第99章

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，andiswiselyanxious(asIthink)of

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

recoveringhissense