THE H E P TA M E R O N

O F T H E TA LES O F

margaret, ! ueen of n avarre

I N FI VE V O L UM E S

VO LU ME T H E SE COND
 mth
m
The tr a n sla tion i s fr o e a u then tic tex t f
o

M LE
. R o u x DE v, and w as fi r st i ss ued
by the S oc iety of E nglish Biblioph ilis ts i n 1 89 4 .

The E ssay by Pro fesso r G EO R E SA I NTSBU G RY

M A i s a ls o giv en a nd the who le (ythe i m
,
'

. .
, por ta n t
Notes and Appc ndic es .

The I llustr a tion s to the p resen t tr a n slation a r e

rep r odu c tions fr o m
the c opperp la tes engr av ed fo r
the Ber ne edition by LO NG E U I L, H A LEO U , an d

o the r e mi
ne n t Fren c h a r ti sts of the e ighteen th

cen tu ry .
 C O NTE NT S O F V O L U M E II .

FI R S T D A Y— Conti md cc .

P AG E

TA L E VI I I . The mi v u
sad en t re o f Bo rnetw h o , p a nn ng
,
th l i wi
i e n d o f h is
a fr wi
that b o th s h o uld lie th a

ser vi ng w o m an - di sc o vers too la te tha t th e y

,

h ave h ad to do wi th h is o wn wi fe

T h e e vi l fo rt une o fa gen tl e m an o fDau p h i n e wh o

di es o f des pair b em use h e canno t m

,

arr y a

dam se l n o b l e r and r i c h e r than h i mse l f

X Th e Span is h sto ry o f Fl o ri da wh o after wi th

lo ve o f a gen tle m an n am
. , .

s tan di n g th e ed

Am ado ur f or m an y y ears e ve n tually b ec om

, es

a nun

SE C OND D A Y .

PR O LOG UE
TA L E XI (A ). .M isha p o f th e Lady de R o ncex in the G re y
Friars C o n vent at Th o uars
’

XI . Face tio us di sco urse o fa Fr i ar o fTo mi

a ne
'

XI I y o f Al e xan der de Medi c i Du ke o f Fl orence

Sto r
’

who mh is c o us i n Lo ren zi no de Med i c i slew in

. , ,
'
, ,

o rde r to sa ve h is s i ste r s h o n o ur
'

X I I I Praise worth y art i fi c e o f a l ady to wh o ma sea

Cap tai n se nt a l e tter an d d i am
.

o n d r i n g an d

wh o b y fo rward i n g th e m to th e Cap ta i n s
,
'
,

wi fe as th o ugh th ey h ad b een i nten ded for

h er u n i te d h usb an d an d wi fe o nce m
, o re in

all af fe ct i o n
vi CO NTENTS OF UOLUME 11
‘
.

PA G E
TA L E XIV The Lo rd of Bo nnive t, after u
f rth er i ng l v
th e o e
l em
.

en te rta ned i by an li an
I ta gent an fo r a

lady o fMilan fi nds m ean s to tak e th e o th er s

'

p lace and so s up p l ant h im

,

wi th th e lady wh o
had form e r ly r ej ect e d h i mse l f

XV . The tro ub l es an d e vi l fo rtun e o f a vi rtu o us lady

wh o afte r b e i ng l o n g n e gl ec te d b y h er hus
b an d b e c o m
,

. es th e o b j ec t o f h is j eal o us y

XV I Story o f a M ilanese Co untess wh o after l o ng

ge n tl e m
.
, ,

r ej e ct i n g th e l o ve o f a Fre n c h an

rewa ds hi mat l as t fo r h is fa th fulne ss b ut

,

r i ,

n o t u n t il sh e has p ut h is c o ura ge to th e p roo f

XV I I The no b l e m ann er in w h i c h K i n g Franc i s th e

Fi rst sh ows Co un t W i lli amo f Furstem

.

b erg
that h e kno ws o fth e p la n s la i d b y h im aga i n s t

his li fe and so c o m pe ls h im to do jus t i ce u po n

him
,

sel fan d to l e ave Fran ce

XV I I I A y o u ng gentl e m an s c h o l ar at l as t wi ns a la dy s
’
.

l o ve after endur i ng suc c e ss fully two tr i als th at

md m
.

sh e h ad a e o fh i

APPE ND I X TO V OL . II
 PA G E E NG RAV I NG S
CO NTA I NED I N V OLUME I I .

To fa ce page

TA L E VIII BO R NET s CO C E R N N O N DI SCOV E R I NG T H A T

'
.

H I s W I FE I S WI TH OU T H ER R I NG By S . .

Freu den b erg

I X THE. DY I NG GE NTL E MA N R E C EI V I N G THE

E M BR A C E S OF H I S SWE E H EA RT T . By S .

Fre udenb e rg

X . TH E Co u NTE ss A SK I NG A N E XP L A A IO N T N
FR O M AMAD OU R By S Freude nb erg . .

XI (B) . . T H E G R EY F I A R R T E LL I N G His TA L E S .

By S . Freu denb e rg

XI I . TH E G E NT L EM A N K I LL I NG THE D UK E . By
S. Fr eudenb erg

XI I I . T H E SE A -C A P A I T N TA LK I NG TO THE L A DY .

By S . Fre udenb erg

XIV . BO NNI v ET A ND THE L A DY OF M I LA N . By

S Fre de nb er g
. u
XV . T H E L A DY TAKIN G T
OA H As To HER C ON
D UC T By S F ud b erg
. . re en

XV I . TH E G E NT L E M A N D I SCOV E R I NG THE T R I C K .

By S . Freudenb e rg

XV I I . TH E KI NG S HO WI NG H is SWO D R . By S .

Freudenb erg

XV I I I . T H E S UD E T NT E SC A P I NG THE

By S . Freu denb erg

DA Y I . TA LE V I I I .
 TA L E VI I I .

A c er ta in Bor n et, les s loyal to h is w ife tha n she to h i m

des i r ed to
m m
,

lie w i th h is a id-ser v an t, a n d ade h is en te rpr i se kn own to a

fr ien d. w ho , hopi ng to sha r e i n the spoi l so aided an d a betted

m
,

hi tha t wh i ls t the h usba n d though t to lie w i th h is ser va n t h e

,

i n tr u th lay w i th h is wife Un know n to the la tter h e the n

.
,

cau sed h is fr i e nd to pa r t ic ipate i n the p leasu r e w h i c h r igh tly

m
belonged to h i self a lon e a n d th us . a de h i m
se l m
f a c uc kold
wi thout ther e bei ng any gu i lt on the pa r t of h is w ife ‘ .

IN th e county o f Alle tz ther e lived a man 2

n amed Bo r net who being ma rr ied to an up righ t

,

and virt u o us wife h ad g reat r ega r d fo r he r h o n o ur

,

and r eputati o n as I believe i s the case with all

,

1 Fo r lis t o ftale s si m
a ilar to th i s o ne see post Appe n di x A
9 Alle tz n o w Al ai s a to wn O f Lo wer La n u e do c de art m
, , .

g ( p e nt o f

th e Gar d ) li e s o n th e G arde n at th e foo t o f t he Ce v e nn es m

, ,

oun

I t was fo rm
, ,

ta i ns e r ly a co u n ty the t i tl h avin g b ee n h e l d b y
e

Char l es D u k e o fA ngo ul em —
. ,

, e natu ral so n o f Ch arl e s I X

,
M . .

II .
A
2 THE HEPTAMER ON .

th e h usbands h e r e present i n respect to thei r

o wn wives B ut alth o ugh h e desi r ed th at she
.

should b e true to h im he was n o t wi llin g th at ,

th e same law sh o uld apply to both for h e fell i n ,

love with h is maid -se rvant from whom he had ,

n o th ing to gain save the pleasure affor ded by a

diver sity o f viands .

No w he h ad a neighb o ur of th e same condi tion

as hi s o wn, n amed S and r as a tab o u r e r and 3
,

tailo r by trade an d the r e was s uch fri endship

,
’
between them that, excepting Bornet s wife, they
had all th ings i n common It th us happened that .

B o r net told hi s fr ien d of the en te r p r ise he had

i n h and against the maid -servan t ; an d S and r as
not o nly app r oved of i t, b ut gave all the assi st
an ce he could to further i ts accomplishment ,

h o ping th at he himself might sh ar e in the spoil .

The maid se r vant h o weve r was loth to c o n

-
, ,

sent and finding he r self har d p r essed s h e wen t

, ,

to h e r mis tr ess told her o f the matte r, and

,

begged leave to go home to h er ki nsfo lk since ,

she c o uld n o l o nge r endu r e to live in such tor

ment H er mist r ess who h ad gr eat love fo r her
.
,

3 T ab o urers ar e st ill to b e fo und in so mtw e o ns of Lo wer

Lang uedo c an d in mo st o f th o se w he re they pe ram
Of P v ro en c e ,

b ul ate th e s tree ts p layi n g th e ir i ns tr um e n ts Th e y ar e in great .

r e q u e s t a t a ll the c o u n tr y w e ddi ngs an d o the r fes tive gath e ri n gs

as th i r i n stru m e n ts s u pply th e n e ces sary a cco m pan i m

,

en t t o th e
—
e

an c i e n t Pro vencal danc e the fa r an dole

,
ED . .
 FIR S T O AT : TA L E VIII
.
3

h usband an d had o ften suspected him was well ,

pleased to h ave him th us at a disadvantage and ,

to be able to sh o w that she h ad d o ubted him

j ustly Acc o rdingly she said to the se rvant

.
,

“
R emai n my gi rl but lead my husband o n by
, ,

degr e e s and at las t ma k e an appo intmen t to lie

,

with him i n my cl o set Do n o t fail to tell me o n .

what night h e is to c o me, an d see that no o n e

”
k n o ws anything ab o ut i t .

Th e maid -servan t did all that h e r mi st ress

had commanded h er and her maste r in gr eat ,

c o ntent went to tell the go od news to his fr iend .

Th e latte r then begged th at since he had been ,

c o ncer ned in th e business h e migh t h ave par t in ,

the r esult Thi s was p r omised him , and , when

.

th e appo in ted h o ur was c o me th e maste r went ,

to lie as h e th o ught wi th the maid -se r van t b ut

, ,

hi s wife yielding up the author ity o fc o mmanding

,

fo r the pleasu r e o f o beying had put her self i n th e ,

’
ser vant s place and she r eceived him n o t in the
, ,

mann er o f a wife but after the fashi o n o f a

,

frightened maid This she did s o Well that h er

.

h usb an d suspected n o thin g .

I can n o t tell yo u wh ich o f the two was th e

bette r pleased he at the th o ught th at h e was
,

d e ceivin g his wife o r she at r eally d e ceivi ng

,

h er husband Wh en he had r e mained with h er

.
,

n o t as l o n g as he Wished b ut acc o r din g to h i s ,

4 THE HEPTAMERON .

p o wer s which we r e those o f a man wh o had l o ng

,

been ma rr ied he went out o f d o o r s fo und his

, ,

fr iend wh o was much y o unger and lustier than

,

himself an d t o ld him gleefully that h e h ad never

,

“
met with better fo r tun e Y o u k n o w what yo u
pro m
.

’
ised me said his fr ien d to him
, .

“ ” “
G o quic k ly then r eplied the h usband
,
fo r ,

sh e may get up o r my wife have need o fh e r

, .

Th e fr ien d Wen t o ff an d fo un d the supposed

m ai d se rvant wh o thin king h er h usban d had
-
, ,

r etu r n ed deni ed hi m n o thing that he asked o f

,

h er , o r r athe r t oo k fo r h e dur st n o t spea k

,
He .

remained with h e r much l o nger than her husband

h ad d o ne, whe r eat she was gr eatly ast o nished ,

fo r sh e had n o t been w o nt to pass such nights .

Nev e r theless she e ndu r ed i t all with patience

, ,

comfo rting h e r self with the th o ught o f what she

wo uld say to h im o n the m o rr o w and o f the ,

ridicule that she w o uld cast up o n him .

To war ds dayb r eak th e man ro se fro m besi de

h e r , and toying with h e r as he was g o ing away ,

sn atched fr o m h e r finge r th e r in g with wh ich h e r

h usband had esp o used h e r, an d which th e wo men
o f that part of the c o unt r y guard with gr eat
s uperstiti o n Sh e wh o keeps i t till her death i s
.

h eld i n high hon o u r whil e sh e wh o chances to

,

l o s e i t i s th o ugh t lightly of as a pe r s o n wh o has

,

given h er fai th to s o me o the r th an he r h usband .

 FIR ST D AY: TA L E VII I .
5

Th e wi fe h o wever was ve ry glad to h ave i t ta k en

, , ,

thin k ing i t would be a su re pr oo f o f h o w sh e h ad

deceived h e r h usband .

When the fr ien d r etu rn ed the h usband as k ed ,

him h o w he h ad far ed H e r eplied that he was .

o f th e same o pini o n as h imself an d th at h e w o uld ,

have remained l o nge r had he n o t fear ed to be

su r p r ised by dayb rea k Then th ey b o th wen t .

to th e fri end s house t o take as l o n g a r est as

’

they c o uld I n th e m or ning while they wer e

.
,

d r essing th e h usban d pe r ceived the ri n g th at

,

his fr ien d had o n his finge r and saw that it was ,

exactly like the o n e h e h ad given to his wife at

their marr i age H e thereupo n asked hi s fri en d
.

fr o m whom he h ad received th e ring and when ,

h e hear d he had snatched i t fro m the s er

’
vant s finge r , he was c o nfo unded an d began to
st r ike hi s h ead against th e wall sayi ng Ah ! ,

g oo d Lo r d ! have I made myself a cuck o ld wi thout

my wife k n o wing anything ab o ut i t
”
P e rhaps s ai d hi s friend in o r de r to c o mfo r t
,
“
him your wife gives her ring i nt o the mai d s
,
’

!
keeping at night -ti me .

Th e h usband made n o r eply, b ut t o o k h imself

home, whe r e h e fo und h is wife fai r e r, m o r e gaily
d ressed an d me rr ie r than usual li k e one wh o
, ,

r ej o iced at having saved her mai d s c o nsci e n ce

’

an d tested her h usband to th e full at n o g r eater ,

6 THE HEPTAMERON .

c o st than a night s sleep S eeing h e r s o chee r

’
.

ful the h usband said to himself

If sh e knew o f my adventu r e she wo uld n o t
”
sh o w me s uch a pleasan t counten an ce .

Then , wh il st spea k ing to her Ofva r i o us matte r s,

he to o k h e r by th e h and and on n o ticing that
,

she no l o nge r w o r e the r ing which she had ,

never been accust o med to rem o ve fro m her

finge r he was quite o ve r c o me
,
.

What have yo u d o ne with yo u r r ing ? he ”

as k ed her in a t r embling v o ice .

S he well pleased that h e gave h e r an O p p o r

,

tu n ity to say what she desi r ed r eplied ,

“
O wic k edest o f men ! F ro m wh o m do you
imagi ne yo u t o o k i t ? Y o u th o ugh t it was fr o m
my maid -se r vant for l o ve o f wh o m yo u expended
,

m o r e than twice as much o f yo u r s ubstance as

yo u eve r did fo r me . The fi r st time yo u came
to bed I th o ught yo u as much i n l o ve as i t was

p o ssible to be ; b ut after yo u had go ne o u t an d

we r e c o me bac k again yo u seemed to be a ve ry
,

devil Wr etch ! think h o w b lind yo u must have

.

been to besto w such p rai ses o n my pe r s o n and

l ustiness , which you h ave l o ng enj o yed without
h o lding them i n any gr eat esteem Twas the r e .
’
,
’
fo r e n o t the mai d -servant s beauty that made the
,

pleasu r e s o delightful to yo u b ut the gr ievo us

,

si n of lust which s o consumes y o u r heart and s o

8 THE HEP TAME R ON .

reas o n o f the l o ve he h ad b o r n e hi s maid servant -

,

h e to o k car e n o t to tell h er o f the evi l t r ick th at

h e h ad played h e r ; and ent r eating h er fo rgi ve
ness with p r o mises of full amendmen t o f his
,

fo rme r evil li fe he gave he r back the r ing wh ich

,

he had r ec o v e r e d fr o m his friend H e ent reated .

the latte r n o t to r e ve al hi s shame ; b ut as what ,

is whispe r ed in the ear i s always p r o claimed fro m

the h o uset o p , the t r u th after a time became
k n o wn and men call e d h im cuc k old with o ut im
, ,

puting any sh ame to h is wi fe .

It se ems to me ladi es that if all th ose who have

, ,

c o mmitted li k e o ffenc es agai n st thei r w ives w ere to

be puni sh e d in the same w ay Hi rean and Safl reden t
'

,
”
wo uld have great cause fo r fea r .

“
Why Lo ngarine said Saffredent are n o ne in
”

th e c o m
, , ,

pany married save H irc an and I

“ “ ”
Y es ind eed th ere ar e o th e rs
, sh e r epli e d but , ,

n o n e who wo uld p lay a similar t ric k .

“
Wh e nce did yo u l earn ask ed Saffreden t that “ ”

we ever so licited o u r wives m

, ,

aid s ervants ’
-

“
If th e ladi es wh o are in qu e sti o n said Lo ngarine ,
”
,

w ere w illing to speak the t ruth w e sh o uld c ertainly

hear o fm
,

aid servants dismissed w ith o ut n o tice

-
”

re a m
.

“ ” “
Truly said G eb uro n
, yo u a , o st wo rthy

lady ! Y o u p ro mised to mak e the c o mpany laugh

and yet are ange ring these two p o o r gentl e m
,

en .
”

” “
Tis all o n e said Lo n garin e
, so l o ng as th ey
 FIR ST p ar : TA L E VII I .
9

do n ot d raw th e i r s w o rd s thei r ange r w ill o nly se rve

,
”
to inc rease o u r laught e r .

“
A pre tty busin e ss indeed ! said Hi rean ”
Why .
,

if o ur w ives ch o se to b eli eve thi s lady she w o uld

emb ro il the see m li est h o useh o ld in the c o m
,
”
pany .

“
I am w ell a w are b efo re w h o m I spea k said ,
”

Lo nga rine .
“
Y o u r w ive s are s o se n s ibl e and bea r
much l ve that if o u w ere t o give th e m
y o u s o o , y
h o rns as big as th o se o f a deer they wo uld n ev e rthe
,

l ess try to persuad e themselves and eve ry o n e el se

that they w ere Chaplets o f ro ses .
”

At this the c o m pany and eve n th ose c o ncern e d

, ,

laughed so heartily that th ei r tal k came to an end .

H o w ever D ago uc in who had n o t yet uttered a wo rd

, , ,

c o uld n o t h elp saying

Men are very un reaso nabl e w hen having en o ugh
to c o nt e nt th e m
,

selves w ith at h o me th ey go in search ,

o f s o m e thing e lse. I have o ften see n p eople who

not c o ntent with suffi ci ency have ai m
,

,ed at b ettering
th emselves and have fallen into a wo rse positi o n
,

than they w ere in befo re Such perso ns rec e ive n o

.

pity fo r fic klen e ss is al ways blamed

, .
!

But w hat say yo u to th o s e wh o have n o t fo und

th e i r o th er half ? ask e d Sim
”
o n tault
“
D O yo u call .

it fic kle n ess to se ek it wherever it may b e fo und ? ”

“
m
Since it is i p o ssible
” “
said Dago uc in fo r a
, ,

man to k n o w the w hereab o uts o f that o ther half with

w h o m there w o uld be such perfect uni o n that o n e
wo uld n o t di ffer fro m the o ther he sh o uld remain
steadfast w herever l ove has attached him And w hat
,
IO THE HEP TA MERON .

so eve r may happen he should change neither in h ear t

,

n o r in desi re I f she w h o m yo u l o ve be the image

.

o f yo u rself and ther e b e but o n e will bet w een yo u

, ,

”
it is yo u rself yo u l ove and n o t h er ,
.

“
Dago uc in said Hi rean ,
”
yo u are falling into ,

e rro r
. Y o u sp e ak as th o ugh w e sh o uld l o ve w o men
”
w ith o ut being l ove d in retu rn .

” “
Hi rean replied Dago u c in
,
I h o ld that if o ur ,

l ove be b ase d o n the beauty grace l ove and fa v o ur ,

of a wom
, ,

an and o ur pu rp ose be pleasu re h o n o u r

, , ,

o r p ro fi t ,
such love cann o t l o ng endu re ; fo r w hen
the fo un dati o n o n w hich i t rests is go n e the l ove ,

it self d eparts fro m us Bu t I am fi rmly o f Opini o n .

that he who l oves with n o o ther end o r desi re than

to l o ve we ll will s o o ner yield up his so ul in death
,

than su ffer hi s gr eat l ove to leave his heart .

In faith said Sini o ntault I do n o t beli eve that

,
”
,

y o u have eve r be e n in l o ve If yo u had fe lt th e .

fl am e li k e o ther men
y o u w o uld n o t n o w b e pictu ring
,

to us P lat o s R ep ublic w hich may be d e s c rib e d in

’
,

wr iting but n o t be put int o p ractice .

“
Nay I have been in l ove said Dago uc in and
,
”
, ,

am so still and shal l c o ntinue so as l o ng as I live

, .

But I am in such fea r lest the manifestati o n o f this

l ove sh o uld impai r its perfecti o n that I sh rin k fro m ,

d e claring it even to her fro m wh o m I w o uld fain have

the li k e a ffe cti o n I dare n o t eve n thin k o f it lest
.

my eyes sh o ul d re v eal it for the m o re I k eep m y

,

fl ame secre t and hidd e n the m o re d o es my pleasur e ,

increase at kn o wing that my love is p e rfe ct .

”
 FIR ST iD/I Y : TAL E VI I I . I I

“
Fo rall that sai d G eb uro n , I b e lieve that yo u ,

w o uld willingly have l o ve in retu rn .

“ ” “
I do n o t d e ny it said D ago uc in ,
but even ,

w e re I bel oved as much as I l ove my l ove w o uld ,

n o t be inc reased any m o re than it c o uld b e l essened ,

”
were it n o t re turn e d with e qual w armt h .

Up o n t hi s P ar lam ente who susp e cte d this fantasy ,

o f Dago u c in s said
’
,
“
Tak e car e Dago u c in I have k n o w n o th e rs b e
,

”
sides yo u who p refe rre d to die rath e r than speak .

“ “
Such pe rso ns madam sai d Dago uc in
”
,
I dee m , ,
”
very happy .

D o ubtl e ss said Safire den t and w o rthy o fa plac e

” '

am
, ,

o ng the inn o cents o f w h o m the Chur ch sings

No n loq uendo se d i no rie n do c o nfess i s u nt .

’

I have hear d m uch o f such ti m id l overs but I have ,

n eve r ye t se en o n e die And since I myself have .

escaped death afte r all th e tro ubl es I have b o rne I ,

”
do n o t t hin k that any o n e can di e o f l o ve .

“ ” “
Ah Safire den t I said D ago uc in ho w do yo u
'

, ,

expect to be l ove d sinc e th o se who are o f yo u r

Opini o n never die ? Y e t have I kn o w n a go o dly
number who have di ed of n o o ther ailment than
”
perfect l ove .

”
Since yo u kn o w such st o ri es said Lo ngarin e , ,

I give yo u my vo te to tell us a pleasant one which ,

shall be the ninth o f tod ay .

”

4 Fro mh u l
t e rit a fo r th e Fea st o fth e H o ly I nn ocen ts —M .
 THE HEP TA ME RON .

“
To the e n d said Dago uc in
, ,
that signs and

mi racl es may l ead yo u to put faith in w hat I have

said I w ill relate to yo u so methi ng whic h happened
,

”
less than th ree years ago
.
DA Y I : TA LE I X
.
14 THE HE P TAME R ON
.

greatly beneath he r he had n o h o pe of marrying

,

h e r ; i n hi s l o ve th e r efo r e hi s o nly pu r p o se was

, ,

to love h e r with all his st r ength and as pe rfectly

as h e was able Thi s he did fo r s o l o ng a time
.

that at last she had some knowledge o f i t ; and ,

seeing that the love h e bore h e r was s o full o f

virt ue and of go od i ntent she felt h o nou r ed by
,

i t and showed him i n tu r n s o much favo ur that

,

he who s o ugh t nothing better th an this was well

, ,

con tented .

B ut malice, which i s th e enemy of all peace,

c o uld not su ffer this hon o u r able and happy life to
’
last and certain per sons spo ke to th e maiden s
,

m o the r o f th ei r amazement at this gen tleman

being th ought s o much of i n her ho u se They said
'

that they suspected him o f c o ming the r e m o r e o n

account of her daughte r than o f augh t else adding ,

th at h e h ad o ften been seen in c o nverse with her .

’
Th e mothe r who d o ubted th e gen tleman s hon o u r
,

as little as that o f any o f her o wn child r en was ,

m uch di st ressed o n hearing th at hi s p r esence was

taken i n bad pa r t and d r eading lest mali ci o us
, ,

ton gues should cause a scandal she ent r eated ,

that h e w o ul d n o t fo r some time fr equent her

h ouse as he h ad been won t to do H e fo und .

this h a r d to bear, for h e k new that hi s hon o u r able

c o nve r sati o n wi th her daughte r did n o t dese rve
such est r angement Neve r theless , i n o rde r to
.
 FIR ST D AY : TA L E I X .

silence evi l go ssip he wi thd rew un til the r um o u r s

,

had ceased ; then he retu rned as befo r e his ab ,

sence h avi ng i n no wise lessened hi s love .

O ne day h o wever whilst h e was i n the h o us e

, , ,

he hear d s o me tal k o f ma r rying the damsel to a

gentleman who did no t seem to h im to be s o
ve ry rich that he should be entitled to take hi s
mist r ess fro m him So he began to pl uck up
.

c o u r age and engaged hi s fri ends to spe ak fo r

,

h im believing that i f th e ch o i ce we r e left to

, ,

the damsel sh e would p r efer him to h i s r ival

, .

Neve r theless the mothe r and kinsfo l k ch o se the

,

o the r suit o r because he was much ri che r ; whe r e

,

up o n the p oo r gentleman , kn o wing his sweetheart

to be as little pleased as himself, gave way to
s uch so rr ow that by degr ees and with o ut any
, ,

o th e r dist e mpe r he became gr eatly changed

, ,

seeming as th o ugh h e h ad c o ve r ed the c o meli ness

o f his face with th e m as k o f that death to which ,

h o u r by h o u r h e was j o yo usly hastening .

Meanwhile h e c o uld n o t r efr ai n fr o m go ing as

,

o ften as was p o ssible to c o nve r se with h e r wh o m

h e s o greatly l o ved B ut at last when st r engt h

.
,

failed him h e was c o nst r ain e d to keep his bed ;

,

yet he would n o t h ave hi s sweethe art know o f

this lest he sh o uld cast par t o f hi s gr ief o n h er
,
.

An d givin g himself up to despai r and sadness ,

h e was n o l o nge r able to eat d r i n k sle e p o r r est

, , , ,
16 THE HE P TAMERON .

so th at i t became imp o ssible to r ec o gni se him

by r eason of hi s leanness and st r angely alter ed
featu r es .

S o me o n e b r o ugh t th e news o f this to h is .

’
sweethea rt s m o the r wh o was a lady full o f
,

char i ty an d who h ad m o r e o ve r such a li k in g fo r

, , ,

the gentle man that i f all the kin sfo l k had been
,

o f the sam e o pi ni o n as he r sel f and h e r daugh ter ,

h is me r its w o uld h ave been p r efe r re d to the

po ssessi o n s o f the o th er But the ki n sfo l k o n .

th e father s side wo uld n o t hear O f it H o w

’
.

eve r the lady went with h e r daughter to see the

,

unhappy gen tleman , and fo und h im m o r e dead

than alive P e r ceiving that th e end o f hi s li fe
.

was at hand he h ad that m o r ning c o nfessed and

,

r eceived the H o ly Sac r amen t thin k ing to die ,

with o ut seeing anybody mor e B ut alth o ugh he .

’
was at death s do o r when h e saw her who fo r
,

him was th e resu rr ecti o n an d the life c o me in h e ,

felt so st r engthened that he sta r ted up in bed .

“
What m o tive, said he to th e lady has
” “
,

i nclined yo u to c o me an d see o n e w h o al r eady

h as a fo o t in th e gr ave an d o f wh o se death yo u
,

are y o u r self the ca u se

“ “
H o w is i t po ssible sai d the lady ,that th e ,

death of o n e wh o m we li k e so well can be

b ro ugh t ab o ut by o ur fault ? Tell me I p r ay , ,

why yo u speak i n this manne r

 FIR ST mmTAL E IX . 17

“
M adam he r eplied
,
I c o ncealed my l o ve
,

fo r your daughte r as long as I was able ; and

my k insfo l k i n speaking of a ma rr iage between
,

myself an d h er made k n o wn m o r e than I de

,

si red since I have ther eby had the mi sfo rtune

,

to l o se all h o pe ; n o t i ndeed i n rega r d to my

, ,

o wn pleasu r e but becau s e I kn ow that she will

,

never have such fai r treatmen t and so much l o ve

fro m any other as sh e wo uld h ave h ad fr o m me
Her loss o f the be st an d m
.

ost l o ving fr i en d she

h as in the wo r ld causes me m o re afilic tio n th an
th e l o ss of my own life which I desired to p re
,

se r ve fo r her sake only But since i t cannot i n

.

any wise be of se rvice to her the l o ss of i t i s to ,

me gr eat gain .

Hea ring these wo r ds, the lady and her daughte r

s o ugh t to comfo r t him .

“
Ta k e c o u rage, my fr iend said the mother , .

I pledge yo u my wo r d th at i f God gives yo u ,

back y o ur h ealth my daughte r shall have no

,

o the r h usb an d but you Se e sh e i s he r e

.
,

p resent and I ch arge her to promise you th e

,
”
sa me .

Th e daughte r weeping st r ove to assu r e him

, ,

of what h e r m o ther pr omised H e well knew .

,

h o weve r that even i f h i s health we r e r est o r ed h e

,

wo uld still l o se his sweethea rt and that these ,

fai r w o r ds were only utte r ed i n or de r somewhat

II . B
18 THE HEPTAME R ON .

to revive him Acc o r dingly h e t o ld them that

.
,

had they spo ken to h im th us th r ee m o nth s befo r e ,

he w o uld h ave been the lustiest and h appiest

gentleman i n Fr an ce ; but th at th ei r aid came s o
late it c o ul d b ri ng h im neith er belief no r hope
,
.

Then seeing that they st r ove to make him b e

,

lieve them he said ,

“
Well since o n acco un t o f my feeble state
, , ,

yo u p r o mise me a blessing which even th ough ,

yo u w o uld y o u r selves h ave i t so can neve r be ,

mi ne I will en t r eat o f yo u a much smaller o n e

, ,

for which h o weve r I was neve r yet bold en o ugh

, ,
”
to ask .

They immediately v o wed th at th ey w o uld grant

i t and b ade him ask b o ldly
, .

“ ” “
I ent r eat yo u h e said to place i n my a r m s
, ,

h e r wh o m yo u p ro mi se me fo r my wife and to ,
”
bid her emb r ace and k iss me .

Th e da ughte r wh o was unaccustomed to such

,

familiar ity, sou ght to ma k e s o me di ffi culty b ut ,

h e r m o the r st r ai gh tly c o mmanded h er seei ng ,

that the gentleman n o longe r had the feelings o r

vigou r o f a living man Being th us c o mmanded .
,
'
'

the gi r l went up to th e poo r s ufl er e r s bed side ,

saying
“
I p r ay you sweethea r t be o f go o d chee r
, , .

Then as well as he could the dying man

, ,

st retched fo r th his ar ms whe r ein flesh and blood ,

 FIR ST o ar
s . TA L E I X . 19

alike we r e lac k ing an d with all the st rength

,

r e maining i n his b o nes emb r aced h e r who was th e

cause o f his death And k issing h e r with hi s

.

pale c o ld lips h e held h er thus as l o ng as h e was

,

able Then h e said to he r

.

“
Th e l o ve I have bo r n e yo u h as been s o great
and h o n o urable that excepting in ma rr iage I
, , ,

h ave neve r desi red o f yo u any othe r favo u r than

the o n e yo u are g r anting me n o w fo r lack of ,

which and with which I sh all cheerfully yield up

my spiri t to Go d H e i s pe rfect l o ve and charity
. .

H e knows the gr eatness of my l o ve and th e

pur ity O f my desi r e and I beseech H im wh ile I
, ,

h o ld my desi r e within my a r ms to r eceive my ,

’
spi ri t i nt o H is own .

With these wo rds h e agai n t o o k her i n hi s

ar ms and with such exceeding a r d o u r th at hi s
,

en feebl e d hear t unable to endu r e the e ffo r t was

, ,

deprived o f all i ts faculties and life ; fo r j o y caused

i t s o to swell that the s o ul was seve r ed fr o m its
ab o de and t o o k fligh t to its C r eat o r .

And even when the poor body had lai n a l o ng

time without life an d was thus unable to r etai n
,

its h o ld the l o ve which the damsel had always

,

c o n cealed was made mani fest i n such a fash i o n

’
that h e r m o the r and the dead man s se r vants h ad
much ado to sepa r ate h e r fro m h e r l o ve r H o w .

eve r th e gi r l wh o th o ugh living was in a w o r se

, , , ,
 THE HE P TAME R ON .

condition th an if sh e h ad been d e ad was by fo r ce ,

removed at l ast o u t o f the gentleman s a r ms To ’

.

him they gave honou r able b urial ; and the c ro wn

i ng point o f the cer em o ny was the weeping and
lamen tati o n o f the unh appy damsel w h o h avi ng ,

concealed h e r love d u ri ng his lifetime made i t all ,

the more man ifest after his death as th o ugh she ,

wished to at o ne fo r the w r ong th at she h ad done

h im And I h ave hea r d that although she w as
.

given a h usband to comfort h e r sh e has never ,

1
si nce h ad j oy in h e r hear t .

What thin k that gentlemen yo u who

yo u of , ,
'

wo uld n o t believe what I said ? Is n o t this example

suffi cient to mak e yo u c o nfess that perfect l ove wh e n ,

1 By x pressi o n m
an e ade use o f b y Dagouc in (see a n te p , .

Quee n Margare t gives us to unde rstan d th at the i nc i de nts h ere

r e l ate d o c c u rre d th ree y e ars p ri o r to th e wr i ti n g o f th e s to ry It
may b e po i n ted o ut h owever that th ere is co nsi derab le anal o gy
.

, ,

b e twee n th e c o n c lus i o n o f th i s tal e an d the dea th o f Ge ffro y R u de l

de Bl aye o ne o f th e e ar li est tro ub ado u rs wh ose n am
, e h as b ee n

han de d do w n to us Ge ffro y wh o l i ve d at the c l o se o f th e twe lfth

ce ntur y b e c am e so m adly e nam o ure d o f th e c h arm
. ,

s o f th e C o un

t e ss o f T r i po li afte r m e re ly h e ar i n g an ac c o un t o f h er m
,

o ral and

p h ys i ca l pe rfe c ti o n s th at al th o u gh in fail i n g h e al th h e e m
,

, , b ark ed ,

fo r Afr i ca to see he r O n reac h i n g th e po rt o fT ri po li h e n o l o nge r

. ,

h ad suffi c i e n t strength to le ave th e v esse l w h ereu po n th e Co u ntess

to u c h ed b y h is l o ve vi s i te d h imo n b o ar d tak i n g h is h an d an d
, ,

givi n g hima k i n dly gr ee ti n g

, ,

Ge ffro y c o ul d sc arcely say a fe w

w o rds o f th an ks ; h is e m
.

o t i o n was so ac u te th at h e di ed u o n th e
p
See J de No stredam
'
e s Vies des
p lu s Celebres et A n iens
’
s po t . . c

P octes P r oven ca ux (Ly on s I 5 7 5 p R ayn o uar d s Cho ix des

' '

, , .

P o si es des Tr oubadou r s (v o l v p
’
an d a ls o R ayn o uar d s
'
e

—L
. . .

H istoi r e Li tter a i r e de la Fr a nc e (vo l xiv p 5

'

. . . .
 THE HEP TAMER ON .

boldness as he trusted to pity when he lay up o n his

”
death bed
-
.

“
Nevertheless said Oisille the ge ntleman m ost
”
,
“
,

plainly sh o w ed that he b o re her an h o no urable l ove ,

and fo r this h e will ever be w o rthy o f all p raise .

Ch astity in a l over s hea rt is so mething divin e rather

‘

”
than human
Mada m sai d Saffre de n t in supp o rt o f H ircan s
.

“ “ ’
, ,

o pini o n w hich is also mine I p ray yo u believe that

, ,

Fo rtun e favo urs the b o ld an d that there is n o ,

man l oved by a lady but may at last in wh o le o r ,

in par t o btain fro m her w hat he d esi res p rovided

, ,

h e see k it with wisd o m and passion But ign o r .

anc e and foo lish fear cause men to l o se many a

go o d chance ; and then they i m pute th e i r lo ss
to thei r mist ress s vi rtu e w hich th ey have never
’
,

veri fied with so much as the tip o f the fi nger .

A fo rtress w as neve r well assailed but it was

tak en.
”

“
Nay said P arlam
,
“
ente I am amaze d that yo u ,

two sh o uld da re to tal k in this way T h o se wh o m .

yo u have l o v ed o we yo u but little than k s o r els e ,

yo u r c o u rting has b ee n carri e d o n in such evil places

that yo u deem all wo m e n to b e ali k e ”

Fo r m yself m ada m said Safl re de n t

.

“ “
, , I have ,

been so unfo rtunat e that I am unable to b o ast ;

but I i m pute m y bad luc k less to the vi rtue o f the
ladi es than to my o wn fault in n o t c o nducting my ,

ente rp rises w ith su fficient p rud ence and sagacity .

In supp o rt o f my opini o n I w ill cite n o o the r

 FIR ST sp ar . TAL E I X . 23

authority than the o ld w om an in the Ro m ance f

o

the R ose wh o says

,

Ofall, fai r sirs , it truly my b i d a e sa

Wo man f r m dm f w m md
,
’ ’ 3
o an an an or o an s a e.

Acco rdi ngly I shal l al w ays b eli eve that if love onc e
enters a w o m an s hear t her l over w i ll have fai r fo rtune
’

p rovided he be n o t a si m
, ,
”
pleto n
Well said P arlam e nte if I w ere to nam
.

“ “
,
e to ,

y o u a ve ry l o ving w o man wh o w as gr eatly s o ught

after beset and i m

,
po rtuned and wh o li k e a vi rtu o us , ,

lady proved victo ri o us o ver her h ear t fl esh l ove and

, , ,

l over wo uld yo u be lieve this true thing p ossibl e ?

,
”

“ ” ”
Yes said he I w o uld
, , .

Then said P arlament e you must all b e ha rd

”
, ,

o f beli e f if yo u do n o t believe this st o ry .

“
Madam said Dago uc in ,
”
sinc e I have given ,

an e xampl e to sh o w ho w the l ove o f a vi rtuo us

gentleman lasted even until death I p ray yo u ifyo u , ,

kn o w any such sto ry to the h o n o u r o f a lady to tell ,

it to us and so e nd this day A n d be n o t afraid to .

speak at length fo r th er e is ye t ti m
,

, e to relate many
”
a pleasant matte r .

Then since I am to w ind up th e day

, sai d ,

“
Parlamente I will mak e n o l o ng p reamble fo r my
, ,

sto ry is so b eautiful and t rue that I l o ng to have yo u

k n o w i t as w ell as I do myself Alth o ugh I w as n o t .

an actual w itness o f the events they we re t o ld to me ,

by o n e o f my be st and dearest friends in praise o f

3
Fro mJ o hn de Mehun s
’
i u i
c o nt n a t o n o fth e oe
p m—M . .
24 THE HE P TAME R ON.

the man w h o m o f all the w o rld h e had l oved the

m o st But he charged me sh o uld I eve r chanc e to
.

r elate th e m to c h ange the names o f the p erso n s

,

, .

Apart th e refo re fro m the names o f pers o ns and

, ,
”
places the st o ry is wholly true
.
DA Y I : TA LE X
.
 TAL E X .

fter
a v i r tu ou sly r esisti ng A md a our , w ho ha d a ssa i led he r
hon ou r al mt t os o the last ex tre mity , r e a i r cd, u
p pon her h u sba n d s
’

v ei l 1
dea th , to the c on ven t o f J esus , an d the r e took the .

I N thec o unty o f Aranda 2 i n A r ago n the r e lived , ,

a lady wh o wh ile s till ve ry y o ung was left a

, ,

1 i l
Th s ta e appears to b e a c o b nat o n o f fac t an d fi c t o n mi i i
m
.

l
A th o gh u Queen M ar gare t s ta tes th a t s h e h as c h ange d th e n a es

o f th e
perso n s , a nd a s o o f the p a ces l h er e th e n c de n ts ha p l w i i
v i
pe n ed , se e ral h sto ri c a e e n ts are cer ta n l v b ro gh t n to th e i ly u i
v
n arra ti e , th e sc e n e o f w i
h c h is a d in Spa n d r n g th e re gn o f l i i ui i
Ferdi n and an d I sa b e a~ M Le R o ll de L n e i s o f o p i n o n ux i y i
m
.
,

wv ly
h o e er, tha t Mar gar e t r eal re fe rs t o so e affai r a t the C o rt o f u
Char es l VI I I o r Lo
. s ui X I I
an d h e re ark s th at th ere is gr e a t s
. m i mi
w i
lar ity b e t ee n th e po si t o n o fthe Co n tes s o f Ar an da eft a do u , l wi w
at a n e arly age W
i th a so n and a da gh te r , a nd th at o f Lo se o f u ui
Sa o v yW i th h er two c h dr e n il
M Lac ro and M D i llaye b e ie e th e ix l v
mi l
. . .

i
h ero an d h er o ne to b e Ad ra de Bo nniv e t an d M argar e t I t h as .

Of u l
te n b ee n s s pec ted th at the atte r regar ded h er b r o th e r s fa o r te
'
v ui
wi th af i u l
fe c t o n n ti after th e a tte p t re ated in Ta e m l
ED l IV — . .

2 Aran da
, in the a e v ll y
o f th e D e ro b e t ee n r go s an d u , w Bu
‘
2 5
26 THE HE P TAMER ON .

wid o w with a s o n an d a daughter by th e C o unt

, ,

o fA r anda th e n ame o f th e daughte r being Fl o r ida

,
.

This lady st ro ve to b r ing up her child r en i n

all the vi rt ues an d qualities wh ich beseem l o r ds
and gentlemen s o that h e r h ouse was r eputed
,

to be one of th e m o st h on o u r able in all the

Spai ns She o ften wen t to T oledo whe r e the

.
,

King of Spain dwelt and when sh e came to ,

Sa r agossa which was n ot far fr om her h o use

, ,

she w o uld remai n a long while with the ! ueen

an d the Court by whom sh e was h eld i n as ,

high esteem as any lady could be .

G o ing o n e day acc o rding to h e r custom to , ,

3
visit the King then at h i s castle of La J as s erye
, ,

at Sa r agossa this lady passed th r ough a village

,

belon ging to the V i ce ro y o f Catalonia 4 w h o by , ,

Madr i d is , o ne o f the mt os i
an c e n t to w ns in Sp a i n b u t , of mi ser

l
ab e as pe c t, alth o ugh a lar ge trade is c a rr i ed o n th e re in c h eap

re d wi ne s . Ferdin an d an d I sab e lla res i ded fo r so m im

e t e at

Aran da —E D .

3 Thi s cas tl e is c all ed La Jaff rie in Boaistuau s e di ti o n o f r 5 5 8

e
'

an d se veral l earne d c o m me nta to rs have spe c ul ate d as to wh i c h is

,

th e c o rre c t s pe lli n g No t o n e o f the msee m s to have b ee n aw ar e

th at in th e i m mediate vi c i n i ty o f Sarago ssa th re still s tands an

.

o ld c as tl e c a ll ed El J afe r ia o r Alj aferi a wh i c h after b e i ng the

res i de n ce o f t h e M o o r i sh so ve re i gn s b e c a m
, ,

e th at o f the Sp an i sh

k i ngs o f Arago n I t has o f m o de rn t i m o rm

,

. e s b ee n tran s f e d i nto

b arrac k s .
—E D .

4 H e n ry uke o f S go rb e a nd C o u n t o f Rib ago rce

o f Arago n , D e ,

was Vi ce ro y o f Catal o n i a at th i s pe ri o d H e was c all e d the .

I n fan te o f Fo rtune o n acc o un t o f h is father h avi ng di ed b efore his

b i rth i n I 44 5 —B J
,

. . .
28 THE HEP TAME R ON .

What caused him h o wever , be still mo r e

,
to

highly esteemed was hi s gr eat da r ing which ,

was no whit diminished by h i s y o uth H e had .

al ready sh o wn in many places wh at he c o uld do ,

s o th at n ot only the S pains b ut F r ance and Italy

,

als o made gr eat account o f his mer i ts Fo r in .

all the wa r s i n which he h ad taken pa r t he h ad

n eve r spa r ed himself and when h is c o un t ry was
,

at peace h e wo uld go in quest o f war s i n fo r eign

lands whe r e h e was l o ved and honou r ed by
,

both friend an d foe

This gentleman fo r the l o ve he b o re hi s c o m
.

mande r, h ad c o me to the domai n whe r e the

Countess o f Ar anda h ad a r r ived an d r ema r k ing
,

th e beauty and gr ace of h er d aughte r Fl o r ida ,

w h o was then o nly twelve year s o ld h e th o ught ,

to hi mself that she was the fai r est maiden he

h ad eve r seen and that i f h e c o uld win her

,

fav o u r i t w o uld give him g r eate r sati sfacti o n

than all the wealth an d pleasu r e he migh t obtai n
fr o m anothe r Afte r l o o king at h e r fo r a l o ng
.

time he r es o lved to love h er although hi s r eas o n

,

t o ld him that what he desi r ed was imp o ssible

by r eas o n of he r lin e age as well as of her age ,

which was such that sh e c o uld n o t yet unde r

stand any am o r ous disc o u r se I n spite o f this
.
,

he fo r tified himself with h o pe and r eflected that

,

time and patience might b r ing h i s effo r ts to a

 FIR ST p ar :
f
TA L E X
. 29

happy i ssue And fro m that m o ment the k indly

.

l o ve which o f itself al o ne had ente r ed Am

,
ado u r s
’

hea r t assured him o f all fav o u r and the mean s

,

o f attai ning hi s en d .

To o ve r c o me the gr eatest di ffi culty befo re him ,

whi c h c o nsisted i n the r em o teness o f hi s o wn

home and the few o ppo rtunities h e wo uld have
o f se e ing Fl o r ida again he r es o lved to get married
,
.

This was c o nt r a ry to what he h ad dete r mined

whilst with the ladies o fBa r cel o na and P e r pignan ,

i n which places h e was i n such fav o ur that li ttle

o r n o th ing was r efused him ; and i ndeed by , ,

r eas o n o f the wa r s he h ad dwelt s o l o ng o n th e

,

fro ntie r s that although he was b o r n near To led o

, ,

he seemed r ather a Catalan than a Castilian H e .

came o f a ri ch and h on o u r able h o use b ut being ,

a yo unge r s o n h e was with o ut pat ri m o ny ; and

,

thus it was th at Lo ve an d Fo r tune seeing hi m ,

neglected by his kin dete rmined to make him ,

their maste r piece end o wi ng him with such qu ali

,

ties as might obtai n what the laws o f the land

had r efused him H e was o f much expe rience
.

i n the art of war and was s o bel o ved by all l o r d s

,

and pr inc e s that he r efused their fav o u r s m o r e

fr equen tly than he h ad o ccasi o n to see k them .

Th e C o untess o f w ,
h o m I h ave S po k en a r ri ved ,

then at S ar ago ssa and was well r eceived by the

King an d all hi s C o u r t Th e Gove r no r o f Cata .
30 THE HE P TAMERON .

l o ni a o ften came to visit her and Am ado u r failed

,

n o t to acc o mpany him that h e migh t h ave the

pleasu r e o f mer ely seeing Fl o r ida fo r he had n o

,

o ppo r tunity o f spea k ing with h e r I n o r de r to

.

establish himself in this go odly c o mpany h e paid

his add r esses to the daughte r o f an o ld knight ,

h i s neighbou r This maiden was n amed Avan

.

tu r ada and was so intimate with Fl o ri da that she

knew all th e secrets o f h er heart Am
,

ado ur , as
.

much fo r the worth which h e found i n Av antur ada

as fo r the th r ee th o usan d ducats a yea r which
fo rmed h er d o wry deter mined to add r ess h er as a
,

suit o r, and she wi llingly gave ear to h im B ut as .

he was poo r and h e r father was ri c h, she feared

that the latter would never consent to the mar
r iage except a t the i nstance o f the C o untess o f

Ar anda Sh e therefor e had r ecou r se to the lady

.

Fl o ri da and said to h er
“
Y o u have seen madam that Castilian gen tle
, ,

man wh o often talks to me I believe th at all .

hi s ai mi s to h ave me i n mar riage Y o u k n o w .

,

h o weve r what k ind o f father I h ave ; h e wi ll

,

never c o nsent to the match unless he be earnestly

”
ent r eated by the Countess and yo u .

Fl o ri da who l o ved th e damsel as h e rself

, ,

assu red her that sh e w o uld lay th e matter to

heart as th o ugh i t we r e fo r h er o wn benefit ; and
Av an turada then ventu red so far as to p re sen t
 FIR ST D AT : TA L E x .
3:

A mda o u r to he r H e was li k e to swo o n fo r j o y

.

’
o n k issing Fl o r ida s hand and alth o ugh he was ,

acc o un ted the r eadiest spea k e r i n S pain , yet i n

her p r esence h e b ecame dumb At thi s she was .

gr e atly su rp r ised fo r al th o ugh she was o nly

, ,

twelve yea r s o ld she had alr eady o ften hea r d i t

,

said th at the r e was n o man i n Spain who c o uld

spe ak better o r with m o r e gr ace So finding .
,

that h e said n o thing to h er she her self spoke

S e no r Am
.
,

“ ” “
ado u r she began ,
the r enown ,

you enj o y th ro ugh o ut all the Spai n s has made

y o u known to eve ryb o dy he r e an d all are de ,

s iro us of afl o r din g yo u pleas u r e

'

I f th er efo r e I .

can i n any way do this yo u may dispose o f me ,

.

Am ado u r was i n such r aptu r e at sight o f the

’
lady s beauty that he could sca r cely utte r his
th anks H o weve r alth o ugh Fl o r ida was ast o n
.
,

is h e d to find that he made n o fu rthe r r eply sh e ,

imputed i t r ather to some whim than to th e

power o f l o ve ; and s o she wi thd rew wi th o ut ,

sayi ng anything m o r e
Am
.

ado u r
,
who per ceived the qualities which
even in ear liest y o uth were beginning to sh o w
themselves i n Fl o r ida n ow said to he r wh o m he
,

desired to marry
“
Do not be su r p r is e d i f I l o st th e p o wer o f
utte r ance i n pr esence o f th e lady Fl o r ida I was .

s o ast o nished at fin ding such quali ties and such

32 THE HE P TAMER ON .

sensible speech in on e so very y o ung that I

knew n ot what to say to her B ut I p r ay you .
,

Av an tur ada you wh o kn o w h e r sec r ets tell me

, ,

i f sh e does n o t o f necessity po ssess the hearts

o f all the gentlemen o f the C o urt Any who .

k now h er and do n o t l o ve her must be st o n es or

”
b r utes .

Av an turada wh o al r eady loved Am ,

ado ur m o re

than any o ther m an i n the wo rld could con ceal ,

nothing fro m him but t o ld him th at Flor ida was

,

loved by every on e H owever, by r eason o f th e .

custom o f the c o unt ry few sp o ke to her an d , ,

o nly two had as yet made any sh ow o f l o ve

to wa r ds h er These we r e tw o p r i nces o f Spain
.
,

and they desi r ed to ma r ry her , o n e being the s o n

o f the Infante of Fo r t une and the othe r the
5

6
yo ung D uke o f Car d o n a .

“
I p r ay yo u said Am ado ur
“
tell me which
, ,

o f them yo u thin k she l o ves the m o st .

5 M Lac ro ix asserts that th e I n fante o f Fo r t n e u left n o so n by

m
.

h is wi fe G uyo are de Cas tro y Norogna ; whereas M Le R o de ux

— —
, .

Lin c y c o nte n ds that h ehad a so n Alfo nso o f Arago n wh o in

1 5 06 was p ro po se d as a h us b and for Cr a zy
J ane A fo n so o u d l w l
—ED
.

th erefo re p ro b ab ly b e th e p ri n ce re ferred to b y Margare t

w n o n the river Cardo ner at a few miles
.

6 Cardo n a, a fo rt i fi e d to
fro mBarc e l o n a was a co un ty in th e t i m
,

e o f Fe rdi n an d an d

I sab e lla an d was ra i se d b y the m

,

to the r an k o f a du c h y in favo u r
o f Ram
,

o n Fo l c h I To -day it h as b e twee n two an d th ree tho usan d

.

i nh ab itan ts and is c h i efl y no ted for its stro ngly b uil t c as till o

Th e y o u ng D uk e s po k en o f b y Q uee n Margar e t w o uld b e R a m
.
,

on

Fo lc h s so n wh o was als o nam e d R am o n —B J an d E D

'

, . . .
 FIR ST D AY : TA L E X
.
33

“
Sh e i s s o disc reet sai d Av an tur ada, that ,

o n n o acc o un t w o uld she c o nfess to h aving any

wish but h e r m o the r s Neve r theless as far as

’
.
,

can be j udged she li k es th e s o n o f the Infan te

,

o f Fo r tune f ar m o r e than she li k es the youn g

Du k e o f Ca rd o na B ut h e r m o the r w o uld r ather

.

h ave h e r at Card o na fo r then she wo uld n o t ,

be s o far away I h o ld yo u fo r a man o f go o d

.

unde r standing and i f yo u are s o minded you

, , ,

may j udge o f h e r choice thi s very day fo r the ,

s o n of th e Infante o f Fo r tun e wh o is o n e o f th e ,

h an dsomest an d m o st acc o mpli shed p rinces i n

Ch ri stend o m i s bein g b ro ught up at thi s C o u r t
, .

I f we damse ls c o uld decide the ma rr iage by o u r

o pinions he would be su r e of h avi ng the Lady
,

Fl o rida fo r they wo ul d ma k e th e c o meliest c o uple

,

in all Spain .You must kn o w that although ,

they are b o th y o ung she being but twelve an d ,

he b ut fi fteen i t i s n o w th r ee yea r s sin ce their

,

l o ve fo r each o th e r fi r st began ; and if yo u w o uld

secu r e h e r fav o ur I advise yo u to bec o me h i s
,

fr iend and fo llowe r .

Am ado u r was well pleased to fin d th at Fl o r ida

lo ved s o mething hoping that i n time he migh t

,

gai n the place n o t o f h usband but of l o ve r H e .

had n o fe a r i n r ega r d to h e r vi rt ue but was ,

r ath er afr aid lest sh e should be insensible to

l o ve Afte r thi s c o nve r sati o n he began to c o n
.

I I. c
34 THE HEP TAME R ON .

s or t wi th the son o f the I nfante o f Fo r tune and ,

r eadily gai ned h i s fav o u r being well skilled i n all

,

the pastimes th at the y o ung P r i nce was fo nd of ,

especi ally i n the handling o f h o r ses i n the p r ae ,

tice o f all kinds o f weap o n s and indeed i n every ,

dive r si o n and pastime be fi tting a y o ung man .

H o wever war b ro ke o ut agai n i n Languedoc

an d i t was necessa r y th at Am
, ,

ado u r sh ould r etu r n

thither with the Go ve r n o r This h e did b ut n o t
.
,

without gr eat r egr et since h e c o uld i n n o wise

,

cont r ive to r eturn to wh e r e h e migh t see Fl o r ida .

Accor dingly when he was setting fo r th h e spo ke

, ,

to a b r o ther o f his , w h o was maj o r dom o to the

! ueen o f Spain and t o ld hi m o f the g o od m atch
,
’
h e h ad found i n th e C o un tess of Ar anda s house ,

i n the pers o n o f Av an tur ada ; ent reating him i n ,

h is absence to do all that he co uld to b ri ng

,

ab o ut the ma rr i age by employing hi s credi t wi th

,

the K ing the ! ueen and all hi s friends The

, , .

maj or d o m o wh o was attached to h is b ro ther, n o t

,

o nly by r eas o n of thei r kinship but o n acc o unt of ,

Am
’
ado u r s excellent qualities p r omised to do hi s ,

best This h e did i n such wise th at the avari

.

ci o ns o ld father fo r go t his o wn n atu r e to p o nder

o ve r the qualities o f Am ado u r as pictu r ed to h im
,

by the C o untess of Ar anda and especi ally by ,

the fai r Fl o r ida as well as by th e yo ung C o unt

,

of Aranda wh o was no w begi nning to g ro w up

,
36 THE HE P TAME R ON .

succeeded s o well i n fu rthe ring his own uni o n ,

that h e mar r ied Av an tur ada whose affecti o n fo r

,

him was far gr eate r th an h is was fo r her B ut .

thi s ma rr iage fu r ni shed him with a ve ry con

v e n ie n t cl o ak
,
and gave him an excuse for re
s o rting to the place whe r e his spi r i t eve r dwe lt .

Afte r he was ma r ri ed h e became ve ry b o ld and

’
familia r in the C o untess of A r a n da s h o useh o ld ,

s o th at he was n o m o r e dist r usted than if h e had

been a woman An d alth o ugh he was n o w o nly

.

twenty-two yea r s o f age he sh owed such go od

,

sen se th at the C o untess o f A r anda i nfo r med him

of all h er a ffai r s and bade her s o n c o nsult wi th
,

him an d fo llow his couns e l .

H aving gained thei r esteem thus far Am ado u r ,

compo rted hi mself s o p r udently and calmly th at

even the lady h e loved was n o t aware o f his
a ffecti o n fo r h er By r eas o n however o f the
.
, ,

l o ve sh e b o r e hi s wife to wh o m she was m o r e

,

attached th an to any o the r woman she con cealed ,

n o ne o f her though ts fr o m him an d was pleased ,

to tell him o f all h er love fo r the s o n o f the

In fante o f Fo r t une Al th o ugh Am

. ado u r s s o le
’

aim was to win h er enti r ely fo r hi mself he c o n ,

tin u ally sp o ke to her o f th e P ri nce ; indeed he ,

ca r ed n o t what might be the subj ect o f thei r c o n

ve r se p r o vided o nly th at he c o uld talk to h e r fo r
,

a l o ng time H owever he h ad n o t r emained a

.
,
 FIR ST D AT: TA L E X .
37

m o nth in this society afte r hi s ma rr iage when he

was const r ained to r etu r n to the w ar and h e was ,

absent fo r m o r e than two year s wi thout r etu r n

ing to see his wi fe wh o c o n tinued to live i n th e
,

place wh e r e she had been b r o ugh t up .

Meanwhile Am ado u r o ften wr o te to h e r but ,

his lette r s we r e fo r the m o st pa r t message s to

Fl o r ida wh o o n he r side neve r failed to r etu r n
,

them and w o uld wi th h e r own han d add s o me

,

pleasant w o r ds to th e lette r s whi ch Av an tur ada

wrote I t was o n thi s acc o unt that th e h usban d
.

o f the latter w r o te to her ve r y fr equen tly ; yet

o f all thi s Fl o ri da knew n o thing except that she

lo ved Am ado u r as if he h ad been h e r b ro the r .

S eve r al times during the c o u r se o f five yea r s did

Am ado ur r etu r n an d go away agai n ; yet s o sh o r t

was his stay th at he did n o t s e e Fl o ri da fo r

two m o nth s alt o gether Neve rtheless i n spite of
.
,

distan ce and length o f absen ce hi s love c o n ,

tinned to i ncr ease .

At last it h ap pened that he made a j ou r ney to

see hi s wife and found the C o untess far rem o ved
,

fr om th e Cou r t for th e K ing o f Spain was g o ne

,

10
int o Andal usia taking with him the y o ung
,

C o unt o f A r anda wh o was al r eady begi nning to

,

1° Th ere h ad b ee n v l
a re o t at G ra nada in 1 499 , an d in th e fo ll o w
in g year th e Mo o rs ro se in th e Alpuj arras wh ereupo n K i ng Fe rdi
n an d mar c h e d agai n s t th e min per so n —L
,

.
38 THE HE P TAME RO N .

bear a r ms Thus the C o un tess h ad withd r awn

.

to a c o unt ry -h o use b e l o nging to h e r o n the

fr ontie r s o f A r ago n an d Nava rr e Sh e was w e ll

pleased o n se e ing Am
.

ado ur wh o h ad n o w been

away fo r near ly th r ee yea r s H e was m

,

ade
.

welc o me by all , an d the C o untess c o mmanded

that he sh o uld be t r eated li k e h e r o wn s o n .

Whilst h e was wi th her sh e info r med hi m o f

'

all th e afl air s o f h er h o useh o ld leaving m o st o f ,

them to his j udgmen t An d s o much credit did

.

h e wi n i n he r h o use th at wher eve r h e visited all

d o o r s we r e o pened to him and indeed pe o ple
, , ,

hel d hi s p r ud e nce i n such high esteem that he

was t r usted in all things as th o ugh he had been
an angel o r a sain t .

Fl o rida by r eas o n o f the l o ve she b o r e his wife

,

and himself, s o u gh t him o u t whe r eve r he went .

She h ad n o suspici o n o f hi s pu r pose and was ,

u nrestrained in h er ma ri n e r s fo r he r hear t was

,

fr ee fr om love save that she fel t gr eat c o ntent

,

men t whenever sh e was nea r Am ado u r To .

m o re than th is sh e gave n o t a th o ught .

Am ado ur h o weve r had a h a r d task to escape

, ,

th e observati o n of th o se wh o knew by expe r i ence

’
h o w to distinguish a l o ve r s lo o k s fro m an o the r
’
man s ; fo r when Fl o rida thin k ing n o evil came
, ,

and sp o k e familia rly to h im th e fir e that was ,

h idden i n his heart s o c o nsum e d him that he

 FIR ST D AY: TA L E X
‘
.
39

c o uld n o t k eep the col o u r fro m rising to h is face

o r spa r k s of flame fr o m da rting fro m his eyes .

Th us i n o r de r that n o n e might be any the

,

wiser he began to pay c o u rt to a ve ry b e auti

,

ful lady named P aulin a a w o man s o famed fo r

,

beauty i n h er day that few men wh o saw her

escaped fro m h er t o ils
This P aulina had hear d how A m
.

ado u r h ad

made l o ve at Barcel o n a and P e r pign an ins o much ,

that h e had gained the a ffecti o n o f the highest

an d m o st beautiful ladies i n the land especially ,

that o f a certai n C o un tes s o f P alam o s w h o was ,

esteemed the fi r st fo r beauty am o ng all the ladies

o f S pai n ; and she told him th at she gr eatly
pitied him , since after s o m uch go o d fo rt une h e ,

had marr ied such an ugly wife Am

,

. ado ur w h o ,

well unde r st o od by these wo rds that sh e had a

mind to supply his n eed made h e r the faires t
,

s peeches he c o uld devise seeking to c o nceal the

,

t r uth by pe r suading he r o f a fal seho o d B ut she .

,

being subtle an d expe r ienced i n l o ve was n o t to ,

be put o ff with me r e wo r ds ; an d feeling su r e

that his hear t was not to be satisfied with such
l o ve as she c o uld give h im she suspected h e
,

wished to make her serve as a cl o ak and s o k ept ,

cl o se watch u po n h is eyes These h o weve r

.
, ,

knew s o well h o w to dissemble that she h ad ,

n o thing to guide h e r but the barest suspi cion .

40 THE HE P TAME RO N .

Neve r th e less ,
bs e r vati o n s o r ely t r o ubled
her o

Am ado u r ; fo r Fl o r ida , wh o was ign o r an t o f all

these wiles o ften spoke to him befo r e P aulina

,

i n such a familiar fashi o n th at h e had to make

w o nd ro us effo r ts to c o mpel hi s eyes to beli e hi s
hea r t To av o id unpleasant c o nsequen ces he
.
,

o n e day, while leaning against a wind o w, sp o k e

thus to Fl o r ida
I p r ay yo u sweetheart c o unsel me whether
, ,

i t i s bette r fo r a man to speak o r die

Fl o ri da fo rthwith r eplied
I shall always c o uns e l my fr iends to speak
and n o t to die Th e r e ar e fe w wo r ds that can
.

n o t be mended b ut li fe o n ce l o st can neve r be

,
”
r egained .

“
Wi ll you p ro mise me then said Am ,
ado u r
, ,

that yo u will n o t be displeased by what I wi sh

to tell yo u n o r yet ala r med at it un til yo u h ave
, ,

hea r d me to the end 9

“ “
S ay what yo u will she r eplied ; i f yo u
,
”
alar m me n o ne can r eassu r e me
, .

“
Fo r two r eas o ns he then began
,
”
I h ave ,

hither t o been unwilling to tell yo u o f the gr eat

'

afl e c tio n th at I feel f o r yo u Fi r st I wish ed to

.
,

p r o ve it to yo u by l o ng se rvice an d sec o ndly , ,

I fe are d that yo u migh t de e m i t p r e sumpti o n i n

me wh o am but a simple gentleman to add r ess
, ,

myself to one upon wh o m i t i s n o t fitting that

 FI R ST fDAY : TA L E X .
41

I sh o uld l o o k An d even th o ugh I we r e of royal

.

stati o n li k e yo u r o wn your heart in i ts l oyalty

, , ,

w o uld su ffe r n o ne save the s o n o f the Infant e o f

Fo r tune wh o h as w o n i t, to speak to you o f l o ve
,
.

B ut j ust as in a g r eat war necessi ty c o mpels

men to devastate thei r o wn p o ssessi o ns and to
dest r o y their c o r n i n the blade that the enemy
,

may de rive n o p ro fit the r efro m s o do I r isk

,

anticipating the fr uit which I had h o ped to gather

i n seas o n lest y o ur enemies and mi ne p ro fit by
,

it to y o ur det rimen t K n o w then that fro m

.
, ,

yo u r ear liest yo uth I h ave dev o ted myself to

yo u r service and h ave ever st riven to win yo ur
favou r Fo r this pu r p o se al o ne I ma r ri e d her
.

whom I th o ught yo u l o ved best and being ao , ,

q uain te d with the l o ve yo u bear to the s o n o f the

Infante o f Fo rtune, I have striven to se r ve him
and c o ns o r t with him , as yo u y o u r self kn o w I .

have s o ugh t with all my p o wer fo r eve rything

that I th o ugh t c o uld give yo u pleasu r e Y o u .

see that I have wo n the esteem of y o ur mothe r ,

the Coun tess and of y o ur b ro the r th e C o unt ,

, ,

and o f all you love so th at I am r egar ded he r e

, ,

n o t as a dependant but as one o f the family

,
.

All my e ffo r ts fo r five year s past h ave had n o

o the r end than that I might spend my wh o le

life nea r yo u .

“
Unde r stand that I am n o t one o f th o se who
42 THE HE P TAME RON .

w o uld by these mean s seek to obtain fro m you

any favo u r o r pleasu r e othe r wise than virt u o us .

I kn o w th at I cann o t ma rr y yo u and even if I ,

c o uld, I wo uld n o t do s o i n face of the l o ve yo u

b ea r him wh o m I wo uld fain see yo ur husband .

An d as fo r l o ving yo u with a vi ci o us l o ve li k e
th o se wh o h o pe that l o ng serv ice will b ri ng them
a r ewa r d to the dish o n o u r o f a lady that i s far ,

fr o m my purpose I w o uld r ather see yo u dead

.

than k n o w th at yo u wer e less wo r thy o f being

l o ved o r that y o u r Vi rtue h ad diminished fo r th e
,

sake of any pleasu r e to me Fo r th e end and

.

rewa r d of my servi ce I as k b ut one thing n amely , ,

th at you wi ll be s o faithful a mi st r ess to me as ,

never to ta k e yo u r fav o ur fr o m me , and that yo u

will suffer me to c o ntin ue as I n o w am t r usting ,

i n me m o r e than i n any o the r an d accepting

,
’
fro m me the assu r an ce th at i f fo r your honou r s
s ake or fo r aught c o nce rn ing yo u yo u eve r h ave
, ,
’
n eed o f a gentleman s life I wi ll gladly place
,

mine at you r disp o sal Y o u may be su r e als o

.

that whateve r I may do that i s hon o u r able and

vi r tu o us will be d o n e s o lely fo r l o ve o fyo u I f
, .

fo r the sake o f ladies less w o r thy than yo u I

have ever done anyth in g th at has been c o n
s ide r e d of acc o unt be su r e th at
,
fo r a mist r ess
,

li k e yo u r self my enterp r i se will so i nc r ease that

, ,

things I he r eto fo r e found imp o ssible will becom e

44 THE HEP TAME R ON .

A md a o ur , wh o was at no l o ss fo r an answer ,

then said to her

“
M adam you speak very disc r eetly and yo u
, ,

h on o ur me so g r eatly by the trust which yo u say

yo u h ave i n me th at i f I we r e n o t sati sfi e d with
,

s uch goo d fo r tune I sh o uld be quite unworthy

o f it . B ut consider , madam that h e wh o w o uld ,

build an edifice to last fo r eve r must be ca reful

to h ave a su r e and stable fo undati o n I n the .

same way I wishing to c o ntinue for ever i n your

,

service must n o t o nly take ca r e to h ave the mean s

,

o f r emai ning nea r to yo u but als o to p r event any

,

o n e fro m kn o wing o f the gr e at a f fecti o n that I

b ea r yo u Alth o ugh i t i s h o n o u r able en o ugh to
.

b e eve r ywhe r e p ro claimed yet th o se wh o k n o w ,

'
n o thing o f l o ve r s hea r ts o ften j udge cont r ar y to
the t r uth and thence come r e p o r ts as mi schievo us
,

as th o ugh they w e r e t r ue I have been p r o mpted

.

to say this and led to decla r e my l o ve to yo u

, ,

because P aulina fe eling i n h e r hea r t that I

,

can n o t l o ve h er holds me i n suspici o n and d o es

,

n o ught but watch my face wherever I may be .

H ence when yo u c o me an d speak to me s o

,

familia r ly i n he r p r esence I am i n g reat fea r lest

,

I sh ould make s o me sign o n which she may

gro und her j udgment an d s h o uld s o fall int o
,

that which I am anxi o us to avo id Fo r thi s .

re as o n I am led to en treat yo u no t to c o me and

 FIR ST DAi
f
’
: TA L E X
.
45

speak to me s o suddenly befo re her or befo r e

o the r s wh om yo u k n o w to b e equal ly m alici o us ,

fo r I w o uld r ather die than h ave any living

c r eatu r e kn o w the t r uth Were I n o t s o r e .

g a r d ful of y o u r h o nou r I should n o t h ave s o ugh t

,

this c o nve r se with you fo r I h o ld myself s u ffi

,

c ie n tly happy i n the l o ve and t r ust yo u he ar me ,

and I ask n o thing mo r e save that they may

”
c o ntin ue.

Flor ida wh o c o uld n o t h ave been bette r pleased

, ,

began to be sen sible o f an unwo nted feeling in

h er hea r t . Sh e saw h o w h o n o u r able we r e th e
r eas o n s which he laid befo re h e r ; and she t o ld

him that vir tue and h o n o u r r eplied fo r h er and

that she gr anted him his request Am
,
’
ado ur s
.

j y
o at thi s n o true l o ve r can doubt .

Fl o r ida h o weve r gave m o r e heed to h is

, ,

c o un sel than he desi r ed fo r she becam e timid

,

not o nly in p r esence o f P aulina b ut elsewh er e ,

an d ceased to seek hi m o u t as sh e h ad been

accustomed to do While they we r e th us sepa
.

r ated she t o o k Am
’
ado u r s c o nstan t conve r se with

P aulin a i n bad part for seeing that the latter

, ,

was beautiful she c o uld n o t believe that Am

, ado ur

did not l o ve h e r To beguile he r s o r ro w sh e

.

c o nve r sed continually with Av an tur ada wh o was ,

beginning to feel ve ry j e alo us of her husband

and P aulina , and o ften c o mplained o f them t o
46 THE HEPTAME R ON .

Flo r ida wh o c o mfo r ted her as well as sh e c o uld

, ,

being h e r self smitten with the same di sease

Am
.

’
ado ur s o on pe r ceived the change i n Flo r ida s

demeanou r and fo rthwi th th o ugh t th at sh e was

,

keeping al oo f fr o m him n o t me r ely by h i s o wn

advice b ut al s o o n acc o unt o f s o me bi tte r fan cies
,

o f he r o w n .

O n e day, when they we r e coming fr om vesper s

at a monastery, h e sp o k e to h e r, an d asked
“
What c o unten an ce i s this you sh ow me ,

madam
“
That wh ich I believe you desi r e r eplied ,

Fl o r ida .

The r eupon suspecting the t ruth and desi ring

, ,

to k n o w whethe r h e was right he said to h er

,

I h ave used my ti me s o well , madam th at

P aulin a n o longe r h as any suspici o n o f you .

”
Y o u could n o t do bette r she r eplied
,
both ,

fo r y o u r self and fo r me While gi ving pleasu r e

.

”
to you r self yo u b r ing me hon o u r .

Am ado u r gathered fro m thi s speech that she

believed h e t oo k pleasu r e i n co nversing wi th

P aulina and s o gr eat was h i s despair that h e
,

could n o t r efr ai n fr om saying angr ily to h e r

“
I n t r uth madam , yo u begi n betimes to to r
,

men t you r l o ver and pelt h im with har d w o rds .

I do n o t think I ever h ad a mo r e i r ks o me task

than to be obliged to hold conve r se with a lady
 FIR ST D AY : TA L E X .
47

I do not l o ve But since yo u take wh at I have

.

d o n e to se rve yo u i n bad pa r t I will neve r speak

,

to h er again happen wh at may

, And that I .

may hide my w r ath as I h ave h idden my j o y, I

will betake me to s o me place i n th e n eighb o u r
h o od and the re wait till y o u r cap ri ce has passed
,

away I h o pe h o weve r I shall there r eceive

.
, ,

tidings fro m my captain and be called back to the

war whe r e I will r emain long en o ugh to show
,
”
yo u th at nothing but you r s e lf has kept me h er e .

So saying h e fo r thwith depar ted without wait

,

ing fo r h e r r eply .

Fl o r ida felt the gr eatest vexation and sorrow

i ma ginable ; and love meetin g wi th o pp o siti o n
, ,

began to put fo r th its mighty st r ength She .

pe r ceived that she h ad been i n the wr o ng and ,

wrote c o ntin ually to Am ado u r ent r eating him to

r etu r n wh ich he did afte r a few days when h is

, ,

anger h ad abated .

I cannot under take to tell yo u min utely all that

th ey said to each o the r in o r de r to dest r oy thi s
jeal o usy But at all events h e wo n the vict o ry
.
,

and sh e p ro mised him that not o nly would sh e

neve r believe h e l o ved P aulin a b ut that she ,

w o uld eve r be convinced he fo und i t an in to le r

able mar ty r dom to speak eithe r to P aulin a o r to
any o n e else except to do he r self a se r vice
When l o ve had c o nquer ed thi s fi r st suspi ci o n ,
48 THE HEP TAME R ON .

and while the two love r s we r e begin ning to take

fr esh pleasu r e i n conver sing together news came ,

that the K in g of S pai n was sending all his a rmy

to Salces 11
Am .ado u r accust o med eve r to be ,

the fi r st i n battle failed n o t to seize this o p p o r

,

tu n ity of winning ren o wn ; b ut in t r uth he set

fo rth with unw o nted regr et b o th on acc o un t of ,

the pleasu r e he was l o sing and because he feared

that he migh t find a change on h is r eturn He .

knew that Fl o r ida who was n o w fifteen o r six,

teen yea r s o ld was s o ught in marr iage by many

,

gr eat pr in ces and lo rds an d he r eflected that if ,

she we r e ma rri ed du ring h is absen ce he might

h ave no fu r the r o pp o r tunity o f seeing her un ,

less indeed the Countess of A r anda gave h e r hi s

, ,

wife Av an tu rada as a c o mpani o n H o weve r by

, ,
.
,

skilful management with his fr iends he o bt ai ned ,

a p ro mise fr om b o th mothe r and daugh te r that

whe r ever Fl o r ida might go afte r h e r ma rr iage
thithe r sh o uld h i s wi fe Av an tu r ada accompany , ,

11 Sal ce s , a Vill age ab o u t fi ftee n mil es n o rth o fPerp i gn an n oted

fo r its fo rm i dab le fo rtress s till e xi s ti n g an d c o m mandi ng a pas s
,

th rou gh th e C o rb i ere M o u n ta i ns w h i c h in th e fi fteen th an d s ix

tee n th c e n tur i e s se p arate d Fran ce fro mR o us sill o n th e n b e l o ngi ng
,

T he Fre n c h b u rn t the vill age an d de m

,

t o Spa i n . o li sh e d th e fo rt

o f Sal c es in 1 496 b u t th e l atte r was re b uil t b y th e S an i ards in

p
th e m o st m
,

as s we s tyl e T he w all s o f th e fo rt are 66 fee t th i c k a t

th e b ase an d 5 4 fe e t th i c k at th e su m mi t When Quee n Margare t
.

ro m
.

re tur n e d f Sp ai n in 1 5 2 5 she re ac he d France b y the pass o f

Sal ce s .
(S e e v o l i
.
p . .
— ED .
 FIR ST DAr
f : TA L E X .
49

he r . Alth o ugh i t was p ro p o sed to m arr y Flo

r ida i n P or tugal i t was n eve r theless r es o lve d
,

that Av an tu r ada sh o uld neve r leave h e r With .

this assu r ance yet n o t with o ut un speakable r e

,

gr et A m ,
ado u r went away and left hi s wife with

the C o untess .

Wh en Fl or ida fo und he r s e lf al o ne after hi s

departure she set ab o ut d o i ng such good an d
,

vi r tuous w o r k s as sh e h o ped might wi n h e r

th e r eputati o n that bel o ngs to th e m o st per fect
women and migh t p ro ve h er to be wo r thy o f
such a love r as Am
,

ado u r H e h aving a rr ived at .

B ar cel o na was the r e welc o med by the ladies as

,
'

o f o ld b ut they fo un d a gr eater ch ange in h

than they believed it p o ssible fo r ma rri age to
effect i n any man H e seemed to be vexed by .

the sight o f things he had fo r me r ly desi r ed ; an d

even the C o untess o f P alam o s wh o m he h ad ,

loved exceedingly could n o t pe r suade him to ,

visit h e r
Am
.

ado u r r emai ned at Ba r celon a as short a

time as possible fo r he was impatient to r each ,

S alces whe r e he al o ne was n o w awaited

, Wh en .

he a rr ived th e r e began between the two kings

,

th at gr eat an d c r uel war which I do n o t pu r p o se

to desc r i be 12
Ne ithe r will I r ec o unt th e n o ble
.

13 In 1 5 03 th e Fre nc h un der Mar shals de R i eux an d de G ie,

m
,

i
aga n b es ieged Sa l ces , whi ch h ad a garris o n o f 1 2 00 en . The
II . D
50 THE HEP TAMERO N
‘
.

deeds that we r e done by Am ado ur f o r then my ,

sto ry wo uld take up an enti r e day ; b ut yo u

m ust k now that h e wo n r en o wn far above all hi s
c o m r ades Th e D uke o f Naje r a havi ng arrived
.
13

at P e rpignan i n c o mmand of two th o usan d men ,

r equested Am ado u r to be his lieuten ant , an d

so well did Am ado u r fulfil hi s duty with th is

band that i n ever y ski rmish the o nly c ry was

,

Naj er a ! ” 14

No w it came to pass that the Ki ng of Tuni s,

w h o fo r a l o ng time had been at w ar wi th the
S pania r ds h ear d that the kings o f Fr ance and
,

S pain we r e wa r r i n g with each othe r o n the

fr o ntie r s o f P erpign an and Na r b o nn e and b e ,

though t h imself that h e c o uld have n o better

o pp o rtunity o f vexing th e K ing o f Spain Ac .

c o r dingly h e sen t a gr eat n umbe r o f light galleys

,

an d o ther vessel s to plunder an d dest ro y all s uch

latter o p p o se d a vigo rous de fe n c e d ur i ng two mo n th s an d u p o n

l W i th an army o f suc c o ur the

,

the arr ival o f th e o ld D uk e o f A b a

i
s e ge h ad to b e i
ra se d - B J
m
. .

13 P
e dro Ma iq uez u nt o f Tre v igno c reated D uk e
de Lar a , Co
o f Naj e ra b y Ferdi nan d an d I sab e ll a m 15 01 —
,

B I . . .

1‘ Th e Du k e s war cr
y re pe ated b y h is fo ll o we rs as a rallying
'
-

si gnal in the m
,

él e !Var c r i es var i e d g ea tly

’
c .
-M o n tj o i e St r .
“
.

D en i s was th at o f the k i ngs o f Fran ce an d Passavan t le “

meilleur (the b est to the fro n t) that o f the Co unts o fCh ampagne
,

I n o th e r i n s tan c es the war-c ry c o ns i s te d o fa s i ngl e wo rd Bi go rre ,

b eing that o f th e k i n gs o f Navarre an d Flan de s th at o f th e r

Whe n th e war c ry was m ere ly a n am

,

Pri nc es s o f Beauj eu . e -as ,

in th e c ase o f the Du k e o f Naj e ra it b e l o n ge d to th e h ead o f th e

'

fam ily —D
,

.
52 THE HEP TAM E RO N
‘
.

again . Acc o rdingly, he gave hi mself up to a

T u r k n amed D o r lin , a go ve r n o r o f the K ing o f
T uni s who b ro ugh t him to h is maste r
,
By the .

latter he was well r eceived and still bette r

gua r ded ; fo r the K ing deemed th at i n him he
held the Ach illes o f all the S pain s .

Thus Am ado u r c o ntin ued fo r two yea r s in the

service o f the King o f T uni s Th e news o f th e

.

captu r es h avi ng r each ed S pain the kinsfo lk o f

,

th e Duke o f Naje r a we r e i n gr eat s o r ro w ; but

’
th o se who held the c o unt ry s h o n o ur dear deemed
Am ado ur th e g r eate r l o ss The r um o ur came to
.

the h o use o f the C o untess o f Ar anda wher e th e ,

h apless Av an tur ada at that time lay grievo usly

sick The C o untess wh o h ad great mi sgi vi ngs
.

as to th e affecti o n which A m
,

ado u r b o re to her

daughte r, th o ugh she su ffe r ed i t and c o n cealed

i t fo r the sake o f the me r its sh e pe r ceived i n
h im t o o k Fl o r ida apar t and t o ld h e r the m o urn
,

ful tidings Fl orida, who was well able to dis

.

semble replied th at i t was a gr eat l o ss to the

,

en ti r e househ o ld an d that above all she pitied

,

hi s po o r wife wh o was h e r self s o ill Nev e r th e

, .

less seeing that her m o the r wept exceedingly

, ,

she sh ed a few tear s to bear h e r c o mpany ; fo r

she fear ed that i f sh e dissembled to o far the
feint might be discover ed Fr o m that time the
.

C o untess o ften spoke to h e r o f Am ado u r b ut ,

 FI RST D AY : TALE X .

neve r c o uld she su rp r ise a l o o k t o guide h e r

j udgment .

I wi ll pass ove r the pilgr images p r aye r s , ,

supplicati o n s and fasts which Fl orida r eg ula r ly

pe r fo r med to en su r e the safety o fAm
,

ado u r As .

s o o n as h e had a r rived at Tuni s he failed n o t to ,

send tidings o f himself to hi s fr ien ds an d by a ,

t r usty messenge r h e appr i sed Flo r ida that he was

i n good health an d h ad h o pes o f seeing h e r
,

again This was the only c o ns o lati o n the poo r

.

lady had i n h er grief and you may be su r e that

, ,

since she was pe r mi tted to w r i te she did s o with

all diligence s o th at A m
,

,
adou r had n o lack o f h e r

lette r s to c o mfo r t him .

Th e C o untess o f Ar an da was ab o ut this time

c o mmanded to repair to S ar ago ssa whe re the ,

King had arr ived and h e r e she fo und the young

D u k e o f Ca r d o n a wh o s o p r essed the Ki ng and
,

! uee n th at th ey begged the C o untess to give

17
him h e r daughter i n ma r riage Th e C o untess
.

consen ted fo r she was unwilli ng to dis o bey th e m

,

i n anything and m o r e o ver she c o nside r ed that

,

17 Th e Span sh h i is to ri ans s tate th at in 1 5 1 3 the K i ng to p ut an

,

en d to a q ua rre l b e twee n t he Co un t o f Aran da an d th e C o un t o f

Rib ago r ce c har ge d Fath e r J o hn o f Estun iga Pro vi n c i al o f the

O r der o f St Franc ns to nego ti ate a re c o nc il iati o n b e twee n th m
, ,

b as e d o n th e m
.
, ,

arr i age o f th e e l des t da ugh te r o f the C o un t o f

A ra n da W i th th e e lde st so n o f t he Co un t o f R ib a go r c e T he la tte r
us i n g h is c o n se n t was b an i sh ed f o mth e k i n gdo m—D
.

re f , r .
54 THE HEP TAMERO N .

her daughter , being so y o ung c o uld h ave n o will ,

o f h e r own . When all was settled she t o ld ,

Fl o r ida that she had ch o sen fo r h e r th e match

whi ch seemed most suitable Fl o r ida kn o wing .
,

that when a thing is o nce done the r e i s small

ro o m fo r coun sel r eplied th at God was to be
,

p rai sed fo r all things ; and finding h e r m o ther

,

l o o k c o ldly u po n h e r she s o ught r athe r to o bey

,

h e r than to take pity o n he r self I t sca r cely.

c o mfo r ted h e r i n h er s orr ows to lea r n t hat the

s o n o f the I nfante o f Fo rt une was sick even to

death ; b ut neve r eithe r i n p r esence of her

,

mothe r or o f any o n e else did sh e sh o w any sign

,

o f gr ie f
. So st r o ngly did she c o n st r ai n herself ,

that her tea r s d r iven pe r fo r ce back int o her

,

heart caused s o gr eat a l o ss of blo o d fro m the

,

n ose that her life was endange r ed and that she ,

migh t be resto red to h ealth , she was given i n

ma rr iage to one wh o m she would willingly h ave
exchanged fo r death .

After the mar r iage Fl o r ida depar ted with h er

husband to the duchy o f Ca r d o na taking with ,

h e r Av an turada, whom she p r ivately acquainted

’
with her s o r ro w b o th as r ega rd s her m o the r s
,

ha r sh ness and he r o wn r egr et at h avi ng l o st

th e s o n o f the I nfante o f Fo r tune b ut sh e neve r
sp o ke of her r egr et fo r Am ado u r except to
cons o le h is wife .
 FI RST D AY : TALE X .
55

Th is young lady then resolved to k eep Go d

and h o n o u r befo r e h er eyes So well did .

sh e c o nceal h e r gr ief that n o ne o f her frien ds

,

pe r ceived that her h usband was displeasing to

he r .

I n this way sh e spent a l o ng time living a life ,

that was w o r se th an death as she failed n o t to

i nfo r m her l o ve r A m
,

ado u r , wh o k n o wing the ,

vi r tue and greatness o f he r hea r t as well as the ,

l o ve that she had b o r ne to the s o n o f the I n fante

o f Fo rt une th o ught it i mp o ssible that sh e c o uld
,

live l o ng an d m o u r ned fo r h e r as fo r one that

,

was m or e than dead Thi s s o rr o w was an in.

c r ease to hi s fo rme r gr ief and fo r getting h is ,

o w n dist r ess i n that which he knew his sweet

hea r t was endu ring h e wo uld wi llingly h ave con

,

tin u e d all hi s life the slave h e was if Fl o r ida

c o uld the r eby have had a h usband afte r h e r o wn
hea r t H e lear nt fro m a fr iend whom he h ad
.

gained at th e C o u r t of T uni s that the Ki ng ,

wi shin g to k eep h im i f o nly he coul d make a

go o d Tu r k of him i nten ded to give him hi s
,

ch o ice between impalemen t an d the r en un ciati o n

o fhis fai th The r eupon h e so add r essed himself
.

to his master the go ve r n o r wh o h ad ta k en h im

,

p r is o ner that he pe r suaded him to r elease him

,

o n pa r o le Hi s master n amed h o weve r, a much

.
,

higher ransom than he thou ght could be r aised

56 THE HEP TAMERO N .

by a man o f s uch little wealth an d then without

, ,

spea k ing to the Ki ng he let him go

, .

When Am ado u r r eached the Cou r t o f the King

o f Spain he stayed the r e b ut a sho r t time and

, ,

then in o r de r to seek his rans o m among his

,

friends, he r epai r ed to Ba r cel o n a, whi ther th e

young D u k e o f Car d o n a, his m o ther an d Flo r ida ,

had go ne on business As so o n as Av an tu rada

.

hear d that h er h usband was r etu r ned , she t o ld

the news to Fl o rida who r ej o iced as though fo r
,

l o ve o f h er fr iend Fear i ng h o weve r th at her

j oy at seeing Am
.
, ,

ado u r migh t m ake h e r change

h er c o unten an ce an d th at th o se wh o did n o t
,

know h er migh t think w r o ngly o f h er sh e r e ,

m ained at a wind o w in o r der to see h im c o ming

fro m afar As so o n as she per ceived him she
.

wen t d o wn by a dar k stai r case s o that n one ,

c o uld see wheth er she ch anged c o l o u r, and em

b r acing A m ado ur , led him to her r o o m and ,

thence to her m o the r in law, wh o had n eve r seen

- -

h im H e had n o t been ther e fo r two days befo r e

.

h e was l o ved as much as he h ad been i n th e

h o useh o ld o f the C o untess o f Ar anda .

I leave you to imagine the c o nve r sati o n that

h e and Fl o r ida had t o gethe r an d how sh e c o m
,

plained to him o f the misfo rtunes that h ad c o me

to h e r in his absence Afte r shedding many
.

tea r s of s o r ro w, both fo r having been ma rr ied

 FI RST D AY : TALE X .

against her will and als o fo r having lost o n e

she l o ved s o clea rly wi th o ut any h o pe o f seeing
him again sh e res o lved to ta k e cons o lation fro m
the love and tr ust she h ad t o war ds Am
,

ado u r .

Th o ugh she durst not declar e the t r uth he sus ,

p e c te d it an
,
d l o st neithe r time n o r o pp o r tunity

to show her h o w much he loved h er .

J ust when Flo r ida was all but pe r suaded to

r eceive him n o t as a l o ver, but as a t r ue and
,

pe r fect friend a misfo rtune came to pass fo r ,

th e K ing s umm o ned Am

,

ado u r to hi m c o nce r ning

s o me impo rtant matte r .

His wi fe was s o gri eved o n hear ing these

tidings that she swo o ned and falling down a ,

stai r case o n which she was standi ng was s o ,

hu r t that she neve r r o se again Fl o r ida h aving

.

by thi s death l o st all her c o ns o lation mou r ned ,

li k e o n e wh o felt he r sel f be r eft of fr iends an d

kin But Am
. ado u r gr ieved still m o r e ; fo r on

the o n e par t h e l o st o n e o f the best wives that

ever lived and on the other the means o f ever
,

seeing Flo ri da again This caused him such

.

so rr ow that he was near coming by a s udd e n

death . Th e old D uchess o f Ca r d o n a visited
him in cess an tly r eciting th e ar guments of philo
,

s o phe r s why h e sh o uld endu r e hi s l o ss with

patience B ut all was o f n o avail ; fo r if o n the
.

’
one h and hi s wife s death a fflicted h im on the ,
58 THE HEP TAMERO N .

o ther his l o ve inc r eased h is ma rtyr dom Having

.

n o l o nger any excuse to stay when hi s wi fe was

bu r ied an d h is m aster agai n s umm o n ed h im hi s

, ,

despair was such that h e was like to lose h is

r eas o n
.

Flor ida wh o thin k ing to c o mfo r t him , was

,

h e r self the cause o f his gr eatest gr ief spen t a ,

wh o le after noon i n the m o st g r aci o us c o nve r se

with him i n o r de r to lessen hi s s o rro w, and
assu r ed him that sh e wo uld fin d means to see
h im o ftene r th an he th o ught Then as he was
.
,

to depar t o n the fo llowing m o r ning an d was s o

,

weak that he c o uld scar cely sti r fr o m hi s bed ,

he p r ayed h er to c o me and see him i n the evening

afte r eve ry o n e els e had left him Thi s she pr o
.

mise d to do n o t kn o wing that love i n ext remity

,

i s v o id o f r eas o n
.

Am ado ur alt o gethe r despai r ed o f ever again

seeing h er wh o m h e had l o ved so l o ng an d fr om,

wh o m he h ad received n o o the r t r eatment than

I h ave descr ibed R acked by sec r et passi o n and
.

by despai r at losing all mean s of c o nsor ting with

h e r , h e r es o lved to play at d o uble o r qui ts an d ,

eithe r l o se h e r al t o gether or else wholly wi n h e r ,

an d s o pay himself i n an hour the rewa r d which

h e th o ught h e had deserved Acco r dingly h e
.

had hi s bed cu r tained i n such a man ner that th o se

wh o c ame int o the room c o ul d no t see h im ; an d
60 THE H EPTAME RO N .

he knew c o uld n o t be o therwi se than ch aste and

vi r tuous sai d n o thing b ut pu r sued his attempt
, ,

with all the st r en gth that h e c o uld muste r .

Fl o r ida gr eatly astoni shed suspected r athe r that

, ,

h e h ad lost his senses than that he was r eally

bent upon h er dishon o ur and called o u t to a
,

gen tleman wh o m she k n ew to be i n the ro o m ;

whe r eup o n Am ado u r i n ext r eme despair flung

h imself bac k upo n h is bed s o suddenly that the

gen tleman th o ught h im dead .

Fl o r ida wh o h ad risen fr o m her ch ai r then

, ,

said to the gentleman

Go quickly fo r some st r o ng vi nega r .

This the gentleman did whe r eup o n Fl o r ida

,

said
“
Wh at madness Am ado u r
,
has m o unted to,

you r b r ain ? Wh at was i t yo u th o ugh t and

wi shed to do
Am ado u r w h o had l o st all r eas o n i n th e v eh e
,

mence of his l o ve r eplied ,

“
D o es s o l o ng a ser vice me ri t s o c r uel a
”
r ewa r d ?
“
And wh at o f the h o n o u r o f which yo u h ave
s o o ften p r eached to me s aid Fl o r ida .

Ah ! madam said Am
”
,
ado u r
“
i t w o uld be
,

impo ssible to hold you r h o n o u r m o r e clea r th an

I h ave held i t Befo r e yo u we r e m
. a r r ied I ,

was able so to s ubdue my hea r t that yo u knew

 DAY : TALE X
FI RST S . 61

nothing o f my desi r es b ut n o w that yo u ar e

,

wedde d an d yo u r h o n o u r may be shielded do I ,

wr o ng yo u i n as k ing fo r what i s mine ? By th e

st r ength o f my love I h ave wo n you H e wh o .

fi r st possessed y o u r hea rt had s o little desire fo r

y o ur pe r s o n that he deserved to lose both .He
who n o w own s yo u r pe r s o n i s n o t w o rthy to
h ave yo u r hea rt and hence even yo u r pe r s o n
,

d oes not pr ope r ly bel o ng to him B u t fo r five

.

o r six yea r s I h ave fo r y o u r s ake b o r ne many

pai ns and wo es wh ich must sh o w yo u that you r

,

b o dy and h e ar t bel o ng to me al o ne Thi nk not

.

to defend y o u r self by spea k i ng o f conscien ce fo r ,

when love c o nst r ain s b o dy an d hea rt sin is neve r

imputed Th o se wh o ar e d riven by fr enzy s o
.

far as to slay themselves cann o t sin , fo r passi o n

leaves no room fo r r eas o n ; and i f th e passi o n
o f l o ve be m o r e int o le rable th an any other and ,

m o r e blindin g to th e senses wh at si n could yo u

,

fasten upo n o n e wh o yields to the con duct o f

such i nd o mitable powe r I am go ing away an d ,

have n o hope o f ever seeing yo u agai n ; b ut if

befor e my depa rtu r e I could h ave o f you that
assu r ance which th e gr eatness of my l o ve de
se r ves I sh o uld be str en gth en ed s u ffic ie n tly to
,

endu r e in patience the s o rr o ws of a l o ng sepa

rati o n
. I f you will not gran t me my request
o u will e r e l o ng learn that your ha r sh ness
y
62 THE HEPTAMERON .

h as brought me to a mise r able and a cruel

18”
death .

Fl o r ida was no t less grieved than astoni shed

to hear these w o r ds fro m o n e wh o m she h ad
never imagi ned capable o f such disc o u r se and , ,

weeping sh e thus r eplied

,
“
Alas Am ado u r
,
is thi s the h o nou r able c o n
,

ve r se th at we used to have togethe r wh ile I was

young ? I s this th e h o n o u r o r c o n science wh ich
many a time you c o un selled me to val ue mor e
th an life ? H ave yo u fo rgo tten b o th th e worth v
examples yo u set befo r e me o f vi rtu o us ladies
who with st o o d unholy l o ve and als o yo ur o wn ,

contempt for e rr ing wo men ? I cann ot believe

yo u s o changed , Am ado ur th at rega r d fo r God
, ,

you r own c o nscience and my h o n o ur i s wholly

,

dead wi thin you But i f i t indeed be as yo u say

.
,

I praise th e divine g o o dness which h as prevented

the misfor tun e i nt o which I was ab o ut to fall ,

13Th e p as sage co mm
en c n g i
Those wh o are dr e n an d en d iv
u l i li ii
lng a cr e de ath is de fi c e n t in t he e ar e r e d t o n s o f the H ep
m w i iv
ta er on , ll wi l
h c h g e the fo o n g in p ac e o f it : Do n o t do b t u
b u t wh at th o se wh o h ave fel t th e po wer o f l o v e wi ll cas t th e b lam e

o n yo u who h av e so ro b b e d m e of m y li b ert y an d dazzl ed m y

s en ses wi th y o ur d ivi n e gr ac es th at n o t k n o wi n g w h at to do

he nce fo rth I amc o n strai ne d to go away wi tho u t th e h o pe o f e v er

,

se e i n g yo u agai n ; c e rta i n ho we ver th at w h e re ve r I m

,

ay b e yo u

will s till h av e p ar t o f my h eart wh i c h will ev er rem

, , ,

ai n yo urs b e I

o n land o n th e sea o r in th e h an ds o f m ym os t c ru e l en em
, ,

. , i es .

T he ab o ve is o ne o f v ari o u s i nstan ces o f the li b e rty tak e n b y

Boa istuau an d Gru ge t wi th Margaret s te x t —
’
ED. .
 FI RST D AT : TALE X . 63

and h as revealed to me by you r own wo r ds the

hea rt o f which I was s o i gn o ran t H avin g lost .

the s o n o f the I n fan te o f Fo r tune no t o nly by ,

my mar riage but als o as i s k n o wn to me by

o r an o the r an d finding m
, , ,

r eas o n o f his l o ve f , y
self wedd e d to a man wh o m st r ive as I may, I,

cann o t l o ve I res o lved to set heart and a ffecti o n

,

enti r ely o n loving yo u Thi s love I b uilt upo n

.

that vi rtue whi ch I had so o ften pe r ceived i n

you , and to which by your o wn assistan ce I
thin k I h ave attained — I mean the vi r t ue of
’
l o ving on e s h o n o ur and c o n science m o r e th an
life I came hi the r thinking to ma k e this ro ck o f
.

vir tue a sure fo undati o n o f love Bu t yo u have .

i n a momen t shown me , A m ado u r, th at i nstead

of a pu r e and cleanly ro ck this fo undati o n w o uld

,

h ave b ee n o n e o f sh ifting san d o r filthy mi r e ;

and alth o ugh a gr eat part of the h o use i n which
I h o pe d always to dwell h ad al r eady be en r aised ,

y o u have suddenly dem o lished i t Lay aside .

,

the refo re any hope you had c o nce r ning me an d

, ,

make up y o ur mind n o t to seek me by loo k o r

wo r d whe r eve r I may be or to h o pe that I shall
,

eve r be able o r willi ng to ch ange my r esolve I t .

i s wi th the deepest s o rr o w that I tell yo u this ,

though had I go ne s o far as to swea r ete r nal l o ve

wi th yo u I kn o w that my heart could not have
,

lived th r ough thi s meetin g Even no w I am so

.
64 THE HEP TAME RO N .

c o nfo unded to fi nd myself deceived that I am ,

s u r e my life will be either sh o r t o r sad With .

these wo r ds I bid yo u far ewell an d fo r eve r ,

.

I wi ll n o t try to desc r ibe to yo u the grief that

Am ado u r felt on hear in g this speech I t is .

imp o ssible n o t only to desc r ibe i t but even to ,

c o nceive it exc e pt in deed to such as h ave ex

,

p e r ie n ce d the like S eeing th at wi th thi s c r uel

.

c o nclusi o n she was ab o ut to leave him he seized

her by the ar mkn o wing full well th at i f he did
,

, ,

n o t r em o ve h e r evil o pini o n of him he wo uld ,

l o se her fo r eve r Acc o r dingly he dissembled his

.

l o o k s as well as h e c o uld and sai d

,

D u r ing my wh o le life madam I h ave desi r ed

, ,

to l o ve a w o man o f vi r tue an d h aving fo und so

,

few o f them I was minded to put you to p r o o f

, ,

and so disc o ver whether yo u we r e as well wo rthy

o f esteem as o f love Now I kn o w fo r ce r tai n
.

that yo u are ; an d the r efo r e I give pr ai se to God ,

wh o has in cli ned my hea r t to the l o ve o f s uch

gr eat perfecti o n I ent r eat yo u to pa r d o n my
.

mad and foolhar dy attempt seeing th at t h e i ssue,

o f i t h as turn ed to y o ur h o n o ur and to my gr eat

”
satisfaction .

Fl o r ida was beginning to lea r n through him

the deceitfulness of men ; and j ust as she h ad ,

fo r mer ly fo und i t diffi cult to believe i n evi l wher e

i t exi sted so did she now find i t even more
,
 FI RST D AT: TALE X .

di ffi cult to believe i n vi r tue whe r e the r e was

n o ne .

“
Wo uld to Go d yo u
spo k e the t r uth she ,

“
said to h im ; but I am not so ign o r an t as n o t
to kn o w by my expe ri ence in marr iage th at the
blindness of st rong passion led yo u to act as yo u
did H ad Go d given me a lo o se r ei n I am su r e
.

that you wo uld n o t have d rawn b ridl e Th o se .

wh o go i n quest o f vi rtue are w o n t to take a

di ffe r en t ro ad to yo u r s B ut en o ugh ; if I h ave
.

been to o h asty i n c r editing yo u with some g oo d

ness i t i s time I lea r ned th e truth by which I
, ,

am now delive r ed out of you r h ands .

So saying Fl o r ida left the roo m

,
As long as
.

the night lasted sh e did n o ught b ut weep ; fo r

the ch ange that had ta k en place caused her ih
ten se grief an d her heart h ad much ado to hold
,

out against the s o r ro wing of l o ve Alth o ugh .

,

gu ided by r eas o n she h ad resolved to love n o

,

mo r e , yet th e hear t , which can n o t be subdued ,

would in no wise per mit this Th us she was .

unable to l o ve him less than befo r e and kn o wing ,

that love h ad been the cause of his o ffence she ,

made up he r min d to satisfy love by c o ntinuing

to l o ve him with her wh o le heart and to o bey ,

honou r by neve r giving any sign o f h e r affecti o n

eithe r to him o r to any o n e else
I n the m o r n in g Am
.

ado ur depa r t e d i n th e
u .
E
66 THE HEP TAME RO N .

distress that I h ave desc r ibed Never theless

.

h is hea r t which was so l o fty that th e r e was n o n e

,

li k e i t i n the w o r ld su ffe r ed hi m n o t to despai r

, ,

b ut p ro mpted him to new devi ces for seeing

Fl o r ida agai n an d winning h er fav o ur So as .

h e p r o ceed e d to the K ing o f Spain wh o was ,

th en at To led o he t o o k his way th r o ugh the

,

c o unty o f Ar anda wh e r e h e a rr ived ve ry late

,

o n e evening and fo und the C o untess in great

,

sadness o n account o f the absence of her

daughte r .

When she saw Am ado ur she ki ssed and

emb r aced h im as th o ugh he h ad been h er o wn
s on ,
and th is n o less fo r the l o ve she herself
b o r e him as fo r th at which she s uspected h e
h ad fo r Fl o rida She asked min utely fo r news
.

of her daughte r and he told her what h e could

, ,

th o ugh not the enti r e t r uth H oweve r he c o n

.
,

fessed the l o ve which existed between them and ,

which Flo rida had always c o n cealed ; and h e

begged th e Countess to aid h im i n h ea ri ng often
o f Fl o r ida and to ta k e h e r as speedily as p o ssible
,

to Aran da .

At dayb r eak h e wen t o n his way and when ,

he h ad despatched his b usiness with the K ing

he left fo r the war So sad was he and so
.

changed in eve ry way that ladies capt ain s and

, ,

acquaintances ali k e c o uld sca r cely rec o gn ise him .

68 THE HEP TAMERO N .

such that h e c o uld see they we r e written mo r e

o u t of o bedience th an go o dwil l ; and the gr ief he

felt i n r eading them was as gr eat as hi s j oy h ad

been i n reading the ea r lier ones .

At the en d o f two o r th r ee years when h e h ad ,

pe r fo r med s o many n o ble deeds th at all th e paper

19
i n Spain could n o t c o n tai n th e r eco r ds o f them ,

h e c o nceived a very skilful device n ot in deed to ,

’
win Florida s hea r t which h e loo k ed upo n as lost,
,

b ut to gain th e vi ct o ry o ve r his enemy since such ,

she h ad shown her self to be H e put aside all .

the promptings of r eason an d even th e fear o f

death and at the r i sk of h is life resolved to act
,

i n the fo ll o wing way H e persuaded th e chief .

20
G o ver nor to sen d him on an embassy to the
King c o nce r ning s o me sec r et attempt against
21
Leucate ; an d h e p r ocu r ed a c o mmand to take
c o unsel with the Countess o f Aran d a about the
matte r befo r e communicating it to the Ki ng .

19 Margaret perhaps wrote All the pape r o f Spai n c o ul d n o t

“

c o n tai n th e m s i mly b e c ause S an i s h

, ,

p ape r was the n o f ve ry

!

p p
sm maki n g had h owe ver b ee n al mo st mo no po
,

all s ize
. Paper— , ,

lised b y S pai n un til th e e n d o f the th i rte e n th c e n tury th e co tto n

used in the m an ufac ture b e i n g i mpo rte d fro m
.

th e Eas t M . .

20 Th e Vi cero y o f Catal o n i a —D .

2 1 Leu cate n o w a vill a e b u t sai d to h ave b e en a fl o ur i s h i n

, g , g
to wn in the fo u rtee n th ce n t ury li es nea r th e M edi te rra n ea n at a
fe w m iles fro mSal ces an d gi ves its n am
, ,

e t o a l ar ge s al t w ater lak e -

Fo rm
, .

e r ly fo rt i fi e d it was re pe ate dly b es i e ged and b ur n t b

, y th e
Sp an i ar ds ; n o tab ly b y the D uke o f Al b a in 1 5 0 3 afte r h e h ad
re l i e ved Sal ces —E D
,

.
 FI RST D AY: TALE X
. 69

Then he came po st h aste to the county o f Ar anda ,

whe r e he k new Fl o rida to be and sec r etly sen t,

a friend to info r m the Countess o f hi s c o ming ,

p r aying her to k eep i t sec ret, and to gr an t hi m

audience at nightfall without the kn o wledge of
any o ne .

The C o untess who was ve ry pleased at his

,

c o ming spoke of i t to Fl o r ida, and sent h e r to

,
’
undress i n her h usband s r o o m th at sh e migh t ,

be r eady when sent fo r afte r every o n e was g o ne

to bed . Fl o r ida had not yet r ec o ve r ed fr o m her
fi r st alarm but sh e said nothing o f it to h er
,

mother, and withd r ew to an o rat o ry i n o r der to

commend he r self to O ur Lo r d While she was .

pr aying th at her hea r t might be p r eserved fro m

all evi l a ffection she r emembered that A ado ur
,
m
h ad o ften p r aised h e r beauty and th at in spite
,

of long i llness it h ad not been i mpaired Being .

,

the r efore m o re willing to inj u r e h e r beauty than

,

su ffer i t to kindle an evil flame i n the heart of an

hon o u r able gen tleman she t o ok a st o ne which
,

lay in the chapel and st r uck herself a griev o us

bl o w on the face s o th at her m o uth n o se and , ,

eyes we r e qui te dis figu r ed Then in o r de r that

.
,

n o o n e might s uspect i t to be o f h e r o w n d o ing ,

she let her self fall upon h er face o n leavi ng the

chapel when summ o ned by the C o untess an d ,

c ried o ut loudly The Countess coming thither

.
70 THE HEPTAMERON .

fo und h er i n this pitiful state , an d forthwi th

caused her face to be dressed and bandaged .

Then the C o untess led her to her o wn apar t

ment and begged h er to go to h er r o o m and
,

entertai n Am ado ur u ntil sh e he r self h ad go t rid

o f h e r company . This Flo r ida did , thinking that

there we r e others with him .

B ut when she foun d her self alon e with him ,

and the d oo r cl o sed up o n her, she was as greatly
t r o ubled as he was pleased H e th ough t that, .

by love o r Vi olence he would n o w have wh at he

,

desired ; s o h e spoke to h er, an d finding that sh e

made the same r eply as befo r e an d that even to ,

save h e r li fe she wo uld no t ch ange her resolve ,

he was beside himself with despair .

“ ” “
Befo r e Go d Fl o r ida he said to her y o ur
, , ,

sc r uples shall n o t r o b me o f th e fru its o f my

lab o ur S ince l o ve , patience an d humble e n
.
,

t r eaty are o f no avail I will spare no st r ength

,

of mine to gain the boon upon wh ich all its ,

existence depends .

Florida saw that his eyes and countenance

we r e alte r ed exceedingly, s o that hi s complexi o n ,
natu rally the fai rest i n the world was no w as ,

red as fire, and his look usually s o gentle and

,

pleasant h ad bec o me as h o rrible and fu r i o us as

,

th o ugh fierce flames we r e blazing i n hi s hea r t

and face I n hi s fr enzy he seized her delicate,
.
 FI RST SDAT: TALE X .

weak hands i n his o wn st ro ng powe r ful o nes ;

,

and she finding he r self i n such b o ndage that she

,

c o uld n e ither defend her self n o r fl y, th o ught that

her only ch an ce was to try whethe r h e had n o t
r etai ned some t r aces of his fo rmer l o ve fo r the ,

sake of which he might fo r ego his c r uelty Sh e .

the r efo r e said to him

“
If you now l ook upon me Am ,
ado ur in the ,

light of an enemy I ent r eat yo u by that pu r e

, ,

l o ve which I on ce though t was in y o u r heart to ,

”
hea r ken to me befo r e yo u put me to to r tu r e .

S eeing that he became attentive she con ,

tin ned
“
Alas ! Am ado u r, wh at can p ro mpt yo u to

seek after a thing th at can a ffo r d yo u n o satis

facti on and thus affl ict me wi th th e p r o fo undest
,

gr ief ? Y o u made t ri al o f my i ncli nati o n s i n th e

days o f my yo uth and ear li est beauty and they ,

pe r haps served to excuse yo u r passi o n ; b ut I

am amazed that now when I am o ld and ugly,
, ,

and so rr ow-st ricken yo u sh o uld seek fo r wh at

,

you know yo u can neve r find I am su r e yo u

.

do not doubt that my mind i s as i t used to be,

and so by fo r ce al o ne can you o btain what yo u
desire If you o bserve the c o n di ti o n of my face
.
,

an d lay aside the mem o ry o f th e beauty th at

once yo u saw i n it yo u will have no in clinati o n
,

to d r aw any near er ; and if you still retain within

72 THE HEP TAME RO N .

you any r emnants of yo ur past l o ve i t i s im po s ,

sible that pity will no t subdue you r fr enzy To .

this pity wh ich I have often fo und i n yo u I

, ,

appeal wi th p raye r s for me r cy S u ffer me to

.

live i n peace and i n that h o nour which by yo u r

,

o wn c o unsel I h ave res o lved to prese r ve But .

i f the l o ve you o nce b o r e me i s n o w turned to

h ate and yo u desi r e , i n vengeance r athe r than
,

i n l o ve to make me the unhappiest wo man alive

, ,

I p r otest to you th at it sh all n o t be s o You .

will fo r ce me again st my will to make y o ur evil

purpose kn o wn to her who thin k s s o highly of
yo u ; an d yo u may be s u r e that , when she lear n s
”
i t y o ur life will not be safe
,
.

But Am ado u r in te rr upted h e r .

” “
I f I must die h e sai d
,
I sh all b e th e
,

so o n e r ri d o f my to r ment Th e disfigu r ement

.

of y o u r face, which I believe i s o f you r o wn

seeki ng sh all n o t rest r ain me fr om making yo u
,

mine T h o ugh I could h ave n othing bu t yo ur

.

”
b o nes I w o uld yet h o ld them cl o se to me
,
.

When Fl or ida saw that p r aye r s , r eas o ning ,

and tea r s were alike of n o avail and that while ,

h e c r uelly pursued his evil pu r p o se she lacked

the st r en gth to resi st h im , she summoned th e ai d
which sh e d r eaded as greatly as death an d i n ,

a sad and piteous v o i ce called as l o udly as she

could upon her m o ther Th e C o un tess h ear ing
.
,
 FI RST T HY : TALE X .
73

her daughte r s c r ies had gr ave mi sgi v ings o f th e

’
,

t r uth and hastened in t o the r o o m with all po s

,

sible speed
Am
.

ado u r, wh o was n o t s o r eady to die as h e

affi r med desisted p ro mptly fro m hi s ente rp r i se ;

,

an d when the lady opened the d o o r she fo und

hi m close beside it and Flo ri da s o me distance
Am
,
“
fro m him ado u r
. said th e C o untess , ,

“ ”
wh at is the m atte r ? Tell me the t r uth .

Am ado u r wh o was never at a l o ss f

,
o r inv e n

tion r epli ed with a pale and daunted face

,

“
Al as ! madam wh at change i s thi s in th e
,

l ady Fl o rida I was never so astonished befo r e ,

fo r as I h ave t o ld yo u I th o ught I had a share

, ,

i n h er favou r ; but I now see clear ly th at I have

l o st i t all Whil e she was being b ro ught up by
.

you she was I thin k no less disc r eet o r vi rt uous

, , ,

than she i s at p r esent ; h o wever, she had th en

no qualms o f c o nscience about speaking wi th
any one B ut now when I s o ught to l o o k at
.
,

h er sh e would n o t s uffer me to do so
, When .

I saw this behavi o u r on her pa r t I th o ugh t I

'

must be d r eaming and asked her fo r h e r hand ,

to kiss i t afte r the manner o f the c o unt ry T his .

sh e utte rly r efused me I ac knowledge madam , .

,

th at then I acted w r o ngfully and I en t r eat yo u r ,

pa rd o n fo r it ; fo r I t o o k h er hand as it we r e ,

by fo r ce an d kissed i t I as k ed n o thing m or e
, .
74 THE HEP TAME RO N .

of her but I believe that she intends my death ,

,

for she c alled out to you as you know Why .

she did thi s I cannot tell unless i ndeed she ,

fea r ed that I had some other pu rpose i n view .

Never theless , madam b e th is as i t may I c o n

, ,

fess th at I am i n the w r ong ; for alth o ugh she

o ught to l o ve all who ar e devoted to you , fo rtune

will s i t that I wh o am o f all most attached to

,

h e r am banished fro m h er go od gr aces

, S till .
,

I s h all ever con tinue the same both to you an d

to h er ; and I en treat you to contin ue me i n your
go o d fav o ur since by no fault o f my o wn I have
, ,
!
now l o st he r s
.

Th e C o un tess w h o par tly believed and partly

,

suspected h im wen t up to h e r daughter and

,

as k ed — “
Why did yo u call me s o l o udly
Fl o rida r eplied that she had felt afr aid ; and ,
alth o ugh th e C o untess questi o ned h er mi n utely
on many p o ints she w o uld gi ve n o oth e r r eply
,
.

Finding that she h ad escape d fr o m her enemy

she deemed him su fficien tly punished by the
failur e of hi s attempt .

After the C o un tess had h ad a l o ng conversa

ti o n with Am ado ur sh e su ffe r ed him to speak
,

agai n i n her p r esence with Fl o r i da to see how ,

he wo uld beh ave H e sai d but littl e, save that

.

he th an ked her fo r not having confessed th e

truth to her mother, and begged th at since she
76 THE HEP TAMERON .

and l aying aside her coldness fo r a d ay o r two ,

sh e advi sed him to pay c o u r t to a lady who sh e ,

said had been speaking o f th ei r l o ve

, .

This lady lived wi th the ! ueen of Spain , an d

was called Lo r etta Am ado ur believed the sto ry
.
,

and thinking th at h e migh t i n thi s way r egain

,
’
Fl o rida s go o d gr aces he made l o ve to Lo r etta
, ,

wh o was the wi fe of a captain one o f the ,

vice r oys o f th e K ing of S pain S he i n her.

,

pleasu r e at h aving gained such a lover showed ,

so much elati o n th at the a ffai r was rumoured

abro ad Even the C o un tess of Aranda wh o was
.
,

at Cou r t had knowledge o f it and thenceforward

, ,

t r eated Fl or ida less h arshly than befo r e .

’
O ne day Flo r ida he ar d th at th e captain Lo r etta s ,

h usband h ad g ro w n j ealous and was r es o lved

, ,

to k ill Am ado u r i n on e way or anoth er as best

h e migh t I n spite of h er al te r ed t r eatmen t of

.

Am ado u r Flo r id a did n o t desi r e that evil should

,

befall h im, and s o sh e i mmediately info rmed hi m

o f what sh e had hea r d H e was quite r eady to
.

h a r k back agai n to h is first love and the r eupon ,

t o ld he r that i f sh e would gr ant h im th r ee h o u r s

,

o f h e r c o nve r sati o n every day h e would neve r

,

again speak to Lo r etta B ut thi s sh e w o uld n o t

said Am
.

“ ” “
gr an t . T hen ,
ado u r i f yo u will n o t
,

give me li fe why p r even t me fro m dying unless

, ,

indeed yo u h 0 pe to make me su ffer m o r e pai n

 DAT : TALE X
FI RST f .
77

during life than any death c o ul d cause ? B ut

th o ugh death sh un me I will seek i t until I find ,
”
i t ; then o nly shall I have rest .

While they we r e on this fo o ting news came ,

22
th at th e King of Granada was ente r ing up o n a
gr eat war against the King o fSpain The latte r , .

”
th e r efo r e sen t th e P r i nce hi s son to the war ,
, , ,

an d with him the Constable o f Castille an d the

24
D u k e o f Alba two old and p r uden t l or ds Th e
, .

D uke of Ca r d o n a and the C o un t o fA r anda wer e

unwilling to remain behind an d p r ayed th e Ki ng ,

to give them s o me c o mman d This he did as .

b e fitte d their rank , an d gave them into th e safe

keeping of Am ado ur who pe r fo r med such ext r a
,

ordinary deeds d u r ing th e war that they seemed ,

to be acts as much o f despai r as o f b r ave ry .

C o rning now to th e poin t o f my sto ry I h ave ,

to relate how his o ve r b o ldness was p r o ved by

his death The M o o r s h ad made a show o f o ffe r

.

in g battle an d finding the Christian a r my ve ry

,

n ume rous h ad feigned a r et reat Th e S pania r ds .

Th e las t K in g o f G ranada was Mah o m ed Bo ab d l de th ro n e d i

Th e t i tl e m ay ha ve b ee n as s um
,

in 1 49 3 ed h owever b y the
leader o fan i n surrec ti o n —D
. , ,

e ren c e m
. .

23 As Fe rdi n an d an d I sa b ell a h ad n o so n th e re f us t b e
,

to th e i r dau ghte r s h usb and Ph ili p th e Fai r o f Aus tr i a so n o f t h e

'

Em ro r Maxi m
, ,

e i li a n I a nd fath e r o f Ch ar le s V —B J
p . . . .

24 Fre de r i c k o f To l e do Marq ui s o f C o r i a an d Du ke o f A l b a
ge n e rally c all ed th e o ld Du k e o f Al b a to d i sti ngu i sh h im fro m
, ,

h is
so n —B J
. . .
78 THE HEP TAME RO N .

star ted i n pu r suit b ut the old Constable an d the

,

D u k e o fAlba who suspected the t ri ckery o f the

,

M o o r s r est r ained the P r ince o f Spain against

,

hi s will fr om c ro ssing the r i ve r The C o un t o f

.

Ar anda h o weve r, and th e D uke o f Ca r d o n a

,

c ro ssed alth o ugh it was fo r bidden ; an d when

,

the M oors saw that th ey were pu r sued by o nly a

few men they faced ab o ut again The D uke o f .

Car d o na was st r u ck down and k illed with a blo w

o f a scimita r and the C o unt o f A r anda was s o
,

gri evously wo unded that he was left fo r dead

The r eupo n Am
.

ado u r came up filled with r age

and fu ry and bursting th r o ugh the th r ong caused

, ,

the two bodies to be taken up and ca rr i ed to the

camp of the Pr ince who mourned fo r th em as
,

for hi s own brothe r s O n examining their w o unds

.

the Count o f Aranda was found to be still alive ,

and was sent in a litter to hi s h o me whe r e h e ,

lay ill fo r a long time O n th e oth e r hand , the

.

’
D u k e s body was sen t back to Car d o na
M eanwhile Am
.

ado ur h aving made thi s effor t

,

to rescue the two bodies had th o ugh t s o little o f

,

h is o wn safety th at he fo und h imself su rr o unded

by a large n umbe r o f M o o r s No t desi r ing his
.

pe r s o n to be captu r ed any m or e than h e h ad

captu r ed th at o f his mist r ess n o r to b r eak hi s
,

fai th with Go d as h e had b r o k en faith wi th h e r

fo r he knew that i f h e we r e ta k en to th e K ing
,
 FI RST D AY : TALE X .
79

of G r anada h e m ust eithe r die a c r u e l death o r

,

r en o unce Ch ri stian ity— h e r es o lved to withh o ld

fro m his enemies the gl o ry ei the r o f hi s death o r

captu r e So kissing the c ross o f hi s swo r d and
.

commending his body and s o ul to Go d h e dealt ,

himself such a thrust as to be past all help .

Thus died th e unhappy Am ado u r , lamented as

deeply as his vi rtues dese rved The news sp r ead .

th r o ugh the wh o le o f Spain ; and th e ru m o u r o f

i t came to Fl o r ida who was at Bar cel o na whe r e
, ,

her h usband h ad fo rme rly c o mmanded that h e

should be bu r ied Sh e gave him an h o n o u r able
.

25
fune r al and then wi th o ut saying anything to
, ,

25 Th e Franc i sc an m o n as tery o f the li ttl e vill age o f Be ll p ui g

n ear Le ri da c o n tai n s th e to m b o fR am o n de Car do n a te rm

,

ed o ne

o f th e m arve l s o fC atal o n i a o n ac c o u n t o f th e adm

. ,

i rab l e sc ul ptur e s
ado rn i n g it On e o f the b eau ti ful wh i te m arb l e h as re li e f
- s sh o ws

a n um b er o fgall e y s draw n u p in li n e o fb attle wh il st so m e sm

.

all e r

b oats are c o n v eyi n g p art i es o farm ed m

,

e n to a r iv e r b a n k o n wh i c h
-

the Moo rs ar e awa i ti n g th e min h o stil e ar ray O n the fr i e ze o fan

arc h th e S pan i ar ds an d Moo rs are s h o w n fi gh ti ng m
.

an y o f th e

fo rm
,

e r re tre ati n g to wards th e w ater An i nsc r i p ti o n rec o rds th at

th e to m
.

b was rai se d to th e b e st o f h usb ands b y I sab e ll a h is ,

u nhapp y spo use

Margaret gives th e nam
.

e o f Fl o ri da to th e wi f e o f th e Du k e

wh o msh e m en ti o n s b ut it sh o ul d b e b o r n e in m i n d th at she h as
s y ste m at i c a lly m
,

i n gl d fac t wi th fi c ti o n th ro ugh o ut th i s story ; an d

e

th at sh e was alludi n g to th e D uk e b u i e d at Be ll p ui g see m

r s e vi de n t

fro m an e x am i nati o n o f the b as-reli e fs m e n t i o n ed ab o v e R am on

de Car do n a was h o we ve r a m ore i m

.

po rtan t pe rso n age th a n sh e

p i c tur e s h im H e b ecam
, ,

e Char l es V s V i cero y in Nap l e s an d did

'
. . ,

no t d ie t ill 1 5 20 w he reas Mar garet s s to ry appe ars to e nd in o r

’

Po ssi b ly she saw the to mb when in Spai n —E D

.

ab o ut 1 5 1 3 . . .
80 THE HEP TAME RO N .

her m o the r o r m o ther in-law sh e became a n un

-
,

in the C o nvent o f Jesus taking for h usban d an d

,

love r Him wh o h ad delive r ed her fro m su c h a

violent love as that o fAm ado u r s and fro m such
’

gr eat a ffl icti o n as sh e h ad endu r ed i n th e com

pany o f h er h usband Th us we r e all h e r affec
.

ti o n s di r ected to th e pe r fect loving o f Go d ; and ,

after living fo r a l o ng time as a nun she yielded ,

up h e r soul wi th gladness like that o f the b r ide

,

when sh e go es fo rth to meet the b r idegr o o m .

I am w ell a w are ladies that this l o ng tale may

have b ee n wearisom
, ,

e to s o me am o ng yo u but had ,

I t o ld it as it was t o ld to me it w o uld have b ee n

l o nger still Tak e exampl e I beg yo u by the
vi rtue o f Fl o rida but b e so m
, ,
.

,
ewhat less c ru el ; and
thin k n o t so w ell o f any man that w hen yo u are
undeceived yo u o ccasi o n hi ma cru e l death and
,

,
”
yo urselves a life o fso rr ow .

Having had a l o ng and fai r hearing Parlamente

said to H irc an
Do yo u n o t thin k that this lady was p ressed to
extrem ities and that she held o u t vi rtu o usly ?
No said Hi rean
,
” “
a w o man can mak e n o m o re
feeble resistance than to c ry o ut If she had been in .

a place w here n o ne c o uld hear her I do n o t k n o w

h o w she wo uld have fared And if Am
. ado u r had

had m o re l ove and less fea r he w o uld n o t have

d esisted fro m his att e m pt fo r so littl e So this st o ry
will n o t cause m e to change m rmo pini o n that
.

y fi
 FI RST D AY : TALE X . 8:

no man ever perfe ctly l oved a lady o r was l oved by ,

h er that he did n o t p rove successful if o nly he w e nt

,

the right w ay to wo rk Neve rth eless I must p raise

Am
.
,
”
ado ur fo r having in part d o ne his duty .

“
What duty ? ask ed Oisille “”
D o yo u call it a .

love r s duty to try and tak e his mi s tress by fo rce

’

w hen h e o w es h e r all revere nce an d submissi o n P

Here Saffre den t t o o k u p the disc o u rse
Madam he said
.

“ “ ”
w hen o u r mistresses h o ld
, ,

thei r state in chamber o r hall seated at th ei r ease ,

as th o ugh they w ere o ur judges we lead them to the ,

dance in fear ; w e w ait up o n them with all diligence

and anti cipate thei r c o mmands ; and w e are so
afraid o f o ffe nding them and so desi ro us o f d o ing
them servi ce that th ose who see us pity us and o ften ,

deem us m o re wi tless than b rutes T h ey acc o unt us .

dull and vo id o f und e rstanding and give p raise to ,

the ladies w h ose faces are so imp e ri o us and thei r

speech so fai r that they mak e th e m
,

selves fea red l ove d

an d h o n o ured by th o se who o nly k n o w th emo ut
, ,

war dly But when we are t oge ther in p rivate and

.
,

l ove alo ne can judge o u r b e havi o u r w e kn o w full

well that th ey are wo m en and w e are m
,

en T hen is .

the name mist ress changed to s w eethear t and the ‘

,
’

‘
slave bec o mes a l over As the p roverb says
’ ‘
.
’

‘
By servi ce t rue and l oyalty do servan ts rise to
mast ery They have h o n o u r equally w ith m
,

e n who
’
.

can give it to the mand can tak e it away and seeing

,

us su ffe r in pati enc e th ey sh o uld re w ard us w hen

,

they can do so w ith o ut hu rt to th e ir h o n o u r .

”

II . F
 THE HEP TAME RO N .

Y o u do spea k o f that t rue hon o u r said

n ot ,

Lo ngarine w hich is the greatest happiness this

w o rld can give If every o n e calls m
,

. e a vi rtu o us

woman and I myself kn o w the c o nt rary the p raise

, ,

I re c e ive o nly increase s my shame and puts me in

secre t to still gr eater c o nfusi o n In the same way .
,

if peopl e c o ndemn me an d I kn o w t hat I am inn o

cent thei r condemnati o n will only mak e me the
,
”
better pl ease d w ith mysel f .

“
In spite o f what yo u all have sai d interp osed
it seems to me that Am
,
“
Ge b uro n ,
ado ur was as

n o ble and vi rtu o us a k night as ever lived and I ,

thin k I can rec ognise him und er his feigned name .

Since P arlam ente would n o t name him neith er will ,

I But yo u may rest assu red that if he be the man

w h o mI have in mind his heart never k ne w fear n or
.
,

, ,
”
w as ever vo id o f l ove and b ravery .

“
The day has be e n spent so pl e asantly said ,
“
Oisille that if the o th ers are li k e it I thin k o ur
,

tal k will mak e the time pass quic k ly by But see .

where the sun is and listen to the abbey bell which

, ,

has l o ng been calling us to vespers I did n o t .

menti o n this to yo u befo re fo r I was m o re inclined

,

to hear the end of the st o ry than to go to p rayers .

”

At these words they all rose and when they ,

r each e d the abbey they fo und t hat th e m o n k s had

been waiting fo r them a full h o ur and m o re After .

vespers they went to supper and du ring the wh o le ,

evening they c o nve rsed ab o ut the sto ri es they had

hear d all o f th e m sea rching every c o rner o f their

,
 TROLOG UE
.

—fo r I am su re that if we all fo ll o w h er l eading w e

shall n o t delay vespers so l o ng as w e did yester day
Wh erefo re No m
.

e rfide
, yo u shall lead us b u t I b eg
, ,

that yo u will n o t cause us to begin o u r se c o nd day

in t ears .
”

“
T h e re was n o need to mak e that request said
No m be r has made m
,

e rfide
“
fo r o n e o f o ur nu m
, e

ch oose a tale w hich has tak en such a h o ld o n me

that I can t ell n o o ther ; an d sh o uld it o ccasi o n sad
n ess in yo u yo u r natu res must be melanch o ly o nes
,

indee d .
 TA L E X] .
(A) .

Mada m
e de R on cex, wh i le at the m o nas tery o f the G r ey Fr iar s at

Thou a r s , 1 w as c on str a i n ed to go i n gr ea t h aste to a cer ta i n

p lac e, a n d n ot looking to see w hether the sea ts wer e c lean sat
, ,

dow n i n afi lthy spot a n d befou led both h er p er so n a n d c lo th es

w her eupon c ry i ng ou t for a ss ista n c e i n the hope th a t so e m
m w ld m
,

wo an ou co e a n d c lean se her , she w a s w a ited on by

m wh b h ld h
en , o e e er i n the wor s t pligh t i n wh ic h a wo m an

c o uld 2
be fou n d .

IN th e h o useh o ld o f Madame de la Tr é m o ille

the r e was a lady n amed R o n c ex, who o n e day ,

when h er mist r ess had g o ne to visit the m o naste ry

o f the G r ey F r iar s fo un d he r self i n gr eat need to
,

1 I n th e de p ar t mt ux Sevr es —ED
en o f th e De -
. .

2 i y ive n in Bo ais tuau s vers i o n o f Margaret s tale s and

Th s sto r , g
' ’

to b e fo u n d in m o st o f th e M S c o p i es o f th e H e ta m
,

n at th e
p e . ro

Pa i s B b li o theque Nati o nal was no t i nc lud d in th e e di ti o n i ssue d

r i e, e

b yG ruge t wh o r epl ac ed it b y a sto ry c all ed Th j ests m

,
ade by a e

G y F i a r fo r wh i c h see po t p 9 5 i sea —E D
re r ,
s , . c .

89
90 THE HEP TAME RO N .

go to a certai n place whithe r h e r maid c o uld

n o t go i n h e r stead S he t oo k with h e r a girl
.

n amed La M o th e to k eep her c o mpany, but being

modest and unwilling to b e seen left her in the ,

ro o m , and went al o ne into a dar ksome p r ivy, a

place used i n c o mm o n by all the fr ia r s who h ad ,

given such a good accoun t the r ei n of all thei r

victuals that seat and floor, and in so o th the
,

wh o le place we r e thickly c o vered with the must

,

of B acchus an d Ce res that h ad passed through

’
the fr iars bellies .

Th e unhappy lady wh o was s o hard p r essed

,

that she h ad scar cely time to lift h er d r ess ,

ch anced to sit d o wn in the foulest di r tiest sp o t ,

i n the whole place whe r e sh e found he r self stuck

,

fast as th o ugh with gl ue, her poor h ips gar ments , ,

and feet being so c o ntaminated that she du r st

n o t ta k e a step o r t u r n o n any side f o r fear lest ,

she sh o ul d meet with someth ing w or se The r e .

upon she began to call out as loudly as sh e

could
“
La M o the my child I am ruined and u h
, ,
”
don e !
Th e p o o r gi rl who had fo r me r ly hea r d tell o fthe
,

wi ckedness o f the G r ey Fr i ar s and imagined that

,

s o me o f them we r e hidden ther e and we r e t r yi ng

to ta k e h er mi str ess by fo r ce th e r eupo n r an o f
, f as
ha r d as she could saying to eve r y o ne sh e met
,
62 THE HEPTAMERo N .

h er i n a yet m o r e evil plight sh e put aside her ,

3
w r ath and laughed li k e th e r est .

I thin k ladi es said No m

,
e rfide that this st o ry
,
”
,
“
’

has p roved neither l o ng n o r melanch o ly and that I ,

”
have give n yo u w hat yo u expecte d .

At this the c o mpany laughed heartily and Oisille ,

said Th e sto ry is indeed nasty and uncl e an ye t , ,

k n o wing the p e rso ns w ho fare d in this manner we ,

cann o t c o nsider it un w elc o me Gladly wo uld I have .

seen the faces o f La Mo the and o f the lady to w h o m

she b ro ught such timely aid But n o w she added
to No m
.
,

e rfide sinc e yo u have fi n ished so so o n give

yo u r vo te to so m
, ,

e o n e w h o se th o ughts ar e o f a
”
graver tu rn .

“
Since you desi re me to at o ne fo r my fault ”

ans w e re d No m
,
“
erfide I give my vo te to Dago uc in , ,

w h o se disc reti o n is such that h e w o uld die rath e r

”
than say an ything fo o lish .

D ago uc in then than k e d h er fo r the esteem in w hi ch

im po ss i b l e to i de n ti fy th e l ady m e n ti o n ed in th i s s to ry
3 I t is
he r n am e b e i ng Spe l t in so m
,

an y way s in th e v ari o u s M SS o f th e

H epta m
.

e on r I t is give n as R o n ce x in th e c o p y h e re fo ll o w e d as
.
,

Ro ub e x in a c o p y t hat b e l o n ge d to Lo ui s XV I I I an d as R o n c e i
in th e D e T h o u M S w h il s t Bo ai s tu au p r i n te d it as R o u ce y Th e
M adam e de la T ré m
.
, .

o ille allu de d to a t th e o u tse t is b e li e ve d b

,
y ,

Lac ro ix an d D illaye to h av e b e e n A n ne de Lav al (daugh ter o f

G uy XV C o un t o f Lava l an d o f Ch ar l o tte o f Arago n Pr i n c es s
wh o m arr i e d Fran c i s de la T ré m
.
, , ,

o f T aren to ) o ille Vi sc o un t o f
T ho uars in 1 5 2 1 an d was b y h er m
, ,

, , o th er a c o us i n o f Qu ee n

Ma ga re t
r Possi b ly h o wever the re fe re nc e is to Ga b ri elle de
.

Bo ur b o n wi fe o f Lo ui s I I de la T ré mo ille a la dy o f e xe m
, ,

, .
p lary ,

p i e ty wh o e ec te d th e b eau ti ful Ren ai ssan c e c hap e l o f th e c hatea u

r

o f T h o uars —
,

L ED . .
 E O ND
S C DAY
f 93

“
she h e ld hi s go o d sense and thus began
,
T he
sto ry I am minded to relat e is int e nd e d to sh o w
yo u h o w l o ve blinds the greatest an d m o st h o n o ur
abl e hearts and h o w hard it is to o vercome w i c ked
,

”
ness by any kin dness w hatso ever .
Dav I I . TA LE XI (B)
.
 TA L E XI .
(B) .

(y the j ests md
a e by a Gr ey Fr i ar i n h is mm
se no .
‘

NEAR the town o f Bléré i n Tour ain e the r e is a

village called St M a r tin -le-Beau wh ith er a G re y
.
,

Fr i ar bel o n ging to the m o n astery at To u r s was

summo ned to p re ach du ring the seas o n s o f
Adven t an d Lent Thi s fri ar who was mor e
.
,

gar r ul o us than lea r ned and n ow and then fo un d

,

himself at a loss for matter to eke o u t his h o ur ,

wo ul d th ere upo n b e gin telling tales which mor e

'

o r less agreeably s atisfied the g o o d villagers .

O ne H o ly Thu r sday h e pr eached about the

P aschal Lamb and while speakin g o f ho w i t was
,

eaten at night seeing that ther e were present at

,

1 See a n te, p 89 ,
. n o te 2 , and post, A p pen d ix B .

95
96 THE HEP TAME RO N .

th e p r eaching s o me h andsom e yo ung ladies o f

Amb o ise wh o we r e n ewly a rr ived to keep E aster
,

at the village and to stay the r e fo r a few days

,

afte rwa r ds h e wished to su r pass h imself and

, ,

the r e up o n asked all the w o men fo l k whether they -

“
k new what i t was to eat r aw flesh at night I .

”
will tell you what i t i s ladies h e said wh er eat , , ,

the y o ung men o f Amb o ise wh o h ad j ust arri ved ,

with thei r wives siste r s and nieces and wh o h ad

, , ,

n o kn o wledge o f the pilgr im s h um o ur began to

’
,

be scandalised th o ugh o n li stening fu r the r their

indignati o n gave place to laughter even when he ,

said that to eat the l amb it was needful to have

’ ’ ’
one s l o ins gi r t o ne s feet i n one s shoes, and
,
’
one s hand o n one s staff
’
.

Th e fr ia r seeing them laugh at this and

, ,

guessin g the r eason immediately corr ected him

,

self . Well said he to have sh oes o n one s

”
,
“
,
’

’ ’ ”
feet and a staff i n on e s h and ; tis all one .

That this sally was received with laughte r you

wi ll r eadily believe Even the ladies c o uld not
.

refr ain fro m me rr imen t an d fo r them he added ,

o the r dive r ting sayings T hen finding the time .

was n early up and wishing the ladies to be well

,

pleased with him when they depa r ted he said to ,

them No w, fai r ladies wh en yo u ar e ch atting ,

p r esently with y o ur gossips you will be as k ing ,

o n e an o the r : Who p r ay i s this M aster Fri ar

‘
, , ,
98 THE HEP TAME RO N .

Then , co ntin uing h is ser mon h e brought into ,

i t ce rtain scandalous matter, and , whils t disc o urs

ing upon i t s o mewh at bluntly and quoting sund ry
examples h e said i n appar ent amazement
,

“
Tru ly ladies and gentlemen of S aint -M artin
, ,

I am gr eatly ast o nished th at yo u should be

scand al ised so un r eas o nably at wh at i s less than
nothing and sho uld tell tales of me whereve r yo u
,

go saying : It i s a big business wh o could h ave

,

thought that the fathe r w o uld h ave go t hi s land

’
lady s daughte r with ch ild A monk get a gi r l
with child he c o n tinued ; for s o o th wh at a ,

wonde r ! B ut ha r k yo u, fair ladies, would yo u

no t r ath e r have h ad cause fo r w o nderment h ad ,

the gi r l acted th u s by the m o n k

ladi es was the w h o l eso m

Such , ,
e fo o d o n w hich
this w o rshipful shepherd fed the Lo rd s fl o c k And ’
.

so b raze n was he that after committing the sin he

, ,

spak e openly o f it in the pulpit w here n o ught sh o uld ,

be said that tends to aught but the edific atio n o f

o n e s neighb o u r an d ab ove all to the gl ory of G o d
’ ”
, .

“ ” “
Truly said Saf freden t he was a master m o n k
— , ,

I sh o uld have li k ed him nearly as well as Bro ther

A nj ib au t wh o gets c redit fo r all the jests that are
,

sp o ken in merry company .

”

Fo r my part I can se e n o thing laughable in such

,
” “
m o ck ery said Oisille especially in such a plac e ”

said No m
, , .

“ “ ”
Yo u fo rge t madam , erfide ,
that at ,
 S ECO ND D AT : TALE XI (B) . .
99

that time though it was not so very l o ng ago the

, ,

goo d villagers and indee d m ost o f the d w ellers in the

,

large t o w ns who thin k themselves cleverer than o the r

,

peopl e had greater regard fo r such p reachers as he

,

than fo r th ose who pu rely and simply p reached the

h o ly G osp el to th e m .

”
H o w eve r that may be said Hi rean he was not
, ,

w ro ng in as k ing fo r hams in exchange fo r chitterlings ,

for in hams there is far m o re e ating And eve n if .

so me devo ut c reatu re had und erst o o d him amphi

b o logic ally as I believe he wished to be understoo d
, ,

neither he n o r his b reth ren wo uld have fared badly

any m o re than the wench that had her bag full .

“
But ho w impudent of him sai d Oisille to p er
, ,

vert the meaning o f the text to suit his fancy thin k ing ,

that he had to do w ith b easts li k e himself and shame ,

lessly trying to e ntice the p oo r little w o men so that he

might t each them ho w to eat raw fl esh at night ”

True sai d Sim

.

“ ” “
, o n tault but yo u fo rget that he
sa w b efo re him th o se yo ung t ripe-sellers o f Amb o is e
in w h ose tub he w o uld fain have washed his
shall I name it ? No but yo u understand me—an d,

have tr eated them to a taste o f it n o t roasted but , ,

”
sti rring and frisk ing so as to pl ease them the m o re
So ftly softly Sim
.
,

, o n tault,
said Pa rlament e,
”
you
fo rge t yo u rself Have yo u laid as ide you r accust o m e d
.

”
m o desty to do n i t o nly in time o f necessity ?
“
No madam n o said he ;
,
”
,
“
,
twas the un w o rthy ’

m o n k that le d me astray Where fo re that we may

re tu rn to the matter in hand I b eg No m
.
,

erfide who
, ,
 THE HEPTAMERON .

caused my o ffence to give her vo te to some one who

,

will mak e the c o mpany fo rget o u r commo n fault ”

.

Since yo u include me in yo u r t ransgressi o n said

”

No m
,

e rfide,
I will ch o ose o n e who will at o ne fo r o ur
failings that is Dago uc in He is so disc reet that to
,
.

save his life he wo uld no t say a foo lish thing .

 TA L E XI I .

The D uhe f Flor enc e

o , ha v i ng c on tin u a lly m
fa i led to a he know n to
a c er ta i n lady the lov e he bor e her , confi de d i n her b rother an d

might
,

begged h is assis tance tha t he a tta i n h is en ds. This ,

after my m an re ons tr a nc es , the bro ther agr eed to gi ve , bu t i t
was alip p mi - ro se on ly , for a t the mm
o en t whe n the D u he w as

ex ec ti ng
p to v an q u ish her w ho mh e had dee md ie n v i nc i b le. the

gen tle m an s lew hi mi n h is be d i n th is ash i on

f f r ee i n g h is
fro ma tyr an t
,

c oun try , an d sa v ing both h is own life an d the

honou r h i h l
f
o s ouse .

TE N yea r sago there reign ed in the city o f Fl o r ence

a Du k e of the house o f M edici wh o had mar r ied
1 T h e b as i s o f th i s sto ry is h is tori cal Th e eve n t here descr i b ed
— o n e o f th e m o s t fam o us in th e an n als o f Fl o re n ce—
.

furn i s hed
Al fred de Musse t wi th th e sub j ec t o f h is p lay Lor en zac c io an d .

s erv ed as th e f o un dati o n o f The Tr a itor c o n s i dere d to b e Sh i r l e y s

'

h i gh es t a c h i eve m en t as a dram
,

ati c po e t As Q uee n Margar et s

'

nar rative co n tai n s var i o us erro rs o f fac t Sis m

.

o nd i s ac co un t o f th e
'

ai r as b o rro w e d b y h im fro mth e b est I tali an h i s to r i an s is give n

,

aff .

in th e A ppe ndix C —E D
,

, . .
10 2 THE HEP TAME RO N .

2
the Empe ro r s natu r al daughte r, M ar garet Sh e
’
.

was still s o y o ung that the marriage c o uld n o t

be lawfully c o nsummated and wai ting till sh e , ,

should be o f a r i per age the D u k e treated her ,

with great gentlen ess and to spare her made , ,

love to var i o us ladies of the city whom h e ,

was won t to visit at nigh t whilst hi s wife was ,

sleepi ng .

Among these there was o ne ve ry beautiful ,

disc reet and honou r able lady sister to a gen tle

, ,

The D uke here referred to was Al exander de Med i c i first Duke '

H is m
,

o f Fl o r en c e in w h i c h c i ty h e was b o rn in r 5 10 o th e r a

s lave nam e o f a Flo re n ti n e c o ac h m

, . ,

ed An n a was th e wi f an b u t

Lo re n zo I I de Med i c i o n e o f th i s w o m
, ,

an s l o vers ac k n o wl edge d
' '

him fs p r i n g th o ugh acco rd i ng to so m

.
, ,

as h is o f e acc o un ts h is real

father was o n e o f the po pe s Cl e m

, , ,

e n t V I I o r J ulius I I A fter th e
Em pe ro r C har les V h ad m ade h i m se lf m
. .
,

aster o f Fl o re nc e in 1 5 30

he co n fi ded th e go em o rsh ip o f th e c i t y to A l ex an de r u o n w h o m
.
,

v
p ,

h e b es to w ed th e ti tl e o f D uke T wo years l ater A le x an de r th rew

f th e i m pe ri al c o n tro l and soo n afterwar ds e m
.

of b ar k ed o n a ca re er
o f deb au c h e ry an d c ri m
,

e I n 1 5 36 C har l es V b e i n g des i ro us o f
.
, .
,

o b tai n i ng th e su
ppo rt o f Flore n ce agai n st Fran ce treated wi th
A l e x an der a n d gave himth e h an d o f h is illegi ti m
,

ate dau gh te r

M argare t T h e l atter—whose m
, ,

o th er was M argar e t v an G h ee n s t

a Fl e m i sh dam se l o fn ob l e b i rth — was at th at t i m

.
,

e b are ly f o ur tee n ,

havi n g b ee n b o rn at B rus se ls in 1 5 2 2 Th e Q uee n o f Nav arre s

'

s ta te m
.

en ts co nc ern i n
g th e y o u th ful n ess o f the D u c h ess are th us
co rro b o rated b y f A fte r th e death o f A l e xander de Med i c i
’
ac t

h is wi do w was m a rr i e d to Oc tavi us Far nese D uk e o f Par m

. ,

a wh o

was th e n o nly tw elve y ears o ld b ut b y wh o m s h e e ve ntu al ly b e cam

, ,

th e m
,

o ther o f th e ce le b rate d A le x an de r Farn ese M ar gare t o f

Aus tri a o cc u p i es a p ro m
.

i nent p l ace in the h i s to ry o f th e Neth er

lan ds wh i c h she go vern e d dur i n g a le n gth y pe ri o d for h er b ro th e r
Ph i li p I I She di ed in re ti re ment at Orto nn a in I taly in 1 5 86
,

. .

- L. and E D .
10 4 THE HEP TAMERO N .

I w o uld sac ri fice them r ather than a ll o w yo u to

die i n torment I believe that you r love fo r me
.

i s th e counterpart of mine for you , and that i f I ,

who am your master, bear you so m uch affec
tion , you , on y o u r part , can have n o less fo r me .

I will therefore te ll you a secret , th e keeping

of which has brough t me to the conditi o n you
see I h ave n o h o pe of any imp r ovemen t except
.

i t be thro ugh death or el s e th e service wh ich

!
you are i n a position to render me .

O n hearing these words fro m th e D uke an d ,

seeing hi s face unfeignedly bathed i n tea r s the

gentleman felt s uch great pity for h imth at h e
,

said
“
Sir, I am your creatu r e : all th e wealth and
hon o u r that I am possessed of in this wo rld c o me
fr om you Yo u may speak to me as to you r
.

own soul, i n the certainty that all that it be i n

my power to do i s at your co mmand ”
.

The r eupon the Duke began to tell h im of the

love h e b o r e his sister, a love so deep and st r o ng
that h e feared he could not live much l o nger
’
unless, by the gentleman s help, h e succeeded i n
satisfying hi s desi r e H e was well awa r e that
.

neither prayer s n o r pr esents would be of any

avai l with the lady, wherefo r e h e begged the
gentleman —if he ca red fo r his master s life as ’

much as b e, his maste r , cared fo r his —to devise

 S ECO ND DAY : TALE
f XII . 10 5

s o me means o f pro curing him the good fo rtun e

whi ch , wi thout such assistan ce h e could never ,

hope to ob tain .

Th e b ro ther who lov ed h is siste r and th e

,
’
honour of his h o use far m o r e th an th e D uke s
pleasu r e, endeavou r ed to remo n st r ate wi th h im ,

entreating that h e migh t be empl o yed fo r any

other purpose save the cruel task of soliciting the
di sh o no ur o f his o wn kin , and declar ing that the
rendering of s uch a se r vice was con tra ry alike to
his inclinati o n s and hi s h o nour
I n fl am
.

e d with excessive w r ath , the Duke raised

his h an d to his m o uth and bit his n ails .

“
Well , said he i n a fu ry, sin ce I find that
” “

you have n o fr iendsh ip fo r me, I kn ow what I

”
have to do .

Th e gentleman who was acquainted with h i s

,
’
master s c r uelty, felt afraid and answered ,

My l o r d since such i s you r pleasur e, I wi ll

,
”
speak to he r and tell yo u her reply
,
.

If yo u sh o w c o nce r n fo r my life I shall sh ow

,
”
i t fo r yo u r s r eplied th e Duke, an d the r eupon h e
,

went away
The gentlem
.

an well un de r st o o d the meaning

o f these wo r ds and spen t a day o r two wi th o ut
,

seeing the Duke , c o nsidering what he sh ould do .

O n the one h an d he was confro nted by the duty

he owed his maste r and th e wealth and h o n o urs
,
10 6 THE HEP TAMERO N .

he h ad received fr om him ; o n th e other by the

h o n o ur o f h is h o use and the fai r fame and chastity
,

o f h is siste r . H e well knew th at she wo uld never

submit to such infamy unless thro ugh hi s own
t r eache ry she wer e o ve r c o me by violence , so un
n atu r al a d eed that if i t we r e committed he and
his k ind r ed would be di sgr aced fo r ever In thi s .

dilemma h e decided that h e w o uld sooner die than

s o ill use his si ster who was o n e o f the noblest
,

wo men i n all Italy, and ough t r athe r to deliver

his c o u n try o f this tyran t who abusing his power
, ,

s o ught to cast such a slur up o n his family ; fo r he

felt s u r e that if the D uke we r e suffe r ed to live ,

neither his own life nor the lives o f his k ind r ed

w o uld be safe S o with o ut spea k ing of th e matter
.

to his sister o r to an y liv in g c r eatu r e he dete r mined

,

to save hi s life and vi ndicate his h o nou r at o n e

and the same time Acc or dingly when a c o uple

.
,

o fdays had g o ne by he wen t to the D uke and t o ld

,

hi m that wi th i n finite di fficulty he had s o wr o ught

upo n hi s sister that she had at last c o n sented to
do his will p r ovided th at the matter wer e kept
,

sec r et and n o ne b ut he her b r o ther, knew o f it

, ,
.

The D uke who was longing fo r these tidings ,

readily believed them , an d emb r acing the am

,

b ass ador, p r omi sed him anything th at h e migh t

as k H e begged him to put his scheme quickly
.

in to executi o n and they agr eed t o gether up o n the

,
108 THE HEP TAME RO N .

Th e D uke o n hearing th e gen tlem an coming

,

back again th o ught that he was b r i n ging the

,

l oved o ne with him and opening hi s eyes , d r ew

, ,

back the curtain s i n order to see and welco me

the j o y for which he had so long been waiting .

B ut i nstead of seein g her who , so h e h o ped was ,

to p r ese rve his life, h e beh eld something i ntended

to ta k e his life away, that i s a n aked sw or d which ,

the gentleman had d r awn , and with which he

sm o te the Du k e The latter was wearing nothing
.

b ut his shirt and lacked weapon s, th o ugh n o t

,

c o u r age for sitting up i n the bed b e seized the

,

gentleman r ound the body, saying

I s th is the way yo u keep you r promise
Then armed as he was only with hi s teeth an d
,

n ails he hit the gentleman s th umb , and wrestled

,
’

wi th him s o stoutly that they both fell d o wn

beside the bed .

The gentleman , not feeling alt o gethe r con fiden t ,

called to hi s servant who , finding the D uke and

,

hi s master so closely t wi ned together that he

could not tell th e one fr om the other, dragged
them b o th by the feet i nto the middle of the room ,
’
and then t ried to cut th e D uke s th r oat with his
p o igna r d Th e D uke defended h imself unt il he
.

was so exhausted th ro ugh los s of blood that h e

could do no more whe r eupon the gentleman and
,

h is servant lifted him upon the bed and fin ished

 SE CO ND D Ar : TALE XI I . 109

him wi th their d agger s They then d rew the .

c urtai n and went away, leaving the dead body

shut up i n the r oom .

H aving vanquished hi s gr eat enemy by wh o se ,

death he hoped to free his coun try the gentle ,

m an reflected that his wo rk w o uld be i ncomplete

’
unless he t r eated five o r six o f th e D uke s kin dred
i n the same fashi o n The se rvan t, howeve r wh o
.
,

was nei the r a dare-devi l nor a foo l said to him ,

“
I th in k s ir that yo u h ave done en o ugh fo r
, ,

the present , an d th at i t wo uld be better to thin k

of saving your o wn life than of t akin g the lives
o f oth ers fo r should we be as long i n m aking
,

away with each o f them as we we r e i n th e case

o f the Duke daylight wo uld overtake our enter
,

prise be fore we could c o mplete it, even sh ould

”
we find o ur enemies unarmed .

Cowed by hi s guilty c o n science th e gentleman ,

follo wed the advice of hi s servan t an d taking ,

‘
him alone wi th him , repai r ed to a Bish o p whose
of fice i t was to h ave the city gates opened an d ,

to give o r ders to th e guar d -po sts .

“ !
I have , said the gentlem an to the Bish o p,
thi s evening received tidings that one o f my
b ro th e r s i s at th e point of death I h ave j ust .

asked leave o f the D uke to go to him and he has ,

4 ly
Pro b ab i l Cyb o Al e xander s c h i ef m
Car d na ’
i n i ster wh o ac

co rdi ng to S i mo n di w as th e fi rst to di sc o ve r th e m urder —E D

, ,

s , . .
1 10 THE HEPTAMERON .

g r anted i t me ; and I beg you to send o rde r s

that the gu ards may fu r n ish me with two good
h o r ses and th at the gatekeeper may let me
,
!
th ro ugh .

Th e Bish o p who r ega r ded th e gen tleman s

’
,

r equest in the same light as an o r de r fro m his

maste r the Du k e fo r thwith gave him a n o te by , ,

mean s o f which the gate was o pened fo r him ,

and h o r ses supplied to h im as he had r equested

but instead o f go ing to see hi s b r other he beto o k
himself st r aigh t to V enice where he had h imself ,

cu r ed o f the bites that h e had received fr o m the

5
D uke and then passed o ver int o Tu r k ey
,
.

In the m o r ning finding that thei r maste r de ,

’
layed hi s r etu r n s o lo ng all the D uke s se r vants ,

s uspected rightly enough that he had go n e to

, ,

5 On l eavi ng Flo renc e Lo re n zo rep ai red fi rst to Bo lo gn a and

th e n to Ve n i ce w h ere h e i n fo r m
,

ed Ph il p Stro zzi o f h o w h e h ad i

A fte r e m b r ac i n g h im
,

rid h is c o un tr y o f th e ty ran t in a tran spo rt

an d cal li n g h imth e T us c an B r ut us Stro zzi as k e d th e m
.
.

urdere r s '

s i s ters Laudam ina an d Magdale n de Me di c i in m

,

arr i age fo r h is
'

Pe ter and Ro b e rt Fro mVen i c e Lo re n zi no i ssue d a

, ,

o wn s o n s

mmoi r e j ustifi ca t f full o f q ui b b l es and par ado xe s in wh i c h he

, .

’
e z ,

tr i e d to e x p l ai n h is l ac k o f e ne rgy afte r the m

,

urder b y the indif

fere nc e sho w n b y th e Fl o re nt i n es H e too k n o p art in th e v ar i o us
e n te rp ri ses d i rec te d agai n st C o s m
.

o de M e d i c i wh o h ad s u c c e eded
'
,

Al e x an de r at Flo re n ce I n deed h is c h i e f c o n c ern was fo r his o wn

wh i c h was threate ned al i ke b y Co s m o an d th e E m
.

s af e ty
pe ror
C h ar les V an d to e sc ape th e i r e m
,

i ssar i es h e proc eeded to T ur key

an d th e n c e to Fr an c e ul t i m
.
, .

ate ly re turn i n g to Ve n i c e w he re des p i te

, , ,

all h is p r ec aut i o ns agai nst dan ger h e was assas s i n ated in 1 5 47

to ge th er wi th h is u nc le Soderin i b y so m
, ,

e s adas s i n s in th e
p pay
o f Cos m o I —E D
, ,

. .
t 12 THE HEP TAMERO N .

her part , albeit she was ast o unded by wh at had

happened , she c o uld b ut love h er b r o the r the
more, seeing that he had not sh r unk fro m r i sking
his life i n o r de r to save her from s o cruel a tyrant .

And so h onou r able and vi r tuous was the li fe that

she c o n tinued leading that although she was ,

reduced to p o verty by the confiscation o f the

family p r ope r ty, both she and h e r si ster fo und
as h o nourable and wealthy h usbands as ther e
we r e i n all I taly an d lived ever afterwa r ds i n
,

high and go o d r epute .

“
ladi es is a sto ry that sh o uld mak e yo u
This, ,

d read that little go d wh o delights in t o rmenting

P rince and peasant st rong and weak and so far , ,

blinds them that th ey lose all th o ught o f G od and

c o nscience an d even o f thei r o wn lives And greatly
,
.

sh o uld P rinc es and those in autho rity fear to o ffend

such as are less than they ; fo r th ere is n o m an but

can wreak injury w hen i t pleases G o d to tak e ven

g ea n c e on a sinne r n o r any man so great that he
,

can do hurt to o n e who is in Go d s care ’

.

This tale w as c o mmended by all in the c o mpany 6

but it gave rise to di fferent o pinions am
,

o ng th e m f or ,

whilst some maintained that the gentleman had d o ne

his duty in saving his o w n life and his sister s h o n o u r ’
,

as w ell as in ri dding his c o unt ry o f such a tyrant ,

o th e rs denied this and said it w as r an k ingratitude

,

MS No (Bib Nat ) i i l
“
6 In 1 5 20 th s se n te n ce b eg ns : Th e ta e
—L
. . . .

was atten t ively l istened to b y all, &c . .

 E O ND
S C D AT: TALE XII . 1 13

to lay o ne who had besto w ed o n him such wealth

s

an d stati o n T h e ladies declared that the ge ntl e man

w as a go o d b ro ther and a w o rthy citi ze n ; the m
.

en ,

o n the c o nt rary that he was a t reacherous and w ic k e d

,

servant .

And pleasant w as it to h ear the reasons w hich

w ere b ro ught fo rw ard o n b o th sides ; but the ladi e s ,

as is thei r w o nt sp o k e as much fro m passi o n as

fro mjudgme nt saying that the Du k e w as so w ell
,

w o rthy of death that he w ho st ruc k him d o w n was

a happy man indeed .

Then Dago uc in se e ing w hat a c o nt roversy he had

,

se t o n foo t sai d to them

,
“
In Go d s name ladies do n o t quarrel ab o ut a
’
, ,

thing that is past and go n e Tak e care rath er that .

yo u r o wn charms do not o ccasion m o re c ru e l mu rders

”
tha n the o n e which I have related .

La b e lle Dame sari s replied P arlamente

‘
,

has taught us to say t hat but fe w die o f so pleasing

”
an ailment .

7 La be lle D a m
e sa ns M er c i (Th e P i tiless Be auty ) is l i o ne o f A a n

C harti er s b es t kn o wn poe m I t is wr i tte n in th e fo rm o fa di al o gue

'

b e twee n a l ady an d h e r l o ve r : th e form

.

e r h avi n g o b s ti n ate ly re fuse d

to tak e co m pass i on o n th e suf fe r i n gs o f h e r adm i rer the latter is ,

sai d to h ave di ed o f des pai r Th e li nes alluded to b y Mar gare t are

.

spo ken b y th e la dy an d are to th e fo llo wi n g e f fec t So grace ful

a m alady se l do m p u ts me n to dea th ; yet the soo ne r to o b ta i n co m
.

fo rt it is fi tti ng o n e s h o ul d say th at it did So m e co m p lain an d

wo rry grea tly who have no t really fe l t the m
, .

o st b i tte r af fli c ti o n ;
and if i ndeed Lo v e do th cause such great to rm e n t s ur ely it we re ,

b e tter th er e sh o ul d b e b ut o ne s uffe rer rath e r th an two

!
Th e
poe mas h ere q uo ted will b e fo und in An dre D u c has ne s e di ti o n o f
.

—1
, ,

the G ui/r es dc M a istr e A la in Cha r tier , Paris , 1 6 17 , p .

5 02 .

H. H
i 14 THE HEP TAM ERO N .

Wo uld to madam answ ered Dago uc in

Go d,
that all the ladi es in this c o m
, ,
“
pany k new ho w false
that saying is I thin k they wo uld then sca rce ly w i sh
.

to be call e d pitiless o r to imitate that unbelieving

,

beauty w ho su ffered a wo rthy l over to die for lac k

o f a graci o us ans w e r to his suit

So said P a rlam
.

“ ” “
,
ente you wo uld have us risk
,

h o n o u r and c o nscience to save the life o f a man wh o

”
says he l oves us
T hat is n o t m
.

“ “
y meaning replied Dago uc in fo r , ,

he who l oves with a p e rfect l ove wo uld b e even m o re

afraid o f hur ting his lady s h o n o u r than would she’

herself I therefo re thin k that an h o n o u rabl e and

.

graceful respo nse such as is called fo r by perfe ct and

see m
,

ly l ove must t end to the inc rease o f h o n o u r

,

and the satisfacti o n o f c o n science fo r n o t rue l over ,

”
c o uld seek the c o nt rary .

“
T hat is al w ays the end o f you r speeches said
”
,

“
En n asu ite ; they begin with h o n o u r and e nd with
the c o ntrary H o wever if all the gentlemen p re
.
,

se nt w il l tell the t ruth o f the matter I am ready to ,

believe them o n th e i r o aths .

”

Hi rean swo re that fo r his o wn part he had never

l oved any wo m an but his o wn w ife and even w ith ,

her had n o desi re to be guilty o f any gro ss o ffence

against Go d .

Sim o n tault decla red the sam e and added that he ,

had o fte n wished all wo men were fro w a rd exc epting

his o wn w ife .

“ ”
Truly said G eb u ro n to him
, yo u dese rve that ,
1 16 THE HEP TAME RO N .

m an than yo u r w o rds w o uld sh o w yo u to be and ,

fancied that vi rtue was m o re pleasing to yo u than

”
pleasu re .

“
What ! said Saffreden t
” “
Is there any vi rtu e
.

gr eater than that o f l o ving in the way that G od

c o mmands ? It seems to me that it is much better
to l ove o n e wo man as a wo man than to ad o r e a
number o f w o men as th o ugh th ey were so many id o ls .

For my part I amfi rmly o f o pinion that use is better

,
”
than abuse .

The ladi es h o weve r all sid e d with G eb uro n and

, , ,

wo uld n o t all o w Safire de n t to c o ntinue whereupo n

'

he said
“
I am well c o ntent to say n o m o re o n this subject
o f l ove f o r I have been s o badly t reated w ith regar d
,
”
to it that I will never retu rn to it again .

“ ”
It is yo u r o wn malici o usn ess said Longarine
, ,

that has o ccasi o ned yo u r bad t reatment ; fo r w hat

vi rtuo us w o man wo uld have you fo r a l over after
what yo u have t o ld us ?
“
T h o se who di d no t c o nside r me un w elco m e ,
“
ans w ere d Saffreden t would n o t care to exchange
,

thei r vi rtue fo r yo urs Bu t let us say n o m o re ab o ut

.

it that my anger may o ffend neith er myself n o r

,

o the rs . Le t us see to wh o m Dago uc in will give his

”
vo te .

“ ” “
I give it to Parlamente sai d Dago uc in , fo r ,

I believe that she must k n o w better than any o n e

e lse the natu re o f h o n o u rabl e and pe rfect l ove
”
.

“
Sin c e I have been ch o se n to tell the third tale ,
 ECO ND
S D AT : TALE XII . 1 17

said P arlame nte I will tell yo u so m

“
ething that
ha ppened to a lady wh o has al w ays b een one o f m
,

y
best frien ds and wh o se thoughts have never b ee n
,

”
hidden fro m me .
Dav ll . Ta u ; XIII
 TA L E XI I I .

A sea -c a ta i n .
p bei ng gr ea tly i n lov e wi th a la dy , sen t her a
m
di a on d ; b u t she desp atched i t to h is w ij c , w ho he ha d long m
n eglec ted, a n d i n th is wis e so a toned for h is con duc t th a t h i s

w ife was r econc i led to hi n

f
m
i perfec t afec tion 1 .

IN the h o useh o ld o f th e Lady-R egent m o ther ,

o f King Fr ancis there was a ve ry pious lady

,

ma rri ed to a gentleman of li k e mind with he r self ,

and albei t her h usband was o ld and she was

,

young and p r etty she served and l o ved him ,

1 M Le Ro i ney b e li eves tha t thi s sto ry ha so m

ux de L e h is

to r ical b as i s and Lo uise o f Sav o y b e i n g ter m

.

, , e d th e R e ge n t h e ,

ass i gns the ear li er i n c i de n ts to th e y ear 1 5 2 4 But Lo ui se was

Rege n t fo r th e fi rs t ti m
.

,
e in 1 5 1 5 and we i nc h ne to th e b e li e f
, ,

th at Q uee n M argare t alludes to th i s earli er per i od No te the

e re nc e to a C o ur t j o urne y to Nor m
.

re f an dy ( p ost p wh i c h
was p ro b ab ly th e j o ur n e y th at Fran c i s I an d h is m
, .

o the r are

k n o wn to h ave m ade to R o u en an d A l e n co n in th e autum

.

n of

S ee vo l i x x ui — E D
5
1 17 .
p . . . v . .

11 9
12 0 THE HEP TAME RO N .

as th o ugh h e had b een the h andsomest and

youngest man i n the w o rld So that she might
.

give hi m no cause for sorro w, she set h ersel f

to live as though she we r e of the same age
as himself esch ewing all s uch company, dress
, ,

dances and amusements as yo ung women are

,

wont to love and finding all her pleasure an d

,

r ec r eation i n the s erv ice of God ; on which

account her husband so l o ved and t r usted her,
that she ruled him and his household as sh e
would .

O ne day it happe ned that the gen tleman told

hi s wi fe th at fr om his youth up he h ad desi r ed to
make a j ourn ey to Jeru salem and asked her wh at
,

she th o ught of i t She, whose only wish was to

.

please h im r eplied
,
“
S ince God has withh eld children from us ,
sweetheart and has granted us s uffi cient wealth ,
,

I would willingly use some portion of i t in making

thi s sacred j ourney wi th yo u, for i ndeed , whether
y o u g thither or elsewhere I am resolved never
o ,
”
to leave you .

At this the go o d man was so pleas ed , that i t

seemed to h im as th o ugh h e we r e al r eady o n
M o unt Calvary .

While they were deliberati ng on this matter ,

there came to the C o urt a gentleman the Captai n ,

o f a galley wh o h ad ofte n se rved in the wars

,
12 2 THE HEP TAMERON .

“
s eilles with the Archipelago and sai d ho r se ,
”
when he meant to say ship li k e o ne dist r acted ,

and ber eft of sense Her ch a r acte r h o weve r .

, ,

was such that he durst n o t give any t o k en o f the

t r uth and concea lment kindled such fi res i n his
,

heart that he often fell sick when th e lady sh o wed ,

as much s o licit ude fo r him as fo r the c r oss and

guide of h er r oad sending to inqui r e afte r h im
8
,

s o o ften that the anxiety she sh o wed cu r ed him

wi th o ut the aid o f any other medicin e .

Sever al person s wh o knew that thi s Captai n h ad

been more renowned fo r valou r an d j o llity than
fo r piety, we r e amazed that h e sh o ul d have become
s o i ntimate with thi s lady and seeing that h e had ,

changed i n ever y r espect , and fr equen ted chu r ches ,

sermons an d c o n fessi o ns they s uspe cted that thi s

, ,
’
was only i n o rde r to wi n the lady s favou r and ,

coul d no t refrain fro m hi nting as m uch to him .

Th e Captai n fea r ed that if the lady shoul d hear

any such talk he w o uld be bani shed fro m he r
3 is m
Th ay s i m p ly b e an al lus i o n to w ays i de cr o sses wh i c h se rve
to gu i de trave llers o n th e i r r oad M de M o n ta iglo n po i n ts o u t
. . ,

h o we ve r th at in th e al ph ab e ts use d fo r te ac h i n g c h il dre n in the

o l de n t i m
,

e th e le tte r A was alw ay s p re ce de d b y a c r o ss an d

, ,

th at th e c h il d in rec i t i ng i nv ari ab ly b egan :

“
, ,
T h e c ro ss o f G o d .

A B C D &c I n a l k e way a c ro ss fi gu re d at th e b e gi n n i n g o f
!
i

t h e gui de -b oo ks o f the t i m e as a sy m
.
, , , , .
,

b o l i n vi ti ng th e trave lle r to
re m m m m
,

ray a n d i n d i n hi u o n w h o h e s h o ul d re ly a i d th e
p , g p
p e r il s o f h is j o u rne y Th e b es t k no w n Fre n c h gui de-b o o k o f th e

s ix tee nth ce n tur y is Ch ar l es Es tie nne s G u i de des Che m

.

i n s de
'

Fr a nce . M
- . an d ED .
 S ECO ND D AY : TALE XI II . 12 3

p r esence and acc o rdingly h e t o ld he r husband

,

and he r self that he was on th e po int o f being

despatched o n his j ourn ey by the K ing and had ,

much to tell them but that fo r the sa k e of gr eater

,

secr ecy he did not desi r e to speak to them in the

p resen ce o f othe r s , fo r which r eas o n he begged
them to send fo r him when they had b o th reti red
fo r the n ight . The gentleman deemed this to be
goo d advice and did not fail to go to bed ea r ly
,

every evening and to make his wi fe also und ress

,
.

When all thei r servan ts had left them , they used

to send for the Captai n and tal k wi th hi m ab o ut
,

the j o urn ey to Jeru salem i n the midst o f which

,

the old gentleman would oft -times fall asleep

with his min d full of pious th o ughts When the .

Captai n saw the o ld gentleman asleep i n bed ,

an d foun d himself on a ch air near her wh o m

b e deemed the fairest and noblest woman i n the
w o r ld hi s h e art was so rent betw een his desi r es
,

and his d r ead o f spea k ing that he often l o st the

power o f speech I n or der th at she might n o t
.

per ceive th is h e would fo r ce himself to talk o fthe

,

h o ly places o f Je r usalem where there we r e such

signs of the great love that Jesus Ch r ist b o re us ;
an d he woul d spe ak o f thi s l o ve using it as a ,

clo a k fo r his o wn and loo k ing at the lady with

,

sigh s and tears which sh e n ever unde r st oo d By .

r eason of his devo ut c o untenance she indee d

12 4 THE HEPTAME RO N .

believed him to be a ve ry h o ly man and begged ,

o f h im to tell her wh at hi s life h ad been , and h ow

h e had come to love God i n that way .

H e t o ld h er that he was a poo r gentleman , wh o ,

to arrive at ri ches and h on our h ad disregarded

,

h i s c o n science i n marryi ng a woman wh o was

to o close aki n to him and this o n account of the
,

wealth sh e possessed albei t sh e was ugly and

,

o ld, an d he loved h er not ; an d when h e had

d r awn all her m o ney fro m her he h ad go ne to
,

see k his fo rtune at sea, an d h ad so p ro spered by

hi s toil , that he had now come to an h onou r able
’
estate But since he h ad made hi s heare r s ac
. ~

quai ntance she by r eason of her pi o u s conve r se

, ,

an d go od exam ple had changed all h is manner of

,

life and sh o uld h e r eturn fro m his presen t en te r

,

pr ise h e was wh o lly r esolved to take h e r h usban d

and h er self to J e r us alem th at he migh t ther eby
,

partly atone for his gri evou s sin s which he had

n ow put fr om him ; save that h e h ad no t yet
made r epa r ati o n to hi s wife, with wh o m howeve r, ,

he h o ped that h e migh t so o n be rec o nciled .

Th e lady was well pleased with thi s discourse ,

and especially r ejoiced at having drawn s uch a
man to the love and fear of God An d th us , until
.

the Captain departed fro m the Court thei r l o ng ,

c o nve r sation s together we r e c o ntin ued every

evening without hi s ever ven turi ng to decl are
 THE HEP I AMERON
'

12 6
‘ ‘
.

He told her h o w he had seen the Captai n emba rk ,

fully res o lved to acco mplish wh ateve r migh t be

pleasing to the K ing and of advan tage to Ch ri s
tian ity . Fo r hi s o wn part the gen tleman added , ,

h e was s tr aigh tway go ing back to Ma r seilles to

'
set the Captai n s a ffai r s i n o rde r .

Th e lady withdrew to a wi ndow by herself and ,

o pening the letter fo und it to consi st o f two sheets

,

o f pape r , c o vered o n either sid e with w r iting which

fo r med th e fo ll o wi ng epistle

m t l g d il
Co n c e al en on an s en c e h a v e, al as l
B u ght m ll m
ro f tl t e a co or e ss o s uch a p ass ,
Th ta w p f
no I m,
u t t er orc e, as e m y gr i e f
s , o e ,

E i th er sp ea k o ut o r se e k in dea th r e l i ef
, .

Wh ere fo r e th e tale I lo ng h av e l eft un to ld

I n o w in l o n e ly fri e n dlessn ess gro w n b o l d
Se n d un to th ee fo r I m
, ,

ust s tri v e to say

My l o v e o r e lse p repare m
,

y se l fto sla y
An d th o u gh m y e y e s n o lo n ge r m
,
.

ay b eh o l d

T h e s w ee t wh o in h e r h an d m y li fe do th h o ld
Wh o se glan ce suffi c ed to m ak e m
, ,

y h e art r ej o i c e
T h e w hi le m
,

y e ar did li s ten to h e r v oi c e
Th es e w o rds at lea st sh all m
,

eet h e r b eau te o u s e y e s

An d te l l h er all th e p l ai n ti v e c lam
,

o ro us c ri es

P en t in m y h eart to w h i c h I m
,

u s t gi v e b r e ath
Si nc e l o nge r si l en c e c o u ld b ut b ri ng m
, ,

e de ath .

An d yet at fi rst I was in tru th ful l fai n

, ,

T o b lo t th e w o rds I d w ri tten o ut agai n

’

Fe ari ng fo rso o th I m
,

igh t o fien d th in e e ar
’

, ,

Wi th fo o l i sh ph rases w h i c h w h en th o u w ast n ear , ,

I dar ed n o t u tte r ; an d I nde ed sai d I

‘ ’
, ,

Far b e tte r p i n e in sil en c e aye an d die , , ,

 S CE O ND Dfl l
’
: TALE XI I I . 12 7

Th an v
sa e my lfb y b ri ngi ng h er ann o y
se

Fo r w h o s e s w e e t s ak e gri mde ath i ts e lf w e r e j o y ’

An d ye t th o u gh t I m y de ath som e p ai n m
.

igh t gi v e
To h e r fo r w h o mI w o ul d b e s tro ng an d li v e
, ,

Fo r h a v e I n o t fai r lady p ro m
,

, i sed p l ai n
, ,

My j o u rne y e n de d to re tu rn agai n ,

An d gu i de th ee and thy sp o u se to w h e re h e n o w
D o th y earn to c all o n G od fr o mSi o n s b ro w ’ ?

An d n o n e w o u ld l e ad th ee th i th e r sh o uld I die
I f I w er e dead m
.

e th i nk s I see th ee si gh
,

I n s o re di s tre s s fo r th e n th ou c o u l dst n o t s tart

,

U p on th at j o u rn e y dear u n to th y h e art
,
.

So I w i l l l i v e an d in a li ttl e sp ac e
, , ,

R etu r n to l e ad th ee to th e sa c r ed p l ac e .

Aye I w i l l l i v e th o u gh de ath a b o o n w o u l d b e
, ,

Onl y to b e re fu se d fo r s ak e o fth ee
But ifI li v e I n e eds m ust strai gh t r em
.

ove

Th e b u rden fro mm y h e art and sp e ak m

,

y lo v e
T h at l o v e m
, ,

o re l o y a l ten de r de ep an d tru e
, , , ,

Th an e v e r ye t th e fo n de st lo v e r k n e w
, , .

An d n o w b o ld w o r ds ab ou t to w i n g yo u r fl i gh t
, ,

Wh at w i l l ye say w h en ye h a v e re ac h ed h er sigh t ?
D e c l are h e r all th e lo v e th at fi ll s m y h eart ?
T o o w e ak ye are to tell its th o u s an dth p art
Can ye at l ea st n o t s ay th at h e r c l ear e y e s
H a v e to rn m y h ap l e ss h e art fo rth in s u c h w i s e ,

T h a t li k e a h o ll o w tre e I p i n e an d w i th e r
Un l e s s h e r s gi v e m e b ac k s om e li fe an d v i go u r ?

Y e feeb l e w o rds ye c an n o t e v en t ell

H o w e asi ly h e r e y e s a h e ar t c o m p el
No r c an ye p r ai se h e r s pe ec h in lan guage fit ,

So w e ak and dul l ye ar e s o v o i d o fwit

Y e t th e re are so m e th i ngs I w o u ld h a v e yo u nam
.
,

H ow m u te and fo o li sh I o ft ti m e b e c am e

W h en all h e r grac e an d v i rtu e I b eh e l d

H o w fr o mm y rap tu red e y e s te ars sl o wl y w e ll e d
’
12 8 THE HEP TAME RO N .

The te ars h o pe less l o v e h ow m

of y t o ngu e s tra y e d
Fro m fo n d an d w oo i ng spe e c h s o s o re afrai d
Th at all m y di sc o urse was o fti m
, ,

e an d ti de ,

An d o fthe s tars w h ich up in H eav n abi de ’

.

0 w o rds al as I ye l ac k th e s k i l l to tell
Th e di re c o nfu si o n that u p o n m
,

e f el l

Whil st l o v e th u s w rac k e d m
,

e n or c an ye di s c l o s e

My l o v e s i m
’
me nsi ty its p ai ns and w oe s
,
.

Y e t th o u gh fo r all y o u r p o w ers b e too w ea k

Pe rc h an c e s o m
, , , ,

, e li ttle ye ar e fit to s p e ak
,

Say to h e r th us Tw as fe ar l e s t th o u sh o ulds t c hi de
!

Th at dro v e m e e e n s o l o ng m y lo v e to hi de
’

An d ye t fo rsoo th it m
, , ,

, i gh t h av e Open ly
,

B e e n to l d to G o d in H e a v en as un to th e e , ,

B as e d as it is u po n thy v i rtue—tho ught

Th at to m y to rm en t s fr e u en t bal m
q hath b ro u ght
Fo r wh o i nde ed c o ul d e v er deemit s in
,

, ,

T o s ee k th e o wn e r o fa l l w o rth to w in
D eser v i n g rath er o fo ur blam e w e re h e

Who h a v ing s een the e un di sturb e d c o ul d b e .

’

No n e suc h was I fo r strai gh tw ay s tri c k e n s o re

, , ,

My h e ar t bo w ed lo w to Lo v e the c o nq ue ro r
An d ah I n o fal se an d fl e e ti n g lo v e is m
.
,

i ne ,

Suc h as fo r p ai n ted b e a u ty fe ign s to p i n e

No r do th m y p a ssi o n al th o u gh de ep an d s tro n g
, ,

See k its o wn w i c k e d p lea su re in th y wr o ng .

Nay o n thi s j o u rn e y I w o ul d rath er die

Th an kn o w th at th o u h ads t fal l e n and th at I
H ad w ro ugh t thy sham o u lly b ro ugh t to ha rm
,

e an d f

T h e v i r tu e w hi c h th y h e art w rap s ro u n d th y fo rm .

T is thy p e rfe c ti o n th at I l o v e in thee

’

No u gh t th at m
,

i gh t le ssen it c oul d e v e r b e
D e si re o fm in e—i n dee d th e n ob ler th o u , ,

T he greate r w e re th e lo v e I to th e e v o w
I do n o t s ee k an a rdent fl am
.

e to q u e n c h

I n l u s tfu l dalli an c e w ith so m e m e rr y w en ch ,

r30 THE HEP TAMERO N .

Le t it, I p ray , th y fai r w h i te fi n ge r p re ss,

An d th o u w i l t de al e mm
o re th an h ap p i n e s s

m m
.

An d, di a o n d, s p e ak an d say T o th e e I co e

Fro mthy f on d lo v e r, wh o a
af r do th ro a m ,

An d s tri v e s b y di n t o fgl o ri o u s de e ds to r sei

To th e h i gh l e v e l o fth e go o d an d w i se ,
H op i n g s o md e h av e n to attai n ,
ay th at

Wh ere th y s w ee t fa v o u r s sh all r e w ard h is p ain .

The lady read the lette r th r o ugh an d was the ,

’
m o r e ast o ni shed at th e Captain s passion as she
h ad neve r befo r e suspected it Sh e l o o ked at the .

cutting of th e diam o nd which was a la rge and ,

beautiful o n e set i n a ri ng o f black en amel , and

,

she was i n gr eat d o ubt as to what sh e o ugh t to

do with it After pon de r in g up o n the matte r
.

th ro ugh o ut the night, she was glad to find that

since the r e was n o messenge r sh e had n o o cca ,

si o n to send any answer to the Captain wh o she , ,

r eflected ,
was bein g su ffi ciently t r ied by th o se
matte r s o f the K ing his master which h e h ad i n
, ,

hand with o ut being ange r ed by the unfavou r able

,

r eply which she was r es o lved to ma k e to him ,

th o ugh she delaye d it until h is r etu r n H o weve r, .

sh e fo und he r sel f gr eatly pe r plexed with r egard

to the diam o nd fo r she had n eve r been won t to
,

ado r n he r self at the expen se o f any but her hus

ban d Fo r this r eas o n being a wo m
. an o f excellent
,

un de r standing she determined to d r aw fr o m the

,
’
r ing s o me p r o fit to the Captain s c o nscience Sh e .
 SECOND D AT: TAL E XIII . 13 :

the r efo r e despatched o n e o f h e r se rvan ts to th e

’
Captain s wi fe wi th the foll o wing letter which ,

was w r itten as though i t came fro m a n un o f

Ta r asc o n

M ADAM —You r h usband passed this way but

,

a sh o r t time before he emba rked and afte r he had

,

confess e d himself and r eceived his Creat o r li k e a

go o d Ch ristian he sp o ke to me o f something which
,

he had up o n his c o nscience namely hi s so rr o w

, ,

at n o t h avi ng l o ved yo u as he should h ave d o ne .

And o n depa r ting h e p r ayed and bes o ught me to

,

send yo u this letter with the diam o nd which go es

,

with i t, and which he begs o f yo u to k eep fo r his

sake assu ring you that i f Go d b r ing him back
,

again in health and st r ength yo u shall be bette r

,

t r eated than eve r w o man was befo r e An d this .

st o ne o f steadfastness shall be the pledge the re o f .

“
I beg yo u to r emembe r him in y o u r p r aye r s
”
i n mine he will h ave a place as l o ng as I live .

This l e tter, being fini shed and signed with th e

name o f a nun was sen t by the lady to the
,
’
Captain s wi fe And as may be r eadily believed
.
,

when the excellent o ld woman saw the lette r and

th e r i ng she wept fo r j oy an d so rr ow at being
,

l o ved and esteemed by her good h usband when

sh e could n o longer see him S he kissed the.

ri ng a th o usand times and m o r e wate r ing i t with

,
1 32 THE HEP TAME RO N .

h er tea r s and blessing Go d fo r having rest o r ed her

,
’
husban d s affecti o n to h e r at the end of her days ,

when she h ad long l o o ked upon it as lost No r .

did she fail to th an k the nun wh o h ad given h e r so

much h appiness but sen t he r the fai r est r eply that
,

sh e could devise This the messenger b r ought

.

back wi th all speed to his mi st r ess who c o uld n o t ,

r ead it n o r listen to what h e r se r vant t o ld h e r,

,

wi th o ut much laughte r An d so pleased was

.

sh e at h av ing go t rid of th e diam o n d i n s o p ro fit

able a fashion as to b ri ng about a r econciliati o n
between the hu sband and Wife th at she was as ,

h appy as th o ugh sh e h ad gai ned a kingd o m .

A short time afte r war ds tidings came of the

defeat and death o f th e po o r Captain and o f h o w ,

he had been aband o ned by th o se wh o ought to

have succ o ured him and how his ente rpri se had
,

been revealed by the R h o dian s who sh o uld have

k ept i t sec r et so that h e and all who landed wi th
,

him to the n umbe r o f eighty h ad been slain ,

, ,

am o ng them being a gentleman named J o hn , and

a T urk to wh o m the lady o f my st o ry had st o o d
go dm o the r , b o th o f them having been given by
her to the Captain that h e migh t take them with
him o n his j ourn ey Th e fi r st n amed o f th ese had
.

died beside the Captai n whilst the T u r k wo unded

, ,

by arr ows i n fifteen places had saved himself by

,

swimming to the F rench ships .

134 THE HEP TAMERO N .

B ut at l ast i n spite o f all that he c o uld do the

, ,

Captain r eceived s o many wo unds fro m the a rr o ws

of th ose who du r st not appro ach within b o wsh o t,
th at h e began to l o se all his blood wh er eupon ,

the T u r k s , perceivi ng th e wea k ness o f these t r ue

Ch r i stian s ch a rged up o n them fu r i o usly with their
,

scimita r s ; but the Ch r i stians s o l o ng as Go d gave ,

them str engt h and life, defended themselves to

the bitter end .

Then the Captain cal led to th e gen tleman n amed

John wh o m h is lady love h ad given him an d to th e
, ,

T u r k as well an d th r usting the p o int o f his swo r d

,

i nt o the gro un d, fell up o n his knees beside it and ,

5
emb r aced and kissed th e c ro ss saying ,

Lo r d r eceive int o Thy h ands the s o ul of o n e

,
”
wh o h as n ot spa r ed his life to exalt Thy n ame .

Th e gentleman called J o hn seeing that h is

maste r s li fe was ebbing away as h e uttered these
,
’

w o r ds th o ught to aid him an d t oo k him int o his

, ,

a r ms together with the swo r d wh ich he was h o ld

,

ing But a T urk wh o was behind them cut thro ugh

.

“
both his thighs , whereupon h e c r ied o u t, Come ,
Captain let us away to P a r adise to see H i m fo r
,

5 As is well kno w n b e fo re swords were m ade wi th sh ell an d

s to o l h il ts the two guar ds co m

,

b i n e d W i th th e h an dl e and b l ade
fo r m
,

e d a cr o ss Bayard whe n dyi n g rai se d his swo rd to gaze

u po n th i s c ross and nu m ero us i n stances s i m i lar to tha t m
. , ,

e n ti o n ed

ab o v e b y Q ue e n Margar e t m
, ,

ay b e fo u n d in th e o ld Chans on s dz
,
 S E CO ND mm TALE XI I I .
13 5

whose sake we die and in this wise he shared

,
’
the po o r Captain s death even as he had sh ared
hi s life.

Th e T u r k seeing that he c o uld be o f n o service

,

to eithe r o f them an d b e ing himself wo unded by

,

a rro ws in fifteen plac e s made o ff t o wa r ds the

,

ships, and r equ e sted to be taken on b o a r d B ut .

alth o ugh o f all the eighty he was the o nly o ne

’
wh o had escap e d the Capt ain s t r ait o r o us c o m r ad e
,

refused h is p r aye r Neve rtheless , being an ex

.

c e edin g g oo d swimme r h e th r ew himself int o

,

th e sea and exe r ted h imself s o well that he was

,

at las t received o n boar d a small vessel wher e ,

in a sh o r t time h e w as c ur ed of his w o unds An d

‘

it was by means o f this po o r fo r eigne r that the

t r uth became fully k n o wn to the h o n o ur o f the
,

Capt ai n and the sh ame o f his c o mrade wh o m the ,

K ing and all the h o n o u r able pe o ple w h o hea r d th e

tidings deemed guilty of such wick e dness t o ward
G o d and man that the r e was n o death h o ws o ever
c r uel which he did n o t dese r ve B ut when he .

r etu r ned he t o ld so many lies an d gave s o many ,

gifts that n o t only did he escape p un ishment but

, ,

even r eceived the o ffi ce o f th e man whose u n

wo r thy ser vant he had been .

When the pitiful tidings reached the C o u r t,

the Lady -R egent wh o held th e Captain i n high
,

esteem, mourned fo r h im exceedingly, as did the

r36 THE HEP TAME RO N .

King and all th e h o n o u r able people wh o h ad ‘

kn o wn him And when the lady whom he had

.

loved the best heard o f his st r ange sad and , ,

Ch r i stian death , she ch anged the c hiding she h ad

res o lved to give hi m i nto tear s and l amentati o ns ,

i n which her husban d kept h er co mpany all ,

h opes o f their j o urn ey to Jerusalem b eing n o w

frust r ated .

I must n o t fo r get to say th at o n the very day

wh en the two gentlemen we r e killed a damsel ,
’
i n th e lady s se r vice who loved the gentleman ,

called Joh n bette r than her self came and t o ld h er ,

mist r ess that she had seen h er l o ver in a d r eam ;

he h ad appear ed to her clad i n wh ite, and had
hidden h e r farewell , telling h er that he was go ing
to P a r adise wi th his Captain An d when the .

damsel h eard th at her d r eam had c o me t r ue she ,

made s uch lamentati o n that her mi stress h ad

6
enough to do to c o mfort her .

A short time afterwar ds the Court j ourn eyed

i nt o No r mandy, to which p r o vi n ce the Captai n
5 The Qu ee n o f Navarre was a fir mb
i v in the tr uth and el e e r

p re m o n i to ry c h arac ter o f dr eam s an d ac c ordi n g to h er b i o grap h e rs

,

s h e h erse lf h ad se v er al s in ula r o n es two o fwh i c h are re f e rr ed to

g
in th e Me m
, , ,

o i r p re fi x ed t o th e
pres e nt wo r k (vo l i p p lxxxiii an d
I n so m e o fh er l ette r s m
. . . .

o re o ver s h e re lates tha t Fran c i s

, ,

I wh e n u nder th e wall s o fPavi a o n thr ee s u c cess iv e n i gh ts b eh el d

h is li ttl e daugh ter Ch ar l o tte (th e n dy in g at L yo n s ) ap pear to h im
.
, ,

in a drea m and o n e ac h o c c as i o n re pea t th e words Fare well

my K i n g I amgo ing to Paradise —E D
, , .
!

, . .
I 38 THE HEP TAMERO N .

h er goo d sense whic h tu rned to goo d that which in

it se lf w as wo rthless ”

D o yo u mean to say said No m

.

“
erfide that a
, ,

fin e diam o nd c o sting two hun dre d c ro wns is wo rth

, ,

l ess ? I can assure you that if it had fall en int o my

hands neither his wife n o r his relati o ns wo uld have
,

seen aught o fi t No thing is m o re wh o lly o n e s o wn

.
’

than a gift The gentleman was d ead n o o n e k new

.
,

anyt hing ab o ut the matte r and she might w ell have ,

spare d the p o or o ld wo man so much sorro w .

”

“ ” “
By my wo rd sai d Hi rean yo u are right .

T h e re are w o m
, ,

en wh o to mak e th emselves app ea r

,

o f b e tt er hear t than o th ers do things that are cl e arly ,

c o nt rary to thei r n o ti o ns fo r we all kn o w that w o m en

,

are the m o st avarici o us o f beings yet thei r vanity o ften ,

su rpasses thei r avaric e and c o nstrains th ei r hearts

,

to acti o ns that they wo uld rather n o t perfo rm My .

belief is that the lady who gave the di am o nd a w ay

in this fashi o n was unworthy to w ear it .

“ ” “
Softly so ftly
,
said Oisille ; I b eli eve I k n o w
,

wh o she is and I th erefo re beg t hat yo u will n o t

,
”
c o nd emn her unheard
“
Madam sai d Hi rean
”
,
“
I do n o t c o ndem n he r
,

at all ; but if the gentl e man was as vi rtuous as yo u

say it were an h o n o u r to have such a l over and to
, ,

wear his ring ; but perhaps so me o n e l ess wo rthy o f

being l oved than he held her so fast by the fi nger
that the ring could n o t be put o n ”
.

“ ” “
Truly said En nasuite she might well have
, ,

k ept it seeing that n o o n e k ne w anything ab o ut it

, .
”
 SECO ND ro ar . TALE XI I I . 139

What ! sai d ”
Ge b uro n ; are all things lawful
to th ose who l ove p rovi ded n o , o n e kn o w s anyt hi ng

ab o ut them ?
“
By my w o rd said Saf frede n t
,
the o nly misdeed ,

that I have ever seen punish e d is fo o lishness There .

is neve r a mu rdere r ro bber o r adulterer c o ndemn e d

by the c o u rts o r blam
, ,

e d by hi s fell o w s if only he be

as cunning as he is wi ck e d Oft ti m
,

e h o w ever a
.
-

bad man s wic k edness so bl inds hi m that he b e c o m

, ,
’
es
a fo o l and thus as I have just sai d it is the foo lish
, ,
”
o nly that are punished n o t the vi ci o us , .

Yo u may say what yo u please sai d Oisille ,

”
,

o nly G o d can judge the lady s hea rt ; but fo r my

’

part I thin k that h er acti o n was a very h o n o u rable

,

and vi rtu o us o n e 7 H o w ever to put an end to the

.
,

d e bat e I p ray yo u P arlamente to give so me o n e yo u r

, , ,
”
vo te .

“
I give it willin gly she said to Sim
” “
,
o ntault for , ,

after two such m o u rnful tal es we must have o n e that

”
will n o t ma k e us weep
I than k yo u sai d Sim
.

“
,
”
o ntault I n giving me .

yo ur vo te yo u have all but told me that I am a j est er .

It is a n ame that is extremely distaste ful to me and ,

7 In i i
o ur O p n o n i
th s se n tencedi spos es o fM i ss Mar y R ob i nso n s
'

s u p po s i ti o n (Tlze For tu n a te Lov er s , Lo ndo n , 1 8 87 , p I 5 9 ) tha t .

O lSllIe Lo uise o f Savo y ) is th e r eal h ero i ne o f th i s tal e

mm
.

Q uee n M argare t wo ul d ha rdly h ave re prese n ted her c o e ndi ng

h er o wn ac t i o n I fany o ne o f th e n arra to rs o f th e H ep ta er on b e m
m
.

the h e ro i ne o f th e s to ry , th e p res u p t i o ns are in favo ur o f Lo nga

m
r i ne (La Da e de Lo nray ) , M argare t s b o so
’

m
fr i end, wh o se si l e nce
duri n g th e after-c o n ve r se is s ign ifican t —ED .

2
 THE HEPTAMERON .

in revenge I wi ll sh o w yo u that there are wo men who

wi th perso ns o r fo r a cer tain time mak e a
, ,

great p ret e nce o f be ing chaste but the end sh o ws

,

them in thei r real colours as you

,
by
true story.
 TAL E XI V .

The Lor d o f Bon n iv et, desir i ng to r evenge h i s elf upon m a

IWi lanese la dy for her cr uelty , m

ade the ac q u a i n tanc e i
f an

m m
I talian gen tle an who she lov ed, b u t to who she ha d nev er m
gr an ted anyth i ng sav e fai r wor ds a n d ass u r a nc es of afi c tion
m m
.

To acc o p li h
s h is p u ryiose he gav e th is gen tle good an suc h

a dv ic e tha t the lady gr an ted h i m

w h at he ha d so long sought,
a n d this the gen tle a n m m
ade kn own to Bon n i v et, who ha v i ng

m
,

c u t both ha ir an d hear d, a n d dr essed h i s el f i n c lothes like

those of the other , wen t a t m
i dn igh t an d p ut h is v engea n c e i n to
exec u tion . Then the la dy, h avi ng lear n t fro mhi mth p l e an

tha t he had dev i sed to wi n her , p mroi d t d i t f ml i g

se o es s ro ov n

those If her own n ation , an d to h ldf t t h i m

o as o .

AT the time when the G r and -M aster of Chau

1
m o nt was Gove rnor o f the Duchy o f Milan the r e ,

1 M . de Lin cy is i i
o f o p n o n that th e i nc i den ts re co rde d in th is
s to r y too k l
p ace b e twee n 1 5 0 : an d 1 5 03 ; b ut ac co r d ng to M i
um m
.

Lacro ix the Gran d-M as ter o fCh a o n t did no t b e co e G o e rn or v

wh mQ
,

o f th e M ilanese ill I 5 06
t Th is pe rso n age , to o uee n Mar
mb i
.

f e q ue ntly alludes le s les dA

'

gare t r in h er ta , was C h ar o se ,
1 42 THE HEP TAME RO N .

lived there a gen tleman called th e Lo r d of Bon

n ive t, wh o by reason of hi s meri ts was afte r wa r ds

made Admi r al o f Fr an ce Being greatly liked by .

the G r and -M aster an d eve ry o n e else on acc o unt

o f the qualities he p o ssessed he was a welcome ,

guest at the banquets where th e ladies of M ilan

assembled and was r ega r ded by them wi th m o re
favour than ever fell to a F r e n c hm
,
’
an s lot , either

befo r e o r sin ce ; and this as much o n account of

h i s hands o me countenance , g r ace o f m an ne r, and
pleasant c o nverse as by reason of th e renown ,

w o fth e fam o us Car di nal d Am b o ise m i n i ster to Lo ui s XI I

'
ne ph e

I n tu rn adm i ral an d marsh al G o vern o r o f Par i s and G ran d

.
,

Master in Fran ce o f th e O der o fSt J o h n o f J e ru sal e mh e fi gur ed

, ,

p ro m i ne n tly in t he I tali an wars o f th ti m

.
, , ,

e an d no tab ly a t th e
e

I n 1 5 0 he c o m man de d the tro o p s wh i c h

,

b att le o f A ignadel 1

fo ugh t o n b e h al f o f th e D u k e o f Fer rar a agai n s t th e E m

.

pe r o r a n d
Po pe Julius I I an d th e l atter havi ng e x c o mm u n i c ated h imfo r
he arin g ar m s agai n st th e H o ly Se e h is m i nd is sai d to h ave
beco m
,

e un h i n ge d H e d i ed at Corre ggi o in Fe b ruar y 1 5 1 1 wh e n

o n ly th i rty- i gh t y ear s o f age so m
.
,

e e b i grap h e rs as ser ti n g th at h e
o

was po i so n d w h ils t o the rs c o n te n d th at h e fe ll f o ma b r i dge

,

e r

dur i ng a m
,

il i tar y e x pe di ti o n Wh il st o n h is death b e d h e se n t -

messe ngers to the Po pe b e ggi ng th at th e dec ree o f e xc o mmunica

. ,

t i o n agai n st h im mi gh t b e ann ulled b u t b efo re th e Papal ab so lu

,

T h e nam e o f C haum
,

t i o n arr ive d h e h ad e x p i re d . o nt b y wh i c h h e ,

is ge n er ally k n o wn is that o f an estate he po s se sse d b e twee n Bl o i s

and A m
, ,

b o i se o n th e Lo i r e T h e re p u tati o n h e e nj o ye d o f b e i n g
o n e o f the h an dso m es t m e n o f h is ti m
, .

e was w ell de se r ve d if o n e

may judge b y a pa i n ti n g at th e Lo uvr e wh i c h is sai d to b e his

,

po rtrai t . T h i s p i c t ure l o ng as c ri b e d to Le o n ar do da Vi n c i an d
, ,

s u pp o se d to re rese n t Ch ar l e s V I I I o f Fran ce has b ee n i de n ti fi ed

p
as th e w o r k o f An dr eas So l ar i o wh o e x ec u ted n um
. ,

ero us
p ai n t
i ngs fo r Cardinal d Am b o ise at th e fam
,

o u s c hAteau o f Gaill o n
’
.

ED .
144 THE HEPTAMERO N .

favourable reply to give him suddenly checked ,

his disc o u r se by assuring hi m th at she neithe r

l oved n o r eve r wo uld love any man bu t her
h usband , an d that he must by n o mean s expect
that she w o uld listen to h im Th e ge ntleman .
,

h o weve r wo uld no t ta k e thi s answe r fo r a r efusal

, ,

an d c o n tinued to pr ess hi s sui t with gr eat ene r gy

until mid -Lent But he fo un d h er still firm i n
.

her decla r ati o n that she wo uld love n eithe r him

s e lf n o r another which h e c o uld n o t believe
, ,

h o wever seeing how ill-fav o u r ed was h er hus

,

band and h o w gr eat h e r own beauty Convi nced

, .

th at she was p r actising dissimulati o n he r es o lved , ,

on hi s o wn side to h ave r ec o u r se to decepti o n ,

,

and acc o r dingly he ceased to u rge his suit and ,

inqui r ed s o cl o sely c o n cer ning her manner o f

life that he disc o ve r ed sh e was i n l o ve with a
m o st disc r eet and h o n o u r able I talian gentleman .

Little by little th e Lo r d o f Bo n n iv e t insinuated

himself i nt o the fr iendship o f thi s gentleman ,

mu o n tai ns an d fo llo w M Bo urb o n an d in th i s he h ad le ss h is

de
m
.
,

as te r s advan tage an d se r vi ce at h eart th an h is des i re to re tu rn

’

d
an see a grea t an d m os t b e au ti ful l ady o f M il an w h o m h e h ad
md a e h is m i stress so m
,

e y ears
p re vi o us ly I t is sai d th at th i s
was th e Se n n o ra C leri ce th e n ac c o un te d o ne o f th e m
.

o s t b ea u
‘ ’

A great lady o f th e ti m ro m who mI

,

t i ful l adi es o f I taly e f

h e ard th i s s to r y to l d m e th at h e Bo n n iv e t ha d co m men de d th i s
.
,

l ady Cl er i ce to the K i ng so h i ghly as to mak e h imde siro u s o f

, , ,

see i ng an d wi n n i n g h er ; an d th i s was th e p r i n c i p al c a use o f th is

e x pe diti o n o f t h e K i n g s —Lalan n e s (E u vr es de Br an tdm

' ! ’
e vol

i i p 1 67 8 —L
.
, .

- . .
. .
 SE CO ND D AY : TALE XI V . 14 5

and did s o with s o m uch disc re ti o n and s k ill that ,

the o the r remained i gn o r ant o f hi s m o tive and ,

became s o much attached to him that aft e r the ,

lady o f his h e a rt the r e was no o n e i n the w o r ld

,

whom he l o ved m o r e I n o r d e r that h e migh t

.

pluck his sec r et fr o m hi s breast the Lo r d o f,

Bo n n iv e t pr etended to tell him hi s own decla r i ng ,

that he l o ved a ce rtain lady to wh o m h e had i n

tr uth never given a thought and begging th at
,

h e would k eep the matte r sec r et an d th at they

,

migh t h ave but o n e hear t and o n e mind t o gethe r .

Wishing to sh o w i n r etu r n a li k e affecti on the ,

poo r It ali an gen tleman ther eupo n p r o ceeded to

discl o se at len gt h the l o ve that he b o r e the lady
o n whom Bo nn iv e t w ished to be r evenged ; and

after this they wo uld meet s o mewhe r e o nce eve ry

day i n o r de r to recount the favo urs that had
befallen them du ri ng th e past fo ur an d twenty
h o ur s ; with this difference howeve r that one lied,
, ,

an d the o the r spo ke the truth An d the I talian

.

c o nfessed that he had loved thi s lady fo r th r ee

year s, but h ad never obtai n ed anything o f her
save fair wo r ds and the ass urance o f he r love .

Bo nn iv e t then gave him all the advi ce that

’

he c o uld to enable him to attain his end an d ,

to such goo d purpose that in a few days the

lady c o n sented to gr ant all th at was sough t o f
h er. I t o nly r em ai ned to devi se a plan fo r th e i r
x
146 THE HEP TAMERO N .

meeting and thro ugh the counsels o f Bo nn iv e t

,

thi s was s oo n acc o mplished And s o o n e day

.

b efo r e supper the Italian said to h im

“
I am mo r e beholden to yo u s ir, th an to any
,

o the r man li ving f ,

o r , th anks to y o u r g o o d advice ,

I expect to ob tain to-nigh t that which I have

”
c o veted so many years .

“
I pray yo u my frien d, the r eupon sai d Bo n
,
~

“
n iv e t, tell me the manner o f yo u r undertaking ,

s o th at if the r e be any ri sk i n it or craft requi r ed ,

,
!
I may se rve you i n all frien dship .

The I talian gentleman then began to tell him

that the lady h ad devi sed a mean s of h avi ng th e
pri ncipal door o f the h o use left o pen that n ight ,

availing h er self as a p r etext o f the illness of one

of her brothe r s fo r wh o se requi r emen ts i t was
necessar y to send i nt o the t o wn at all hou r s .

H e might enter the c o u r tya r d b ut h e was to be

,

ca r eful n o t to go up by the principal stai r case .

In stead o f thi s h e was to ta k e a small fligh t

on his right hand an d enter the fi rst gallery he
,
’
came to, into wh ich th e rooms of the lady s
father-in-law and b r others -in -law o pened ; an d
h e was to choose the thi r d d o o r from th e head
o f the stai r s , and i f o n t r ying i t gently he found

that i t was locked , h e was to go away agai n fo r ,

i n that case h e migh t be sur e th at h er husban d

had retu r ned, th o ugh no t expected hac k fo r two
1 48 THE H EPTAMERON .

up h is mind that i f h e we r e p e r ceived he would ,

go st r aight to the chambe r o f the old gentleman ,

with wh o m he had s o me business o n hand .

’
Ab o ut midnight h e ente r ed the lady s h o use ,

and alth o ugh the r e wer e a goo d m any pe r s o ns

go ing to an d fr o he passed them un n o ticed and
,

thus r eached the galle ry Tr yin g the fi r st two

.

d o o r s he fo und them shut ; th e thi r d howeve r

, , ,

was n o t an d he s o ftly pu shed i t O pen

,
An d .

’
h aving thus ente r ed th e lady s r o o m h e imme ,

diate ly b o lted the d oo r behin d him H e fo und that

.

the wh o le ch ambe r was h un g wi th white linen ,

the fl o o r and ceiling als o bein g cove r ed with th e
same ; and th e r e was a bed d r aped with clo th s o
fine and s o ft and so handsomely embro i de r ed i n
white that nothing better we r e possi ble And in
,
.

th e bed lay the lady alo ne wearing her cap and

,

nigh t -go wn , and c o ve r ed wi th pear ls an d gems .

This befo r e he was himself pe r ceived by h e r h e

, ,

was able to see by peeping ro und the c urtain ;

fo r the r e was a lar ge wax candl e bu rning, which
made the roo m as b r i ght as day An d fear ful .

lest he should be r ec o gnised by h e r he fi r st o f ,

all put o ut the ligh t Then he und r essed h imself

.

and go t into bed beside her .

The lady, taking h im to be the Itali an wh o

had so l o ng l o ved her, gave h im the best possible
re cepti o n ; b ut he, not forgetting th at h e was
 S E CO ND D AI
‘ ’
: TALE XI V. 1 49

’
the r e i n an o the r s stead was ca r eful n o t to say a
,

single w o r d H is o nly th o ught was to execute

.

his vengeance at the c o st o f h e r h o n o u r and

chastity with o ut being beh o lden to h e r fo r any
b o on And alth o ugh this was c o nt r a ry to he r
.

i ntenti o n th e lady was s o well pleased with this

,

ven ge ance that she deemed hi m rewa r ded fo r all

she th o ugh t he had endu r ed At last it st r uck .

o n e o f the cl o c k , and i t was time to say goo d -bye .

Then i n th e lowest t o nes he c o uld empl o y he

, ,

as k ed he r if she we r e as well pleased wi th h im

as he was with h e r S he believi ng him to be
.
,

h e r l o ve r sai d th at sh e was n o t me r ely pleased

,

but amazed at the gr ea tness o f his l o ve which ,

had k ept him an h o u r wi th o ut an swe ring h er .

Then he began to laugh al o ud and sai d to he r ,

No w madam will yo u r efuse me an o ther

, ,

time as yo u have hitherto been wo n t to do

,

Th e lady , r ec o gnising him by his speech and

laughter, was i n such desp ai r w i th gr ief and
shame that she called him villai n t r ait o r and de
, , ,

c e iv er a th o usand times o ve r, and t r ied to th r o w

herself out of bed to sea r ch fo r a kni fe i n o r de r

to k ill he r self, since she was s o unfo rt unate as to

h ave l o st h e r h o nou r th ro ugh a man wh o m she

did n o t l o ve and wh o to be revenged o n her
,

might publish th e matte r to the wh o le w o r ld .

B ut h e held her fas t i n his a rms, and i n fair

15 0 THE HEP TAME RO N .

s o ft w o rds decla r ed that he would love h er mo re

than her l o ver, and w o ul d so ca r efully c o nceal all
th at affected her h on o ur th at sh e sh o uld neve r be
b r o ught to r eproach Thi s the po o r fo o lish thing
.

b eliev e d and o n hea r ing fro m hi m th e plan th at

,

he h ad devi sed and th e pains th at h e h ad taken to

win h er she sw o re to him that she w o uld l o ve him
,

better th an th e o the r wh o had not been able to

,

keep he r sec r et Sh e n o w knew said she ho w

.
, ,

false was the r epute i n which the Fr en ch we r e held ;

they were m o r e sen sible, pe r seve r ing and disc r eet,

th an the I talian s ; whe r efo r e she would hence

fo rward lay a side th e erro ne o us Opinion s o f h e r
n ati o n and h old fast to hi m B ut she ear nestly
.

en t r eated him n o t to sh o w h imself fo r s o me

time at any entertain ment o r in any place whe r e
sh e might be unless he we r e masked ; fo r she
was su r e sh e sh o uld feel so m uch ash amed th at
h er c o untenance w o uld bet r ay h er to eve ry one .

This h e p r omised to do and he then begged

,

that sh e w o uld give her l o ve r a g oo d welc o me

’
when he came at two o cl o ck getting rid o f him ,

afterwa r ds by degr ees Thi s sh e was ve r y loth

.

to do an d but for the love she b o r e to Bo n n iv e t

,

would o n n o acc o unt h ave consen ted H o wever, .

when bidding h e r fa r ewell he gave h e r s o much

,

cause fo r satisfacti o n that she w o uld fai n have

had him stay with h er s o me time longer .
15 2 THE HEP TAME RO N .

joy had been ch anged to ice and sadness and he ,

h ad i mmediately go ne away H o wever he had .

,

sent at dayb r ea k to inqui r e ab o ut h er, and h ad

h eard th at sh e was i ndeed ve r y ill Wh ile r ecount .

ing h is griefs h e wept s o piteously that i t seemed

as though his s o ul mu st melt away in his tea r s .

Bo n n iv e t wh o was as much incli ned to laugh

,

as the o ther was to weep c o mfo r ted him as well

,

as he c o uld telling him that a ffe ction s of lon g

,

du r ati o n always had a diffi cult beginning and ,

th at Lo ve was causing h im thi s delay o nly that h e

might afterwa r ds h ave th e g r eate r j o y And s o .

the two gentlemen parted The lady r emained i n

.

bed fo r s o me days and on r egainin g h er heal th

,

dismissed h er fi r st suit o r, alleging as h er reas o n

the fear o f death that h ad beset her and the
p r ic k ings of her c o n science B ut she held fas t
.

to my l o rd Bo n n iv e t wh o se l o ve as i s usual
, , ,

lasted n o l o nge r than the field fl o wer s bl o o m .

I think la di es that the ge ntlem

, ,
an s c raftin ess ’

w as a match fo r the hyp o crisy o f the lady who after , ,

playing the p rud e so l o ng sh o w ed herself such a

,

w ant o n in the e n d ”

Y o u may say w hat yo u please ab o ut wo m

.

“
en ,
’

“
sai d E n n asu ite but the gentleman playe d an evil
,

t ric k Is it all o w able that if a lady l o ves o n e man

.
,
”
an o th er may o btain her by c raft ?
 SE CO ND D Ar : TALE XI V. 15 3

“
You may be su re said Geb u ro n that w hen
such m
, ,

a re s are fo r sale th ey are o f n ec essity ca rri e d

of f by the last and highest bidd e r Do no t i m agin e
.

that w o oe rs tak e such great pains fo r the ladi es sak e s ’

.

I t is for thei r o wn sak e s and th e i r o wn pleasu re .

”

“ “
By my w o rd said Lo ngarine I b elieve yo u ;
”
, ,

fo r truth to t e ll all the l overs that I have ever had

, ,

have al w ays b egun thei r spe e ches by tal k ing about

me d eclaring that they cherishe d my life w elfare and
h o n o u r ; but in the e n d they o nly th o ught o fthe m
, , ,

selves ,

caring fo r n o ught but th e i r o wn p leasu re and vanity

Th e b e st plan th e re fo re is to dism
.

, ,
iss them as soo n
as the fi rst p o rti o n o f thei r disc o u rs e is e nd e d ; fo r

wh e n they c o me to th e se c o nd th e re is n o t so much ,

c redit in refusing th em seeing that vice w hen rec og

,

”
n ise d must n e eds be r ej e cted

So as s o o n as a man o p e ns his m
.

“ ”
o uth sai d ,

“
E n n asuite ,
w e o ught to re fuse him with o ut k n o w ing ,

w hat he is go ing to say ? ”

Nay replied P arlamente

,
”
my friend d o es n o t
,

mean that We k n o w that at fi rst a w o man sh o uld

.

never appear to understand w hat the man desi res o r ,

eve n to believe him when he has declare d what it

is ; but when he c o m es to stro ng p ro testati o ns, I
thin k it were better fo r ladies to leave him o n the
ro ad r ather than c o ntinue to the e n d o f th e j o u rn ey

with him
”

That may be said No m

.

“ “
, e rfide but are we to
beli eve t hat th ey l ove us fo r evil ? Is it n o t a sin to
”
judge o ur n ei ghb o ur s ?
15 4 THE HEP TAME RO N .

”
You may believe what yo u please said Oisille ;
but there is so m
,

uch cause for fearing it to be true ,

that as soo n as you perceive the faintest spark yo u ,

sh o uld fl ee fro m this fire lest it sh o uld burn up yo ur ,

”
hear t befo re yo u eve n kn o w it .

“
Truly said H ircan
”
the laws you lay d o wn are
If wo men wh o m gentleness beseem
, ,

o ver ha rsh .
,
s so
well were min ded to p rove as rigo ro us as yo u wo uld
,

have them be we men o n o ur par t w o uld exchange

, , ,

o u r gentle ent rea ti es fo r c raft and fo rce

”

In my o pini o n said Sim

.

” “
o n tault ,
th e b est advice ,

is that each sh o uld fo ll o w his natu ral bent Wh ether .

he l ove o r n o t le t him do so with o ut dissimulatio n

,
.
”

Wo uld to G od said Saffreden t that such a

”
,
“
,

rul e wo uld b ring as much h o n o u r as it wo uld give

”
pl easu re .

Dago u c in h o w ever c o uld n o t refrain fro m saying

, ,

Th o se wh o w o uld rather die tha n ma k e thei r desi r e

kn o w n c o uld n o t c o mply w ith yo u r law .

“ “
Die thereupo n said H irean ; the go o d k night
has yet to be b o rn that would die fo r the publi shi ng
o f such a m atter But let us cease tal king o f w hat is
p ossible and see to wh o m Sim
.

im ,
o ntault will give his

vo te ”

I give it said Sim

.

“ “
,
o n tault to Lo ngar ine fo r I , ,

o bserve d h er just n o w tal k ing to herself I imagin e .

that she was recalling so me excellent matter and she ,

is n o t w o n t to c o nc eal the truth whether it b e against ,

man o r wo m an ”

Since yo u deem m
.

“ ”
e s o t ruthful r eplied Lo ngarin e , ,
15 8 THE HEP TAMERO N .

h er . As she was still very y o ung he begged ,

o n e of the greatest ladies o f the Cou r t to r eceive

her int o her househ o ld and this th e lady ve ry

,

wi llingly did .

No w this gentleman was so courteous , so

hand some and s o full of gr ace that he was h eld
,

i n great r ega r d by all th e ladies o f the Cou r t and ,

among th e rest by o n e whom the King l o ved and ,

who was neither so young n o r so handsome as

his o wn wife An d by reason of the gr eat love
.

th at the gentleman b o r e th is lady, he made such

little account o f his wi fe that he slept scar cely
,

one night i n th e year wi th her and what she , ,

foun d still h arder to endu r e, h e neve r s poke to

her o r sh o wed her any sign o f love And although .

h e enj oyed her fo rtune, h e all o wed her so small a

sh a r e in it that sh e was n o t d r essed as was fitting
,

fo r o n e o f h e r station , or as sh e h e r self desi red .

The lady with wh o m sh e ab ode would often re

p r oach the gen tleman fo r this sayi ng to h im
,
“
Yo ur wi fe i s h an dsome ri ch an d o f a good
, ,

family, yet you m ake no m or e account o f her th an

i f she we r e the o pposite In her extreme yo uth
.

and childishness she h as h itherto s ubmitted to

your neglect ; b ut I fear me th at when she finds
h erself gr own -u p an d handsome her mirro r an d
,

some o n e th at loves you n o t will so set befo r e

her eyes that be auty by which yo u set so li ttle
 E O ND
S C D Ar : TALE XV . 15 9

st o re that r esentment wi ll lead h er to do what

,

sh e du r st not think of had yo u t r eated h e r well ”

.

Th e gentlem an h o wever h avi ng best o wed hi s

, ,

heart elsewher e made ligh t of wh at th e lady said

, ,

and n o twith standing h e r adm o ni tions contin ued ,

to lead th e same life as befo r e .

B ut when two or th ree year s h ad go ne by, h is

wi fe became o n e o f the most b eauti ful women
ever seen in Fr an ce so th at she was r eputed to
,

h ave no equal at the C o urt And the m o r e she

.

felt herself worthy o f being l o ved the m o r e dis ,

t r essed she was to find th at her h usband pai d

n o atten tion to h er ; an d s o g r eat became h e r

affli cti o n th at but fo r th e c o ns o lati o n s o f h er

,

mist r ess, she h ad well -nigh been in despai r .

After tr ying ever y possible mean s to please her

h usband , she r eflected th at h is inclination s must
need s be di r ected e lsewhere, for oth erwi se he
co uld not bu t respo nd to the d eep l o ve that she
bo r e him Th e r eupon sh e made such skilful
.

i nqui r ies th at sh e disc o ve r ed th e truth , n amely ,

th at h e was every nigh t so fully occupied in

an other quar te r th at he could give n o th o ught to
h is wife o r to h is c o nscience .

H av ing thus o btai ned ce r tai n kn o wledge o f th e

manne r of life he led she fell into such deep
,

melan ch o ly that she wo uld not d r ess herself

,

oth erwi se than i n blac k o r attend any place of

1 60 THE H EP TAME RO N .

ente rtainment H e r mist r ess wh o pe r ceived this

.
, ,

did all that in h e r lay to d r aw h e r fr o m such a

m o o d but c o uld n o t An d alth o ugh h e r h usband
,
.

was made acqu ainted with h e r state he sh o we d ,

himself m or e i nclined to make ligh t of i t than to

r eliev e i t .

Y o u ar e awar e ladies that j ust as ext r eme j o y

, ,

will give o ccasi o n to tea r s s o ext r eme gr ief finds ,

an o utlet i n some j oy I n thi s wise i t happened.

’
th at a gr eat l o r d wh o was near a k in to the lady s
mi st r ess and wh o often vi sited her,hearing o n e
,

day o f the st r ange fashi o n i n which she was

t r eated by h e r h usband pitied her s o deeply that ,

h e desi red to t ry to c o ns o l e h er ; an d o n spea k ing

to h er fo und her s o hands o me so sensible and
, , ,

s o virt u o us th at he became far m o r e desi ro us o f

,

wi n ning h er favour than o f tal k ing to h er ab o ut

her h usband unless i t we r e to show h e r what
,

little cause sh e h ad to l o ve him .

Th e lady findi n g th at th o ugh fo r saken by the

, ,

m an wh o o ught to h ave l o ved her she was o n ,

the o ther h and l o ved and s o ugh t after by s o

h andso me a P ri nce deemed herself very fortun ate
,

i n having th us won h is favour And although .

she still desi r ed to p r eserve h er h o nou r, she t oo k

great pleasure i n talking to him and i n r eflec ting
that she was l o ved an d p rized fo r these were ,

two things fo r which s o to speak , she h unge r ed

, .
1 62 THE HEPTAMERON .

my o wn par t I h ave neve r as k ed mistress o r

,

h usband o r even myself for pe rmissi o n to l o ve

yo u ; Lo ve ai ded by y o u r g oo d l oo ks and c o urtesy
, ,

gai n e d such d o mini o n o ver me that I c o uld r ec o g

nise n o Go d o r K ing save h im B ut since yo u r
.

h ea r t is n o t s o full o f tru e l o ve th at fear may n o t

find r o o m i n it yo u can be n o pe r fect love r and I
, ,

will l o ve n o ne that i s impe rfect s o pe r fectly as I

h ad reso lved to l o ve yo u Far ewell, then , my
.

l o r d seei ng that you are to o tim o rous to deserve

,
”
a l o ve as fr an k as mine .

Th e Pr i nce went away i n tea r s an d lo o king ,

back he again n o ticed th e husband wh o was stil l ,

at the wi nd o w and h ad th us seen him go i n an d

,

c o me o u t again Acc o r dingly he t o ld him o n the

.

m o rr ow why h e had gone to see h is wife and o f ,

the c o mm an d that the Ki ng h ad laid upon him ,

whe r eat th e gen tleman was well plea sed an d ,

gave th anks to the K ing .

H owever finding th at hi s wife was beco ming

,

m o r e beauti ful every day, whilst he himself was

gr o wing o ld and less handsome th an befo r e he ,

began to ch ange h is tactics an d to play the pa r t

,

which he had fo r a long time imposed upon hi s

wi fe best o wing some attenti o n upo n her and
,

seeking h er m o r e fr equen tly th an had been hi s

w o nt B ut th e m or e she was s o ugh t by hi m the
.

more was h e sh unned by he r ; fo r she desired

 E CO ND
S fDAT : TALE XV 163

to pay him back s o me part o f th e grief th at h e

had caus ed her by hi s i ndi ffe r ence .

M o reo ve r being un willing to fo rego s o soon

,

the pleasure that l o ve was begi nning to a ffo r d

h e r she add r essed he r s el f to a yo ung gentleman
, ,

wh o was s o ve ry h ands o me well -spo k en an d , ,

gr aceful that h e was l o ved by all the ladies o f

the C o urt An d by complai ning to him o f the
.

manner i n which sh e h ad been treated , she lu r ed

hi m to ta k e pity upon her, s o th at he left n o thing
unt ried i n his attempt s to c o m fo rt h er S he o n .
,

her part to c o nsole he r self for th e loss o f th e

,

P rin ce w h o h ad fo r saken h e r se t he r self to l o ve

,

thi s gentleman so hear tily that sh e came to fo rget

he r fo r me r gr ief an d to t hin k o f nothin g but th e
,

ski lful c o nduct of her new am o u r, in which she

succeeded s o well that her mist r ess pe r ceived
n o ugh t o f it for sh e was car eful n o t to speak to
,

h e r l o ve r i n her mist r ess s presence

’
When .

she wished to t alk with him she would beta k e

her self to the r ooms o f some ladies wh o lived ‘

at the C o u r t amongst wh o m was o n e th at her

,

h usb an d made a show of being i n l o ve wi th .

No w one dar k eveni ng she stole away afte r

supper without taking any compan ion wi th h e r
, ,

an d r epai r ed to the apartment bel o nging to these

ladies whe r e she fo un d th e man wh o m she l o ved
,

be tter th an he r self She sat down beside him

.
,
1 64 THE HEPTAMERO N .

an d leaning upon a table they conversed to

gether while pretending to read i n the same b o o k .

So me o ne wh o m her h usband h ad set to watch

then went and reported to him whither h is wife
was go n e Being a pru dent man he said n o thing
.
, ,

but as quickly as possible betook himself to the

ro o m , where h e found his wife reading the book .

P retending h o wever, not to see h er, he went

,

st r aight to speak to th e o the r ladies who wer e ,

i n an o the r part o f the roo m B ut when hi s poo r

.

wife foun d herself disc o ver ed by h im i n the c o m

pany of a gentleman to wh om she had never
spo ken i n h i s pr esen ce, she was in s uch con
fusi o n th at she quite l o st h er wits ; an d being
un able to pass al o ng the bench she leaped upon
,

the table and fled as th o ugh her h usband we re

pu r suing h er with a d r awn sword An d then
.

sh e wen t in se arch of her mist r ess wh o was j ust

,

ab o ut to withdraw to her own apar tmen ts .

When her mistress was undressed and she ,

herself h ad retired on e of her women bro ught

,

h er word that her husband was i nqui ring fo r

h er Sh e answered plainly that she would not
.

go, for he was so h arsh an d s tran ge th at she

d r eaded lest h e should do her some h arm .

At last, however, fo r fear o f worse she con ,

sented to go H er h usband said n ot a wor d to

.

h er until they were in bed t o gether, when being

166 THE HEP TAME RO N .

men t and kn o cked at the d o o r Sh e no t i n the.

,

least expecting him go t up al o ne put o n furred

, ,

slippe r s and a d r essing-gown whi ch were lying

cl o se at h and an d finding that the th r ee or fo u r
,

w o men wh o m sh e h ad with h er we r e asleep wen t ,

fo r th fr om her r oom an d straigh t to th e d o o r at

which sh e h ad hear d th e k n o c k ing O n her .

asking Wh o i s there
,
“
sh e received i n an swe r
th e n ame o fher l o ver ; b ut to be still m o re cer tain ,
sh e opened a little wi cket, saying
I f you be th e man you say yo u are, show m e
”
y o ur h and and I sh all r ecognise i t
, .

’
An d when sh e touched her h usban d s hand she
knew who i t was and quickly sh utting the wi cket
, ,

cried out
H a , sir ! i t i s your hand .

Th e h usband replied i n gr eat wrath

Yes ; i t i s the hand that will keep faith with
y o u . D o n o t fail therefore ,
to c o me when
,
I sen d
’
fo r you .

Wi th these wo rd s he wen t away to hi s own

apart men t whilst sh e, more dead than alive went
, ,

back i nto her ro om , and c ried o u t al o ud to h er

“
servan t women Get up my friends ; yo u have
-
, ,

slept o nly to o well for me, fo r thi n k ing to t ri ck

”
you I have myself been t ri cked
,
.

With these words she swo oned away i n the

m iddle o f the ro o m The women rose at her cry
.
,
 SE CO ND DAr : TALE XV . 1 67

and were s o astonished at seeing thei r mist ress

st r etched upon the fl o o r, as well as at hea ring th e
w o r ds she h ad utte r ed th at they wer e at thei r
,
'
wits end and sough t i n h aste fo r remedies to
,

r est o r e her When she was able to speak sh e

.
,

said to them
“
Y o u see befo r e you my friends the most
, ,

unh appy c r eatu r e i n the wor ld .

And thereupon sh e went o n to tell them the

wh o le adven ture and begged of them to help her
, ,

fo r she counted her life as good as lost .

While they wer e seeking to comfo r t her a ,

valet came with o r ders th at she was to r e pai r

to her h usband i nstantly Th e r eup o n , clinging
.

to two of her women , she began to weep and

wail begging them n o t to suffer her to go fo r

, ,

sh e was sure she w o uld be killed But the valet .

assu red her to the c o ntrar y , o ffer ing to pledge

hi s life that she sh o uld r eceive no h u r t S eeing .

that she lac k ed all mean s o f r esi stan ce she at ,

’
l ast th r ew herself int o the servant s arms, and
said to him
“
S ince it may not be otherwise , you must
’ ”
e en ca rry this h apless body to its death .

Half fainting i n her dist r ess , she was then at

’
o nce b o r n e by the valet to hi s maste r s apa r t

me n t . Whe n she reached i t she fell at her ,

’
h usband s feet, and said to him
1 68 THE HEP TAME RO N .

I beseech yo u s ir, h ave pi ty o n me and I

, ,

swea r to yo u by the faith I owe to God th at l

”
wi ll tell yo u th e whole t r uth .

“ ’ ”
Fo r e Go d you shall he replied like o n e
, ,

beside himself, and fo rthwi th h e drove all th e

servan ts fro m the r o o m .

H aving always fo und his wife ve r y devout ,

h e felt su r e that she would not dar e to forswear

he r self on the H o ly Cross H e ther efore sent
.

fo r a very beautiful cruci fi x that bel o nged to him ,

an d when they were al o ne t o gethe r , he made her

swea r upon i t that she w o uld return true replies
to his questi o ns . Al r eady, h o wever she h ad ,

recovered fro m her first d r ead of death , and

taking cou r age, she resolved that i f she was to
die sh e wo uld make n o c o ncealmen t of th e t r uth ,

but at th e same time would say noth ing that

migh t i nj u r e the gentleman she l o ved Acc o r d .

in gly h aving h ear d all the question s that h er h us

,

band h ad to put to her she r eplied as fo ll o ws

,
“
I h ave n o desi r e, sir, eithe r to j ustify myself
o r to lessen to you th e l o ve th at I h ave bo r ne

to the gentleman you suspect ; for i f I did ,

you could not and you sh o uld not believe me .

Nevertheless , I desire to tell you the cause o f

th is a ffection
. Know, th en , s ir th at never did
,

wi fe l o ve h u sband more th an I l o ved you , and

that from the time I wedded yo u un til I reached
170 THE HEP TAMERO N .

s o un d understanding At my i nstance , not at

.

h is own , he h as l o ved me i n all vi rtue so that ,

n ever has h e s o ugh t fr om me augh t that h o n o ur

might r efuse And although I h ave b ut little
.

cause to love yo u an d s o migh t be abs o lved fro m

,

being l o yal an d t r ue to you my l o ve of Go d ,

and o f my hon o ur has hithert o s u ffi ced to keep

me fr om doing aught that wo uld call fo r con
fe s s io n or sh ame . I will no t deny th at I went
i nt o a cl o set as o ften as I c o uld to spe ak with
h im under p r etence of go ing thither to say my
,

p r ayers , fo r I h ave n ever t r usted the c o nduct of

thi s matter to any o n e whether man o r w o man
,
.

Fu r th er, I will n o t deny that wh en i n so secret

a place an d safe fro m all suspici o n I h ave kissed
h im with m o re g oo d will than I kiss you B ut .

as I look to Go d fo r mercy no other famili arity

,

has passed between us ; he has never u rged me

to i t n o r h as my hear t eve r desi r ed i t ; fo r I was
,

s o glad at seeing him that meth o ugh t the w o rld

c o ntained n o greater pleasu r e .

“
And no w, sir will yo u, wh o are th e s o le
,

cause o f my mis fortune ta k e vengean ce fo r con

,

duct o f which yo u h ave yo u r self l o ng since set

me an example with , indeed this di ffe r ence th at
, , ,

i n yo u r case yo u though t nough t o f either h o n o ur

o r c o n science ; f o r yo u kn o w and I kn o w too

th at th e woman you love d o es n o t rest c o nten t

 S C E O ND D AY : TALE XV . 17 1

with wh at Go d an d reas o n enj o in And albeit

.

the law of man deals great dish o n o u r to wive s

wh o love o ther men than their h usbands th e ,

law o f Go d d o es n o t exempt fro m punishmen t

the h usbands wh o love o the r w o men than thei r
wives And i f my o ffen ces ar e to be weighed
.

against yo u r s , yo u ar e m o r e to blame th an I fo r ,

yo u ar e a wise and experienced man and o f an ,

age to kn o w and to sh un evil whilst I am yo ung

,

and h ave n o expe r ien ce o f th e migh t and po we r

o f l o ve You h ave a wi fe wh o desi r es yo u,
.

h o n o u r s yo u and l o ves yo u mo r e th an her own

,

li fe ; wh ile I h ave a h usband wh o avoids me hates ,

me and rates me as lightly as h e would a se rvant

,

maid Y o u are in l o ve with a woman wh o i s

.

al r eady o ld o f mea gre figu r e and less fair than

, ,

I whilst I l o ve a gentleman yo unger hands o me r , ,

and m o r e amiable than yo u Y o u l o ve th e wi fe

.

o f o n e o f the best friends yo u h ave i n th e wo rld ,

the mist r ess mo r e o ver o f you r Ki ng an d mast e r

, , ,

so that yo u o ffend again st th e fr iendship that i s

due to th e first an d th e r espect that is d ue to the
,

sec o nd ; whe r eas I am i n l o ve with a gentleman

Wh o se o nly tie i s his love fo r me J udge then.

fai rly which of us two is th e m o r e wo rthy of

p unishment or p ard o n : you a man ,
o f wisd o m

and expe rience who thro ugh n o provocati o n on

,

my pa r t h ave acted th us ill n o t o nly towards me ,

17 2 THE HEP TAMERO N .

b ut t o wards the King to whom yo u are s o g r eatly

,

i ndebted ; o r I , wh o am y o ung and ignorant , wh o

am slighted and despised by you , and loved by
the h and somest and most wo rshipful gen tleman
i n France a gen tleman whom I h ave loved i n
,

despair of ever being loved by yo u .

When the h usband hear d her utter these

truths with so fair a c o unten ance, an d with
s uch a bold an d gr aceful assu r ance as clea rly
testified that she neith er dreaded nor deserved
any punishment , he was overcome wi th astonish
ment , an d could find nothing to reply except that
’ ’
a man s honour and a woman s we r e not the
same thing H owever since she swor e to him
.
,

that the r e had been nothing between h er self and

her l o ver b ut what sh e h ad told hi m , h e was n o t
minded to t r eat h er ill , provided sh e would act so
n o more , and that they both put away the memo ry
o f the past To thi s she agreed , and they went
.

to bed i n h armony together .

Next mo r ni ng an old damosel who was i n

great fear fo r h er m ’
istress s life came to h e r at
her r ising and asked
,
“
Well , m adam , an d how do you fare
”
I wo uld h ave yo u kn o w, said h er mistress ,
“
laughing ,
th at there i s n ot a better h usban d
”
than min e, for he believed me on my oath .

An d so five or six days passed by .

174 THE HEPTAME RON .

man n ow i n fo r med her of th e suspicion an d i ll

’
will b o r n e him by th e lady s h usband and t o ld ,

h e r that alth o ugh he was guiltless he h ad neve r

th ele s s r es o lved to go on a l o ng j ou r ney i n

o r de r to check th e rumou r s which we r e b e

,

gi nn ing gr eatly t o i n c r ease Th e Pri ncess h is

.
,
’
lady s mist r ess was much ast o ni shed o n hear ing
,

thi s tale and p ro test ed th at the h usb and was

,

m uch in th e wr o ng to suspect s o vi r tuous a wife ,

an d one i n wh o m sh e h ad ever fo und all wo r th and

h o n o ur Never theless con side ri ng the h usband s
.
,
’

auth o r i ty and in o r de r to quell these evil r epo r ts

, ,

sh e advi sed him to absent h imself fo r a time ,

assu ri ng h im th at fo r he r part she wo uld n ever

believe such foolish suspici o n s .

B o th the gentleman and the lady wh o was ,

pr esent, we r e well pleased at thus p r eserving the

favo u r and go o d O pini o n of the P r incess wh o ,

fu r the r advised th e gentleman to speak with the

h usband befo re hi s depa rt u r e H e did as he
.

was counselled and meeting wi th th e h usb an d

,
’
i n a gallery cl o se to the King s apar tment h e ,

assumed a b o ld counten ance an d sai d to hi m

,

with al l the respect due to o n e of high rank

“
All my life s ir I have desired to do yo u
, ,

service, an d my o nly rewa r d i s to hear that

last evening yo u lay i n wait to kill me I .

p r ay you , sir, reflect that while you have more

 ECO ND
S D AY : TALE XV . 17 5

authority and powe r than I h ave I am n ev erth e ,

less a gen tleman even as yo u ar e I t wo uld be .

grievo us to me to l o se my life fo r naugh t I .

p r ay yo u also r eflect that yo u have a wife o f

g r eat vi r tue and i f any man p r etend th e c o nt r a r y
,

I will tell him that he has fo ully l ied Fo r my .

pa r t I can think o f n o th ing that I h ave d o n e to

,

cause yo u to wish me ill I f ther efor e i t please

.
, ,

y o,
u I will r emain y o u r faithful servan t ; i f n o t I ,

am that o f the King and with that I may well be

,
”
c o ntent.

Th e h usban d replied that he had i n tru th

s o mewh at s uspected him but he deemed him s o
,

gallan t a man th at he would rather h ave hi s

fr iendship than h is enmity ; and bidding him
fa r ewell cap i n h and h e emb r aced him li k e a
, ,

dea r friend Y o u may i magine what was said

.

by th o se w h o, th e evening befo r e, had been

char ged to kill the gentleman when they behel d ,

such to kens of respect and fri endship And .

many and diver se were the rema r k s that each

one made .

I n this m anne r the gen tleman depa r ted an d as ,

he h ad far less m o ney th an go od l oo ks his mis ,

t r ess delive r ed to him a ri ng th at h e r h usband

had given h e r o f th e value of three th o usand
c ro wn s ; and th is he pl e dged for fifteen h und red .

So me time after h e was go ne the husband ,

1 76 THE HEPTAME RO N .

’
came to the P rincess h is wi fe s mi stress , an d
,

prayed her to gr an t his wife leave to go and

dwe ll for a while wit h one of h is sisters Th is .

th e P r incess thought ve ry strange and so begged ,

him to tell h er the r eas o n s of hi s request th at h e ,

told her part of them but not all When th e

, .

young lady had taken leave o f h er mist r ess an d

o f th e whole Court with o ut shedding any tea r s

o r showi ng the least sign of gr ief she departed ,

on h er j o u r ney to the place whither her h usband

desired h e r to go travelling under the car e o f a
,

gentleman wh o h ad bee n ch arged to guard her

closely, an d ab o ve all n ot to su ffer h er to speak
on the r o ad to her suspected lover .

Sh e kn ew o f these instruction s and every day ,

was wo nt to cause false alar ms , s c o ffing at her

custodi an s an d their lack o f car e Thus one day
.
,

on leaving her l o dging sh e fell i n wi th a Gr ey

,

F riar on horseback with whom, being herself

,

on h er palfrey sh e tal ked o n the road th e whole

,

time fro m the din ner to the supper h o ur An d .

when sh e was a quarter of a league fro m the

place where she was to lodge that night she sai d ,

to h im
H ere father are two crown s which I give
, ,

y o u for the consolati on

yo u h ave affo r ded me

this afternoon They are wr apped in paper, fo r I

.

well know th at you would not venture to t o uch

178 THE HEP TAME RO N .

they we r e H e was quite i gn orant of wh at it

.

all meant , and cried them me r cy , taking o ff h is

h o od i n o r der that h e migh t entr eat them with
bar eheaded h umili ty The r eupon they realised
.

th at h e was not th e man whom they sough t, and

th at thei r m i st r ess h ad been moc k ing them And .

this she did with even better e ffect upon their

retu r n to her .

“ “
Y o u ar e fitting fellows said she to receive
, ,

ladies in y o u r ch a r ge Y o u su ffe r them to t alk

.

to any st r ange r , and then , believing whatever

they may say yo u go and i ns ult th e mi niste r s

,
”
o f God.

After all these j ests they arrived at th e place

th at her h usb an d h ad commanded and here her ,

two si ste r s -in-law, wi th the h usband o f o ne o f

them, kept her i n g r eat subj ecti o n .

I n th e meanwhile her h usband h ad h ea r d how

hi s ring had been pledged for fifteen h und r ed
c r owns wh e r eat he was exceedingly wrathful
, ,
’
an d in o r de r to save h is wife s h onou r and to
get back the ring he bade his sisters tell her to
,

redeem i t he himself paying th e fifteen h und r ed

,

c r own s
.

S he ca r ed n ough t fo r the ring sin ce her lover

had th e money b ut sh e wrote to him sayi ng th at
,

she was c o mpelled by her h usban d to redeem it ,

a nd i n o r der that h e migh t n o t suppose she was

 S ECO ND D AY : TALE XV . 179

doing this th ro ugh any lessening of her a ffe cti o n ,

she sen t him a diam o n d wh ich h er mist r ess had

given h er , an d wh ich she liked bette r than any
r i ng sh e h ad .

The r eupon the gentleman forwar ded h e r the

’
mer ch an t s bon d right willingly ; deeming himsel f
fortunate i n havi ng fifteen h undred c r own s an d
8
a di am o n d, and at being still assu r ed o f his
’
lady s favour H owever as l o ng as the h usband
.
,

lived he h ad no mean s o f c o mmuning with her

,

save by writi ng .

Wh en the h usband died expecting to fin d he r ,

sti ll wh at she h ad promised him to be, he came

i n all h aste to ask her i n marriage but he fo und
th at hi s l o ng absence had gained him a rival wh o
was loved better than himself H is s o rro w at .

thi s was s o gr eat that he henceforth sh un ned the

c o mpan i o n ship of ladies an d s o ught o ut scenes
of dan ger, and so at last died i n as high repute
as any y o ung man could have 4 .

3 l
Th e gent e an dee ed it o nm m
nat ra th at the o ly
an he u l w m
u
h o no red wi
th h is o e s h o l v ul
d p rese n t h i th o ne I n the mwi m y
m ju
.

v
se e n teen th ce n t r s u y im il
ar o p n o ns i i
ere h e d, if o n e ay dge w l
m
b y so e passages in Da nc o urt s c o ed es , an d b y the p rese n ts
’
mi
w i u
h c h the D ch ess o f C e e and lvlm
ade t o H e n r j e r n an d o h n y my J
u ill w u l u
Ch rch , after ards D k e o f M ar b o ro gh , as ch ro n c ed in th e i l
Me mi
o rs ofthe Cou n td G mm t —M
e ra on

m mwh t i mil t l
. .

4 Bran tO e te s a ll so e a s ar a e to th s i in h is Vi es dcs
Da m
es Ga lan tes (D is
“
I knew
wr i tes l !
he two adi es o f the

C o urt s is ters-in-law to o ne ano th er o n e o fwh o m was m

. , ,

arr i ed to

a c o urti e r h i gh in favo ur an d ver y s k i lful b u t wh o did n o t m

, ,

a ke ,
,
1 80 THE HEP TAMERO N .

In this tale ladies I have tr ied w ith o ut sparing

, , ,

o u r o wn sex to sh o w husbands that wive s o f spi r it

,

yield rather to vengeful wrath than to the sweet

ness o f l ove The lady o f wh o m I have t old yo u
.

withst o o d the latter fo r a great while but in the end

succu m
,

b e d to despai r Nevertheless no w o man o f .

,

vi rtue sh o uld yi eld as she did fo r happen what , ,

may n o excuse can be fo und fo r d o ing wr ong

,
.

Th e greater the t emptati o ns the m o re vi rtu o us ,

sh o uld o ne sh ow o neself by resisting and over ,

c o ming evil w ith go o d instead of returning evil fo r ,

evil ; and this all the m o re because the evil we

thin k to do to an o ther o ften rec o ils up o n ourselve s .

Happy are th ose wo m e n wh o display the heavenly

vi rtues o f chastity gentleness m ee k n ess and l o ng

, , ,

”
su ffering .

“ “
I t seems to me Longarine said Hi rean that
the lady o f wh o m yo u have sp o k en was i m
, , ,

p elled by
r esent m ent rath er than by love ; fo r had she l oved
the gentleman as greatly as sh e appeared to do she ,

as mu h c u
ac c o n t o f h is wife as b irth h e sh o ul d
b y re aso n o f h er

h ave do ne , fo r h e s po ke to h e r in p ub li c as h e i gh t h ave s o k e n m
m
p
to a sa vage , an d trea te d h er o s t h ars h ly Sh e p at i e n tly en dured
m m m
.

th i s fo r so e ti e , un ti l i n dee d h er h usb an d l o st so e o f h is

c re di t, w h e n w atc hi n g fo r an d tak i n g th e o
p po r tun i ty , sh e q ui c k ly
m
,

re pai d h i fo r all th e dis da i n that h e had sh o wn h er An d h e r

m
.

s i s te r-in -law i i tated her and did li ke wi se ; for havi ng b ee n

m arr ed i when o f a yo ung and te n der age her h usb and made n o
m
,

ore acc o unt o f h e r than if sh e h ad b ee n a li ttle gi r l Bu t

ee li n g h er h eart b eat an d b ec o m
.

s h e advan c i n g in years f i ng eo n
pai d him b ac k in th e sam e c o i n an d m
, ,

sc i o us o f h er b eau ty ade

h ima prese n t o f a fine pai r o f h o rn s b y way o f i nter es t for the

, ,

p as t.
!
—
L l a an n e s
'
G u vr es dc Br anto m
,

e, v o l. ix p. . 15 7. —L .
 THE HEP TAME RO N .

”
Since I am to do what I can said
,

I will tell yo u a tale o f s o mething that

in the city o f Milan.

”
1 84 THE H EP TAMERO N .

hear speak o f an o the r marri age And s o dis

.

e r ectly and pi o usly did sh e demean he r self that

th e r e was n o ne i n the D uchy whether French
,

o r I talian but held h e r i n high esteem

, .

O ne day wh en h er b r others and si sters -in -law

o ff e r e d an entert ai nmen t to the Grand M aster of
Chaumont this wid o w lady was o bliged to be
,

p r esent, th o ugh she made i t h e r r ule n o t to atten d

such gather ings when held i n other places An d .

when the Fr ench men saw h er, th ey were all

admi r ation fo r her beauty and gr ace , especi ally
o n e am o ng them wh o se name I sh all n o t mention ;

fo r it will su ffi ce fo r yo u to kn o w that the r e was

n o Fr enchman i n I taly m o r e worthy of l o ve than

h e for he was end o wed with all the beauties and

,

gr aces th at a gen tleman c o uld h ave An d though

.

he saw th at the lady wo r e black c r ape , an d r e

mained with seve r al o ld w o men i n a corner apar t
fro m the yo ung ones yet h av ing never kn o wn
, ,

wh at i t was to fear eithe r man o r wo man he set ,

himself to c o nver se with her taking o ff h is mask ,

,

and leaving the dance i n order to remai n i n h er

company .

Through o ut the wh o le of the evening h e di d not

cease talking to her an d to th e o ld w o men , and
fo un d mo r e pl e asu r e i n d o ing so th an if he had
been with the m o st yo uth ful and b r avely atti r ed
ladies o f the C o u r t
. So much , indeed , was thi s
 E CO ND
S D AY : TALE XVI . 18 5

the case that wh en the h o ur came to wi thd r aw

,

h e seemed to h ave n o t yet had time even to si t

d o wn An d al though he o nly spo k e to the lady
.

on such c o mm o n matte r s as we r e suit e d to such

c o mpany she k new ve r y well that he desi red to
,

win her fav o u r an d this she r es o lved to guar d

,

against by all means in her p o wer s o that h e ,

w as n eve r afte rwards able to see her at any

banquet o r assembly .

H e in qui r ed about th e manner of her li fe an d ,

found that she often wen t to ch u r ches an d c o n

ven ts ; wh e r eu pon he kept such good watch th at
she c o uld neve r vi si t them so secr etly but he was
the r e befo re her An d he wo uld r emai n in the
.

ch u r ch as l o ng as he h ad the happiness to see

h er an d all th e time that sh e was p resent wo uld
,

gaze at h e r so affecti o nately th at she c o uld n o t

r e main in igno r ance o f the l o ve he b o r e h e r In .

o r de r to av o id him she r es o lved to feign illness

,

fo r a time an d to hea r mass in h e r o wn h o use ;

,

and at this the gentleman was most s o r ely gr ieved ,

for h e had no other mean s o f seeing her th an

at ch u r ch .

T hin k ing th at she h ad cu r ed hi m o f h i s habit ,

she at last r eturned to the ch u r ches as b e fo r e ,

but l o ve quickly b ro ugh t tidings of this to th e

Fr ench gentleman wh o then r enewed his habits
,

of devotion He fea r ed , h o wever that she might

.
,
 THE HEPTAMERO N .

again thro w some hind r ance i n hi s way and th at ,

he migh t n o t have time to tell h e r what h e wo uld

and so one morn ing when sh e though t he r self ,

well c o ncealed i n a chapel he placed himself at ,

th e end o f the altar at whic h sh e was hea ring

mass ; and seein g that sh e was but scantily at
tended h e turn ed t o wards her j ust as the p r iest
,

was elevatin g the host , and i n a s o ft an d loving

vo ice said to her
“
M ay I be sent to perdi tion , m adam , by H im
wh o m the p r iest has no w i n hi s h ands if yo u are ,

not causing my death Though yo u take fro m .

me all means of speaking wit h yo u , yo u can n o t

be ign o r an t o f my desi r e ; my wearied eyes and
my deathly face must make th e t r uth appa r ent
” 3
to yo u .

Th e lady p retended n o t to understan d him , an d

replied
’
God s n ame should n o t thus be ta k en i n vain ;
b u t th e p o ets say that the go ds laugh at the o aths
and lies o f l o vers and s o wome n who regar d
,

3 The Qu ee n of Navarre is k n own to ha ve had a i der

c o ns

l k nowle dge o f the I tali an la ngua ge an d it is th erefo re

ab e , q ui te
po ss i b l e th at sh e was ac q ua i n te d wi th th e s tory o f Po liph i lus
an d Po li a w h i c h al th o u gh n o Fre n c h transl ati o n o f it ap peare d
, ,

until 1 5 5 4 h ad b een i ss ue d at Ve n i c e as ear ly as 1499 I n any

h o we ve r the re is a c ur i o us s i m
.
,

c ase ilar i ty b e tween th e spee c h

o f th e Fre n c h ge ntl em
, ,

an give n ab o ve an d th e d i sc o urse w h i c h

Po liph ilus addresse s to Po l i a w h e n h e fi n ds h e r sayi ng h e r p r ayers

in th e te m p le A c o ns i derab l e po rt i o n o f th e I tali an s to ry is in
keep i ng wi th th e c harac ter o f the H eptam er on tal es —M
.

.
I 88 THE HEP TAM E RO N .

H owever being as skilful as h e was hand

,

s o me h e cont r ived the matter s o p r udently that

,
’
h e was able to en te r th e lady s r oo m at the
h o ur wh ich sh e h ad appo in ted and fo und her ,

the r e all al o ne lying i n a beautiful bed ; b ut as

,

h e was b as tin g to put o ff hi s cl o thes i n o r der

to j o i n her he hear d a great whispe ring at the
,

d o or and a noi se of swords scraping agai nst the

,

wall .

Th en th e wi dow said to him with th e face of ,

o n e nigh to death

No w i s y o u r life and my h o n o u r i n as gr eat

dange r as well can b e, fo r I hea r my b ro th e r s
o utsid e seeking yo u to slay yo u I p r ay yo u .
,

the r efo r e hide y o u r self und e r thi s bed and when

, ,

they fail to find you I sh all h ave r eas o n to be

angr y with them fo r alarming me with o ut j ust
’
c au s e f

Th e gentleman who had never yet kn o wn,

fear r eplied
,
“
An d wh at p r ay ar e y o ur brothers th at they
, ,

sh o uld frighten a man of mettle ? I f th e wh o le

b r eed o f them were the r e t o gether I am sure .
,

they wo uld n o t tarry fo r the fo ur th th r ust o f my

swo r d Do yo u the r efo r e, rest quietly i n bed ,
.
,
”
and leave the guar ding of th is d o o r to me .

T hen he wr apped h is cl o ak ab o ut his ar m ,

t o o k his d r awn swo r d i n his h and , and o p en e d

 S E CO ND D A Y : TALE XVI . 1 89

the do o r s o that he migh t have a clo se r view o f

the swo r ds th at he had heard When the d oo r
.

was o pened , he saw two serving wo men , who -

,

h o lding a swo rd in each hand had r aised thi s,

alarm .

“
Sir
” “
they said to him, fo r give us
, We .

were c o mmanded by o u r mist r ess to act in this

man n er, but you sh al l be hindered by us no
”
m o re .

S eeing th at they we r e w o men the gentleman ,

c o uld do n o m o re than bid them go to the devil

m
,

an d shut the do o r i n thei r faces T hen he go t .

i nt o bed to the lady with all i agi nable spe e d ,

h is passion fo r her being i n n o wi se diminished

by fea r ; an d fo rgetting to inqui r e the r eas o n o f
thi s ski r mish , h e th o ught o nly o f satisfying hi s
desi r e .

B ut when daybreak was drawing nigh he ,

begged hi s mi st r e ss to tell him why sh e had

t r eated him s o ill both in ma k ing him wait s o
,

l o n g, and in having played this last trick upon

him .

“
My intenti o n she answe r ed laughing had
, , ,

been neve r to l o ve again , and I h ad o bserved i t

fro m the time I became a wid o w ; but afte r yo u ,

had spo k en to me at the ente r tai nment y o ur ,

wo rth led me to change my r es o lve and to l ove ,

you as much as yo u l o ved me I t is t r ue that.

1 90 THE HEP TAMERO N .

honour, which had ever guided me, w o uld not

su ffe r me to be led by l o ve to do aught to th e
dispar agemen t o f my reputati o n B ut as the
.

poo r h in d wh en wounded un to death thin k s by

ch ange of place to change the pai n it carr ies wi th
it so did I go fro m church to ch u r ch thin k i ng to
,

flee fr om him wh o m I carr i ed i n my hear t and ,

the p ro o fo f wh o se pe r fect devoti o n h as r eco nciled

honour and love H oweve r that I migh t be the
.
,

more certain that I was giving my hea r t and love

to a true man I desi r ed to make thi s last p r o of
,

by mean s o f my se r ving-women An d I vow to.

yo u that had I fo u nd you so timor o us as to hide

beneath my bed either fo r fear of you r life o r
,

fo r any othe r reas o n , I was resolved to ri se and

go in to another r oom and n eve r see you mo r e .

B ut since I have fo und th at you are possessed o f

mo r e beauty, and g r ace , and vi r tue an d valour ,

than rumour h ad given you and th at fear h as n o

,

power over you r h eart , nor can cool one wh it the

love you hear me, I am r esolved to cleave to you
for the remainde r of my days I feel sure tha t I
.

could not place li fe and h onou r in better hands

th an those of o n e wh omI deem unmatched i n
”
eve ry vi r tue.

An d j ust as though the h uman will could be

,

unchangeable, they v o wed and p ro mised what

was no t i n their power, n amely, perpetual affe c
1 92 THE HEPTAMERO N .

as discreet and as vi rtu o us as the ladies w h o m yo u so

l o ng pu rsued in yo u r yo uth But o ld fo l k are c o m .

m o uly vai n en o ugh to thin k that th ey have b e en w iser

in their time than th o se who c o me after them ”

Well No m
.

“ ” “
, e rfide said G eb uron
,
w ill yo u b e ,

li eve that I have t o ld yo u the t ruth w hen the faith

lessness o fo n e o fyo u r l overs has made yo u acquaint e d
with the evil natur e o f men ?
“ ” “
I t seems to me said Oisille to G eb uro n that
, ,

th e gentl e man wh o m you p raise so highly fo r his

b o ldness o ught rather to be p raised fo r the ard o u r

o f his l ove So str o ng is this passi o n that it imp e ls
.
,

the m ost c o war dly to embark o n ente rp rises about

”
which the b ravest w o uld thin k t w ice .

“ ” “
If madam said Saffreden t he had n o t deemed
, , ,

the I talians to be better at talk ing than acting me ,

”
thin ks he had reas o n to be afraid .

“ ” “
Yes sai d Oisille if he had n o t had in his hea r t
, ,
”
the fire that c o nsumes fear .

Since yo u do n o t deem the b o ldne ss o f this

gentl e man alt ogethe r w o rthy o f p raise said Hi re an , ,

yo u d o ubtless k n o w o fs o me o n e else m o re deserving

”
o f c o mmendati o n .

“
Nay sai d Oisille
”
the gentleman in the st o ry
deserves p raise but I do k n o w o f o ne who is m
, ,

, o re

wo rthy of being admi re d .

”

“ “
I p ray yo u madam said Geb uro n if that b e
, , ,
”
s o ta k e my place and tell us the tale
,
.

”
If began Oisille a man who sh o w ed such b o ld
, ,

ness against the Mi lanese to save his o wn life and

 E CO ND
S D AY : TALE XVI . 193

his mistress s h o n o ur is to b e este emed so very b rave

’
,

w hat shall b e said o f o ne who w ith o ut any nee d for

,

it and fro m p u re and simple val o ur perfo rmed the

, ,

deed o f w hich I tell yo u P

Da v I I TALE XVI I .
 TA L E X VI I .

K i ng Fr anc is bei ng u rged to ban ish Cou n t Willia , who w as sa id m

m
,

to ha v e r ecei v ed o ney to br i ng a bo u t his death , di d no t s ufer

m
i t to appea r tha t he had a ny i n hling qf the sc he e , b u t p layed
m
the Co u n t so sh r ewd a tr i c k th a t he h i self tooh leav e qf the
K i ng a n d wen t in to ban ish e n t 1 m .

To th e t o wn o f D ij on i n the D uchy Of B u r gundy,

,

the r e came a Ge r man Count to take service with

King Fran cis H e was named William and was

.
2
,

of the H o use o f Saxo ny which i s s o cl o sely allied

,

with that o f S avo y th at fo r me r ly they we r e but

o ne . This C o unt wh o was held fo r as hands o me
,

1 Th e i n c i de nts o f th is sto ry are h i stor i cal Franc i s I is k no wn

to h ave so j o um
.

ed at D ij o n in Jun e an d July 1 5 2 1 —L
.

3 T hi s is W i lli a m e l d rs te m
. .

es t so n o f W o l f an
g g v o n Fu b e rg

Ch am b e r lai n to Maxi m
, .

ilian I and pr ivy c o un se ll or to Ph ili p o f

Aus tr i a — Var i o us parti c ulars c o ncer n i ng h i mare given in
. ,

B J
th e Ap pe n dix to th i s vo lu m
. .

, e E .
1 96 THE HEPTAMERO N .

and valian t a gentleman as Ge r many eve r k new,

was r ight well r eceived by the King wh o not ,

o nly too k h im i nto his servi ce b ut kept h im close ,

to h imself as a gr oom of the chamber .

No w the Lo r d de la Tr ém o ille
3
G o vernor of ,

B u rgundy, an old knigh t and a l oyal servan t to

the King was ever jealous an d anxi o us fo r h is
,
’
m aste r s safety an d was w o nt to h ave spies at all ,

3Th i s is Lo ui s Si re de la T ré o ille , Vi sc o un t o f Th o uars m

and Pr in ce o f T al o n t , b o rn in 1 460 m
Th e so n o f Lo uis I de la
m m m
. .

T ré o ille an d o f Mar gare t d A b o ise , h e b e ca e o ne o f th e

’

m m
o s t re ar kab l e e n o fh is ti e m m
Favo ure d b y An ne de Beauj e u ,
m m
.

wh o arran ge d h is arr i age wi th G ab rie ll e de Bo urb o n , h e c o

m d d th
an e e ro yal le o f St A ub i n du Corrnier
tr oo p s at th e b att .
,

in B r i ttan y at wh i c h th e reb e lli o us D uk e o f O rl ean s (afte r

war ds Lo ui s XI I ) and th e Pri n c e o f Orange wi th a lar ge n um b er
th e i r part isan s were m
.
,

o f th e n o b l es ade p r i s o n e rs T h e y w ere
a ll i n vi te d to La T r é m te r th e e ngage m
, , .

o ille s tab l e af
'
ent an d , ,

ro i s Lati n h i s tor y o f Lo ui s XI I at th e c l o se o f
'
ac c o rdi n g to G o de f

th e re p as t two Fran c i scan m

.,

o n k s e n ter e d th e h al l wh er eu po n La

T ré m Pr i nc es I r efer y o ur judgm
,

o ille ro se an d sa i d : e n ts to the,

K i ng b ut as for yo u K n i gh ts w h o h ave b ro ken y o ur fai th and

fals i fi e d y o ur k n i gh tly o ath yo u sh all pa y fo r y o ur cr i m
, , ,

e wi th

y o ur h eads I f yo u h ave any rem

,

orse o n y o ur c o n sc i e n ce s h ere

are m T h e b all re so unded wi th lam

.
,

o n ks wh o will sh r ive yo u
”
en

tatio n s b ut th e u n hap p y n o b l es w e r e p ro m
.

, p tly dragge d i n to th e
c o urty ard an d there p ut to death b o th Or l ean s an d O ran ge b e i ng
t oo terro r stri c k en to i n terc e de fo r th e m Wh e n th e fo rm er c am
,

- e to

th e thr o ne h e forgav e La T ré m
.

o ille for h is c o n du c t in th i s a f fai r

an d sh o w ed h imgre at favo ur appo i n ti ng h im
, ,

G o v erno r o f Bur
La T ré m o ille a lso b e cam e A dm
,

gu n dy in 1 5 0 1 . i ral o f G ui enne
an d B ri ttan y an d fi gured c o n sp i c uo us ly in th e var i o us I tal i an

c am
,

p ai gn s o f th e pe r i o d H e was k ille d at Pav i a in 1 5 2 5 J ean

Bo uc het a c o ntem po rary w ro te a c ur i o us life o f th i s re m
. .

ar kab l e

man enti tled P anegyr i c du Chev alier sans repr oche I t will b e
, ,

.
,

fo und in M i ch au d and Po uj oulat s Collec tion de t oi r es

’
.

L . an d ED .
198 THE HE PTAME RO N .

his sole weapon b uckled on th e finest swo r d i t

,

wer e po ssible to see and took C o unt William ,

along with him , desi r i ng that h e w o uld fo ll o w

him close After h unting th e stag fo r some time

.
,

seeing th at all h i s pe o ple save the Count we r e

far o ff h e tu r ned out o f all the ro ads an d trac k s
, ,

ti ll h e foun d h imself alo ne wi th th e C o unt i n th e

5
deepest par t o f th e for est when , d r awing hi s ,

sw or d , he said
“
Thin k yo u th at th is swo r d be h an ds o me and
t r usty
Th e C o unt t o o k it by th e poi nt an d an swe r ed ,

th at h e h ad neve r seen o n e th at h e liked better .

“ ”
Y o u are r ight said th e K ing ; and I thin k
,

th at i f a gen tleman h ad r esolved to slay me h e

, ,

w o uld th in k t wi ce befor e h e attacked me i f h e

knew th e st r ength of my armthe st o utness o f my ,

h ear t and th e excellence of th is sword Yet, fo r

, .

all that I should coun t hi m but a c r aven scoun drel

,

if when we were face to face and alone h e d urst

, ,
”
not execute wh at he h ad dared to under ta k e .

S i r e , replied Count Willi am wi th ast o nished

”
,

“
countenance the wic k edness of the under taking
,

would be ve ry great b ut th e fo lly o f seeking to

,

execute i t would be no less .

Th e King laughed sheathed h i s swo r d again

, ,

5 This my b i fo res t o fA rgi lly o r that o f Mo ndrago n

e e th e r th e

b o th in the vi c i n i ty o fD ij o n —
a ,

ED
. .
 SE CO ND D AY : TALE XVI I . 1 99

and hear ing the h unt h ard by spu rr ed after i t ,

with all speed When he r eached hi s t rai n he.

spoke to none o f what h ad passed but he felt ,

c o nvinced that , alth ough Count William was as

b r ave and ready a gentleman as might be he was
not the m
,

an to ca rr y o ut so high an enter p r i se .

H oweve r C o unt Willi am fea r in g th at he h ad

, ,

been di scove r ed o r was at least suspected r e ,

paired the next m or ning to R o b erte t Sec r eta ry ,

’
6
fo r th e Ki ng s Fi nances and told him th at he ,

3 l im
This is F o r o nd R o b erte t the fi rs t o f th at f am ily o f states
m e n wh o se rved th e Fre nc h c ro wn fro mC h ar l es V I I I
,

to H enr i
I t was Ch ar l es V I I I wh o ap po i n ted Fl o ri m
.

III . .o n d T reas urer o f

France an d Sec re tary o f Fi nances o ffi ces in wh i ch h e di sp layed

wh o c o n fir m e d hi min h is
,

great s k i ll and h o nes ty Lo uis XI I

fu nc t i o n s h ab i tua lly c o ns ul ted h imo n i m
.

, po tan t po li ti ca l af fai rs r .

H e ac q ui re d c o ns i derab l e wealth an d was o fte n call ed the great ,

afte r the b aro n y o f Alluye wh i ch he p o ssesse d in Le

!
b aro n , ,

Perc he One o f the c ur i os i ties o f Blo i s is th e H Otel d Alluye a '

h o use o fse m
. , .

i Moo r i sh style ere c ted b y R ob ertet at th e c l o se o fth e

-
,

fi ftee nth ce n tu ry An o ther o f his res i den ces was the c hateau o f
Bur y n ear Blo i s where h e se t up M i c h ae l An ge lo s fam
.

o us b ro n ze
'

p rese n ted to himb y th e c i ty o f Flore n ce an d

, ,

s tatue o f Davi d

th e fate o f w h i ch has furn i sh e d m ate r i al fo r so m

, ,

u c h s pe c ulati o n
U n der Franc is I Rob erte t e nj o ye d th e sam
.

. e c re d i t as duri ng th e

two p re vi o us re i gns Fleuran ges dec l ares that no o ne e lse was so

i n ti m ate wi th th e K i ng an d c o m mends himas b e i ng the most
.

e x peri e n ce d and co m pe te n t s ta tes m an o f th e t i m

,

es Ac co rdi n g to .

th e J ou r na l d u n Bou rgeo is de P a r is R o b e rte t di ed at th e Pala is

'

(de J us ti ce ) in Pari s o fwh i c h he was co n c i erge o n No ve m

,

b er 2 9
Fran c i s re pe atedly vi s i ted him
, , ,

152 7 duri ng h is i llness and o n h is

dea th o rdered that h is re m
. , ,

ai ns sh o uld lie in State an d b e i nterred

wi th great po m p and cere m C le m

, ,

o ny en t M aro i s wo r ks co n tain
'

a po e mfo ur h un dre d li nes in l e ngt h ce l eb rati ng Ro b e rtet s virtues

.

and tal en ts —
, ,

L B J and E D
. . , . . , .
2 00 THE HEPTAMERON .

h ad consider ed the p r ivileges and pay o ffered him

’
to continue in the King s se r vice an d that they,

would n o t s u ffi ce to supp o rt him fo r h al f the

yea r Unles s the r efo r e i t pleased the Ki ng to give
.

him double h e would be fo r ced to depar t ; and h e

,

acco r dingly begged the said R o b e rte t to acquai nt

h im as so o n as migh t be wi th th e wi ll o f the
King To this the S ecretar y r epli ed that he
.

c o uld not bette r advance the b usiness than by

go ing to the King st r aightway ; an d h e unde r
t o o k the mission righ t willi ngly, fo r he h ad
seen the warnings th at th e Gover n or h ad r e
c e iv e d.

As soon , the r efo r e as the King was awake he

,

failed n o t to lay the matte r befo r e him in the

p r esen ce of the Lo rd de la Trém o ille and th e

Admiral de Bo n n iv et wh o wer e igno r ant o f the

,

t r i ck that th e King had played the C o unt th e day

befo r e .

T hen the K i ng laughed an d sai d to them

,

Y o u desi r ed to banish C o unt William and ,

y o u see h e i s bani shing himself W. he r efo r e tell ,

h im that if h e be n o t c o nten t wi th the establish

ment which h e accepted o n ente ring my servi ce,
and which many men of good families have
deemed themse lves fo r tun ate to h ave h e must ,
’
e en seek a better fo rt une elsewhe r e For my .

par t , I will i n no wi se h in de r him b ut shal l be

,
2 02 THE HEPTAMERON .

on an equal fo o ting w ith one wh o mb e suspected to

be his enemy and this that he might have the satis
facti o n o f t esting the st o utness and valou r of his o wn
”
heart .

“
With o ut a d o ubt said P arlamente he was in
,
“
,

the right ; fo r all the p raise of man canno t so w ell

satisfy a n o bl e heart as its o wn particular k n o w ledge
and experience o f the vi rtues that God has placed
”
in i t .

“
Th e ancients ,
said Geb uro n l o ng ago sh o w ed ,

us that to reach the Templ e o f Fam e it was nec essary

to pass thr o ugh the T emple o fV i rtue and I wh o am , ,

acquainted w it h the two perso ns in yo u r tale k n o w ,

right well that th e K ing is indeed one o f the m o st

valiant men in his k ingd o m .

”

“
By my wo rd said H i rean at the time wh e n
”
, ,

Count William came to France I sh o uld have fea red ,

his !the King s] swo r d m o re than th o se o f the fo ur

’

”
most acc o mplish e d I talian gentlemen at C o u rt .

“
We well k n ow said Ennasuite that he is to o
,
“
,

famous fo r o ur p raises to equal his merit and t hat the ,

day wo uld be sp e nt befo re we each could say all the

good we thin k o f him And so ma dam I p ray yo u
.
, , ,

give yo u r vo te to o n e who will tell us s o me fu rther

goo d o f men if such there be
, .
”

T hen said Oisille to Hi rean

It seems to me that as yo u are so wont to speak
,

ill o f women yo u will fi nd it easy to tell us so me go o d

,

st o ry in p raise o f a man I therefo re give you my

.

vote .
 SECO ND D AY : TALE XVI I .

” “
That can I do, said Hi rean fo r but a
,

little while since I w as t o ld a sto ry in p raise o f a

ge ntlem an wh o se l ove c o nstancy and pati ence are
so me rito ri o us that I m
,

ust n o t su fier th e m to be
'

”
fo rgo tten
.
Dav I I 1 Ta u : XVI I I .
 TA L E X VI I I .

A you ng stu den t f noble

o bi r th , bei ng s mitt en with lov efor a very

bea u tifu l la dy, s u bdued b oth lov e an d hi mlfse in or der to

ac h ieve h is en d, a n d th is i n pi te of
s my
an s uc h tempt a tion s a s

might h a v e su fi ced to mk
a e hi mb r ea k h is p ro mi se. A nd so

a ll h is woes wer e tu r ned to j oy by a rewar d s u itab le to his

c on stan t, pa tien t , loya l an d perfec t lov e 1 .

IN o ne of
th e go odly town s of the kingd o m of
Fr ance there dwelt a n o bleman of goo d birth ,
who attended th e sch ools th at h e might learn
ho w virt ue and h o nour ar e to be acquired among
vi r tuous men B ut alth o ugh h e was s o aecom
.

p lis h e d that at the age o f seventeen o r eighteen

years h e was as i t we r e b o th p r ecept an d

, ,

1 Th i s s tor y m
b e b ase d o n fac t, b e n g c o rro b o rated in
see s to i
its mi li nes b y B m
ran to e , b u t th e re is n o th n g in the narrat e i iv
—
an

to ad mi
t o fth e perso n ages re ferred to b e ng ide n tified i
ED .

zo s
2 06 THE HEP TAME RO N .

example to other s Lo ve failed not to add hi s

,

lesson to the r est ; and , that he migh t be the

better hear kened to an d r eceived c o ncealed him ,

self in the face and the eyes of the fai r est lady
i n the wh o le coun t ry r o und wh o had come to
,

th e city i n o r de r to advance a suit -at-law B ut .

before Love sought to vanquish th e gentleman

’
by mean s o f th i s lady s beauty h e h ad fi r st wo n
,

h e r h eart by letting h er see th e pe r fe ction s o f this

young l o r d ; fo r i n go od looks grace sense and
, ,

excellen ce o f speech he was su r passed by n o ne .

Y o u wh o kn o w wh at speedy way is made by

,

th e fire of love when on ce it fasten s on th e hear t

an d fancy, will readily imagine th at between two
subj ects so perfect as these i t knew little pause
until i t had them at its will , an d h ad so filled
them with its clea r light that th o ught wish and
speech we r e all afl am
, ,

e wit h it Yo uth begetting

.
,

fea r i n th e y o ung l or d led him to u rge his sui t

,

with all the gentleness i maginable ; b ut she,

being conque r ed by love h ad no n eed of force
,

to win h er Neve r th eless shame wh ich ta rr ies

.
, ,

with ladies as l o ng as i t can , fo r some time r e

strai ned her fr om declar ing her mind B ut at .

’ ’
last the heart s fortress, which i s honour s ab o de ,
was sh attered i n such s o r t that the p o o r lady
con sented to that which sh e had never been
minded to refuse .
2 08 THE HEPTAMERON .

The lady was I think more astoni shed than

, ,

ple ased by such vi r tue ; an d giving n o heed to the

h o nour, patience an d faithfulness h e r lover had
sh o wn in the k eeping o f hi s o ath she for thwi th ,

suspected that h is love was not s o gr eat as she

had though t or else that h e h ad fo un d h er less
,

pleasing than he h ad expected .

Sh e the r efo r e res o lved , befo r e keeping her pro

mise, to make a fu r ther t ri al o f the l o ve he bo r e
h er ; an d to th is end sh e begged h im to talk to
a gi r l in her servi ce wh o was younger th an h e r ,

self and ve r y beautiful bidding him make love ,

speech es to h er , so th at th o se wh o saw h im
c o me so o ften to th e house might think that i t
was fo r th e s ake o f this damsel and no t o f
herself .

The young l o r d feeling su r e that h is o wn ,

l o ve was r eturn ed i n equal measu r e was wholly ,

o bedien t to h e r commands an d fo r lo v e of her ,

c o mpelled himself to make love to the gi r l ; and

sh e, fin ding him so h andsome and well -spo ken ,

believed hi s lies mo r e than other t r uth an d l o ved ,

in a s tate o f e cs tas y te mpt i i

who le n i ght
at o n an d c o n t ne n c e the

h imth at so m e ti m
,

l o ng ; wh ereat she was so we ll p l ease d wi th e

afterw ards sh e c o n se n te d to b e c o m e h is m i stress gi v i ng as her ,

reaso n th at sh e h ad wi sh ed t o p r o ve h is l o ve b y h is o b e di e nce to

h er i nj un c ti o n s ; an d o n th i s ac co un t sh e afterw ards l o ve d h imthe

more for she fel t sure that he was c apab le o f e ven a greater feat
tha n th i s th o ugh it w ere a ver y gre at o ne —
,
'
Lalann e s (E ur r es de /

Br an tom
.
,

e vo l ix pp 6 7
‘

. . .
-L . .
, ,
 SE COND DAT : TAL E XVI II .
9
00

him as much as though she he r self we r e gr eatly

l o ved by him .

Th e mist res s fi nding that matte r s we r e thus

well advanced , albeit the y o un g l o r d did not cease
to clai m her p r omise granted him pe rmission to
,

come and see her at o n e h o u r after midnight ,

sayi ng that after having s o fully tested the l ove

an d obedience h e had sh o wn t o wa r ds h er , i t was
but j ust th at h e should be r ewarded fo r hi s long
’
patience O f the lover s j oy on hear ing this you
.

need have no d o ubt , and h e failed n ot to arr ive

at the appoin ted time .

B ut the lady still wish ing to try the st r ength

,

o f hi s l o ve , had sai d to her beau ti ful damsel

“
I am well aware of the lo ve a ce r tain noble
man bear s to you and I thin k you are no less i n
,

l o ve with him ; and I feel so much pity for yo u

both , that I have resolved to a ffor d you time and
place that you may converse t o gethe r at y o ur
H
ease .

The damsel was so enchanted that she could

no t conceal her longings , b ut answered that she

would not fail to be present .

’
I n obedience therefo r e, to he r mist r ess s counsel
,

and c o mmand , she undressed herself an d lay down

o n a h andsome bed in a roo m the do or of which
,

the lady left h alf-o pen whilst within she set a

,
’
light so that the maiden s beauty migh t be clear ly
n .
o
2 10 THE HEP TAMERO N .

seen Then sh e he r self p r etended to go away

.
,

b ut h id he r self nea r to th e bed so car efully that

she could n o t be seen .

H er poo r love r , thin king to find her according

to he r p r omise, failed not to ente r the r oom as

softly as he could at th e app o inted h ou r ; and

,

afte r h e h ad sh ut th e doo r an d put o ff his gar

ments an d fur shoes h e got into the bed wher e
, ,

he l o o ked to find What he desi r ed B ut n o s o oner

.

did h e put out hi s arm s to emb r ace her whom he

believed to be hi s mist r ess , than the po or gi r l
m
,

believi ng him entir ely her own had her ar s

,

roun d hi s neck speaking to him the while in such

,

loving wo r ds and with so beautiful a c o untenance ,

that the r e i s not a hermit so holy but he w o uld

h ave fo r go tten his beads for l o ve of h er.

B ut when the gentleman r ecogni sed her with

b o th eye and ear, and foun d he was not with her
fo r wh o se sake h e h ad so greatly suffe r ed , the love
that had made h im get s o quickly int o the bed ,
made him r i se fr o m i t still m o r e quic k ly An d i n
.

anger equally with mistress an d damsel h e said

,

Neither your fo lly nor th e malice of he r who

put yo u there can make me other than I am .

B ut do you try to be an honest w o man fo r you ,

”
sh al l neve r l o se th at good n ame th r ough me .

So saying he r ushed o u t of the r o o m i n the

greatest w r ath imaginable and i t was l o ng befo re
,
2 12 THE HEPTAMERO N
‘
.

I p ray yo u ladies fi nd me if you can a woman

, ,

wh o has eve r sho wn h e rself as c o nstant patient and ,

t rue as was this man They wh o have experienced the

.

li k e temptati o ns deem th ose in the pictu res o f Saint

Ant o ny very small in c o mpariso n fo r o ne who can
re m ain chaste and patient in spit e o f beauty l ove , ,

o pp o rtunity and l e isu re w ill have vi rtue e nough to

,
”
vanquish every devil .

“
Tis a pity said Oisille that he did n o t add ress
’ ”

his l ove to a wo m
, ,

an possessing as much vi rtue as

he p o ssessed himsel f Thei r am o u r w o uld then have
.

been the m ost perfect and h o n o urabl e that was eve r

”
h e a rd o f .

“
But p rithee t ell me said G eb uro n which o f
, ,

th e two t rials do yo u d e em the ha rde r ?

”

“ “
I thin k the last said Parlament e fo r resent
men t is the stro ngest o f all t em
,

ptati o ns .

Lo ngarine said she th o ught that the fi rst was the

m o st ardu o us to sustain sinc e to k eep his p ro mise ,

it w as needful he sh o uld subdue both love and

himself .

“ ”
I t is all ve ry well fo r yo u to tal k said Sim on ,

“
tault ,
it is fo r us who k n ow the t ruth o f the matter
to say w hat we thin k o f it Fo r my o wn part I thin k .
,

he w as stupid the first time and w itless the second ;

ex trem e di ffi c ul ty to p as s o ver w h o l e n i gh ts w h ere a m an h as all

,

th e co n ve n i e n ce an d li b e r ty h e c an des i re wi th a l o n g co ve te d -

mi stress and yet b e just to h is fai th fi rst gi ven to sati sfy h i mse lf
,

wi th k i sse s and i nnocent em

,

b race s o n ly wi th o u t p ressi n g any

fur th er —
,

Co tto n s M on ta igne s E ssays Lo ndo n 1 7 43 vo l ii

! ' '

—
. , , , . .

pp . 1 09 10 .
 SE COND o m f
. TALE XVI I I .

fo r I mak e no d o ubt that while he was k eeping his ,

p ro mise to his mist ress she was put to as much ,

t ro uble as himself if n o t mo re She had him tak e the

, .

o ath o nly in o rd e r to mak e herself o ut a m o re vi rtu o us

wo m an than she really was ; she must have w ell

k n o w n that st rong l ove w ill n o t be b o und by c o m
mandment o r o ath o r aught e lse o n ea rth and sh e
, ,

simply so ught to give a sh o w o f virtue to her vice as ,

th o ugh she c o uld be wo n o nly th ro ugh heroic vi rtues

And the sec o nd ti m
.

e h e was witless to leave a

wo man who l ove d him and w ho was wo rth m o re ,

than his pl e dged mist ress especially when his dis ,

pl easu re at the t ric k played up o n him had b een a

”
so und excuse .

Here Dago u c in put in that he was o f the c o ntrary

Opini o n and held that the ge ntl e man had o n the
,

fi rst o ccasi o n sh o wn himself c o nstant patient and ,

t rue and o n the second o ccasi o n l oyal and p erfect

,

in his l ove .

“
An d ho w can we tell ask e d Saffre de nt that
,
”
,

he was n o t o n e o f th ose that a certain chap t er calls

de fm gidzs et m a lgfieiatzs ? “ To c o mplete his eul ogy ,

4 Th is is llus i on to th e pe nal ti es p ro no un c e d b y se veral

an a

ec c l es i as ti cal C o un c i ls an d Spe c i fi e d in the C ap i tular i es agai ns t

, ,

th ose wh o endeav o ured to sus pe nd th e p roc reat ive fac ul ti es o fth e i r

e ne m i es b y reso rti n g to m agi c On th i s m atter Baluze s c o ll e c ti o n
'

o f C ap i t ular i es (v o l i ) m
.

. ay b e c o nsul ted
. T he c hap ter r e ferred
.

to b y Mar garet is e vi de n tly c h ap ter xv (b oo k vi ) o f th e Dec retals

. .

o f Po pe Bo n i f ace V I I I wh i c h b ears the t i tle o f D e fr igi dis et

ma le/Zeia tzlr an d wh i c h is alluded to b y Rab e lai s in P a n tagr ue l
. ,

Th e b e lie f in th e p rac ti c es in q ues ti o n dates b ac k to an c i en t t i m

.
,

es

an d was sh are d b y Pla to an d P li n y the latter o f w ho m

,

says th at

to guard agai ns t any spe ll o f the k i n d so m

,

e w o lf fat sh o ul d b e
2 14 THE HEP TAMERO N .

Hi rean o ught to have t o ld us ho w he c o mpo rted '

himself when he obtain e d w hat he w anted and then ,

we sh o uld have be en able to judge whethe r it was

vi rtu e o r impotence that mad e him o bserve so much
”
disc re ti o n .

“ “
Y o u may be su re said Hi rean that had he
, ,

t o ld me this I sh o uld have c o nc eal ed it as little as

I di d the res t Neverth eless fro m se eing his pers o n
.
,

and kn o w ing his temp er I sh all ever h o ld that his ,

c o nduct was due to the p o w er o f l ove rather th an to

”
any imp o tence o r c o ldness
Well if he was such as you say sai d Sim
.

,
o n tault , ,

he o ught to have b ro k en his o ath ; fo r had the ,

lady been angered by such a tri fl e it wo uld have been ,

”
eas y to appease her .

“
Nay said Enn asuite
”
,
p erhaps she wo uld n o t ,
”
th en have c o nsent e d .

“ ”
And p ray said Saffrede n t wo uld it n o t have
been easy en o ugh to c o m
, ,

p el h er si n ce she had her ,

self give n him the o pp o rtunity ? ”

By Our Lady ! said No m “

”
erfide ho w yo u run ,

on ! Is that the w ay to w in th e favo ur o f a lady who

is acc o unt e d vi rtu o us and disc re e t ?
u b b ed upo n the th resho l d and doo r j am b s o f o ne s b d c h am
'
r b er e
-
.

I n th e s ixtee n th c en tu ry so r ce ry o f th i s desc ri p ti o n was so ge ne

r ally b e li e v e d in in so m e p arts o f Fran ce th at C ard i na l du Pe rro n

i nse rted spe c i al prayers agai nst it in th e r i tual So m

, ,

e p art i c ulars

o n th e s ub j ec t will b e fo u n d in th e A dm
.

i r a bles Sec r ets du P eti t

A lbe t and also in a Tr a it! d E n eha n tem p ub li sh ed at La
'
r , en t ,

R oc h e ll e in 1 5 9 1 w h i c h gives de tails c o n c e rn i n g c ertai n p ra c t i ces

all eged to tak e p l ace o n the so l e m n i s at i o n o f m arr i age am
,

o ng

th ose o fthe Refor md Ch

e ur c h . —D . and L .
 THE HEPTAMERON
‘
.

”
If yo u k n o w a st o ry o f that kind said Hi rean
, ,

”
I will give place to yo u for the telling o f it .

”
I do kn o w On e said En nasuite and I wil l very
, ,

willingly relate it
.
”
 APP
O E ND I X .

A .

(TALE V I II .
,
Page I .
)
T A LE S a sim
of ilar c h arac ter to th i s w i l l b e fo u nd in th e
fo l lo w i ng w o rk s w ri tte n p ri o r to Margar e t s ti m
’
e

c rand d Aussy s
’ ’
co ll ec tio n of Fabliaux ou Con tes da
XI I éW et X111 W (v ol sie
c les

m
.

B oc cac c io s D eca er on (day v iii , sto ry

’
.

Engue rrand d Oisy s Le M eu n ier d A leu

’ ’ ’

Po ggio s Facetia ( Vzr sibi eor n ua p r om

.

’ ’

ov en s)
’
.

Sac c hetti s Nov elle (vo l ii , No

’
. . .

Mo rlini s Nov elle (No

’
.

Les Cent Nouvelles Nou velles (story ix .

Malespini s D u eento Nov elle (p art ii No

’
. .
,

O fth e fo rego ing say s M de Mo ntaiglo n Margare t c o ul d o nly

hav e b e e n ac q u ainted w ith th e D ec am
.
, ,

er on the Cen t Nou velles , ,

an d Po ggio w hic h had b een transl ated i nto Frenc h b y

’
s Faeetia , ’

Tardix (se e Nos c v and c x o fthat tran sl atio n )

A sim
. . . .

il ar sto ry in Latin v erse is al so c o ntained in a fo u rteenth

c en tu ry MS at Mo n te Cassino
. Se e I codiei e le ar ti a M onte .

Cassino b y D Andrea C arav ita (v o l ii p

, . . . .

Si n c e Margare t s ti me
’
i
s to r e s o f th e sa me c h arac te r
ha v e app eared in th e fo l l o w i ng w o rk s
Melander s j ’
oc ondia (p .

Phil . Béro alde s Contes Lat ins

’
(see Poggi i I /n itation es , No el s
’

c d. , v o l ii
.
p . .

2 17
 THE HEP TAMERO N .

G uic c iardini s H are di R ecr eaz ion e (p

’
.

J Bo u c het s Se ees (No 8 ; R oyb e t s

’ ’ ’
r c d , v o l 11.
p
m
. . . . .

G ab rie ll e Chapuys Facetieu ses j

’ '
ou u‘es (p .

La Fo ntaine
’
s Contes (boo k V N0 vi ii L es ! u ipr oquo)
m
. . .
, .

Le P asse Te ps Agr éable (p

m ubj t w ill b f u d
.

Mo reo v er, a so ng w ritten o n the sa e s ec e o n

P m
,

y M
sa s . de Liney , on fo li o 44 o f the re er ec u e i R il d t t e ou es

les c ha n son s no u velles (Tro y es , Ni c ho l as du R uau, I t is

th e re ca ll ed
“
The fac e ti o u s and rec reati e v sto r y of a c e rtain

l ab o u rer o f a v ill age near Paris who think i ng that he was e n , ,

j o y ing his se rv an t lay wi th his wi fe This so ng was re pr i n ted

, .
”

in v ario us o th er c o ll ec tio ns o f the six teenth and se v e nteenth

c e ntu ries .

B .

(TALE XI . P age
AN an e c do te w i th th i s s to r y w i ll b e fo u n d
in k ee p i ng
in Bran tOm e s m i sc e ll an eo u s w o rk s (Petito t s e d v ol v iii
’ ’

T h e a u th o r o f Les D am
.
, . .

pp 3 82 es Ga la n tes af te r

allu di n g to his a u n t Lo u i s e de Bo ur de ille—

.
,

wh o was
b r o u gh t u p at Co urt b y Ann e o f B r i ttan y — p ro c e e ds
to say z

A c e r tain Grey Friar, who hab itu ally p reac h e d b e fo re the

! u een , fe ll so m
deep ly in l o v e wi th Made o i s e ll e de Bo urdeille
th at h e c o ly l os t his wits and so e es in his serm
mpl e te o ns mtim
w h ilst speak i ng o f th e b eau ty o f the ho ly virgins o f pas t tim
, ,

es

he w o ul d so fo rge t h im y so m
,

s el f as to sa e w o rds res e c ti n
p g the
b e au ty o f m y sai d au n t no t to m e ntio n th e so f t gl an c es w hic h
And so m e tim es w hi l s t in the ! u een s roo mh e
,
’
he cast at her . , ,

w o ul d take great pl eas u re in di sc o u rsing to her no t w ith w ords ,

o f l o v e ho w e v e r fo r he w o ul d hav e inc u rred a w h i pp ing b ut

, ,

w ith o ther c o v ert w o rds w hic h tended to w ards l o v e My au nt .

 THE HEP TAMERO N .

C .

(TALE Xl l .
, Page

TH E foll o w i ng a c c oun t o fth e as sassi nati on o f Alexan de r

de M edi c i is tak en fro mSis m
’
o n di s H zlstozr e des R é
’ ’

pu bliqu es I talien nes du M oy en Age Pari s 1 82 6 v ol xv i , , , . .

p 95
. et s eq .

But few m th h d l p d i
on s a e a se s nc e A l e x ander s
’
m arriage,

an d h e had e mpl y d th mi hi w
o e e n s o n te d deb au c he ry , c ar r y ing
depravity and di sh o n o u r l ternately in to th e
a c on v ents an d

l
n o b e st ab o des o f Fl orenc e , when o n j anu ary 6 1 5 37 , he was
m
w ho m o f all m h e th e l eas t m
, ,

assas sinated b y the an en , is ,

tru sted This was his c o u sin Lo ren z ino de Medic i ’

. .
,

Lo re n zino had al ready h e l ped A l e x ander to seduc e se v eral

wom e n o f no b l e b ir th ; an d to f ac ili tate hi s ass i gnatio ns had

of ten l en t him h is ho u se w h i c h adj o ined th e du c al residenc e in

,

th e Via Larga H e e ngaged to b ring th e D u k e the w ife o f

Le o nardo G ino ri—sis ter to his o wn m o ther b ut m
.

uc h y ou nge r ,

Al e x an de r h ad l o ng b e en stru c k w ith th i s l ady s

’
than sh e was
b e au ty b ut so far sh e h ad vi r tu o u sly r ep ul se d him After
.

.
,

s u p er h o w e v e r o n th e day o f the f eas t o f th e E piphan y w h en

p
th e C arn iv al b egins Lo re nz ino inform
, , ,

e d th e D u k e that if h e

w o ul d repair to his ho u se u nac c o m

,

p anie d an d o b serving the

,

gr eatest sec rec y he w o ul d find Cath erine C ino ri the re

A l e x ander ac c ep te d the assignatio n dism
.
,

isse d all his gu ar ds

r id h im
p a w atc h u po n him
, ,

se l fo f all th ose wh o w ishe d to k e e ,

and e nte r ed Lo re nzino s ho us e w ith o u t b e ing

pe rc ei v e d He
’
.

was tire d and wishe d to rest awh ile b ut b e fore thro w ing
him
,

se l f o n th e b e d h e u nb u c k l e d h is s w o rd and Lo ren z ino o n

tak ing it fro mhim

, ,

to h ang it at the h ead o f the b e dstead w o u nd ,

the b e l t aro u nd the hil t in su c h a fashio n th at the w eapo n c o ul d

no t b e eas ily draw n f ro m its sc ab b ard After te lling the D uk e .

to res t w hil st he w ent to fe tc h h is au nt h e w en t aw ay l oc king

the doo r o f the roo mb ehind him
, ,

; b ut retur n ed shortly after

 ! APPE NDIX . 221

wards wi th a spadassin nic knam ed Sc o ro n c o nc o lo

, who mhe
had pre v io u sly e ngage d fo r the p u rpo se he said o friddi ng him
,

gre at p e rso nage o fthe Co u rt w ho se nam

, , ,

o fa e h e h ad
p ru dently
no t gi v en I n fac t Lo re n zi no had c arrie d his design to th e
.

v ery po i nt o f e x ecu tio n w itho u t tak i ng a singl e pe rson into his

c o nfi den c e On re tu rn i ng into th e roo m fo ll o w ed b y Sc o ro n
Are yo u asl ee p m
.
,

c o n c o lo h e c all ed to the D u k e :
y l o rd ?
‘ ’

an d at the sam e m om e nt transp i erc e d himwi th a sho rt sw o rd

, ,

w hic h he was c arry ing A l ex ander al thou gh m o rtally w o unded

tried to resis t his m

.
, ,

u rderer whereu po n Lorenz ino to prev ent

himfro mc rying o ut thru st two o f his fi ngers in to his m
, ,

o u th

at the sam e tim e e x c l aim ing: Be no t afraid m

, ,

y l ord Al e xander ,
’
.
,

it app ears b it h is assail ant s fi ngers w ith all th e strength o f his

’

j aw s and h o l ding himin a tight e m b rac e ro ll ed w ith him

,

, ab o u t ,

the b ed so that Sc o ro n c o n co lo was u n ab l e to s trik e the o n e

,

withou t s trik i ng the o ther H e endeav o u red to ge t at the Du k e

fro mb e tw ee n Lo renz ino s l egs b ut o n ly s uc c ee ded in p ie rc ing
.

the m attress till at l as t h e rem em

,

b e red that he had a k nife

ab o u t himand dro v e it into the D u k e s th roat tu rn i ng it ro u nd
,
’

m
, ,

and ro u nd u n til h e e v e ntu lly k ll

1
a i ed h i
Lo re n z ino fail ed to reap the fru its o f the c rim
.

e w hic h h e

had p l anned with so m

,

u c h skill and suc h profou nd sec rec y By .

th e l ife he h ad led h e had aro used the distru st o fall ho n est fo lk s

h e had no friends to wh o m
, ,

he c o ul d apply for advic e o r hel p he

had no par ty b eh ind himhe had n ev er b e en k no w n to displ ay
,

tha t z eal fo r l ib e rty w hic h h e su bs eq u en tly af fec ted A l tho ugh .

he was the fi rst o f the Medic i in th e o rde r o fsu c c essio n no o ne

tho u gh t o fhim For h is o wn part he o n ly th o u gh t o fen su ring
,

H e l oc k e d the doo r o f the roo m tak ing the key

.
,

h is safe ty
aw ay w ith h iman d h av ing o b tained an o rder f
. ,

o r th e c ity gates

to b e o pe n ed an d for p ost ho rses to b e p ro v ide d fo r h imu nder

,

-
, ,

re te n c e th at h e h ad ju st l earn ed that h is b ro ther was ill in the

p ,

c o u ntry h e star te d f o r B o l ogn a w h enc e h e p roc eeded to V e nic e

mp
, , ,
”
ac c o an ied b y Sc o ro nc o nc o lo .

1
Be ned Var ch i lib xv Bern Se gni 1 VI I F li ppo de Nerli i

B att Adri ani l i Sc i p i o ne Ammirato l xxxi Pauli

. . . . , . . ,
,

l xii Gio
. . . . , . . , . .

Jovii H i st
. . l xxxviii I sto ri e di Marc o G uazz o fo l 1 5 9
. . , . .
 THE HEPTAMERON .

D .

(TALE XV I .
,
Page

W I TH e r en c e t o th s s o r
re f i t y Bran té m w it
e r e s as fol l o w s
in th e Si x th D i sc o ur s e o fh is Vies des D m Ga es alan tes
“

“
In hu ndred sto ries o f ! u ee n Margar et o f Nav arre we
the
h av e a v ery fine tal e o fthat l ady o fMilan wh o , hav ing o ne nigh t
gi v en an assignatio n to the l ate M de Bo nniv e t, af ter w ards
m mid
.

Ad iral of Franc e, po sted h er a sw ith draw n swords o n the

s tairs so that th e y mi ght mk a e a no is e th ere ; w hic h the y did

ri
gh t w e ll
in o b edi enc e to the o rde rs o f the ir
, is tress , wh o fo r m
h er part feigned gre at afiright, saying that h er b ro thers-in-law
'

m m m
us t have re ark ed so ething a iss, that she hersel fwas l ost, m
and that h e , Bo nniv e t, o u gh t to h ide u n der the b ed or b eh ind

the hangings But M de Bo nniv et, w itho u t e v inc ing any fear ,
m
. .

w rapped his cape ro und his ar , and tak ing his sw o rd rep l ied
‘
We ll where ar e these b ra e b ro th ers whov w ant to frighten
m m h m? Wh me the y will no t ev en
,

e, or do e ar en the y see

dare to l oo k at th e po int o f m y sw o rd Then o pe ning the doo r .

’

he r ush ed o ut and j u st as he was ab o u t to c harge do w n the

s tairc ase he e spied the w o m en m
,

ak ing all this n o ise an d th e y

taking frigh t at sight o fhimb egan to c ry o ut an d c o nfess e v e ry

,

thing M de Bo nniv e t seeing tha t it was n o thing m

,

o re serio u s

l eft them b idding themb e take th em

. .
, ,

se lv es to the de vi l ; an d

then re tu rn ing into the roo mhe c l o sed th e doo r afte r him
,

an d

w e nt to find his lady who b egan to l augh and e m b rac e himand

, ,

ess to h imthat it was a tric k dev ise d b y herse l f assu ring

, ,

c o nf

himthat ifhe had b ehav ed as a po l tr oo n an d had no t th us dis

,

p l ay ed th e v al o ur w hic h h e was said to po sse ss h e sho ul d ne v er

She was o ne o f th e m
,

h av e had her fav o urs os t b e au tif

ul
wom
.

en o f M il an an d he had had a deal o f tro u b l e to wi n he r

I k ne w a b rav e gen tl e m an who o n e day at R o m

.
,
“
e was
al o n e w ith a pre tty R o m
, ,

an l ady —h er h u sb and b e ing aw ay —and

sh e
gav e h im a sim il ar al armc au sing o ne o fh er w o m en to co m e

in hastily to w arn her that her hu sb and had re tu rned fro m

,

the
2 24 THE HEPTAME RO N .

the H o u se of Sax o n y , w he nc e sprang that o f Sav o y , he w o ul d

po ssib ly h av e m e t w ith th e f ate he erite d, had th e K in m
g b e en
m inded to it b ut on thi s oc casio n th e Ki ng w ished to sh o w his
mg a nani mity rathe r than ha e hiv mp ut to de ath b y the o f
fic ers
of j u stic e Again the Ki ng
pardo ned h i m w hen, o n the arrival
m
.

o f th e E pe ro r at St D i z ie r in Cha pagne , he was take n,

. m
s u
o n d ing th e r iv er Mar n e
2
whic h he h ad o n o ther oc casio ns
m
,

w ell rec onn oitred, in c o i ng to or o n l eaving Franc e w ith his

troo ps H e was o n this o c c as io n e rely se nt to th e B as till e, m
m m
.

an d go t q u it fo r a ranso of c ro wn s So e gr eat c ap .

tains said and Opin ed that he o u gh t n o t to hav e b een thu s treated

as a p riso ner o f war b ut as a real v il e spy, f or h e had
p ro fesse d ly
ac ted as su c h ; and th ey said, o reo v e r, that h e m
go t o ff too
c heap ly at su c h a r an so m
, w hic h did n o t re p res e nt th e s a ll es t m
o f the l i that h e h ad perpe trated in Franc e
arc en es
”
—Lalanne s ’

m
.

E u v r es de Br an tb e, v o l i pp 349-5 0 . . . .

Pri or to thi s af
fa r i Furs te b erg
app aren tly sho w e d m
so m e re gr e t fo r h is e a rli e r sc e es agai n s t Fr an c i s I h m .
,

fo r ! u een Margare t w ri ti ng to h e r b r o th e r in 1 5 36 r e
mark ed
, ,

Co u nt Will iamhas ask ed m e to w rite an d te ll yo u that th ere

is a great di fferenc e b e tw een th e sham ef ul pu rgato ry o f I taly and

the gl o rio u s paradi se o f this c am p and he spo k e to m
3
e o f h is

pas t m
,

isde eds w hic h I w o ul d rather h e sho ul d spe ak o fto you ”

—
, ,

&c . Gé nin s
’
Lettr es dc Marguer ite, p 32 1 . .

In a po e t ic i
e p stle s en t by Margaret to Fran c i s I . in
j anuar y 1 5 43, to a th e New Y ear th ere is an
c eleb r te

G u illau m w h o mMessrs de Linc y

,

allusi on to a Co n te e
”
, .

3 i s oc c urred in Septe m
Th b er 1 5 44 Fro man un p ub li sh ed MS
in the p ub li c li b rary at Rhe i m s it appe ars th at Furs te m
. .

b e rg was
wear i ng a disguise when c aptured Th e Em peror had se nt hi m
.

for ward e x pres sly to so un d the r iver Ano th er u n pub lis hed MS
. .

at th e B i b l io th eq ue Nati o n al e Paris (an c fol 85 6 1 j : gives

so m e part i c ul ar s o fh is o pe ra ti o ns ab o u t th i s ti ma—
, . . .

ED .

3 Th at o fAv n n S e vo l i li v —E D
g o i e .
p . . . . .
 J PP ENDIX .
225

an d M o ntaiglon c o n ec t re j u to b e Furste mb e rg, th o gh u

o th e r c o mm e n tato r s i
th n k th t th e a ! u e en re fe r s to Wi ll i am
P o y e t th e di sh o n e st c h an c ell o r who was sent to the
, ,

B asti lle in 1 5 42 for p ec ulati o n We sh are h o w e v er the .

, ,

o p i n i o n o fMess rs de Lin e y an d Mo ntaiglo n as in v ari o u s

c o n te m
.
,

p o r ar y M SS w h i c h we h a v e re fe rr e d to we h av e
fre q u en tly fo u nd Furs te m
.
,

b e rg all u ded to as Co n te an d
Com te G u i ll au m w i th o u t an y m e n ti o n o fh is s u rn am
“ ”
e e

Th e p as sage in Ma rgare t s e pi stl e al lu de d to ab o v e m

.
,
’
ay

b e th u s r en de re d in p ro se

God, figh ti ng fo r the King in e v ery u rses his enem iesspo t, c

an d b rings the to sh a m m e an d rui n so that n o ne ho l d the m of

C m Co nte in the MS ] Gu il lau m

,

ac c o u nt as wi tness pt o e e
’

v ing the K ing an d the k ingdomb ecam

.
,

who , in se r e r ic h feare d

and h igh ly e steem

, ,

ed No w ho w ev er a fugitiv e poo r an d c o n
tem ne d he m ay w e ll m edi tate as to w henc e c am
.
, , ,

e his h ono u rs

who it was th at m ain taine d him

, ,

w e al th y happy and feare d and

thu s it is th at all the King s e nem
,

i es are c ursed b y God in Para’

dise —Les M argu er i tes de la M arguer i te 1873 v ol ii p 2 03

”
. . . .
. , ,

Aprop o s o f Fur stemb e rg the fo ll o w i n g e n tr y o c c u rs in

M de Lab ord e s Com p tes des Bdtzm en ts da R oi (v o l ii
’ '

. . .

p . 2 29 )
Paid Cadenet doc to r to Co un t Willi amo f
to Fran c is de
Furste m
,

b erg as a gift and fav o u r for his se rvi c es 30 cr o w ns v alu e

6 7 l ivr es 10 so ls —L M an d E D
, , ,
”
. . .
,

E ND O F V OL 11 .