under arrest at once, and as much for his attempt upon your life
as for the unstable quality of his political opinions, the law shall
deal with him - conclusively." He sighed. "It always pains me to
proceed to extremes against a man of his stamp. To deprive a fool
of his head seems a work of supererogation."

I inclined my head, and smiled at his pleasantry. Louis the just
rarely permitted himself to jest, and when he did his humour was
as like unto humour as water is like unto wine. Still, when a
monarch jests, if you are wise, if you have a favour to sue, or a
position at Court to seek or to maintain, you smile, for all that
the ineptitude of his witless wit be rather provocative of sorrow.

"Nature needs meddling with at times," hazarded La Fosse, from
behind His Majesty's chair. "This Saint-Eustache is a sort of
Pandora's box, which it is well to close ere--"

"Go to the devil," said the King shortly. "We are not jesting.
We have to do justice."

"Ah! Justice," murmured La Fosse; "I have seen pictures of the
lady. She covers her eyes with a bandage, but is less discreet
where the other beauties of her figure are in question."

His Majesty blushed. He was above all things a chaste-minded man,
modest as a nun. To the immodesty rampant about him he was in the
habit of closing his eyes and his ears, until the flagrancy or the
noise of it grew to proportions to which he might remain neither
blind nor deaf.