orm
the king, who was almost overcome by the thought that he was about to
become the father of two dauphins. He said to the Bishop of Meaux, whom
he had sent for to minister to the queen, "Do not quit my wife till she
is safe; I am in mortal terror." Immediately after he summoned us
all, the Bishop of Meaux, the chancellor M. Honorat, Dame Peronete the
midwife, and myself, and said to us in presence of the queen, so that
she could hear, that we would answer to him with our heads if we made
known the birth of a second dauphin; that it was his will that the fact
should remain a state secret, to prevent the misfortunes which would
else happen, the Salic Law not having declared to whom the inheritance
of the kingdom should come in case two eldest sons were born to any of
the kings.

"'What had been foretold happened: the queen, while the king was at
supper, gave birth to a second dauphin, more dainty and more beautiful
than the first, but who wept and wailed unceasingly, as if he regretted
to take up that life in which he was afterwards to endure such
suffering. The chancellor drew up the report of this wonderful birth,
without parallel in our history; but His Majesty not being pleased with
its form, burned it in our presence, and the chancellor had to write and
rewrite till His Majesty was satisfied. The almoner remonstrated, saying
it would be impossible to hide the birth of a prince, but the king
returned that he had reasons of state for all he did.

"'Afterwards the king made us register our oath, the chancellor signing
it first, then the queen's confessor, and I last. The oath was also
signed by the surgeon and midwife who attended on the queen, and the
king attached this document to the report, taking both away with him,
and I never heard any more of either. I remember that His Majesty
consulted with the chancellor as to the form of the oath, and that he
spoke for a long time in an undertone to the cardinal: after which the
last-born child was given into the charge of the midwife, and as they
were always afraid she would babble about his birth, she has told me
that they often threatened her with death should she ever mention it:
we were also forbidden to speak, even to each other, of the child whose
birth we had witnessed.

"'Not one of us has as yet violated his oath; for His Majesty dreaded
nothing so much as a civil war brought about by the two children born
together, and the cardinal, who afterwards got the car