Part 3.3 is the third of five parts of Chapter 3.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 3.3, the author recounts her father’s refusal to attend the opening of the Estates General in May, 1789, and the offence he gave to Madame Adélaïde on that score.   

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 3, Part 3 (Part 3.3)

My father made no mistake about the gravity of the circumstances.  The ceremony of the opening of the Esates-General was solemn and accompanied by magnificent proceedings that attracted foreign visitors from every corner of Europe to Versailles.  My mother, attired in full court dress, had my father informed that she was leaving.  Not seeing him arrive, she went to his room and found him in his dressing gown.

“But you must hurry, we shall be late.”

“No, for I’m not going. I do not want to see that unfortunate man abdicate.”

That evening, Madame Adéläide spoke of the splendid view in the hall.  She addressed my father with a few questions about the details.  He replied that he had no idea of them.  

“Where you were sitting, then?”

“I was not there, Madame.”

“Were you ill?”

“No, Madame.”

“How is it that when others have come from so far away to attend this ceremony, you did not trouble yourself to cross the street?”

“It is just that I do not like funerals, Madame, still less that of the monarchy.”

“And I do not like that at your age you think you know better than everyone else.”

So saying, the princess turned on her heels.

It should not be concluded from this that my father did not want concessions to be made. On the contrary, he was persuaded that the times demanded them imperiously, but he wanted them made according to a plan agreed upon in advance, and he wanted them to be generous and freely given, not extorted. He watched the Estates General open with mortal anguish because, abreast of everyone’s vague aims, he knew that no one had fixed the actual goal at which they had to stop, whether in terms of demands or in terms of concessions.   

Furthermore, he had no confidence in M Necker. He believed that the latter was disposed to place the King at the top of a slope, not with the intention of pushing him down it, but with the arrogant notion that only he could hold him back, and thus render himself indispensable.  

Madame Adélaïde’s anger did not have long to wait before events calmed it.  

Part 3.4, in which Mme de Boigne recalls the events of October, 1789, should appear sometime in the first week of May, 2018.

Part 3.1 is the beginning of Chapter 3.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 3.1, the author relates how, as the only non-royal child at Court, she was spoiled by members of the royal family, including the King and Queen.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 3, Part 1 (3.1)

I was literally raised on the knees of the royal family.  The King and Queen above all heaped kindness on me.  At a time when, as I have already said, children were put out to nurse, then to be weaned, and then sent to a convent, and when, dressed as little ladies and little gentlemen, they only appeared, sulky and grumpy, to be put on display, I, with my cambric frock and a profusion of blonde hair that adorned a pretty little figure, was extremely striking. My father amused himself developing my intelligence, and I was quite sincerely found to be a little prodigy.  I had learned to read with such great facility that at three years old I read and declaimed Racine’s tragedies for my own pleasure and even, it was said, for that of others.   

It pleased my father to take me to the theatre at Versailles.  I was taken away after the first play so as not to keep me up, and I remember that sometimes the King would call me into his box to have me recount the play I had just seen.  I added my own reflections, which were usually a great success.  To tell the truth, one day I said to him in the midst of my literary remarks that I felt a great desire to ask a favour of him; encouraged by his indulgence, I confessed that, since my ears were going to be pierced the next day, I coveted two of the smallest pendants of the chandeliers in order to have some earrings made.

After a long gap, Part 2.7 of A Childhood at Versailles is now finished.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 2.7, the author addresses the importance of wit at the Court of Versailles, which she illustrates with several anecdotes.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter Two, Part 7 (2.7)

It was during one of these conversations in her rooms that Mme Adélaïde recounted to my father how her curiosity about the Man in the Iron Mask had been checked.  She had talked her brother, the Dauphin, into asking the King who he was.  The Dauphin duly asked the King, who said: “My son, I will tell you if you like, but you will have to swear the same oath that I swore myself never to divulge this secret to anyone.”

The Dauphin admitted that he only wanted to know it in order to tell his sister Adélaîde, and said that he would forego hearing the secret.  The King answered that it was just as well, for the secret, which he set store by keeping because he had sworn to do so, had never been of any great importance and was therefore of no interest.  He added that there were only two men living who knew the secret, himself and M de Machault.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 2.6, the author describes Mme Adélaïde’s rather fraught relationship with her chief lady-in-waiting, the Duchesse de Narbonne, who seems to have been a bit of a bully.  This Duchesse de Narbonne (1734-1821), born Françoise de Chalus, had been a mistress of Louis XV.  What’s not explained in the original footnote at the bottom of the page is that it’s possible that Mme de Narbonne’s two sons, including the Comte Louis de Narbonne mentioned in this excerpt, were the King’s sons, and therefore Mme Adélaïde’s half-brothers.  If true, it makes Mme de Narbonne’s hold over Mme Adélaïde more understandable.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter Two, Part Six (2.6)

Mme de Civrac hosted a salon for Mme Victoire that was suitably full of courtiers.  Mme de Narbonne, however, added hardly anything more to the princess’s service than did the people who were invited to meals. Her arrogant personality did not permit any other relations.  It was put about in libels of the time that the Comte Louis de Narbonne was Mme Adélaïde’s son.  That is false and absurd, but it is true that the princess made enormous sacrifices for him.  Mme de Narbonne, otherwise so imperious, submitted to every one of Comte Louis’ whims.  When he committed an extravagance and was short of money, Mme de Narbonne would be in an insufferable mood, which she took out mainly on Mme Adélaïde, making her home life intolerable.  After a few days, the poor princess would buy her peace and quiet back at at exorbitant price.  This is how Comte Louis found himself supplied with enormous sums that were procured without the least effort on his own part, and which he spent with equal ease. In any case, he was the most agreeable and the least malicious of men; a scamp, to be sure, but only because he was always indulged.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts. In Part 2.4, the author describes the court within the court of Louis XVI’s aunts, whose leader was Madame Adélaïde, the eldest surviving daughter of Louis XV.  

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 2, Part 4 (2.4)

The little court of Mesdames the King’s aunts was a court within the court, referred to as the Old Court.  Its habits were very regular.  The princesses spent the whole summer at Bellevue, where their nephews and nieces constantly came for impromptu family dinners. A courier would arrive a few minutes ahead to announce them. When the courier was Monsieur’s, later Louis XVIII, the kitchen would be warned, and the dinner would be more ample and carefully presented. For the others, no warning was given, not even for the King, who had a large appetite, but was not nearly as much a gourmand as his brother.

At Bellevue, the royal family dined with everyone who happened to be there.  With the people attached to Mesdames, their families, and a few regular guests, the number generally came to twenty or thirty persons.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her grandnephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts.  In Part 2.1, the author highlights the lack of interest that the courtiers at Versailles took in the outside world, which is revealed in an amusing exchange between her father and Mme Adéläide, the most senior princess at Court after the King’s wife and sisters-in-law.

A Childhood at Versailles, Chapter 2 (Part 2.1)

From Sunday to Saturday one lived quietly at Versailles in a way that was horribly dull for people who tore themselves away from their usual society to come and serve there without being well established.  However, it was a life not without interest for people who were definitively established; it was, in a way, a country house life of which the gossip revolved around important affairs.  Most had no notion of the national interest while following the intrigues that exiled M de Malesherbes from the centre of power or brought M de Calonne to it.  However, enlightened minds, such as my father’s, were interested in things other than a dispute over music or a rupture between Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Princesse de Luxembourg, which were the great events in society at the time.

No one thought of public policy in general.  If anyone did, it was done unreflectingly and motivated by a private interest of fortune or faction. Foreign governments were as unknown to us then as that of China is to us today.  My father was considered a bit of a pedant for taking an interest in European affairs, and he read the only journal that took some notice of them.

A Childhood at Versailles consists of the first 5 chapters of the memoirs of Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, who was a French salon hostess and writer.  She was born in the Château de Versailles and lived at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette until her family fled to England during the Revolution.  Later in her long life, she married a rich soldier of fortune 30 years her senior, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and became an intimate of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie, consort of King Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848).  Childless herself, Mme de Boigne addressed her memoirs to her nephew.  The memoirs were not published until 1907, under the title Récits d’une tante, or An Aunt’s Tales.  They’ve never been published in English, as far as I know, so I’ve decided to translate the first 5 chapters, the ones that take place mainly at Versailles, and post them here on this blog for interested readers to enjoy for free.

The chapters are quite lengthy, so I’ve broken each one into several parts.  In Part 1.3 (see below), Mme de Boigne recalls the sharp class distinctions among the courtiers residing at Versailles on the eve of the Revolution.  Hint: Not everyone who lived at Court was a courtier.  

A CHILDHOOD AT VERSAILLES, PART 1.3

It was soon after my parents settled into Versailles that I came into the world.  My mother had already been delivered of a still-born infant, so I was welcomed with transports of joy and pardoned for being a girl.  I was not swaddled, as was still the custom, but dressed in the English manner and nursed by my mother in the midst of Versailles.  I promptly became the plaything of the princes and the court, all the more since I was very well-behaved, and also since children in those days were as rare a species in a drawing room as they are common and tyrannical today.

My father fashioned a routine for himself and ended up reconciling himself with Court life.

The salon hostess and writer Mme de Boigne (1781-1866), née Adèle d’Osmond, was literally born in the Château de Versailles, and spent her childhood at the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.

In the first chapter of her memoirs, Mme de Boigne writes, “It was soon after my parents settled into Versailles that I came into the world.  My mother had already been delivered of a still-born infant, so I was welcomed with transports of joy and pardoned for being a girl.  I was not swaddled, as was still the custom, but dressed in the English manner and nursed by my mother in the midst of Versailles.  I promptly became the plaything of the princes and the court, all the more since I was very well-behaved, and also since children in those days were as rare a species in a drawing room as they are common and tyrannical today.”

Adéle d’Osmond, Comtesse de Boigne (1781-1866).

This remarkable circumstance is due to the fact that her mother was a lady-in-waiting to Mme Adélaïde, one of the daughters of Louis XV.  She and her sisters were generally referred to as “Mesdames,”and later, in the reign of their nephew Louis XVI, as “Mesdames Tantes.”  It was not usual for ladies-in-waiting to keep their children at court, but Mme de Boigne’s parents, the Marquis and Marquise d’Osmond, chose — and were permitted — to do so.

Madame Adélaïde (1732-1800) was one of Louis XV’s children.  As such, she was a “Daughter of France,” and was accorded a truly royal apartment in the main block of the Château.

Portrait of Mme Adélaïde in 1787 by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. It hangs in her sister’s apartment at Versailles.

Her apartment adjoins that of her younger sister, Mme Victoire (1733-1799).  I previously described Mme Victoire’s apartment in an early post on this blog: http://versaillescentury.com/2016/09/22/versailles-mme-victoires-apartment/#more-304

The 2 sisters were the last of Louis XV’s offspring still alive and living in the Château towards the end of the reign of their nephew, Louis XVI. The latter also gave them the Château de Bellevue, and, unprecedentedly, the joint dukedom of Lauzun.  The layout of the rooms today is as it was arranged for the sisters in the 1780s.