The Federal mirror — Concord, N.H., 1795-07-10 00:00:00, page 1

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volume'iil],
Pleasing Miscellany.
THE CHEVALIER BAYARD,
AMD MADAME DE RANDAN.
A Taleof the Fiftmtb Century.
[Concluded.]
UT who can defcribe\he grief of the wi-
D dow ? She was the innocent cause of the
combat, and accused herfelf for having ap
peared beautiful in the eyes of Don Alonzo.
How interesting a moment was this for the
4 foul of our Chevalier, who heard the foft
confeffion which he had never dared to ask
for, now uttered amidst a profufion of tears,
of sighs and fobbings ! He wiped away her
tears, and spoke comfort to her. As a pledge
of love, the tied round his arm a ribband,
'and gave him a picture. It was a Cupid re
moving a widow's veil and wiping off her
tears with leaves of roses. The Chevalier
received this picture on his knees, and after
I having kissed it a thousand times, and a thou
sand times kissed the fair hand that gave it,
he placed it in his bosom, and took his leave.
Palice led his friend to the lifts, mounted
on a (lately courser ; but the Spaniard chaf
ing to fight on foot, the Chevalier dismount
ed ; the judges dlftributed the arms to each,
and both before engaging recommended
themfeives to God. Then rising and mak
ing' the sign of the cross, they proceeded to
combat.
1 (hall not detain the reader with a partic
lularI ular account of the prowess and address of
, the refpedive combatants, nor with a de-
Sfcription of the hopes and fears that agitat
ed their friends.—Let it be fofficient to fay,
that, after an obstinate and bloody encoun
ter, the Chevalier Bayard flew his opponent
, and came off victorious. He immediately
threw himfelf upon his knees, and returned
thanks to G^l, ffiree times limnite
7 ground. He was led away in triumph with
the found of the trumpets to the church, a
gain to give thanks for his viaory, and thence
he proceeded to the fair widow.
No one can paint the joy of this ^dy, but
one who could paint her charming eyes, and
her whole person. All was foul, and all,
even her very sighs was joy. From this mo
ment love united their hearts with his strong
est bonds. —
Madame de Randan, surrounded with a
crowd of importunate lovers, now began to
dread the effects of her beauty. The life of
Bayard was become so dear to her that flic
could not think of exposing it again to an
other hazard.
She therefore resolved to retire to a se
questered mansion that belonged to her in
the country. She did not however inform
Bayard of her resolution, but she said to her
felf, he will perhaps come; and the
I furnished a magnificent apartment for him
in the castle.
The ladies of our age, so decent and so
delicate, will perhaps be astonished that the
widow mould provide an apartment in her
^, house for one not a hulbarid ; but this was
the custom, in days of old, fax Cbroalim
were discreet and refpe&ful lovers, and never
failed to fay, b,n*ifoit ^mal, „nc<.
Our widow was occupied with Bayard a
lone ; the ladies of thafe times are diftraded
1{ with so many lovers that they can afford to
one but a small portion Os sensibility ; and
this diftradion no doubt is the fafeguard of
their honor. But alas ! when one thinks of
none but one, how necessary does that one
become ! especially when that one is a Bay
ard ! .
The lady departed for her retirement in
the country, and the Chevalier, it is needless
to fay, did not remain behind. They ar
rived in great state at Ferte, where magnifi
cent preparations had been made for their
reception; the old soldiers welcomed the
gallant Chevalier with honest hearts and
military honors, while the young girls, of alt
the neighboring villages, in their best array,
came out to meet the widow, and presented
iher with flowers. . ।
How happy were bur two lovers ! How
I short did the days appear to them, those days
which others thinklo tedious in the country !
Reading, and rural amusements, were their
most serious bufofs. In short, the wido^
consented to be a widow no longer. She had
sworn never to fflinquifh the name of Monf.^
Randan. She could not break her oath.
Her marriage therefore with Bayard w, per
^ formed in private, and long remained ato
NEWHAMPSHIRE—PRINTFD AND PUBLISHED BY RUSSELL AND DAVIS, AT CONCORD^
— ___Q I — - — —I - r —
CONCO RD, FRIDAY, JULY io, 1795.
____- ——----
To judge of the happiness of this fond pair,
it is necessary to have seen them. Madame
de Randan had brought the Chevalier a
daughter, deflined to inherit her mother's
beauty, and her father's honor. To fee Bay
ard, like another Hedor, take off his helmet
not to frighten with its black and freading
plumes, the little infant which his wife, in
an ecftacy of conjugal love and maternal af
fedion, held out to him ; to fee Bavard, the
flower of chivalry, and the dread of the foes
of France, lying on the green sod, with a lit
tle child on his knees, playing with the hilt
of his sword ; one must be a father one's felf
to conceive it.
One day as he was amusing himfelf in this
way, his friend Palice came to summon him
to the field. He was not surprised to find-
Bayard thus employed. People in those days
had not deviated from nature so far as we
have, and there is a penetrating charm which
attends every adion referable to her. The
Captain saw at once how matters flood.—
" This is your daughter, Chevalier, said he ;
what a charming little innocent !" and he
lifted her up, and pressed her to his heart.
Bayard blulhed, " I give you joy, m,brave
friend, said Palice ; allow me to pay my re
fpeds to your wife.—Madame de Randan,
was in some confafion, but she soon recover
ed herfelf, and accepted the salutations of the
Captain, with a good grace. " You are go
ing, said foe to take the Chevalier from me,
and to lead him to the field of danger.''—
"To the field of honor, Madame." " The
King's will shall be obeyed," returned the
with a fi^h. She went immediately and pre
pared with her own hands the field equipage
of the Chevalier ; and the communicated to
Boudin, his faithful squire, the secret of dres
sing all forts of wounds, with a box of medi
cines carefully made up from herbs of love
reign virtue by herfelf.
Bayard departed. Let us pass over the a
dieus. In the firft battle he was wounded
artfrebe^nrfo^^ h^wax c#^.
tied off the field and taken to the house of
quality, whole fears he calmed by his dis
course, and by the precaution of placing two
soldiers as a guard, to whom he gave a pres
ent of eight hundred crowns as an indemni
fication for the pillage of the house to which
they were entitled. When his impatience to
join the army rather than his cure, which
Was not compleated, determined him to de
part, the mistress of the house threw herfelf
at his feet. " The right of war, said foe,
makes you master not only of dur property,
but of our lives ; and you have saved our
honor : we hope however from your gene
rosity, that you will not treat us with rigour,
and that you will accept of a present more
suited to our fortune than to our gratitude.
At the fame time, she presented him with a
box full of golden ducats. Bayard looked at
her, and asked how many there were.
" Two thouiand five hundred, my Lord,
said she; but if you are not fatisfied, we will
do every thing in our power to do something
more." No, Madame, Gid Bayard, I will
accept of no money ; thecare you have taken
of me is beyond any recompence I can make
to you ; I only alk your friendship, and beg
you to accept of mine." ^A moderation so
unusual affeded the lady more with surprise
than with joy. She threw herfelf again at
the Chevalier's feet, and said she would not
rife if he did not accept of that proof of her
gratitude. " Since you will have it so, said
Bayard, I will not refufe you ; but cannot I
have the honor of saluting your daughters
before Igo?" When they came in he thank
ed them for their attention to him, for their
company and their kind endeavors to amuse
him in his distress." "I would willingly
teftify my acknowledgements to you, said
he ; but military men seldom have any jew
els fit for persons of your sex. Your mother
has made me a present of two tboufand five
hundred ducats ; I hope each of you will
accept of a thousand as an addition to your
dowry. I define the remaining five hun
dred to the Nuns of this city who have been
plundered, and I beg you will take the trou
ble to feethem properly diftribued."
It was thus that Bayard endeavored to foft
en the horrors of war. But while he thus
did honor to his country, and was gloriously
shedding his blood for the state, there were
got wanting pesfons at court who were form
ing plots against his domestic peace. ^ Cer
tain favorites who remained with Francis 1.,
in a fhameftil inactivity, and who attacked,
at their pleasure, the reputations of the brave
and the beautiful, did not spare the fair in
habitant of the castle in Ferte. Francis chid
the calumny of that quarter, but still he be
lieved more of it than he ought to have be
lieved, He loved the sex, and Madame de
Randan was so beautiful, that he grew desir
ous of feeing her ; and as he was an amiable,
a gallant prince, and a king, was it not nat
ural for him to indulge some pleasing hopes !
but as was ever courteous, he wrote the lady
a letth, informing her of his intention to
pay her a visit with only two attendants.—
Tte4s answered refpedfully, and the
monarch soon arrived at the castle, where he
found her ready to receive him without the
court. As fcon as he saw her he dismounted,
took off his hat, and coming up, pulled off
his glove, then kissing the hand she present
ed to him, led her into the castle.
After the ^rft compliments had passed and
the king had refrefhed himfelf with a flight
collation, the two noblemen who attended
him, on various pretences, withdrew. Fran
cis immediately began to address the widow
in a tone of gallantry, and nobody knew bet
ter how to assume the monarch or the lover
as occasion required. 1 But on finding in the
present case an unexpected refiftence, he
threw himfelf at the lad,'s feet. " Sire, said
she, bursting into tears, you must have a very
contemptuous opinion of me when you put
yourfelf in that humble posture before me.
Have you forgotten that 1 am the widow of
Mons. de Randan, who formerly rendered
you such signal services F" The king piqued j
at this unexpected catastrophe, forgot tor a
moment the refoeft he always Shewed to the
sex. " And have you, Madam, said he, not
forgotten M. de Randan ?" These words
brought a blulh into the cheeks of the lady.
" Ah ! Sire, said flie, what have you been
told of me ?" Ma'dam, said he, instantly
aware of his imprudence, and assuming as
much refpe& as possible, I have been told
that you are as virtuous as you are fair."
" I know, Sire, returned she, that it is to
other reports of me, that I am indebted for
the honor of this visit; you have been flat
%ffyou have been 3te@ft&B&^
Sire, you have been imposed upon < far
true I have forgotten M. de Randan ; the
Chevaljer de Bayard is now—my husband."
At these words she opened a casket and took
out the contra& of marriage written by the
Chevalier's own hand. The king read it.,
" I know, said she, and I am happy in think
ing, that it was not the wife of Bayard that
you meant to seduce." " No, madam, re
plied Francis, no ; upon the honor of a gen
tlemanjuftice shall be done to your reputa
tion, I own I have been impeded on, but I
shall repair my fault. Bayard shall always
find a second in me when the honor of his
fair spouse is attacked."
So faying he summoned his attendants and
mounted his horse : " Gentlemen, said he,
as be took leave of the lady, I have been pay
ing a visit to the wife of the Chevalier Bay
ard ; Houifoit qui mal, penfe."
The lady, fatisfied with the manner in
which this visit had terminated, waited with
impatience for the return of the Chevalier ;
but alas ! she was never to fee him more.
Innumerable faults, committed in that
campaign' by Bonnivet, to whom the king
had given the command of the army, made it
necessary for the troops to abandon their en
terprise. The flower of the French army
was given in charge to Bayard, in order to
secure their retreat, which he effeded, but at
the expense of his own life. He was mor
tally wounded by the shot of a mufquet, then
used for the firft time ; and having fallen
from his horse, he was carried to a little dis
tance and laid at the foot of a tree.
Here, With his face turned to the enemy
and his eyes fixed on the cross of his sword,
he recommended himfelf to Heaven and pa
tiently waited his end. But did he forget
Madame de Randan ? No : he dilated a let
ter to Boudin ; his Whole foul, tender and
full of those virtues that dignified the char
atter of the ancient cavaliers, was poured
forrhin that letter. " Take, said he, take
the name of Bayard, and thus honor the
memory of a true knight who has loved ,ou
white he lived, and who was all his life with
out fear and irreproachable, ever zealous for
glory, faithful to his king and true to his
love;"
, The constable of Bourbon, as he wes in
pursuit of the fugitives, passed by him and
was deeply affefted with his fate. “I am not
to be pitied, said this brave man ; I die in
, performance of my duty ; but it is you who
defense pity, who are in arms against your
country, your king, your friends, your oath,
your honor and your interest." At this mo
ment a page arrived from the king with a let
ter for the Chevalier. By this Francis in-
[number 142.]
■tttfatOCWW—^e^^^^
vited him to return to court that be might
acknowledge his wife in public ; and in con
sideration of his marriage, the king confer
red on him the government of Burgundy.—
" Ah ! my most gracious liege, cried Bay
ard ; how well do you deserve the love I ev
er had for you ! I would now die content but
<for the thought of leaving a widow in des
pair." Prefcaire, the greatest enemy of the
French, but full of admiration for Bayard,
had no sooner learned that he was wounded
than he ran to him and cried, " Ah ! Cheva,
lier, would to God I had kept you fafe and
found as my prisoner, that you might have
experienced by the civilities 1 would have
fliewn you, how much I esteem your valour
and high prowess ; but since there is no rem
edy for death, I pray God to receive your
great foul into his hands, as I am fore he
will." He then set a guard over the Cheva
lier, with orders on pain of death, to defend
him, and not to quit him as long as he had
life. Bayard soon after expired.
Madame de Randan, in her retirement at
Ferte, was wholly employed in thinking on
her honored Lord, whose return she was
fondly anticipating, without dreaming of the
fad tidings that were about to be announced
to her.,
Francis had been informed by a page of
the death of the Chevalier. This confide-
;rate prince took measures for preventing the
fatal news from reaching her by surprise, and
went to pay her a visit that he flight weep
with her, and endeavor to comfort her when
it should arrive.
In a short time Palice fuddenl,entered the
castle ; the widow met him with looks of joy
which she saw were not returned . " Alas !
said she, I know it, my husband is dead."<—
" He is, said Palice ; he has fallen in the
field of glory ; the pride of his friends, the
admiration of his enemies. He recommend
ed you to heaven with his latest breath, and
his last request was that you would live for
the fake of his child,"
Tire widow itiaJe a sgn ^TW^ to 1 ror.
her alone a few moments ; after which she
sent for her child, tcok her in her arms, and
kissed her ; then recommended her to the
care of the king and of Palice, she tell back
in her chair and expired.
Foreign Intelligence.
~—QBeflfflqnfymß~_t.^
PARIS, APRIL 12.
Treaty of Peace and Amity,
Between the French Republic and the King
of Prussia.
The French Republic and his Majesty
the King of Prussia, equally defiroua
to put an end to the war by a solid
peace between the two nations, have
nominated to be their Plenipotentia
ries, viz.
The French Republic, Citizen Fran
cis Barthelemy, her Ambaffidor in
Switzerland; and the King of Prussia,
his Minister of State of War, and of
the Cabinet, Charles Augustus, Baron
de Hardenberg, Knight of the order
of the Red Eagle, of the White Ea
gle, and of St. Stanifhus—who have
fettled the following articles :—
Art. 1. There shall be peace, ami
ty, and good understanding between
the French'Republic and the King of
Prussia, at such at well as Elector of
Brandenburgh, and co-tftate of the
Germanic Empire.
Art. 11. In consequence of which,
all hoflilicies between the two con
trasting powers shall cease from the
ratification of the present treaty ; and
neither of them from that date shall
furnifh against the other, in any way
or manner, any fuccour or quota, ei
ther in men, horfei, provifiona, mon
ey, warlike ftorei, or otherwise.
Art. 111.. Neither of the contra&-
iog powers shall grant a passage thro*
its territory, to the troops of the ene
my of the other.
Art IV. The troops of the French
Republic shall evacuate, within fifteen