set of dice fell
out. 'What kind of _SUGAR-PLUMS_ are these?' asked his Majesty. 'Sire,'
replied the priest, 'they are a remedy for the Plague.' 'Well said,'
exclaimed the king, 'you are a fine _Paillard_ (a word he often used);
'_YOU ARE THE MAN FOR ME_,' and took him into his service; for this king
was fond of bon-mots and sharp wits, and did not even object to thieves,
provided they were original and provocative of humour, as the following
very funny anecdote will show. 'A certain French baron who had lost
everything at play, even to his clothes, happening to be in the king's
chamber, quietly laid hands on a small clock, ornamented with massive
gold, and concealed it in his sleeve. Very soon after, whilst he was
among the troop of lords and gentlemen, the clock began to strike
the hour. We can well imagine the consternation of the baron at this
contretemps. Of course he blushed red-hot, and tightened his arm to try
and stifle the implacable sound of detection manifest--the _flagrans
delictum_--still the clock went on striking the long hour, so that at
each stroke the bystanders looked at each other from head to foot in
utter bewilderment.

'The king, who, as it chanced, had detected the theft, burst out
laughing, not only at the astonishment of the gentlemen present, who
were at a loss to account for the sound, but also at the originality
of the stunning event. At length Monsieur le Baron, by his own blushes
half-convicted of larceny, fell on his knees before the king, humbly
saying:--"Sire, the pricks of gaming are so powerful that they have
driven me to commit a dishonest action, for which I beg your mercy."
And as he was going on in this strain, the king cut short his words,
exclaiming:--"The _PASTIME_ which you have contrived for us so far
surpasses the injury you have done me that the clock is yours: I give it
you with all my heart."'(44)

(44) Duverdier, _Diverses Lecons_.

HENRY III.--In the latter part of the sixteenth century Paris was
inundated with brigands of every description. A band of Italian
gamesters, having been informed by their correspondents that Henry III.
had established card-rooms and dice-rooms in the Louvre, got admission
at court, and won thirty thousand crowns from the king.(45)

(45) Journal de Henri III.

If all the kings of France had imitated the disinterestedness of Henry
III., the vice of gaming would not have made such progress as became
everywhere evident.

Brantome