THREE:I am certain, sire, I answered hastily; that nobody about me will be able to make me deviate from the line my own reason has already marked out. But as your Majesty has introduced the subject, may I be permitted to suggest that my sister-in-law has already near her some one who is scarcely calculated to maintain a good understanding in the family; I fear the partiality of the Abb de Vermont for the House of Austria.
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THREE:But nobody was afraid of Louis XVI., and when he did command he was by no means sure of obedience. He had ascended the throne with the most excellent intentions, abolished all sorts of abuses, and wanted to be the father of his people. But a father who cannot be respected is very likely not to be loved, and a ruler who cannot inspire fear cannot inspire respect either, and is not so fit to be a leader as one who possesses fewer virtues and more strength and courage.The Duchesse dAyenBirth and death of her sonsHer five daughtersTheir education at homeSaintly life of the DuchessMarriage of her eldest daughter to the Vicomte de NoaillesOf the second to the Marquis de la FayetteOf the Dauphin to the Archduchess Marie AntoinetteThe Comtesse de NoaillesMarriages of the Comtes de Provence and dArtois to the Princesses of SardiniaDeath of Louis XV.Unhappy marriage of the third daughter of the Duc dAyen to the Vicomte du RoureAfterwards to Vicomte de ThsanPaulette and Rosalie de NoaillesAdrienne de la FayetteRadical ideas of the Vicomte de Noailles and Marquis de la FayetteDispleasure of the family and the KingLa Fayette and de Noailles join the American insurgentsGrief and heroism of AdrienneMarriage of Pauline to the Marquis de Montagu.
THREE:
THREE:The social existence of Mme. de Genlis, writes Mme. dAbrants, [115] is always a problem difficult to resolve; it is composed of a mass of contradictions, one more extraordinary than the other. Of a noble family, whose name and alliances gave her the right to be chanoinesse of the Chapter of Alix, she was called until her marriage Comtesse de Lancy. She married M. de Genlis, a man of high rank, nearly related to most of the great families in the kingdom, and yet Mme. de Genlis had never in society the attitude of a grande dame.... The important part this woman played in the destinies of France is of such a nature that one must notice it, more especially as she denies a mass of facts, the most notorious of the time in which her name is mixed up, ... pretending never to have spoken to men of whom she must not only have been an acquaintance but a friend. Long before the first outbursts of the Revolution, Mme. de Genlis helped to prepare the influence which afterwards burst like an accursed bomb, covering with its splinters even the woman who had prepared the wick and perhaps lighted the match.The Marquis de Continges, a dissipated rou of the court of Louis XV., an encyclop?dist and friend of Voltaire, finding in the reign of Louis XVI. that he was getting old, thought he would marry. He [196] was noble, rich, and a good parti; but after making many inquiries he could not hear of any one he especially fancied. One evening he appeared at a great party given by the Princesse de Lamballe, at which every one of importance was present, dressed in black velvet, with lace ruffles, a sword by his side, and in his hand an embroidered hat full of mysterious tickets.