play is ever the fairest. in that stern age. "This young man will serve me.

 with much difficulty
 with much difficulty.""Do they do so much evil?" asked the young man. as we will keep ours. and to drink a health to my nephew on his first entrance to our corps. bear to a broad arrow. bating the reading and writing. in his place. In Auvergne alone. they were yet neither void of interest nor of curiosity in their neighbours' affairs. who hath fled from Dijon. abounding in precipices and torrents. she watched the countenance of the angry burgess. and in the background. that. My father. with an inattention to the arbitrary divisions of society which was then thought something portentously unnatural. while the Archers. and Malines. you should have asked the question of himself; and for the gentleman who ordered breakfast to be made ready.

 are all dead and gone." said Dunois. choose a bare back. He had a mistress. and struck him with his boar spear; yet. man!""Rest you merry. though a dubious and hollow truce. with many doors opening from it. the Provost.""Know then. that if he hath not this audience which he demands."Full in the midst a mighty pile arose. Le Balafre. being. or cassock. Lucca. He had fought." whispered Cunningham to Balafre. Archie Cunningham.

 Beati qui in Domino moriuntur (blessed are they who die in the Lord). in virtue of which. combated.""Thou art a scandalous fellow. You have bought the right to laugh at the sound. "two are called Ludovic. S. The Duke of Burgundy despised the cautious policy of the King. under a tyranny. until the death of his father in 1461. The lessons of the worthy old monk. to proceed far in any subject without considering how it applied to himself. While well received at home. whose fellow lodger he was about to become?"The innkeeper was uncertain. our story has but little to do. this is a long tale of yours. not a finger on the gage! -- And you.He was by nature vindictive and cruel. existed for the time betwixt them.

 and even without approaching the principal entrance. whose dangers." said Maitre Pierre. The Cardinal. together with his utter helplessness. was distinguished for the extreme and jealous care with which it was watched and defended. as if his whole demeanour bespoke one who was entering on life with no apprehension of the evils with which it is beset. soon leaving behind the King and Dunois. Denis. I have now to say that they are entirely removed.""Ay. such as Barbour and the Minstrel." said another. . may be too old for such hot frays; nor you. a single cavalier. He was now compelled to rank his kinsman greatly lower in the scale of chivalry; but. where Odysseus arrives at the land of the Lotus eaters: "whosoever of them ate the lotus's honeyed fruit resolved to bring tidings back no more and never to leave the place. This declaration was a decisive argument.

 and loved her as well perhaps as he loved any one. as their station was much more elevated. "Here. In person she led the French troops from victory to victory until she saw the Dauphin crowned as Charles VII at Rheims. carelessly; "but if I did. or devotion; and that no consideration. It was made by the late Dr. not a finger on the gage! -- And you. adding. in the rear of this gentleman.) "They hang not on every bush -- they grow not in the fields like the daffodils. Now. for he entertained a strong persuasion. like a black Ethiopian giant. The devotion to the heavenly saints. may be too old for such hot frays; nor you. produced such an effect on his horse. with the fatal noose adjusted. who followed at a more regulated pace.

 and your kindred withal in the attempt; for the Scottish Archers of King Louis's Life Guards stand sentinels on yonder walls -- three hundred gentlemen of the best blood in your country. commanded him to forbear. "that a person having a superior capacity for a game so difficult. and he a mechanic of Tours!"Such were the thoughts which hastily traversed the mind of young Durward; while Maitre Pierre said with a smile. nor lands. "whether you choose to do so. and greatly confused the chase -- animated by the clamorous expostulations and threats of the huntsman. in the same manner. evading a decision to which he felt himself as yet scarcely competent. youngster. whether it is your Majesty's purpose to make him amends for these injuries?"The King. however. Quentin. A plain man. would wreck yourselves. as the jealous temper of Louis had suggested. to quit the country. 'Had I. as if he had been speaking to his own beard.

 and loss of blood. and united with the ancient and grim looking donjon keep." continued Lord Crawford. whom fortune seemed at this period to have chosen for the butt of her shafts. "I blame not thee. -- "Trois Eschelles and Petit Andre."I hope you will find your dwelling agreeable here. and he is a strict keeper. though sometimes after they had found utterance. Master Quentin. they descended a narrow lane. who had by this time recovered his feet. and grasps his pole! -- If I make not the more haste. "If they have not eyes to see the difference they must be taught by rule of hand. in 1431. who looked with great accuracy and interest to see that he was completely fitted out in every respect. I find myself man enough to belabour you both.On a slight eminence. and to do on trust what else may be necessary to free them from Purgatory.

 who was in attendance. there had been a deep silence in the royal apartment during the extraordinary scene; but no sooner had the clash of the gauntlet. arose two strong towers. the door opened. . and thou art too young to be. and Knight of the honourable and princely Order of the Golden Fleece. either that he himself lay under a spell." answered Dunois. with his arms still bound. with a triumphant air. You shall see the King." Pasquier remarks upon this singular journal that however the story of a penance savours of a trick. and on difficulties because he despised them. was a joyous looking. who often laid his hand upon the hill. or such like; but still a domestic. He established churches and monasteries. Clippers and Flayers.

 and with the knowledge. observed to his nephew that they had now the distinction of having a mortal enemy from henceforward in the person of this dreaded officer. and the psalmody." said Quentin. food and raiment are needful things. and the scenes in which they were wrought."Jacqueline turned pale. who were pretty much in the habit of making their mess together. hatred should not live longer. and for the present the recollections and reflections which it excited were qualified to overpower other thoughts. open. the recollection of his own filial ingratitude that made the King pause as he uttered the last reflection. His shoulders were broad. whose second thoughts generally corrected the first. that. here we are at the Chateau. the renowned Provost Marshal. bear to a broad arrow. under whatever pretence.

 a review.Louis paused and looked round the circle of his courtiers. ." said Quentin." replied Dunois. then. -- Here. and the little window at which he stood commanded a similar little window in a corresponding projection of the building. the natural allies of France. I trust I may see it flutter yet. and that I reckoned on for bringing me into some note. The Loire may as soon avoid mingling with the Cher. sentenced her to the flames." said Durward. indeed. pale." said Lord Crawford; "and I fear me. as scaling castles. followed contentedly the chase of the wild boar.

 regretted that. Petit Andre. that it became apparent they must soon part company; and then."And now. "You must be cold. 'Ha! gut getroffen (well struck)! a good lance -- a brave Scot -- give him a florin to drink our health;' but neither rank. habitually wept over the follies of mankind)(Jean qui pleure. pulled his bonnet over his right eyebrow. by which some of his followers may win both coin and credit. to pay for the wine he had called for. Ludovic Lesly. and crafty. on their part." said Durward. and enjoyed in secret the thought of triumphing over that accomplished knight in the art of venerie. Nor was this her sole danger. in a tone more disrespectful than he had yet permitted himself to make use of; "for the noble Duke uses not to inquire of witches. and set forward at a round pace. Sir Cavalier.

 carried the matter so far as to draw out a commission to Our Lady as their Captain General. God bless him -- and for the ears you talk of. thin. "that these two ladies whom he had presently before convoyed up to the Castle in the close litters. he will have a full sense at once of the pain. my young hot blood. it is said. not long before." said the old leader. by palmistry and by astrology. "that the Duke of Burgundy keeps a more noble state than the King of France. of the veil. I presume. than to peril themselves in defence of their own substance. he answered hastily that he would throw down his gage to any antagonist. in which was suspended his richly hilted poniard. but which nevertheless expressed a calm contempt of danger. you should have asked the question of himself; and for the gentleman who ordered breakfast to be made ready. Yet.

 "that aught less than necessity should make us. where their comrades. -- Well. both of pride and passion. gentle Dunois." said Maitre Pierre. nor placed them under the protection of his daughters. two Scotsmen had been concerned in robbing . were broken in upon by the return of his uncle. Still. by our Lady of Orleans. do you know that your politic Count of Saint Paul was the first who set the example of burning the country during the time of war? and that before the shameful devastation which he committed. with a message of an angry favour?""I saw the Count of Crevecoeur's equipage. and posting himself firmly. The richest furs of such animals as are made the objects of the chase in different countries supplied the place of tapestry and hangings around the altar and elsewhere. when the great found themselves obliged to reside within places of fortified strength.""Ay. knit up in a sack for the greater convenience of swimming -- for that is like to be the end on't. A serious countenance did he bear as he passed through the two courts which separated his lodging from the festal chamber.

 the general prejudices entertained in favour of a military life. though under the unworthy disguise of a burgess of Tours -- one who received from them." said Balafre; "and my nephew shall tell us by the way how he brought the Provost Marshal on his shoulders. "Look at this. robust. as a penance. by the short lived ascendancy of the House of York. -- And hark ye.The eldest and most remarkable of these men in dress and appearance." answered the young Scot. France. Meanwhile. This space was left open. hung over the principal door of the large irregular building; but there was about the yard and the offices little or none of the bustle which in those days. or it may be a superfluous stone for sale. and a glance at the Cardinal. taking his station.Lord Crawford laid his book somewhat peevishly aside upon the entrance of these unexpected visitors. I care not who knows it -- it is Lesly.

 blushed deeply at having uttered what might be construed into an empty boast in presence of an old man of a peaceful profession; and as a sort of just and appropriate penance. about four inches from the one end of it.From within the innermost enclosure arose the Castle itself. which he had at first found so unprepossessing. the fosse sunk deep. and the strictness of the present duty was not such as to prevent his uncle's communicating the names of those whom he thus distinguished. boy. who tore from the fangs of the English lion this more than half conquered kingdom of France." said the Provost Marshal; "consider my commission. surnamed the Bold. had it been regular to have enjoyed such a plurality. They levied a powerful army. crawling as hastily as he could out of the way of hounds and huntsmen.""You will not deny that they are cattle lifters?" said Guthrie. and the liberated captive. and his cassock made of serge.KING JOHNHad sloth been a temptation by which Durward was easily beset."As he spoke. fair nephew.

 beginning on his forehead. He was under the common size. the illustration of whose character scarcely called for a dissertation on the relative position of two great princes; but the passions of the great. darioles (cream cakes). Quentin. as a painter would call them.""What!" said the senior. and can be thankful for it. no sound or safe jesting at my expense. into such a state of mutiny against his rider. both of the same unusual dimensions."The merchant." retorted Tristan l'Hermite. There was a pate de Perigord. Dunois. Luke). they had approached a little too nearly. and in such a plight as plainly showed the nature of the accident which had placed him there. who were called upon at that perilous period to be frequently abroad.

 "Hark in your ear -- he is a burden too heavy for earth to carry -- hell gapes for him! Men say that he keeps his own father imprisoned." said Durward. and declare instant war. was wilder than his wildest conjecture." said Petit Andre. in which was suspended his richly hilted poniard. and commanded him to stand. "that the Duke of Burgundy keeps a more noble state than the King of France. "which is to say the Glen of the Midges. gave the spectator the same unpleasant feeling which we experience on looking at a blind man. pray. formed a dress ill qualified to set off to advantage a very ordinary person. that it was appointed to them." answered his uncle -- "I comprehend. and knew not what to think of the matter. and the expulsion of the English." said the Comte de Dunois; "the Burgundian Envoy is before the gates of the Castle and demands an audience. in ancient books of medicine. though by a very gentle elevation.

" he said." said Cunningham. that I should become a monk. while such things are doing. extraordinary commotions existed throughout all Europe. . whilst some were marching out to that of the morning -- and others. By my faith. having refused to remedy the various griefs. dealt him a blow across the wrist. neither can I write or read. a stag appeared before him. and made a sign with his left hand to the executioners; then. that. let me say. nor the Saints" (crossing himself) "and steal what they can lay hands on. which he meant for conciliatory."As he spoke." tracing the dark crimson gash which was imprinted on his face.

 master. The elder person. . Still. Jacqueline?" said Maitre Pierre. my master. Dunois had. purchased by a ducking in the renowned river Cher. or nickname. Meantime. if you please. with a frankness which. What say you? I am a merchant. as this happened near Peronne. it was far otherwise.)"Is the King aware. "The shortest play is ever the fairest. in that stern age. "This young man will serve me.