The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. III | Page 7

They never love anything but good wine and dirty,
ill-favoured serving-women, without making trial of the love of
honourable ladies."
"If I could speak Latin well," said Simontault, "I would quote you St.
John's words: 'He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how
can he love God whom he hath not seen?' (7) From visible things we
are led on to love those that are invisible."
"If," said Ennasuite, "there be a man as perfect as you say, _quis est ille
et laudabimus eum?_" (8)
7 I St. John, iv. 20.
8 We have been unable to find this anywhere in the Scriptures.--Ed.
"There are men," said Dagoucin, "whose love is so strong and true that
they would rather die than harbour a wish contrary to the honour and
conscience of their mistress, and who at the same time are unwilling
that she or others should know what is in their hearts."
"Such men," said Saffredent, "must be of the nature of the chameleon,
which lives on air. (9) There is not a man in the world but would fain
declare his love and know that it is returned; and further, I believe that
love's fever is never so great, but it quickly passes off when one knows
the contrary. For myself, I have seen manifest miracles of this kind."
9 A popular fallacy. The chameleon undoubtedly feeds upon small
insects.--D.
"I pray you then," said Ennasuite, "take my place and tell us about
some one that was recalled from death to life by having discovered in
his mistress the very opposite of his desire."
"I am," said Saffredent, "so much afraid of displeasing the ladies,

whose faithful servant I have always been and shall always be, that
without an express command from themselves I should never have
dared to speak of their imperfections. However, in obedience to them, I
will hide nothing of the truth."
[Illustration: 020.jpg Tailpiece]
[Illustration: 021a.jpg The Lord de Riant finding the Widow with her
Groom]
[The Lord de Riant finding the Widow with her Groom]
[Illustration: 021.jpg Page Image]

TALE XX.
_The Lord of Riant, being greatly in love with a widow lady and
finding her the contrary of what he had desired and of what she had
often declared herself to be, was so affected thereby that in a moment
resentment had power to extinguish the flame which neither length of
time nor lack of opportunity had been able to quench._ (1)
1 The unpleasant discovery related in this tale is attributed by Margaret
to a gentleman of Francis I.'s household, but a similar incident figures
in the introduction to the Arabian Nights. Ariosto also tells much the
same tale in canto xxviii. of his _Rolando Furioso_, and another
version of it will be found in No. 24 of Morlini's Novella, first issued at
Naples in 1520. Subsequent to the Heptameron it supplied No. 29 of
the Comptes du Monde Adventureux, figured in a rare imitation of the
Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles printed at Rouen early in the seventeenth
century, and was introduced by La Fontaine into his well-known tale
Joconde. On the other hand, there is certainly a locality called Rians in
Provence, just beyond the limits of Dauphiné, and moreover among
Francis I.'s "equerries of the stable" there was a Monsieur dc Rian who
received a salary of 200 livres a year from 1522 to 1529.--See the roll
of the officers of the King's Household in the French National Archives,
Sect. Histor., K. 98. Some extracts from Brantôme bearing on the story

will be found in the Appendix to this vol. (A).--L. and En.
In the land of Dauphiné there lived a gentleman named the Lord of
Riant; he belonged to the household of King Francis the First, and was
as handsome and worshipful a gentleman as it was possible to see. He
had long been the lover of a widow lady, whom he loved and revered
so exceedingly that, for fear of losing her favour, he durst not solicit of
her that which he most desired. Now, since he knew himself to be a
handsome man and one worthy to be loved, he fully believed what she
often swore to him--namely, that she loved him more than any living
man, and that if she were led to do aught for any gentleman, it would
be for him alone, who was the most perfect she had ever known. She at
the same time begged him to rest satisfied with this virtuous love and to
seek nothing further, and assured him that if she found him
unreasonably aiming at more, he would lose her altogether. The poor
gentleman was not only satisfied, but he deemed himself very fortunate
in having gained the heart of a lady who appeared to him so