He who sees me enter with such antics will think I am gone mad till he knows that I am Frey Paço. Glory be to God and For ever and ever are not for me, but a gilt sword, since it looks well to wear a sword at court. So refined am I; and that there should be no doubt of it, I had an excellent idea: I never let them shave my tonsure. So do not expect me to address you with Glory to God or Praised be Jesus Christ, for all my priest’s frock. And I am so finished a courtier that I may well say that the psalms I recite are—envy and gossip. My speech is gentle and courteous with great store of compliments. Expect no deeds from me but be content with words borne away by the wind. Favour and disaffection am I, the protector of lovers; I disillusion those who trust me and am the very temple of the god of love and the hell of the love-lorn. But since the law of love is changed, and everything grows cold, I love now by agreement and sigh to order.[45]
FREI PAÇO GIVES A LESSON IN COURT MANNERS
Frei Paço. My friend, a noble lady must be rich and fair, sensitive, serene, courteous, gentle, charming.
Apariço. Giralda is all that.
F.P. Let us see how this head-dress suits her.
A. Away, away with it, it is not fit for anyone to wear.
F.P. You mean, peasant, that it is not for harvesters but for the Court.
A. It is a magpie’s tail, and not for a woman to wear; so thinks Apariço.
F.P. Yet it didn’t suit her ill.