Sometimes they are Cartouche and Mandrin, sometimes Amadis and Galahad.

They tell fabulous tales of these heroes of the highways.

My mother told me yesterday of one called Laurent.

You understand, my dear fellow, that Laurent is a fictitious name meant to hide the real name, just as a mask hides the face.

This Laurent combined all the qualities of a hero of romance, all the accomplishments, as you English say, who, under pretext that you were once Normans, allow yourselves occasionally to enrich your language with a picturesque expression, or some word which has long, poor beggar! asked and been refused admittance of our own scholars.