TALE LVII.
An English lord for seven years loved a lady without ever
venturing to let her know of it, until one day, when
observing her in a meadow, he lost all colour and control of
feature through a sudden throbbing of the heart that came
upon him. Then she, showing her compassion, at his request
placed her gloved hand upon his heart, whereupon he pressed
it so closely, whilst declaring to her the love he had so
long borne her, that she withdrew it, leaving in its place
her glove. And this glove he afterwards enriched with gems
and fastened upon his doublet above his heart, and showed
himself so graceful and virtuous a lover that he never
sought any more intimate favour of her.
King Louis the Eleventh (1) sent the Lord de Montmorency to England as his ambassador, and so welcome was the latter in that country that the King and all the Princes greatly esteemed and loved him, and even made divers of their private affairs known to him in order to have his counsel upon them.
1 Some of the MS. say Louis XII., but we cannot find that
either the eleventh or twelfth Louis sent any Montmorency as
ambassador to England. Ripault-Desormeaux states, however,
in his history of this famous French family, that William de
Montmorency, who, after fighting in Italy under Charles
VIII. and Louis XII., became, governor of the Orléanais and
chevalier d’honneur to Louise of Savoy was one of the
signatories of the treaty concluded with Henry VIII. of
England, after the-battle of Pavia in 1525. We know that
Louise, as Regent of France, at that time sent John Brinon
and John Joachim de Passano as ambassadors to England, and
possibly William de Montmorency accompanied them, since
Desormeaux expressly states that he guaranteed the loyal
observance of the treaty then negotiated. William was the
father of Anne, the famous Constable of France, and died May
24, 1531. “Geburon,” in the dialogue following the above
tale, mentions that he had well known the Montmorency
referred to, and speaks of him as of a person dead and gone.
It is therefore scarcely likely that Queen Margaret alludes
to Francis de Montmorency, Lord of La Rochepot, who was only
sent on a mission to England in 1546, and survived her by
many years.—L. and Ed.
One day, at a banquet that the King gave to him, he was seated beside a lord (2) of high lineage, who had on his doublet a little glove, such as women wear, fastened with hooks of gold and so adorned upon the finger-seams with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls, that it was indeed a glove of great price.
2 The French word is Millor (Milord) and this is probably
one of the earliest instances of its employment to designate
a member of the English aristocracy. In such of the Cent
Nouvelles Nouvelles in which English nobles figure, the
latter are invariably called seigneurs or chevaliers,
and addressed as Monseigneur, Later on, when Brantôme
wrote, the term un milord anglais had become quite common,
and he frequently makes use of it in his various works.
English critics have often sneered at modern French writers
for employing the expression, but it will be seen from this
that they have simply followed a very old tradition.—Ed.
The Lord de Montmorency looked at it so often that the English lord perceived he was minded to inquire why it was so choicely ordered; so, deeming its story to be greatly to his own honour, he thus began—
“I can see that you think it strange I should have so magnificently arrayed a simple glove, and on my part I am still more ready to tell you the reason, for I deem you an honest gentleman and one who knows what manner of passion love is, so that if I did well in the matter you will praise me for it, and if not, make excuse for me, knowing that every honourable heart must obey the behests of love. You must know, then, that I have all my life long loved a lady whom I love still, and shall love even when I am dead, but, as my heart was bolder to fix itself worthily than were my lips to speak, I remained for seven years without venturing to make her any sign, through fear that, if she perceived the truth, I should lose the opportunities I had of often being in her company; and this I dreaded more than death. However, one day, while I was observing her in a meadow, a great throbbing of the heart came upon me, so that I lost all colour and control of feature. Perceiving this, she asked me what the matter was, and I told her that I felt an intolerable pain of the heart. She, believing it to be caused by a different sickness than love, showed herself pitiful towards me, which prompted me to beg her to lay her hand upon my heart and see how it was beating. This, more from charity than from any other affection, she did, and while I held her gloved hand against my heart, it began to beat and strain in such wise, that she felt that I was speaking the truth. Then I pressed her hand to my breast, saying—
“‘Alas, madam, receive the heart which would fain break forth from my breast to leap into the hand of her from whom I look for indulgence, life and pity, and which now constrains me to make known to you the love that I have so long concealed, for neither my heart nor I can now control this potent God.’
“When she heard those words, she deemed them very strange. She wished to withdraw her hand, but I held it fast, and the glove remained in her cruel hand’s place; and having neither before nor since had any more intimate favour from her, I have fastened this glove upon my heart as the best plaster I could give it. And I have adorned it with the richest rings I have, though the glove itself is wealth that I would not exchange for the kingdom of England, for I deem no happiness on earth so great as to feel it on my breast.”