Note 154 — XX. 1785. Feb.–June. THE DIAMONDS ARE DISPERSED.—COUNT DE LA MOTTE GOES TO ENGLAND ON BUSINESS.

It is important that this date should be noted; for the circumstances which transpired on it, and which are chronicled in the police records, effectually dispose of the theory advanced by certain writers—such as M. Alexandre Dumas, in his “Louis XVI.” (vol. iii. p. 194, et seq.)—who maintain that Marie-Antoinette really purchased the Necklace, through the instrumentality of the Cardinal de Rohan, and, after keeping it something like three months, returned it to the jewellers by the hands of Madame de la Motte, on finding that she was unable to raise the money to meet the first instalment. While asserting that Madame de la Motte was really the queen’s confidant, the writers referred to are forced to admit that she betrayed her trust, and converted the Necklace to her own use.