On Saturday evening, the 24th of August, he supped in his dressing-gown, in presence of the courtiers, for the last time.  I noticed that he could only swallow liquids, and that he was troubled if looked at.  He could not finish his supper, and begged the courtiers to pass on, that is to say, go away.  He went to bed, where his leg, on which were several black marks, was examined.  It had grown worse lately and had given him much pain.  He sent for Pere Tellier and made confession.  Confusion spread among the doctors at this.  Milk, and Jesuit bark and water had been tried and abandoned in turns; now, nobody knew what to try.  The doctors admitted that they believed he had had a slow fever ever since Whitsuntide; and excused themselves for doing nothing on the ground that he did not wish for remedies.

On Sunday, the 25th of August, no more mystery was made of the King’s danger.  Nevertheless, he expressly commanded that nothing should be changed in the usual order of this day (the fete of St. Louis), that is to say, that the drums and the hautboys, assembled beneath his windows, should play their accustomed music as soon as he awoke, and that the twenty-four violins should play in the ante-chamber during his dinner.  He worked afterwards with the Chancellor, who wrote, under his dictation, a codicil to his will, Madame de Maintenon being present.  She and M. du Maine, who thought incessantly of themselves, did not consider the King had done enough for them by his will; they wished to remedy this by a codicil, which equally showed how enormously they abused the King’s weakness in this extremity, and to what an excess ambition may carry us.  By this codicil the King submitted all the civil and military household of the young King to the Duc du Maine, and under his orders to Marechal de Villeroy, who, by this disposition became the sole masters of the person and the dwelling place of the King, and of Paris, by the troops placed in their hands; so that the Regent had not the slightest shadow of authority and was at their mercy; certainly liable to be arrested or worse, any time it should please M. du Maine.

Soon after the Chancellor left the King, Madame de Maintenon, who remained, sent for the ladies; and the musicians came at seven o’clock in the evening.  But the King fell asleep during the conversation of the ladies.  He awoke; his brain confused, which frightened them and made them call the doctors.  They found his pulse so bad that they did not hesitate to propose to him, his senses having returned, to take the sacrament without delay.  Pere Tellier was sent for; the musicians who had just prepared their books and their instruments, were dismissed, the ladies also; and in a quarter of an hour from that time, the King made confession to Pere Tellier, the Cardinal de Rohan, meanwhile, bringing the Holy Sacrament from the chapel, and sending for the Cure and holy oils.  Two of the King’s chaplains, summoned by the