_TALE XLI_.
_A Grey Friar to whom a maiden had presented herself on Christmas night that he might confess her, laid upon her so strange a penance that she would not submit to it, but rose from before him without having received absolution; but her mistress, hearing of the matter, caused the Grey Friar to be flogged in her kitchen, and then sent him back, bound and gagged, to his Warden_.
In the year when my Lady Margaret of Austria came to Cambray on behalfof her nephew the Emperor, to treat of peace between him and the MostChristian King, who on his part was represented by his mother, myLady Louise of Savoy, (1) the said Lady Margaret had in her train theCountess of Aiguemont, (2) who won, among this company, the renown ofbeing the most beautiful of all the Flemish ladies.
1 It was in June 1529 that Margaret of Austria came to Cambrai to treat for peace, on behalf of Charles V. Louise of Savoy, who represented Francis I., was accompanied on this occasion by her daughter, Queen Margaret, who appears to have taken part in the conferences. The result of these was that the Emperor renounced his claims on Burgundy, but upheld all the other stipulations of the treaty of Madrid. Having been brought about entirely by feminine negotiators, the peace of Cambrai acquired the name of "La Paix des Dames," or "the Ladies' Peace." Some curious particulars of the ceremonies observed at Cambrai on this occasion will be found in Leglay's _Notice sur les feles et ceremonies a Cambray depuis le XIe siecle_, Cambrai, 1827.--L. and B. J.
2 This is Frances of Luxemburg, Baroness of Fiennes and Princess of Gavre, wife of John IV., Count of Egmont, chamberlain to the Emperor Charles V. They were the parents of the famous Lamoral Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavre and Baron of Fiennes, born in 1522 and put to death by the Duke of Alba on June 5, 1568.--B.J.
When this great assembly separated, the Countess of Aiguemont returnedto her own house, and, Advent being come, sent to a monastery of GreyFriars to ask for a clever preacher and virtuous man, as well to preachas to confess herself and her whole household. The Warden, rememberingthe great benefits that the Order received from the house of Aiguemontand that of Fiennes, to which the Countess belonged, sought out the manwhom he thought most worthy to fill the said office.
Accordingly, as the Grey Friars more than any other order desire toobtain the esteem and friendship of great houses, they sent the mostimportant preacher of their monastery, and throughout Advent he did hisduty very well, and the Countess was well pleased with him.
On Christmas night, when the Countess desired to receive her Creator,she sent for her confessor, and after making confession in a carefullyclosed chapel, she gave place to her lady of honour, who in her turn,after being shriven, sent her daughter to pass through the hands of thisworthy confessor. When the maiden had told all that was in her mind, thegood father knew something of her secrets, and this gave him the desireand the boldness to lay an unwonted penance upon her.
"My daughter," said he, "your sins are so great that to atone for them Icommand you the penance of wearing my cord upon your naked flesh."
The maiden, who was unwilling to disobey him, made answer--
"Give it to me, father, and I will not fail to wear it."
"My daughter," said the good father, "it will be of no avail from yourown hand. Mine, from which you shall receive absolution, must first bindit upon you; then shall you be absolved of all your sins."
The maiden replied, weeping, that she would not suffer it.
"What?" said the confessor. "Are you a heretic, that you refuse thepenances which God and our holy mother Church have ordained?"
"I employ confession," said the maiden, "as the Church commands, and Iam very willing to receive absolution and do penance. But I will not betouched by your hands, and I refuse this mode of penance."
"Then," said the confessor, "I cannot give you absolution."
The maiden rose from before him greatly troubled in conscience, for,being very young, she feared lest she had done wrong in thus refusing toobey the worthy father.
When mass was over and the Countess of Aiguemont had received the"Corpus Domini," her lady of honour, desiring to follow her, asked herdaughter whether she was ready. The maiden, weeping, replied that shewas not shriven.
"Then what were you doing so long with the preacher?" asked her mother.
"Nothing," said the maiden, "for, as I refused the penance that he laidupon me, he on his part refused me absolution."
Making prudent inquiry, the mother learnt the extraordinary penance thatthe good father had chosen for her daughter; and then, having caused herto be confessed by another, they received the sacrament together. Whenthe Countess was come back from the church, the lady of honour madecomplaint to her of the preacher, whereupon the Countess was themore surprised and grieved, since she had thought so well of him.Nevertheless, despite her anger, she could not but feel very muchinclined to laugh at the unwonted nature of the penance.
Still her laughter did not prevent her from having the friar taken andbeaten in her kitchen, where he was brought by the strokes of the rodto confess the truth; and then she sent him bound hand and foot to hisWarden, begging the latter for the future to commission more virtuousmen to preach the Word of God.
"Consider, ladies, if the monks be not afraid to display theirwantonness in so illustrious a house, what may they not do in thepoor places where they commonly make their collections, and whereopportunities are so readily offered to them, that it is a miracle ifthey are quit of them without scandal. And this, ladies, leads me to begof you to change your ill opinion into compassion, remembering thathe (3) who blinds the Grey Friars is not sparing of the ladies when hefinds an opportunity."
3 The demon.--B. J.
"Truly," said Oisille, "this was a very wicked Grey Friar. A monk, apriest and a preacher to work such wickedness, and that on Christmasday, in the church and under the cloak of the confessional--all theseare circumstances which heighten the sin."
"It would seem from your words," said Hircan, "that the Grey Friarsought to be angels, or more discreet than other men, but you have heardinstances enough to show you that they are far worse. As for the monkin the story, I think he might well be excused, seeing that he foundhimself shut up all alone at night with a handsome girl."
"True," said Oisille, "but it was Christmas night."
"That makes him still less to blame," said Simontault, "for, being inJoseph's place beside a fair virgin, he wished to try to beget an infantand so play the Mystery of the Nativity to the life."
"In sooth," said Parlamente, "if he had thought of Joseph and the VirginMary, he would have had no such evil purpose. At all events, he wasa wickedly-minded man to make so evil an attempt upon such slightprovocation."
"I think," said Oisille, "that the Countess punished him well enough toafford an excellent example to his fellows."
"But 'tis questionable," said Nomerfide, "whether she did well in thusputting her neighbour to shame, or whether 'twould not have been betterto have quietly shown him his faults, rather than have made them sopublicly known."
"That would, I think, have been better," said Geburon, "for we arecommanded to rebuke our neighbour in secret, before we speak of thematter to any one else or to the Church. When a man has been brought topublic disgrace, he will hardly ever be able to mend his ways, but fearof shame withdraws as many persons from sin as conscience does."
"I think," said Parlamente, "that we ought to observe the teaching ofthe Gospel towards all except those that preach the Word of God and actcontrary to it. We should not be afraid to shame such as are accustomedto put others to shame; indeed I think it a very meritorious thing tomake them known for what they really are, so that we take not a mockstone (4) for a fine ruby. But to whom will Saffredent give his vote?"
4 The French word here is _doublet_. The doublet was a piece of crystal, cut after the fashion of a diamond, and backed with red wax so as to give it somewhat the
colour of a ruby.--B. J.
"Since you ask me," he replied, "I will give it to yourself, to whom noman of understanding should refuse it."
"Then, since you give it to me, I will tell you a story to the truth ofwhich I can myself testify. I have always heard that when virtue abidesin a weak and feeble vessel, and is assailed by its strong and puissantopposite, it especially deserves praise, and shows itself to be whatit really is. If strength withstand strength, it is no very wonderfulthing; but if weakness win the victory, it is lauded by every one.Knowing, as I do, the persons of whom I desire to speak, I think thatI should do a wrong to virtue, (which I have often seen hidden under somean a covering that none gave it any heed), if I did not tell of herwho performed the praiseworthy actions that I now feel constrained torelate."
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The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. IV. (of V.) Page 15