inquiredI，angrily。
“Onlyforyourownsake，dearestaunt。“
“Ithankthem；butmyresolutionisformedtocommitmyself
entirelytoProvidenceinthismelancholyaffair。“
Thedaypassedon；andwithfeverishimpatienceIwaitedthe
arrivalofthenextcourier:hecame，atlength，andconfirmed
myworstfears；thekingwasentirelygivenoverbyhisphysicians，
andhisdissolutionwashourlyexpected。
Thelettercontaining
thismournfultidingsconcludedthus:——
“IhavejustseencomteJean，heishereincognito。
Wehadentirelyforgottenthatpassportswouldbe
necessary；however，Ihavenowfurnishedhimwith
fourforEngland，Germany，Italy，andSwitzerland。
Thecountisfarfrompartakingofyoursenseof
security，andiswiselyanxiousasIthinkof
shieldinghimselffromthefirstburstofroyal
vengeance。
Theduchesshasinformedmeofyour
refusalofanasylumatDeuxPonts；and，whileI
admireyourcourage，permitmetoadd，thatyou
shouldratherhavelistenedtothedictatesof
prudencethanmagnanimityunderpresentcircumstances。“
Thefollowingmorning，atanearlyhour，comteJeanenteredmy
chamber，saying，
“Iunderstandthekingisdead；haveyouheardanythingofit？“
“Werethereportcorrect，“answeredI，“Ishouldhaveknownit
eretheintelligencereachedParis。“
“Well，livingordead，Iamadvisedtokeepoutoftheway；and
thisnightwillseemeonmyjourneyfromParis。
Willyou
accompanyme？“
“No，IrepliedI；“Ihaverefusedtravellingwithamuchmore
creditablecompanionthanyourself。“
“Thereyouarewrongthen；for，dependuponit，acloisterwill
beyourfate；atanyratemybusinesshereisatanend。
Thenew
monarchisyoung，andattachedtohiswife，andmydaughter-in-law
istoogreatasimpletontobeturnedtoanyaccountatcourt。“
Mybrother-in-lawthenrequestedIwouldfurnishhimwithmoney。
IgavehimwhatIhad，andplacedinhishandsdiamondstothe
valueof30，000francs。
Hewasveryanxioustoobtainallmy
jewels，underpretenceofconveyingthemsafelyoutofthekingdom，
butthisIwastoowisetoagreeto；hewouldhavestakedthematt
hefirstgaming-tablehemetwith。
Weseparatedwithoutmuch
emotiononeitherside。
HenexttookleaveofChonandhis
daughter-in-law。
theformerweptbitterly，forshewasamost
excellentandamiablegirl——butthelatter，whoknewbuttoomuch
ofthevillainyofherfather-in-law，couldscarcelyrepress
herjoyathisdeparture。
ComteJeanperceivedit；and，according
tohisbrutalcustom，indulgedinacoarsejestatherexpense；
foroneofhismaximswastoholdallwomeninsovereigncontempt
butsuchascouldbeusefultohim。
Formyownpart，hisabsence
gavemesomethinglikepleasure；hispresencewaswearisometome；
itwaslikethedregsofthecupwhichhadintoxicatedmysenses。
Duringthedayseveralfalsereportsarrivedofthedeathofthe
king；butatlength，abouthalfpastfouro’clockintheafternoon，
Ireceivedthefollowingletter:——
“MADAM，-YouhavelostyourbestfriendandIan
excellentmaster:atthreeclockthisdayhismajesty
breathedhislast。
Icanscarcelydescribetoyou
thehorrorsofhisdeath-bed。
Theprincesses
AdelaideandSophiebravedthefrightfulcontagion
tothelastandneverquittedhimtillthelast
sparkhadflown。
Alas！
withtheexceptionof
themselves，everyattendantopenlyexpressed
theirwearinessanddisgust。
“Forseveraldaysthephysicianshaveforbidden
thewindowstobeopened；andthosecondemnedto
inhalethepestilentialvaporoftheroomvainly
soughttocounteractthembyeverypowerful
fumigation。
Alas，madam，whatisakingwhenhe
cannolongergraspthesceptre？
Howgreata
levellerisdeath！
Theprelatesabandonedthesick
chamber，andleftasimplecureofthechapelto
taketheirplace；
thelordsinwaitingandother
officersshrunkfromthedutiesoftheiroffice，
andwiththeireyesfixedonatime-pieceeagerly
awaitedthehourwhichshouldfreethemfromit。
Theprincesses，whoperceivedthisimpatience，
durstmakenocomplaint，whiletheking，occasionally
recoveringhissenses，utteredbrokensentences，
expressiveofthereligiousterrorwhichhadseized
hismind。
Atlength，atafewminutespastthree
o’clock，Lemonnier，inhiscapacityoffirst
physician，said，afterlayinghishanduponthe
heartofthepatient，andplacingaglassbefore
hislips，’Thekingisdead。’Atthesewordsall
presentstrovewithindecenthastetoquitthe
chamber；notasinglesigh，notoneregretwas
heard。
Theprincesseswerecarriedinsensible
totheirapartments。
“Theextinctionofawhichhadbeen
placedinacertainwindow，announcedtheaccession
ofthedauphineretheducd’Aumonthadinformed
himofthedeceaseofhisaugustgrandsire。“
Thisletterwrungfrommesomebittertears，aswellfortheking，
whohadsolavishlybestowedhisaffectionsuponme，asfor
myself。
Whatwouldnowbemyfate？
Alas！
Iknewnot；allmy
brilliantprospectswereburiedinthecoffinofmylateprotector。
Theducd’AiguillonarrivedatRuelaboutmidnight；he，aswell
astheotherministerswhohadbeenaboutthelatemonarchduring
hislastillness，beingprohibitedbyetiquettefromfollowingthe
presentmonarchtoChoisy，whitherthewholeoftheroyalfamily
hadretiredforafewdays。
Hetoldusthattheducd’Aumont，
havingcommandedLaMartinieretoproceedwiththeembalmingof
theroyalcorpse，thatphysicianreplied，“Certainly，mylord，
itshallbedoneifyoucommandit，but，inthatcase，theduties
ofyourofficecompelyoutoreceivehismajesty’sbowelsina
goldendish；andIprotest，thatsuchisthestateofthebody，
thatofallwhomayassistattheoperation，notonewillsurvive
eightdays。
Itisforyourgracetodeterminewhatshallbedone。“
M。d’Aumontthoughtnomoreofembalminghislatemaster，but
gaveordersforthebodybeingimmediatelyplacedinaleaden
coffin，fromwhichherestillissuedfrightfuleffluvia。
UptothemomentofmyquittingRuelmadamedeMirepoixgaveme
notokenofrecollection:Iheardthatherselfandtheprincede
Beauvauwerereconciled，andforhersakeIrejoicedatit。
No
personcamenearusthewholeofthedaywiththeexceptionof
M。deCosse，andIsatinhourlyexpectationofsomeorderfrom
court。
Atlengthwedescriedatravellingcarriagewithsix
horses，proceedingatarapidpaceuptheavenue。
“Iknowthat
livery，“exclaimedI；“’tisthatofmyhumbleadorer，my
obsequiousslave，myfriendatcourt，theducdelaVrilliere，
commonlycalled。
Youseethatthegoodsoul
couldnotdelegatetoanotherthepleasingtaskofarrestingme；
butpermitmetoretiretomyapartment；itisfittingheshould
seekmethereifhehasanycommunicationtomaketome。“
The
duchess，approvedmyresolution；andtheducdela
Vrilliere
havingbeenintroducedintothesalon，afterthefirstcompliments，
requestedtoseeme，thathemightacquaintmewiththe
king’spleasure。
MademoiselleduBarryundertooktoinformmeoftheduke’sarrival。
“Youwerenotmistaken，dearsister，“saidshe；“theducdela
Vrilliereisthebeareroftheking’sordersrespectingyou:but
composeyourself，Ibeseechyou。“
“Fearnot，“saidI；“Iamascalmasyouwouldhaveme。
Tell
theviledissembler，Imeantheduke，Iawaithim“
M。Tartuffewasbutafaintcopyofashepresented
himselfbeforeme。
Hismannersstillretainedpartoftheirformer
servility，buttherewasalurkingsmileabouthim，whichproved
howwellhewaspleasedwiththeparthehadtoperform。
Heapproachedmewithlingeringstepsandanairofmysterious
importance，whileasortofsardonicgrincontradictedthesorrow
heendeavoredtoforceintohiscountenance。
Formyownpart，
Icausedthefolding-doorstobethrownopen，andadvancing
ceremoniously，stoodtoreceivetheordersoftheking。
Ibowed
stifflyandsilently；and，withsomethinglikeamalicious
satisfaction，Iwitnessedtheembarrassmentintowhichmycool
andcollectedmannerthrewhim。
“Madam，“saidheatlast，“Ihaveapainfuldutytoperform:ina
word，Iamthebearerofa。“
“Well，sir！
“saidI，tranquilly。
“Madam，ImustrequestyoutobelievehowgreatlyIregretthe
taskimposeduponme；butmydutyandobediencetotheking——“
“Wouldenableyoutostrangleyournearestrelative。
Allthatis
wellknown；but，inthenameofallthatisbase，cowardly，and
unmanly，couldnoonebutbefoundtoremindadistressed
andafflictedwomanthatshehaslostheronlyfriendandsupport？“
“Madam，Irepeat，obedience——necessity——“
“Enough，sir；Ipityyou。“
“Madam，yououtragethekinginmyperson。“
“No，sir；Irespectthekingtoohighlytobelievethattherecould
everbeanyrelationbetweenhimandonewhoistoocontemptible
toremindmethathewasbutafewdaysbackthemostcringing
ofmyservileslaves。“
，boilingwithrage，withanunsteadyhand，
unfoldedandread，inatremblingvoice，thefollowingwords:
“MADAMELACOMTESSEDuBarry，——Forreasons，
whichhavefortheirobjectthepreservationof
thetranquillityofmykingdom，andtheprevention
ofanystatesecretsconfidedtoyoubeing
promulgated，Isendthisorderforyourimmediate
removalto，accompaniedbyone
femaleattendantonly，andundertheescortofthe
exemptwhohasthenecessaryorders。
Thismeasure
isbynomeansintendedtobeeitherdisagreeable
oroflongduration。
IthereforeprayGodtohave
youinhisholykeeping，
“Signed
Louis。“
“That，madam，“continuedtheduke，“ishismajesty’spleasure，
andyouhavenothingtodobuttosubmit。“
“Youradvicewasnotasked，mylord，“returnedI；“Ihonorand
obeytheking’sslightestwish，butyourpresenceisnolonger
requisite；youwillthereforebepleasedtoridmeofit。“
Theduke，resuminghisairofmockhumility，bowedlow，and
departed。
WhenIwasalone，Imustconfessafewtearsescapedme，butI
soonwipedthemaway；myresolutionwastaken。
Theduchessed’Aiguillonandmyfemalefriendshastenedtoquestion
merelativetotheduke’svisit。
Ishowedthemthe，whichconfirmedthemisfortunetheyhadsuspected
fromseeingHamond，whowastobemyescort，waitinginthe
anteroomtoconductmetotheabbeyof，near
Meaux，theplaceofmyexile。
Theyallevincedtheutmostsorrow，
andbothChonandmynieceprotestedthatwiththeking’spermission，
theywouldwillinglyattendmeinmyseclusion。
Ifeltgrateful
forthismarkofattachment；thensendingfortheexempt，I
inquiredwhetherImightbeallowedsufficienttimetowritea
letter，andcauseafewnecessarypreparationstobemade？
“Madam，Irepliedhe，“myonlyordersaretoaccompanyyou
to，thehourofdepartureislefttoyourself。“
Ithenpennedafewhastylinestotheking，indicativeofmy
wishesforthehappinessandprosperityofhisreign，ofmyready
obediencetohiscommands，andofmyearnestwishesthatmy
sister-in-lawandniecemightbepermittedtovisitme。
This
letterIwaspromisedshouldbepunctuallydelivered。
Ihadnow
thepainfuldutytoperformofchoosingbetweenHenrietteand
Genevieve，asonlyoneattendantwasallowedmeat。
Henriettepleadedherclaimasmyservant，whilethe
excellentGenevievetimidlyurgedherearlyfriendship。
“Letchancedecideit，“criedI。
Theydrewlots，andGenevieve
wasselected。
WereachedPontauxDamesinthemiddleofthenight；itwasa
miserablelookingplace，whichtookitsdatefromthetimeof
SaintLouisorCharlemagneforoughtIknow。
Whatacontrast
metmyeyesbetweenthisruinousoldbuilding，itsbarewalls，
woodenseats，andgloomycasements，andthesplendorofVersailles
orChoisy；allmyfirmnessforsookme，Ithrewmyselfweeping
intothearmsofGenevieve。
Acourier-hadannouncedmyintendedarrival，andIfoundallthe
goodsistersimpatienttoseeme。
Whateagercuriositydidthe
piousnunsevincetobeholdoneofwhomtheyhadheardsomuch
evenintheirquietretreat，andhowmanyquestionshadItoreply
tofromthosewhohadthecouragetoaddressme。
Alas！
I，of
allthethrongassembled，wasthemostanxiousforquietandsolitude。
Iwaslodgedinthebestapartments，which，howevermagnificent
thegoodpeopleofmightconsiderthem，were
notonaparwiththegranariesofLucienne。
Butcomplaintwas
useless，andIcouldonlyresignmyselftowhatwasofferedme。
End