DRESDEN, _June 8th, 1796._

I comply with your request, madame, but with extreme grief; the loss you
have sustained is a most cruel one to me; indeed it is the deepest
affliction I have ever known. The princess royal's malady began about
two years ago. She then felt pains in her breast; some physicians said
her disease was cancer, while others assured her it was tumor.

An incision was then made, and she was better during some time. But the
disease soon made the most fearful progress. The inflammation appeared
upon the outside, and she felt the most acute pains in her breast and
throughout the whole length of her arm. She patiently endured the most
excruciating torments. Having tried various modes of treatment without
experiencing any relief, she finally consented to make trial of a new
cure. During twelve weeks she saw no one except the members of her own
household and the physicians, who sometimes said she was better and
sometimes that she was worse; finally, however, fever set in,
accompanied by all the signs of consumption.

Perfectly aware of her condition, she prepared for death with
resignation and devotion; she died during the night of the 30th of
April. Her breast had burst open several weeks before. An examination
was made after her death, and many causes for her last illness were
discovered; but I cannot dwell upon these details.... In my opinion, and
I followed the whole course of her malady, her chest was seriously
affected in addition to the cancer.

We have experienced an irreparable loss; I can scarcely endure life
since our misfortune, and will never be able to think of the princess