He had found out the vanity of pleasure, as his ancestor had
discovered the vanity of glory: indeed, it was high time that he should
die. And die he did; and round his tomb, as round that of his grandfather
before him, the starving people sang a dreadful chorus of curses, which
were the only epitaphs for good or for evil that were raised to his
memory....
On the 10th of May, 1774, the whole court had assembled at the chateau;
the Oeil de Boeuf was full. The Dauphin had determined to depart as soon
as the king had breathed his last. And it was agreed by the people of the
stables, with those who watched in the king's room, that a lighted candle
should be placed in a window, and should be extinguished as soon as he had
ceased to live.
The candle was put out. At that signal, guards, pages, and squires,
mounted on horseback, and everything was made ready for departure. The
Dauphin was with the Dauphiness, waiting together for the news of the
king's demise. An immense noise, as of thunder, was heard in the next
room; it was the crowd of courtiers, who were deserting the dead king's
apartment, in order to pay their court to the new power of Louis XVI.
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