[The first daughter of the Duke of Wirtemberg was the first wife of the present Emperor of Austria. She embraced the Catholic faith and died very young， two days before the Emperor Joseph the Second， at Vienna. The present Empress Dowager， late wife to Paul， became a proselyte to the Greek religion on her arrival at Petersburg. The son of the Duke of Wirtemburg， who succeeded him in the Dukedom， was a Protestant， it being his interest to profess that religion for the security of his inheritance. Prince Ferdinand， who was in the Austrian service， and a long time Governor of Vienna， was a Catholic， as he could not otherwise have enjoyed that office. He was of a very superior character to the Duke， his brother. Prince Louis， who held a commission under the Prussian Monarch， followed the religion of the country where he served， and the other Princes， who were in the employment of Sweden and other countries， found no difficulty in conforming themselves to the religion of the Sovereigns under whom they served. None of them having any established forms of worship， they naturally embraced that which conduced most to their aggrandisement， emolument， or dignity.]
"The notorious vices of the King of Denmark， and his total neglect both of his young Queen， Carolina Matilda， and of the interest of his distant dominions， while in Paris， created a feeling in the Queen's mind towards that house which was not a little heightened by her disgust at the King of Sweden， when he visited the Court of Versailles. This King， though much more crafty than his brother-in-law， the King of Denmark， who revelled openly in his depravities， was not less vicious. The deception he made use of in usurping part of the rights of his people， combined with the worthlessness and duplicity， of his private conduct， excited a strong indignation in the mind of Marie Antoinette， of which she was scarcely capable of withholding the expression in his presence.
"It was during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of the North， that the Cardinal de Rohan again appeared upon the scene. For eight or ten years he had never been allowed to show himself at Court， and had been totally shut out of every society where the Queen visited. On the arrival of the illustrious， travellers at Versailles， the Queen， at her own expense， gave them a grand fete at her private palace， in the gardens of Trianon， similar to the one given by the Comte de Provence--[Afterwards Louis XVIII.]-- to Her Majesty， in the gardens of Brunoi.
"On the eve of the fete， the Cardinal waited upon， me to know if he would be permitted to appear there in the character he had the honour to hold at Court， I replied that I had made it a rule never to interfere in the private or public amusements of the Court， and that His Eminence must be the best judge how far he， could obtrude himself upon the Queen's private parties， to which only a select number had been invited， in consequence of the confined spot where the fete was to be given.
"The Cardinal left me， not much satisfied at his reception. Determined to follow， as usual， his own misguided passion， he immediately went too Trianon， disguised with a large cloak. He saw the porter， and bribed him. He only wished， he said， to be placed in a situation whence he might see the Duke and Duchess of the North without being seen； but no sooner did he perceive the porter engaged at some distance than he left his cloak at the lodge， and went forward in his Cardinal's dress， as if he had been one of the invited guests， placing himself purposely in the Queen's path to attract her attention as she rode by in the carriage with the Duke and Duchess.
"The Queen was shocked and thunderstruck at seeing him. But， great as was her annoyance， knowing the Cardinal had not been invited and ought not to have been there， she only discharged the porter who had been seduced to let him in； and， though the King， on being made acquainted with his treachery， would have banished His Eminence a hundred leagues from the capital， yet the Queen， the royal aunts， the Princesse Elizabeth， and myself， not to make the affair public， and thereby disgrace the high order of his ecclesiastical dignity， prevented the King from exercising his authority by commanding instant exile.
"Indeed， the Queen could never get the better of her fears of being some day， or in some way or other， betrayed by the Cardinal， for having made him the confidant of the mortification she would have suffered if the projected marriage of Louis XV. and her sister had been solemnized. On this account she uniformly opposed whatever harshness the King at any time intended against the Cardinal.
"Thus was this wicked prelate left at leisure to premeditate the horrid plot of the famous necklace， the ever memorable fraud， which so fatally verified the presentiments of the Queen."第一章SECTION II.
[The production of 'Le Mariage de Figaro'， by Beaumarchais， upon the stage at Paris， so replete with indecorous and slanderous allusions to the Royal Family， had spread the prejudices against the Queen through the whole kingdom and every rank of France， just in time to prepare all minds for the deadly blow which Her Majesty received from the infamous plot of the diamond necklace. From this year， crimes and misfortunes trod closely on each others' heels in the history of the ill-starred Queen； and one calamity only disappeared to make way for a greater.
The destruction of the papers which would have thoroughly explained the transaction has still left all its essential particulars in some degree of mystery； and the interest of the clergy， who supported one of their own body， coupled with the arts and bribes of the high houses connected with the plotting prelate， must， of course， have discoloured greatly even what was well known.
