M. le Duc d’Orleans, afterwards so celebrated under the name of Philip Egalité, was a man of from forty-four to forty-five years of age; a fat, full figure, red complexion, with a good carriage, but the head a little too large—who, on account of a quarrel with the Queen, had been cruelly and unjustly treated by the court of inquiry into the naval engagement at Ouessant, where he had comported himself most bravely.
The result of this, on his side, was a most bitter hatred of the Queen.
He received me with a nod of the head; Madame de Buffon regarded me with curiosity. I was far from being elegant, but I possessed great propriety of manner. Without being handsome, I was at an age when youth supplies the want of beauty. I was tall, well-made, with an open expression of countenance, and a well-knit frame. The loyalty of my heart beamed upon my face. In short, I made the same impression upon the Duc d’Orleans and Madame de Buffon as I had upon the King, the Queen, and Madame Elizabeth—that of being a well-looking lad.
“You come from Varennes, my friend?” said the Duke.
“Yes, monseigneur,” replied I.
“And you saw all that passed at the grocer’s—what do you call him?”
“Sauce, monseigneur.”
“So it is. And you also saw what took place on the road?”
“Monseigneur, I have not lost sight of the royal family since their arrest.”
“Aha! There is a lady, a thorough Royalist. She wishes to know all that has happened to her good King and dear Queen. Will you be kind enough to give her a history of it?”