I put on
my rouge and wash my hands before everybody; then the gentlemen go out;
the ladies stay, and I dress before them. At twelve is mass; when the
King is at Versailles I go to mass with him and my husband and my aunts.
After mass we dine together before everybody, but it is over by half-past
one, as we both eat quickly. (Marie Antoinette always found the custom
of eating in public most distasteful.) I then go to Monsieur the
Dauphin; if he is busy I return to my own apartments, where I read, I
write, or I work, for I am embroidering a vest for the King, which does
not get on quickly, but I trust that, with God's help, it will be
finished in a few years! At three I go to my aunts', where the King
usually comes at that time. At four the Abbe (her literary mentor) comes
to me; at five the master for the harpsichord, or the singing-master,
till six. At half-past six I generally go to my aunts' when I do not go
out. You must know that my husband almost always comes with me to my
aunts'. At seven, card-playing till nine. When the weather is fine I go
out; then the card-playing takes place in my aunts' apartments instead of
mine. At nine, supper; when the King is absent my aunts come to take
supper with us; if the King is there, we go to them after supper, and we
wait for the King, who comes usually at a quarter before eleven; but I
lie on a large sofa and sleep till his arrival; when he is not expected
we go to bed at eleven.
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