Whenwehadconversedtogetherforsome
minutes，Ibesoughtofhimtoleavetheplaceasearlyaspossible；
“TakemadamedeForcalquierwithyou，“saidI，“yourpresence
justnowatTrianonwouldbetoomuchcommentedupon。“
Hemadesomedifficultiesinobeyingme，butIinsistedandhe
went。
Afterhisdeparture，theducdeRichelieu，themarechale
andmyselfwalkedtogetherinthegarden。
Ourwalkwassodirected
thatwecouldseethroughthecolonnadeeverypersonwhoarrived
uptheavenue。
Wespokebutlittle，andanindescribablefeeling
ofsolemnitywasmingledwiththefewwordswhichpassed，when，
allatonce，ourattentionwasattractedbythesightofcomte
Jean，whorushedtowardsmeinastateoffrenzy。
“Accursedday，“criedhe，stoppingwhenhesawus，“thatwretched
girlfromVersailleshasbroughtthesmall-poxwithher。“
AtthisfatalnewsIheavedadeepsighandfainted。
Iwas
carriedundertheportico，whilethepoormarechale，scarcely
moreinhersensesthanmyself，stoodovermeweepinglikea
child，whileeveryendeavourwasbeingmadetorestoremeto
life。
Bordeu，whochancedtobeatVersailles，arrived，and
supposingitwasonmyaccounthehadbeensummoned，hastened
tomyassistance。
TheducdeRichelieuandcomteJeaninformed
himofallthathadpassed，uponwhichherequestedtoseethe
unfortunatefemaleimmediately；whilehewasconductedthither，
IremainedalonewiththemarechaleandHenriette，whohadcome
toTrianonwithmysuite。
Myfirstimpulseuponregainingthe
useofmysenses，wastothrowmyselfinthearmsofthemarechale。
“Whatwillbecomeofme？“
exclaimedI，weeping，“iftheking
shouldtakethisfatalmalady，hewillneversurviveit。“
“Letushopeforthebest，“answeredmadamedeMirepoix；“it
wouldbeencouraginggrieftobelieveamisfortune，whichwehave
atpresentnoreasontosuspect。“
ComteJeannowrejoinedus，accompaniedbyBordeuandtheducde
Richelieu；theircountenancesweregloomyanddejected。
The
miserablevictimofambitionhadthesymptomsofthemostmalignant
sortofsmall-pox；thiswasafinishingstroketomyprevious
alarms。
However，comteJeanwhisperedinmyear，“Bordeuwill
arrangethatthekingshallremainhere。“
Thisassurancerestoredmetosomethinglikecomposure；but
thesehopeswerespeedilydissipatedbythearrivalofLaMartiniere。
“Whatisthematter？“
inquiredhe，“isthekingveryill？“
“Thatremainsforyoutodecide“；repliedtheducdeRichelieu；
“buthoweveritmaybe，madameduBarryentreatsofyounotto
thinkofremovingthekingtoVersailles。“
“Andwhyso？“
askedLaMartiniere，withhisaccustomedabruptness。
“Hismajestywouldbemuchbettertherethanhere。“
“HecannowherebebetterthanatTrianon，monsieur，“saidI。
“That，madam，“answeredLaMartiniere，“istheonlypointupon
whichyoumustexcusemyconsultingyou，unless，indeed，you
arearmedwithaphysician’sdiploma。“
“MonsieurlaMartiniere，“criedtheducdeRichelieu，“youmight
employmoregentlelanguagewhenspeakingtoalady。“
“WasIsentforhither，“inquiredtheangryphysician，“togo
throughacourseofpoliteness？“
FormyownpartIfelttheutmostdread，Iscarcelyknewofwhat。
Bordeu，seeingmyconsternation，hastenedtointerfere，bysaying，
“Atanyrate，monsieurlaMartiniere，youwillnotalarmthe
kingneedlessly。“
“Norlullhimintoafalsesecurity，“answeredthedetermined
LaMartiniere。
“Butwhatishismaladyhaveyouseenhim，
doctorBordeu？“
“Notyet。“
“Thenwhydowelingerhere？
Yourservant，ladiesandgentlemen。“
Themedicalmenthendeparted，accompaniedtheducdeRichelieu。
LaMartinierecausesthekingtoberemovedtoVersailles——The
youngprophetappearsagaintomadameduBarry——Prediction
respectingcardinaldeRichelieu——Thejoiner’sdaughterrequests
toseemadameduBarry——MadamedeMirepoixandthe50，000
francs——AinthesalonofmadameduBarry
Wecontinuedforsomeminutessilentlygazingontheretreating
figuresofLaMartiniereandhiscompanions。
“Come，“saidthemarechale，“letusreturntothehouse“；saying
which，shesupportedherselfbythearmofcomteJean，whilstI
mechanicallyfollowedherexample，andsadlyandsorrowfullywe
bentourstepsbeneaththesplendidcolonnadewhichformedthe
entrancetothemansion。
WhenIreachedmychamber，IfoundmademoiselleduBarrythere，
stillignorantofthealarmingnewsIhadjustlearned。
She
earnestlypressedmetoreturntobed，butthisIrefused；for
myburninganxietytolearneveryparticularrelativetothe
kingwouldhavepreventedmysleeping。
Howdifferentwasthe
styleofourpresentconversationtothatoftheprecedingevening；
nosoundofgaietywasheard；hushedalikewerethewitty
repartee，andtheapprovinglaughwhichfollowedit。
Now，we
spokebutbyfitsandstarts，witheyeandearonthewatchto
catchtheslightestsound，whilstthemosttriflingnoise，orthe
openingofadoor，madeusstartwithtrepidationandalarm。
Thetimeappearedtodragontoaninterminablelength。
AtlasttheducdeRichelieumadehisappearance。
“Well，myfriends，“saidhe，“thekingistoberemovedto
Versailles，spiteofyourwishes，madam，spiteofhisownroyal
inclination，andagainstmine，likewise。
LaMartinierehas
thunderedforthhisedict，andpoorBordeuopposedhiminvain。
Hismajesty，whoexpressesawishtoremainhere，statedhis
pleasuretoLaMartiniere。
’“Sire，’answeredtheobstinatephysician，’itcannotbe。
You
aretooilltobepermittedtotakeyourchoiceinthematter，
andtothechateauatVersaillesyoumustberemoved。’
“’Yourwordsimplymybeingdangerouslyindisposed，’saidthe
king，inquiringly。
“’Yourmajestyissufficientlyilltojustifyeveryprecaution，
andtorequireourbestcares。
Youmustreturntothechateau；
Trianonisnothealthy；youwillbemuchbetteratVersailles。’
“’Uponmyword，doctor，’repliedtheking，’yourwordsarefar
fromconsoling；theremustbedanger，then，inmypresentsickness？’
“’Therewouldbeconsiderabledangerwereyoutoremainhere，
whilstitisveryprobableyoumayavoidanychanceofitby
followingmydirectionswithregardtoanimmediateremoval
toVersailles。’
“’Ifeelbutlittledisposedforthejourney，’saidhismajesty。
“’Still，yourmajestymustberemoved，thereisanabsolute
necessityforit，andItakealltheresponsibilityuponmyself。’
“’Whatdoyouthinkofthisdetermination，Bordeu？’
“’Ithink，sire，thatyoumaybepermittedtopleaseyourself。’
“’Youhearthat，LaMartiniere？’
“’Yes，sire，andyourmajestyheardmyopinionlikewise。’Then
turningtowardsBordeu，’Sir，’exclaimedhe，’Icalluponyouin
mycapacityofheadphysiciantotheking，tostateyouropinion
inwriting，andtoabidebytheconsequencesofit；youwhoare
notoneofhismajesty’sphysicians。’
“Atthisdirectappeal，yourdoctor，driventoextremities，
adoptedeitherthewiseorcowardlyresolutionofmaintaininga
strictsilence。
Theking，whowasawaitinghisreplywithmuch
impatience，perceivinghisreluctancetospeak，turnedtowards
theducdeDuras，whowasinattendanceuponhim，andsaid，’Let
themtakemewhenandwheremyheadphysicianadvises。’“
AtthisrecitalIshedfreshtears。
Thedukeafterwardstoldus
thatwhenLaMartinierehadquittedhismajesty，hewentto
ascertaintheconditionofthewretchedgirlwhohadintroduced
allthisuneasinessamongus，andafterhavingattentively
examinedher，heexclaimed，“Sheispastallhope，Godonly
knowswhattheconsequencesmaybe。“
Thisgloomyprognostic
addedstillmoretomydistress，andwhilstthosearoundmestrove
tocommunicatefreshhopesandconfidencetomytorturedmind，
Iremainedinastatetoodepressedanddejectedtoadmitone，
evenonerayofconsolation。
ThekingwasremovedfromTrianon，followedbyallthepersons
belongingtohissuite。
Themarechaleinsistedupondeferring
herdeparturetillIquittedtheplace。
Wesetoutafewminutes
afterhismajesty，andmycoachmanhadorderstoobservethe
sameslowpaceatwhichtheroyalcarriagetravelled。
Scarcely
hadwereachedVersailles，whenmechanicallydirectingmyeyes
towardstheirongateleadingtothegarden，asuddenpaleness
overspreadmycountenance，andacryofterrorescapedme，for，
leaningagainstthegateinquestion，Iperceivedthatsingular
being，who，afterhavingforetoldmyelevation，hadengagedto
presenthimselfbeforeme，whenasuddenreversewasaboutto
overtakeme。
Thisunexpectedfulfilmentofhispromisethrewme
intothemostcruelagitation，andIcouldnotrefrainfrom
explainingthecauseofmyalarmtothosewhowerewithme。
No
soonerhadImademyselfunderstoodthanComteJeanstoppedthe
carriage，andjumpedoutwiththeintentionofquestioningthis
mysteriousvisitor。
Wewaitedwithextremeimpatiencethereturn
ofmybrother-in-law，buthecamebackalone，norhadhebeen
abletodiscovertheleasttraceoftheobjectofhissearch。
In