In July of that year, late in the evening, an adjutant of the Prince de Condé arrived breathless at the Château, bringing tidings of the terrible events which had just occurred in Paris. He told how a bullet aimed at the Royal carriage had killed a woman standing near; and how the King had been applauded when he appeared on the balcony bearing a "_cocarde tricolore_." On hearing this, the three Princes de Condé accompanied by Princess Louise departed next day for Versailles. Their advice to Louis XVI was "not to yield"--advice which the King was loth to follow. The three Condés, seeing that they could not prevail upon him to remain firm, determined to quit France so as to be able themselves to remain true to their Royalist principles. In taking leave of the King, Louis Joseph said that he would endeavour to serve the Monarchy abroad, since he could no longer serve it in France. [Illustration: PLATE XVII. LOUIS JOSEPH DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDE. _Musée Condé._ Madame de Tott.] The three Princes returned to Chantilly for one day only, and then left France for Germany. The youngest, the Duc d'Enghien, was destined never to see his ancestral home again. It must have been a touching spectacle to see the old Prince de Condé, accompanied by his daughter, his son the Duc de Bourbon, and his grandson the Duc d'Enghien, leaving the sumptuous abode of their ancestors, so full of glorious memories. The Comte d'Artois--afterwards Charles X--followed their example; and numerous French officers volunteered to make common cause with Prince Louis Joseph de Condé, whose name was associated so closely with the glories of France. There still exists a history of Condé's army written by Bittard des Portes, wherein is related in detail the courage and fortitude with which these French _emigrés_ endured their great privations. The Austrian General Würsmer, we are told, was deeply moved at the sight of Condé's regiment, which he styled "_la vielle France militaire_"; and Napoleon, in his _Memoirs_, when speaking of the Condés and their army abroad, wrote: "_La France donna la mort à leur action, mais des larmes à leur courage. Tout dévoûment est héroïque_." CHAPTER IX CHANTILLY DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION No sooner had Chantilly been deserted by its owners than a detachment of the National Guard of Paris was sent down to the Château. The twenty-seven cannons were first seized: then all the arms found were taken away; and finally the whole property was confiscated. Next a band of six hundred soldiers arrived, devastated the place, and removed what they pleased. Fortunately, the art-treasures did not attract them, as is proved by the _Inventory_ made in 1793 of the pictures and furniture then at Chantilly--a document which took forty days and cost 2,130 francs to draw up.