“My father’s letter to the Legislative Assembly, written from the camp of Maubenge, on June 16, 1792, against the Jacobins, and his appearance at the bar to support it, mingled with these anxieties the satisfaction she was accustomed to find in all his actions. But one can well understand how much she must have suffered at such a distance, on seeing him exposed to so many and such various dangers. He invited her to go and join him; but in those times of public commotion she feared that if she accepted his proposal, he might be accused of wishing to put his family in safety: she was also afraid of impeding his movements, which depended on so many uncertain events. After having thought it over several days, she decided upon sacrificing herself and remaining at Chavaniac. “Shortly after the noble resolution my mother had taken of remaining at Chavaniac, she received intelligence of the insurrection of the 10th of August. She heard almost at the same time that my grandfather, the Duc d’Ayen, who had been defending the king at the Tuileries, and my uncle, M. de Grammont, who had been sought for amongst the dead, had both escaped the dangers of that dreadful day. The newspapers gave details of my father’s resistance at Sédan. But it was soon evident that all was useless, and nothing could be compared to the anguish of my mother’s heart during the days which followed. The public papers were full of sanguinary decrees which were submitted to everywhere except in the district under my father’s command. A price was set on his head, promises were made at the bar of the Assembly to bring him back, dead or alive. At length, on the 24th of August, she received a letter from her sister, Madame de Noailles, telling her that my father was out of France. My mother’s joy was equal to her despair on the preceding days. “We were in daily expectation of the house being pillaged. My mother provided for everything, burnt or concealed her papers; then, in consequence of the alarming intelligence she received, she resolved to place her children in safety. A priest _assermenté_[1] came to offer her a place of refuge amidst the mountains. M. Frestel took my brother there during the night. The same evening she sent us to Langeac, a small town about two leagues from Chavaniac, and thus having made every arrangement, she calmly awaited coming events. She remained with my aunt, whom it would have been impossible to persuade to leave the place. ----- Footnote 1: _Prêtre assermenté_, one who accepted the Constitution. -----