These are the scripts written either to or from Hans Axel von Fersen during 1789-1793. The period which the French Revolution started and throughout the Reign of Terror.
These are not all the scripts. However, the following choosen scripts reflected the relationship between Fersen and Marie Antoinette, especially throughout the time when the royal family were captured, escaped, recaptured, trial and gullotined.
These will be the most honest description about Fersen's feeling towards Marie Antoinette.
Paris, 1791
My situation cannot be compared with any other. The minsiters, the King and the Queen have always shown me the greatest kindness and respect. Their names and your serives were my passport and my recommendation. It is possible that wise, moderate and discreet behavior on my part has brought me some measure of esteem and a little success. I am devoted to the King and Queen and in view of the great kindness they have shown me at all times, I am deeply in their debt. It would be despicable and ungrateful of me if I were to abandon them now, at a time when they are no longer able to do anything for me while I on the ohter hand may hope to be of some use to them
Journal 23rd, 1791
Fine but cold. Reached Arlon at eleven p.m. There found Bouille; learnt that the King had been caught. No details were known; the troops were unreliable. The King was lacking in firmness and rpesence of mind. Stayed there overnight.
Fersen to his Father, 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.
Marie Antoinette to 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...
Journal, June 30th, 1791
Met the King and found him well disposed. Apparently he wants me to go to England; I proposed Crawford in my place in order to go to Vienna myself, which he approved. All frenchmen show me the greatest sympathy and I was deeply touched by this.
Fersem 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 Antoineet 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.
Journal 13th February, 1792
...Went to see her by the usual route, for fear of the National Guardsmen; she lives in magnificiant surroundings; did not see the King. Stayed there*.
*Stayed there in original is "Reste la". Fersen usually used these two words when he stayed overnight with a lady, according to several historians.
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.
Journal, January 21, 1793
On the 14th, sentence on the King was postponed to the 15th. The mood of the people is not is his favour. They put three questions: he is criminial, what punishment does he deserve, should the people themselves confirm the death sentence? The debates were prolonged.
The Archbishop of Tours to Fersen, January 27, 1793
The date of Louis XVI Gullotine
Escorted by four hundred cavalry and twelve hundred lights infantrymen, the King left the Temple at 9.30 in the morning of the 21st.
In complete silence he was taken along the Boulevards du Temple, de Saint-Martin and de Saint-Honore to the scaffold which had been erected on the former Place Luis XV, now known as the Place de la Revolution--between the point where the statue used to stand and the beginning of the Champs-Elysees.
In the carriage to the right of the King sat his Father Confessor, an Irish priest; in front sat two officers of the Gendarmerie.
Upon arrival at the foot of the scaffold he allowed his hands to be tied with the greatest composure and climbed up courageously.
He wanted to address the people but his voice was drowned by the drums. However, those standing near the scaffold heard him say the following words in a firm voice:"I forgive my enemies and I wish that my death will be to France's benefit."
At 10.45 he breathed his last sigh; he severed head was shown to the people. At that moment, there were cries:"Vive la nation! Vive la republique francaise!"
Some of the volunteers dipped their pikes into his blood, others their handkerchiefs.
His body and head were taken to the Madeleine and buried there.
The Archbishop of Tours has the honour, complying with the wishes of the Comte de Fersen, to inform him of the sad and terrible details of the cruel crime; it would dishonour the name of France for ever if it were not condemned by a large number of those who are still worthy of bearing this name.
The letters from Paris maintain absolute silence about the Royal family.
Fersen to Sophie, Countess Piper, January 27, 1793.
Sophie is Fersen's sister. He loved her very much. She is 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!
Journal, July 20th, 1793
Letters from Paris report that the Queen is allowed to see her son for one hour daily, which is at least something. This separation depresses me terribly.
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.
Sophie is Fersen's sister whom he loved and shared all his feelings with
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?
Journal, October 22nd, 1793
The whole day passed in silence, without a word being spoken. All I was able to do was to think and to think; I made a thousand plans. If my health permitted it, I would join the war to revenge her or die. Oh, I felt so desperately unhappy and was unable to think fo anything else. I swear eternal vengeance against her murderers, avengeance that will never cease.
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.
Marie Antoinette's last letter was to her sister-in-law Madame Elisabeth. The letter was written in Temple Prison, where she was kept before gullotine, on October 16, 1793 at 4.30am.
Marie Antoinette wished Madame Elisabeth would pass the message to Fersen
The last letter had never reached its destination. It was handed to the Public Prosecutor. He retained it...
It is you, my sister, that I am writing for the last time. I have been sentenced to death but not a death that is shameful, for it is only shameful for criminals, but to be reunited with your brother. Like him, innocent, I hope to display the same firmness as he did in his last moments. I am as calm as one is when one's conscience holds no reproach. I deeply regret having to leave behind my poor children. You know that I lived only for them and for you, my dear good sister. In what a situation I leave you, who out of your affection has sacrificed everything to be with us!...All that is left is for me to confide in you my last thoughts. I should have liked to have written them down before the start of the trial but quite apart from the fact that I was not allowed to write, events took place so rapidly that I really did not have the time.
I die in the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman faith, that of my fathers, in which I was brought up and which I have always acknowledged. Having no hope of spiritual consolation and not even knowing if there are still any priests of my faith here and if so, whether the place at which I am would endanger them too much, I simply ask God for forgiveness for all my trespasses. I hope that He in His love will hear my prayers kindly and will receive my soul mercifully.
I ask all those whom I know, especially you, my sister, to forgive me for any unhappiness I may unwittingly have causedthem. I forgive all my enemies the wrongs they have done to me. I now say farewell to my aunts, brothers and sisters. I used to have friends; the thought of being separated from them for ever, and their unhappiness, will pain me even in my death; let them know at least that I thought of them until the last moment.
Adieu, my dear and good sister. I hope this letter will reach you. Think of me always. I embrace you from the bottom of my heart and also my dear poor children. My God, it breaks my heart having to leave them for ever. Goodbye, goodbye. Now I must devot myself only to my spiritual duties. Since I am not able to act freely they will prehaps send me a constitutional priest; however, I declare here and now that I shall have nothing to say to him and shall treat him as a complet stranger.
