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"For , "these depositions were not necessary Your word, my dear Marcel, would have sufficed For the courts, however, perhaps it is well that you have had them taken; moreover, they form a valuable corroboration of the treason which you lay to the charge of Monsieur de Saint-Eustache"

We were standing--at least, La Fosse and I were standing, Louis XIII sat--in a room, of the Palace of Toulouse, where I had had the honour of being brought before His Majesty La Fosse was there, because it would seerown fond of hi to Toulouse

His Majesty was, as usual, so dull and weary--not even roused by the approaching trial of Montht him South that even the coood-huy, proved a thing desirable

"I will see," said Louis, "that your friend the Chevalier is placed 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 hihed "It always pains ainst a man of his staation"

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 needswith 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 i his eyes and his ears, until the flagrancy or the noise of it grew to proportions to which he ht remain neither blind nor deaf

"Monsieur de la Fosse," said he in an austere voice, "you weary me, and when people weary me I send them ahich is one of the reasons why I alance at that hunting-book, so that when I have done with Monsieur de Bardelys you ive me your impressions of it"