Page:Victor Hugo - Notre-Dame de Paris (tr. Hapgood, 1888).djvu/530

Tristan l'Hermite bowed and departed. Then the king, dismissing Rym and Coppenole with a gesture,—

"God guard you, messieurs, my good friends the Flemings. Go, take a little repose. The night advances, and we are nearer the morning than the evening."

Both retired and gained their apartments under the guidance of the captain of the Bastille. Coppenole said to Guillaume Rym,—

"Hum! I have had enough of that coughing king! I have seen Charles of Burgundy drunk, and he was less malignant than Louis XI. when ailing."

"Master Jacques," replied Rym, "'tis because wine renders kings less cruel than does barley water."