首页 >出版文学> Men, Women and Ghosts>第86章
  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