famous Manuscript 
 from Saint Helena, which was attributed to 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, even by those who had 
 been accustomed to be nearest his person, and 
 thought themselves competent to decide on the 
 peculiarities of the style ; the public has become 
 more diffident with respect to literary curiosities 
 of the same kind. As a profound connoisseur in 
 wines, after having been once deceived with re- 
 spect to their growth and age, no longer ventures 
 to rely on his palate the modern reader is not 
 satisfied with recognising in a work the intellectual 
 habits and characteristic style of the author, whose 
 name appears on the title page. In his dread of 
 becoming the dupe of his own imagination, he re- 
 quires incontestable and palpable proofs : nothing- 
 but autograph writing, well and sufficiently at- 
 tested, will satisfy him. He will hardly dispense 
 with a notarial certificate in due form of law. 
 
 Have we, then, these unquestionable and con- 
 vincing proofs to offer, on behalf of the work we are 
 
ir EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 
 
 now publishing under the name of his most Chris- 
 tian Majesty, the present King of France ? We 
 boldly answer in the negative. But if the reader 
 will consider, that the work is openly published at 
 Paris, under the government of the Royal Author, 
 with the names of a very respectable printer and 
 bookseller* ; and that it has consequently been sub- 
 jected, previously to publication, to all the requisite 
 formalities, we have no doubt that he will readily 
 dispense with any other proof. 
 
 Besides, if he will appeal to the testimony of his 
 own judgment, he will easily recognise in this 
 little work, intrinsic proofs of authenticity, as well 
 in the turn of thought as in the style. 
 
 We will add but one word relative to the histo- 
 rical interest of this publication : it chiefly lies in 
 the explanation it affords of certain facts which 
 have hitherto remained unknown, or doubtful : we 
 think it unnecessary to point them out to the reader's 
 sagacity. 
 
 * M. Tastu, printer ; M. Baudouin, bookseller. It is of 
 the latter that we have purchased the exclusive right of print- 
 ing this little work in England. 
 
 -*i\ I 
 
LOUIS STANISLAS XAVIER DE FRANCE 
 
 TO 
 
 ANTOINE LOUIS FRANCOIS D^AVARAY, 
 
 HIS LIBERATOR, 
 WITH FEELINGS OF THE DEEPEST GRATITUDE- 
 
 I am aware, my dearest friend, that you 
 are engaged in drawing up an account of the 
 circumstances connected with the period of 
 my restoration to liberty ; no one is more com- 
 petent than yourself, to convey a proper know- 
 ledge of what you have done. However, I 
 undertake this also myself; your modesty 
 may possibly restrain you from doing yourself 
 entire justice ; to supply this deficiency, is to 
 me a duty as sacred, as it is pleasing, to fulfil, 
 I should be guilty of ingratitude, were I to 
 
vi DEDICATION. 
 
 suffer any one whomsoever, even yourself, 
 to deprive my liberator of the least portion 
 of that glory which is due to him. 
 
 It is, therefore, much more with this view than 
 that of retracing to myself the recollection of 
 events which will be ever present to my thoughts, 
 that I write this account. Receive it as a pledge 
 of my tender friendship, as a testimony of my 
 gratitude. May it serve to acquit a part of 
 that obligation which I have contracted with so 
 much pleasure, although with less than what I 
 feel in thinking that I shall never be wholly 
 discharged from it. 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 A JOURNEY, &c. 
 
 Teucro duce, et auspice Teucro. 
 
 Hor. 1. i. ode 6. 
 
 THE reports of the King's intended flight, 
 which were current in the month of April 
 1790, induced me to think of my own de- 
 parture. I deemed it expedient to admit 
 Peronnet, who then had the care of my ward- 
 robe, into my confidence, because he was more 
 capable than any other person in my service, 
 
 B 
 
2 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 of making every necessary arrangement re- 
 lative to my luggage, and also because I was 
 then as certain of his fidelity, as I am now 
 that he has served me so well. The rumours 
 I have mentioned subsided, and we therefore 
 naturally deferred the execution of our scheme 
 to a more favourable opportunity. I spoke 
 to the Queen on the subject ; she assured me 
 that neither the King nor herself had done 
 any thing to justify such a report ; but added, 
 that sooner or later it must come to that, and 
 promised to give me timely notice, advising 
 me to keep constantly in readiness* 
 
 The persecution which was kindled towards 
 Easter 1791, and the resolution which the 
 King was compelled to adopt, convinced me 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 3 
 
 
 
 that I had now only the choice of apos- 
 tacy or martyrdom: the former I looked 
 upon with horror ; and for the latter I felt no 
 great vocation. Madame de Balbi and myself 
 conversed much on the subject, and concluded 
 that -there was a third course which might be 
 adopted, namely, to leave a country in which 
 it would shortly become impossible to per- 
 form one's religious duties. There was no' 
 time to lose: Good-Friday was arrived: Eas- 
 ter day was to be the fatal period. We 
 agreed to set out by night, in Madame de 
 Balbi's carriage ; that lady, Madame, myself, 
 and some fourth person, were to compose the 
 party. It will readily be imagined that 
 this was not the first time of my thinking of 
 a travelling companion ; and I had, in the 
 
4 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 first instance, thought of d'Avaray, of whom 
 I was as sure as of myself. But surrounded 
 and beloved as he was, by a numerous family, 
 living in the utmost harmony together, I thought 
 there would be as many obstacles to his flight 
 as to my own . My principal reason, however, 
 was an apprehension, that from the delicacy 
 of his health, he would be unable to endure 
 the fatigues of such an enterprize. I then cast 
 my eyes on ******; but why name him ? 
 Should this account meet his sight, he will 
 find that a refusal, which was grounded on 
 very good reasons, as my respect for truth 
 obliges me to allow, has not induced me to 
 forget a friendship of twenty years ; and I 
 flatter myself that he will feel obliged by 
 my silence. I set out for the Tuileries, leav- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 5 
 
 ing Madame de Balbi a kind of credential 
 letter for him, and went to inform the King 
 and Queen of my design. They were then 
 occupied with their own project of escape, the 
 plan of which they had not communicated to 
 me ; nor had they disclosed their intention to 
 me otherwise than by requesting some mate- 
 rials, which answered no purpose, for the 
 declaration which the King published on his 
 departure. They were apprehensive that my 
 escape would impede their own, and endea- 
 voured to dissuade me from my purpose, 
 My reason was little affected by what they 
 said, but my heart sympathised with them, and 
 I yielded. In the mean time, Madame de 
 Balbi, having met with a refusal from the in- 
 dividual alluded to, found herself in the most 
 
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 cruel perplexity, when providence (for I will 
 boldly defy the most obstinate sceptic to 
 ascribe the hononr to chance) led d'Avaray to 
 her house. It is true that he had long been de- 
 sirous of doing what he did for me ; that 'he had 
 even insinuated this wish, though diffidently, to 
 Madame de Balbi, more than once ; and that he 
 was accustomed to visit her : but he did not usu- 
 ally come at that hour ; and I cannot but consi- 
 der that providence must have conducted him 
 thither on that day, when his presence was 
 most necessary. She did not hesitate to make 
 him the proposal ; and although it was a pain- 
 ful task to be merely the passive agent (if the 
 expression may be allowed) of a scheme which 
 he had not concerted ; and although he had 
 not time to take any measure whatever, either 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENfZ. ? 
 
 on his own account or mine, he accepted it 
 without a moment's hesitation . The only pain 
 he felt arose from my having originally chosen 
 another person instead of him. He instantly 
 hastened to collect for me every thing that the 
 shortness of the time would permit ; but on his 
 return to the Luxembourg, he found my deter- 
 mination already altered. Nor was it until I 
 arrived there, that I heard of the refusal and 
 acceptance which had taken place in my ab- 
 sence. The former surprised me ; it would 
 perhaps have caused me some agitation, had 
 I been less affected by the latter. I felt, how- 
 ever, a moment's embarrassment on seeing 
 d'Avaray ; but his friendship for me, and the 
 pleasure he felt in giving me a striking proof 
 of it, were so well expressed in what he said to 
 
8 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 me, that he quickly banished from my thought* 
 the injustice I had done him, in forbearing to 
 obey my first impulse. 
 
 Before I proceed farther with this narrative, 
 I think it right to anticipate a reproach which 
 my readers have a right to make me. Aware, 
 as I was, of a great number of the ties which 
 d'Avaray was about to break for my sake, 
 how could I possibly omit to evince any sen- 
 sibility towards him on this account? and 
 how can it be accounted for, that throughout 
 this relation, I always speak of his joy as if it 
 had been pure, and unmixed with bitterness ? 
 Let the reader, ere he censure me, place him- 
 self in my situation. My captivity was be- 
 come so intolerable to me, particularly of 
 
TO BRUSSELS Ai\D COBLENTZ. 9 
 
 late, that I had but one passion left the de- 
 sire of liberty. I thought of that only, and 
 saw every object, if I .may so express myself, 
 through the prison which this desire placed 
 before rny eyes. Those who have suffered 
 the anguish of captivity, or have formed a 
 correct idea of its miseries, from the relations 
 of others, will at least consider it an extenua- 
 tion of my fault, if they cannot entirely acquit 
 me of blame. D'Avaray himself made this 
 allowance for my conduct ; his tender friend- 
 ship for me is the unquestionable pledge of 
 this liberality ; and if I represent the state of 
 his mind very different from what it actually 
 was, it is because I describe it, not as it was 
 in reality, but as it appeared to me. 
 
10 NARRATIVE Ol< A JOURNEY 
 
 We did not, however, totally abandon our 
 scheme: but having now time before us, we 
 began to reflect seriously upon it, and speedily 
 discovered that it was defective in several 
 points ; particularly in the intention we had 
 entertained of departing together : and it was 
 resolved, according to d'Avaray's advice, that 
 we should separate. He undertook to provide 
 a post-coach for himself** and me. He also 
 assisted in procuring the necessary disguise 
 for me ; he himself measured me for a wig ; 
 but as he could not perform all that was re- 
 quisite himself, he asked me whether I could 
 not appoint some one to assist him. I pointed 
 out Peronnet, and proposed, as I had done in 
 the preceding November, to admit him irito 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLEMTZ. 11 
 
 our confidence. This d'Avaray was unwill- 
 ing* to do ; and accordingly, whilst he gave 
 him particular orders relative to my dress, 
 he spoke in a very vague manner with regard 
 to the object of his instructions ; intending to 
 give him further information at a future pe- 
 riod, according to the degree of confidence 
 which he should appear to deserve. 
 
 At the same time several things occurred 
 which alarmed us ; whether our project had 
 in some degree taken wind, or whether our 
 gaolers were merely become more suspi- 
 cious. We observed that we were more vi- 
 gilantly watched, and that M. de Romeuf, 
 aide-de camp to M. de La Fayette, frequently 
 came to walk in the courts of the Luxembourg*. 
 
12 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 We also heard that the city of Valenciennes, 
 through which we intended to pass, and which 
 had previously been one of the quietest towns 
 in the kingdom, was totally altered ; that 
 travellers were stopped and searched there ; 
 and that several persons had even been ill- 
 treated. Finding that, on account of the 
 former circumstance, it would be difficult for 
 us to set out from Madame de Balbi's, as we 
 had at first intended, she endeavoured to 
 procure us a country house in the environs of 
 Paris ; but without success. Madame de 
 Maurepas refused to lend her her seat of 
 Madrid ; M. d'Etioles, who at first wished to 
 Jet his house at Neuilly, retracted : Lady 
 Kerry thought proper to take that of Ma- 
 dame de Boufflers at Auteuil ; and the agents 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 13 
 
 of the count d'Artois declined lending Baga- 
 telle without his authority, or at least without 
 that of M. de Bonnieres, who at that period 
 was gon eto Dim, to meet the count. AH 
 this perplexed us greatly. In the mean time, 
 Madame de Balbi had provided herself with 
 a regular passport to go to Spa, as a measure 
 of precaution which might possibly prove 
 useful. And on the supposition that the 
 moment was at hand, she had thought of 
 borrowing M. de Fontette's house, which 
 adjoins the gardens of the Luxembourg, and 
 by which we could easily go out without 
 being perceived. At the end of May, she 
 received news, which induced her to go to 
 pass a few days at Brussels. The Queen, 
 whom I asked whether she had any commands 
 
J4 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 to give her for M. de Mercy, asked me, in 
 reply, whether she intended to make a long 
 stay in the Netherlands ; and on my saying- 
 she would only pass ten or twelve days there, 
 " So much the better," said she ; " but let it 
 not be longer." She set out on Ascension- 
 day (June 2) : I expected her to return on 
 Whitsun-eve ; instead of which I received a 
 letter from her, informing me that her return 
 was deferred. It will readily be conceived 
 that d'Avaray was not idle in her absence, 
 and as to what relates to Madame, it is as 
 well to say here, once for all, that Madame 
 Gourbillon, her reader, was entrusted with 
 every thing, and acquitted herself with equal 
 intelligence and success. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. ]f, 
 
 On Monday in Whitsun-week, as the 
 Queen returned from mass, she said to me : 
 " The King has given orders to go to the 
 procession of Corpus-Christi day, at Saint 
 Gerrnain-PAuxerrois ; do you appear to be 
 vexed at it." These few words at first made 
 some impression on me, but it did not last. 
 I did not again see the Queen in private until 
 Thursday, on which day she declared that 
 the departure was fixed for the following 
 Monday. I was in hopes that d'Avaray 
 would attend my coucher; but his cabriolet 
 having broken down, he did not come. On 
 the Friday morning, I wrote to him, to come 
 at six o'clock; he came accordingly. " Must 
 we get ready ?" said he, as he entered. 
 " Yes," I replied, " and for Monday." We 
 
10 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 then entered into the particulars of our pro- 
 ject, and considered these principal points: 
 1st, how to leave the Luxembourg ; 2dly, how 
 to quit Paris ; 3dly, by what road to leave 
 the kingdom. He was much perplexed 
 about the first of these points, because he 
 was not acquainted with all the localities of 
 my apartments, and thought I had no outlet 
 but through my anti-chamber, which would 
 have been impracticable, or through the gar- 
 den, which would have been very difficult. 
 I soon restored his confidence, by shewing 
 him what I called my small apartment, which 
 has a direct communication with the great 
 Luxembourg, where there was no national 
 guard. (I had not informed him of this at an 
 earlier period, because it had not been my 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 17 
 
 intention to make use of it, as I meant to set 
 out from Madame de Balbi's, or from the 
 country.) And here I must stop to express 
 my surprise, that for more than twenty 
 months that I inhabited Paris, this outlet, 
 which was> known to several of my people, 
 was never even suspected by my gaolers ; and 
 that I did not myself make it known, by 
 using- it during the most violent period of 
 persecution, to go to my chapel, which is at 
 the great Luxembourg. 
 
 This difficulty being surmounted, there 
 remained another, respecting the carriage we 
 were to make use of, in order to go to that in 
 which we were to travel ; for we did not for 
 a moment think of having the latter come to 
 
18 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 the Luxembourg. A fiacre was the safest con- 
 veyance ; but fiacres did not enter the court of 
 the Luxembourg : and d'Avaray would never 
 consent to my going out on foot, how- 
 ever well I might be disguised. It was, 
 therefore, necessary to choose between a glass 
 coach and a cabriolet ; and we preferred the 
 former, not only because I am a little too heavy 
 to mount a cabriolet, or alight from it with 
 ease ; but because it requires a man to attend to 
 it, which did not suit us. This point being 
 settled, we debated whether it would be better 
 to leave Paris with hired horses, or to go post ; 
 and we decided for posting: 1st, because 
 it is the way of travelling which excites least 
 suspicion ; 2dly, because, had we hired 
 horses, we must have placed relays on the 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 19 
 
 road, or applied for an order for post-horses ; 
 the former course would have excited suspi- 
 cion, and the second might have had the 
 same effect ; besides which, it would have in- 
 creased the complication of an affair, which 
 could not be too much simplified. 
 
 Finally, we considered the means of quit- 
 ting the kingdom. I thought we should 
 want a passport : but the difficulty was to ob- 
 tain it without compromising ourselves. My 
 first idea was to send for Beauchene, physi- 
 cian to my grooms, who was connected with 
 M. Montmorin and M. de la Fayette ; and to 
 tell him that two priests of my acquaintance, 
 who had not taken the oath, being terrified at 
 
20 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 what had so recently passed at the Theatins, 
 wished to leave the kingdom disguised as 
 Englishmen, and that I instructed him to 
 procure a passport from M. de Montmo- 
 rin's office. D'Avaray did not relish this 
 idea: he represented that Duchene, who is 
 acute, might have some suspicion of what we 
 were so much interested in concealing, and I 
 relinquished this scheme ; but d'Avaray, who 
 was intimately acquainted with Lord Robert 
 Fitzgerald, told me he would try to obtain a 
 passport by his means. As to the road, my 
 first idea was to take that of Douay and Or- 
 chies ; but, on further reflection, I deter- 
 mined to send Madame by that road, as the 
 safest ; and told d'Avaray that we would fix 
 our own on the following day. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 21 
 
 On parting from him, I went to the Tuile- 
 ries, where the Queen shewed me the draft of 
 the declaration which the King had prepared, 
 and had just handed to her. We read it 
 together : I found the style incorrect in some 
 instances: this was a trifling inconvenience; 
 but we considered the article not only rather 
 too long, but deficient in an essential point, 
 namely, a protest against all acts emanated 
 from the King during his captivity. After 
 supper, I made some observations to him 
 on his work, which he desired me to take 
 with me, and to return to him the next day. 
 On Saturday morning I applied myself ac- 
 cordingly, to the most ungrateful task exist- 
 ing, that of correcting another person's work, 
 and of suiting the phrases I was obliged to 
 
22 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 interpolate, both with the style and turn of 
 thought of the original ; the pen every mo- 
 ment fell from my hands ; yet I got through 
 the work, whether well or ill. In the 
 mean time d'Avaray had written to Lord Ro- 
 bert; called on his sadler, to see whether 
 the coach was in good condition ; and, in 
 order to deceive him, and avoid suspicion, 
 had told him that he was obliged to set out 
 for his regiment, and wished to go without 
 the knowledge of his relations ; recommending 
 secrecy to him, under this very plausible 
 pretext. He had also made all necessary ar- 
 rangements respecting my clothes, with Pe- 
 ronnet ; and he returned to me at six o'clock. 
 
 He was much dejected. Lord Robert had 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 23 
 
 told him, in answer to his application, that 
 he had no longer the privilege of giving 
 passports ; and that Lord Gower would cer- 
 tainly give none to any persons who were 
 not English ; and other means which d'Avaray 
 had tried, had proved equally unsuccessful. 
 Fortunately Madame de Balbi had left him, 
 on her departure, an old passport which she 
 had obtained from the English ambassador, 
 in the names of Mr. and Miss Foster ; but 
 this passport, which was good only for a 
 fortnight, was dated the 23d of April, and 
 was for a man and woman, instead of two 
 men. I did not conceive it possible to make 
 any use of it ; but d'Avaray, who, I am happy 
 to declare, seemed no more perplexed by the 
 difficulties of our situation, than if he had 
 
24 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 been asked by some youth of his acquaintance 
 to take him to the ball at the opera-house, 
 without the knowledge of his parents ; 
 d'Avaray, I say, speedily convinced me that I 
 was in the wrong : he erased the writing ; 
 and although the erasure was in a fold, and 
 the paper very thin, in less than a quarter of 
 an hour the passport was in the names of 
 Messieurs and Miss Foster, and dated the 
 13th of June, instead of the 23d of April. 
 Although this obstacle was now overcome, 
 we were not yet freed from all embarrass- 
 ment ; we knew not whether or not it was 
 necessary that the passport should be in- 
 spected by the minister for foreign affairs ; 
 and we did not think it advisable to produce 
 a paper, the falsification of which might be 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 25 
 
 recognized, notwithstanding all d'Avaray's 
 dexterity, and all the ink which he had plen- 
 tifully spilt at the back, as well where the 
 erasures were, as in other parts, to create the 
 less suspicion. We resolved to content our- 
 selves with it as it was, hoping it would excite 
 no surprise that two Englishmen, such as we 
 had determined to appear, should have sup- 
 posed a passport from the English ambassador 
 to be sufficient ; and that the municipal au- 
 thorities who might have to examine it, 
 would not discover its defects. 
 
 We next considered what road we should 
 take ; I had relinquished that of Orchies to 
 Madame. That of Valenciennes I declined 
 for the reasons already stated ; we fixed on 
 
20 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 that of Mons, by Soissons, Laon, and Mau- 
 beuge, from the following motives : 1st, 
 This line of road was not much frequented, 
 and we therefore hoped it would be the more 
 easy to find horses ; 2dly, As far as Soissons 
 it might be thought that we were going to 
 Rheims ; and from thence to Laon, that we 
 were going to Givet; which circumstances 
 might mislead our pursuers ; 3dly, The 
 fortified towns, in the interior of which 
 the post is fixed, are marked in the book 
 of posts in a particular manner. Now, ac- 
 cording to that mark, the post is in Avesnes, 
 and not in Maubeuge ; arid we calculated, 
 that according to the time of our departure, 
 we should pass Avesnes before the gates would 
 be shut, and should not reach Maubeuge 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 27 
 
 until after the shutting of the gates of that 
 place ; that we should have no business with 
 any one hut the post-master ; and should 
 thus avoid the frontier towns, of which the 
 weakness of our passport made us some- 
 what apprehensive. 
 
 In the evening I carried home my perform- 
 ance to the Tuileries : I asked the Queen whe- 
 ther she thought that a passport from the English 
 ambassador would be sufficient. She assured 
 me that the King himself had no other than 
 that of the Russian minister, which greatly 
 contributed to calm my apprehensions. (I 
 must certainly have failed to make myself un- 
 derstood ; for the passport in the name of the 
 baroness de Korff, which was, indeed, de~ 
 
28 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 manded by Monsieur de Simolin, had in re- 
 ality been made out at the office for foreign 
 affairs ; but the Queen had no motive to de- 
 ceive me : and I would not relate this cir- 
 cumstance, had I not promised to declare 
 every thing.) 
 
 The work in which the King had com- 
 manded me to assist, contained only the first 
 part, that is to say, the defects of the consti- 
 tution. There w r as yet wanting the summary 
 of the personal outrages which the King had 
 suffered since the opening of the states- 
 general. He commanded me to write this 
 summary, which I carried to him the following 
 evening. It might be supposed, according to 
 what is mentioned above, as well as what I 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 29 
 
 am now stating, that the declaration of the 
 20th of June originated with me. Truth re- 
 quires me to declare that I only corrected 
 it; that several of my corrections were not 
 adopted ; that the whole conclusion of it was 
 added after the end of my task, and that I 
 only became acquainted with it, such as it 
 appears, at Brussels. 
 
 With the exception of this work, and two 
 circumstances which I am about to relate, 
 Sunday was a nullity to me : but it was not 
 so to d'Avaray. He was in motion through- 
 out the day, appeared in public only for a 
 moment at the Luxembourg, as we had agreed 
 the preceding day, and we did not see each 
 other in private. This public visit, which 
 
30 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 we had considered necessary, was very incon- 
 venient to him, as it deprived him of part of 
 the little time he had reserved to himself. 
 For my part, it was painful to me to leave 
 him undistinguished in the crowd, and only 
 to address him in one of those unmeaning 
 sentences which princes are obliged to use 
 when they hold their courts ; but prudence 
 required me to be a prince for that moment ; 
 and I sincerely promised myself, in my own 
 mind, that it should be the last time I would 
 be so towards him. 
 
 He had already placed a partial confidence 
 in Sayer, his English servant, similar to that 
 which he had reposed in the sadler, telling 
 him that he was to set out the following day 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 31 
 
 for his regiment, and charging him to say 
 nothing about it to his relations, or in his 
 house. He added, that having endeavoured 
 to meet with a travelling companion, he had 
 been fortunate enough to meet with one who 
 was a pleasant fellow ; but that as there was 
 generally more respect paid to foreigners than 
 to Frenchmen at the post-houses, we had 
 agreed to travel as Englishmen, under the 
 names of Michael and David Foster. After 
 this he introduced him to Peronnet, as Per- 
 ron, valet de chambre to his fellow-traveller. 
 The names of Michael and David were not 
 adopted without a motive ; my linen was 
 marked with an M, and his with D A ; and 
 he conceived that in case it should be 
 examined, it would be necessary for our 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 supposed names to correspond with these 
 marks. 
 
 I will now relate the circumstances to 
 which I have already alluded. In the morn- 
 ing of this same day, I met Beauchene at 
 Madame's toilette ; and he told me that a 
 man had called on Audouin, one of those 
 journalists who daily deal out their two- 
 pennyworth of poison in Paris, bringing him 
 a plan for the escape of the King and all the 
 rest of us, which, he declared, he knew to 
 have been adopted at the Tuileries : that he 
 had requested Audouin to insert it in his jour- 
 nal, and that it would appear the following 
 day. This information alarmed rne ; it is 
 even said that I turned pale on hearing it: 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 33 
 
 I do not believe that, but I am certain that I 
 recovered myself promptly enough to ask 
 Beauchene, laughing, the particulars of this 
 pretended plan ; he gave me some details 
 of the falsehood of which I was so certain, that 
 I clearly perceived, that even if any thing was 
 known, it must be far from the whole truth, 
 and I recovered my spirits completely. The 
 second circumstance was a note mysteriously 
 worded, which I received from d'Avaray in 
 the morning, who complained of a bolt I had 
 put up. I thought myself pretty certain that 
 there was none at the door of my little apart- 
 ment which adjoins the great Luxembourg: 
 I hastened to ascertain the fact, and finding 
 I was right, determined to wait until I could 
 
 D 
 
34 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 see d'Avaray alone, to obtain the solution of 
 this enigma. 
 
 On Monday morning, a report was spread 
 
 that the Queen had been arrested during the 
 
 night, as she was escaping in a fiacre with 
 
 my sister : at first I took no notice of this 
 
 rumour, but on reflection, I perceived two 
 
 things in it, which agreed with what Beau- 
 
 chene had told me : the first was, that our 
 
 gaolers were alarmed ; the second, that their 
 
 apprehensions were vague : hence I concluded 
 
 that we were yet in time to make our escape, 
 
 but that the moment was well chosen, and that 
 
 if we should suffer it to elapse, it would never 
 
 return. I was soon afterwards alarmed by 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 35 
 
 another circumstance. As Madame de Sour- 
 dis was coming to Madame, to attend her to 
 mass, she was refused entrance at the little 
 Luxembourg; but I soon found it was a 
 blunder of th eporter. This tranquillized me, 
 and I waited for d'Avaray to obtain the ex- 
 planation of his note. In the mean time, I 
 considered that it would be expedient to 
 blacken my eyebrows a little, the better to 
 disguise my face, and I therefore put a cork 
 into my pocket, at dinner, for this purpose. 
 
 D'Avaray made me wait for him until 
 nearer seven o'clock, and I confess that the 
 time seemed long to me ; for besides the 
 anxiety I felt on his account, whenever I was 
 separated from him, and the final arrange- 
 D 2 
 
36 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 "merits which we still had to make, he was the 
 only being to whom I could speak on the sub- 
 ject which engrossed all my thoughts. He ex- 
 plained to me what was meant by the bolt, of 
 which he had complained, by telling me that 
 Peronnet, to whom he had entrusted the key 
 of the little apartment, had carried all my 
 travelling clothes thither, but had been unable 
 to get in, and had thought that there must be 
 a bolt inside. We instantly went to the spot, 
 and finding the bundle, saw that Peronnet 
 must have entered ; we next tried the key in 
 the lock, and satisfied ourselves that it turned 
 freely. We then examined the contents of the 
 bundle, which we found very complete. I 
 tried on the boots, which fitted me well ; and 
 we placed every thing in order in the place 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 37 
 
 I had resolved to dress in. D'Avaray promised 
 to be with me at eleven precisely ; we em- 
 braced with hearty good will, and separated 
 to meet no more until the moment of com- 
 mencing the execution of our scheme. 
 
 In d'Avaray's arrangements, there are in- 
 numerable particulars which are well known 
 to him alone, because he alone performed the 
 whole ; I leave them to be related by himself, 
 certain that his account will be strictly correct 
 in this point, my object being only to declare 
 what I myself did or saw, and above all to pre- 
 vent his failing to do himself justice in essen- 
 tial points. 
 
 As d'Avaray left my apartments, he was ac- 
 
38 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 costed by a man, who, I think, according to 
 the description he gave me, must have been 
 Desportes, usher of my closet, who told him 
 that he had something pressing and important 
 to say to him. He took him into the corridor 
 leading from the little to the great Luxem- 
 bourg, where this man, after a long preamble, 
 about his attachment to the King and me, 
 informed him that one of his friends, a person 
 highly deserving of credit, had told him in 
 confidence, that he had been applied to, to 
 lend money to facilitate the escape of the 
 whole Royal Family, which was to take place 
 that very night ; that bethought it his duty 
 to give him this information, and entreated 
 him to return immediately, and communicate 
 it to me likewise. D'Avaray was not put off 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 39 
 
 his guard ; he told him that this must be one 
 of the thousand-and-one schemes of flight 
 and counter-revolution, with which the public 
 had been amused for the last twelvemonth ; 
 but the other persisted, and d'Avaray could 
 not get rid of him, until he promised to men- 
 tion the subject to me in the evening, at my 
 coucher, or the following day at latest. 
 Nevertheless, he thought the matter serious 
 enough to to be imparted to me ; he went in 
 again through my little apartment, and knocked 
 at the door of my closet, but in vain ; I had 
 already set out for the Tuileries. He then, 
 considered, whether it would not be best to 
 proceed thither, and to inquire either for the 
 Queen's first femme de chambre, or for me, 
 in order to inform the Queen or myself of 
 
40 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 what he had just heard ; but he reflected that 
 that would be thought a remarkable circum- 
 stance, particularly as he had long* abstained 
 from appearing in public, in order to avoid 
 questions ; and his being seen at the Tuil- 
 eries would excite surprise ; besides, things 
 had gone so far, that it was no longer possible 
 to recede. All these circumstances induced 
 him to keep the information to himself, and 
 not even to mention it to me until we were in 
 safety ; committing the success of our scheme 
 to the care of providence. 
 
 I was the more impatient to reach the 
 Tuileries, as I knew my sister would, at 
 length, in the afternoon of this day, be informed 
 of the secret which I had, with much regret, 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 41 
 
 kept from her so long. I found her calm, re- 
 signed to the will of God, content, but with- 
 out evincing any burst of joy ; in short, as 
 cool as if she had been acquainted with the 
 plan for a twelvemonth. We embraced very 
 tenderly ; after which she said, " Brother, 
 you are religious ; allow me to give you an 
 image, it cannot but bring you good fortune." 
 I accepted it, as may be supposed, with as 
 much pleasure as gratitude. We conversed 
 some time on the grand enterprise ; and with- 
 out being prejudiced by my tender affection 
 for her, I must say it is impossible to reason 
 with more coolness and sense than she did ; 
 I could not but admire her. I went down to 
 the Queen's apartments, and waited some time 
 for her, because she was closeted with the three 
 
42 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 body-guards, who gave both her and the King 
 the last and lamentable proofs of their zeal ; 
 at length she appeared ; I ran to embrace her ; 
 "Do not excite my feelings," said she; "I 
 do not wish it to be observed, that I have 
 been weeping." We supped and remained 
 together till eleven o'clock. When the mo- 
 ment of separation arrived, the King, who had 
 not previously informed me whither he w^as 
 going, called me, declaring that he meant to go 
 to Montmedy, and positively commanded me to 
 go to Longwy, through the Austrian Nether- 
 lands. At length, we embraced with great 
 tenderness, and, separated, in the firm per- 
 suasion, at least on my part, that in less than 
 four days we should all meet again in safety. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 43 
 
 It was not eleven o'clock when I left the 
 Tuileries, and I was glad of it, because I was 
 in hopes that the duke de Levis, who usually 
 attended me home in the evening', would not 
 have arrived, which I wished for two reasons: 
 1st, becanse I did not care to have questions 
 put to me, which, however indirect, might 
 have embarrassed me ; and 2dly, because I 
 was in the habit of conversing for a longtime 
 previously to going to bed, and was fearful, 
 if I should retire immediately, as it was ne- 
 cessary for me to do, that I should excite 
 some suspicion in his mind. My hopes were 
 not fulfilled; he even shewed a degree of 
 assiduity Avith which I would readily have . 
 dispensed. I suppressed my vexation, how- 
 ever, and conversed calmly with him the 
 
44 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 whole of the way. When I got home, I began 
 to undress, at which he seemed surprised ; I 
 told him I had slept very ill the preceding 
 night, and that I wished to indemnify myself 
 for the rest I had lost. He was satisfied with this 
 reason ; I finished undressing, and went to bed. 
 
 Before I proceed further, it is necessary 
 to observe, that my first valet-de-chambre 
 always slept in my room, which seemed to be 
 an impediment to my departure, unless I 
 were to admit him to my confidence. But I 
 had satisfied myself, by an experiment made 
 two days before, that I had much more than 
 sufficient time to rise, light a taper, and pass 
 into my closet, before he could undress and 
 return into my chamber. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 45 
 
 Scarce had he left the room, when I got up 
 closed the curtains of my bed again, and having 
 taken the few articles which I wished to carry 
 with me, entered my closet, the door of which 
 I shut behind me ; and thenceforth, whether 
 by a presentiment, or through a just confi- 
 dence in d'Avaray, I considered myself out 
 of the kingdom. I put in the pockets of my 
 robe-de-chambre, three hundred louis, which 
 I intended to take, arid entered the little 
 apartment where d'Avaray was waiting for 
 me, after having been greatly alarmed, for as 
 he came in, the key had refused to turn in 
 the lock. A thousand ideas, each worse than 
 the preceding, had passed through his mind. 
 At length he tried to turn the key inwards, 
 which was precisely the way of the lock. 
 
46 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 When dressed, by his assistance, I recollected 
 that I had left my cane, and a second snuff- 
 box, which I also wished to carry with me. 
 I was for returning to fetch them. " No rash- 
 ness !" said he. I persisted no longer. The 
 dress fitted me very well, but the wig was a 
 little too tight. However, as it would go on, 
 and as I had determined upon every occasion 
 of consequence, to keep a great round hat, 
 decorated with a broad tri-coloured cockade, 
 on my head, this inconvenience did not give 
 us much concern. As we crossed the little 
 apartment, d'Avaray said that there was a 
 glass-coach, similar to ours, in the court of 
 the great Luxembourg, which caused him 
 some anxiety. I tranquillized him, by telling 
 him it was for Madame. When we were on 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 47 
 
 the stair-case, he desired me to wait while he 
 went to see whether it was still there. Finding 
 it was gone, he returned to me, saying in 
 English, " Come along with me." " I am 
 ready," I answered, in the same language, and 
 we got into the coach, which was a vis-a-vis. 
 In getting in, I chanced to seat myself in front. 
 " What !" said he, " compliments ?" Faith," 
 replied I, " here I am." He did not urge the 
 matter ; and having ordered the coachman to 
 drive to the Pont-Neuf, we thus left the Lux- 
 embourg. My joy at finding I had escaped 
 from my gaolers, which d'Avaray most sin- 
 cerely shared, made us extremely cheerful. 
 Accordingly our first impulse, after passing 
 the gate, was to sing a couplet of the parody 
 on Penelope : 
 
48 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 " ga va bien, 
 (Ja prend bien; 
 Us ne se doutent de rien."* 
 
 We met several people, and a patrol of 
 the national guard. No one attempted to 
 ascertain whether there was any person in the 
 coach. Near the Pont-Neuf, d'Avaray ordered 
 the coachman to drive to the Quatre-Nations ; 
 we met our carriage, which was waiting for 
 us, between the Monnaie and the Quatre- 
 Nations, in the little street which forms the 
 angles of those two buildings. The coach- 
 man, who had already set d'Avaray down 
 there in the afternoon of the same day, 
 
 * This does well, this takes ; they suspect nothing. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 49 
 
 thought we were going to the same place, and 
 was about to stop, but d'Avaray told him to 
 stop opposite the college, where we alighted. 
 The coachman asked if we were satisfied ? 
 " Quite so," replied d'Avaray ; " I shall pro- 
 bably employ you again, the day after to- 
 morrow." We now followed our travelling 
 carriage on foot ; d'Avaray recommending me 
 to take care to walk in a lounging manner. 
 At length we reached it; I got in first, Sayer 
 next, and lastly, d'Avaray. Peronnet mount- 
 ed on horseback ; we gave orders, in the 
 English accent, to drive to Bourget ; and so 
 we started. When we reached Pont-Neuf, we 
 were passed by two post-coaches, at which 
 d'Avaray began to be uneasy; when, after we 
 had changed our course to avoid them, they 
 
50 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 again passed us at Saint Martin's gate, and 
 he found they were taking the same road as 
 ourselves : he no longer doubted but that it 
 was some one of my family, and he was in- 
 wardly railing at princes who, for want of 
 mutual communication, spoil the best ar- 
 rangements in the world ; for he naturally 
 concluded that if we should thus continue 
 to go on close together, we should not 
 only prevent each other from obtaining 
 horses, but excite suspicion, and infallibly 
 get arrested. I did not share his anxiety, 
 because I well knew that it was Madame, 
 and that when once past Bourget, we had 
 nothing more to apprehend ; but I could not 
 explain myself before a man who was not in 
 our secret. Fortunately d' Avaray only spoke of 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 51 
 
 the probable want of horses, and I represented 
 to him, that we must be singularly unlucky, 
 if these coaches were going precisely to Soissons, 
 as the road on which we were travelling led 
 also to Flanders, Metz, and Nancy. When we 
 had crossed the Chalons road, his anxiety and 
 impatience increased ; I then thought it best to 
 speak out a little, and assuming a prophetic 
 tone, I positively affirmed that these two car- 
 riages were going to Douay. This calmed 
 him a little, with respect to the chance of our 
 keeping together all the way ; but being desir- 
 ous to gain time, he offered the postilion six 
 francs to pass the two carriages ; this succeeded 
 for a moment, but they soon re-passed us, and 
 we reached Bourget together. D'Avaray then 
 made Sayer alight, under pretext of sending 
 E 2 
 
52 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 him to see who were in those carriages, and 
 when we were alone I explained to him clearly 
 what I had previously only been able to tell 
 him in ambiguous terms, which entirely tran- 
 quillized him. Day overtook us near Nan- 
 teuil ; Sayer then mounted on horseback, and 
 Peronnet took his place in the carriage: he 
 took from his pocket my diamonds, which he 
 had brought away with him, and we hid them 
 between the back of the coach and the lining, 
 which we fastened up again over them. I also 
 took the cork, mentioned above, which d'Avaray 
 had taken care to blacken, and painted my eye- 
 brows, without caricaturing, in such a manner 
 as to render it impossible to recognize me ; and 
 I took the additional precaution of pretending 
 to sleep at every post, at least until we had 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 53 
 
 reached a great distance from Paris. I had 
 the presumption to foretell, on our leaving each 
 post, from the physiognomy of the postilions, 
 whether they would drive well or ill, and I ac- 
 tually was not once mistaken. We had pro- 
 ceeded wonderfully well as far as Verte-feuille ; 
 but there I declared we should go on very ill 
 to Soissons, and I was riot deceived. During 
 this post d'Avaray talked to me of his intention 
 to give in the resignation of his regiment. I 
 did not exactly approve of it, but I yielded to 
 his reasons ; he then told me he was inclined to 
 send it from Soissons to M. du Portail. I ban- 
 tered him on the choice of the place, asking 
 whether he thought he should have more time 
 there than at the other posts ; I was also un- 
 willing that he should address it to M. du Por- 
 
$4 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 tail, knowing that the King was to dismiss all 
 his ministers on his departure ; but as he in- 
 tended to date it the 18th of June, I had no- 
 thing to say against it. In the mean time the 
 postilion justified but too well the augury I had 
 
 drawn from his countenance, for it would be 
 
 
 
 impossible to drive worse. We accordingly 
 concluded that he must certainly be president 
 of the Jacobin club of Soissons. But although 
 I jested thus, I was really alarmed ; I had, seve- 
 ral leagues back, discovered that I had left the 
 image my sister had given me, at Paris ; and al- 
 though I am as little of a bigot as any one, 
 this loss really vexed me, and gave me much 
 more uneasiness than the loss of my cane and 
 snuff-box. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 55 
 
 When we reached Soissous, we were in- 
 formed, that one of the bands of the left fore- 
 wheel was broken ; this was extremely un- 
 fortunate, but we soon found reason for 
 still greater anxiety, for on further examina- 
 tion of the wheel, we discovered that the felly 
 also was broken. D'Avaray said nothing, 
 but I plainly saw what was passing in his 
 mind. I, who was no less alarmed, also en- 
 deavoured to suppress my emotion. It should 
 seem that I succeeded, for he has since assured 
 me that the confidence he observed in me re- 
 stored his own. It was proposed to us to have 
 a new felly made ; we asked how much time 
 this operation would require, and were told it 
 would occupy near two hours and a half. Lit- 
 tle acquainted with wheelwright's work, and 
 
56 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 consequently with the other resources which 
 we might. adopt, I regarded this loss of time 
 with great pain, and the more so, because, as 
 it was then half past eight, our flight must 
 have been known at Paris, and we should have 
 lost, by every moment's delay, part of the ground 
 we had gained during the night. But 
 d'Avaray, who had, as I have already men- 
 tioned, recovered his self-possession, thought 
 of another expedient, namely, to fasten the 
 felly with a double band of iron, which plan 
 it was determined to adopt. Whilst this work 
 was in hand, he first wrote his letter to M. du 
 Portail, which he enclosed in another, ad- 
 dressed to M. de Gourdis, his brother-in-law ; 
 and then went to hasten the smith. Being 
 left alone, I looked into his portfolio, which 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 57 
 
 he had forgotten and left in the coach, where 
 I found, with equal surprize and joy, the 
 image which I thought I had left at Paris ; 
 but what greatly increased my astonishment, 
 was his afterwards assuring me, that on open- 
 ing his portfolio, he had been no less surpriz- 
 ed than myself at finding it, having no recol- 
 lection of putting it there. The postmaster 
 was near the carriage, with whom, justly con- 
 fiding in my English accent, I conversed for 
 gome time, without having reason to fear, from 
 any gesture or motion of his, that he had the 
 least suspicion who I was. At last our wheel 
 was repaired, and we were assured that it 
 would still run twelve or fifteen leagues. This 
 was not nearly sufficient for our purpose, for 
 we were still thirty-two leagues from MOMS; 
 
58 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 but we trusted a little to our good fortune, 
 and did not give way to much anxiety. But 
 before I proceed further, I must relate a danger 
 from which we escaped without knowing of 
 it, and which was certainly the greatest risk 
 we ran. 
 
 M. de Tourzel had left Paris on the Thurs- 
 day or Friday ; and to avoid exciting any sus- 
 picion, he had passed two days at Haute Fon- 
 taine, with the archbishop of Narbonne. His 
 servant, who was not much inclined to leave 
 France, took it into his head, when intoxi- 
 cated, to go and denounce him to the Jacobin 
 Club of Attichy, which is very near Haute- 
 Fontaine 3 as an aristocrat, who was proceed- 
 ing to a foreign country to effect a counter- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 59 
 
 revolution. The club instantly forwarded in- 
 structions to all the clubs of the neighbouring 
 towns, and to that of Soissons in particular, to 
 arrest all travellers. The chiefs then put 
 themselves at the head of sixty men of the 
 National Guard, and went to Haute Fontaine 
 to secure M. de Tourzel ; but on finding that 
 he was a young man of even childish appear- 
 ance, and travelling quietly in a cabriolet, 
 they treated the servant's information with 
 contempt, and allowed the master to proceed. 
 They must also, in all probability, have given 
 counter-orders to the neighbouring clubs, 
 otherwise we must inevitably have been arrest- 
 ed. But notwithstanding that, I am perfectly 
 correct in saying this was the greatest risk we 
 
CO NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 ran ; and had I been aware of it, we should 
 certainly have taken a different road. 
 
 The post of Vaurains, between Soissons and 
 Laon, is a solitary house, where there is ab- 
 solutely nobody but the people belonging to 
 the post, who were all occupied with their 
 horses. This seemed to me such a fine op- 
 portunity for alighting, and stretching my 
 legs a little, that I instantly offered to do so, 
 but d'Avaray opposed it so firmly, that I was 
 obliged to give way. I then proposed to 
 breakfast ; we had a pie, and some Bour- 
 deaux wine ; but we had forgotten to bring 
 any bread. Whilst we were eating the crust 
 with the pie, we thought of Queen Maria 
 Theresa, who, when somebody in her pre- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 61 
 
 sence was expressing compassion for the poor 
 who had no bread, answered, "Good God! why 
 don't they eat pie-crust then ?" D'Avaray then 
 hit upon one of the best expedients in the 
 world, which was to take Say er into the chaise 
 with us again, and to send Peronnet forward 
 with the measure of our felly, to get a new 
 one made, in case the iron band should give 
 way, in order to avoid a similar danger of wait- 
 ing two hours, to that we had just escaped. 
 Sayer informed us by the way, that every body 
 was firmly persuaded we really were English ; 
 which gave us great pleasure. He added, that 
 he was every were told we were going to 
 Brussels. Had we passed for Frenchmen, 
 this opinion would have been very disagree- 
 able to us ; but our being taken for English 
 
62 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 rendered it indifferent. D J Avaray , seeing him 
 inclined to converse, led him to speak of the 
 affairs of the time, on which he expressed 
 himself very freely, and, amongst other things, 
 he used one expression which has struck me 
 forcibly since, which was, that people began 
 to treat the King as a madman (fou) ; and 
 here it may be proper to observe, that Sayer 
 speaks bad French, and that the English word 
 /bo/, which he certainly had in view, signifies 
 something very different from fou in French. 
 He also made a reflection, which I noticed as 
 just ; namely, that it cannot be said that there 
 are in reality either aristocrats or democrats, 
 since the man who has but sixpence (this was 
 his expression) treats him who possesses a 
 shilling as an aristocrat. In the mean time 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 63 
 
 Peronnet had reached Laon above three quar- 
 ters of an hour before us ; but the cartwright 
 was gone to the town, and was not returned 
 when we arrived. We had our wheel care- 
 fully examined, and having satisfied ourselves 
 that it was in good condition, continued our 
 journey, and thought no more of having a 
 new felly made. 
 
 It is impossible to be worse driven than 
 we were from Vaurains, arid particularly 
 between Laon and La Capelle. I began to 
 fear that we should not reach Avesnes before 
 the gates would be shut ; and I was thinking 
 of going by way of Landrecy, where the post- 
 house is out of the town : it would, indeed, 
 have lengthened our road by four leagues; 
 
04 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 but this was a trifling inconvenience, com- 
 pared to that of stopping altogether. But 
 the anxiety I felt on account of the slowness 
 of the postilions, was soon absorbed by a more 
 cruel affliction. D'Avaray, who had for 
 some time appeared serious and taciturn, 
 instead of gay and talkative, as he had pre- 
 viously been throughout the journey, at 
 last confessed to me, between Marie and 
 Vervins, that he was spitting blood ; and 1 
 saw the proof of it but too plainly on his 
 handkerchief, which I took from him, by a 
 sort of mechanical impulse, the moment he 
 made this acknowledgment to me. Conceive, 
 then, what passed in my mind : 1 could not 
 doubt but that the mental and bodily fatigue 
 he had undergone, in preparing for our- de- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENT2. 65 
 
 parture, added to the sleepless night he had 
 just passed, and the fatigue of the journey, 
 had brought on this accident. I knew that 
 when he suffered these attacks, they usually 
 lasted several days : and I am sufficiently 
 acquainted with medicine, to know, that in 
 such cases rest is the principal and most in- 
 dispensable of all remedies. God is my wit- 
 ness, that had he not been exposed, in case of 
 arrest, to greater danger than myself, nothing 
 on earth should have induced me to go a step 
 further ; but I was but too certain of this 
 distressing truth : thus I looked upon myself, 
 in every view of the subject, as the assassin 
 of him to whom I was attached by friendship, 
 before I loved him from gratitude ; and who 
 was, at that very moment, giving me proofs 
 
66 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 of his faithful and courageous friendship. 
 Notwithstanding all my efforts to suppress 
 my feelings, the state of my mind was but 
 too visible in my face. He perceived it ; 
 and, forgetting his own sufferings, over- 
 coming the agitation whichinvariably attends 
 accidents of this nature, he exerted himself 
 in consoling me in encouraging me with 
 respect to himself assuring me that it was 
 nothing that it only arose from his being a 
 little heated, and that he felt that it was 
 going off. I no longer heard what he said : 
 I had turned towards God, and prayed 
 to him with a degree of ardour, which I 
 certainly should never have felt in praying 
 for myself; in short, I dare not believe 
 that my prayers were heard ; however 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND OOBLENTZ. 67 
 
 the spitting of blood ceased, and did not 
 return. I am unable to describe the 
 sensations that I felt on beholding the saliva 
 entirely white when I inspected his handker- 
 chief, and I continued to examine it every 
 instant. Such details as these will undoubt- 
 edly appear low, and even disgusting, to cold 
 and callous hearts, but it is not for them that I 
 write, and those endued with sensibility will 
 consider the matter in another light. 
 
 On our arrival at La Capelle, we asked 
 the post-mistress, upon her word and oath, 
 whether we should arrive at Avesnes be- 
 fore the gates were shut. She gave us reason 
 to believe that we should not only enter that 
 town, but even depart from it the same 
 i 2 
 
68 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 evening, a circumstance that afforded us great 
 delight, as we were persuaded that it was the 
 only place we had reason to dread . I shortly af- 
 ter witnessed a dispute between her and Perro- 
 net, who dismounted at every post to make his 
 payments, and who now had a fresh difficulty 
 to encounter. We travelled with three horses, 
 for which we generously paid thirty sous. 
 The post-mistress insisted (and in this she 
 was right) that as there were three in the carri- 
 age, we ought to pay for four horses. The con- 
 trary was maintained by Perronet, but she 
 threatened to charge us with four horses, and 
 two postilions. It was rather a pleasant 
 circumstance in our case, to hazard our lives 
 for ten sous, for that is all the difference 
 between three horses, at thirty sous, and four 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 69 
 
 at twenty-five. D'Avaray told her, that she 
 treated us ill, because we were strangers 
 " No," replied she ; " I am entitled, if such were 
 my pleasure, to make you take six horses." 
 " Well, then," replied I, (being now convinced, 
 by the frequent bursts of laughter that I excited 
 among the postilions, that I was taken for a real 
 Englishman) " if you give us six horses, I will 
 only pay for five." This made the post-mistress 
 laugh. I then turned to Perronet, and address- 
 ing myself very seriously to him, " Monsieur 
 Perron," said I, " pay whatever madame de- 
 mands. It shall never be said, that Michael 
 Foster held any dispute with a lady for the 
 sake of interest."* The tone with which 
 
 * The bad French often spoken by the English on the 
 continent, is admirably imitated in the original. 
 
70 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 I uttered this sentiment, the gravity of 
 my aspect, my gestures and accent, arid a 
 thousand other little points which cannot 
 be described, made the scene extremely di- 
 verting and comical, but I resolutely resisted 
 every inclination to laughter. We then in- 
 quired, what regiment was in garrison at 
 Avesnes ; and were informed that it was 
 the regiment of Vintimille. This intelligence 
 was displeasing to d'Avaray, who happened 
 unfortunately to have given an entertainment 
 to the officers of that regiment two years be- 
 fore, but we agreed that he should sit as far 
 back as he could in the carriage, and we 
 then set out. As we proceeded, the sun, 
 which had not before appeared during the 
 whole day, now displayed himself so power- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 71 
 
 fully as to induce me to draw up the blind 
 in my defence. This little circumstance may 
 appear trifling, but it will be seen how impor- 
 tant it afterwards proved. 
 
 When we arrived at the gates of Avesnes, 
 we were asked for our names, in the usual 
 form ; and whether we were going to make 
 any stay. We replied, that we were two 
 Englishmen, and that we wished to proceed 
 on our journey without delay. We presented 
 our passports, which they scarcely looked at, 
 and made our way to the post-house. But 
 Saver, who felt much fatigued, and whom 
 every one around him endeavoured to per- 
 suade (particularly an Englishman, who hap- 
 pened to be present) that it was madness to 
 
72 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 go further, as he could not hope to reach Mau- 
 beuge, had suffered himself to be convinced by 
 their advice, and had not taken the precaution 
 to order post-horses. We did not, however, fail 
 to call for them, and while we were left be- 
 tween the post-house and a coffee-house 
 frequented bj the militar}^ we were detained 
 a full quarter of an hour, and exposed to the 
 view of a number of officers. Happily the 
 blind which I alluded to above, secured us 
 on the side of the coffee-house, while the 
 officers had the politeness to repulse the 
 towns-people, who seemed inclined to peep 
 into our coach. But I felt deeply the suf- 
 ferings of d'Avaray, whose feelings were 
 divided between the dangers of our present 
 position, and his resentment against Sayer, 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 73 
 
 who had led us into this awkward predica- 
 ment. I used my utmost efforts to appease 
 him, in which I ultimately succeeded, and at 
 last we set out, and finding ourselves quite 
 clear of the town, we chaunted victory in the 
 joy of our hearts. 
 
 The postilion who drove us, was going on 
 at a good round pace, and seemed to be what 
 we might call a very brisk and pleasant fel- 
 low, that was not easily terrified. We ob- 
 served, however, and with some degree of 
 pain, that he frequently looked behind him, 
 and seemed to discover some apprehension. 
 At last he made a halt, and asked us whither 
 we wished him to conduct us. " To the post- 
 house," cried I. " Very well," said he, "but 
 
74 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 the post-house is a miserable inn, but I will 
 take you to the Grand Cerf, where you will 
 be well treated." " Good treatment," replied 
 I,-" is not the question at present. We do not 
 wish to sleep at Maubeuge." " Where, then, 
 do you wish to go?" cried he. " To Mons," 
 said I. "To Mons !" repeated he, with a laugh, 
 " you will not get there to-day." " Why not?" 
 replied I, in my turn. " Because," replied he, 
 " there is every chance that they will not open 
 the gates to let us in ; but if they do, they will 
 certainly not open them again to let us out." 
 " What is it to us," said I, " whether the gates 
 areopen or shut, si nee the post-house is not at 
 Maubeuge ?" " It has been fixed there these 
 six months," replied he. " How !" said I, " is 
 there not a road that turns from the town ?" 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 75 
 
 " Certainly," replied he. " Well, my worthy 
 friend," added I, " as we are in a hurry, and 
 our horses are good, could you not turn aside 
 from the town, and double the post? We will 
 pay you well." " Not I," cried he ; " I would 
 not do such a thing, for all the world." 
 
 From these words, I immediately con- 
 ceived an idea of all the horrors of our 
 situation, and seeing no prospect of hope, I 
 only thought of resignation to the fate of 
 which I had a clear foresight. My own 
 sacrifice was not painful, but the ruin of 
 d'Avaray engrossed all my feelings. He, 
 however, never lost his firmness, and 
 being always calm in the midst of danger^ 
 addressed the postilion in bad French, but 
 
76 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 with a degree of eloquence, which I am un- 
 able to imitate; and gave him to understand, 
 that we were extremely anxious to reach 
 Mons, as he had left his sister, who was also 
 my cousin, (a charming young woman, 
 equally dear to us both), very ill at Soissons ; 
 that the only physician, in whom she had 
 any confidence, lived at Mons ; that if we 
 delayed a moment to procure his assistance, 
 his sister would expire, and we should be 
 both wretched for the remainder of our lives; 
 and that if he passed us through, he would 
 give him a guinea ; perhaps two or three. 
 
 This speech, with the additional recom- 
 mendation of the three guineas, produced a 
 miraculous effect on the postilion. He re- 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 77 
 
 fleeted for a moment, and then said, " Well,Pll 
 contrive to pass you." Yet presently after- 
 wards he recommended to us not to enter Mau- 
 beuge, but to have the horses brought out. We 
 expressed our apprehensions of the difficulty 
 of that proceeding; but he assured us that 
 he was unacquainted with the road through 
 the suburbs, and would procure himself a 
 guide. We then replaced Sayer in the car- 
 riage, and making Peronnet mount on horse- 
 back, and charging him to keep an eye on 
 the movements of the postilion, we proceeded 
 on our journey. 
 
 As soon as we arrived at the suburbs, the 
 postilion stopped, and going into a cabaret 
 to refresh himself, inquired for a guide. 
 
78 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 There were some females present, whose 
 sympathy he excited by the tragical and inte- 
 resting narrative he had been told, but they 
 assured him, that he could not pass on. " Why 
 not ?" said he ; " is not the bridge Pont rouge 
 in existence?" "Certainly," replied one of 
 the females ; " but the works of the new 
 Sambre are now going on ; there are three 
 hundred workmen engaged in them, and there 
 are deep trenches w r hich you cannot cross." 
 " Only give me a guide, and I require no fur- 
 ther assistance." The woman, who had spoken 
 last, then went in search of her brother, who 
 happened to be one of the workmen. He 
 offered to conduct us to the trenches, but he 
 repeated what his sister had asserted about the 
 impossibility of passing them. " If the 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 79 
 
 devil stood in my way," exclaimed the posti- 
 lion, u I would pass take a lantern, and lead 
 the way before me." This conversation, it 
 may be presumed, afforded us no entertain- 
 ment ; but the resolution manifested by the 
 postilion, contributed to inspire us with con- 
 fidence. We now proceeded across the fields, 
 within a hundred paces of the ramparts of a 
 fortified town, with nearly a certainty of being 
 stopped in our progress, if there was a sentinel 
 that should see our lantern, and know what 
 his own duty was. We would gladly have con- 
 sented to be fired at with grape shot from the 
 batteries, on condition that no one should 
 come out of the town after us. When we reached 
 the trench, I wished to cross it on foot, but 
 the postilion would not consent. He got 
 
80 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 down to reconnoitre the passage, andfindinga 
 spot which was rather deep, but not wide, 
 he re-mounted his horse, and brought us over 
 with the utmost dexterity and address. Our 
 guide then conducted us through the fields, 
 and quitted us only when we reached the high 
 road ; we then proceeded towards Mons, 
 with an absolute certainty of reaching it with- 
 out further obstacle. 
 
 Before I gave myself up to joy and exulta- 
 tion, I poured out my acknowledgments to God 
 for my happy escape, and wished to congratu- 
 late d' Avaray on our good fortune ; as, however, 
 we were not yet out of France, he endea- 
 voured to check my transports, particularly 
 as Sayer did not yet know who 1 was. But 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 81 
 
 he was immersed in a deep sleep, reclining on 
 rny shoulder, andd'Avaray was too well pleased 
 to forbear sharing in my satisfaction. I began 
 by seizing on the cursed tri-coloured cockade, 
 and apostrophising it in the following verse 
 of Arm i da : 
 
 " Vain ornament of ignoble ease," 
 
 I tore it from my hat, and requested d'Avaray 
 to preserve it carefully, as Christopher Colum- 
 bus preserved his chains. We then discussed 
 the point how we should act on arriving at 
 Mons, which we imagined to be a fortified 
 place, and expected to find the gates closed 
 before our arrival. We determined on halt- 
 ing in the suburbs, in hopes of finding 
 
 G 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 beds ; and if we could not procure lodgings, it 
 was resolved that I should write to the com- 
 mandant in my own name, and request the 
 gate to be opened. We calculated on the pos- 
 sibility of being accommodated with only one 
 bed, and I told d'Avaray, that in that case he 
 should occupy it, and I would pass the night 
 in my arm-chair. But he declared positively, 
 that he would not consent, and would prefer 
 having a mattress by my bed-side on the 
 floor. I insisted on his sharing the bed, which 
 was yet in idea, and as every thing then as- 
 sumed the aspect of gaiety in my imagination, 
 I parodied the verses of Hippoly tus and Aricia, 
 beginning with 
 
 " Under the standards of Mars," 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 83 
 
 and having substituted the word " mattress" 
 for " misery/' that improvement threw us into 
 fits of laughter. In the midst of these plans, 
 conjectures, and arguments, the recollections 
 of our journey, and a thousand other little cir- 
 cumstances that appeared interesting to two 
 of the happiest beings in the world, we reach- 
 ed the village of Bossu, which lies within a 
 quarter of a league of Mons. Our postilion, 
 who had never been there before, took it for 
 the suburbs, and we knocked at several doors 
 without being able to prevail on the inmates 
 to open even one. The postilion then said 
 that he could see the cathedral of Mons, 
 but, on a closer inspection, it proved to be a 
 pigeon-house. We continued to advance, 
 however, and found ourselves actually in the 
 
 2 
 
84 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 suburbs, when a blacksmith, whom we con- 
 trived to rouse, pointed us out an inn, but one 
 of so revolting- an appearance, that we deter- 
 mined to use it only for the purpose of writing 
 to the commandant of Mons. 
 
 I then got out of my carriage for the first 
 time during twenty-four hours ; w^e knocked 
 at the door, the maid appeared, and asked 
 what we wanted : " Only to write a letter," 
 replied I ; and upon hearing this, she imme- 
 diately shut the door in my face. But the 
 postilion, who longed for some refreshment, 
 repeated his knocks till the door was opened, 
 and at last we procured an entrance. I had 
 great need of a little rest, especially as my legs 
 had become entirely stiff, so that it was with. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 8f> 
 
 great difficulty that 1 coii Id walk. My first care 
 on alighting, whilst iny companions inquired 
 into the means of accommodation which this 
 place might afford, was to throw myself on my 
 knees, to return thanks to God in a more 
 suitable posture than I had hitherto been per- 
 mitted to adopt. Having paid this sacred 
 tribute, I performed another not less pleasingly 
 obligatory, by clasping in my arms my dear 
 friend d'Avaray, on whom I was now enabled, 
 for the first time, to bestow, without fear or 
 apprehension, the title of my saviour. How- 
 ever, we soon discovered that we could find 
 neither refreshment nor lodging at this mise- 
 rable inn, and all we could obtain was a little 
 beer of the worst description. 
 
86 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 We then formed a resolution to write to the 
 commandant, when Peronnet conveyed the 
 letter, and, in the mean time, we began to con- 
 verse over a wretched coal fire with our pos- 
 tilion, who boldly placed himself on a chair 
 beside me. I asked him to tell me his name, 
 which he said was La Jeunesse. It was 
 not from a motive of mere curiosity, on 
 my part, that I made this inquiry, for it 
 was a matter of concern to me, to be ac- 
 quainted with the name of a man who had 
 served me so essentially without knowing the 
 real state of the case. I afterwards asked him 
 if there were many of the constitutional clergy 
 at Avesnes, who had taken the oath of ad- 
 herence to the new system. " We have several 
 of them among us, "replied he; " but the great 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 87 
 
 majority remain firm to their duty. A new 
 oath has also been in vented for the army, which 
 only sets the officer and soldier by the ears ; 
 but God knows how all this will end !" D'Ava- 
 ray then asked him about the regiment of 
 Vintimille; what disposition it shewed under 
 the recent changes. " That regiment," replied 
 he, " is very quiet and peaceable ; but it was for- 
 merly accustomed to exercise three times a 
 week, it w r as a pleasure to see it. Now it 
 parades only once a week ; they march out 
 at seven o'clock, and return at eight; and 
 you hear neither right-face nor left-face ! bul 
 the music is playing all the time." I then 
 questioned him about Maubeuge ; whether the 
 gates of that place were closed, and to whom 
 it was necessary to apply to have them opened ; 
 
88 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 \vhether to the commandant, or the muni- 
 cipality ? " Ah ! parbleu" replied he, " to 
 the municipality by all means ! they have 
 now gained possession of every thing. But 
 what are they ? a set of despicable miscreants. 
 Only guess who it is, in a village which 
 we lately passed (he then mentioned a village, 
 the name of which I forget) that commands 
 the nation, with two large epaulettes ; he is 
 a vinegar merchant." While amusing us 
 with these particulars, he shrugged up his 
 shoulders, and gave full effect to his narra- 
 tives, by the tones and gestures which accom- 
 panied them. In short, by his conversation, 
 he made us forget the fatigue and hunger 
 which distressed us. However, when Peron- 
 net announced to us that the gates were 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 89 
 
 opened for our reception, our appetites in- 
 duced us to receive the intelligence with much 
 satisfaction. La Jeunesse then told us that 
 the best inn at Mons, was the Couronne-Impe- 
 riale, whither we directed him to conduct 
 us. 
 
 On our entry into the town, we were re- 
 quired to give our names and descriptions. 
 D'Avaray, to whom this question was addressed, 
 hesitated for a while, but I cut the matter 
 short, by declaring that I was Monsieur, the 
 King's brother ; that my companion was the 
 count d'Avaray, and that we wished to put up 
 at the Couronne-Imperiale . The serjeant of 
 the guard then informed us, that we were 
 expected at the Femme Sauvage, and that 
 
90 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 Madame was there already. We could Dot 
 conceive in what manner, as she travelled by 
 Tou may, she could have reached Mons ; 
 however, being highly pleased with this ad- 
 ditional instance of good fortune, we gave 
 orders to drive to the Femme Sauvage. On 
 our arrival at the door, we met the landlord, 
 who repeated to us the intelligence of our 
 being expected ; but after ascending a very 
 disagreeable staircase, we met a servant hold- 
 ing a light in his hand, who, after examining 
 me from head to foot, told me, with some 
 degree of confusion, that I was not the person 
 they expected. The chamber door was open, 
 and a female, who was in bed, exclaimed, "It 
 is not he do not let him in." The landlord 
 then inspected me in his turn, and asked me 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 91 
 
 if I was the count de Fersen ? " No, truly, " 
 replied I ; " but as the lady will not accom- 
 modate us, cannot you provide us with another 
 apartment?" A cold and repulsive monosylla- 
 ble of denial was his only answer. We were, 
 as naturally might be expected, greatly 
 mortified by this adventure, which at first 
 promised to be highly agreeable and flattering ; 
 and going down stairs, we regained our car- 
 riage, and proceeded to the Couronne-Im- 
 periale ; the landlord of that inn also inform- 
 ed us, that he had no room to give us. 
 This unpleasant accident tended to increase 
 our mortification, when a voice, issuing 
 from the house, uttered these words. " M. 
 
 d'Avarav, is that you ?" He did not im- 
 
 / 
 
 mediately recognize her, but soon dis- 
 
92 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 covered that it was madauie de Balbi. We 
 instantly alighted, and, entering the house, 
 inadame de Balbi began to provide some 
 supper for us. The provisions at the inn 
 were wretched, but she happily had a cold 
 fowl, and a bottle ofVin de Bourdeaux, with 
 which we regaled ourselves much to our satis- 
 faction. She then had the kindness to resign 
 her bed for my accommodation. D'Avaray 
 occupied that of her waiting-maid, and after 
 a period of twenty months and upwards, I 
 now, for the first time, lay down to rest, with- 
 out the apprehension of being roused from my 
 slumbers by some fresh scene of horror. 
 
 I slept about six hours, and was awakened 
 by M. de la Chatre, who happened to be at. 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 93 
 
 Mons, and whose impatience to visit me in- 
 duced him to break in on my night's repose. 
 Shortly after I rose, I witnessed the arrival of 
 the count de Fersen, who had conducted the 
 King as far as Bondi. Nothing was now 
 wanting to complete my happiness, being 
 fully persuaded, as I really was, (for I must 
 acknowledge that I knew nothing of the par- 
 ticulars of the plan of escape), that if the King 
 was once clear of Paris, he had no further 
 danger to encounter. I therefore gave way to 
 my exultation, and embraced M. de Fersen with 
 great cordiality and affection. As soon as I 
 was dressed, I received the visits of all the 
 French at Mons, and of all the Austrian 
 officers in the garrison. I was much flatter- 
 ed with the reception that I met with, but I 
 
94 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 was eager to proceed on the road to Namur. 
 I could not, however, set off before two o'clock, 
 because the wheelwright, who was employed 
 to mend the felly of the wheel, that gave us so 
 much trouble the day before, happened to break 
 the next, so that in order to proceed, it 
 was necessary to fasten it with a cramp of iron, 
 and we started from Mons, in the same condi- 
 tion that we left it. I made enquiries after JLa 
 Jeunesse. I found that he had been paid ten 
 louis ; that he was struck with terror when he 
 learned who it was that he drove, but the sight 
 of so much gold had so delighted him, that lie 
 took himself off with wonderful dispatch, 
 giving himself no further concern about the 
 business. I afterwards discovered that he extri- 
 cated himself from all difficulty by declaring 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 95 
 
 that we compelled him by violence to conduct 
 us, and was much pleased to find that he suffered 
 no inconvenience on account of the danger which 
 he incurred in our service. Our journey from 
 Mons to Namur furnishes no details to excite 
 or gratify the curiosity of the public. The mu- 
 tual felicitations of two friends, one of whom is 
 justly proud of having saved the life of the other, 
 while the other feels his happiness more ex- 
 quisitely , because he owes it to his friend, possess 
 little interest in the eyes of the rest of the 
 world, however delightful they may be to the 
 parties themselves. We reached Namur very 
 late in the evening, hungry and fatigued. I 
 recollect that the supper, which we had at the 
 Hotel de Hollande, was but indifferent, though 
 we found it excellent. But our hearts were 
 
96 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 full : we had some fine-flavoured Rhenish, and 
 we did ample justice to it; and, altogether, I 
 never enjoyed any supper in my life so highly 
 as that at Namur. 
 
 In the morning, I was visited by General de 
 Moitelle, who commanded at Namur, and by all 
 the officers of the garrison, which was much 
 more numerous than that of Mons. They 
 seemed to me so pleased to have me amongst 
 them, and so zealous for the Royal cause, 
 that I must have been the most ungrateful 
 of mankind, had I not been duly sensible 
 of their demonstrations of attachment. It 
 gave me no less pleasure to witness their attenti- 
 ons to my friend, d'Avaray, and, in this respect, 
 they seemed to penetrate into the sentiments 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 97 
 
 of my heart, and to judge most correctly, that 
 any mark of respect to him, was considered by 
 me as paid personally to myself. In the mean 
 time, though I felt no uneasiness about the 
 King, I was surprized at receiving no news 
 from Montmedy ; nor did I think it prudent to 
 run the hazard of repairing to Longwy, before 
 I knew that we were masters of that district. 
 In this view, I determined on requesting gene- 
 ral de Moitelle, to send an estafette to the 
 commandant of Luxembourg, with orders to 
 report whatever intelligence he might collect, 
 from any quarter, respecting the King, as I was 
 fully determined, if I did not hear from him, to 
 push on to Luxembourg. 
 
 Although we had been assured that we should 
 
 H 
 
93 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 meet with very bad and unpleasant roads, we 
 were, during the first stage, inclined to laugh at 
 these predictions. We found, however, after a 
 short progress, that our previous information 
 was correct. The iron-pins that fastened 
 the fore-part of our carriage, were insuffi- 
 cient to resist the shocks arising from the 
 roughness of the road, and we endeavoured to 
 secure them by cords, but this expedient 
 proved fruitless, and it became necessary to 
 stop at a place called Nattoye, to have new 
 ones made. As the sun shone very powerfully 
 on the spot where we halted, I proposed to 
 d'Avaray to retire under the shade, and we 
 removed towards a house, in front of which 
 was a wooden bench, nearly half-burnt, 
 a circumstance which excited our surprize* 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 09 
 
 A woman came out of the house, and asked us 
 to come in, and take some refreshment. We 
 declined her offer, but we accepted the 
 loan of some chairs, which she placed before 
 the door. D'Avaray then sent Sayer for his 
 portfolio, and marked with ink the notes of 
 our journey, which he had written with a 
 pencil before. While he was thus occu- 
 pied, two females, one of them elderly and the 
 other younger, came up to the bench. The 
 young one took her seat on it, and the elderly 
 woman, having laid down a heavy load, 
 which she was carrying, threw herself care- 
 lessly on the ground, and seemed to be much 
 distressed. We asked her what was the matter, 
 when the mistress of the inn, (for the house 
 happened to be one) told us that they were 
 H 2 
 
100 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 two German women, from Wurtzburg, who 
 were employed in going errands for the 
 officers of the garrison of Namur. The 
 younger looked at the elder in the most affec- 
 tionate manner ; we could not understand 
 their conversation, but the word "Mamma," 
 pronounced by a voice as sweet as a flute, 
 penetrated our ears, and vibrated on our hearts. 
 We prevailed on the landlady to relieve her, 
 who offered her some beer, but she requested 
 a little brandy. The former replied, that she 
 had none, and that the wife of the blacksmith, 
 who was then repairing our carriage, could have 
 furnished some, but that she was at church. 
 Fortunately, however, some of the boys of the 
 village were passing, and she dispatched one 
 of them, who took upon himself, very 
 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 1Q1 
 
 cheerfully, the office of procuring some 
 brandy. Whilst we were waiting for his 
 return, we expressed our surprise to the land- 
 lady, at her having no brandy in her house. 
 " Alas ! gentlemen," said she, " you little know 
 what we have suffered in these strange times. 
 I myself have become a cripple, and I will 
 inform you how this accident befell me. 
 During the retreat of the troops, the soldiers 
 seized every thing for their subsistence ; so 
 that for two days I remained without any 
 food. I was quite overcome with debility, 
 and on the last day of the retreat I fell from 
 the top of my staircase to the ground, and 
 put my hip-bone out of joint. The patriots 
 came on the following day : my husband 
 took to flight, but, feeble and hurt as I was, 
 
102 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 I was unable to accompany him. The soldiers', 
 enraged at our admitting the enemy into our 
 houses, took all our furniture, and made a fire 
 with it in the middle of the apartment. They 
 even seemed inclined to throw me into the 
 flames. They afterwards altered their plan, 
 and breaking my crutches, they dragged me 
 about the house and crippled me as you see." 
 As she uttered these words, she made me lay 
 my hand on her hip, and I perceived that the 
 bone was completely dislodged, and could not 
 be set again. At this moment, the boy whom 
 she had dispatched, came up with a glass 
 of brandy ; it was handed to the old woman, 
 who drank a little, and then gave it to her 
 daughter ; the latter just wetted her lips, and 
 returned the glass to her mother. We wished 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 103 
 
 to give the boy some money, but the landlady 
 said she had given him twelve sous ; we were 
 willing to give him more, but he took himself 
 off so expeditiously, that we saw him no 
 more. We then handed the landlady a six livres 
 piece, and she brought out to the poor woman 
 some bread, butter, and beer. The elder, 
 having recovered her strength, rose, and 
 threw herself on her knees before us, and 
 kissed our hands ; we raised her up ; 1 took 
 off my hat, and pointing to heaven, ex- 
 claimed : Gott, Gott ! upon this she took 
 out her beads, and pressing them to her 
 breast, began to pray with great fervency. 
 
 In the mean time, the landlady, with 
 whom we continued to converse about her 
 
104 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 sufferings, resumed her discourse: u Alas ! 
 gentlemen," cried she, " revolutions are terri- 
 ble things : the changes in my own country 
 afflict me as much as those in France ; and I 
 am much concerned about my poor friends 
 and relations. I was born at Frombaine, in 
 the neighbourhood of Givet : I use all my 
 endeavours to induce them to quit that place, 
 but I cannot succeed. This adds still more 
 to my wretchedness ! Ah ! gentlemen, there 
 is nothing of value but God, our King, and 
 our Country." The expressions and beha- 
 viour of the old woman, brought tears into 
 d'Avaray's eyes; and I myself felt much 
 emotion from the simple narrative of the 
 landlady. "Well, then," said I, "my good 
 woman, since these are your sentiments, pray 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 105 
 
 to God for the King : his life is now, per- 
 haps, in great danger: he has left Paris." 
 " O God !" cried she, " what do yon tell me ?" 
 " Yes," excjaimed d'Avaray , u this is the King's 
 brother ; who escaped at the same time 
 with his Majesty." "And this," cried I, u is 
 the friend who has saved my life." I then 
 threw myself into his arms our tears mingled 
 together ; and even Sayer, who had retired 
 into a corner, began to wipe his eyes. The 
 landlady, deeply affected, exclaimed : " And 
 are you really the brother of the King ? Ah ! 
 
 if I durst touch you " " Do more, my 
 
 good woman," said I, "embrace me !" By this 
 time our carriage was repaired. I gave a 
 louis to the old woman : she wished to kiss 
 my hand again, but I embraced her : and we set 
 
10T) NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 off. This accident had retarded us so much, 
 that we could not now hope to reach Bastogne, 
 where we calculated on passing the night. 
 We therefore resolved to halt at Marche; 
 and we sent Sayer forward to order supper at 
 the post-house; which the post-master of Emp- 
 tines, who seemed to be a connoisseur in good 
 cheer, had recommended to us as an excellent 
 inn. On our arrival in the town, we were con- 
 ducted to a house of respectable appearance, 
 and were pleased at reaching so good a 
 place of entertainment, but we soon learned 
 that we were under the roof of an old officer 
 of the regiment of Ligne, who wished to 
 receive us, because, notwithstandingthe recom- 
 mendation of the post-master, the post-house 
 was but an indifferent place. This was an 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 107 
 
 unpleasant discovery for me, as I have no 
 high opinion of entertainments provided by 
 friends. I cast a doleful glance on d'Avaray, 
 whose countenance appeared lengthened to 
 the same dimensions as my own. Our 
 melancholy increased, when our host, who 
 had got out of bed (at nine o'clock at night) 
 expressed his regret that lie had not been 
 apprised of our approach two hours before, 
 as he could have provided us with some 
 pigeons, a la crapaudine, but his pigeons 
 were in the pigeon-house, and his pullets were 
 all alive. He had, however, sent to the 
 post-house for a leg of mutton, and he pro- 
 mised to furnish us with chops, a salad, 
 and fresh eggs. We thus met with short 
 commons, and, what was worse, his cook came 
 
108 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 back in a rage against the post-mistress, who 
 refused, as she said, to let her have the leg 
 of mutton. Our host then offered us some 
 veal cutlets, which we were obliged to accept. 
 We were rather alarmed on the score of wine, 
 when chance threw in our way an invoice of 
 a cask of old Volnay wine of the first quality. 
 This discovery afforded us no small pleasure. 
 We turned the conversation on the wine 
 that he usually drank, which he assured us was 
 Vin de Bar, but as the last vintage had been 
 unfavourable, he had ordered some Burgundy, 
 which had come to hand a fortnight before, 
 but which he was advised to let quietly repose 
 in the cellar for a month. At this moment 
 we really believed ourselves to be in a Spanish 
 inn, and we were repeating betvi een ourselves 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 109 
 
 that Marche en Famine was a very proper 
 name for the town. But, to our agreeable 
 surprise, the supper proved excellent, and 
 M. Donne (that was the name of our host) was 
 very good company, and had the kind- 
 ness to broach this cask of Volnay, which 
 i 
 
 turned out to possess a very superior flavour. 
 On the following day, the duke de Laval, his 
 second son, and several young persons of quality, 
 joined us, and attended our levee. M. de 
 Falhouet, a gentleman of Brittany, offered to 
 travel before me, in order to procure intelligence 
 from such couriers as he should meet. I ac- 
 cepted his offer, and we set out, but hardly had 
 we advanced two leagues, when we saw M. de 
 Falhouet returning with the dismal news of the 
 affair at Varennes. 
 
110 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 I might here terminate my narrative, as 
 the mission of my dear d'Avaray had been 
 fulfilled, and the character which, after the 
 arrest of the King, I took upon myself, 
 seems rather to belong to the province of 
 general history, than to a private narrative like 
 the present. However, I have a few more re- 
 collections which I wish to introduce on this 
 occasion, and those who may feel interest 
 enough in the events which I record about 
 myself, to induce them to peruse the narrative 
 to the conclusion, will not be displeased to 
 find them here. The distress and anguish 
 with which the late intelligence oppressed me, 
 may be easily conceived ; I regretted the suc- 
 cess of my own enterprise. I even felt an in- 
 clination to return to France, to submit once 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. HI 
 
 more to my captivity, and to share the sorrows 
 of my unhappy relatives ; but I reflected, 
 that without being able to serve them, I 
 should ruin, not only myself, but, what was 
 still dearer to me, my friend and saviour, 
 whom nothing could induce to separate himself 
 from me. On his part, as if sensible of my 
 secret deliberations, he declared instantaneous- 
 ly, that if I was bent on returning to France, 
 he conjured me to feel no hesitation, on his 
 account, as he was resolved to follow me 
 to any quarter, without the least appre- 
 hension. This new proof of his courage- 
 ous devotion would have been sufficient to 
 decide my conduct, had I not been determined 
 already, and 1 ordered the postilion to drive 
 us back to Marche. On the road, I met the 
 
112 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 duke de Laval, whom I took into the carriage. 
 Tears, which in the first instance would not 
 flow, now came to my relief, and I me- 
 ditated with more coolness on the mode of 
 proceeding, which it was most prudent to adopt, 
 in the new career which lay before me. On 
 our arrival at Marche, we were joined by M. 
 de Bouille's son, who acquainted us with the 
 details of the late transaction which dissipated 
 all our hopes. I felt inclined, at first, to take 
 up my residence at Brussels, but as the road 
 from Marche lo Namur, which is the shortest 
 way, passes very near the frontiers, and as 
 it was reported that some acts of hostility had 
 taken place, we discussed the point, whether 
 we might not pass by Liege. In the mean 
 time, we inspected our arms, and, having found 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. H3 
 
 that^we had sixteen pistol shot to fire, a suffi- 
 cient defence against a small party, we deter- 
 mined on returning to Namur in the caravan 
 style. I only took the precaution to ^end 
 forward M. de Betizy, one of the young 
 gentlemen whom I mentioned above, with 
 a message to general de Moitelle, request- 
 ing an escort of Hulans. My young friend 
 exerted himself with such activity, the general 
 was so prompt in his good will, and the 
 Hulans so zealous in our cause, that they 
 joined us at three leagues from Namur, and 
 we arrived in that town without any other 
 accident than breaking down once more, 
 through the awkwardness of a postilion. 
 
 The joy that I experienced on my arrival 
 
114 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 in meeting with madame, was embittered 
 by reflecting ou the state of the rest of our 
 family, and the comparison which I could not 
 refrain from making between their condition 
 and my own. Being determined on joining 
 the count d'Artois, I wrote him word that I 
 was on my way to Brussels, in expectation of 
 hearing from him, and requesting him to ap- 
 point a meeting, I dispatched two couriers to 
 him, one by the route of Luxembourg, and the 
 other by that of Aix-La-Chapelle. In the 
 mean time, as I learned that the bishop of 
 Nanuir proposed to receive me in his palace, 
 and that the clergy of the Low Countries had 
 misbehaved during the revolution, I consulted 
 general de Moitelle, who advised me to accept 
 the offer. We therefore quitted our inn, and 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 115 
 
 went to take up our quarters with the bishop : 
 we found a very good supper provided for us, 
 but met with some difficulty in the officious 
 attentions of the bishop, who wished to make 
 us drink more than we thought proper, par- 
 ticularly some anniseed , a species of ratafia, more 
 heady than kirsch-wasser. On the following 
 day, before I set out for Brussels, I wrote a 
 letter, addressed at random to the King, the 
 Queen/and my sister : this letter I am assured 
 never reached its destination. My plan was 
 now to take up my abode at Brussels, in the 
 inn, but the archduchess would never consent 
 to it, and she lodged us in a small house at- 
 tached to her palace, as the palace itself was not 
 fit to receive us, having been dismantled of 
 its furniture during the late troubles. 
 I 2 
 
11C NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 Every Frenchman in that city requested 
 to be presented to me, but I was in too 
 much trouble about my unhappy family, 
 to be in a state to receive any body. On 
 the following day, I had a letter from the 
 count d'Artois, announcing his approach. I 
 went out to meet him, and, for a mo- 
 ment, forgot all my past troubles, my present 
 afflictions, and my fears for the future, while 
 1 held in my arms a brother and a friend, 
 whom our common sorrows had separated 
 from me for nearly two years. The joy which 
 he expressed at meeting me, gave me, perhaps, 
 less pleasure than the reception which he gave 
 to my dear d'Avaray. In the mean time, as 
 we learned that the King had arrived at Paris, 
 and that the lives of our family were safe, we 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 1 17 
 
 came to a resolution to appear in public, and 
 the archduchess accommodated us with her 
 grand apartment to receive the French. The 
 satisfaction which the}' all expressed, at seeing 
 me once more, and that which I felt myself, 
 naturally drew my thoughts towards him, 
 who was the author of this affecting scene, 
 and I did not fail to pay the sacred tribute of 
 gratitude, by proclaiming loudly the mighty 
 obligations which I felt towards the saviour of 
 my life. I was well repaid for this expression 
 of my feelings, for, after the levee, all the 
 noblesse went in a body to pay him a visit. 
 Let me be allowed to express my opinion, that 
 of all the flattering things which I have expe- 
 rienced during my life, this is the one which 
 lies nearest to my heart. Self-love, in some de- 
 
118 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 gree, certainly entered into the sentiment, 
 but friendship and gratitude were the chief 
 ingredients in my feelings. The week which 
 I then passed at Brussels, was, perhaps, the 
 most busy week of my life. Placed all at 
 once at the head of one of the greatest ma- 
 chines that was ever called into play, I found it 
 necessary, not only to direct the present, but to 
 have recourse to the past, of which, during my 
 confinement, I had no knowledge, and to turn 
 its application to the present crisis. I am 
 persuaded that I should never have been able 
 to master this point without the assistance of 
 the count d' Artois. Far from feeling any senti- 
 ments of jealousy on his side, after all the pains 
 and trouble he had taken on himself, or from 
 being displeased at the arrival of a colleague 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 119 
 
 that might deprive him of a part of his glory- 
 he took every opportunity to give me infor- 
 mation, to assist me, push me forward and 
 procure me every consideration ; in a word, 
 he was not like a brother, but an affectionate 
 and dutiful son. It was Charles V. throwing 
 himself into the arms of King John after his 
 captivity. This manifestation of sympathy 
 was exhibited in a very affecting manner at 
 the final audience that we gave to all the 
 noblesse, previous to our quitting Brussels. 
 1 shall not pretend to describe the scene ; 
 my feelings were too powerful for any expres- 
 sion. 
 
 On the 3d of July, we set out for Liege, 
 and took up our abode at the Aigle noir. As 
 
120 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 we now had a large retinue, and the house was 
 not very extensive, d'Avaray and myself occu- 
 pied the same apartment. That circumstance, 
 as it recalled to my mind a period not very dis- 
 tant, in which/travelling in the same country, we 
 alone existed for each other on the surface of the 
 earth, gave me a feeling of satisfaction. On 
 the fourth, we arrived at Aix-la-Chapelle, were 
 we found the King of Sweden, who, better in- 
 formed than ourselves, about the plan of the 
 escape of the King, had repaired to this town 
 under the pretext of seeking the waters, but 
 with the real view of being near the theatre of 
 those grand transactions, in which his lofty 
 mind led him to wish to engage. 
 
 I have forgot to mention, that on his learning 
 
X 
 
 TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 121 
 
 the arrest of the King, he had written to me a 
 very charming letter on the subject ; and it 
 forms an anecdote of an interesting nature, that 
 this letter was conveyed to me by the baron de 
 Lieven, the same who, in 1772, had announced 
 to the late King, my grand-father, the news of 
 the revolution that placed the crown on the 
 head of Gustavus III. 
 
 We stopped a whole day at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 to converse more freely with that prince, whose 
 great and excellent qualities we had every rea- 
 son to admire. In this town I experienced a 
 pleasure which was highly gratifying to my 
 feelings. The count d'Hautefort, the friend of 
 d'Avaray from his early infancy, no sooner 
 heard of my escape, than leaving his family at 
 
122 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 Heidelberg-, where he was established, he 
 hastened to join us, and we met him on our 
 arrival at Aix-la-Chapelle. I was highly de- 
 lighted with this attention on the part of a man 
 who, at that time, was only, with respect to me, a 
 very agreeable acquaintance, but I was gratified 
 at seeing my deliverer receive a new fruit of his 
 services to me, in recovering a friend whom he 
 had not seen for nearly two years. His self- 
 love may have been gratified more than once, 
 but, in this instance, it was the pure enjoyment 
 of the heart. I could not fail to share in his sa- 
 tisfaction ; and since I have become better ac- 
 quainted with the count d'Hautefort, I have myself 
 derived much gratification from the connection. 
 
 On the sixth, we slept at Bonn, in the 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 123 
 
 palace of the Elector of Cologne, whom we 
 saw at Aix-la-Chapelle ; and on the 7th, we 
 arrived at Coblentz. The Elector of Treves, 
 my uncle, had offered the castle of Schon- 
 bornslust to the Count d'Artois before my 
 escape, and he had now the same kindness 
 for madame and myself. I recollected having 
 seen him in France, nearly thirty years be- 
 fore. In beholding him again, I felt a sincere 
 pleasure ; and the reception which he gave 
 us, was the forerunner of all the favours 
 which he has bestowed both on ourselves, 
 and on all Frenchmen, whom the desire of 
 serving the cause of the throne and the altar, 
 had engaged to unite themselves with us. 
 It was at this crisis that my political life pro- 
 perly began. 1 might again close my nar- 
 
124 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 rativeat this place : but I should not be content, 
 nor would my readers be satisfied any more 
 than myself, if I had nothing more to com- 
 municate. Three weeks had already elapsed 
 after my escape ; and, as yet, I had done no- 
 
 x 
 
 thing for my liberator. I suffered more than 
 I can express, from the idea that the prince 
 should continue ungrateful, while the friend 
 poured out his acknowledgments of grati- 
 tude. At last, I received a letter from the 
 duke c!e Lev is, who, "after some reproaches 
 for my leaving him in absolute ignorance, con- 
 cluded by giving in his resignation. As soon 
 as I received the letter, I ran to d'Avaray, 
 who was astonished when I named him the 
 successor of the Duke de Levis, and who 
 thanked me as if I had riot acquitted a most 
 
TO BRUSSELS AND COBLENTZ. 125 
 
 sacred obligation by this measure, and as 
 if Ihad not a thousand times more pleasure 
 in discharging the debt, than I had in con- 
 ing it. 
 
 I know not what may be the destiny of my 
 country, or my own, But, whatever may be 
 the dispensation of Providence respecting 
 myself it can never take from me, as much 
 as it has given me, in the possession of such 
 a friend as my dear d'Avaray. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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