The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-02-27

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life in those days of which this chron-
icle deals, there is little to find where
there is much to seek.
The silence of Commines may be ex-
planned in a thousand ways, possibly
professional jealousy of one minister
for another, who in so short a space of
time did SO much n SO well, possibly
ignorance of the real facts of the case,
for 1T is fairly certain that King Louis
kept his jape and its sequel very much
to himself, possibly because Commines
felt that his cold spirit was scarcely
equal to the proper recording of so
whimsical n oriental an adventure.
Coco Master Clement Marot, when
he took 1t upon himself, generations
after our poet was lust and ashes, to
edit our poets writings, said much in
praise of h singer but said little, no
doubt because he knew little, of the
poets life.
And the great creator OF Pantagruel
ana Gargantua. the tmmeasurable Al
cofribias Master, whom the world loves
or hates as Rabelais, in what he con
trlbuted to our knowledge Of Francois
V1lion has only--to use a weather.
worn and moss-grown phrase-made
confusion yet worse COMPOUNDED.
We should be at a deadlock, indeed,
If 1T were not for Poitou and its Abbey
or Bonne Adventure, whose library Is
luckily rich in historical manuscripts
OF the period, and richest of all in that
priceless manuscript of Dom Gregory,
which, treating in general of the &C.
clesiastical history of Poitou in the
hfteenth century, dealt so particularly
and so literally with the life of Mas
ter INC Villon, because Master
Villon in his old age was SO
excellent a patron Of the church. We
say dealt advfsedly, for time has treat
ca somewhat scurvily the fair skins
OF parchment upon which the good
Dom Gregory recorded his thoughts
n opinions at considerable length as
the rich setting of the facts, too few
In number. with which he condescend-
ed to enHghten posterity. Many pieces
OF parchment are missing from the roll
OF his record, and, unhapptly, the
greatest a in the story is precisely
at that point where our hero found
himself SO suddenly and SO strangely
x Into favor by his king, and SO
and so strangely smiled upon
by his mistress. We have indeed some |
admirable homiletics Of the worthy
fr1ars in praise of the conduct and
carriage OF Master Francois Villon at
the time Of his unexpected e%xaltation. |
AFTER a gracious invocation Of many
saints and angels, the very elect of
the company Of heaven, Dom Gregory,
IN a fne spirit of rectitude. proceeds to
applaud the count of Montcorbier for
the high example he set to his fellow
men. Here, in effect says the worthy
cnurcnman, was a mar who, having
passed the flower of his life in suualor
and all of igpobfuties, still
kept In a sense the Wilderness of his
and allowed the brightness of the
flame to burn, family indeed
but unexttnguished, on the altar OF his
HHnw ~ M yV,nr H.. ~.
glowing with a pious gratfi-
cation. hew many men who in humility
lave dreamed hat they might under
serener stars and happier auspices do
great deeds and win honorable honors.
II put to lne proof, show them
selves as splendid in prosperity as
dreamed themselves in adversely?
MASTER Frapcois Viiion. he goes on to
Is the 1ove1iest example known to
aim or a man. who, having always be-
leVed IN himself with a great belief,
40, on being put to the test, prove that
ms belief was founded, not on the
'hlfung sands Of vanity and vain glory.
out on the solid granite Of good faith
IND the inestimable doctrines Of the
"
From all this we gather dimly, as one
1iscerns objects in a mist, that Mas
:er Francois Villon, as count Of Mont
'orbier. proved himself to be little less
equal to the high opinion of him
self which he had confded ell IN
Willingly into the ear Of his mas
.Iueradfng sovereign. But the pages
n which Dom Gregory sets forth at
ength exactly all that Master Fran
,els V1llon did and said and thought |!
turing the period of his ASTONISHING
ROTATION, are unfortunately lost to the
apney OF onn Adventure, and, in con-
sequence, to the world. No less than
'lx folios consecrated by the careful
zen of Dom Gregory to this memoir
lsie epoch have vanished from the
manuscript. The custodian
u the ABBEY library will tell you with
ears In his eyes that these pages dis
lppeared during the storm and stress
u the French revolution, but travel
RS In France are too well aware
II the readiness of ecclesias tIcaj
'ustodians to attribute all things evil
o the time of the great upheaval, to paw
serious attention to this partici1ar
litigation. However 1t happened. the
pages are lost, and there, as far as we
ire concerned, is an end OF them.
But in a way we are able to piece to-
'ether from Dom Gregory's later state
nents, and from certain Traditions
pnich still llnger here md there tn the
highways and byways of Peitou.
,noush material to enable us to ascer-
aih Win something like sufficient ac-
what 1T was that Master Fran
,ois Viilon did accomplish as Count Of
Montcorbier in those seven laws of
plendo which his knocking king ac-
corded to lin. We know ror certain
nat the king found him an admirable
counsellor, cool. wary and judicious.
that during the period of his min
stry, Louis followed his advice with a
,aith which, If it were founded indeed
p a superstitious adherence to the
edicts of the stars, proved itself to be
thoroughly justified by his lord con-
common sense. foresight and
astonishing knowledge of human ma
:ure. We know, too, that he proved
himself no less skilled as a soldier than
Is a statesman, as capable, of pre-em-
nence in the arts of war as in the arts
peace. His knowledge of Caesars
commentaries and his atura inclina-
Ion to strategy, interpreted by an elo-
luent tongue fired by a ready mother
wit, earned him the ear and won him
he heart Of the kings great captains
Ind wrung from them at first a re-
but finally such a delighted ad-
lerence as their sires had been com
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