teatimeatwinterpalace:On May 9, 1794, Madame Elisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI, was taken a
teatimeatwinterpalace: On May 9, 1794, Madame Elisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI, was taken away to her death, leaving her teenage niece Marie-Thérèse alone in the prison. The princess later described her experiences in her Memoirs Until the 9th of May nothing extraordinary happened. On that day, at the moment we were going to bed, the outside bolts of the doors were drawn, and a knocking was heard. My aunt begged of them to wait till she had put on her gown; but you answered that they could not wait, and knocked so violently, that they were near bursting open the door. When she was dressed, she opened the door, and they immediately said to her, “Citizen, come down.” — “And my niece ?” — “We shall take care of her afterwards.” She embraced me; and, in order to calm my agitation, promised to return. “No, citizen,” said they, “you shall not return:— take your bonnet, and come along.” They overwhelmed her with the grossest abuse. She bore it all patiently, and embraced me again, exhorting me to have confidence in Heaven, to follow the principles of religion in which I had been educated, and never to forget the last commands of my father and mother. She then left me….It is impossible to imagine my distress at finding myself separated from my aunt. I did not know what had become of her, and could not learn. I passed the night in great anxiety, but, though very uneasy, I was far from believing that her death was so near. Sometimes I tried to persuade myself that they would only banish her from France, but, when I considered the manner in which she had been carried off, all my fears revived.’ -- source link
#french history