From the evidence adduced during the trial, from the conduct of the principal characters after the revelation, and front a comparison of the Memoirs subsequently published by the Coun tess Lamotte, and by George]. the private secre tary of liohan. Michela was led to believe that the Counte-s's account of the disappearance of the necklace is. on the whole, the most reasonable. Against Rohan. who declared that the jewels had been stolen by the Countess and disposed of in London by her husband, she maintained that only the smaller stones had been removed and sold in London, and that the proceeds of the sale had been spent by Rohan and his suite. The larger stones, she insisted, had been de livered in good faith to the Queen's messenger, and if they were intercepted, it must have been done by Rohan himself. In so far as regards the Queen. Miehelet believes that she was a party to the intrigue with Rohan, into which she entered. probably, out of a well-known predilec tion for risqui. escapades. He hints, also, that the Queen in fact did receive the jewels, hut that the Countess was condemned and Rohan excul pated to save 31arie Antoinette's good name. The
Affair of the Diamond Necklace played no small part in hastening the approach of the French Revolution by bringing the monarchy and the Court into greater disrepute than ever. The populace of Paris seized upon the occasion to vent their hatred against the Austrian woman. The Parlement itself was by no means unwilling to condemn the Countess Lamotte, since, in doing so. it was virtually striking at the Queen, whose agent, according to popular opinion, she was. Consult: Miehelet. llistoire de France, vol. xvi. (Paris. 1S67) ; Carlyle, The Diamond Necklace: Campardom Marie Antoinette et le prorf's du collier (Paris, I SG2) ; Combes, Marie Antoinette ct Pintrigue du collier (Paris. MG). The so called Memoirs of the Countess Lamotte. pub lished in London in 1791, are valuable. though requiring to be used with the utmost caution. The Memoirs of George]. Campam and Deugnot are also important sources of information. The best a•eount of the whole affair is to be found in Mock-Brentano. Tbe biamonsl ..l'erklace (Eng. trans., New York, 1901).