s now at Arras, from whence she was to proceed to Brussels with
these clothes, to meet her mistress. Of course, the sending off of this
trunk was observed.

All this was not so foolish as what followed. The queen had a very
large, expensive, and remarkable toilet-case, called a necessaire, which
contained everything wanted for the toilet, from her rarest essences and
perfumes down to soap and combs. It was of fine workmanship, and had
much expensive material and ornament about it. In short, it was fit for
a splendid royal palace, and no other place. The queen consulted Madame
Campan about how she should get this necessaire away. Madame Campan
entreated her not to think of taking it, saying that if it was moved
from its place, on any pretence, it would be enough to excite the
suspicions of all the spies about the court. The poor queen, however,
seemed to think that she could no more do without her necessaire than go
without shoes to her feet. The necessaire, she declared, she must have;
and she hit upon a device which she thought very clever for deceiving
any spies, but which deceived nobody, though Madame Campan herself hoped
it might afford a chance of doing so. The queen agreed with the
ambassador from Vienna (who was in her confidence), that he should come
to her, while her hair was dressing, and, in the presence of all her
attendants, request her to order a necessaire precisely like her own,
for her sister at Brussels, who wished to have exactly such an one. The
ambassador did as he was desired; and the queen turned to Madame Campan,
and requested her to have a necessaire made by the pattern of the one
before her. If the plan had succeeded, here was an expense of 500
pounds incurred, at the time when money was most particularly wanted,
and great hazard run; and all because the queen could not be satisfied
with such a dressing-case as other ladies use. Any of her friends could
have supplied her with such an one as she was setting off.

The necessaire was ordered in the middle of April. A month after, the
queen inquired whether it would soon be done. The cabinet-maker said it
could not be finished in less than six weeks more. The queen declared
to Madame Campan that she could not wait for it; and that, as the order
had been given in the presence of all her attendants, nobody would
suspect anything if her own necessaire was emptied and cleaned, and sent
off to Brussels; and she gave positive orders that