“The importance of the leader was in proportion to the force under his command, and of this the Prince of Condé was so sensible that he never saw any one leave him without regret, and remembered it a long time. I was not, on that account, the less eager to go to Coblentz, the moment it acquired a certain degree of splendour. I had relations and friends there, and it was, besides, more attractive, from superior magnificence, activity, and grandeur. Coblentz became in a short time a focus of foreign and domestic intrigues. Two distinct parties might be observed there; Messrs. d’Avaray, de Jaucourt, and some others, were the confidential friends, the advisers, or the ministers, of Monsieur, now Louis XVIII. The Bishop of Arras, the Count de Vaudreuil, and others, were those of Monseigneur, the Count d’Artois; and it was confidently stated that, even then, these Princes manifested distinctly enough the same political differences which, it is pretended, have since characterized them. M. de Breteuil, resident at Brussels, and charged, according to his own declaration, with unlimited powers by Louis XVI., had formed a third party, and added to the complication of our affairs.
“M. de Calonne was relied on for our financial department, and the old Marshal de Broglie and the Marshal de Castries were at the head of our military establishment. The brave and able M. de Bouilly, who had left France after the affair of Varennes, found it impossible to remain with us, and followed King Gustavus III. to Sweden.
“The emigration had, however, assumed a grand character, thanks to the care employed for its propagation. Agents had traversed the provinces, circulars had been distributed in the mansions and country-seats, summoning every gentleman to join the Princes, and act in co-operation with them for the security of the altar and the throne, the revenge of their honour, and the recovery of their rights. An absolute crusade had been preached, and with so much more effect, as it made an impression on minds disposed to attend to it. Among the whole of the nobility and privileged classes there was not a single person who did not feel himself cut to the quick by the decrees of the Assembly. All, from him who filled the highest rank to the lowest country squire, had been deprived of what they held most dear; for the former had lost his title and his vassals, and the latter had seen his turret and his pigeon-house invaded, and his hares shot. Accordingly, the movement to begin the journey was immediate and universal; it could not be abandoned, under the penalty of dishonour, and the women were directed to send spindles to those who hesitated, or were too tardy. Whether then from passion, pusillanimity, or a point of honour, the emigration became a real infection; multitudes rushed furiously beyond the frontiers; and what contributed not a little to increase the evil was the means employed by the leaders of the Revolution to promote it in secret, while they affected to oppose it in public. They declaimed, in vague terms, against it from the tribune, it is true; but they took great care that all the passages should be left open. Did the zeal of the emigrants slacken?—the declaimers became more violent, and it was decided that the barriers should be strictly guarded. Then those who had been left behind were reduced to despair, because they had not taken advantage of the favourable moment. But, accidentally, or from inattention, the barriers were again opened, and they were passed with eagerness by those who were determined not to expose themselves to another disappointment. It was by this dextrous management that the Assembly assisted its enemies in plunging themselves into the abyss.
“The able men of the faction had, from the beginning, conceived that such a measure would deliver them from the heterogeneous parts that checked their progress, and that the property of all these voluntary exiles would secure to them incalculable resources. The officers thought they did wonders in stealing away from their regiments, while the leaders of the Revolution, on their part, excited the soldiers to revolt, in order to force them to it. They got rid, by these means, of enemies who were highly dangerous, and obtained, on the contrary, in the non-commissioned officers, zealous co-operators, who became heroes in the national cause; it was they who furnished great captains, and who beat all the veteran troops of foreign powers.
“The consequence was that Coblentz collected all that was illustrious belonging to the Court in France, and all that was opulent and distinguished belonging to the provinces. We were thousands, consisting of every branch, uniform, and rank of the army; we peopled the town and overran the palace. Our daily assemblages about the persons of the Princes seemed like so many splendid festivals. The Court was most brilliant, and our Princes were so effectually its Sovereigns that the poor Elector was eclipsed and lost in the midst of us, which induced a person to observe to him, very pleasantly, one day, whether from perfect simplicity or keen raillery, that, among all those who thronged his palace, he was the only stranger.
“During the grand solemnities, we occasionally had public galas; and the respectable inhabitants were permitted to take a view of the tables. We then exulted at witnessing the admiration expressed by the people of the country for the pleasing countenance and chivalrous appearance of Monseigneur the Count d’Artois, and we were proud of the homage paid by them to the acquirements and talents of Monsieur. It was worth while to see with what arrogance we paraded with us, as it were, the whole dignity, the lustre of our monarchy, and, above all, the superiority of our Sovereign and the elevation of our Princes. His Majesty the King, was the expression which we pompously used in the German circles to designate the King of France; for that was, or ought to be, in our opinion, his title in point of pre-eminence with respect to all Europe. The Abbé Maury, whom we had at first received with acclamation, but who, by the by, lost much of our esteem in a very short time, had discovered, he assured us, that such was his right and his prerogative. Shall I give another instance of overweening pride and conceit?
“At a later period, during our greatest disasters, and when our cause was completely ruined, an Austrian officer, of superior rank, charged with despatches for the Court of London, invited to dinner several of our officers with whom he had formerly been acquainted on the Continent. After dinner, and very near the time when every truth comes out, the company began to talk politics, and he happened to say that, on his departure from Vienna, one of the principal subjects of conversation was the marriage of Madame Royale (now Duchess d’Angouleme) with the Archduke Charles, who at that moment enjoyed great celebrity. ‘But it is impossible!’ observed one of his French guests. ‘And why?’ ‘Because it is not a suitable marriage for Madame.’—‘How!’ exclaimed the Austrian, seriously offended, and almost breathless, ‘His Royal Highness Monseigneur, the Archduke Charles! not a suitable match for your Princess.’[Princess.’] ‘Oh! no, Sir, it would be but a garrison match for her!’
“Besides, these lofty pretensions were instilled into us with our education; they belonged to us as national sentiments, and our Princes were not exempt from them. With us the King’s brothers disdained the title of Royal Highness, they had the pretension of addressing all the sovereigns by the title of brother; the rest of the system was carried on in a proportionate way, and there was accordingly but one feeling in Europe against our Versailles, manners and the presumption of our Princes.
“Gustavus III. said, at Aix-la-Chapelle—‘Your Court of Versailles was not accessible; it indulged too much in haughtiness and ridicule. When I was there, there was scarcely any attention paid to me, and, when I left it, I brought away the titles of booby and blockhead.’
“The Duchess of Cumberland, who was married to the King of England’s brother, had to complain, at the same time and in the same city, that the Princess de Lamballe did not grant her the honours of the folding-doors.