350 MEMOIRS OF THE D1JKE OF SAINT-SIMON.

bring tin) his clothes on the morrow, in order that he might
choose which he would wear upon leaving off the mourning he
wore for a son of Madame la Duchesse de Lorraine. He had not
been able to quit his chamber for some days; he could scarcely
eat anything solid; his physician slept in his chamber, and yet
he reckoned upon being cured, upon dressing himself again., and
wished to choose his dress ! In like manner there was the
same round of councils, of work, of amusements. So true it is,
that men do not wish to die, and dissimulate from themselves
the approach of death as long as possible. Meanwhile, let
me say, that the state of the King, which nobody was ignorant
of, had already changed M. d'Orleans' desert into a crowded
city.

Friday, the 23rd of August, the night was as usual, the
morning also. The King worked with P&re Tellier, who tried, but
in vain, to make him fill up several benefices that were vacant;
that is to say, Pdre Tellier wished to dispose of them himself,
instead of leaving them to M. le Due d'Orl&ms. Let me state
at once, that the feebler the King grew, the more P&re Tellier
worried him; so as not to lose such a rich prey, or miss the
opportunity of securing fresh creatures for his service. But he
could not succeed. The King declared to him that he had
enough to render account of to God, without charging himself
with this nomination, and forbade him to speak again upon the
subject.

On Saturday evening, the 24th of August, lie 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 liad grown worse lately and had given him
much pain. He sent for P&re 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