The kindness of Marie Antoinette.
The young princess exhibited the most charming consideration and exquisite delicacy for her attendants. One day the horse of her equerry kicked her on the foot; she concealed her pain and continued her walk, although her foot was greatly swollen, in order to spare the man the chagrin of having been the involuntary author of the accident. Another day a lackey hurt himself in trying to move a piece of furniture too heavy for him; she bathed the wound herself and made him a compress of her handkerchief. Another time she gave up her rides, although we know her passion for them, in order that her equerry might remain with his wife, who was ill.
Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, Countess of Provence.
And it was not only to the persons in her service to whom she showed sympathy and consideration, but also to the poor and all who were unfortunate. A year after the incidents which we have just related, a groom of the Comtesse de Provence, in traversing the city of Compiègne, fell from his horse and was seriously hurt. The princess passed coldly on, without further concern for the accident; but the dauphiness, who was following at a short distance, stopped her carriage, gave orders that the wounded man should be cared for, and did not continue her way until she saw that her orders had been carried out. The public did not fail to compare the conduct of the two sisters-in-law, and one can imagine that the comparison was not to the advantage of the Comtesse de Provence.
The Life of Marie Antoinette, Volume 1 By Maxime de La Rocheterie. Chapter VII, Pg. 78.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 787
