How to Ruin a Queen: Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Affair (52 page)

154
   
‘I must arrest him’
: op. cit., p.110.

154
   
ministerial committee
: see Castries, p.298ff.

155
   
‘is excessive proof ‘ . . . ‘yet seen’
:
Louis XVI and the comte de Vergennes: correspondence 1774–1787
, edited by John Hardman and Munro Price, Louis XVI to Vergennes, 16 August 1785.

155
   
still cheerful
: see
Mémoires Secrets
, 17 August 1785.

155
   
‘horrors of tyranny’
: quoted in
Lettres de Cachet and Social Control
by Brian E. Strayer, p.xii.

155
   
‘greatest part of the nation’
:
Des Lettres de cachet et des prisons d’état
by the marquis de Mirabeau (Hamburg, 1782), p.208.

156
   
of the Enlightenment
: the picture of the Bastille is based on
The Bastille: A History of a Symbol of Despotism and Freedom
by Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink & Rolf Reichardt and
Citizens
by Simon Schama.

156
   
‘best Moka coffee’
: quoted in
Citizens
, Schama, p.392.

157
   
‘more cruel than death’
:
Mémoires sur le Bastille et sur le détention de M Linguet, écrit par lui-même
(London, 1783), p.67.

157
   
‘you an order’
:
Mémoires Secrets
, 1 September 1785.

157
   
‘as friends’
: Castries, p.301ff. The rest of the interview with Vergennes and Castries is taken from this source.

14. Hotel Bastille

159
   
‘we will take’ . . . ‘distinguish them’
: LJSRV I, p.398.

159
   
The pair interrogated
: the transcript of Jeanne’s Interrogation is contained in AN K162/14/2.

159
   
‘reaching the courts’
: AN K162/14/2/5.

159–60
‘great man’ . . . ‘god’ . . . ‘to have done’
: AN K162/14/2/7-9.

160
   
‘appeared suspect’
: Bastille MS12457/27.

160
   
‘through medicine’
: AN F7/4445/2–4550/2, ‘Interrogation with Cagliostro’, 1.

160
   
age of eighteen
: AN F7/4445/2–4550/2, ‘Interrogation with Cagliostro’, 7. The initial set of interrogations with witnesses are contained in AN F7/4445/2–4550/2.

161
   
‘eyes of everyone’
: D’Arneth and Flammermont, vol. 1, Marie Antoinette to Joseph II, 22 August 1785.

161
   
‘in her hand’
: ibid.

161
   
‘I am accused’
: the account of this meeting is taken from Castries, pp. 303–4.

162
   
‘confound that woman’
: ibid.

162
   
‘rebuke her’
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.122.

164
   
‘mercy of the king’
: op. cit., p.126.

164
   
‘justice and goodwill’
: BN JdF 2088/36.

164
   
‘being discovered’
: D’Arneth and Flammermont, vol. 1, Marie Antoinette to Joseph II, 19 September 1785.

164
   
‘one of his subjects’
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.129.

166
   
to a secular tribunal
: for the papal reaction to the arrest see AAE CP Rome/901–3.

166
   
theft of the necklace
: Harger and Biln’s report is found in BHVP MS713/143–7.

15. Witness Protection

167
   
‘unknown to the queen’ . . . ‘La Mothe de Valois’
: Compte Rendu, ‘Pieces Justificatives’, pp. 3–5.

167
   
‘to be destroyed’
: ibid.

167
   
on 6 September
: BN JdF 2088/42.

168
   
‘offices of state’
: MCB, p.45.

168
   
‘sale of the necklace’
: BN JdF 2088/12.

168
   
‘accomplices in the crime’ . . . ‘declaration he made’
: for the changing versions, see BN JdF 2088/15–30.

169
   
the king’s largesse
: on Titon, see
La Prostitution et La Police des Moeurs au XVIIIe Siecle
by Erica-Marie Benabou, p.387.

169
   
‘morals even looser’
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.131.

169
   
‘as a sentinel’
: the account of Beugnot’s worries and de Crosne’s attempt to recruit him for Jeanne’s lawyer derives from MCB, pp. 76–81.

170
   
‘imbecile’
: AAE CP Angleterre 556/163.

170–1
‘Neither myself . . . bring a case’
: BHVP MS691/31–2.

171
   
On 3 November
: BHVP MS691/45.

171
   
‘imperious harshness’
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.115.

171
   
renewed vigour
: on Georgel’s endeavours, see Georgel, vol. 2, p.116ff. Much of his work is confirmed by the Dossier Target (BHVP MS691).

171
   
‘de Valois’
: BHVP MS691/150.

172
   
passed on copies to Georgel
: BHVP MS691/187.

172
   
Most pressing . . . all creditors
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.143ff.

172
   
Not long after
: on Loth and Georgel, see op. cit., p.148ff.

172
   
Loth was . . . dressing in mufti
: on Loth, see AN X2B 1417/54/Loth and MCB, p.53. On his extracurricular activities see BN JdF 2088/371.

173
   
‘an unattractive figure’
: AAE CP Autriche 350/289.

174
   
Georgel, now informed
: on Carbonnières in London, see Georgel, vol. 2, pp. 167–8, AAE CP Angleterre 554/158, 170 and 333, and AAE MDF 1399/248.

174
   
A crucial breakthrough
: on d’Oliva’s capture, see AAE MDF 1399/228–89.

174
   
‘take secret measures . . . have them arrested’
: quoted in
L’affaire du collier
, Lever, p.177.

175
   
‘mischievous or wicked’
: AAE MDF 1399/278.

16. Tired and Emotional

176
   
‘other matter’
: BN JdF 2088/204.

176
   
at the Palais de Justice
: testimonies are recorded in AN X2B/1417/54 and AN X2B/1417/68.

176
   
that sum of money
: Loth’s testimony is AN X2B/1417/54/Loth.

176
   
rather than cash
: see AN X2B/1417/54/Laporte and AN X2B/1417/54/ Bassenge.

177
   
‘what this means’
: AN X2B/1417/54/D’Oliva.

177
   
‘assured [him] he’ . . . ‘had been intended’
: AN X2B/1417/54/ Sainte-James.

177
   
‘no useful purpose’
: AAE CP Rome 901/373.

177
   
‘pains me’
: Castries, p.309.

178
   
She obtained a portrait
: PLMA, p.203.

178
   
‘a lot of effort’
: BN JdF 2088/196.

178
   
‘would not be right’
: PLMA, p.203.

178
   
‘have other consequences’
: d’Arneth and Flammermont, Marie Antoinette to Joseph II, 27 December 1785.

178
   
Laurencel was invariably
: Laurencel’s memorandum, from which all these quotations are taken, is found in BN JdF 2088/66–9.

179
   
‘lost man’
: Georgel, vol. 2, pp. 151–2.

179
   
On 14 December
: AN X2B/1417/69; Hardy, 14 December 1785.

180
   
‘doubtless clear him’
: BHVP MS691/294–5.

180
   
Decrets de prise de corps
: AN X2B/1417/62; Hardy, 15 December 1785.

180
   
‘forty-eight people?’
: Castries, p.309.

180
   
‘with weary watching’
: LJSRV I, p.412.

180
   
in the cell below
: see AN X2B/1417/10/Planta. On Pelleport, see
The Devil in the Holy Water, or the Art of Slander from Louis XIV to Napoleon
by Robert Darnton, pp.167–76.

181
   
‘my glory, my valour’
: AN X2B/1417/17/6; LJSRV I, p.446.

181
   
‘and was silent’
: LJSRV I, p.412.

181
   
On one occasion
: op. cit., p.442.

181
   
‘and painful succession’
: op. cit., p.435ff.

181
   
on suicide watch
: Bastille, MS12457/12.

182
   
each day
: Castries, p.321. The account of Rohan in the Bastille derives primarily from Georgel, vol. 2, p.134ff.

182
   
oysters and champagne
: see
The Diamond Necklace
, Funck-Brentano, p.244.

182
   
and his doctor
: Bastille MS12457/59.

182
   
A severe attack of asthma . . . exquisite pain
: see Hardy, 12 October 1785, 4 November 1785, 24 November 1785 and BHVP MS691/4–5.

182
   
contradictions in evidence
: see BHVP MS691/3–29.

182
   
smothering depression
: BHVP MS691/184.

183
   
‘blood off the tracks’
: BHVP MS691/6.

183
   
In normal circumstances
. . . die in prison BN JdF 2088/46; AN X2B/1417/82; Hardy, 1 January 1786.

183
   
Georgel had been
: Georgel, vol. 2, p.179.

17. Nicolas Abroad: A Picaresque

184
   
him in Scotland
: Hardy, 4 December 1785.

184
   
with Barbary pirates
: HVJSR, p.67.

184
   
in the Low Countries
: AAE MDF 1399/139.

184
   
embark for India
: CP Autriche 350/248.

184
   
the cardinal’s defence
: see Georgel, vol. 2, p.208.

184
   
With his usual
: see HJSRV, p.66 and Mémoire Rohan, p.17.

184–5
‘Madame de La Motte’ . . . ‘for a quick escape’
: MCB, p.172.

185
   
He made over . . . look after them
: AAE MDF 1399/182; BN Jdf 2088/102.

185
   
Having told his servants
: the only accounts of Nicolas’s spell in Britain are his own, which are to be found in NLM, p.67ff and MJ II, p.91ff.

186
   
an arrest warrant
: AAE CP Angleterre 554/171.

186
   
‘was most touching’ . . . ‘business’
: NLM, p.81.

18. Questions, Questions

188
   
delayed the interrogations
: Hardy, 1 January 1786.

188
   
‘What is your name’ . . . ‘Boehmer and Bassenge?’
: ‘Interrogation with Rohan’, Campardon, p.206. The full transcripts of all the suspects’ interrogations are given in the ‘Pièces Justificatives’ to
Marie-Antoinette et le procès de collier
by Emile Campardon.

189
   
during the interrogation
: BN JdF 2088/72–3.

189
   
‘want to trick me’
: ‘Interrogation with Rohan’, Campardon, p.208.

189
   
‘be the queen in Versailles’
: op. cit., p.209.

189
   
‘the shape of the letters’
: op. cit., p.208.

189
   
‘in their interests’
: op. cit., pp. 212–13.

189
   
‘all these facts’
: op. cit., p.209.

189
   
‘with which I acted’
: op. cit., p.22.

190
   
‘the august name of the queen’
: op. cit., pp. 240–1.

191
   
‘as I had done’
: op. cit., pp. 241–2.

191
   
‘police and the public’
: BHVP MS691/187.

191
   
‘to ease them’
: ‘Interrogation with Jeanne de La Motte’, Campardon, p.274.