Béarn and the Pyrenees | Page 6

her master's will. When she
told her lover that she had dreamt "a tree sprang from her bosom which
overshadowed all Normandy," there was more evidence of policy than
simplicity in the communication which was so well calculated to raise
the hopes of a great man without an heir; and perhaps it was she herself
who dictated the saying of the sage femme at her son's birth, who,
having placed him on straw by her side, and observing that the robust
infant grasped in his tiny hands as much as he could hold, cried
out--"Par Dieu! this child begins early to grasp and make all his own!"
At all events the little hero was "honourably brought up," and treated as
if legitimate.
Another version of the story of Arlette is given by an ancient chronicler,
(Benoit de St Maur,) which is certainly a sufficient contrast to the view
I ventured to take of the affair, probably with but little correctness,
considering the manners of the period.
It appears that the scruples of the fair daughter of Vertprès, the skinner,
for his name seems to be known, were dispersed by the advice and
injunction of her uncle, a holy personage, of singular piety, who dwelt
in a hermitage in the wood of Gouffern. Convinced, by his arguments,
that Heaven had directed the affection of the duke towards her, she no
longer resisted her father's wish, and made preparations as if for a
bridal, providing herself with rich habiliments calculated to enhance
her beauty. When the messengers of the duke came to fetch her, they
requested that she would put on a cloak and cape, and conceal her rich
dress, for fear of the jeers of the common people, who would perhaps
insult her if she appeared publicly with them; but she replied boldly and
proudly, "Does the duke send for me after this manner, as if I were not
the daughter of an honourable man? Shall I go secretly, as if I were but
a disgraced woman? That which I do is in all honour and respectability,
not from wickedness or weakness, and I am not ashamed that men
should see me pass. If I am to be taken to the duke, it shall not be on

foot and hidden--fetch, therefore, your palfrey, and let me go as it
becomes me." Her dress is thus described:--"She had clothed her gentle
body in a fine shift, over which was a grey pelisse, wide and without
lacings, but setting close to her shape and her arms: over this she wore
a short mantle conformable and of good taste; her long hair was slightly
bound with a fillet of fine silver. It was in this guise, beautiful to behold,
that she mounted the courser which was brought for her, and saluted
her father and mother as she rode away; but at the last moment she was
seized with a trembling, and burst into weeping, covering her fair
bosom with her tears."
When she arrived, "by a fine moon-light," at the castle gate, her
attendants made her alight, and opened a wicket for her to enter, but she
drew back, saying, "The duke has sent for me, and it would seem that
he esteems me little if his gates are not to be opened for my passage.
Let him order them to give me entrance, or send me back at once.
Beaux amis, ouvrez-moi la porte."
The messengers, awed by her dignity, hesitated not to obey her, and she
was presently conducted into the presence of Duke Robert, who
awaited her coming in a vaulted chamber, adorned with gilding, where
"fine images were represented in enamel and colours." There he
received her with great joy and honour, and from that time she
possessed all his love.
CHAPTER II.
PRINCE ARTHUR--WANT OF GALLANTRY PUNISHED--THE
RECREANT SOW--THE ROCKS OF NORON--LA GRANDE
EPERONNIÈRE--LE CAMP-FERME--ANTIQUITIES OF
FALAISE--ALENÇON--NORMAN CAPS--GEESE--LE
MANS--TOMB OF BÉRANGÈRE--CATHEDRAL--ANCIENT
REMAINS--STREETS--THE VEILED FIGURE.
CLOSE to the natal chamber of Duke William may be seen another
recess in the thick walls, still smaller and more dismal, to which a
ruined window now gives more light than in the days when poor young

Arthur of Brittany looked sadly through its loop-holes over a wide
extent of country, now all cultivation and beauty, but probably then
bristling with forts and towers, all in the hands of his hard-hearted
uncle John. After having made his nephew prisoner in Anjou, John sent
him to Falaise, and had him placed in this dungeon in the custody of
some severe but not cruel knights, who treated him with all the respect
they dared to show. An order from their treacherous master soon
arrived, directing that he should be put to death; but they refused
obedience, and indignantly exclaimed, that the walls of the castle of
Falaise should