“Yes, monsieur, we were obliged to renounce the cestus. He cracked heads; he broke jaws — beat in ribs. It was charming sport; but nobody was willing to play with him.”

“Then his wrist — ”

“Oh, monsieur, firmer than ever. Monseigneur gets a trifle weaker in his legs, — he confesses that himself; but his strength has all taken refuge in his arms, so that — ”

“So that he can knock down bullocks, as he used to formerly.”

“Monsieur, better than that — he beats in walls. Lately, after having supped with one of our farmers — you know how popular and kind monseigneur is — after supper, as a joke, he struck the wall a blow. The wall crumbled away beneath his hand, the roof fell in, and three men and an old woman were stifled.”