oneachunmeaningguestasmilingwelcome，forindeed，myheart
wastoolightandIfelttoohappytobeenabledtofrowneven
uponthosewho，whenthestormappearednear，hadbasely
desertedme。
Itwasamusingenoughtoseewithwhatzealanyperson，whomI
hadpreviouslyrecommendedwasassistedbythevariousministers
inthepursuitoftheirobject；thefoundhimself
allatonceatleisuretopayhisrespectstome。
Heconfirmed
allthekindmessagessentmebythekingthroughtheducd’Aiguillon。
MadamedeMirepoix，whohadvisitedmetheprecedingevening，
reservedhernextcallforthefollowingday，butafewhours
effectedacruelchangeinmyfortune。
Athirdletterfromtheduke——Thekingreceivesextremeunction——
LetterfrommadameVictoiretothedauphin——M。deMachault——
ApromenadewiththeducdeCosse——Kindattentionfromthe
princedesDeuxPonts——Afourthletterfromtheducd’Aiguillon——
ComteJeanbidsmefarewell——M。d’Aiguillon’sfifthletter，
containinganaccountofthedeathofLouisXV——Theducdela
Vrilliere——The——Lettertothequeen——Departure
fortheabbeyof
Theaccountreceivedintheeveningfromtheduc
d’AiguillonI
shallnottranscribe，asitwasmerelyarepetitionofthegood
tidingsofthemorning。
Thedayfollowingstillbroughta
continuationoffavorableaccounts，butthenextletterwasin
thesewords:——
“MADAM，ANDMOSTHONOREDFRIEND，——Armyourself
withcourage；thekingisextremelyill，andIought
nottoconcealfromyouthatseriousapprehensions
areentertainedforhislife；hehaspassedawretched
night，Hisdaughters，whoneverquittedhisbedside，
whisperedtohimthatthearchbishopofParisand
hisgrandalmonerwereintheanteroomifhedesired
toseethem。
Thekingdidnotseemtoheartheir
words，butaboutthreeo’clockinthemorninghe
calledtheducdeDuras，whomhebadeinquire
whetherM。Mandouxwereinthechateau；and，if
so，toapprizehimhewishedtospeakwithhim。
“Atthesewordstheprincessesandallwhoheard
themburstintoafitofweeping，whichwasonly
interruptedbythearrivaloftheconfessor，who，
approachingthebedsideofthepenitent，helda
conferencewithhimofnearlyaquarterofanhour:
thisbeingconcluded，theking，inalowandfirm
voice，inquiredforhisalmoner。
Thelattersoon
presentedhimself，anxioustodischargetheduties
ofhissacredoffice。
Hismajestykeptcontinually
repeatingtohisafflictedchildren，’Mydaughters，
whyshouldwhatIamnowabouttodoagitateor
alarmyou？
Youarewellaware，thathavingthe
small-pox，theetiquetteestablishedinmyfamily
compelsmetoreceivethelastsolemnritesofthe
church，andIbutacquitmyselfofanobligation
insubmittingtoit。’
“Thetoneinwhichthekingspokeconvincedhis
attendantsthatheratherstrovetore-assure
himselfthanhischildren，bythepersuasionthat
thereceivingextremeunctionwasnotsomuch
theconsequenceofhisowndangerousstateasa
mereactofobediencetoanestablishedcustom。
Itwasthendecidedthatthesacredceremonyshould
takeplaceatseveno’clockinthemorning；and
herearosesomelittleembarrassment；the
ecclesiasticsinsistinguponthenecessityofthe
king’smakingsomestrikingandopenatonement
forwhattheywerepleasedtotermthescandalof
hisprivatelife。
“Theking’schambernowpresentedapictureat
oncesolemnandgloomy。
Groupedtogetheronone
sidethebedmightbeseenthedifferentnoblemen
inattendanceuponhismajesty；alittleremoved
stoodtheclergy，concealedfromtheinvalidby
theclosely-drawncurtains；inthemidstofthese
contendingpartiesweretheprincessesgoingfrom
onetotheother，vainlyseekingbymildandgentle
mediationtoproduceasatisfactoryarrangement。
Itwasatlengthunderstood，that，onaccountof
theextremeweaknessoftheinvalid，thegrand
almonershouldpronounceinhisnameakindof
honorableapologyforpastoffences。
“Youcanscarcelyimagine，madam，theuniversal
consternationspreadthroughoutthechateauby
theinformationthatthekingwasabouttoreceive
thelastritesofhischurch。
Theterrorandalarm
becameoverpoweringforawhile，butsubsiding
intoamorereligiousfeelingcrowdsofpersons
followedwithsolemnreverencetheholyprocession
asitpassedalong，bearingtheholysacramentto
theexpiringmonarch。
Atthemomentwhenitwas
administeredthegrandalmoner，turningtowards
allpresent，pronouncedthefollowingwordsin
theking’sname:——
“’Gentlemen，theweaknessofhismajestypreventing
himfromexpressinghimself，hehascommandedme
toinformyou，thatalthoughheisresponsibleto
Godaloneforhisconduct，heyetregretshaving
causedanyscandaltohispeoplebytheirregularities
ofhislife，thathesincerelyrepentsofhissins，
and，shouldProvidencerestorehimtohealth，he
purposeslivinghenceforwardinallthevirtueand
moralityofhisyouth，inthedefenceand
maintenanceofreligion，inpreservingatrue
faith，andinwatchingoverthebestinterests
ofhispeople。’
“Yours，madam，etc。，etc。“
Ilearnedalso，throughanotherchannel，thataccordingto
customfortyhours’prayerhadbeenenjoinedineverychurchin
Francetoimplorethemercyofheavenfortheking。
Iheardtoo
thattheshrineofSaintGenevievehadbeendisplayedforthe
venerationoftruebelievers。
Ipassedamiserablenight，dreamingofgraves，winding-sheets，
andfuneral-torches，fromwhichIonlyawoketoreceivethe
morning’sdespatches。
Alas！thenewsbutconfirmedthedistressing
stateoftheking。
TheverysolitudeinwhichIwasleftatRuel
mightalonehaveservedtoconvincemeofmymisfortune；for，
withtheexceptionoftheducdeCosse，nopersoncamenearus。
M。deCosseinvitedmetowalkwithhiminthegarden；Iaccepted
thearmofthisnoblefriend，andwedirectedourstepstowards
thewood。
Whenweweretheresecurefrominterruption，theduke
inquiredwhatweremyplansforthefuture？
“HowcanItellyou，“answeredI；“whatishenceforwardtobe
myfateisbetterknowntoourfuturequeenthantomyself。“
“ThatispreciselywhatIdread，“repliedM。deCosse。
“Unfortunately
youhavedeeplyoffendedthequeenelect，whohasirritatedher
husband’smindagainstyou；andthentheChoiseulfactionwill，
inallprobability，comeintopower。“
“Iseeallthis，“returnedI，“andampreparedforwhatever
mayhappen。“
“Iadmireyourcalmnessinamomentlikethepresent，“criedthe
duke；“buthaveacare。
Perhapsthebestthingwouldbetoremove
youbeyondthereachofthefirstshockofcourtdispleasure。
In
yourplaceIwouldrequestpassportsfromtheducd’Aiguillonand
travelintoEngland。“
“Oh，speaknotofsuchathing，Iconjureyou，“interruptedI；
“Ihaveahorrorofsuchjourneys，andwouldmuchrathertrust
tothegenerosityofthedauphiness。
Sheisabouttobecomea
greatqueen，whileIshallbeacreaturesohumiliatedand
abased，thattheverydifferencebetweenoursituationswillbea
sufficientvengeanceinhereyes。“
Wereturnedtothehouse，andhadscarcelyentered，whenM。de
Palchelbel，plenipotentiarytotheprincedesDeuxPonts，
wasannounced。
“M。dePalchelbel，“criedI，extendingmyhand，“whatgoodwind
bringsyouhere？“
“Ihavebeenhonouredbythecommandsoftheprince，mymaster，
madam，“repliedhe，“tobringyoutheassurancesofhisunalterable
friendship；andtosayfurther，thatwheneveryoufeeldissatisfied
withyourresidenceinFrance，youwillfindatDeuxPontsan
asylum，whichthemostearnestendeavorsoftheprince，my
graciouspatron，willstrivetorenderagreeabletoyou。“
Iwasmuchaffectedbythismarkofgenerousregardonthepart
ofprinceCharlesAuguste；and，turningquicklytowardstheduke，
Iexclaimed，
“Whatthinkyouofallthis？
Willyouhenceforwardbelievethose
self-dubbedphilosophers，whoassertthatfriendshipisunknown
toroyalty？
Youhavehereaproofofthecontrary。
Formyown
part，M。dePalchelbel，“continuedI，turningtowardstheminister，
“Iammuchgratifiedbyyourmessage，andentreatofyoutothank
hisroyalhighnessmostsincerelyforme。
Iwillwritetohim
myselfonthesubject，butbegofyoutorepeatthat，kindasare
hisoffers，Icannotacceptofthem；butshallcertainlyremainin
Franceuntilthenewsovereigncommandsorpermitsmetoquitit。“
IafterwardsrepeatedtotheministerofDeuxPontswhatIhad
previouslystatedinthegardentoM。de
Cosse，andhadthe
satisfactionofhearingmadamd’Aiguillonapproveofmysentiments。
WhenIretiredtomyapartmentIwasfollowedbymyniece。
“Howhappyareyou，dearaunt，“saidshe，’topreservesuch
friendsinyourpresenttroubles。“
“Iowethem，“repliedI，“tomysimplicityandcandor。“
“WillyounotretiretoGermany？“
“Certainlynot，“answeredI。
“Yetitwouldbebettertoallowthefirstburstofdispleasure
onthepartofthedauphinesstopassover。“
“Whogaveyouthiscounsel，mydearniece？
Iamquitesureit
doesnotoriginateinyourself。“
“Ihadpromisednottotell，“answeredshe；“butifyouinsist
uponit，Imustconfess，thatIwaspersuadedbytheprincede
CondeandM。deSoubisetourgeyoutofollowit。“
“Dotheythenwishformyabsence？“