ever left him for a single instant: she gave up all
the Court excursions and amusements in order to devote her whole attention
to him. The Prince always manifested a great regard for M. de Bourset,
his valet de chambre. During the illness of which he died, he one day
asked for a pair of scissors; that gentleman reminded him that they were
forbidden. The child insisted mildly, and they were obliged to yield to
him. Having got the scissors, he cut off a lock of his hair, which he
wrapped in a sheet of paper: 'There, monsieur,' said he to his valet de
chambre,' there is the only present I can make you, having nothing at my
command; but when I am dead you will present this pledge to my papa and
mamma; and while they remember me, I hope they will not forget
you.'"--NOTE BY THE EDITOR.]

How many maternal tears did his condition draw from the Queen, already
overwhelmed with apprehensions respecting the state of the kingdom! Her
grief was enhanced by petty intrigues, which, when frequently renewed,
became intolerable. An open quarrel between the families and friends of
the Duc Harcourt, the Dauphin's governor, and those of the Duchesse de
Polignac, his governess, added greatly to the Queen's affliction. The
young Prince showed a strong dislike to the Duchesse de Polignac, who
attributed it either to the Duc or the Duchesse d'Harcourt, and came to
make her complaints respecting it to the Queen. The Dauphin twice sent
her out of his room, saying to her, with that maturity of manner which
long illness always gives to children: "Go out, Duchess; you are so fond
of using perfumes, and they always make me ill;" and yet she never used
any. The Queen perceived, also, that his prejudices against her friend
extended to herself; her son would no longer speak in her presence. She
knew that he had become fond of sweetmeats, and offered him some
marshmallow and jujube lozenges. The under-governors and the first valet
de chambre requested her not to give the Dauphin anything, as he was to
receive no food of any kind without the consent of the faculty. I forbear
to describe the wound this prohibition inflicted upon the Queen; she felt
it the more deeply because she was aware it was unjustly believed she gave
a decided preference to the Duc de Normandie, whose ruddy health and
amiability did, in truth, form a striking contrast to the languid look and
melancholy disposition of his elder brother. She even suspected that a
plot had fo