spent together, in company with several other gentlemen of Dauphiné, they retired to rest till morning, when they rose and heard mass, which was chanted by the bishop, 'for,' observes the chronicler, 'he daily said mass unless prevented by illness; and would to God that the prelates of the present day were all as good servants of God, and as charitable to the poor as he was!' Mass being over, they washed their hands, and partook of a hearty breakfast, at which our incipient good knight waited on them, so gracefully and discreetly, as to gain the general approbation. The meal over and grace said, the Lord de Bayard began to explain why he had called the bishop and the rest of his friends together. He stated that his son Pierre being desirous of becoming a soldier, he had sent for them to advise him as to whither he should send the lad for his preliminary training. One recommended his being sent to the king of France; another, to the family of Bourbon; and in like manner every one tendered his advice, according to his individual judgment and prepossessions. But at length the bishop spoke, and counselled his being sent to the Duke Charles of Savoy; and this advice being presently approved by all the company, it was decided by the father that Pierre should go with his uncle to Chambery, and there be introduced to the duke the next day.

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Being sufficiently equipped at the expense of the good bishop, young Bayard rode forth with him on the morrow, having first galloped his charger round the courtyard to the admiration of all present. On going, he took leave of his father and all his visitors, one by one; and last of all, presented himself to receive the counsel and blessing of his mother. The poor lady was in a tower of the castle, shedding tears of tenderness, for glad as she was at her son's prospects, her motherly love constrained her nevertheless to weep. However, when they came to tell her that her son was ready to depart, the gentle lady went out at the back of the tower, and having sent for him, addressed him in these words: 'Pierre, my friend, you are going to serve a noble prince. charge you to observe three things, which, if you do, be assured you will prosper. The first is, that before all things you love, fear, and serve God, never offending him if possible; for it is he who created us, in whom we live, and who will save us; and without him and his grace we can do no good thing in this world. Every morning and every evening commit yourself to him, and he will aid you. The second is, that you be gentle and courteous to all, putting away all pride. Éschew evil speaking and falsehood. Be sober and temperate. Flee envy, for it is an odious vice. Be neither a flatterer nor an informer, for such people seldom come to good. Be true and loyal in word and deed. Keep your promise. Succour poor widows and orphans, and God will recompense it to you. The third thing is, that of the goods which God shall give you, be charitable to the poor and needy, for to give for his sake makes no man poor; and take this from me, my child, that

the alms you give will profit you in body and soul. This is all I have to charge you; I am persuaded that your father and I shall not long survive; God grant that while we live we may always have a good report of you.'

Thus counselled, and supplied by the good mother with a little purse, which she drew out of her sleeve,' containing only six crowns in gold and one in silver,' the young knight straightway took his leave, and proceeded with the bishop towards Chambery, where the Duke Charles of Savoy was at that time staying. Through good speed they reached the town the same evening; and next day, being Sunday, the bishop rose early and went to pay his respects to the duke, who, we are informed, 'received him in a manner which shewed how delighted he was at his coming.' They went together to the church, and after mass the duke took the bishop to dine with him, on which occasion his young nephew served him as his cupbearer so gracefully, that the duke observed it, and asked the bishop who he was. The bishop told him in substance what the reader already knows; and after dinner, the young man proceeded to his lodging, and had his charger saddled, upon which, when he had fully caparisoned him, he mounted, and 'rode featly into the courtyard of the duke's house.' The duke beheld him from a gallery as he entered, and noticed that he made his horse curvet as though he were a man of thirty, who had seen war all his life. 'My Lord of Grenoble,' said he, I think that is your little protégé that manages his horse so well.' 'My lord,' replied the bishop, 'he is my nephew of a good race, who has sent forth gentle knights. His father, whose health is so much undermined by wounds received in battle that he cannot come to pay his respects to you, very humbly commends himself to your good grace, and makes you a present of him.' 'And in good faith," replied the duke, 'I accept it gladly. 'Tis a good and fair present. God make him a true man.' So he commanded one of his most trusty squires to look to this young Bayard, expressing his opinion that he would be one day a man of some renown.

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So the youth was made one of the duke's pages; and for his excellent and manly qualities he was soon beloved by great and small. He strove to perfect himself in all required discipline and exercises; and, in truth, there was neither page nor lord who could in anything compare with him; for he leaped, wrestled, threw the bar (considering his size), and put his horse through all his paces, so as none could excel him.' And his good master loved

him as a son.

When he had been about half a year in the service of the duke, the latter one day determined to go and visit the king of France; for in those olden times kings and princes had pleasant ways of intercourse, and often went to see each other with less ceremony than is now the fashion among very common people in villages and market-towns. The king of France was then at Lyon,

where, with his princes and nobles, he was leading a joyous life, 'holding jousts and tournaments daily, and in the evening dancing with the fair and gracious ladies of the neighbourhood." And a jovial fellow, to say the truth, was this young King Charles VIII. -one of the best, most courteous, liberal, and charitable princes that were ever seen or heard of, except in fairy tales. He loved and feared God,' says the chronicler, and never swore but by the faith of his body, or some such little oath. And great pity was it that death so soon carried him off, as it did before the age of eightand-twenty; for had he lived long, he would have achieved great things.' On this occasion, when he heard that the Duke of Savoy was coming to see him, he sent the Lord de Ligny and other gentlemen, and some archers of his guard, to meet him; and as they rode back altogether into Lyon, his lordship was pleased to notice young Bayard and his charger, and being charmed with them,' ,' he recommended the duke to make a present of both to the king, which the duke resolved to do accordingly.

The king received his visitor very graciously; and during dinner the next day, they had 'much discourse of dogs, hawks, arms, and amours; and, amongst other things, the Lord de Ligny mentioned to the king the page and his gallant charger, which the duke desired to present to him; whereat his majesty, swearing lightly, as was his wont, returned: 'By the faith of my body, I should like to see him.' Young Bayard was therefore sent for, and commanded to appear on horseback in the meadow of Esnay, whither, shortly, the king and a large company proceeded to witness the appearance which he made. As soon as the king beheld the youth upon his charger, he cried out: 'Friend page, give your horse the spur,' which he did forthwith; and you would have thought, to see him start, that he had been at the practice all his life. At the end of the course, he made his horse give two or three bounds, and then returned full gallop towards the king, and stopped short before him, making his horse passage, so that not only the king but all the company were delighted.' Then the king said to the duke: Truly, cousin, it is impossible to manage a horse better; I shall not wait till you give me your page and his horse, but beg them of you.' So both page and horse were committed to the Lord de Ligny, who humbly thanked his majesty, for he conceived that he could make such a man of the youth as would do him honour; 'an expectation,' says mine author, 'which was well fulfilled in divers places.'

For the next three years, young Bayard was a page in the family of the Lord de Ligny; and when he had reached the age of seventeen, he was discharged from pagehood, and was considered qualified to bear arms as one of his lordship's company; being, however, still retained as a gentleman of the household.

About this time there came to Lyon a gentleman of Burgundy, named Master Claude de Vaudray, a man skilled in the science of arms, and professionally devoted to it. He prayed the king, who,

after making a progress through his kingdom, was now again at Lyon, that to keep all the young gentlemen from idleness, he would permit him to proclaim a passage-of-arms, as well on horseback as on foot, with lance and battle-axe, which request was granted him; for indeed the king, having a good deal of useless time on his hands, desired nothing better than such joyous pastime. Master Claude, accordingly, arranged matters to the best of his ability, and, as the custom was, hung up his shields; which all gentlemen who desired to display their skill came to touch, and had their names inscribed by the king-at-arms, who presided.

One day-it being but three days after he ceased to be a page -Bayard was passing by the shields, when the thought struck him: If I knew how to equip myself, I would gladly touch the shields, to have a lesson in the use of arms.' And he stopped short to think more intently on the matter. Just at this time a companion of his, one Bellabre, who had also been educated by De Ligny, came up and asked him what he was thinking of. "By my faith, friend,' replied the other, 'it has pleased my lord to dismiss me from my pagehood, and by his favour to appoint me in all things appertaining to a gentleman; but a desire has seized me to touch Master Claude's shields, and I know not, when I shall have done so, who will furnish me with armour and horses.' Bellabre, who was older than he, and reckoned rather a fast gentleman, replied: 'My excellent companion, are these your thoughts? Have you not your uncle, the fat Abbot of Esnay? Let us go to him, and if he will not supply the money, we'll take his cross and mitre; but I think when he knows your wish, he will give it willingly.' And at this suggestion, the good knight, without further hesitation, went and touched the shields.

When he had done so, Mountjoy, king-at-arms, who was there to inscribe the names, began to say to him: 'How, my friend Bayard! your beard is but three years old, and do you undertake to fight with Master Claude, who is one of the roughest knights known?' But the young man replied, that what he did was not from pride or overboldness, but only from a desire to learn the science of arms from those who were competent to teach him, and perchance also to do something which might gratify the ladies. Hearing this, Mountjoy laughed, and was well pleased, as was also the Lord de Ligny when the report of it had reached him. He went directly to tell the king, who was pleased to say: By the faith of my body, cousin, your pupil will do you honour some day, to judge from his beginnings.' We shall see what will come of it,' said De Ligny; he is young yet to stand the blows of Master Claude.'

To touch the shields was an easy matter; but it was not quite so easy to find the money needed for horses and accoutrements. However, early the next morning, young Bayard and Bellabre got into one of the Lyon boats, and rowed across to Esnay, to see what could be done with the corpulent old abbot. When they

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disembarked, the first person they met in the meadow was no other than his lordship, who was just then reciting his breviary with a monk. The two gentlemen went to salute him, but he having already heard the story of the shields, and having also some presentiment that he would be expected to come down with the money-received them but coolly, and addressing his nephew, said: Well, Master Scapegrace, what has made you so bold as to touch Master Claude de Vaudray's shields? It is but three days since you were a page, and you are but seventeen or eighteen, and should be whipped for your presumption.' Nothing daunted, however, the young man answered, that it was not pride which had urged him to such boldness, but the desire to attain, by deeds of virtue,' to the honour which his ancestors had acquired; and that as he had no relative or friend except the abbot to whom he could at the moment have recourse, he trusted his lordship would have the kindness to assist him. But the abbot was by no means so ready to part with his cash for the young man's purposes. "By my faith,' said he, 'you may go seek elsewhere some one to lend you money; the alms given by the founders of this abbey were for the service of God, and not to be spent in jousts and tournaments.' These words of the abbot were instantly taken up by Bellabre, who, being a man of the world somewhat, observed: My lord, had it not been for the virtue and achievements of your ancestors, you would not have been the abbot of Esnay;' and he went on to say, that it was proper for men to evince gratitude for favours they had received, that so they might hope to experience it for those they could confer; adding further, that as his nephew desired to distinguish himself, the abbot ought reasonably to rejoice, and ended by saying: You must needs assist him, for it can cost you but two hundred crowns to equip him well, and he may do you honour that may be worth ten thousand.' Being thus appealed to on the score of personal interest, the abbot, after some discussion, consented to assist his nephew, and gave him thereupon a purse of 100 crowns to buy a couple of horses, providing him also with a letter to his agent Laurençin, in which the latter was instructed to supply the youth with clothes and accoutrements. The two friends lost no time in availing themselves of the abbot's liberality, the more especially as he had not restricted them to the expenditure of any specific sum. After their departure, the abbot, glad enough to be rid of them, ordered dinner; in the course of which he informed the company who sat at table with him what had passed during the morning. On hearing the story, his secretary, who was present, observed that his lordship had done well; but it just occurred to him, that as the abbot had authorised his agent to give his nephew what he asked for, the latter would not be unlikely to draw a larger amount than the uncle had intended. The abbot, awakened to such a possibility, exclaimed: 'By St James, secretary, you are right, for I forgot to mention any limit;' and he forthwith sent for his steward,