A grateful glance was her only answer as she stepped forward, followed
by her daughter, Madame Élisabeth, and Madame de Tourzel, the crowd
pressing close behind them. The little Dauphin was carried by one of the
soldiers. He was crying and calling for his mother, who was out of
sight. Cazotte took him in his arms and tried to soothe him, but his
tears did not cease to flow until he was carried into the room where the
Queen had been taken. Cazotte’s delicate solicitude for the royal family
did not end even here; regardless of what the consequences might be, he
found a seamstress to repair their clothing, which had been torn and
trampled on by the mob, furnished them with refreshments and such
conveniences as he was able to obtain, and did all in his power to add
to their comfort till their departure put an end to his unselfish and
kindly service.
Between Épernay and Dormans they met the commission sent out by the
National Assembly, consisting of Barnave, Pétion, and the Marquis de
Latour-Maubourg. They took their places in the coach, but Pétion and
Latour-Maubourg only remained inside a short time, leaving Barnave alone
with the travellers. Barnave[12] was one of the minor deputies of the
people, who amid all the tumult and violence of the Assembly had
preserved his nobility and tenderness of heart. He felt sincere pity for
the unfortunate royal family, and, no longer restrained by the presence
of his colleague, Pétion,[13] freely offered his sympathy. The Queen was
touched by his considerate behavior, and joined in the conversation.
Barnave, on the other hand, to whom the Queen had been painted in the
most odious colors, was astonished to find her so different from what he
had expected, and soon began to honor and respect those he had been
taught to hate and despise. When the conversation ceased after a time,
he took the little Prince on his knee and talked with the child, whose
quick and lively, yet gentle, answers impressed him deeply.
“Are you not sorry to go back to Paris?” he asked.
“Oh, I am happy everywhere,” answered the Dauphin, “as long as I have my
father and mamma with me, and my aunt, my sister, and Madame de Tourzel,
too.”
“Ah, sir,” said the King to Barnave, “this is indeed a sad journey for
me and for my children!”
The mournful tone in which these words were spoken moved the Dauphin
deeply, and he took his father’s hand and kissed it. The King took him
in his arms and pressed him to his heart.
“Do not be unhappy, dear papa,” said the child, his eyes full of tears.
“Some other time we will have a pleasanter journey!”
At every change of post-horses, the other commissioners came up to see
what was passing inside the coach. Surprised to find the heir to the
throne generally seated on Barnave’s lap, Pétion finally remarked in a
spiteful tone, loud enough to be heard by the travellers:
“You see, Latour-Maubourg, Barnave is decidedly the prop of future
royalty!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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