She could not have had a better guide in such matters than De Vermond, who was a man of extensive information and of a very correct taste; and under his guidance and with his assistance she studied Sully's memoirs, Madame de Sevigne's letters, and any other books which he recommended to her, and which gave her an idea of the past history of the country as well as the masterpieces of the great French dramatists.[7] The latter part of the year 1771 was marked by no very striking occurrences.

Marie Antoinette had carried her point, and had begun to ride on horseback without either her figure or her complexion suffering from the exercise.

On the contrary, she was admitted to have improved in beauty.

She sent her measure to Vienna, to show Maria Teresa how much she had grown, adding that her husband had grown as much, and had become stronger and more healthy-looking, and that she had made use of her saddle-horses to accompany him in his hunting and shooting excursions.
Like a true wife, she boasted to her mother of his skill as a shot: the very day that she wrote he had killed forty head of game.

(She did not mention that a French sportsman's bag was not confined to the larger game, but that thrushes, blackbirds, and even, red-breasts, were admitted to swell the list.) And the increased facilities for companionship with him that her riding afforded increased his tenderness for her, so that she was happier than ever.