Portrait of Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (Maria Antoinette) when she was 13 years old. Painting by Martin van Meytens
Everything was preparing for her approaching union, nor were the preparations made lightly. The mother and daughter faced the ambitious future, which they both desired, with an almost religious gravity. It was decided that the archduchess should go into retreat for three days during Holy Week under the direction of the Abbé de Vermond. Frivolous as she was, the young girl meant to make the retreat a serious one; she even regretted that it was to be so short. “It may take me a longer time to lay all my thoughts before you,” she remarked to her preceptor.
The Life of Marie Antoinette, Volume 1 By Maxime de La Rocheterie, Chapter 1, pg. 10.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 777
