Quentin Durward

rse with unr

ted fools. N

o me with sus

RIC

upon the Count of Crevecoeur to remain at Tours, than any other moderator whom the King might have employed, would, in all probability, have been. And as he was well aware of the importance which Louis attached to the postponement of a war with the Duke o

ng, and thereby seeming desirous to extort, acknowledgment and recompense for their services; and Louis, the most jealous monarch that ev

Crevecoeur and his embassy which, although it might be the matter at that moment most in the King's thoughts, was nevertheless precisely that which he was least willing to converse on. At length Louis, who ha

" said he, "but the reverend Father her

is; "I am born to fight the battles of France, and have hea

gate, and he hath communicated to us his whole shrift.-Said you not the whole?" he continued, with an emphasis on the word,

is order were obliged to conceal the secrets of their penitents in general, there was no s

to know if these two ladies of Croye be actually in our territories. We are sorry we cannot indulge his curiosity, not ourselves knowing in what precise place errant damsels, disguised princesses, distressed countesses, may lie leaguer withi

which, while it arose out of his own native openness and intrepidity of character, made him from time to time a considerable favo

ee my purpose, did I myself but know it exactly. But say I declared for war, what should

gallant followers, who has a heart to lov

ques dieu! thou art more politic than I

rleans, I come to the point at once, as I ride my horse at the ring.

sques dieu, I will pay it!-Se

nor in his sight appear separate from each other, were riding side by side, yet with an interval of two or three yards betwixt them,

thing so much as of two dogs, which, forcibly linked together, remain nevertheless as widely separated as the length of their collars will perm

will keep-not much disturbed with children, I sh

ch was that as the Princess's personal deformity admitted little chance of its being fruitful, the branch of

he uttered the last reflection, and which converted the sneer that trembled on his lip into

such gallant soldiers as thy father and thyself, who share the blood royal of France without claiming its rights, than that the country should be tor

rary Sovereign might well hurt his kinsman's interests but could do

that, setting the frailty of his parents on one side, he might be termed hap

Saint Hubert!-Ha! ha! tra-la-la-lira-la"-And the King's horn rang merrily through the woods as he pushed forward on the chase, followed by two or three of his guards, amongst whom was our friend Quentin

certain ladies, to whom his power, his wealth, and his influence as a statesman might atone for deficiencies in appearance and manners, the gallant horses, which he purchased at almost any price, were totally insensible to the dignity of carrying a Cardinal, and paid no more respect to him than they would have done to his father, the carter, miller, or tailor, whom he rivalled in horsemanship. The King knew this, and, by alternately exciting and checking his own horse, he brought that of the Cardina

by assassins, on which occasion his mule, being scared by the crowd, ran away with the rider, and taking its co

s attitude-his violet robe flying loose in every direction, and nothing securing him from an instant and perilous fall save the depth of the saddle, and its height before and behind. Dunois laughed without restraint; wh

continued he, addressing the terrified Cardinal, a

y augment our distress by pressing the animal's sides-the hands which have forsaken the bridle for the mane-the body, which, instead of sitting upright on the centre of gravity, as old Angelo [a celebrated riding and fencing master at the beginning of the nineteenth century] used to recommend, or stooping forward like a jockey's at Newmarket [the scene of the annual horse races has been at Newmarket Heath since the time of James I], lies, rather than hangs, crouched upon the back of the animal, with no better chance of saving itself than a sack of corn-combine to make a picture more than sufficiently ludicrous to spectators, however uncomfortable to the exhibiter. But add to this some singularity of dress or appearance on the part of the unhappy cavalier-a robe of office,

near the boar, set up a dreadful cry for help, which, or perhaps the sight of the boar, produced such an effect on his horse, that the animal interrupted its headlong career by suddenly springing to one side; so that the Cardinal, who had long kept his seat only because the motion was straight forward, now fell heavily to the ground. The conclusion of Balue's chase took place so near the boar that, had not the animal been at that moment too much engaged about his own affairs, the vicinity might have proved as fatal to the Cardinal, as it is said to have done to Favila, King of the Visigoths

uch longer influence on his feelings. After all the chase had passed him, a single cavalier, who seemed rather to be a spectator than a partaker of the sport, rode up with one or two attendants, and expressed no small surprise to find the Cardinal upon the ground, without a horse or attendants, and in such a plight as plainly showed the nature of the accident which had placed him there. To dismount, and offer his assistance in this predicament-to c

his prudence, followed contentedly the chase of the wild boar, which was now come to an interesting point. It had so happened that a sounder (i.e., in the language of the period, a boar of only two years old), had crossed the track of the proper object of the chase, and withdrawn in pursuit of him all the dogs (except two or three couples of old stanch hounds) and the greater part of the huntsmen. The King saw, with internal glee, Dunois, as well as others, follow upon this false scent, and enjoyed in secret the thought of triumphing over that accomplished knight in the art of venerie, which was then thought almost as glorious as war. Louis was well mounted, and followed, close on the hounds; so that, when the original boar turned to bay in a marshy piece of ground, there was no one near him but the King himself. Louis showed all the bravery and expertness of an experienced huntsman; for, unheeding the danger, he rode up to the tremendous animal, which was defending itself with fury against the dogs, and struck him with his boar spear; yet, as the horse shied from the boar, the blow was not so effectual as either to kill or disable him. No effort could prevail on the horse to charge a second time; so that the King, dismounting, advanced on foot against the furious animal, holding naked in his hand one of those short, sharp, straight, and pointed swords, which huntsmen

sweat from his brow, and the blood from his hands-then took off his hunting cap, hung it on a bush, and devoutly made his orisons to the little leaden images which it contained-and at length, looking upon Durward, said to him, "Is it thou, my young

wise to embrace the perilous permission of familiarity which he seemed thus invited to use. He answered in very few and well chosen words, that if he ventu

to understand. I bid thee beware of him; he is a merchant who deals in rough bracelets and tight necklaces. Help me to my horse;-I like thee, and will do thee good. Build on no man's favour but mine-not even on thi

tually belonged to him; for he mentioned Durward's assistance as slightly as a sportsman of rank, who, in boasting of the number of birds which he has bagged, does not always dilate upon the presence and assistance of th

rdinal? Methinks it were but poor courtesy, and cold rega

all were silent, "I saw his Lordship the Cardinal ac

hunt no more this morning.-You, Sir Squire," addressing Quentin, "reach me my wood knife

"My bonny Scot, thou hast an eye, I see. Canst thou tell me who helped the Cardinal to a palfrey?-Some stranger, I should

only a hasty glance, for I had been unluckily thrown out, and was riding fast t

ll, be it so. France

happened, and the King, with his