midnight on the 20th. He had sent one of his colonels, the Duke de
Choiseul, to Paris for the last instructions. Choiseul's horses were
to fetch the king at Varennes, and he was to entertain him in his
house at Montmedy. He had the command of the farthest detachment of
cavalry on the road from Montmedy to Chalons, and it was his duty to
close up behind the royal carriage, to prevent pursuit, and to gather
all the detachments on the road, as the king passed along. He would
have arrived at the journey's end with at least 400 men. His last
orders were to convey the king across the frontier, if Bouille should
fall. The great abbey of Orval was only a few miles away, and it was
thought that, at the last moment, it might be found safer than the
hostile soil of France.

Choiseul was not equal to the difficult part he had to perform. He set
out for his post on the Monday afternoon, carrying with him a
marshal's baton, which had belonged to his uncle, and the queen's
hairdresser, Leonard. For Thursday was the solemn festival of Corpus
Christi, when a military mass would be celebrated in the camp, and, in
the presence of the assembled army, Bouille was to be made a marshal
of France. The queen could not be allowed to appear at such a function
without the artist's help, and he was hurried away, much against his
will, without a word of explanation. The king's sister learned the
same day what was before her. There had been an idea of sending her on
with the children, or with the Countess of Provence. The Princess, who
was eminently good, and not always gracious, did not enjoy the
confidence of the queen. She was one of those who regarded concession
as surrender of principle, and in the rift between the Princes and
Marie Antoinette she was not on the side of compromise. Provence came
to supper, and the brothers met for the last time. That night their
ways parted, leading the one to the guillotine, and the other to the
throne which had been raised by Napoleon above every throne on earth.
The Count and Countess of Provence both started at the same time as
the rest, and reached Belgium in safety.

Fersen, directing matters with skill and forethought, made one
mistake. Two attendants on the royal children were taken, in a hired
carriage, to Claye, the second stage on the eastern road; and it was
their driver who made known, on his return, which way the fugitives
had taken.

When everybody was in bed, and the lights were out, the royal