LOUIS XV (1710–1774).

He regrets not having been able to make the planned trip; ‘fortunately, the weather around the equinox is not good for seeing the sea, and the end of next June will be a better time’. He is suffering from “a pain in the kidneys which I think stems more from the bowels than from anything else; yesterday I took some whey which purged me well, and I am doing the same today. I doubt, however, that I shall be able to hunt the stag tomorrow, but another man will go in my place, promising that he will not kill anything, and that he will hunt a second stag, if necessary, only on the advice of the crew’s commander. The nights are dreadful to endure when sleep does not come. I often experience this to some extent, for once one has passed a certain age, one does not sleep so much, nor continuously.”