“I have not insulted you,” replied the Flemish lady. “The word that escaped me was rather a term of flattery and of praise, at least if it has the meaning which it conveys to us here, in these semi-French parts.”
“Say that word again,” added the King; “for I want everybody to bear witness that I am just in punishing you for such an insult.”
“Sire,” answered this young woman, “your soldiers have destroyed my pasture-lands, my woods, and my crops. Heart-broken, I came here to curse you, but your appearance at once made me change my mind. On looking closer at you, in spite of my grief, I could not help exclaiming, ‘So that’s the handsome b——-, is it!’”
The grenadiers, being called as witnesses, declared that such was in fact her remark. Then the King smiled, and said to the young Flemish lady:
“Who are you? What is your name?”
With readiness and dignity she replied, “Sire, you see before you the Comtesse de Sainte-Aldegonde.”
“Pray, madame,” quoth the King, “be so good as to finish your toilet; I invite you to dine with me to-day.”
Madame de Sainte-Aldegonde accepted the honour, and did in fact dine with his Majesty that day. She was clever, and made herself most agreeable, so that the King, whose policy it was to win hearts by all concessions possible, indemnified her for all losses sustained during the war, besides granting favours to all her relatives and friends.
The Sainte-Aldegonde family appeared at Court, being linked thereto by good services. It is already a training-ground for excellent officers and persons of merit.
But for that somewhat neat remark of the Countess’s, all those gentlemen would have remained in poverty and obscurity within the walls or in the suburbs of Tournai.