I do not mingle in any way with what is going on in Rome. The pope and
I have no relations with each other; therefore no one need address
himself to me to get a dispensation.
It is not true that I have changed my name; I cannot be called in
France by any other title than that of Madame, for my husband, as
brother of the king, bore the title of Monsieur, and I as his wife
cannot bear any other than that of Madame. The daughters of the king
are also called so, but, to distinguish them, the baptismal name is
added; for instance, the three daughters of Henri II. were called:
Madame Élisabeth, who became Queen of Spain; Madame Henriette, who
became Queen of England; and Madame Christine, who was afterwards
Duchesse de Savoie. The daughters of the king's brother are called
Mademoiselle; the eldest bears that title with nothing added to it;
the others add the name of their appanage; that is how it is there
is a Mademoiselle de Chartres, Mademoiselle de Valois, Mademoiselle
de Montpensier. It is the same with the grandsons of the king; they
should be called Monsieur with the names of their appanages attached;
it was always an abuse to say the Duc de Bourgogne, the Duc de Berry:
they ought to have been called Monsieur de Bourgogne, Monsieur de
Berry.
I went last Sunday to see the Duchesse de Berry and found her in a sad
state. She had such frightful pains in the soles and toes of her feet
that the tears came into her eyes. I saw that my presence prevented
her from screaming and so I came away. I thought she looked very ill.
They have had a consultation of three physicians, who decided on
bleeding from the foot. It was difficult to bring her to consent, for
the suffering in her feet is so unbearable that she screams if the
sheets merely touch them. However, the bleeding succeeded and she has
suffered less since. It was gout in both feet.