Translations for flattery in French

Here are paragraphs from public domain books translated:

"He is a coward, indeed," grumbled the host, drawing near to d'Artagnan, and endeavoring by this little flattery to make up matters with the young man, as the heron of the fable did with the snail he had despised the evening before.	— Il est, en effet, bien lâche, murmura l’hôte en s’approchant de d’Artagnan, et essayant par cette flatterie de se raccommoder avec le pauvre gascon, comme le héron de la fable avec son limaçon du soir.
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas	Les Trois Mousquetaires, de Alexandre Dumas