“I acknowledge,” said Longarine, “that we praise her for the great love
she bore to Jesus Christ and for her deep repentance; yet the name of
sinner clings to her.”
“I do not care what name men may give me,” said Ennasuite, “if only God
forgive me, and my husband do the same. There is nothing for which I
should be willing to die.”
“If the lady loved her husband as she ought,” said Dagoucin, “I am
amazed that she did not die of sorrow on looking at the bones of the man
whom her guilt had slain.”
“Why, Dagoucin,” returned Simontault, “have you still to learn that
women know neither love nor even grief?”
“Yes, I have still to learn it,” said Dagoucin, “for I have never made
trial of their love, through fear of finding it less than I desired.”
“Then you live on faith and hope,” said Nomerfide, “as the plover does
on air. (6) You are easily fed.”
6 This popular error was still so prevalent in France in
the last century, that Buffon, in his Natural History, took
the trouble to refute it at length.--B. J.
“I am content,” he replied, “with the love that I feel within myself,
and with the hope that there is the like in the hearts of the ladies. If
I knew that my hopes were true, I should have such gladness that I could
not endure it and live.”
“Keep clear of the plague,” said Geburon; “as for the other sickness
you mention, I will warrant you against it. But I should like to know to
whom the Lady Oisille will give her vote?”
“I give it,” she said, “to Simontault, who I know will be sparing of
none.”
“That,” he replied, “is as much as to say that I am somewhat given to
slander; however, I will show you that reputed slanderers have spoken
the truth. I am sure, ladies, that you are not so foolish as to believe
all the tales that you are told, no matter what show of sanctity they
may possess, if the proof of them be not clear beyond doubt. Many an
abuse lurks even under the guise of a miracle, and for this reason I am
minded to tell you the story of a miracle that will prove no less to the
honour of a pious Prince than to the shame of a wicked minister of the
Church.”
[Illustration: 028.jpg Tailpiece]
[Illustration: 029a.jpg The Execution of the Wicked Priest and his Sister]
[The Execution of the Wicked Priest and his Sister]
[Illustration: 029.jpg Page Image]
_TALE XXXIII_.
_The hypocrisy of a priest who, under the cloak of sanctity,
had got his sister with child, was discovered by the wisdom
of the Count of Angoulême, by whose command they both were
visited with punishment by law_. (1)
Count Charles of Angoulême, father of King Francis, a pious Prince and
one that feared God, happened to be at Coignac when he was told that
in a village called Cherues, (2) not far away, there dwelt a maiden who
lived a marvellously austere life, and who, for all that, was now great
with child. She made no secret of the matter, but assured every one that
she had never known a man and that she could not tell how such a fortune
should have befallen her, unless indeed it were the work of the Holy
Ghost. This explanation the people readily received, and knowing as they
all did how virtuous she had been from her youth up, and how she had
never given a single token of worldliness, they believed and deemed her
a second Virgin Mary. She used to fast not only on the days commanded by
the Church, but, from natural devotion, several times a week also; and
she never stirred from the church whenever there was a service going on
there. For these reasons she was held in such great repute among all the
vulgar that every one came to see her as though she were a miracle, and
those who succeeded in touching her dress deemed themselves fortunate
indeed.
1 This tale is historical, the incidents must have occurred
between 1480 and 1490.--L.
2 Cherves-de-Cognac, now a large village of nearly 3000
inhabitants, within four miles of Cognac. The church, where
some of the incidents recorded in the tale occurred, is
still in existence. It dates from the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, and is surmounted by three cupolas.--Eu.
The priest of the parish was her brother; he was a man advanced in
years and of very austere life, and was loved and reverenced by his
parishioners, who held him for a holy man. He treated his sister
with such harshness as to keep her shut up in a house, to the great
discontent of all the people; and so greatly was the matter noised
abroad that, as I have told you, the story reached the ear of the Count.
He perceived that the people were being deceived, and, wishing to set
them right, sent a Master of Requests and an Almoner, two very worthy
men, to learn the truth. These repaired to the spot and inquired into
the matter with all possible diligence, addressing themselves for
information to the priest, who, being weary of the whole affair, begged
them to be present at an examination which he hoped to hold on the
morrow.
Early the next morning the said priest chanted mass, his sister, who was
now far gone with child, being present on her knees; and when mass was
over, the priest took the “Corpus Domini,” and in presence of the whole
congregation said to his sister--
“Unhappy woman that you are, here is He who suffered death and agony for
you, and in His presence I ask you whether, as you have ever affirmed to
me, you are indeed a virgin?”
She boldly replied that she was.
“How is it possible that you can be with child and yet be still a
virgin?”
“I can give no reason,” she replied, “except that the grace of the
Holy Ghost has wrought within me according to His good pleasure;
nevertheless, I cannot deny the grace that God has shown me in
preserving me a virgin without ever a thought of marriage.”