Evening star., 1932-09-17
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G. BOWIRMAN.

in fire, was the symbol Of Francis I
Of France. Carved in stone, 1t formed
part of the ornamental sculptures Of
his chateaux and was used in the
motifs of his tapestries, silver and brass
work and wood carvings. Jehanne
DOrliac In her biography, "Francis I:
Prince Of the Renaissance" translated
by Elisabeth Abbott, sees in the sala-
miander symbol Of the character OF
that extravagant king who throve only
in the fiery atmosphere Of excitement.
Certainly Francis was not cool, calcu-
lating and patient like his great rival,
endure adversely with philosophical
equanimity. but hastily sought a way
out by throwing his responsibilities and
difficulties upon others. Taken prisoner
after the Battle of Pavia and shut up
in fortress by Charles v, he chafed
and pined. His exuberant vitality
collapses with all its weight upon him.
His one real enemy Is tedium." Be-
fore long he arranged to have his two
sons given as hostages in his place and
as he crossed the boundary and reached
French soil he exclaimed, exultantly:
"Once more I am king" Considera-
ton for the rights or feelings of 9TH
ers was not one Of his weaknesses. II
he wanted estates which belonged to
his subjects, he took them; If he grew
tired of mistress, he discarded her and
asked for his gifts back. Perhaps in
these respects he was not different from
other royal personages of his time. and
before and after. Absolute power is not
likely to make any one just. History
records him as one of the great"
Kings of France and Jehanne D'Orliac
says of him: His vivid life was to
leave on the face Of France line of
beauty that would never be erased;
for the impulse which he gave to arts,
letters and thought had all the force
of his own energy" Yet as we read
the story of his life We feel that he was
as entirely selfish and unscrupulous as
his great" contemporary, Henry VIII.
With the salamander as his symbol,
Francis I should have had as motto
"Cherchez lie Femme" From his birth
he was surrounded by women and liked
it. His mother, Louise Of Savoy, was
the unenthusiastic young wife OF the
cultured Count d'Angouleme, II years
her senior and before his marriage well
satisfied with the domestic life pro-
vided by his mistress. Jeanne de Polig-
nae, and their daughters. Louise felt
no jealousy and became the friend Of
Jeanne, with whom she continued to
live after her husbands death. Not
long after the marriage Of Louise "the
blessed Francois de Paule," at Plessis-
Tours, prophesied that she would
have a son who would be King of
France. When Francis was born, his
mother was II. His cradle was sur
rounded by group of adoring women
and little girls. He was the only male,
and to his mother at least he was the
prospective King of France. though at
that time two others stood between him
and the throne, and the Queen, Anne
Of Brittany, might have many sons. A
comforting fact for Louise Of Angouleme
was that Anne's sons had the habit OF
dying soon after birth. When the
Count d'Angouleme died, Francis was
a wear old and was already noticing
and appreciating the feminine admira-
ton and coddling by which he was
encompassed He was "the constant
object Of devotion and caressing" not
only to his mother, but to his fathers s
mistress. Jeanne; to his own older sis
ter. Marguerite, and to his three bastard
sisters. Throughout the years while
Francis was waiting for the throne. he
was leading life Of pleasure, riding.
hunting, feasting. fitting. on rainy days
listening to music and reading roma ntlc
tales As Anne's children continued to
die, Francis was proclaimed Dauphin
OF France and became q favorite OF the
King, Louis XII. His mother grew in
importance and arrogance and wor-
SHIPPED him the more. His sister Mar
guerite, afterward Duchess d'Alencon
and later still Queen of Navarro, author
of THE Heptameron," that collection OF
amorous tales supposed to be based on
the exploits of her brother, idolized him
throughout her life and put his inter-
ests before all others. Court ladies fat
tered him and sought his favor. Only
Anne of Brittany hated him and his
scheming mother.
The only women who did not IN
terest Francis I greatly seem to have
been his two wives. Claude Of France.
daughter of Anne of Brittany, and
Eleonora of Portugal, sister Of Charles
v. His two. chief favorites, or "titular
mistresses," exerted much influence over
him during the periods of their su-
premacy, but did not interfere with
numerous minor amours. Both aroused
the jealousy of Louise d'Angouleme,
who brought about the downfall OF the
first, but died before she could wreck
the second The Countess de Chateau
briant was the beautiful wife of a
nobleman Of Brittany. who refused to
bring her to the lax court of Francis I,
but she was lured there by a trick dur
ing her husbands absence and quickly
became the Kings favorite- When she
was displaced by newer beauty. she
went back to her husband and sought
forgiveness. He had her murdered.
Francis I expressed regret. Her place
had already been taken by Anne de
Pisseleu, whom the King made a
duchess by creating her husband Duke
dEtampes. Just the reverse OF the
Count de Chateaubriant, I" he
knew how to use his wife's favor to ad-
vantage" When Francis I died, an
old man at So. the Duchess d'Etampes
became hysterical." Was it grief for
her royal lover or because she knew
that her star had set ard new one
was about to rise, Diane de Poitiers,
mistress Of Henry II?
~ **
In his story "Barton's Mills" A. Hyatt
verrill has told of the pioneer attack
upon the Maine forest wilderness.
Enough of that wilderness remains to-
day to show what the task of the pre-
Revolutionary settlers must have been.
The events of the story are taken from
the history Of Mr.. Verrill's own family,
whose early members came from Fall
mouth and cut their path through the
Maine forest, fighting Indians and wild
animals. Their first home was Of rough
logs, surrounded by stockade. A saw
mill and a flour mill followed and soon
Barton's Mills became q successful
trading post.
In spite of the antipathy Of most
American students preparing for COL
lege, Edmund Burke was a statesman
and his famous speech "On Concili-
alton with America is a masterpiece
of argument and oratory. 1t is per-
haps a pity that 1t has been spoiled
for so many young people by the ne
cessity of diagramming and otherwise
analysing 1t, but they might not volun-
"a r;I,, boya rood n Tho hinOro phv