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