SECTION XVI.--PETITE MADAME.

A cautery which had been improperly made in the nape of the neck had

drawn her mouth all on one side, so that it was almost entirely in her

left cheek. For this reason talking was very painful to her, and she

said very little. It was necessary to be accustomed to her way of

speaking to understand her. Just when she was about to die her mouth

resumed its proper place, and she did not seem at all ugly. I was

present at her death. She did not say a word to her father, although a

convulsion had restored her mouth. The King, who had a good heart and

was very fond of his children, wept excessively and made me weep also.

The Queen was not present, for, being pregnant, they would not let her

come.

It is totally false that the Queen was delivered of a black child. The

late Monsieur, who was present, said that the young Princess was ugly,

but not black. The people cannot be persuaded that the child is not still

alive, and say that it is in a convent at Moret, near Fontainebleau. It

is, however, quite certain that the ugly child is dead, for all the Court

saw it die.

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Provided they are talked of, they are satisfied

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Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV. and of the Regency — Volume 02 · 第 10 / 10 章