attacked, as containing a series of clever forgeries rather than of
genuine letters. And there does seem reason to believe that in a few
instances, chiefly in the earlier portion of the correspondence, the
critical acuteness of the editor was imposed upon, and that some of the
letters inserted were not written by the persons alleged to be the
authors. But of the majority of the letters there seems no solid ground
for questioning the authenticity. Indeed, in the later and more important
portion of the correspondence, that which belongs to the period after the
death of the Empress-queen, the genuineness of the Queen's letters is
continually supported by the collection of M. Arneth, who has himself
published many of them, having found them in the archives at Vienna, where
M.F. de Conches had previously copied them,[3] and who refers to others,
the publication of which did not come within his own plan. M. Feuillet de
Conches' work also contains narratives of some of the most important
transactions after the commencement of the Revolution, which are of great
value, as having been compiled from authentic sources.

Besides these collections, the author has consulted the lives of Marie
Antoinette by Montjoye, Lafont d'Aussonne, Chambrier, and the MM.
Goncourt; "La Vraie Marie Antoinette" of M. Lescure; the Memoirs of Mme.
Campan, Cléry, Hue, the Duchesse d'Angoulême, Bertrand de Moleville
("Mémoires Particuliers"), the Comte de Tilly, the Baron de Besenval, the
Marquis de la Fayette, the Marquise de Créquy, the Princess Lamballe; the
"Souvenirs de Quarante Ans," by Mlle. de Tourzel; the "Diary" of M. de
Viel Castel; the correspondence of Mme. du Deffand; the account of the
affair of the necklace by M. de Campardon; the very valuable
correspondence between the Count de la Marck and Mirabeau, which also
contains a narrative by the Count de la Marck of many very important
incidents; Dumont's "Souvenirs sur Mirabeau;" "Beaumarchais et son Temps,"
by M. de Loménie; "Gustavus III. et la Cour de Paris," by M. Geoffroy;