"I have long been aware, my dear comte, of the zeal and devotion which you and yours are ready to show for my son's cause. I would like to reiterate that, on such occasions, I will count on you, as you may rely on me for gratitude. MARIE CAROLINE "14 _December_ 1831" It was therefore decided in the little Court of Massa--Madame had gone to Italy after she left England, and lived in a town in the duchy of Modena--that public spirit in France had arrived at a sufficient point of maturity to be acted upon. Consequently a letter in cipher, written in invisible ink, informed all the leaders in the south and west of France to make themselves ready. Here is the translation of that letter. The first undeciphered word which betrayed all the rest was _Lyon_-- "I shall make known to Nantes, Angers, Rennes and Lyons that I am in France; prepare to take up arms as soon as you receive notice to that effect, and calculate that you will probably receive it about the 2nd or 3rd of next May. If messengers cannot pass through, public report will inform you of my arrival, and you will take up arms without delay." On 24 April 1832, Madame embarked on the steamer _Carlo-Alberto,_ which she had chartered at her own expense. The princess put into port at Nice; on the evening of the 28th she reached the waters of Marseilles, in sight of the Planier lighthouse, in the neighbourhood of which she was to join forces with her followers. The period between the night of the 19th to the 30th was fixed for the movement which was to burst forth at Marseilles.