The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. IV. (of V.)
Page 25
_TALE XLIX_.
_Same French gentlemen, perceiving that the King their master was exceedingly well treated by a foreign Countess whom he loved, ventured to speak to her, and sought her with such success, that one after another they had from her what they desired, each, however, believing that he alone possessed the happiness in which all the others shared. And this being discovered by one of their number, they all plotted together to be revenged on her; but, as she showed a fair countenance and treated them no worse than before, they brought away in their own bosoms the shame which they had thought to bring upon her_. (1)
At the Court of King Charles--which Charles I shall not mention, for thesake of the lady of whom I wish to speak, and whom I shall not callby her own name--there was a Countess of excellent lineage, (2) buta foreigner. And as novelties ever please, this lady, both for thestrangeness of her attire and for its exceeding richness, was observedby all. Though she was not to be ranked among the most beautiful, shepossessed gracefulness, together with a noble assurance that could notbe surpassed; and, moreover, her manner of speech and her seriousnesswere to match, so that there was none but feared to accost her exceptingthe King, who loved her exceedingly. That he might have still moreintimate converse with her, he gave some mission to the Count, herhusband, which kept him away for a long time, and meanwhile the Kingmade right good cheer with his wife.
1 The incidents here related must have occurred during the reign of Charles VIII., probably in or about 1490.--L.
2 This Countess cannot be identified. She was probably the wife of one of the many Italian noblemen, like the Caraccioli and San Severini, who entered the French service about the time of the conquest of Naples. Brantome alludes to the story in his _Dames Galantes_ (Fourth Discourse) but gives no names.--Ed.
Several of the King's gentlemen, knowing that their master was welltreated by her, took courage to speak to her, and among the rest was onecalled Astillon, (3) a bold man and graceful of bearing.
3 This is James de Chastillon, not, however, J. Gaucher de Chastillon, "King of Yvetot," as M. de Lincy supposes, but J. de Coligny-Chastillon, as has been pointed out by M. Frank. Brantome devotes the Nineteenth Discourse of his _Capitaines francois_ to this personage, and says: "He had been one of the great favourites and _mignons_ of King Charles VIII., even at the time of the journey to the kingdom of Naples; and 'twas then said, 'Chastillon, Bourdillon and Bonneval [see post, note 5] govern the royal blood.'" Wounded in April 1512 at the battle of Ravenna, "the most bloody battle of the century," he was removed to Ferrara, where he died (May 25). He was the second husband of Blanche de Tournon, Lady of Honour to Queen Margaret, respecting whom see _ante_, vol. i. pp. 84-5, 122-4, and vol. iv. p. 144, note 2.--L., F. and Ed.
At first she treated him so seriously, threatening to tell of him to theKing his master, that he well-nigh became afraid of her. However, ashe had not been wont to fear the threats even of the most redoubtablecaptains, he would not suffer himself to be moved by hers, but pressedher so closely that she at last consented to speak with him in private,and taught him the manner in which he should come to her apartment.This he failed not to do, and, in order that the King might be withoutsuspicion of the truth, he craved permission to go on a journey, andset out from the Court. On the very first day, however, he left all hisfollowing and returned at night to receive fulfilment of the promisesthat the Countess had made him. These she kept so much to hissatisfaction, that he was content to remain shut up in a closet for fiveor six days, without once going out, and living only on restoratives.
During the week that he lay in hiding, one of his companions calledDurassier (4) made love to the Countess. At the beginning she spoke tothis new lover, as she had spoken to the first, with harsh and haughtyspeech that grew milder day by day, insomuch that when the time was comefor dismissing the first prisoner, she put the second into his place.While he was there, another companion of his, named Valnebon, (5) didthe same as the former two, and after these there came yet two or threemore to lodge in the sweet prison.
4 This in all probability is the doughty James Galliot de Genouillac, who--much in the same way as in our own times the names of the "Iron Duke" and the "Man of Iron" have been bestowed on Wellington and Bismarck--was called by his contemporaries the "Seigneur d'Acier" or "Steel Lord," whence "Durassier"--hard steel. Born in Le Quercy in or about 1466, Genouillac accompanied Charles VIII. on his Italian expeditions, and, according to Brantome, surpassed all others in valour and influence. He greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Fornova (1495), and in 1515 we find him one of the chief commanders of the French artillery. For the great skill he displayed at Marignano he was appointed Grand Master of the Artillery and Seneschal of Armagnac, and he subsequently became Grand Equerry of France. At Pavia, where he again commanded the artillery, he would have swept away the Spaniards had not the French impetuously charged upon them, preventing him from firing his pieces. Most of the latter he contrived to save, severe as was the defeat, and he effectually protected the retreat of the Duke of Alencon and the Count of Clermont into France. Genouillac died in 1546, a year after he had been appointed Governor of Languedoc.--B. J. and Ed.
5 Valnebon is an anagram of the name Bonneval, and Queen Margaret evidently refers here to a member of the Bonneval family. In the time of Charles VIII. this illustrious Limousin house had two principal members, Anthony, one of the leading counsellors of that king (as of his predecessor Louis XI. and his successor Louis XII.), and Germain, also a royal counsellor and chamberlain. The heroes of the above story being military men and old friends and comrades, it is probable that the reference is to Germain de Bonneval, he, like Chastillon and Genouillac, having accompanied Charles VIII. on his expedition into Italy. Germain de Bonneval, moreover, was one of the seven noblemen who fought at the battle of Fornova, clad and armed exactly like the French king. He perished at the memorable defeat of Pavia in 1525. From him descended, in a direct line, the famous eighteenth century adventurer, Claud Alexander, Count de Bonneval.--B. J. and Ed.
This manner of life continued for a long time, and was so skilfullycontrived that none of the lovers knew aught of the others; and althoughthey were aware of the love that each of them bore the lady, therewas not one but believed himself to be the only successful suitor, andlaughed at his comrades who, as he thought, had failed to win such greathappiness.
One day when the gentlemen aforesaid were at a banquet where they maderight good cheer, they began to speak of their several fortunes and ofthe prisons in which they had lain during the wars. Valnebon, however,who found it a hard task to conceal the great good fortune he had metwith, began saying to his comrades--
"I know not what prisons have been yours, but for my own part, for loveof one wherein I once lay, I shall all my life long give praise andhonour to the rest. I think that no pleasure on earth comes near that ofbeing kept a prisoner."
Astillon, who had been the first captive, had a suspicion of the prisonthat he meant, and replied--
"What gaoler, Valnebon, man or woman, treated you so well that youbecame so fond of your prison?"
"Whoever the gaoler may have been," said Valnebon, "my prisonment wasso pleasant that I would willingly have had it last longer. Never was Ibetter treated or more content."
Durassier, who was a man of few words, clearly perceived that they werediscussing the prison in which he had shared like the rest; so he saidto Valnebon--
"On what meats were you fed in the prison that you praise so highly?"
"What meats?" said Valnebon. "The King himself has none better or morenourishing."
"But I should also like to know," said Durassier, "whether your keepermade you earn your bread properly?"
Valnebon, su
specting that he had been understood, could not hold fromswearing.
"God's grace!" said he. "Had I indeed comrades where I believed myselfalone?"
Perceiving this dispute, wherein he had part like the rest, Astillonlaughed and said--
"We all serve one master, and have been comrades and friends fromboyhood; if, then, we are comrades in the same good fortune, we can butlaugh at it. But, to see whether what I imagine be true, pray let mequestion you, and do you confess the truth to me; for if that which Ifancy has befallen us, it is as amusing an adventure as could be foundin any book."
They all swore to tell the truth if the matter were such as they couldnot deny.
Then said he to them--
"I will tell you my own fortune, and you will tell me, ay or nay, ifyours has been the same."
To this they all agreed, whereupon he said--
"I asked leave of the King to go on a journey."
"So," they replied, "did we."
"When I was two leagues from the Court, I left all my following and wentand yielded myself up prisoner."
"We," they replied, "did the same."
"I remained," said Astillon, "for seven or eight days, and lay in acloset where I was fed on nothing but restoratives and the choicestviands that I ever ate. At the end of a week, those who held mecaptive suffered me to depart much weaker in body than I had been on myarrival."
They all swore that the like had happened to them.
"My imprisonment," said Astillon, "began on such a day and finished onsuch another."
"Mine," thereupon said Durassier, "began on the very day that yoursended, and lasted until such a day."
Valnebon, who was losing patience, began to swear.
"'Sblood!" said he, "from what I can see, I, who thought myself thefirst and only one, was the third, for I went in on such a day and cameout on such another."
Three others, who were at the table, swore that they had followed inlike order.
"Well, since that is so," said Astillon, "I will mention the conditionof our gaoler. She is married, and her husband is a long way off."
"'Tis even she," they all replied.
"Well, to put us out of our pain," said Astillon, "I, who was firstenrolled, shall also be the first to name her. It was my lady theCountess, she who was so extremely haughty that in conquering heraffection I felt as though I had conquered Caesar."
[Said Valnebon--(6)]
6 It is probable that the angry Valnebon is speaking here, and that his name has been accidentally omitted from the MSS. At all events the three subsequent paragraphs show that these remarks are not made by Astillon, who declines the other speaker's advice, and proposes a scheme of his own.-- Ed.
"To the devil with the jade, who gave us so much toil, and made usbelieve ourselves so fortunate in winning her! Never was there suchwantonness, for while she kept one in hiding she was practising uponanother, so that she might never be without diversion. I would ratherdie than suffer her to go unpunished."
Each thereupon asked him what he thought ought to be done to her, sayingthat they were all ready to do it.
"I think," said he, "that we ought to tell the King our master, whoprizes her as though she were a goddess.
"By no means," said Astillon; "we are ourselves able to take vengeanceupon her, without calling in the aid of our master. Let us all bepresent to-morrow when she goes to mass, each of us wearing an ironchain about his neck. Then, when she enters the church, we will greether as shall be fitting."
This counsel was highly approved by the whole company, and each providedhimself with an iron chain. The next morning they all went, dressed inblack and with their iron chains twisted like collars round their necks,to meet the Countess as she was going to church. And as soon as she sawthem thus attired, she began to laugh and asked them--
"Whither go such doleful folk?"
"Madam," said Astillon, "we are come to attend you as poor captiveslaves constrained to do your service."
The Countess, feigning not to understand, replied--
"You are not my captives, and I cannot understand that you have moreoccasion than others to do me service."
Thereupon Valnebon stepped forward and said to her--
"After eating your bread for so long a time, we should be ungratefulindeed if we did not serve you."
She made excellent show of not understanding the matter, thinking bythis seriousness to confound them; but they pursued their discoursein such sort that she saw that all was discovered. So she immediatelydevised a means of baffling them, for, having lost honour andconscience, she would in no wise take to herself the shame that theythought to bring upon her. On the contrary, like one who set herpleasure before all earthly honour, she neither changed her countenancenor treated them worse than before, whereat they were so confounded,that they carried away in their own bosoms the shame they had thought tobring upon her.
"If, ladies, you do not consider this story enough to prove that womenare as bad as men, I will seek out others of the same kind to relate toyou. Nevertheless I think that this one will suffice to show you that awoman who has lost shame is far bolder to do evil than a man."
There was not a woman in the company that heard this story, who did notmake as many signs of the cross as if all the devils in hell were beforeher eyes. However, Oisille said--
"Ladies, let us humble ourselves at hearing of so terrible acircumstance, and the more so as she who is forsaken by God becomes likehim with whom she unites; for even as those who cleave to God have Hisspirit within them, so is it with those that cleave to His opposite,whence it comes that nothing can be more brutish than one devoid of theSpirit of God."
"Whatever the poor lady may have done," said Ennasuite, "I neverthelesscannot praise the men who boasted of their imprisonment."
"It is my opinion," said Longarine, "that a man finds it as troublesometo conceal his good fortune as to pursue it. There is never a hunter butdelights to wind his horn over his quarry, nor lover but would fain havecredit for his conquest."
"That," said Simontault, "is an opinion which I would hold to beheretical in presence of all the Inquisitors of the Faith, for there aremore men than women that can keep a secret, and I know right well thatsome might be found who would rather forego their happiness than haveany human being know of it. For this reason has the Church, like a wisemother, ordained men to be confessors and not women, seeing that thelatter can conceal nothing."
"That is not the reason," said Oisille; "it is because women are suchenemies of vice that they would not grant absolution with the samereadiness as is shown by men, and would be too stern in their penances."
"If they were as stern in their penances," said Dagoucin, "as they arein their responses, they would reduce far more sinners to despair thanthey would draw to salvation; and so the Church has in every sort wellordained. But, for all that, I will not excuse the gentlemen who thusboasted of their prison, for never was a man honoured by speaking evilof a woman."
"Since they all fared alike," said Hircan, "it seems to me that they didwell to console one another."
"Nay," said Geburon, "they should never have acknowledged it for thesake of their own honour. The books of the Round Table (7) teach us thatit is not to the honour of a worthy knight to overcome one that is goodfor naught."
7 Queen Margaret was well acquainted with these (see _ante_, vol. iii. p. 48). In a list drawn up after her father's death, of the two hundred volumes of books in his library, a most remarkable one for the times, we find specified several copies of "Lancelot," "Tristan," &c, some in MS. with miniatures and illuminated letters, and others printed on parchment. Besides numerous religious writings, volumes of Aristotle, Ovid, Mandeville, Dante, the Chronicles of St. Denis, and the "Book of the Great Khan, bound in cloth of gold," the library contained various works of a character akin to that of the _Heptameron_. For instance, a copy of the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_ in print; a French
translation of Poggio's _Facetio_, also in print, and two copies of Boccaccio in MS., one of them bound in purple velvet, and richly illuminated, each page having a border of blue and silver. This last if still in existence would be very valuable.--Eu.
"I am amazed," said Longarine, "that the unhappy woman did not die ofshame in presence of her captives."
"Those who have lost shame," said Oisille, "can hardly ever recover it,excepting, however, she that has forgotten it through deep love. Of suchhave I seen many return."
"I think," said Hircan, "that you must have seen the return of as manyas went, for deep love in a woman is difficult to find."
"I am not of your opinion," said Longarine; "I think that there are somewomen who have loved to death."
"So exceedingly do I desire to hear a tale of that kind," said Hircan,"that I give you my vote in order to learn of a love in women that I hadnever deemed them to possess."
"Well, if you hearken," said Longarine, "you will believe, and will seethat there is no stronger passion than love. But while it prompts oneto almost impossible enterprises for the sake of winning some portionof happiness in this life, so does it more than any other passion reducethat man or woman to despair, who loses the hope of gaining what islonged for. This indeed you will see from the following story."
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