Ordinarily, whenever Monsieur or Madame were unwell, even if their little finger ached, the King visited them at once; and continued his visits if the sickness lasted.  But now, Madame had been laid up for six weeks with a tertian fever, for which she would do nothing, because she treated herself in her German fashion, and despised physic and doctors.  The King, who, besides the affair of M. le Duc de Chartres, was secretly angered with her, as will presently be seen, had not been to see her, although Monsieur had urged him to do so during those flying visits which he made to Versailles without sleeping there.  This was taken by Monsieur, who was ignorant of the private cause of indignation alluded to, for a public mark of extreme disrespect; and being proud and sensitive he was piqued thereby to the last degree.

He had other mental troubles to torment him.  For some time past he had had a confessor who, although a Jesuit, kept as tight a hand over him as he could.  He was a gentleman of good birth, and of Brittany, by name le Pere du Trevoux.  He forbade Monsieur not only certain strange pleasures, but many which he thought he could innocently indulge in as a penance for his past life.  He often told him that he had no mind to be damned on his account; and that if he was thought too harsh let another confessor be appointed.  He also told him to take great care of himself, as he was old, worn out with debauchery, fat, short-necked, and, according to all appearance, likely to die soon of apoplexy.  These were terrible words to a prince the most voluptuous and the most attached to life that had been seen for a long time; who had always passed his days in the most luxurious idleness and who was the most incapable by nature of all serious application, of all serious reading, and of all self-examination.  He was afraid of the devil; and he remembered that his former confessor had resigned for similar reasons as this new one was actuated by.  He was forced now, therefore, to look a little into himself, and to live in a manner that, for him, might be considered rigid.  From time to time he said many prayers; he obeyed his confessor, and rendered an account to him of the conduct he had prescribed in respect to play and many other things, and patiently suffered his confessor’s long discourses.  He became sad, dejected, and spoke less than usual—­that is to say, only about as much as three or four women—­so that everybody soon saw this great change.  It would have been strange if all these troubles together had not made a great revolution in a man like Monsieur, full-bodied, and a great eater, not only at meals, but all the day.