The boys seemed displeased. They looked at one another; it was evident that they thought there was something wrong. The dose was too strong for them to swallow.
I inquired of a little lad, who appeared particularly distressed, what was the matter.
"Please, sir," he said, "did not the English soldier try to kill the French king?"
"Well, I suppose he did," I replied; "but King Louis VI. was very strong, you know."
"He must have been!" he remarked, no doubt feeling more comfortable after my explanation.
This historical anecdote of an Englishman allowing himself to be felled to the ground by a Frenchman puts me in mind of a little conversation I heard in my school-days.
Two young boys, one French, the other English, were talking athletics in the playground, and the English boy asked his young friend to explain to him the principles of French wrestling.
The little French lad proceeded, in a vivacious manner, to describe the successive moves of the sport.
He used the first person singular to make his description more forcible.