第93章

madeithisbusinessthefollowingdaytocallupontheprincesses，

towhomherelatedtheconversationhehadheldwithdoctorSulton

theprecedingevening。

Intheireagernesstoavailthemselvesofeverychanceforpromoting

therecoveryoftheirbelovedparent，theprincessesblamedthe

dukeforhavingbestowedsolittleattentionupontheEnglishman，

andconjuredhimtoreturntoParis，seeSulton，andbringhimto

Versaillesonthefollowingday。

Theducd’Orleansactedinstrict

conformitywiththeirwishes；andalthoughbutlittlesatisfied

withtherepliesmadebySultontomanyofhisquestionsrelative

tothemeasuresheshouldpursueinhistreatmentoftheking，he

causedhimtoaccompanyhimtoVersailles，inorderthatthe

princessesmightjudgeforthemselves。

Thetaskofreceiving

himwasundertakenbymadameAdelaide。

Sultonunderwenta

rigorousexamination，andwasofferedanimmensesumforthe

discoveryofhissecret，providedhewouldallowhisremedyto

besubjectedtothescrutinyofsomeofthemostcelebrated

chemistsofthetime。

Sultondeclaredthatthethingwas

impossible；inthefirstplace，itwastoolate，thediseasewas

toofaradvancedfortheapplicationoftheremedytopossess

thatpositivesuccessitwouldhaveobtainedintheearlierstage

ofthemalady；inthenextplace，hecouldnotofhimselfdispose

ofasecretwhichwasthejointpropertyofseveralmembersof

hisfamily。

Prayers，promises，entreatieswerealikeuselesslyemployedto

changetheresolutionofSulton；thefactwasevidentlythis，he

knewhimselftobeamerepretendertohisart，forhadhebeen

certainofwhatheadvanced，hadheevenconceivedthemost

slenderhopesofsavingthelifeoftheking，hewouldnothave

hesitatedforasingleinstanttohavedoneallthatwasasked。

Thischanceofsafetywas，therefore，atanend，andspiteof

theopinionIentertainedofSulton，Icouldnotbutfeelsorry

Bordeuhadnotgivenhimabetterreceptionwhenhefirstmade

knownhisprofessedabilitytosurmountthisfataldisorder。

However，Iwascarefulnottoexpressmydissatisfaction，forit

wasbuttooimportantformetoavoidanydisputeatatimewhen

thesupportofmyfriendshadbecomesoessentiallynecessarytome。

Inproportionasthekingbecameworse，mycreditalsodeclined。

Twoorders，addressedtothecomptroller-generalandM。dela

Borde，formoney，metwithnoattention。

Thelatterreplied，with

extremepoliteness，thatthe100，000francsreceivedbycomte

Jeanafewdaysbeforethekingwastakenill，andthe50，000

paidtomadamedeMirepoixrecently，mustbeaconvincingproof，

inmyeyes，ofhisfriendlyintentionstowardsme，butthathehad

nomoneyatpresentinhispossession，thefirsthereceivedshould

beatmydisposal。

TheabbeTerrayactedwithlessceremony，forhecamehimselfto

say，that，solongasthekingremainedill，hewouldpaynomoney

withouthismajesty’ssignature，forwhichmybrother-in-lawmight

eitheraskorwaittilltherenolongerexistedanyoccasionfor

suchaprecaution；andthat，forhisownpart，hecouldnot

conceivehowhecouldhaveconsumedtheenormoussumshehad

alreadydrawnfromthetreasury。

Thismannerofspeakingstungmetothequic