e duc d'Orleans,
related to him what had passed between himself and the king's
physicians. The prince made it his business the following day to call
upon the princesses, to whom he related the conversation he had held
with doctor Sulton the preceding evening.

In their eagerness to avail themselves of every chance for promoting
the recovery of their beloved parent, the princesses blamed the duke for
having bestowed so little attention upon the Englishman, and conjured
him to return to Paris, see Sulton, and bring him to Versailles on the
following day. The duc d'Orleans acted in strict conformity with their
wishes; and although but little satisfied with the replies made by
Sulton to many of his questions relative to the measures he should
pursue in his treatment of the king, he caused him to accompany him to
Versailles, in order that the princesses might judge for themselves.
The task of receiving him was undertaken by madame Adelaide. Sulton
underwent a rigorous examination, and was offered an immense sum for
the discovery of his secret, provided he would allow his remedy to be
subjected to the scrutiny of some of the most celebrated chemists of the
time. Sulton declared that the thing was impossible; in the first place,
it was too late, the disease was too far advanced for the application
of the remedy to possess that positive success it would have obtained
in the earlier stage of the malady; in the next place, he could not
of himself dispose of a secret which was the joint property of several
members of his family.

Prayers, promises, entreaties were alike uselessly employed to change
the resolution of Sulton; the fact was evidently this, he knew himself
to be a mere pretender to his art, for had he been certain of what he
advanced, had he even conceived the most slender hopes of saving the
life of the king, he would not have hesitated for a single instant to
have done all that was asked.

This chance of safety was, therefore, at an end, and spite of the
opinion I entertained of Sulton, I could not but feel sorry Bordeu had
not given him a better reception when he first made known his professed
ability to surmount this fatal disorder. However, I was careful not to
express my dissatisfaction, for it was but too important for me to
avoid any dispute at a time when the support of my friends had become so
essentially necessary to me.

In proportion as the king became worse, my credit also declined. Two
orders, addre