This volume is from 1904. Here is a portion from the book's Preface:It might have been expected that, after the 21st of January, the King's death would have fully satisfied the revolutionary passions which the Convention had so willingly obeyed, and that the prisoners who were still at the Temple--the Queen, Madame Elisabeth, and the royal children-- would no longer have had to fear for their lives. Such vain hopes, however, were not lasting, and it soon became plain to all who were interested in the fortunes of the Royal Family that its members, and especially Marie Antoinette, would soon be in danger of death. Far from being appeased by misfortune, the hatred which had so long been felt against Marie Antoinette, who was called l' Autrichienne (the Austrian), had grown more violent and more bitter against her since the war had become almost general, and had united Prussia, Austria, England, Spain, Holland, and Sardinia in their struggle against France, or rather against the French Revolution. Events were fast succeeding one another, and the situation was now assuming a very gloomy aspect. The Girondins, who were in power, and who composed the Cabinet at the time of the execution of Louis XVI. It did not seem capable of resisting the storm, and it was easy to foresee a time when this party would be powerless in the struggle against the revolutionary agitation; for it was composed of men relatively moderate, but wanting the energy needful in the awful events which were then taking place. Everything went to show that the populace would soon be triumphant. Justly frightened at such a prospect, a few wise and thoughtful men met together and formed the bold but perilous plan of snatching from their jailers the Temple prisoners--two women and two children, for these jailers were now ready to become their executioners. Three different attempts were made to save the Royal Family. Ranking first in date was the attempt made by Toulan and the Chevalier de Jarjayes. The second was planned by Michonis and Cortey at the instigation of the Baron de Batz, that extraordinary conspirator whose existence has remained in many points, in spite of all investigations, mysterious and obscure. The third, which was barely outlined, seems to have been limited to a visit which the Chevalier de Rougeville, introduced, by Michonis, paid to the Queen in her cell at the Conciergerie. 'A Conspiracy under the Terror ' relates the first of those three attempts. It may interest the reader to know how I came to write this narrative. One day, some fifteen years ago, I was shown a few autograph notes from Marie Antoinette and an autograph letter from the Comte de Provence. They belonged and still belong to a lady who received them from a descendant by marriage of the Chevalier de Jarjayes, to whom they were addressed. Their authenticity, therefore, cannot be suspected. The letter was then partly unpublished, and the notes had never been printed. These were invaluable documents; for not only have Marie Antoinette's autographs dating from her captivity always been few in number, but, several of them having been destroyed, they have now become very rare. Written on small pieces of coarse paper, yellow with age, the characters were not in the least faded, and reproduced with perfect clearness the unfortunate Queen's well-known handwriting. One of them is in mysterious language, and consequently rather difficult to interpret. The others contained allusions to various people whose names are not mentioned, and to facts which are not defined; they thus call for attention and excite curiosity. The book has four parts: - Part I...The Stay at the Temple/3 chapters - Part II...The Conspiracy/11 chapters - Part III...The Ring and Seal of Louis XVI/ 3 chapters - Part IV... Consequences of the Conspiracy/10 chaptersNo illustrations are included in this Kindle version. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.