Letters
Fersen to his Father. The Flight to Varennes. June
23, 1791 Midnight
"It is all over, my dear Father, and I am in despair. The King
was arrested at Varennes, sixteen miles from the frontier. Imagine my
grief and pity me. M. de Bouille came here to bring me the news. I am
continuing my journey at once to hand the letter and orders from the King
to Count Mercy in Brussels; these were the King's instructions."
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Marie Antoinette to Fersen.
After the Royal Family Arrested from
the Flight.
The royal family was under serious guarded.
It was very difficult for Marie Antoinette to communicate with Fersen
June 29, 1791
I am alive......Oh, how anxious I have been for you, and how sorry
I am about all you must have suffered in having no news from us. May heaven
grant that this letter reaches you. Do not write to me, this would compromise
all of us and above all do not return under any circusmstances It is known
that it was you who helped us to get away from here and all would be lost
if you should show yourself. We are guarded day and night, I do not care...Do
not be troubled on my account, nothing will happen to me. The National
Assemble will show leniency. Goodbye...I cannot write any more...
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Fersen to Marie Antoinette. Aachen, June 30, 1791
"The King is very much on your side...Tomorrow I shall go to Brussels
and from there to Vienna to wrok for an alliance of all the powers; then
I shall return to Brussels...I am well and my whole life is dedicated
to your service. Let me know if you wish that action be taken on your
behalf."
Marie Antoinette to Fersen. December 7, 1791
"...It is alsolutely impossible for you to come herenow; it would
endanger our safety and if I say so you may believe me because I am most
desirous of seeing you."
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Secret Letters.
During those days, the royal family was being watched over.
Marie Antoinette and Fersen were communicated through ciphered letters
or letters written in secret ink.
Marie Antoinette to Fersen. April 19, 1792. (in
cipher)
"...I am being spied upon from all sides at the moment.
Perhaps
I may not even be able to write to you; I shall always try to find ways
and means."
Marie Antoinette to Fersen. July 3, 1792 (in cipher)
"I have received your letter of the 25th...I was deeply touched
by it. Our situation is terrible, but please do not worry too much. I
am encouraged, something in my heart makes me feel that we shall soon
be happy and safe. This thought alone sustains me. I am sending a messenger
to de Mercy; I have urged him most emphatically to insist that words be
said and action taken at long last which will make some impression here.
Time is running short; it is impossible to wait much longer. I am sending
the blank signed papers which you requested.
Adieu. When shall we meet again in peace?"
Marie Antoinette to Fersen. achnolwedged receipt on July 9, 1792
"...do not be troubled too much about me. Believe me, courage
always makes a good impression. I hope our situation will enable us to
wait but six weeks is a long time. I do not dare to write to you any more.
Adieu. If possible, please accelerate the promised measures for our rescue.
It is a miracle that I am still alive. The twentieth of June was terrible.
It is not so much a matter of my life but my husband's; they are quite
open about it. He has shown strength and firmness which made a great impression
at first, but every day may bring new dangers. Adieu. Take care of yourself
for our sake and do not worry about us. "
This letter was written during Louis XVI's trial.
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Fersen to Sophie, Countess Piper. January 27, 1793.
Sophie was Fersen's sister. Sophie was the only lady that Fersen shared
all his feelings with.
"The position of this unhappy family, their pain, their suffering
and their misery are constantly on my mind; they are always before my
eyes. Words cannot express my suffering. This cursed nation of scoundrels
and cowards, I hate and despise them, I loathe them, they are only fit
to be ruled by tyrants. May the curses of Heaven and its just, but all
too slow, retribution fall upon them and revenge the innocent blood they
have shed and which, I am afraid, they will shed in future. I can never
cease to fear the most terrible crimes; they are capable of anything and
this thought is heartbreaking, it pursues me day and night, in vain do
I try to console myself, in vain do I try to hope...
...my dear Sophie, have puty for your brother, he is suffering terribly...I
am also tortured by the difficulty of sending and receiving news. This
cursed crowd of bandits is intercepting all our letters; we receive them
only rarely after having already been informed by others, this adds to
our suffering!"
Fersen to Sophie Countess Piper. August 1793
Sophie is Fersen's sister whom he loved and shared all his feelings with.
"I am sure, my dear Sophie, that word of the terrible events has
already reached you; the transfer of the Queen to the Conciergerie and
the decree issued by this objectionable Convention which delivers her
into the hands of the Revolutionary Tribunal. Since then I have ceased
to live because to suffer as I am suffering now cannot be described as
living. If only I could do something towards her liberation, my suffering
would be lessened. To have to watch withour being able to do anything
is the most berrible thing of all. The one remaining chance is a rapid
advance on Paris but I doubt whether this proposal will be accepted. How
terrible it is having to wait without being able to do anything! I would
galdly sacrifice my life to save her and am unable to do so. It would
be my greatest happiness to die for her and I am deprived of such happiness.
Oh, if those wretched scoundrels had not deprived us of our best King!
How deeply I feel the full impact of this loss, espeically now! He alone
would have been able to rescue her. The description of her sufferings
would have moved his noble soul; he would have done everything to help
her. However, he is no longer with us and out last hope has died with
him. Farewell, my dear Sophie! Pray for her and puty your unhappy brother!"
Fersen to Sophie Countess Piper. Just after Marie Antoinette´s
death.
"Pity me! Pity me! Only you can understand how I feel now. I have
lost all I possessed. Now you are the only one I have. Do not forsake
me! She who was my happinessa nd for whom I lived--yes, my dear Sophie,
I never ceased loving her and I would have sacrificed everything for her.
I feel it at this moment. She, whom I loved and for whom I would have
gladly given a thousand lives, is no more. Dear God, why do you place
such a burden upon me, what have I done to deserve your wrath? She is
no longer among the living. My pain is indescribable.
I do not know how I shall be able to live and bear my agony. Nothing will
ever allay it. Her image will always be before me and within me. Her memory
and what she meant to me will make me mourn her forever.
Everything is over for me. Why was I not allowed to die by her side, to
spill my blood for her--for both of them?"
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Fersen to Baron Evert Taube. October, 30, 1793
"...This terrible event makes the loss of my journals even more
painful. I had been writing in them since I left Sweden for the first
time in 1770. In 1791 I did not dare to take them with me and left them
in Paris, but the person (Fersen's servant) in whose care I had left tehm
took fright and burnt them. They contained many important things about
the Revolution and could have contributed towards a knowledge of the King
and the Queen. It is sad now to be left only with the memory of all that,
at least this will never desert me."
In 1878, Fersen's diaries appeared in a French edition
by Fersen's great-grandnephew,
Baron R.M. Klinkowstrom. But he omitted details regarding the relationship
between Fersen and Marie Antoinette.
[ Source: Some of text is coming from: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Arc/8639/script.html ]
The correspondences to Fredrik Axel the elder, Sophie, Gustaf
III och
Marie Antoinette can also be read in French at Axel von Fersen
(in french), click HERE