The nearest road from Paris to Montmedy was through Rheims; but the king having been crowned there dreaded recognition.

He therefore determined, in spite of M.de Bouille's reiterated advice, to pass through Varennes.

The chief inconvenience of this road was, that there were no relays of post-horses, and it would be therefore necessary to send relays thither under different pretexts; the arrival of these relays would naturally create suspicion amongst the inhabitants of the small towns.

The presence of detachments along a road not usually frequented by troops was likewise dangerous, and M.de Bouille was anxious to dissuade the king from taking this road.

He pointed out to him in his answer, that if the detachments were strong they would excite the alarm and vigilance of the municipal authorities, and if they were weak they would be unable to afford him protection: he also entreated him not to travel in a berlin made expressly for him, and conspicuous by its form, but to make use of two English carriages, then much in vogue, and better fitted for such a purpose; he, moreover, dwelt on the necessity of taking with him some man of firmness and energy to advise and assist him in the unforeseen accidents that might happen on his journey; he mentioned as the fittest person the Marquis d'Agoult, major in the French guards; and he lastly besought the king to request the Emperor to make a threatening movement of the Austrian troops on the frontier near Montmedy, in order that the disquietude and alarm of the population might serve as a pretext to justify the movements of the different detachments and the presence of the different corps of cavalry in the vicinity of the town.
The king agreed to this, and also to take with him the Marquis d'Agoult; to the rest he positively refused to accede.