Languet de Gergy initially wished to establish the exact astrological time in order to ring the bells at the most appropriate time of day. For this, he commissioned the English clockmaker
Henry Sully to build the gnomon. At the end of March 1719, the young widow became critically "ill", shut up in a little chamber of her
Luxembourg Palace. In fact, she was deep in the pangs of childbirth and as she seemed close to dying, Languet was called upon to administer her the sacraments. He refused unless the royal princess would part with her lover, the count of Riom, captain of her guard. The Regent tried to intervene on behalf of his suffering daughter but the inflexible curé did not yield. At last, the Duchess was delivered, ending the crisis but not the scandal provoked by Languet's refusal to turn a blind eye to her clandestine childbearing. ==See also==