Note 60 — VIII. 1781–1783. THE DIAMOND NECKLACE AGAIN.—STILL NOT SOLD.

“Mémoires de Mdlle. Bertin,” p. 99, et seq. Certain French bibliographers have pronounced these memoirs to be forged. In quoting from them, however, we are only following in the steps of M. Louis Blanc, who we presume considers them authentic. From the “Mémoire” forwarded to the queen by the crown jewellers on August 12, 1785, it would appear that negotiations for the sale of the Necklace had been opened with the Court of Spain and not the Court of Portugal, as stated in the Bertin “Mémoires,” which circumstance certainly goes a good way to impugn the authenticity of the latter.

This celebrated milliner, whose name and fame have become historic, was, it seems, employed by the Spanish court, and went to Madrid in performance of her duties as milliner to the Spanish crown. When, preparatory to her return to France, she presented her account to the Minister of Finance for settlement, that functionary, who had not the slightest knowledge of the details of her important art, strongly objected to the amount which she claimed—some 8000l. The king, equally astonished with his minister, proceeded to settle with the indignant milliner, by giving orders to his chargé-d’affaires in Paris to have the account taxed. Mdlle. Bertin protested that her account would not admit of reduction, and said that Spain was very far from being civilized, since there was all this cavilling about such an essential matter as articles of feminine attire. Marie-Antoinette, it seems, interfered in her milliner’s favour, and eventually the account was settled without abatement.—See “Correspondance Secrète Inédite sur Louis XVI., Marie-Antoinette,” etc. vol. ii. p. 21.