The police of M. de Laporte, intendant of the civil list, apprised him, as early as the latter end of 1791, that a man belonging to the King’s offices who had set up as a pastrycook at the Palais Royal was about to resume the duties of his situation, which had devolved upon him again on the death of one who held it for life; that he was so furious a Jacobin that he had dared to say it would be a good thing for France if the King’s days were shortened.  His duty was confined to making the pastry; he was closely watched by the head officers of the kitchen, who were devoted to his Majesty; but it is so easy to introduce a subtle poison into made dishes that it was determined the King and Queen should eat only plain roast meat in future; that their bread should be brought to them by M. Thierry de Ville-d’Avray, intendant of the smaller apartments, and that he should likewise take upon himself to supply the wine.  The King was fond of pastry; I was directed to order some, as if for myself, sometimes of one pastry-cook, and sometimes of another.  The pounded sugar, too, was kept in my room.  The King, the Queen, and Madame Elisabeth ate together, and nobody remained to wait on them.  Each had a dumb waiter and a little bell to call the servants when they were wanted.  M. Thierry used himself to bring me their Majesties’ bread and wine, and I locked them up in a private cupboard in the King’s closet on the ground floor.  As soon as the King sat down to table I took in the pastry and bread.  All was hidden under the table lest it might be necessary to have the servants in.  The King thought it dangerous as well as distressing to show any apprehension of attempts against his person, or any mistrust of his officers of the kitchen.  As he never drank a whole bottle of wine at his meals (the Princesses drank nothing but water), he filled up that out of which he had drunk about half from the bottle served up by the officers of his butlery.  I took it away after dinner.  Although he never ate any other pastry than that which I brought, he took care in the same manner that it should seem that he had eaten of that served at table.  The lady who succeeded me found this duty all regulated, and she executed it in the same manner; the public never was in possession of these particulars, nor of the apprehensions which gave rise to them.  At the end of three or four months the police of M. de Laporte gave notice that nothing more was to be dreaded from that sort of plot against the King’s life; that the plan was entirely changed; and that all the blows now to be struck would be directed as much against the throne as against the person of the sovereign.