Darpent gave his word for us, and obtained for us a pass.
And, oh! it was a sad sight to see the great courts and long
galleries left all dreary and empty. It made me think of Whitehall
and of Windsor, though we little knew that at that very time there
was worse there than even desolation.
And when at last we reached our poor Queen's apartments, there was
not a spark of fire in them. She was a guest there. She had no
money, and all the wood had either been used up or pillaged; and
there we found her, wrapped in a great fur cloak, sitting by the bed
where was the little Lady Henrietta.
When my mother cried out with grief that the child should be ill, the
poor Queen replied with that good-humoured laugh with which she met
all the inconveniences that concerned herself alone: 'Oh, no, Madame,
not ill, only cold! We cannot get any firewood, and so bed is the
safest place for my little maid, who cares not if she can have her
mother to play with her! Here is a new playfellow for thee, ma mie.
Sweet Nan will sit by thee, and make thee sport, while I talk to her
mother.'
So the child made the big four-post bed, all curtained round, into a
fortress, and I besieged her there, till she screamed with glee,
while the Queen took my mother's arm, and they paced the rooms
together, sadly discussing the times and the utter lack of news from
home, when the last tidings had been most alarming. Poor lady! I
think it was a comfort to her, for she loved my mother; but we could
not but grieve to see her in such a plight.
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