All being arranged, the King wrote to De Bouillé, fixing the day for the 19th of the June following. CHAPTER XXVII. HOW THEY SET OUT. This was the third or fourth time that the date of departure had been altered. They had determined to depart on the 11th, but having refused to take Madame de Rochereul, _femme-de-chambre_ to the Dauphin, and mistress of M. de Gouvion, aide-de-camp to Lafayette, and who was now on duty till the 12th, they thought that it was imprudent to depart on that day. On the 13th of June, the Austrians began to advance on the French frontier, and to occupy posts two leagues from Montmedy. The departure was postponed until the 15th following. On the evening of the 15th, the King set out with the royal family, in a plain carriage, the berlin awaiting them at Bondy. If the King did not arrive at Bondy at two o’clock, it was arranged that it should be taken for granted that he had been stopped at the Tuileries or at the barrier. In that case, it was arranged that the person in charge of the berlin should set out alone, and not stop till he arrived at Pont-de-Somme-Vesles; and when there, that he should inform M. de Choiseul that the project had failed. M. de Choiseul would then tell M. Dandouins, M. de Damas, M. de Bouillé, and each would provide for their own safety. M. de Bouillé received these new instructions, and arranged accordingly. M. de Choiseul set out at the same time for Paris. At Paris, M. de Choiseul awaited the orders of the King, and started twelve hours in advance. The men and horses belonging to M. de Choiseul would stay at Varennes from the 18th. On the 19th, fresh and renovated, they would pass through Varennes, and put up at a farm, half-way between Varennes and Neuvilly. One must call to mind that there was no post at Varennes. On the arrival of the King, they would take the place of the post-horses from Clermont, and conduct the royal family to Dun. On his return, M. de Choiseul, who, as we said, preceded the King by twelve hours, would take command of the forty hussars at Pont-de-Somme-Vesles. At Pont-de-Somme-Vesles he would await the King, and would escort him to St. Menehould. At St. Menehould the hussars would give place to the dragoons, and be left to block the road. After the King, no one would be allowed to pass. After twenty-four hours the road would be left clear, for by that time the King would be beyond the frontier. M. de Choiseul had orders signed by the King, authorizing him to demand the needful number of men. Six hundred louis d’or were distributed by him to the soldiers. On the 14th of June, M. de Bouillé, who was in Hungary, received a letter from the King. The departure is postponed for twenty-four hours. Whence came this new delay? We will tell you: the reason was a serious one. The King did not receive his quarterly income until the 20th; and being economical, he did not wish to lose it. This reason, good as it was, made M. de Bouillé despair.