_TALE VIII_.
_A certain Bornet, less loyal to his wife than she to him, desired to lie with his maidservant, and made his enterprise known to a friend, who, hoping to share in the spoil, so aided and abetted him, that whilst the husband thought to lie with his servant he in truth lay with his wife. Unknown to the latter, he then caused his friend to participate in the pleasure which rightly belonged to himself alone, and thus made himself a cuckold without there being any guilt on the part of his wife._ (1)
In the county of Alletz (2) there lived a man named Bornet, who beingmarried to an upright and virtuous wife, had great regard for her honourand reputation, as I believe is the case with all the husbands herepresent in respect to their own wives. But although he desired that sheshould be true to him, he was not willing that the same law should applyto both, for he fell in love with his maid-servant, from whom he hadnothing to gain save the pleasure afforded by a diversity of viands.
1 For a list of tales similar to this one, see _post_, Appendix A.
2 Alletz, now Alais, a town of Lower Languedoc (department of the Gard), lies on the Gardon, at the foot of the Cevennes mountains. It was formerly a county, the title having been held by Charles, Duke of Angouleme, natural son of Charles IX.--M.
Now he had a neighbour of the same condition as his own, named Sandras,a tabourer (3) and tailor by trade, and there was such friendshipbetween them that, excepting Bornet's wife, they had all things incommon. It thus happened that Bornet told his friend of the enterprisehe had in hand against the maid-servant; and Sandras not onlyapproved of it, but gave all the assistance he could to further itsaccomplishment, hoping that he himself might share in the spoil.
3 Tabourers are still to be found in some towns of Lower Languedoc and in most of those of Provence, where they perambulate the streets playing their instruments. They are in great request at all the country weddings and other festive gatherings, as their instruments supply the necessary accompaniment to the ancient Provencal dance, the _farandole_.--Ed.
The maid-servant, however, was loth to consent, and finding herself hardpressed, she went to her mistress, told her of the matter, and beggedleave to go home to her kinsfolk, since she could no longer endure tolive in such torment. Her mistress, who had great love for her husbandand had often suspected him, was well pleased to have him thus at adisadvantage, and to be able to show that she had doubted him justly.Accordingly, she said to the servant--
"Remain, my girl, but lead my husband on by degrees, and at last make anappointment to lie with him in my closet. Do not fail to tell me on whatnight he is to come, and see that no one knows anything about it."
The maid-servant did all that her mistress had commanded her, and hermaster in great content went to tell the good news to his friend. Thelatter then begged that, since he had been concerned in the business,he might have part in the result. This was promised him, and, when theappointed hour was come, the master went to lie, as he thought, with themaid-servant; but his wife, yielding up the authority of commanding forthe pleasure of obeying, had put herself in the servant's place, and shereceived him, not in the manner of a wife, but after the fashion ofa frightened maid. This she did so well that her husband suspectednothing.
I cannot tell you which of the two was the better pleased, he at thethought that he was deceiving his wife, or she at really deceiving herhusband. When he had remained with her, not as long as he wished, butaccording to his powers, which were those of a man who had long beenmarried, he went out of doors, found his friend, who was much youngerand lustier than himself, and told him gleefully that he had never metwith better fortune. "You know what you promised me," said his friend tohim.
"Go quickly then," replied the husband, "for she may get up, or my wifehave need of her."
The friend went off and found the supposed maid-servant, who, thinkingher husband had returned, denied him nothing that he asked of her, orrather took, for he durst not speak. He remained with her much longerthan her husband had done, whereat she was greatly astonished, for shehad not been wont to pass such nights. Nevertheless, she endured it allwith patience, comforting herself with the thought of what she would sayto him on the morrow, and of the ridicule that she would cast upon him.
Towards daybreak the man rose from beside her, and toying with her as hewas going away, snatched from her finger the ring with which her husbandhad espoused her, and which the women of that part of the country guardwith great superstition. She who keeps it till her death is held in highhonour, while she who chances to lose it, is thought lightly of as aperson who has given her faith to some other than her husband.
The wife, however, was very glad to have it taken, thinking it wouldbe a sure proof of how she had deceived her husband. When the friendreturned, the husband asked him how he had fared. He replied that he wasof the same opinion as himself, and that he would have remained longerhad he not feared to be surprised by daybreak. Then they both went tothe friend's house to take as long a rest as they could. In the morning,while they were dressing, the husband perceived the ring that his friendhad on his finger, and saw that it was exactly like the one he had givento his wife at their marriage. He thereupon asked his friend from whomhe had received the ring, and when he heard he had snatched it from theservant's finger, he was confounded and began to strike his head againstthe wall, saying--"Ah! good Lord! have I made myself a cuckold withoutmy wife knowing anything about it?"
"Perhaps," said his friend in order to comfort him, "your wife gives herring into the maid's keeping at night-time."
The husband made no reply, but took himself home, where he found hiswife fairer, more gaily dressed, and merrier than usual, like one whorejoiced at having saved her maid's conscience, and tested her husbandto the full, at no greater cost than a night's sleep. Seeing her socheerful, the husband said to himself--
"If she knew of my adventure she would not show me such a pleasantcountenance."
Then, whilst speaking to her of various matters, he took her by thehand, and on noticing that she no longer wore the ring, which she hadnever been accustomed to remove from her finger, he was quite overcome.
"What have you done with your ring?" he asked her in a trembling voice.
She, well pleased that he gave her an opportunity to say what shedesired, replied--
"O wickedest of men! From whom do you imagine you took it? You thoughtit was from my maid-servant, for love of whom you expended more thantwice as much of your substance as you ever did for me. The first timeyou came to bed I thought you as much in love as it was possible to be;but after you had gone out and were come back again, you seemed to bea very devil. Wretch! think how blind you must have been to bestow suchpraises on my person and lustiness, which you have long enjoyedwithout holding them in any great esteem. 'Twas, therefore, not themaid-servant's beauty that made the pleasure so delightful to you, butthe grievous sin of lust which so consumes your heart and so cloudsyour reason that in the frenzy of your love for the servant you would,I believe, have taken a she-goat in a nightcap for a comely girl! Now,husband, it is time to amend your life, and, knowing me to be your wife,and an honest woman, to be as content with me as you were when you tookme for a pitiful strumpet. What I did was to turn you from your evilways, so that in your old age we might live together in true love andrepose of conscience. If you purpose to continue your past life, I hadrather be severed from you than daily see before my eyes the ruin ofyour soul, body, and estate. But if you will acknowledge the evil ofyour ways, and resolve to live in fear of God and obedience to Hiscommandments, I will forget all your past sins, as I trust God willforget my ingratitude in not loving Him as I ought to do."
If ever man was reduced to despair it was this unhappy husband. Not onlyhad he abandoned this sensible, fair, and chaste wife for a woman whodid not love him, but, worse than this, he had without her knowledgemade her a strumpet by causing another man to participate in the
leasurewhich should have been for himself alone; and thus he had made himselfhorns of everlasting derision. However, seeing his wife in such wrathby reason of the love he had borne his maid-servant, he took care notto tell her of the evil trick that he had played her; and entreating herforgiveness, with promises of full amendment of his former evil life,he gave her back the ring which he had recovered from his friend. Heentreated the latter not to reveal his shame; but, as what is whisperedin the ear is always proclaimed from the housetop, the truth, aftera time, became known, and men called him cuckold without imputing anyshame to his wife.
"It seems to me, ladies, that if all those who have committed likeoffences against their wives were to be punished in the same way, Hircanand Saffredent would have great cause for fear."
"Why, Longarine," said Saffredent, "are none in the company married saveHircan and I?"
"Yes, indeed there are others," she replied, "but none who would play asimilar trick."
"Whence did you learn," asked Saffredent, "that we ever solicited ourwives' maid-servants?"
"If the ladies who are in question," said Longarine, "were willing tospeak the truth, we should certainly hear of maid-servants dismissedwithout notice."
"Truly," said Geburon, "you are a most worthy lady! You promised to makethe company laugh, and yet are angering these two poor gentlemen."
"Tis all one," said Longarine: "so long as they do not draw theirswords, their anger will only serve to increase our laughter."
"A pretty business indeed!" said Hircan. "Why, if our wives chose tobelieve this lady, she would embroil the seemliest household in thecompany."
"I am well aware before whom I speak," said Longarine. "Your wives areso sensible and bear you so much love, that if you were to give themhorns as big as those of a deer, they would nevertheless try to persuadethemselves and every one else that they were chaplets of roses."
At this the company, and even those concerned, laughed so heartily thattheir talk came to an end. However, Dagoucin, who had not yet uttered aword, could not help saying--
"Men are very unreasonable when, having enough to content themselveswith at home, they go in search of something else. I have often seenpeople who, not content with sufficiency, have aimed at betteringthemselves, and have fallen into a worse position than they were inbefore. Such persons receive no pity, for fickleness is always blamed."
"But what say you to those who have not found their other half?" askedSimontault. "Do you call it fickleness to seek it wherever it may befound?"
"Since it is impossible," said Dagoucin, "for a man to know thewhereabouts of that other half with whom there would be such perfectunion that one would not differ from the other, he should remainsteadfast wherever love has attached him. And whatsoever may happen, heshould change neither in heart nor in desire. If she whom you love bethe image of yourself, and there be but one will between you, it isyourself you love, and not her."
"Dagoucin," said Hircan, "you are falling into error. You speak asthough we should love women without being loved in return."
"Hircan," replied Dagoucin, "I hold that if our love be based on thebeauty, grace, love, and favour of a woman, and our purpose be pleasure,honour, or profit, such love cannot long endure; for when the foundationon which it rests is gone, the love itself departs from us. But I amfirmly of opinion that he who loves with no other end or desire than tolove well, will sooner yield up his soul in death than suffer his greatlove to leave his heart."
"In faith," said Simontault, "I do not believe that you have ever beenin love. If you had felt the flame like other men, you would not now bepicturing to us Plato's _Republic_, which may be described in writingbut not be put into practice."
"Nay, I have been in love," said Dagoucin, "and am so still, andshall continue so as long as I live. But I am in such fear lest themanifestation of this love should impair its perfection, that I shrinkfrom declaring it even to her from whom I would fain have the likeaffection. I dare not even think of it lest my eyes should revealit, for the more I keep my flame secret and hidden, the more does mypleasure increase at knowing that my love is perfect."
"For all that," said Geburon, "I believe that you would willingly havelove in return."
"I do not deny it," said Dagoucin, "but even were I beloved as much as Ilove, my love would not be increased any more than it could be lessened,were it not returned with equal warmth."
Upon this Parlamente, who suspected this fantasy of Dagoucin's, said--
"Take care, Dagoucin; I have known others besides you who preferred todie rather than speak."
"Such persons, madam;" said Dagoucin, "I deem very happy."
"Doubtless," said Saffredent, "and worthy of a place among the innocentsof whom the Church sings:
'_Non loquendo sed moriendo confessi sunt_.' (4)
4 From the ritual for the Feast of the Holy Innocents.--M.
I have heard much of such timid lovers, but I have never yet seen onedie. And since I myself have escaped death after all the troubles I haveborne, I do not think that any one can die of love."
"Ah, Saffredent!" said Dagoucin, "how do you expect to be loved sincethose who are of your opinion never die? Yet have I known a goodlynumber who have died of no other ailment than perfect love."
"Since you know such stories," said Longarine, "I give you my vote totell us a pleasant one, which shall be the ninth of to-day."
"To the end," said Dagoucin, "that signs and miracles may lead you toput faith in what I have said, I will relate to you something whichhappened less than three years ago."
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013a.jpg The Dying Gentleman receiving the Embraces ofhis Sweetheart]
[The Dying Gentleman receiving the Embraces of his Sweetheart]
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