Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-06-19
KNlGHTHOOD IN FLOWER,
Continued from page 8


done with Anne. because Anne was a
termagant and ruled him with the
heaviest rod of iron she could lift.
But this last passion. the tlickering.
suffering flame of his dOtage. was
the worst of all, both subjectively and
effectively. both as to his senile fond
ness for the English princess and her
impish tormenting of him. From the
first he evinced the most violent delight
in Mary, who repaid it by holding him
off and evadng him in "a manner so
cool, audacious and adroit that it
stamped her queen of all the arts fem
mime and demoniac. Pardon me, la
dies, if | couple these two arts, but you
must admit they are at times some
what akin. Soon she eluded him so
completely that for days he would not
have glimpse of her, while she was
perhaps riding, walking or coquetting
with some of the court gallants, who
aided and abetted her in every way
they could. He became almost frantic
in pursuit of his elusive bride. and
would eXpostulate with her, when he
could catch her, and smile uneasily.
like n man who is the victim of Il prac-
! teal joke of which he does not see or
enjoy the point. On such occasions she
would laugh in his face, then grow
augry-which was so easy for her to do
and. | grieve to say, would sometimes
almost swear at him in a manner to
make the pious though ofttimes lax
! virtucd court ladies shudder with hor-
!
! sport of his youthful ardor and tell him
| in all seriousness that it was indecorous
| for him to behave so and frighten her.
a poor, timid little child, with his i'm
petuosites Then she would manage
to give him the slip, and he would go
off and play game of cards with him
self, firmly convinced in his own feeble
way that woman's nature had Il tine
ture of the devil in it, He was the soul
of conciliatory kindness to the young
! vixen, but at times she would break
! violently into tears. accuse him of cru
ely mistreating her, helpless woman
and a stranger in his court. and threat
en- to 90 home to dear old England and
tell her brother, King Henry. all about
it and have him put things to right and
redress her wrongs generally. In fact
she acted the part of injured innocence
| so perfectly that the poor Old man
would apologize for the wrongs she in
vented and try to coax her into a good
humor. Thercupon she would weep
more bitterly than ever. grow hyster-
ical and require to be carried off by her
women. when recovery and composure
Were usually instantaneous. OF course
the court gossipS soon carried stories of
the quick rccovcrieS to the king and
when he spoke to Mary of them she
put on her injured air again and turned
the tables by upbraiding him for be-
lieving such calumnies about her. who
was so good to him and loved iu SC
dearly.
Mary would often pOut for days to-
gether and pretend illness. Upon one
occasion she kept the king waiting at
her door all the morning, while she,
having slipped through the window,
was riding with some of the young peo-
pie in the forest. When she returned
through the window - she went to
the door and scolded the poor old king
for keeping her waiting penned up in
her room all the morning. And he apol-
ogized
She changed the dinner hour to noon
in az .orlance with the English Gus
tom, and had heavy supper at night,
when she would make the king gorge
himself with unhealthful food and coax
him Ito drink as much as Brother
Henry" which Invariably resulted in
Louis de Valois finding Judgment under
the table. This amused the whole
court except few old cronies and
physicians, who, of course, We're scan
daliZed beyond measure She took the
king on long rides with her on cold
days and would jolt him almost to
death and freeze him until the cold
tears streamed down his poor pinched
nose, making him feel like a half ami
mated icicle and wish that he We're
one in fact.
At night she would have her balls
and keep him up till morning, drinking
and dancing, or trying to dance. with
her until his poor old heels, and his
head, too, for that matter were like
to fall off; then she would slip away
from him and lock herself in her room.
December, say |, let May alone; she
certainly will kill you. Despite which
sound advice, | doubt not December
will 90 on coveting May up to the end
of the chapter, each old fellow-being
such fine man for his age. you under.
stand-fOndly believing himself an ex-
ception. Age in fool is damnabe
Mary was killing Louis as certainly
and deliberately as if she We're feeding
him slow poison. He was very weak
and decrepit at best, being compelled
frequently upon public occasions, such,
for example, as the coronation tourna-
ment of which l have spoken, to lie
upon couch.
Mary's conduct was really cruel, but
then, remember the provocation. and
that she was acting in self defense.