Wichita eagle., 1889-08-09

| hclently huunbied.
| But the followers of Foulques the Beauti-
| ful chafed at the delay. And messengers
come to the Castle of Pierreluce to seek him,
and they brought him tidings Of the terrible
wars waged by the infidels In Provence
| They told him of the wives and daughters
led to hideous bondage by these the foes OF
God and his church. And there were muir
u1urs among the men who rode after Foul
| cues the Beautiful, and he beard his name
| spoken in bitterness among them when they
knew not he was nigh, and he saw the frowns
| upon their faces when he came unheralded
into their midst.
His own heart child him and he fretted ito
| be gone, and yet the face of Bathllde held
him as though she were sorceress who had
| bound him to her side by chains.
but a day came when messenger RODE IN
| hot haste to Pierreluce with word that hands
had been laid upon the sire Of Foulques the
| Beautiful in his own country Of Theoule, and
| he called his men to horse and threw himself
upon his palfrey and, daring not to look again
on Bathilde, he rode away without glance
! behind.
| She spoke no word.
YEARLY she went up into her tower. There
she sat alone and no one heard her voice in
lamentation or could say that she was desc
| late.
But from that window where she had first
looked down On the coming Of her lord, there
sat she, from the first grayof dawning until
| the shadows of the night, and watched and
waited for his return.
No one heard her weeping and none could
say that they had seen her shed tear.
But there by her window she wept the 81
lent, bitter tears which scald and scar the
cheeks they fall upon.
And in the night the watchers of her castle
! saw her in her trailing robes of black wan
dering through the long corridors, or stood
aside that she might pass into her courts and
gardens and walk the paths and show her
sleepless eyes to the cold pity of the stars.
Thinner and paler she grew until her black
robes seemed to float about her and scarce
touch her slender limbs.
She was conscious neither of hunger, thirst
nor fatigue
And at last she ceased to hope for the re-
| turn of Foulques the Beautiful. He was
| dead or faithless.
Then she summoned her servitors and babe
them take from her castle walls all the mir
| rors of glass and steel which were wont to re-
fleet her beauty She would look no more
| upon the face which he had ceased TO love or
! which he never more might look upon with
living eyes
From her window in the tower, where still
she sat-though hopeless, for the place was
dear to her because it first yielded her the
sight of him-she one day saw troop Of
horsemen enter the road from the mountains.
Straight she went down from her tower
and out at her castle gates to meet them.
She went among them and questioned them
herself, and trusted to none other.
But they knew naught Of Foulques the
| Beautiful
After that day she went out and questioned
all who journeyed on the road, and took into
her white hands the hands of pilgrims and
beggars and entreated of them tidings of her
lord.
But none could tell her of Foulques the
Beautiful
And now she prayed to God and all his
angels. Each day she went to the church
and bruised her delicate knees on the rough
stones where knelt the poor to pray, or tore
her tender feet with pilgrimages to shrines
where she might lay offerings of flowers and
burn tapers and pray for the return of her
| lord. She emptied her Golfers of their stores
J OF wealth and scattered her silver among
Gods poor and gave her gold in aims to alb
bots for the building Of new monasteries and
churches, where masses might be said for the
safe return of her lord. And when her cot
fers were empty and she had sold her jewels,
her rings, her glittering girdles, her golden
strings with their clasp of amethyst, and no
jewel remained to hen, she took her silken
robes and mantleS of rich brocades and laid
them as offerings to Our Lady, and they
were taken by the church and used to drape
| the blessed saints.
And she kept only her robes Of black and
she was as poor in her castle as any beggar
upon the roads which led unto its gates
Then came monk tc the donjon gates TO
ask for Lady Pierreluce.
White and thin, in her black garments.
she came and stood before him
The friar told her woeful tale Of his es-
cape from the wars with only his life, and
that threatened by wounds given him through
his scored garments by the enemies of his
church They had surprised him while bind
ing the ten wounds of FoulQues the Beaut,
full now Lord of Theoule, who had been hurt
! unto death IN battle, and one hundred against
two, they had borne away the lord and
chased him with thrusts Of many weapons 10
die as they thought, IN the woods. He had
| fingered long enough to learn that the ransom
placed on the head OF FoulQues the Beauti-
| full by these his eternal foes, was sum OF
| 1000 lires stamped In the image of the king
OF France and ten cases of precious stones.
She listened with eyes IN which burned the
signals of Overwhelming despair.
Il am poor," she said. II have nothing"
Daughter where is thy great wealth. =
asked the monk, and she saw that he believed
| her not
II have given unto the church, she an
swered, and would have explained further,
but with cold, averted eyes the friar turned
and left her, and she knew that he believed
her not and held her fsithless-
Then she went, sad eyed, back 20 her tower
and sat in her window. She looked on the
| road and saw o great number Of her people
vending their way toward the church They
were bearing greas branches on palms Then
she heehough. her YEARLY that il was the
Feast Of Palms and holy Sabbath day. And
alone, in her tower, she sank on her knees
and prayed unto God for the delivery OF Fol-
! Ques tie Beautiful
4 thought came 20 her.
| Rising, she went down from hsr tower and
out at her castle gates and kDslf @ the road
where che peopie mus pass her On shesr way
| from the church Her face was as white as
the facs of the dead and her EYES were As
dark as black pools wasn tie SKY Is angry
| above cbeu
Ard when the people came fre-n the church
they found TIE LADY Of Pte-rel.c- kneehnc
among the beSSsrs by the roadside with
bands cutstresched. asking aims OF her s--fS
for the ransom of rouiaues IRE Besusafd
And they thought her mad AID Fsi upon
her-bccauss they fearod Der 70 longer.
They took zcenes from tie rosd sid placed