By the greatest good fortune I heard the following
day, through Madame de Flahaut, of the illness and withdrawal of one of
the Queen's attendants, and the next evening at court, having the
opportunity of saying a few words in private to her Majesty, I besought
her to give the vacant post to your wife. I intimated to her that the
appointment was of the greatest importance to herself and the King, and
being, doubtless, impressed by the earnestness of my manner, she
promised to grant my request, though she had intended to leave the place
vacant, saying bitterly that 'twere best she should draw no other into
the circle of danger which surrounded her. I had the satisfaction of
learning yesterday that the appointment had been made, and already your
wife is installed as a lady-in-waiting at the Tuileries.
"Under cover of letters to her--which, I think, will be more likely to
escape patriotic curiosity than any others--you will keep the King and
his friends here in Paris informed of your movements and the progress of
affairs, and through her we can have intimate knowledge of what passes
in the palace, so that they can hardly fail to know when to take the
decisive step.
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