"The first thing to be done," said he, "is to remember that the
king is a Christian, and to conform in every respect to the
customs of his predecessors. You are aware, my lord duke, that
directly any member of the royal family is attacked by the small-pox,
he ought immediately to receive extreme unction; you will,
therefore, make the necessary arrangements, and apprize those
whose duty it becomes to administer it."
"This is, indeed, an unpleasant commission," replied the duke; "to
administer extreme unction to his majesty, is to announce to him
cruelly and abruptly that his last hour has arrived, and to bid
him prepare for death."
"The duty is nevertheless imperative," answered the comte de Muy,
"and you incur no slight responsibility by neglecting it."
The consequence of this conversation was, that the duke sent off
two couriers immediately, one to madame Louise, and the other
to the archbishop of Paris. He also apprized the ministers of the
result of the consultation which had taken place, whilst the comte
de Muy took upon himself the painful office of acquainting the
dauphin with the dangerous state of his grandfather. This young
prince, whose first impulses were always amiable, immediately
burst into tears; the dauphiness endeavoured to console him.
But from that moment her royal highness appeared to show by her
lofty and dignified bearing, her consciousness of the fresh
importance she had necessarily acquired in the eyes of the nation.
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