Note 351 — Chapter III · Literary and Artistic Mattoids.

He studies, as an important document, the journal of Louis XIV.’s digestion, and divides his reign into two periods—before and after the fistula. In the same way Francis I.’s reign is divided into the periods before and after the abscess. Conclusions of the following kind abound:—

“De toute l’ancienne monarchie, il ne reste à la France qu’un nom, Henri IV.; et deux chansons Gabrielle et Marlborough.”