He dined
well, and after dinner amused himself with seeing the young men
ride at the ring, and even rode a course himself with his usual
skill; that being, if I remember rightly, the last occasion on
which I ever saw him take a lance. Before supper he walked for a
time in the hall, with Sillery, for whom he had sent; and after
supper, pronouncing himself tired, he dismissed all, and retired
with me to his chamber. Here we had some talk on a subject that
I greatly dreaded--I mean his infatuation for Madame de Conde;
but about eleven o'clock he yawned, and, after thanking me for a
reception which he said was quite to his mind, he bade me go to
bed.
I was half way to the door when he called me back. "Why, Grand
Master," he said, pointing to the little table by the head of the
bed on which his night drinks stood, "you might be going to drown
me. Do you expect me to drink all these in the night?"
"I think that there is only your posset, sire," I said, "and the
lemon-water which you generally drink."
"And two or three other things?"
"Perhaps they have given your majesty some of the Arbois wine
that you were good enough to--"
"Tut-tut!" he said, lifting the cover of one of the cups.
Pages:
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324