The queen did not pay, or did not appear to pay any attention to this movement.
“You say, then, sir, that the king has forty thousand men?” asked she.
“Yes, your Majesty.”
“In the environs of Paris?”
“At St. Denis, at St. Mandé, at Montmartre, and at Grenelle.”
“Give me some details, sir,—some details,” exclaimed the queen.
“Madame, the Prince de Lambesq and Monsieur de Besenval can give you them with infinitely more accuracy than myself.”
“Go on, sir. It pleases me to hear these details from your lips. Under whose orders are these forty thousand men?”
“In the first place, under the orders of Monsieur de Besenval and Monsieur de Lambesq; then under those of the Prince de Condé, of Monsieur de Narbonne-Fritzlar, and Monsieur de Salkenaym.”
“Is this true, Prince?” asked the queen, turning towards Monsieur de Lambesq.
“Yes, your Majesty,” answered the prince, bowing.
“On the heights of Montmartre,” said the young man, “there is a complete park of artillery; in six hours the whole quarter of the town within the range of Montmartre could be laid in ashes. Let Montmartre give the signal to open fire; let it be answered by Vincennes; let ten thousand men debouch by the Champs Elysées, ten thousand more by the Barriére d’Enfer, ten thousand more by the Rue St. Martin, ten thousand more by the Bastille; make Paris hear our cannonading from the four cardinal points, and she cannot hold her ground for twenty-four hours.”
“Ah! here is a man who at all events explains his views frankly; here is at least a clear and regular plan. What do you think of it, Monsieur de Lambesq?”
“I think,” answered the prince, disdainfully, “that the lieutenant of hussars is a perfect general.”
“He is, at least,” said the queen, who saw the young officer turn pale with anger, “he is, at least, a soldier who does not despair.”
“I thank you, Madame,” said the young man, bowing.
“I do not know what your Majesty’s decision will be, but I beg you to consider me among those who are ready to die for you; and in so doing, I should only do that, I beg your Majesty to believe, which forty thousand soldiers are ready to do, as well as all our chiefs.”
And having said these words, the young man saluted courteously the prince, who had almost insulted him.
This act of courtesy struck the queen still more than the protestations of fidelity which had preceded it.
“What is your name, sir?” asked she of the young officer.
“I am the Baron de Charny, Madame,” replied he, bowing.
“De Charny!” exclaimed Marie Antoinette, blushing in spite of herself; “are you then a relative of the Count de Charny?”
“I am his brother, Madame.”
And the young man bowed gracefully, even lower than he had done before.
“I ought,” said the queen, recovering from her confusion, and casting a firm look around her, “I ought to have recognized you, on hearing your first words, as one of my most faithful servants. Thank you, Baron. How is it that I now see you at court for the first time?”
“Madame, my elder brother, who is taking the place of my father, has ordered me to remain with the regiment, and during the seven years that I have had the honor of serving in the army of the king, I have only twice been at Versailles.”
The queen looked for a considerable time at the young man’s face.
“You resemble your brother,” said she. “I shall reprimand him for having so long omitted to present you, and left you to present yourself at court.”
And the queen turned in the direction of her friend the countess, who during all this scene had remained motionless and mute upon the sofa.
But it was not thus with the remainder of those present. The officers, electrified by the reception the queen had given to the young man, were exaggerating to the utmost among themselves their enthusiasm for the royal cause, and from every group expressions burst forth, evincing a heroism capable of subjugating the whole of France.
Marie Antoinette made the most of these manifestations, which evidently flattered her secret wishes.