said to Madame de Pompadour, who sat next to him at table, "People are
very right in saying that a liar ought to have a good memory."

An event, which made me tremble, as well as Madame, procured me the
familiarity of the King. In the middle of the night, Madame came into my
chamber, en chemise, and in a state of distraction. "Here! Here!" said
she, "the King is dying." My alarm may be easily imagined. I put on a
petticoat, and found the King in her bed, panting. What was to be
done?--it was an indigestion. We threw water upon him, and he came to
himself. I made him swallow some Hoffman's drops, and he said to me, "Do
not make any noise, but go to Quesnay; say that your mistress is ill; and
tell the Doctor's servants to say nothing about it." Quesnay, who lodged
close by, came immediately, and was much astonished to see the King in
that state. He felt his pulse, and said, "The crisis is over; but, if
the King were sixty years old, this might have been serious." He went to
seek some drug, and, on his return, set about inundating the King with
perfumed water. I forget the name of the medicine he made him take, but
the effect was wonderful. I believe it was the drops of General Lamotte.
I called up one of the girls of the wardrobe to make tea, as if for
myself. The King took three cups, put on his robe de chambre and his
stockings, and went to his own room, leaning upon the Doctor. What a
sight it was to see us all three half naked! Madame put on a robe as
soon as possible, and I did the same, and the King changed his clothes
behind the curtains, which were very decently closed. He afterwards
spoke of this short attack, and expressed his sense of the attentions
shown him. An hour after, I felt the greatest possible terror in
thinking that the King might have died in our hands. Happily, he quickly
recovered himself, and none of the domestics perceived what had taken
place. I merely told the girl of the wardrobe to put everything to
rights, and she thought it was Madame who had been indisposed. The King,