Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-07-19

Straight she went down from her tower
and out At her castle gates 10 meet them
She went among them and questioned them
bersek, and trusted 10 none other
But they knew naught II Foulq0ss the
Beautiful
After that day she went oat aid Questioned
an who jocrneyei On the road and teos into
ber white hands the hands of pilgrims and
texxnrx and entreated Of them things Of Der
lord
But none could tell her Of Foaisues the
Beautiful
And now she prayed to God snd all his
angela Each day she went 10 the church
and bruised her delicate knees on the rough
stones where kneir the poor to pray, Or tore
her tender feet with piigriinases TO snrinss
where she might lay offerings Of flowers and
burn tapsrs and pray for the return OF hes
lord She enptiei her Golfers OF their stores
Of wealth and scattered her silver among
Gods poor and gave her gold In aims TO alb
bots for the building Of new rnoalasteries and
churches. where masses might be sslif for the
safe return Of her lord And when her ccf-
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 her, she took her silken
rot-s and NANTES OF rich brpcades 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 hesgar
upon the roads which led unto its gates.
Then came q monk to the donjon gates 70
ask for Lady pierreiuce.
White and thin, In her black garments,
she came and stood before him.
The friar told her woeful tale Of his
cape from the wars with only his life and
that threatened by wounds given him through
his sacred garments by the enemies Of his
church They had surprised him while bind
ing the ten wounds Of Fouiques the Beaut
fui, now Lord of Theoult-, 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 to
die, a. they thought, in the woods He had
fingered long enough TO learn that the ransom
placed on the head Of Foulques the Beauti-
fui by these. his eternal foes, was a 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 overw helming despair.
Daughter. where is thy great Wealth.
her not
Il 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 faithless.
Then she went, sad eyed. back TO her tower
L., ha jg,,lra.1 fha
road and saw a great number Of her people
vending their way toward the church They
were bearing great branches Of palms. Then
she bethou2ht her YEARLY that ii 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 the Beautiful.
A thought came TO her.
Rising, she went down from her tower and
out at her castle gates and knelt the road
where the people must pass her On their way
from the church. Her face was white as
the face OF the dead and her eyes were as
dark as black pools when the sky is angry
above them.
And when the people came from the church
they found the Lady Of Perreuce kneeling
among the beggars by the roadside with
hands outstretched, asking aims of her serfs
for the ransom of Foulques the Beautiful
And they thought her mad and spat upon
her-Decauss' tn.N feared hef no longer.
They took stones from the road and placed
them In her hands and bal!e her help herself
from their store Of jewels, They laid bits OF
tin and copper between her white fingers
and babe her make herself welcome TO their
gold But as they stoned her and laughed ut
her and reviled her in her misery the holy
abbot and his white clad friars came down
from the don Jon chapel, and when he saw
her kneelng there he laid his hands upon her
head and blessed her
And 10! there came sudden rift OF light
from heaven and it bathet her from head to
foot in its spiendor And the bits Of tin and
copper became the shining gold She coveted
and the stones cast at her turned to Jewels in
her hands and size had ten times more of
these than she had any possible need of
The people marveled and cried "Hosan
NAH"
And she rose and gathered up her treasure
and smiled upon her people and forgave
them and went her way to dispatch the mes
seuger for her lord, and he was at once re
stored to her
And the angels rejoiced in heaven that
the Lady of Pierreuce had won To herself,
through her humility the ransom of the
valiant soldier, Foulques the Beautiful
Adapted from the French Of Rene Maileroy
for Current Literature by Alice Ballard
Macdonald