initial commit of ebook 35385HEADmain

11 files changed, 4621 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/35385-8.txt b/35385-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a26366
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1504 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Blanche:
+       The Maid of Lille
+
+Author: Ossip Schubin
+
+Translator: Sarah H. Adams
+
+Release Date: February 26, 2011 [EBook #35385]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+   1. Page scan source:
+      http://www.archive.org/details/blanchemaidof00schuiala
+
+   2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe].
+
+
+
+
+
+BLANCHE: THE MAID OF LILLE
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: tête de cire.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                BLANCHE:
+
+                           The Maid of Lille
+
+
+
+                     Translated from the German of
+                             OSSIP SCHUBIN
+                                   by
+                             SARAH H. ADAMS
+
+
+
+                           PRIVATELY PRINTED
+                                 BOSTON
+                                 MCMII
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                         _Copyright, 1902, by_
+                             SARAH H. ADAMS
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             Colonial Press
+            Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
+                        Boston, Mass., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+                              INTRODUCTION
+
+
+A few years since we chose to spend the summer in a châlet among the
+Dolomites of South Tyrol. Weird, fantastic, inaccessible, mysterious,
+grotesque, and yet often wearing a jewelled crown of eternal ice, these
+peaks soared into the ether above and around us. "Nothing," says a
+recent traveller, "can surpass the majesty and beauty of the towers and
+ramparts, the battlemented walls, impregnable castles, and gracefully
+pinnacled cathedrals into the forms of which their summits are built
+up. Their colouring is another striking characteristic; many of them
+rivet the eye with the richness of the tints,--deep reds, bright
+yellows, silvery whites, and the dark blues and blacks of the rocks.
+But all these colours are modified and softened by a peculiar grayish
+white tint. The mountains look as if powdered over with some substance
+less hard and cold than newly fallen snow."
+
+Although within a day's drive of Pieve di Cadore,--Titian's
+birthplace--and not far from Cortina, we could hardly have found a more
+isolated spot. It was a hermitage, and we knew literally no one within
+hundreds of miles.
+
+Ossip Schubin, the popular German novelist at that time, had sent us a
+volume of stories, with the request that we would translate them. We
+selected the story now offered as being most in sympathy with our
+romantic surroundings.
+
+A learned Englishman has said, "If histories were written as histories
+should be, boys and girls would cry to read them." But alas! how is the
+spirit, the tone, of a dead century to be made to breathe again and
+report itself? The landscape alone is permanent; new figures constantly
+fill the foreground. Poetry, legend, myths, help us to divine some of
+the strange chords in the human chant, which, heavily burdened with
+sorrow, come down to us through the ages.
+
+In this twentieth century no one sentiment or emotion is allowed so far
+to dominate as to crush out all others. But how was it in the days of
+the Crusaders, of the Minnesingers, of the Troubadours? If we would
+realise the seclusion, the loneliness of many lives centuries ago, we
+have only to enter either "The Wartburg" or the castle of Solmes
+Brauenfels in the Rhine valley, which dates back a thousand years. Look
+into the gloomy keeps; hear the shrieking of the bars in the heavy
+portcullis; gaze down into the damp, ugly moats; or listen to the
+soughing of the stormy winds in the branches of the tall forest trees
+which closely environ these grim abodes. It is conceivable that
+Elizabeth languished and died at "The Wartburg," when the chivalrous
+Tannhäuser no longer came to inspire with love and song. Could even
+Martin Luther have lived in these cold, black walls without his work
+which daily rekindled his soul as he studied the inspired pages of the
+Bible?
+
+Among the annals of a wicked old past, this story appears as a legend
+dimly connected with the pathetic face of the "Maid of Lille" a copy of
+which is in the Boston Art Museum.
+
+There is no appeal here to the modern girl. The word "altruism" had not
+been invented. Yet there was genius in loving as Blanche did--what
+trustful, boundless love, what exaggeration of the object loved! And
+while to-day we strive to master a useless sorrow by a useful activity,
+we can still appreciate the beauty and holiness of such love.
+
+                                             SARAH H. ADAMS.
+
+
+
+
+                                BLANCHE
+
+
+In the museum at Lille, somewhat aside from the bewildering mass of
+pictures, stands, in a glass case, a masterpiece of unknown origin--the
+"tête de cire,"--a maiden's bust moulded in coloured wax.
+
+You will smile when you hear of a coloured wax bust and think of Madame
+Tussaud's collection, or of a pretty, insignificant doll's head; but
+should you ever see the "tête de cire," instead of laughing you will
+fold your hands, and, instead of Madame Tussaud's glass-eyed puppets,
+will think of a lovely girl cut off in her early bloom, whom you once
+saw at rest on the hard pillow of her coffin. Pale, with exquisite
+features, reddish brown hair, eyes slightly blinking, as if afraid of
+too much sun, a painfully resigned smile about her mouth, and with neck
+slightly bent forward, as if awaiting her death-stroke, full of
+touching innocence and of a languid grace, this waxen bust stands out
+of its dull gold case,--the image of an angel who had lived an earthly
+life and whose heart was broken by a mortal pain.
+
+Whence came this masterly production? Nobody knows! One ascribes it to
+Leonardo, another to Raphael, while still others have sought for its
+origin in antiquity. Upon one point only all agree,--that the bust was
+made from a cast taken after death.
+
+The painter, Wickar, brought it out of Italy into France. 'Twas said
+that he found it in a Tuscan convent.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The lovely girl smiles, pleased at the critical debates of the curious,
+who wish to attribute this graceful creation to one of the illustrious
+Heroes of Art: smiles and dreams!
+
+
+
+
+                                   I
+
+
+No, it could not be--'twould be a sacrilege!
+
+He was forty-five and she scarcely seventeen. It could not be!
+
+After a series of adventurous campaigns, after mourning over many
+defeats and celebrating many victories, and finally losing his left leg
+in the memorable battle of Marignano, Gottfried de Montalme, finding
+himself disabled for the rough work of a soldier, had returned to
+France and to his father's castle, whose gates his brother, the duke,
+hospitably opened to him.
+
+He found this brother a widower, and at the point of death; but beside
+the dying man's couch was a lovely little maiden who offered her cheeks
+to be kissed in welcome to the wanderer. She was the Duke of Montalme's
+only child--Blanche, a heart's balm! the light of his eyes!
+
+Leaving no male heir, the entire inheritance of the Duke of
+Montalme--his castle and lands, with all the feudal rights appertaining
+thereto,--would devolve upon the returned warrior, Gottfried. The
+little maiden was badly provided for, and this the duke knew full well,
+and it made his dying heart sad.
+
+Gottfried sat by the bedside of his brother through the warm May
+nights. He heard the ticking of the death-watch in the wainscoting of
+the old walls, heard the dewdrops, as they slowly rustled through the
+leaves of the giant lindens outside, heard the laboured breath of the
+dying man--but more distinctly than all did he hear the beating of his
+own heart.
+
+Toward morning, when the first slant sunbeams shed a rosy glimmer into
+the gray twilight of the sick man's room, this beating grew louder,
+for, with the early sun, Blanche slipped into the chamber, and, leaning
+compassionately over the sufferer, whispered, "Are you better, my
+father?"
+
+Ah! for the Duke of Montalme there was no better, and one night he laid
+his damp, cold hand upon his brother's warm and powerful one, saying,
+with the directness his near relationship warranted, "Gottfried, it
+would be a great comfort to me if you would take Blanche for your
+wife."
+
+At this Gottfried blushed up to the roots of his gray hair, and
+murmured, "What an idea to come into your head--I an old cripple, and
+this young blossom! It would be a sacrilege!"
+
+"She does not dislike you," said the duke.
+
+The brave Gottfried blushed deeper, and said, "She is but a child."
+
+"Oh, these conscientious notions!" grumbled the exhausted man. But
+notions or not, Gottfried was firm, and of a marriage-bond with the
+child would not hear; he promised to afford the little maiden loving
+care and protection--promised to guard her as the apple of his eye--as
+his own child, until he could, with confidence, lay her hand into that
+of a worthy lover's.
+
+And while he promised this, his voice sounded hollow and sad like the
+tolling of a funeral bell. The duke, with the clear-sightedness of the
+dying, cast a glance into his brother's heart, and discovered there a
+holy secret.
+
+"You're an angel, Gottfried," he murmured, "but you make a mistake,"
+and shortly after breathed his last.
+
+On the day of the funeral Dame Isabella von Auberive, a distant
+relative whom Gottfried, for propriety's sake, had summoned hither,
+arrived at the castle to share with him in the care of the young girl.
+Beside her father's bier, surrounded by the dim, flickering candles, he
+kissed the sweet orphan reverently on the brow, as one kisses the hem
+of a Madonna's robe; and promised her his loving care. But when she, in
+a torrent of childish grief, wound her arms about his neck and pressed
+her little head against his shoulder, he became almost as white as the
+dead man in his coffin, and tenderly but firmly released himself from
+her.
+
+It could not be--'twould be sacrilege.
+
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+During the brilliant period in the reign of King Francis I., it
+happened that in the marvellously fair, luxuriant Touraine, through
+whose velvet green meadows ran the "gay-jewel-glistening Loire,--the
+frolicsome, flippant Loire,"--there arose on its banks, one by one, the
+stately dwellings of many a proud lord.
+
+Somewhat apart from the others, in a retired spot, where King Francis's
+elegant hunters seldom found their way, towered up the Castle of
+Montalme; large, massive, with gloomy little windows sunk into deep
+holes in the walls, and with a round turret on either wing. Stern and
+forbidding, it looked down into the moat in whose waterless bed toads
+and frogs revelled amid the moist green foliage; for the age was fast
+drawing to a close in which every nobleman had been a little king, and
+the simple heroic French feudality, blinded by the nimbus of Francis
+I., were rapidly being transformed into a mere host of courtiers.
+
+The dull uniformity in the architecture of Montalme stood out in
+striking contrast to the rest of the castles of sunny, pleasure-loving
+Touraine. The internal arrangement corresponded to the plain exterior,
+and to the naïve pretensions of a century when, even in Blois and
+Amboise, the favourite castles of the king, the doors were so low that
+Francis himself, who is known to have been of regal stature, had to
+stoop to enter them. The scantiness of the furniture in this huge
+Castle of Montalme added to its forlorn aspect; nor was the slightest
+deference paid to prevailing fashion. The ladies wore sombre-coloured
+dresses, cut high in the neck, and covering the arms down to the very
+end of the wrists; skirts hanging in long, heavy folds, allowing only
+the pointed toe of the leather shoe to peep out. The gentlemen wore the
+hair long, and their faces smoothly shaved; their doublets reached in
+folds almost to the knees, as had been the fashion under the simple,
+economical rule of the late king.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+A year had glided by since the death of the duke. Blanche enjoyed the
+happiness of youth, free from care, and Gottfried the peace of honest,
+high-souled self-denial. A guardian angel, he limped about modestly at
+the side of his niece, rejoicing to be able to remove every stone which
+threatened to mar the smoothness of her path, or to scare away the
+hawks lurking in ambush to surprise her innocence.
+
+And when considering the charms of his dear little niece, Gottfried
+thought of the orgies in the Amboise Castle, of the "petite bande" and
+the merry raids of the king, the real aim of which was nothing higher
+than some foolish love-adventure, he shuddered. Deeply and often he
+pondered the matter. Blanche was eighteen--it was time for her to be
+married--and yet his brave, faithful heart shrank with anguish at the
+bare thought of it. He would not hesitate (at least he believed this of
+himself) to part with her if only he could find a true-hearted,
+honourable man. But in this age of beauty and song--the age of King
+Francis such an one was hard to find.
+
+Meanwhile Blanche was contented with her lonely, monotonous life,
+perhaps, in part, because she knew no other, yet, also, because a
+fountain of youthful gaiety was still unexhausted in her heart. There
+were many things to do in the daytime, and she played chess with her
+uncle in the long winter evenings, while sparks flashed out of the
+heavy oak logs in the chimney, and the single tallow candle in its
+artistically wrought iron candlestick wove a little island of light in
+the Cimmerian darkness of the monstrous hall.
+
+Sometimes Gottfried entertained her with stories--the legend of
+Tristran and Iseult--or the pathetic tale of the Count of Lusignano and
+the fair Melusina; often, too, he told her of his own adventures in
+foreign lands.
+
+But the happier Blanche made herself in this lonely life, the more
+furious became Dame Isabella. She was a worthy woman, but never could
+realise that her once distinguished beauty had long been buried under a
+weight of corpulence, and therefore did not restrain herself from
+putting on all sorts of ridiculous airs and graces, in order to attract
+the attention of the whole neighbourhood to her supposed charms. Out of
+sheer _ennui_ she ogled even her page, Philemon, a boy of twelve years,
+although he cherished a modest but so much the more glowing adolescent
+passion for the lovely Blanche.
+
+Whilst winding endless skeins of silk off the hands of the page, she
+sighed in a heart-breaking way, and made the most pointed remarks about
+the laziness and unmannerliness of those noblemen who purposely avoided
+any approach to the kind, chivalrous king.
+
+Gottfried long forbore to respond to such innuendoes. Of what use would
+it be to try to explain to this silly old person that the court of King
+Francis was not the proper sphere for such a fat old woman as herself,
+or for a little maiden like Blanche, who would receive a kind of
+adulation before which the good, true-hearted warrior shuddered? Once,
+however, when Dame Isabella, more excited than usual, stormed in upon
+him and insisted that the young girl's future should be taken into
+immediate consideration, he gave her an angry answer. But it did not
+silence her, and though the worthy woman talked plenty of nonsense, yet
+she sometimes made a remark that Gottfried could not think wholly
+unjustifiable. "Blanche is eighteen years old!" stormed Dame Auberive;
+"if you do not wish her to marry you must resolve to place her in one
+of the nunneries, which are the only respectable refuge for unmarried
+women of her position."
+
+"Who told you that I did not want Blanche to marry?" exclaimed
+Gottfried, with anger and agitation; "it is only that I have not yet
+found any one good enough for her." But Dame Isabella replied with
+cutting scorn, "No one will ever seem to you good enough for her!" and
+bounced out of the room the picture of righteous indignation.
+
+Shortly after this it happened that a young knight was brought into the
+castle badly wounded; he had fallen among thieves, been robbed, and
+left unconscious by the roadside. He must be a man of rank, the
+servants thought who brought him in, for his dress, though soiled and
+torn, was of the finest material, and he wore the full beard with
+close-shaved hair which most of the courtiers wore in imitation of the
+king. Gottfried recognised in him a certain Henri de Lancy who, at the
+battle of Marignano, had fought beside him and won general admiration
+for his bravery, and had, more than all, dragged him--his old friend
+Gottfried--out of the thick of the battle after a ball had broken his
+leg.
+
+As he bent over the handsome youth lying there before him with closed
+eyes, so pale and helpless, an emotion of deep pity overcame Gottfried,
+and he exerted himself to the utmost to lavish on De Lancy all the
+comforts which the poor castle of Montalme could command.
+
+The sight of the wounded knight roused the quiet castle out of its
+phlegmatic drowsiness, and the heart of Dame Isabella beat so wildly
+that her orders confused the heads of her servants. Even through the
+veins of the innocent Blanche thrilled a strange, dreamy unrest.
+
+At that time there prevailed, together with a sultry kind of
+viciousness, compared with which modern profligacy appears petty and
+childish, a frank, genial naïveté, which is lost to our age with its
+prudish, artificial morality. The most delicate maiden did not
+hesitate, at that time, to lend help in nursing a sick man; and
+besides, women in that century--thanks to the rarity of doctors--found
+it necessary to acquire some knowledge of the healing art.
+
+Hence it was that Blanche came to the assistance of Dame Isabella and
+her Uncle Gottfried in the care of De Lancy, and as her hand was the
+most delicate, it usually fell to her to loosen the bandages around the
+ugly wound on his head, and as she had the steadiest nerve, it was
+she who, with Gottfried's help, removed the splinter of a broken
+sword-point from his shoulder.
+
+Quiet and helpful as an angel, she hovered about the unconscious man.
+But once, as she was bending over his couch to watch the breathing of
+the sufferer, a great abatement of the wound fever happily set in. De
+Lancy opened his eyes, which, though at times blue as the heavens
+above, were at others black as an abyss. The "petite bande" knew these
+eyes well.
+
+Just now they were very blue and fixed with peculiar pleasure on the
+tender little maiden. But she drew back embarrassed. The strange,
+marvellous eyes had driven away his guardian angel, and from that hour
+she avoided the sick man's room.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+We shall readily imagine that Henri de Lancy would not endure to be
+nursed like a sick woman, and, as soon as he could lift hand and foot,
+he dragged himself off his couch--possibly his impatience to see the
+pretty girl again had also something to do with this haste.
+
+It provoked the young dandy that he could not introduce himself into
+the presence of the ladies in a more elegant costume; yet his
+comparatively simple travelling dress was becoming to him, and still
+more (at least in the eyes of the sweet Blanche) his paleness, his
+deep-sunk, feverish eyes, and the weakness in all his movements, which
+he strove to hide; for there is something which appeals to the
+sympathies of a true woman in seeing a strong, chivalrous man impatient
+and mortified at his weakness. Under her dropped eyelids Blanche
+watched all his movements, and was constantly considering how to remove
+what might interfere with the comfort of the helpless invalid. Yet she
+did not offer him the slightest service herself, only secretly made
+Dame Isabella acquainted with the need. Her sympathy and her charming
+bashfulness did not fail to touch the heart of the convalescent.
+
+The "petite bande" would have laughed in scorn and right heartily, had
+they seen how modestly the audacious De Lancy exerted himself to please
+the unpretending little girl with the pale face of a novice.
+
+And Lady Isabella neglected the page Philemon and adorned herself to
+such a degree that--well--it cost De Lancy all the trouble in the world
+not to laugh in her face. The finest part of her toilet was her
+"coiffure," which in style dated back at least thirty years. It
+consisted of a towering head-dress that ran up to a point, from which
+an enormous veil fluttered down to her knees.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The days came and went--the beautiful July days--flooding Touraine with
+golden sunshine from dawn to dewy eve. The air was heavy with the
+perfume of roses and linden blossoms. Henri's hollow face had regained
+its full, natural contour, and his arm had long been freed from the
+sling. He was able to travel--yet of his departure spoke never so much
+as a dying word.
+
+He was only a merry-hearted, heedless fellow, but with a very
+attractive manner; when it pleased him he could assume toward women at
+once such a courteous, amiable, respectful manner that no one could
+long be vexed with him, even were she the proudest of the daughters of
+earth. He had so completely enchanted Dame Isabella that she spent
+whole nights pondering over the preparation of the most _recherché_
+viands. She served up to him the most skilfully made pies, capons
+dressed with spices after the Spanish custom, or young peacocks which
+she knew how to roast so artistically as not to singe a feather on tail
+or little crown; and when the dame saw with what love-intoxicated gaze
+he often fastened his eyes on the beautiful girl, she furthered his
+intercourse with her as only she could. It would have delighted her to
+win such an aristocratic connection as De Lancy.
+
+But there was one person in Montalme who could not feel friendly toward
+the gallant young knight--and this was the lord of the castle himself.
+
+"How long is he going to stay?" he growled out one day to Dame
+Isabella. "He has sent for his clothes and his pages, and next he will
+be inviting his friends here to display Blanche's charms to the whole
+country."
+
+"Don't imagine this," said Isabella, with a shrewd smile; "lovers are
+miserly, and would, if possible, keep the joy of their heart out of
+sight of the entire world."
+
+"The joy of his heart!" exclaimed Gottfried. "Then it is high time that
+I interfered and obliged him to declare himself!"
+
+"Let nothing of the kind occur to you!" exclaimed Isabella, with a look
+of horror. "Spare the germ of his young love until it ripens into an
+earnest desire for the happiness of marriage."
+
+Gottfried became gloomy. "If I thought that the man would woo the girl
+honourably! He is a most attractive fellow, but although brave and
+generous, the best among the young coxcombs of to-day are proud of
+transgressions which the worst in my day would have been ashamed of,
+and, in fact, they regard it only as a good joke, an aristocratic
+pastime, to seduce an innocent girl!" and he struck his brow with his
+fist.
+
+"Such an idea should never come into your mind," said Isabella,
+passionately; "it is shocking in you to insult the man who saved your
+life, by such scandalous suspicions. You call your suspicions
+conscientious--they should properly bear quite a different name."
+
+"What, then?" growled Gottfried. Dame Isabella stood on the tips of her
+toes, and hissed in his ear, "Jealousy!"
+
+At this he ground his teeth,--his eyebrows contracted with pain;--he
+turned on his heels and left the room: determined to watch and be
+silent!
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+In the cool, lofty rooms of the Castle of Montalme Blanche wandered
+about all this time like one bewildered by a great joy. Her eyes were
+half-closed, as if dazzled by too clear a radiance, and her voice was
+full of plaintive rapture, like that in which the nightingale sobs his
+love through the warm summer nights, and all her motions had an added
+grace.
+
+But one day Dame Isabella whispered to her, "He is desperately in love
+with you!"
+
+And it awakened Blanche out of her sweet, unconscious ecstasy. She
+began to test it--to doubt! She noticed exactly how often he addressed
+a word directly to her, was sad if he passed her without seeking
+response; his glance to her glance--his smile to her smile!
+
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+
+Dreamy afternoon stillness brooded over Montalme, the doves cooed
+monotonously on the roof. In one of the deep, oak-panelled window
+niches Blanche stood gazing down into the courtyard, which was full of
+dark shadows. There stood De Lancy in the picturesque costume Titian
+has immortalised in the portraits of Francis I., the puffed sleeves and
+high ruff under which the handsomest man in France was pleased to hide
+the stoop in his shoulders and the thickness of his neck.
+
+To young De Lancy this costume was wonderfully becoming. With the black
+velvet bonnet at his ear, he was amusing himself with a falcon, which,
+perched on his shoulder, he alternately teased and soothed; then a
+greyhound stretched to full length came bounding forward with light,
+quick leaps, and sprang upon him. De Lancy slipped his thin, delicate
+hand behind his ear, and stroked him with all the tenderness which men
+of our day are accustomed to bestow on their dogs and horses, with a
+certain pride in their training. At this, however, the falcon became
+jealous, beat his wings, and pecked the hound with his beak. De Lancy
+enjoyed teasing the two animals, and when by alternate caresses he had
+made both positively unhappy, he pressed with one hand the head of the
+falcon against his cheek, and with the other the head of the hound to
+his breast. Then the two creatures were contented, and he smiled--his
+eyes grew darker, and his white teeth glistened.
+
+But the heart of the maiden, who, gazing down into the court, saw the
+pretty play, was convulsed with pain,--was it a kind of jealousy which
+agitated her--or simply a wish? Suddenly De Lancy glanced up, and
+espying the young lady of the castle, greeted her respectfully. Blanche
+thanked him somewhat bashfully, and drew back trembling from head to
+foot. When she ventured again to look down into the court, De Lancy was
+no longer to be seen.
+
+But the wings of the gently moved afternoon air bore to her ear a
+little song which the gay youth trilled to himself as he strolled away:
+
+
+           "Ha! me chère ennemie
+            Si tu veux m'apaiser,
+            Redonne--moy la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser.
+            Ha! j'en ay la douceur
+            Senti jusque au c[oe]ur.
+            C'est une douce rage
+            Qui nous poindra doucement
+            Quand d'un même courage
+            On s'aime incessament.
+            Heureux sera le jour
+            Que je mourrai d'amour!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+This audacious love-song at that time flitted from lip to lip at the
+court of King Francis, until about a year later the poet Ronsard sang
+it,--and after he had enriched it with two or three daintily elaborated
+verses it was incorporated with his works.
+
+De Lancy had often hummed it when hastening through the gray corridors,
+or walking in the garden under the sombre boughs of the blossoming
+lindens. But never had Blanche heard it so completely and clearly. Warm
+and full the tones of his voice rang in her ears. Through this
+exuberant and frivolous nature passed the agitating sense of an almost
+pathetic tenderness.
+
+Blanche stared before her into the empty air, and there came into her
+face a great terror--a mighty longing!
+
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+
+Gottfried watched and suffered--each hour more suspicious and uneasy.
+
+In the castle chapel of Montalme stood a narrow-chested saint with
+peaked beard,--St. Sebaldus,--who bore on his wooden forefinger an
+amethyst ring. With this ring was connected a legend,--viz.,--that
+whoever would have the courage to draw it off the finger at midnight
+and put it on his own--to him Heaven would grant the fulfilment of his
+wish, even were it the most presumptuous in the world. But should the
+one who took off the jewel let it fall from his linger ere returning it
+on the following night, as in duty bound, to the saint, some terrible
+misfortune would speedily overtake him.
+
+It was midnight, and deathly stillness reigned; the moonlight played
+about the pointed roof and glittered in the deeply set windows of the
+old castle. Black and heavy, almost as a bier-cloth, the shadow of this
+gigantic old building spread over the ground. In the garden below, the
+nightingales sobbed their sweet songs in the flowering lindens,
+sometimes interrupted by the weird screech of an owl. Then a slender
+figure glided softly through the echoing corridors of the castle--the
+figure of a love-sick girl. At times she paused and listened and laid
+her hand upon her breast. A vague, ghostly fear chilled the blood in
+her veins. Now she stepped through the high hall adjoining the chapel.
+She opened the door heavily weighted with its ornamental iron bands and
+rosettes. The moonlight glanced through the coloured windows and
+painted fantastic images on the brown church pews. Two long, brilliant
+streaks of light cut through the shadows which broadened out over the
+marble floor.
+
+Above the altar hung a Madonna with attenuated arms and too long a
+neck, as the "Primitives" in their naïve awkwardness like to picture
+her. Blanche knelt before her and lisped an Ave and the Lord's Prayer;
+then turning to the saint who, stiff and complacent, gazed down from
+his pedestal, she drew the ring off his finger and put it on her own.
+
+Just at this moment she heard a slight rustle outside, a confused
+feeling of dread and fear suddenly came over her,--a vague, painful
+fear of all the mysterious powers of night and darkness. Quite beside
+herself, she was hurrying out of the chapel when, in her confusion, she
+almost rushed into the arms of a man who stepped toward her in the
+adjacent hall.
+
+Although she had passed so softly through the house, one ear had
+recognised her step,--Henri de Lancy,--by whose chamber she was obliged
+to go in her way to the chapel.
+
+And now he stood before her, and his blue eyes shone in the clear
+moonlight, and he bent over her smiling. She started back, but did not
+fly--only remained standing as if spellbound. When he seized her hand
+and she tried to free herself, however, he held her fast, whispering,
+"Stay only a little while, I pray you; I've so much to say to you!"
+
+"Leave me! leave me!" she cried, timidly.
+
+"Only a minute!" he begged of her. "You have always avoided me, I could
+never say it to you, but indeed you must long have known how infinitely
+I love you!"
+
+He stooped over her--she trembled like a delicate rose-bud with which
+the spring wind plays. She thought of the saint's ring which she had on
+her finger for the purpose of conjuring Heaven to grant her Henri de
+Lancy's love. Had the conjuration then worked so speedily? Oh,
+measureless joy! Oh, never-anticipated blessedness!
+
+And yet--
+
+It was so still--so late! "Leave me! leave me!" she whispered. "Wait, I
+must ask Gottfried."
+
+"And do you believe he will know better than yourself whether you love
+me?"
+
+He laid his arm round her--his kiss hovered over her lips--when--the
+door was torn open, and, with drawn dagger and face distorted with
+rage, Gottfried rushed upon De Lancy. "Cowardly traitor!" he yelled,
+and stopped, for Blanche, uttering a hoarse shriek of anguish,
+stretched out her arms before the beloved man to protect him.
+
+Woe! woe! in this moment the enchanted ring slipped from her finger!
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+Angry men's voices echoed through the halls and galleries--then
+stillness reigned again.
+
+Without, the dewdrops rustled in the leaves, but the nightingales were
+hushed. In her lonely chamber sat a pale, sad girl, tearless and
+comfortless. When the gray morning came a gloomy rider stormed out of
+the castle.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+
+At that time,--in the beginning of the sixteenth century,--shortly
+after the battle of Marignano, and the great awakening at Wittenberg,
+there brooded over creation a sultry atmosphere, in which the thoughts
+and feelings of men frothed and raved with unbridled wantonness,
+stimulated by the storm-ridden air.
+
+King Francis had brought back with him to his native land, after his
+sojourn in Italy and his conference with Pope Leo, a highly cultivated
+artistic taste, united with a certain subtle depravity of morals.
+Henceforth his court became an open field for the fine arts, and an
+arena for the most debauched, sensual orgies. And not merely owing to
+his high position, but also because he maintained in the midst of his
+wildest excesses the prestige of a magnanimous chivalry, his example
+influenced all the young people of France directly and irresistibly.
+
+It was in the zenith of this regal frivolity and regal favour that
+Henri's voluptuous life was interrupted by the above-related intermezzo
+of sincere, honest love for this child of Montalme. But it was at the
+very time when King Francis, basely deserting his noble wife, the good
+Queen Claude, at the head of a jolly troupe of knights, accompanied by
+the most beautiful women of France, was roving from city to city, from
+castle to castle, from forest to forest, making the air resound with
+the clang of cymbals, the blowing of horns, and the baying of dogs; in
+summer dropping down on the fairest flower-strewn meadows, or near
+mossy-green woods to hold their revels, and in winter pelting each
+other with snowballs and filling the various castles with shouts and
+laughter.
+
+Now here--now there--he appeared as in a fairy tale--like a vision--the
+impersonation of joy. Where one hoped to find him he had just vanished,
+and where he was not expected he came. This constant change of
+residence frequently embarrassed his ministers or those immediately
+responsible for affairs of state, as well as the foreign ambassadors.
+And whilst the most serious problems were perplexing their heads, he,
+with his knights and the "petite bande," was ranging all over the
+country in search of adventure, and when needed was never to be found.
+
+It was as difficult to prevent one's self from being infected with the
+frivolity of the king's court--if living in the midst of it--as to keep
+one's health intact in a plague lazaretto. To have done it, one must
+have been peculiarly organised, and Henri de Lancy was not peculiarly
+organised.
+
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+
+Weeks passed. Ever slower the time dragged on amid the aching stillness
+of Montalme. Blanche's trembling hope, which resolved itself at first
+into hot, feverish unrest, changed by degrees to stony despair.
+
+She grew paler and paler--her languid steps ever more feeble--her talk
+abstracted and disconnected. With head slightly bent forward, her lips
+half-open, and her eyes fixed on vacancy, she watched and listened--in
+vain! He came not, and nobody came who could give her any knowledge of
+him. Once when Gottfried, who did not allow her to be out of his sight
+in this sad, sad time, sought for her in vain in castle and garden, led
+by a jealous suspicion, he climbed up into the tower chamber which De
+Lancy had occupied. Through the half-open door he espied Blanche. She
+was sitting at the foot of the bed upon which De Lancy had been laid
+when wounded. She smiled, and on her innocent lips trembled the words
+of his daring love-song:
+
+
+           "Si tu veux m'apaiser
+            Redonne--moi la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser."
+
+
+She was dreaming!
+
+Whole nights she sat up sleepless in her bed and murmured or sang
+softly to herself. And now many times through the stillness of night
+she heard the beat of a horse's hoof at full speed passing her window.
+Who could the rider be who thus hurried by Montalme at the dead of
+night?
+
+There was one person in the castle whose faith was firm as a rock in De
+Lancy's truth. This was Dame Isabella. Daily she invented fresh excuses
+for his remaining away--daily arrayed herself in expectation of his
+return. For hours together she would grin and curtsey before the
+mirror, preparing for her advent at court.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+One day when Blanche, with her hands in her lap, sat brooding, Dame
+Isabella rushed to her, exclaiming, "Blanche! Blanche! quick, the royal
+hunting party is coming by the castle!"
+
+Blanche trembled, for she knew that he must be among the king's
+retinue. She stepped to the window.
+
+Like a gold embroidered thundercloud, the hunting-party whirled out of
+the distance and drew nearer. Horns sounded and rapid hoof-beats
+vibrated on the air. As they approached, a good chance was afforded to
+see the costly apparel of the ladies, and also of the gentlemen, of
+whom an old chronicler of the times avers, not without point, that some
+among them wore their lands and castles on their shoulders.
+
+They fluttered by like a glittering swarm of birds of paradise. Blanche
+stretched her little head forward--there he was--one of the first!
+
+He did not even look up--but rushed by like a storm-wind, his face
+turned to a blonde, regal lady, and looking proud and imposing indeed.
+Blanche staggered back. What could there have been in that brilliant
+throng of further interest to her? Dame Isabella, however, lingered at
+the window, and grinned and bowed with might and main, while her huge
+head-gear rocked comically back and forth.
+
+And now the king approached on a milk-white steed with scarlet velvet,
+gold-embroidered housings. He looked up, and was reminded of an amusing
+picture which De Lancy, on his return to court, when questioned by the
+ladies as to the adventure which had detained him so long away, had
+drawn of a worthy old scarecrow who tended his wounds in Montalme. The
+existence of the lovely maiden Blanche he had deemed it wisest to
+conceal. Stifling a laugh, Francis returned Dame Isabella's greeting
+with roguish exaggeration, then turning, whispered to those nearest
+him, whereupon they also looked up, and being greeted by her, the
+entire retinue stopped a minute to inspect the self-satisfied old
+monstrosity. But they did not all possess the amiable courtesy which
+distinguished the king even in his unrestrained naughtiness. One of the
+ladies smiled, another laughed, and, like a spark in a ton of powder,
+this laugh was enough to set off the kindling stuff of repressed
+hilarity which at once exploded.
+
+So pointed were the looks--so hearty the laughter of the party--that
+even the self-admiring Isabella could not in the slightest degree be
+deceived as to the cause of their merriment. Mortified, she drew back
+out of sight, and the hunting party passed on. Yet at a distance the
+sound of the continued laughter was audible. Dame Isabella was furious.
+"They laughed at me, they pointed at me with their fingers!" she
+repeated, over and over again, her corpulent figure, and especially her
+double chin, trembling in a remarkable way; and utterly forgetting her
+former admiration of the court, she added, "The disorderly mob! the
+base women!"
+
+Blanche, who, with her elbows in her hands, was staring straight before
+her like one stunned, thought, "Perhaps he is laughing at me too!" and
+thought these words aloud; since she had been so absorbed in sorrow and
+longing she had often uttered whole sentences like one in a feverish
+dream.
+
+"That you may be sure of!" said Dame Isabella, in a huff, and rustled
+out of the room to lay aside once and for all the ugly headgear which
+she had had a chance to observe was in appalling contradiction to the
+prevailing style. She distinctly recalled Henri de Lancy's expressed
+admiration for this same head ornament. Now she knew that he had been
+making fun of her, and anger and resentment gnawed at her heart.
+
+It chanced that on the following day two mendicant friars sought
+admission to the castle. Dame Isabella asked to have these bare-footed
+martyrs conducted to her room, welcomed them hospitably and in the most
+respectful manner; in the first place because she was pious, but in the
+second because these wandering monks served as a kind of peripatetic
+newspaper; for which their roving life afforded them sufficient variety
+of material. Thus the lady obtained the most precise information about
+the frivolities of the king and his rollicking companions, especially
+the handsome De Lancy, who, she was told, among all these lawless
+revellers was the worst. He was not only following the royal example to
+the last extent (the monks exaggerated perhaps a trifle, seeing how
+much it pleased their listener), but of late he had actually formed a
+liaison with a married woman, the Countess de Sologne, whom, as she was
+carefully guarded by her husband's jealousy, he visited secretly at
+night. And they ended by saying, "It would not surprise us if the
+castle lady heard the reckless knight ride by, since it was the
+shortest way to Laemort, the hereditary seat of the Solognes."
+
+We may rest assured that Dame Isabella gave the monks for this precious
+communication plenty of money to spend on their way. Possessed of her
+glorious bit of knowledge, she was dying to tell it, and seeing Blanche
+at the chess-board, opposite her uncle, who exerted himself all the
+time to try to distract her thoughts, she began immediately to relate
+what she had heard. They were not prudish in those days, and if here
+and there one cared to preserve the innocence of a young girl, that
+blissful ignorance was by no means maintained which to-day is held
+peculiarly sacred and inviolate.
+
+Dame Isabella repeated word for word all she had heard of the shameful
+proceedings which hourly went on in the Castle of Amboise, and of the
+startling depravity of Henri de Lancy. In vain Gottfried attempted, by
+his displeased looks, to silence her; she went on further, and advised
+Blanche to rejoice that she had escaped the danger of becoming the wife
+of this vicious fellow. Blanche sat stiff and straight, not uttering a
+word, and continued to shove the little ivory figures slowly over the
+board--that she made the castle execute the peculiar leaps of the
+knight, Isabella did not notice. But when she finished by saying that
+they might hear Henri de Lancy ride by nightly, since the nearest way
+to his beloved duchess led by Montalme, they suddenly heard a painful
+quiver like the dropping of a little bird which had been shot through
+the heart. Blanche had fainted and fallen.
+
+"Cruel woman!" exclaimed Gottfried, furiously, "must you tell? I could
+be silent!"
+
+He had long known of Henri's infidelity.
+
+Consciousness soon returned to the poor girl, and with it the
+recollection of her sorrow. Blanche longed to lose herself again, but
+the blessing was denied her. Not even the repose of sleep did Heaven
+grant her. She would lie awake, listening feverishly the whole night;
+but no sound disturbed the deathlike stillness either the first or the
+second night. During the day Blanche dragged herself from room to room,
+as if her once flying feet were weighted with lead, but most of the
+time she sat stiffly erect with her hands lying helplessly in her lap,
+staring before her with glazed eyes.
+
+The third day was drawing to a close. Gottfried came in, and, seating
+himself beside her, inquired after her health. She replied there was
+nothing the matter with her, but at the same time crept close to him
+like a very sick child, and he, who had usually repulsed her innocent
+caresses, now put his arm around her slender body and laid her little
+head tenderly on his shoulder; he no longer thought of his own pain,
+but of hers.
+
+She begged him to tell her a story, as a sick child begs for a
+cradle-song.
+
+He had told her many a tale in bygone days, yet of all she liked best
+to hear of his own adventures and what he himself had seen. Therefore
+he asked now, "A true story, my jewel?" She shuddered, "Oh, no! no! a
+fiction, my uncle, pray!"
+
+He passed his hand thoughtfully over his brow. Nothing occurred to him
+but a little legend which had been told him by a half-crazy monk who
+was crouching on the steps of the Milan Cathedral, and with a somewhat
+tremulous voice he began:
+
+"It happens occasionally that in the midst of the blessedness of heaven
+an angel looking down yearns for earth, which seems attractive in the
+enchantment of distance. Then St. Peter, at the Almighty's command,
+grudgingly opens the gates of heaven a little, and the angel slips
+through. But however much he exerts himself and beats his wings, the
+little fluttering things carry him up, and he cannot escape from the
+spheres of sinless purity which float around Paradise. St. Peter
+rattles his bunch of keys and again the gates of heaven open, and now
+on the threshold stands Jesus Christ, well-beloved Son of the Father,
+and infinitely compassionate Son of Man, who knows the earth
+thoroughly. And when the lovely, unwise rebel turns his gold-encircled
+little head to question him concerning it, he beckons him to come
+nearer, and smiling lays a warm beating weight on his breast. Then he
+says, 'Try it!'
+
+"And lo! when now the angel attempts to lift his wings the little
+weight which Jesus Christ has laid on his breast draws him down to
+earth--for the weight is a human heart. Slowly, slowly he descends from
+the spheres until he lands on a green meadow. There he sinks into a
+deep, dreamless sleep, and when he awakes he has lost his wings,
+forgotten his heavenly origin, and has become a man--only with an
+intense longing in his soul for virtue and purity, which he is not
+himself aware is homesickness; holiness, happiness, heaven, and home
+being to him unconsciously one and the same thing. Yet but now howe'er
+much his yearning may hurry him upward again, his heart chains him fast
+to the earth and he cannot return to his radiant home until a great
+human grief has broken the heart which was laid on his breast. Then our
+Lord Jesus Christ glides downward to earth--takes the poor rebel in his
+arms and carries him back to Paradise."
+
+Gottfried paused. Blanche was silent a moment, then she sighed, "Your
+story is sad, almost as sad as if it were a true one!"
+
+To which Gottfried replied, "But it has a lovely ending!"
+
+The sad maiden, however, was perfectly silent, and looking into her
+melancholy eyes he discerned a doubt in them if even the joy of heaven
+could compensate for that which we suffer and are deprived of on earth.
+
+After a little while Blanche began, "Is the dear God then displeased if
+an angel looking down yearns for the earth?"
+
+"No," murmured Gottfried, "but he is sad, very sad!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+For two nights she had had no sleep; on the third she was exhausted and
+slept soundly, and dreamed a sweet--wonderfully sweet dream.
+
+It seemed to her that she met her beloved in the garden. A delicious
+perfume was wafted from the crown of the lindens, soft greenish shadows
+spread twilight over the earth, and all nature, as in measureless
+rapture, held its breath, no lightest touch of air stirred--she lay in
+his arms, love-enchanted and his lips closed her mouth.
+
+Thus she dreamed--when suddenly she sprang up as if one had struck her
+heart with an iron hammer.
+
+Was not that the sound of a horse's hoof which broke on the stillness
+of night? In her long white nightdress she flew to the window.
+
+She recognised him, notwithstanding the speed of his horse, and in
+spite of the curtain of darkness with which midnight sought to veil his
+figure. She bent far over the window-breasting and stretched out her
+arms; a frightful longing confused her senses, and she sang--poor
+child!--without knowing what the words meant:
+
+
+           "Si tu veux m'apaiser
+            Redonne--moi la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser.
+
+           "Heureux sera le jour
+            Quand je mourrai d'amour!"
+
+
+Louder and louder the voice swelled out, piercing as a cry of anguish;
+yet full of a powerful sweetness the song echoed through the sultry
+stillness of night. It struck the ear of the rider. He checked his
+horse, looked around him, and then spurred the animal anew until he
+leaped wildly on.
+
+She bent forward--farther forward,--"Plus d'espoir!" she groaned. Her
+heart was so heavy, so heavy! Beneath, the dew glistened like a silver
+sheen over the azure fields, out of which an angel seemed calling her
+to "Cool rest--cool rest!"
+
+She bent forward--forward! and then fell many, many fathoms deep into
+the moat below.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The heavy fall was heard in the castle, and soon the servants with
+torches hurried forth to see what had happened.
+
+There, below, glimmered something white as a blossom broken off by the
+storm. They climbed down. The light of the torches played over a pale,
+lovely face which smiled in death. She was not disfigured, not a
+particle of dust, not a speck of mud or soil of earth, adhered to her
+white garment, although she had fallen among plants growing in the mud.
+In spotless purity the white folds wound about her beautiful limbs. And
+when the people saw this, they marvelled, and said, "A miracle!" Then
+one pressed through the throng, deathly pale with distorted face--Henri
+de Lancy!
+
+But Gottfried coldly turned him away from the dead maiden.
+
+Right tenderly the old soldier lifted the lovely body in his arms,
+murmuring:
+
+"Her heart was broken--she is released!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+
+It was an age full of horrors, when the noblest blood of illustrious
+Hellenism rose up to face a background of battles, orgies, and pulpit
+harangues. It was not only a period in which Lorenzo de' Medici, in
+disguise and at the head of a bacchanalian troop tore through the
+streets of Florence; Benvenuto Cellini stabbed his enemies at the
+street corners; Pope Leo at a cardinal's supper presented a sacrifice
+of doves to the Goddess of Love upon a white marble altar, and
+offered to his favourite, Raphael, a cardinal's hat in payment of his
+bills--but a time also when Savonarola preached the loftiest
+asceticism; Rabelais, in the midst of his obscene rhapsodies, created
+the wonderful idyl of l'Abbaye de Telesme; Fra Angelico on his knees
+painted his picture of Christ, and the triumphal procession of an
+emperor ended in a monastery!
+
+A time full of enigmas! and among the many enigmas which lived in it,
+was one of a sad, silent monk, of whom his cloister-brethren asserted
+that he once had led a very dissolute life, but now was the most
+absorbed _dèvoté_.
+
+And whilst King Francis, at variance with himself and the world, tried
+to maintain, even to the end, the appearance of ostentatious levity,
+and to win fresh renown as a patron of art, and to console himself for
+his lost self-respect with the flatteries of the Duchess d'Etampes,
+this monk devoted every single hour which remained to him, after the
+barest satisfaction of his physical needs, and the fulfilment of
+his religious duties, to one and the same work,--a sweet girl's
+head,--which he, with his slender, effeminate, courtier's hand, formed
+out of wax after a death mask, and ever again re-formed, and could
+never finish to his own satisfaction. Discouraged, disappointed, he
+destroyed each day the work of the preceding until finally, in the very
+last year of his life he became more tranquil, and then under his
+never-weary hands arose an exquisite maiden's head with a sweet,
+thoughtful expression of face,--the little head bent forward as if
+listening to a great joy, yet weighed down by the presentiment of a
+terrible pain!
+
+And he worked at the head on his knees, like Fra Angelico at his
+ecstatic pictures of saints, and he coloured it most beautifully--but
+still, not as if it were the head of a living maiden, but as of one who
+had died in the freshness of youth. When he succeeded, he smiled and
+closed his eyes for ever.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+After long wanderings, the bust has found a resting-place in the museum
+at Lille. Full of a dreamy pathos, it stands in its glass case--an
+atonement for Love betrayed--in memory of the bitterest repentance.
+
+As the embodiment of an old legend, it interests us and seems to say:
+"A tear for Blanche of Montalme; for Henri de Lancy--a prayer!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35385-8.txt or 35385-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/3/8/35385/
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/35385-8.zip b/35385-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..175ac25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-8.zip
diff --git a/35385-h.zip b/35385-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d0089db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-h.zip
diff --git a/35385-h/35385-h.htm b/35385-h/35385-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8090538
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-h/35385-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,1597 @@
+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> 
+<title>Blanche: The Maid of Lille.</title>
+<meta name="Author" content="Ossip Schubin.">
+<meta name="Publisher" content="Privately printed.">
+<meta name="Date" content="1911">
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
+<style type="text/css">
+body  {margin-left:10%;
+       margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF;}
+
+
+
+p.normal  {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;}
+p.center   {text-align:center; margin-top:9pt;}
+i {color:red}
+
+p.right          {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;}
+
+p.continue       {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;}
+.text10           {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:10%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;}
+.text20           {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:20%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;}
+
+.t0              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t1              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:1em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t2              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t3              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:3em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t4              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:4em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t5              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:5em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t6              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:6em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t7              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:7em; margin-right:0px;}
+.t8              {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:8em; margin-right:0px;}
+
+.quote           {font-size:90%; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt}
+.dateline        {text-align:right; font-size:90%; margin-right:10%; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt}
+
+h1,h2,h3,h4,h5   {text-align: center;}
+
+span.sc		    {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:100%;}
+span.sc2		{font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;}
+
+hr.W10		  {width:10%;
+               color:black;}
+
+hr.W20        {width:20%;
+               color:black;}
+
+hr.W50        {width:50%; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt; color:black;}
+hr.W90        {width:90%; margin-top:12pt; color:black;}
+
+p.hang1        {margin-left:1em; text-indent:-1em;}
+p.hang2        {margin-left:1em; text-indent:0em;}
+
+.poem {
+  margin-top: 24pt;
+  margin-left: 20%;
+  margin-right: 10%;
+  text-align: left;
+  margin-bottom: 24pt
+  }
+  .poem .stanza {
+  margin : 1em 0;
+  margin-top:24pt;
+  }
+
+</style>
+
+</head>
+
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Blanche:
+       The Maid of Lille
+
+Author: Ossip Schubin
+
+Translator: Sarah H. Adams
+
+Release Date: February 26, 2011 [EBook #35385]
+[Last updated: December 30, 2014]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Note:<br>
+1. Page scan source:
+http://www.archive.org/details/blanchemaidof00schuiala</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="continue" style="font-size:24pt; font-weight:bold">BLANCHE: THE MAID OF LILLE</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><img src="images/waxhead.png" alt="wax head"><br>
+tête de cire.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1>BLANCHE:</h1>
+<br>
+<h2>The Maid of Lille</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<div style="line-height:24pt">
+<h4>Translated from the German of<br>
+<span class="sc">Ossip Schubin<br>
+by</span></h4></div>
+<h3>SARAH H. ADAMS</h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>PRIVATELY PRINTED<br>
+<span class="sc2">BOSTON<br>
+MCMII</span></h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h4><i>Copyright, 1902, by</i><br>
+<span class="sc">Sarah H. Adams</span></h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h4>Colonial Press<br>
+Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds &amp; Co.<br>
+Boston, Mass., U. S. A.</h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">A few years since we chose to spend the summer in a châlet among the
+Dolomites of South Tyrol. Weird, fantastic, inaccessible, mysterious,
+grotesque, and yet often wearing a jewelled crown of eternal ice, these
+peaks soared into the ether above and around us. &quot;Nothing,&quot; says a
+recent traveller, &quot;can surpass the majesty and beauty of the towers and
+ramparts, the battlemented walls, impregnable castles, and gracefully
+pinnacled cathedrals into the forms of which their summits are built
+up. Their colouring is another striking characteristic; many of them
+rivet the eye with the richness of the tints,--deep reds, bright
+yellows, silvery whites, and the dark blues and blacks of the rocks.
+But all these colours are modified and softened by a peculiar grayish
+white tint. The mountains look as if powdered over with some substance
+less hard and cold than newly fallen snow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Although within a day's drive of Pieve di Cadore,--Titian's
+birthplace--and not far from Cortina, we could hardly have found a more
+isolated spot. It was a hermitage, and we knew literally no one within
+hundreds of miles.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Ossip Schubin, the popular German novelist at that time, had sent us a
+volume of stories, with the request that we would translate them. We
+selected the story now offered as being most in sympathy with our
+romantic surroundings.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A learned Englishman has said, &quot;If histories were written as histories
+should be, boys and girls would cry to read them.&quot; But alas! how is the
+spirit, the tone, of a dead century to be made to breathe again and
+report itself? The landscape alone is permanent; new figures constantly
+fill the foreground. Poetry, legend, myths, help us to divine some of
+the strange chords in the human chant, which, heavily burdened with
+sorrow, come down to us through the ages.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In this twentieth century no one sentiment or emotion is allowed so far
+to dominate as to crush out all others. But how was it in the days of
+the Crusaders, of the Minnesingers, of the Troubadours? If we would
+realise the seclusion, the loneliness of many lives centuries ago, we
+have only to enter either &quot;The Wartburg&quot; or the castle of Solmes
+Brauenfels in the Rhine valley, which dates back a thousand years. Look
+into the gloomy keeps; hear the shrieking of the bars in the heavy
+portcullis; gaze down into the damp, ugly moats; or listen to the
+soughing of the stormy winds in the branches of the tall forest trees
+which closely environ these grim abodes. It is conceivable that
+Elizabeth languished and died at &quot;The Wartburg,&quot; when the chivalrous
+Tannhäuser no longer came to inspire with love and song. Could even
+Martin Luther have lived in these cold, black walls without his work
+which daily rekindled his soul as he studied the inspired pages of the
+Bible?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Among the annals of a wicked old past, this story appears as a legend
+dimly connected with the pathetic face of the &quot;Maid of Lille&quot; a copy of
+which is in the Boston Art Museum.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There is no appeal here to the modern girl. The word &quot;altruism&quot; had not
+been invented. Yet there was genius in loving as Blanche did--what
+trustful, boundless love, what exaggeration of the object loved! And
+while to-day we strive to master a useless sorrow by a useful activity,
+we can still appreciate the beauty and holiness of such love.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="sc">Sarah H. Adams</span>.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1>BLANCHE</h1>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">In the museum at Lille, somewhat aside from the bewildering mass of
+pictures, stands, in a glass case, a masterpiece of unknown origin--the
+&quot;tête de cire,&quot;--a maiden's bust moulded in coloured wax.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">You will smile when you hear of a coloured wax bust and think of Madame
+Tussaud's collection, or of a pretty, insignificant doll's head; but
+should you ever see the &quot;tête de cire,&quot; instead of laughing you will
+fold your hands, and, instead of Madame Tussaud's glass-eyed puppets,
+will think of a lovely girl cut off in her early bloom, whom you once
+saw at rest on the hard pillow of her coffin. Pale, with exquisite
+features, reddish brown hair, eyes slightly blinking, as if afraid of
+too much sun, a painfully resigned smile about her mouth, and with neck
+slightly bent forward, as if awaiting her death-stroke, full of
+touching innocence and of a languid grace, this waxen bust stands out
+of its dull gold case,--the image of an angel who had lived an earthly
+life and whose heart was broken by a mortal pain.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Whence came this masterly production? Nobody knows! One ascribes it to
+Leonardo, another to Raphael, while still others have sought for its
+origin in antiquity. Upon one point only all agree,--that the bust was
+made from a cast taken after death.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The painter, Wickar, brought it out of Italy into France. 'Twas said
+that he found it in a Tuscan convent.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The lovely girl smiles, pleased at the critical debates of the curious,
+who wish to attribute this graceful creation to one of the illustrious
+Heroes of Art: smiles and dreams!</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>I</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">No, it could not be--'twould be a sacrilege!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He was forty-five and she scarcely seventeen. It could not be!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After a series of adventurous campaigns, after mourning over many
+defeats and celebrating many victories, and finally losing his left leg
+in the memorable battle of Marignano, Gottfried de Montalme, finding
+himself disabled for the rough work of a soldier, had returned to
+France and to his father's castle, whose gates his brother, the duke,
+hospitably opened to him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He found this brother a widower, and at the point of death; but beside
+the dying man's couch was a lovely little maiden who offered her cheeks
+to be kissed in welcome to the wanderer. She was the Duke of Montalme's
+only child--Blanche, a heart's balm! the light of his eyes!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Leaving no male heir, the entire inheritance of the Duke of
+Montalme--his castle and lands, with all the feudal rights appertaining
+thereto,--would devolve upon the returned warrior, Gottfried. The
+little maiden was badly provided for, and this the duke knew full well,
+and it made his dying heart sad.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Gottfried sat by the bedside of his brother through the warm May
+nights. He heard the ticking of the death-watch in the wainscoting of
+the old walls, heard the dewdrops, as they slowly rustled through the
+leaves of the giant lindens outside, heard the laboured breath of the
+dying man--but more distinctly than all did he hear the beating of his
+own heart.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Toward morning, when the first slant sunbeams shed a rosy glimmer into
+the gray twilight of the sick man's room, this beating grew louder,
+for, with the early sun, Blanche slipped into the chamber, and, leaning
+compassionately over the sufferer, whispered, &quot;Are you better, my
+father?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Ah! for the Duke of Montalme there was no better, and one night he laid
+his damp, cold hand upon his brother's warm and powerful one, saying,
+with the directness his near relationship warranted, &quot;Gottfried, it
+would be a great comfort to me if you would take Blanche for your
+wife.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At this Gottfried blushed up to the roots of his gray hair, and
+murmured, &quot;What an idea to come into your head--I an old cripple, and
+this young blossom! It would be a sacrilege!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;She does not dislike you,&quot; said the duke.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The brave Gottfried blushed deeper, and said, &quot;She is but a child.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Oh, these conscientious notions!&quot; grumbled the exhausted man. But
+notions or not, Gottfried was firm, and of a marriage-bond with the
+child would not hear; he promised to afford the little maiden loving
+care and protection--promised to guard her as the apple of his eye--as
+his own child, until he could, with confidence, lay her hand into that
+of a worthy lover's.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And while he promised this, his voice sounded hollow and sad like the
+tolling of a funeral bell. The duke, with the clear-sightedness of the
+dying, cast a glance into his brother's heart, and discovered there a
+holy secret.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;You're an angel, Gottfried,&quot; he murmured, &quot;but you make a mistake,&quot;
+and shortly after breathed his last.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the day of the funeral Dame Isabella von Auberive, a distant
+relative whom Gottfried, for propriety's sake, had summoned hither,
+arrived at the castle to share with him in the care of the young girl.
+Beside her father's bier, surrounded by the dim, flickering candles, he
+kissed the sweet orphan reverently on the brow, as one kisses the hem
+of a Madonna's robe; and promised her his loving care. But when she, in
+a torrent of childish grief, wound her arms about his neck and pressed
+her little head against his shoulder, he became almost as white as the
+dead man in his coffin, and tenderly but firmly released himself from
+her.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It could not be--'twould be sacrilege.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>II</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">During the brilliant period in the reign of King Francis I., it
+happened that in the marvellously fair, luxuriant Touraine, through
+whose velvet green meadows ran the &quot;gay-jewel-glistening Loire,--the
+frolicsome, flippant Loire,&quot;--there arose on its banks, one by one, the
+stately dwellings of many a proud lord.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Somewhat apart from the others, in a retired spot, where King Francis's
+elegant hunters seldom found their way, towered up the Castle of
+Montalme; large, massive, with gloomy little windows sunk into deep
+holes in the walls, and with a round turret on either wing. Stern and
+forbidding, it looked down into the moat in whose waterless bed toads
+and frogs revelled amid the moist green foliage; for the age was fast
+drawing to a close in which every nobleman had been a little king, and
+the simple heroic French feudality, blinded by the nimbus of Francis
+I., were rapidly being transformed into a mere host of courtiers.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The dull uniformity in the architecture of Montalme stood out in
+striking contrast to the rest of the castles of sunny, pleasure-loving
+Touraine. The internal arrangement corresponded to the plain exterior,
+and to the naïve pretensions of a century when, even in Blois and
+Amboise, the favourite castles of the king, the doors were so low that
+Francis himself, who is known to have been of regal stature, had to
+stoop to enter them. The scantiness of the furniture in this huge
+Castle of Montalme added to its forlorn aspect; nor was the slightest
+deference paid to prevailing fashion. The ladies wore sombre-coloured
+dresses, cut high in the neck, and covering the arms down to the very
+end of the wrists; skirts hanging in long, heavy folds, allowing only
+the pointed toe of the leather shoe to peep out. The gentlemen wore the
+hair long, and their faces smoothly shaved; their doublets reached in
+folds almost to the knees, as had been the fashion under the simple,
+economical rule of the late king.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A year had glided by since the death of the duke. Blanche enjoyed the
+happiness of youth, free from care, and Gottfried the peace of honest,
+high-souled self-denial. A guardian angel, he limped about modestly at
+the side of his niece, rejoicing to be able to remove every stone which
+threatened to mar the smoothness of her path, or to scare away the
+hawks lurking in ambush to surprise her innocence.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And when considering the charms of his dear little niece, Gottfried
+thought of the orgies in the Amboise Castle, of the &quot;petite bande&quot; and
+the merry raids of the king, the real aim of which was nothing higher
+than some foolish love-adventure, he shuddered. Deeply and often he
+pondered the matter. Blanche was eighteen--it was time for her to be
+married--and yet his brave, faithful heart shrank with anguish at the
+bare thought of it. He would not hesitate (at least he believed this of
+himself) to part with her if only he could find a true-hearted,
+honourable man. But in this age of beauty and song--the age of King
+Francis such an one was hard to find.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Meanwhile Blanche was contented with her lonely, monotonous life,
+perhaps, in part, because she knew no other, yet, also, because a
+fountain of youthful gaiety was still unexhausted in her heart. There
+were many things to do in the daytime, and she played chess with her
+uncle in the long winter evenings, while sparks flashed out of the
+heavy oak logs in the chimney, and the single tallow candle in its
+artistically wrought iron candlestick wove a little island of light in
+the Cimmerian darkness of the monstrous hall.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Sometimes Gottfried entertained her with stories--the legend of
+Tristran and Iseult--or the pathetic tale of the Count of Lusignano and
+the fair Melusina; often, too, he told her of his own adventures in
+foreign lands.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But the happier Blanche made herself in this lonely life, the more
+furious became Dame Isabella. She was a worthy woman, but never could
+realise that her once distinguished beauty had long been buried under a
+weight of corpulence, and therefore did not restrain herself from
+putting on all sorts of ridiculous airs and graces, in order to attract
+the attention of the whole neighbourhood to her supposed charms. Out of
+sheer <i>ennui</i> she ogled even her page, Philemon, a boy of twelve years,
+although he cherished a modest but so much the more glowing adolescent
+passion for the lovely Blanche.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Whilst winding endless skeins of silk off the hands of the page, she
+sighed in a heart-breaking way, and made the most pointed remarks about
+the laziness and unmannerliness of those noblemen who purposely avoided
+any approach to the kind, chivalrous king.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Gottfried long forbore to respond to such innuendoes. Of what use would
+it be to try to explain to this silly old person that the court of King
+Francis was not the proper sphere for such a fat old woman as herself,
+or for a little maiden like Blanche, who would receive a kind of
+adulation before which the good, true-hearted warrior shuddered? Once,
+however, when Dame Isabella, more excited than usual, stormed in upon
+him and insisted that the young girl's future should be taken into
+immediate consideration, he gave her an angry answer. But it did not
+silence her, and though the worthy woman talked plenty of nonsense, yet
+she sometimes made a remark that Gottfried could not think wholly
+unjustifiable. &quot;Blanche is eighteen years old!&quot; stormed Dame Auberive;
+&quot;if you do not wish her to marry you must resolve to place her in one
+of the nunneries, which are the only respectable refuge for unmarried
+women of her position.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Who told you that I did not want Blanche to marry?&quot; exclaimed
+Gottfried, with anger and agitation; &quot;it is only that I have not yet
+found any one good enough for her.&quot; But Dame Isabella replied with
+cutting scorn, &quot;No one will ever seem to you good enough for her!&quot; and
+bounced out of the room the picture of righteous indignation.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Shortly after this it happened that a young knight was brought into the
+castle badly wounded; he had fallen among thieves, been robbed, and
+left unconscious by the roadside. He must be a man of rank, the
+servants thought who brought him in, for his dress, though soiled and
+torn, was of the finest material, and he wore the full beard with
+close-shaved hair which most of the courtiers wore in imitation of the
+king. Gottfried recognised in him a certain Henri de Lancy who, at the
+battle of Marignano, had fought beside him and won general admiration
+for his bravery, and had, more than all, dragged him--his old friend
+Gottfried--out of the thick of the battle after a ball had broken his
+leg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As he bent over the handsome youth lying there before him with closed
+eyes, so pale and helpless, an emotion of deep pity overcame Gottfried,
+and he exerted himself to the utmost to lavish on De Lancy all the
+comforts which the poor castle of Montalme could command.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The sight of the wounded knight roused the quiet castle out of its
+phlegmatic drowsiness, and the heart of Dame Isabella beat so wildly
+that her orders confused the heads of her servants. Even through the
+veins of the innocent Blanche thrilled a strange, dreamy unrest.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At that time there prevailed, together with a sultry kind of
+viciousness, compared with which modern profligacy appears petty and
+childish, a frank, genial naïveté, which is lost to our age with its
+prudish, artificial morality. The most delicate maiden did not
+hesitate, at that time, to lend help in nursing a sick man; and
+besides, women in that century--thanks to the rarity of doctors--found
+it necessary to acquire some knowledge of the healing art.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Hence it was that Blanche came to the assistance of Dame Isabella and
+her Uncle Gottfried in the care of De Lancy, and as her hand was the
+most delicate, it usually fell to her to loosen the bandages around the
+ugly wound on his head, and as she had the steadiest nerve, it was
+she who, with Gottfried's help, removed the splinter of a broken
+sword-point from his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Quiet and helpful as an angel, she hovered about the unconscious man.
+But once, as she was bending over his couch to watch the breathing of
+the sufferer, a great abatement of the wound fever happily set in. De
+Lancy opened his eyes, which, though at times blue as the heavens
+above, were at others black as an abyss. The &quot;petite bande&quot; knew these
+eyes well.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Just now they were very blue and fixed with peculiar pleasure on the
+tender little maiden. But she drew back embarrassed. The strange,
+marvellous eyes had driven away his guardian angel, and from that hour
+she avoided the sick man's room.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We shall readily imagine that Henri de Lancy would not endure to be
+nursed like a sick woman, and, as soon as he could lift hand and foot,
+he dragged himself off his couch--possibly his impatience to see the
+pretty girl again had also something to do with this haste.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It provoked the young dandy that he could not introduce himself into
+the presence of the ladies in a more elegant costume; yet his
+comparatively simple travelling dress was becoming to him, and still
+more (at least in the eyes of the sweet Blanche) his paleness, his
+deep-sunk, feverish eyes, and the weakness in all his movements, which
+he strove to hide; for there is something which appeals to the
+sympathies of a true woman in seeing a strong, chivalrous man impatient
+and mortified at his weakness. Under her dropped eyelids Blanche
+watched all his movements, and was constantly considering how to remove
+what might interfere with the comfort of the helpless invalid. Yet she
+did not offer him the slightest service herself, only secretly made
+Dame Isabella acquainted with the need. Her sympathy and her charming
+bashfulness did not fail to touch the heart of the convalescent.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The &quot;petite bande&quot; would have laughed in scorn and right heartily, had
+they seen how modestly the audacious De Lancy exerted himself to please
+the unpretending little girl with the pale face of a novice.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And Lady Isabella neglected the page Philemon and adorned herself to
+such a degree that--well--it cost De Lancy all the trouble in the world
+not to laugh in her face. The finest part of her toilet was her
+&quot;coiffure,&quot; which in style dated back at least thirty years. It
+consisted of a towering head-dress that ran up to a point, from which
+an enormous veil fluttered down to her knees.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The days came and went--the beautiful July days--flooding Touraine with
+golden sunshine from dawn to dewy eve. The air was heavy with the
+perfume of roses and linden blossoms. Henri's hollow face had regained
+its full, natural contour, and his arm had long been freed from the
+sling. He was able to travel--yet of his departure spoke never so much
+as a dying word.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He was only a merry-hearted, heedless fellow, but with a very
+attractive manner; when it pleased him he could assume toward women at
+once such a courteous, amiable, respectful manner that no one could
+long be vexed with him, even were she the proudest of the daughters of
+earth. He had so completely enchanted Dame Isabella that she spent
+whole nights pondering over the preparation of the most <i>recherché</i>
+viands. She served up to him the most skilfully made pies, capons
+dressed with spices after the Spanish custom, or young peacocks which
+she knew how to roast so artistically as not to singe a feather on tail
+or little crown; and when the dame saw with what love-intoxicated gaze
+he often fastened his eyes on the beautiful girl, she furthered his
+intercourse with her as only she could. It would have delighted her to
+win such an aristocratic connection as De Lancy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But there was one person in Montalme who could not feel friendly toward
+the gallant young knight--and this was the lord of the castle himself.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;How long is he going to stay?&quot; he growled out one day to Dame
+Isabella. &quot;He has sent for his clothes and his pages, and next he will
+be inviting his friends here to display Blanche's charms to the whole
+country.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Don't imagine this,&quot; said Isabella, with a shrewd smile; &quot;lovers are
+miserly, and would, if possible, keep the joy of their heart out of
+sight of the entire world.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;The joy of his heart!&quot; exclaimed Gottfried. &quot;Then it is high time that
+I interfered and obliged him to declare himself!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Let nothing of the kind occur to you!&quot; exclaimed Isabella, with a look
+of horror. &quot;Spare the germ of his young love until it ripens into an
+earnest desire for the happiness of marriage.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Gottfried became gloomy. &quot;If I thought that the man would woo the girl
+honourably! He is a most attractive fellow, but although brave and
+generous, the best among the young coxcombs of to-day are proud of
+transgressions which the worst in my day would have been ashamed of,
+and, in fact, they regard it only as a good joke, an aristocratic
+pastime, to seduce an innocent girl!&quot; and he struck his brow with his
+fist.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Such an idea should never come into your mind,&quot; said Isabella,
+passionately; &quot;it is shocking in you to insult the man who saved your
+life, by such scandalous suspicions. You call your suspicions
+conscientious--they should properly bear quite a different name.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;What, then?&quot; growled Gottfried. Dame Isabella stood on the tips of her
+toes, and hissed in his ear, &quot;Jealousy!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At this he ground his teeth,--his eyebrows contracted with pain;--he
+turned on his heels and left the room: determined to watch and be
+silent!</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>III</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">In the cool, lofty rooms of the Castle of Montalme Blanche wandered
+about all this time like one bewildered by a great joy. Her eyes were
+half-closed, as if dazzled by too clear a radiance, and her voice was
+full of plaintive rapture, like that in which the nightingale sobs his
+love through the warm summer nights, and all her motions had an added
+grace.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But one day Dame Isabella whispered to her, &quot;He is desperately in love
+with you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And it awakened Blanche out of her sweet, unconscious ecstasy. She
+began to test it--to doubt! She noticed exactly how often he addressed
+a word directly to her, was sad if he passed her without seeking
+response; his glance to her glance--his smile to her smile!</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>IV</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">Dreamy afternoon stillness brooded over Montalme, the doves cooed
+monotonously on the roof. In one of the deep, oak-panelled window
+niches Blanche stood gazing down into the courtyard, which was full of
+dark shadows. There stood De Lancy in the picturesque costume Titian
+has immortalised in the portraits of Francis I., the puffed sleeves and
+high ruff under which the handsomest man in France was pleased to hide
+the stoop in his shoulders and the thickness of his neck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To young De Lancy this costume was wonderfully becoming. With the black
+velvet bonnet at his ear, he was amusing himself with a falcon, which,
+perched on his shoulder, he alternately teased and soothed; then a
+greyhound stretched to full length came bounding forward with light,
+quick leaps, and sprang upon him. De Lancy slipped his thin, delicate
+hand behind his ear, and stroked him with all the tenderness which men
+of our day are accustomed to bestow on their dogs and horses, with a
+certain pride in their training. At this, however, the falcon became
+jealous, beat his wings, and pecked the hound with his beak. De Lancy
+enjoyed teasing the two animals, and when by alternate caresses he had
+made both positively unhappy, he pressed with one hand the head of the
+falcon against his cheek, and with the other the head of the hound to
+his breast. Then the two creatures were contented, and he smiled--his
+eyes grew darker, and his white teeth glistened.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But the heart of the maiden, who, gazing down into the court, saw the
+pretty play, was convulsed with pain,--was it a kind of jealousy which
+agitated her--or simply a wish? Suddenly De Lancy glanced up, and
+espying the young lady of the castle, greeted her respectfully. Blanche
+thanked him somewhat bashfully, and drew back trembling from head to
+foot. When she ventured again to look down into the court, De Lancy was
+no longer to be seen.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But the wings of the gently moved afternoon air bore to her ear a
+little song which the gay youth trilled to himself as he strolled away:</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p class="t0" style="text-indent:-10px">&quot;Ha! me chère ennemie<br>
+Si tu veux m'apaiser,<br>
+Redonne--moy la vie<br>
+Par l'esprit d'un baiser.<br>
+Ha! j'en ay la douceur<br>
+Senti jusque au c&#339;ur.<br>
+C'est une douce rage<br>
+Qui nous poindra doucement<br>
+Quand d'un même courage<br>
+On s'aime incessament.<br>
+Heureux sera le jour<br>
+Que je mourrai d'amour!&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>V</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">This audacious love-song at that time flitted from lip to lip at the
+court of King Francis, until about a year later the poet Ronsard sang
+it,--and after he had enriched it with two or three daintily elaborated
+verses it was incorporated with his works.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">De Lancy had often hummed it when hastening through the gray corridors,
+or walking in the garden under the sombre boughs of the blossoming
+lindens. But never had Blanche heard it so completely and clearly. Warm
+and full the tones of his voice rang in her ears. Through this
+exuberant and frivolous nature passed the agitating sense of an almost
+pathetic tenderness.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Blanche stared before her into the empty air, and there came into her
+face a great terror--a mighty longing!</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>VI</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">Gottfried watched and suffered--each hour more suspicious and uneasy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the castle chapel of Montalme stood a narrow-chested saint with
+peaked beard,--St. Sebaldus,--who bore on his wooden forefinger an
+amethyst ring. With this ring was connected a legend,--viz.,--that
+whoever would have the courage to draw it off the finger at midnight
+and put it on his own--to him Heaven would grant the fulfilment of his
+wish, even were it the most presumptuous in the world. But should the
+one who took off the jewel let it fall from his linger ere returning it
+on the following night, as in duty bound, to the saint, some terrible
+misfortune would speedily overtake him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was midnight, and deathly stillness reigned; the moonlight played
+about the pointed roof and glittered in the deeply set windows of the
+old castle. Black and heavy, almost as a bier-cloth, the shadow of this
+gigantic old building spread over the ground. In the garden below, the
+nightingales sobbed their sweet songs in the flowering lindens,
+sometimes interrupted by the weird screech of an owl. Then a slender
+figure glided softly through the echoing corridors of the castle--the
+figure of a love-sick girl. At times she paused and listened and laid
+her hand upon her breast. A vague, ghostly fear chilled the blood in
+her veins. Now she stepped through the high hall adjoining the chapel.
+She opened the door heavily weighted with its ornamental iron bands and
+rosettes. The moonlight glanced through the coloured windows and
+painted fantastic images on the brown church pews. Two long, brilliant
+streaks of light cut through the shadows which broadened out over the
+marble floor.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Above the altar hung a Madonna with attenuated arms and too long a
+neck, as the &quot;Primitives&quot; in their naïve awkwardness like to picture
+her. Blanche knelt before her and lisped an Ave and the Lord's Prayer;
+then turning to the saint who, stiff and complacent, gazed down from
+his pedestal, she drew the ring off his finger and put it on her own.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Just at this moment she heard a slight rustle outside, a confused
+feeling of dread and fear suddenly came over her,--a vague, painful
+fear of all the mysterious powers of night and darkness. Quite beside
+herself, she was hurrying out of the chapel when, in her confusion, she
+almost rushed into the arms of a man who stepped toward her in the
+adjacent hall.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Although she had passed so softly through the house, one ear had
+recognised her step,--Henri de Lancy,--by whose chamber she was obliged
+to go in her way to the chapel.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And now he stood before her, and his blue eyes shone in the clear
+moonlight, and he bent over her smiling. She started back, but did not
+fly--only remained standing as if spellbound. When he seized her hand
+and she tried to free herself, however, he held her fast, whispering,
+&quot;Stay only a little while, I pray you; I've so much to say to you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Leave me! leave me!&quot; she cried, timidly.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Only a minute!&quot; he begged of her. &quot;You have always avoided me, I could
+never say it to you, but indeed you must long have known how infinitely
+I love you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He stooped over her--she trembled like a delicate rose-bud with which
+the spring wind plays. She thought of the saint's ring which she had on
+her finger for the purpose of conjuring Heaven to grant her Henri de
+Lancy's love. Had the conjuration then worked so speedily? Oh,
+measureless joy! Oh, never-anticipated blessedness!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And yet--</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was so still--so late! &quot;Leave me! leave me!&quot; she whispered. &quot;Wait, I
+must ask Gottfried.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;And do you believe he will know better than yourself whether you love
+me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He laid his arm round her--his kiss hovered over her lips--when--the
+door was torn open, and, with drawn dagger and face distorted with
+rage, Gottfried rushed upon De Lancy. &quot;Cowardly traitor!&quot; he yelled,
+and stopped, for Blanche, uttering a hoarse shriek of anguish,
+stretched out her arms before the beloved man to protect him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Woe! woe! in this moment the enchanted ring slipped from her finger!</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>VII</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">Angry men's voices echoed through the halls and galleries--then
+stillness reigned again.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Without, the dewdrops rustled in the leaves, but the nightingales were
+hushed. In her lonely chamber sat a pale, sad girl, tearless and
+comfortless. When the gray morning came a gloomy rider stormed out of
+the castle.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>VIII</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">At that time,--in the beginning of the sixteenth century,--shortly
+after the battle of Marignano, and the great awakening at Wittenberg,
+there brooded over creation a sultry atmosphere, in which the thoughts
+and feelings of men frothed and raved with unbridled wantonness,
+stimulated by the storm-ridden air.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">King Francis had brought back with him to his native land, after his
+sojourn in Italy and his conference with Pope Leo, a highly cultivated
+artistic taste, united with a certain subtle depravity of morals.
+Henceforth his court became an open field for the fine arts, and an
+arena for the most debauched, sensual orgies. And not merely owing to
+his high position, but also because he maintained in the midst of his
+wildest excesses the prestige of a magnanimous chivalry, his example
+influenced all the young people of France directly and irresistibly.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was in the zenith of this regal frivolity and regal favour that
+Henri's voluptuous life was interrupted by the above-related intermezzo
+of sincere, honest love for this child of Montalme. But it was at the
+very time when King Francis, basely deserting his noble wife, the good
+Queen Claude, at the head of a jolly troupe of knights, accompanied by
+the most beautiful women of France, was roving from city to city, from
+castle to castle, from forest to forest, making the air resound with
+the clang of cymbals, the blowing of horns, and the baying of dogs; in
+summer dropping down on the fairest flower-strewn meadows, or near
+mossy-green woods to hold their revels, and in winter pelting each
+other with snowballs and filling the various castles with shouts and
+laughter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Now here--now there--he appeared as in a fairy tale--like a vision--the
+impersonation of joy. Where one hoped to find him he had just vanished,
+and where he was not expected he came. This constant change of
+residence frequently embarrassed his ministers or those immediately
+responsible for affairs of state, as well as the foreign ambassadors.
+And whilst the most serious problems were perplexing their heads, he,
+with his knights and the &quot;petite bande,&quot; was ranging all over the
+country in search of adventure, and when needed was never to be found.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was as difficult to prevent one's self from being infected with the
+frivolity of the king's court--if living in the midst of it--as to keep
+one's health intact in a plague lazaretto. To have done it, one must
+have been peculiarly organised, and Henri de Lancy was not peculiarly
+organised.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>IX</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">Weeks passed. Ever slower the time dragged on amid the aching stillness
+of Montalme. Blanche's trembling hope, which resolved itself at first
+into hot, feverish unrest, changed by degrees to stony despair.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">She grew paler and paler--her languid steps ever more feeble--her talk
+abstracted and disconnected. With head slightly bent forward, her lips
+half-open, and her eyes fixed on vacancy, she watched and listened--in
+vain! He came not, and nobody came who could give her any knowledge of
+him. Once when Gottfried, who did not allow her to be out of his sight
+in this sad, sad time, sought for her in vain in castle and garden, led
+by a jealous suspicion, he climbed up into the tower chamber which De
+Lancy had occupied. Through the half-open door he espied Blanche. She
+was sitting at the foot of the bed upon which De Lancy had been laid
+when wounded. She smiled, and on her innocent lips trembled the words
+of his daring love-song:</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p class="t0" style="text-indent:-10px">&quot;Si tu veux m'apaiser<br>
+Redonne--moi la vie<br>
+Par l'esprit d'un baiser.&quot;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="normal">She was dreaming!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Whole nights she sat up sleepless in her bed and murmured or sang
+softly to herself. And now many times through the stillness of night
+she heard the beat of a horse's hoof at full speed passing her window.
+Who could the rider be who thus hurried by Montalme at the dead of
+night?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There was one person in the castle whose faith was firm as a rock in De
+Lancy's truth. This was Dame Isabella. Daily she invented fresh excuses
+for his remaining away--daily arrayed herself in expectation of his
+return. For hours together she would grin and curtsey before the
+mirror, preparing for her advent at court.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One day when Blanche, with her hands in her lap, sat brooding, Dame
+Isabella rushed to her, exclaiming, &quot;Blanche! Blanche! quick, the royal
+hunting party is coming by the castle!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Blanche trembled, for she knew that he must be among the king's
+retinue. She stepped to the window.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Like a gold embroidered thundercloud, the hunting-party whirled out of
+the distance and drew nearer. Horns sounded and rapid hoof-beats
+vibrated on the air. As they approached, a good chance was afforded to
+see the costly apparel of the ladies, and also of the gentlemen, of
+whom an old chronicler of the times avers, not without point, that some
+among them wore their lands and castles on their shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">They fluttered by like a glittering swarm of birds of paradise. Blanche
+stretched her little head forward--there he was--one of the first!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He did not even look up--but rushed by like a storm-wind, his face
+turned to a blonde, regal lady, and looking proud and imposing indeed.
+Blanche staggered back. What could there have been in that brilliant
+throng of further interest to her? Dame Isabella, however, lingered at
+the window, and grinned and bowed with might and main, while her huge
+head-gear rocked comically back and forth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And now the king approached on a milk-white steed with scarlet velvet,
+gold-embroidered housings. He looked up, and was reminded of an amusing
+picture which De Lancy, on his return to court, when questioned by the
+ladies as to the adventure which had detained him so long away, had
+drawn of a worthy old scarecrow who tended his wounds in Montalme. The
+existence of the lovely maiden Blanche he had deemed it wisest to
+conceal. Stifling a laugh, Francis returned Dame Isabella's greeting
+with roguish exaggeration, then turning, whispered to those nearest
+him, whereupon they also looked up, and being greeted by her, the
+entire retinue stopped a minute to inspect the self-satisfied old
+monstrosity. But they did not all possess the amiable courtesy which
+distinguished the king even in his unrestrained naughtiness. One of the
+ladies smiled, another laughed, and, like a spark in a ton of powder,
+this laugh was enough to set off the kindling stuff of repressed
+hilarity which at once exploded.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">So pointed were the looks--so hearty the laughter of the party--that
+even the self-admiring Isabella could not in the slightest degree be
+deceived as to the cause of their merriment. Mortified, she drew back
+out of sight, and the hunting party passed on. Yet at a distance the
+sound of the continued laughter was audible. Dame Isabella was furious.
+&quot;They laughed at me, they pointed at me with their fingers!&quot; she
+repeated, over and over again, her corpulent figure, and especially her
+double chin, trembling in a remarkable way; and utterly forgetting her
+former admiration of the court, she added, &quot;The disorderly mob! the
+base women!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Blanche, who, with her elbows in her hands, was staring straight before
+her like one stunned, thought, &quot;Perhaps he is laughing at me too!&quot; and
+thought these words aloud; since she had been so absorbed in sorrow and
+longing she had often uttered whole sentences like one in a feverish
+dream.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;That you may be sure of!&quot; said Dame Isabella, in a huff, and rustled
+out of the room to lay aside once and for all the ugly headgear which
+she had had a chance to observe was in appalling contradiction to the
+prevailing style. She distinctly recalled Henri de Lancy's expressed
+admiration for this same head ornament. Now she knew that he had been
+making fun of her, and anger and resentment gnawed at her heart.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It chanced that on the following day two mendicant friars sought
+admission to the castle. Dame Isabella asked to have these bare-footed
+martyrs conducted to her room, welcomed them hospitably and in the most
+respectful manner; in the first place because she was pious, but in the
+second because these wandering monks served as a kind of peripatetic
+newspaper; for which their roving life afforded them sufficient variety
+of material. Thus the lady obtained the most precise information about
+the frivolities of the king and his rollicking companions, especially
+the handsome De Lancy, who, she was told, among all these lawless
+revellers was the worst. He was not only following the royal example to
+the last extent (the monks exaggerated perhaps a trifle, seeing how
+much it pleased their listener), but of late he had actually formed a
+liaison with a married woman, the Countess de Sologne, whom, as she was
+carefully guarded by her husband's jealousy, he visited secretly at
+night. And they ended by saying, &quot;It would not surprise us if the
+castle lady heard the reckless knight ride by, since it was the
+shortest way to Laemort, the hereditary seat of the Solognes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We may rest assured that Dame Isabella gave the monks for this precious
+communication plenty of money to spend on their way. Possessed of her
+glorious bit of knowledge, she was dying to tell it, and seeing Blanche
+at the chess-board, opposite her uncle, who exerted himself all the
+time to try to distract her thoughts, she began immediately to relate
+what she had heard. They were not prudish in those days, and if here
+and there one cared to preserve the innocence of a young girl, that
+blissful ignorance was by no means maintained which to-day is held
+peculiarly sacred and inviolate.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Dame Isabella repeated word for word all she had heard of the shameful
+proceedings which hourly went on in the Castle of Amboise, and of the
+startling depravity of Henri de Lancy. In vain Gottfried attempted, by
+his displeased looks, to silence her; she went on further, and advised
+Blanche to rejoice that she had escaped the danger of becoming the wife
+of this vicious fellow. Blanche sat stiff and straight, not uttering a
+word, and continued to shove the little ivory figures slowly over the
+board--that she made the castle execute the peculiar leaps of the
+knight, Isabella did not notice. But when she finished by saying that
+they might hear Henri de Lancy ride by nightly, since the nearest way
+to his beloved duchess led by Montalme, they suddenly heard a painful
+quiver like the dropping of a little bird which had been shot through
+the heart. Blanche had fainted and fallen.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Cruel woman!&quot; exclaimed Gottfried, furiously, &quot;must you tell? I could
+be silent!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He had long known of Henri's infidelity.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Consciousness soon returned to the poor girl, and with it the
+recollection of her sorrow. Blanche longed to lose herself again, but
+the blessing was denied her. Not even the repose of sleep did Heaven
+grant her. She would lie awake, listening feverishly the whole night;
+but no sound disturbed the deathlike stillness either the first or the
+second night. During the day Blanche dragged herself from room to room,
+as if her once flying feet were weighted with lead, but most of the
+time she sat stiffly erect with her hands lying helplessly in her lap,
+staring before her with glazed eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The third day was drawing to a close. Gottfried came in, and, seating
+himself beside her, inquired after her health. She replied there was
+nothing the matter with her, but at the same time crept close to him
+like a very sick child, and he, who had usually repulsed her innocent
+caresses, now put his arm around her slender body and laid her little
+head tenderly on his shoulder; he no longer thought of his own pain,
+but of hers.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">She begged him to tell her a story, as a sick child begs for a
+cradle-song.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He had told her many a tale in bygone days, yet of all she liked best
+to hear of his own adventures and what he himself had seen. Therefore
+he asked now, &quot;A true story, my jewel?&quot; She shuddered, &quot;Oh, no! no! a
+fiction, my uncle, pray!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He passed his hand thoughtfully over his brow. Nothing occurred to him
+but a little legend which had been told him by a half-crazy monk who
+was crouching on the steps of the Milan Cathedral, and with a somewhat
+tremulous voice he began:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;It happens occasionally that in the midst of the blessedness of heaven
+an angel looking down yearns for earth, which seems attractive in the
+enchantment of distance. Then St. Peter, at the Almighty's command,
+grudgingly opens the gates of heaven a little, and the angel slips
+through. But however much he exerts himself and beats his wings, the
+little fluttering things carry him up, and he cannot escape from the
+spheres of sinless purity which float around Paradise. St. Peter
+rattles his bunch of keys and again the gates of heaven open, and now
+on the threshold stands Jesus Christ, well-beloved Son of the Father,
+and infinitely compassionate Son of Man, who knows the earth
+thoroughly. And when the lovely, unwise rebel turns his gold-encircled
+little head to question him concerning it, he beckons him to come
+nearer, and smiling lays a warm beating weight on his breast. Then he
+says, 'Try it!'</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;And lo! when now the angel attempts to lift his wings the little
+weight which Jesus Christ has laid on his breast draws him down to
+earth--for the weight is a human heart. Slowly, slowly he descends from
+the spheres until he lands on a green meadow. There he sinks into a
+deep, dreamless sleep, and when he awakes he has lost his wings,
+forgotten his heavenly origin, and has become a man--only with an
+intense longing in his soul for virtue and purity, which he is not
+himself aware is homesickness; holiness, happiness, heaven, and home
+being to him unconsciously one and the same thing. Yet but now howe'er
+much his yearning may hurry him upward again, his heart chains him fast
+to the earth and he cannot return to his radiant home until a great
+human grief has broken the heart which was laid on his breast. Then our
+Lord Jesus Christ glides downward to earth--takes the poor rebel in his
+arms and carries him back to Paradise.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Gottfried paused. Blanche was silent a moment, then she sighed, &quot;Your
+story is sad, almost as sad as if it were a true one!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To which Gottfried replied, &quot;But it has a lovely ending!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The sad maiden, however, was perfectly silent, and looking into her
+melancholy eyes he discerned a doubt in them if even the joy of heaven
+could compensate for that which we suffer and are deprived of on earth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After a little while Blanche began, &quot;Is the dear God then displeased if
+an angel looking down yearns for the earth?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;No,&quot; murmured Gottfried, &quot;but he is sad, very sad!&quot;</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>X</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">For two nights she had had no sleep; on the third she was exhausted and
+slept soundly, and dreamed a sweet--wonderfully sweet dream.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It seemed to her that she met her beloved in the garden. A delicious
+perfume was wafted from the crown of the lindens, soft greenish shadows
+spread twilight over the earth, and all nature, as in measureless
+rapture, held its breath, no lightest touch of air stirred--she lay in
+his arms, love-enchanted and his lips closed her mouth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Thus she dreamed--when suddenly she sprang up as if one had struck her
+heart with an iron hammer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Was not that the sound of a horse's hoof which broke on the stillness
+of night? In her long white nightdress she flew to the window.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">She recognised him, notwithstanding the speed of his horse, and in
+spite of the curtain of darkness with which midnight sought to veil his
+figure. She bent far over the window-breasting and stretched out her
+arms; a frightful longing confused her senses, and she sang--poor
+child!--without knowing what the words meant:</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p class="t0" style="text-indent:-10px">&quot;Si tu veux m'apaiser<br>
+Redonne--moi la vie<br>
+Par l'esprit d'un baiser.</p>
+<p class="t0">&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="t0" style="text-indent:-10px">&quot;Heureux sera le jour<br>
+Quand je mourrai d'amour!&quot;</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="normal">Louder and louder the voice swelled out, piercing as a cry of anguish;
+yet full of a powerful sweetness the song echoed through the sultry
+stillness of night. It struck the ear of the rider. He checked his
+horse, looked around him, and then spurred the animal anew until he
+leaped wildly on.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">She bent forward--farther forward,--&quot;Plus d'espoir!&quot; she groaned. Her
+heart was so heavy, so heavy! Beneath, the dew glistened like a silver
+sheen over the azure fields, out of which an angel seemed calling her
+to &quot;Cool rest--cool rest!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">She bent forward--forward! and then fell many, many fathoms deep into
+the moat below.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align:center; letter-spacing:20px">* * * * *</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The heavy fall was heard in the castle, and soon the servants with
+torches hurried forth to see what had happened.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There, below, glimmered something white as a blossom broken off by the
+storm. They climbed down. The light of the torches played over a pale,
+lovely face which smiled in death. She was not disfigured, not a
+particle of dust, not a speck of mud or soil of earth, adhered to her
+white garment, although she had fallen among plants growing in the mud.
+In spotless purity the white folds wound about her beautiful limbs. And
+when the people saw this, they marvelled, and said, &quot;A miracle!&quot; Then
+one pressed through the throng, deathly pale with distorted face--Henri
+de Lancy!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But Gottfried coldly turned him away from the dead maiden.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Right tenderly the old soldier lifted the lovely body in his arms,
+murmuring:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Her heart was broken--she is released!&quot;</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>XI</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">It was an age full of horrors, when the noblest blood of illustrious
+Hellenism rose up to face a background of battles, orgies, and pulpit
+harangues. It was not only a period in which Lorenzo de' Medici, in
+disguise and at the head of a bacchanalian troop tore through the
+streets of Florence; Benvenuto Cellini stabbed his enemies at the
+street corners; Pope Leo at a cardinal's supper presented a sacrifice
+of doves to the Goddess of Love upon a white marble altar, and
+offered to his favourite, Raphael, a cardinal's hat in payment of his
+bills--but a time also when Savonarola preached the loftiest
+asceticism; Rabelais, in the midst of his obscene rhapsodies, created
+the wonderful idyl of l'Abbaye de Telesme; Fra Angelico on his knees
+painted his picture of Christ, and the triumphal procession of an
+emperor ended in a monastery!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A time full of enigmas! and among the many enigmas which lived in it,
+was one of a sad, silent monk, of whom his cloister-brethren asserted
+that he once had led a very dissolute life, but now was the most
+absorbed <i>dèvoté</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And whilst King Francis, at variance with himself and the world, tried
+to maintain, even to the end, the appearance of ostentatious levity,
+and to win fresh renown as a patron of art, and to console himself for
+his lost self-respect with the flatteries of the Duchess d'Etampes,
+this monk devoted every single hour which remained to him, after the
+barest satisfaction of his physical needs, and the fulfilment of
+his religious duties, to one and the same work,--a sweet girl's
+head,--which he, with his slender, effeminate, courtier's hand, formed
+out of wax after a death mask, and ever again re-formed, and could
+never finish to his own satisfaction. Discouraged, disappointed, he
+destroyed each day the work of the preceding until finally, in the very
+last year of his life he became more tranquil, and then under his
+never-weary hands arose an exquisite maiden's head with a sweet,
+thoughtful expression of face,--the little head bent forward as if
+listening to a great joy, yet weighed down by the presentiment of a
+terrible pain!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And he worked at the head on his knees, like Fra Angelico at his
+ecstatic pictures of saints, and he coloured it most beautifully--but
+still, not as if it were the head of a living maiden, but as of one who
+had died in the freshness of youth. When he succeeded, he smiled and
+closed his eyes for ever.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>XII</h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="normal">After long wanderings, the bust has found a resting-place in the museum
+at Lille. Full of a dreamy pathos, it stands in its glass case--an
+atonement for Love betrayed--in memory of the bitterest repentance.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As the embodiment of an old legend, it interests us and seems to say:
+&quot;A tear for Blanche of Montalme; for Henri de Lancy--a prayer!&quot;</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35385-h.htm or 35385-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/3/8/35385/
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/35385-h/images/cover.jpg b/35385-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3193e53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/35385-h/images/waxhead.png b/35385-h/images/waxhead.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d52495
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385-h/images/waxhead.png
diff --git a/35385.txt b/35385.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..849d740
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1504 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Blanche:
+       The Maid of Lille
+
+Author: Ossip Schubin
+
+Translator: Sarah H. Adams
+
+Release Date: February 26, 2011 [EBook #35385]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+   1. Page scan source:
+      http://www.archive.org/details/blanchemaidof00schuiala
+
+   2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe].
+
+
+
+
+
+BLANCHE: THE MAID OF LILLE
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: tete de cire.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                BLANCHE:
+
+                           The Maid of Lille
+
+
+
+                     Translated from the German of
+                             OSSIP SCHUBIN
+                                   by
+                             SARAH H. ADAMS
+
+
+
+                           PRIVATELY PRINTED
+                                 BOSTON
+                                 MCMII
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                         _Copyright, 1902, by_
+                             SARAH H. ADAMS
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             Colonial Press
+            Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
+                        Boston, Mass., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+                              INTRODUCTION
+
+
+A few years since we chose to spend the summer in a chalet among the
+Dolomites of South Tyrol. Weird, fantastic, inaccessible, mysterious,
+grotesque, and yet often wearing a jewelled crown of eternal ice, these
+peaks soared into the ether above and around us. "Nothing," says a
+recent traveller, "can surpass the majesty and beauty of the towers and
+ramparts, the battlemented walls, impregnable castles, and gracefully
+pinnacled cathedrals into the forms of which their summits are built
+up. Their colouring is another striking characteristic; many of them
+rivet the eye with the richness of the tints,--deep reds, bright
+yellows, silvery whites, and the dark blues and blacks of the rocks.
+But all these colours are modified and softened by a peculiar grayish
+white tint. The mountains look as if powdered over with some substance
+less hard and cold than newly fallen snow."
+
+Although within a day's drive of Pieve di Cadore,--Titian's
+birthplace--and not far from Cortina, we could hardly have found a more
+isolated spot. It was a hermitage, and we knew literally no one within
+hundreds of miles.
+
+Ossip Schubin, the popular German novelist at that time, had sent us a
+volume of stories, with the request that we would translate them. We
+selected the story now offered as being most in sympathy with our
+romantic surroundings.
+
+A learned Englishman has said, "If histories were written as histories
+should be, boys and girls would cry to read them." But alas! how is the
+spirit, the tone, of a dead century to be made to breathe again and
+report itself? The landscape alone is permanent; new figures constantly
+fill the foreground. Poetry, legend, myths, help us to divine some of
+the strange chords in the human chant, which, heavily burdened with
+sorrow, come down to us through the ages.
+
+In this twentieth century no one sentiment or emotion is allowed so far
+to dominate as to crush out all others. But how was it in the days of
+the Crusaders, of the Minnesingers, of the Troubadours? If we would
+realise the seclusion, the loneliness of many lives centuries ago, we
+have only to enter either "The Wartburg" or the castle of Solmes
+Brauenfels in the Rhine valley, which dates back a thousand years. Look
+into the gloomy keeps; hear the shrieking of the bars in the heavy
+portcullis; gaze down into the damp, ugly moats; or listen to the
+soughing of the stormy winds in the branches of the tall forest trees
+which closely environ these grim abodes. It is conceivable that
+Elizabeth languished and died at "The Wartburg," when the chivalrous
+Tannhaeuser no longer came to inspire with love and song. Could even
+Martin Luther have lived in these cold, black walls without his work
+which daily rekindled his soul as he studied the inspired pages of the
+Bible?
+
+Among the annals of a wicked old past, this story appears as a legend
+dimly connected with the pathetic face of the "Maid of Lille" a copy of
+which is in the Boston Art Museum.
+
+There is no appeal here to the modern girl. The word "altruism" had not
+been invented. Yet there was genius in loving as Blanche did--what
+trustful, boundless love, what exaggeration of the object loved! And
+while to-day we strive to master a useless sorrow by a useful activity,
+we can still appreciate the beauty and holiness of such love.
+
+                                             SARAH H. ADAMS.
+
+
+
+
+                                BLANCHE
+
+
+In the museum at Lille, somewhat aside from the bewildering mass of
+pictures, stands, in a glass case, a masterpiece of unknown origin--the
+"tete de cire,"--a maiden's bust moulded in coloured wax.
+
+You will smile when you hear of a coloured wax bust and think of Madame
+Tussaud's collection, or of a pretty, insignificant doll's head; but
+should you ever see the "tete de cire," instead of laughing you will
+fold your hands, and, instead of Madame Tussaud's glass-eyed puppets,
+will think of a lovely girl cut off in her early bloom, whom you once
+saw at rest on the hard pillow of her coffin. Pale, with exquisite
+features, reddish brown hair, eyes slightly blinking, as if afraid of
+too much sun, a painfully resigned smile about her mouth, and with neck
+slightly bent forward, as if awaiting her death-stroke, full of
+touching innocence and of a languid grace, this waxen bust stands out
+of its dull gold case,--the image of an angel who had lived an earthly
+life and whose heart was broken by a mortal pain.
+
+Whence came this masterly production? Nobody knows! One ascribes it to
+Leonardo, another to Raphael, while still others have sought for its
+origin in antiquity. Upon one point only all agree,--that the bust was
+made from a cast taken after death.
+
+The painter, Wickar, brought it out of Italy into France. 'Twas said
+that he found it in a Tuscan convent.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The lovely girl smiles, pleased at the critical debates of the curious,
+who wish to attribute this graceful creation to one of the illustrious
+Heroes of Art: smiles and dreams!
+
+
+
+
+                                   I
+
+
+No, it could not be--'twould be a sacrilege!
+
+He was forty-five and she scarcely seventeen. It could not be!
+
+After a series of adventurous campaigns, after mourning over many
+defeats and celebrating many victories, and finally losing his left leg
+in the memorable battle of Marignano, Gottfried de Montalme, finding
+himself disabled for the rough work of a soldier, had returned to
+France and to his father's castle, whose gates his brother, the duke,
+hospitably opened to him.
+
+He found this brother a widower, and at the point of death; but beside
+the dying man's couch was a lovely little maiden who offered her cheeks
+to be kissed in welcome to the wanderer. She was the Duke of Montalme's
+only child--Blanche, a heart's balm! the light of his eyes!
+
+Leaving no male heir, the entire inheritance of the Duke of
+Montalme--his castle and lands, with all the feudal rights appertaining
+thereto,--would devolve upon the returned warrior, Gottfried. The
+little maiden was badly provided for, and this the duke knew full well,
+and it made his dying heart sad.
+
+Gottfried sat by the bedside of his brother through the warm May
+nights. He heard the ticking of the death-watch in the wainscoting of
+the old walls, heard the dewdrops, as they slowly rustled through the
+leaves of the giant lindens outside, heard the laboured breath of the
+dying man--but more distinctly than all did he hear the beating of his
+own heart.
+
+Toward morning, when the first slant sunbeams shed a rosy glimmer into
+the gray twilight of the sick man's room, this beating grew louder,
+for, with the early sun, Blanche slipped into the chamber, and, leaning
+compassionately over the sufferer, whispered, "Are you better, my
+father?"
+
+Ah! for the Duke of Montalme there was no better, and one night he laid
+his damp, cold hand upon his brother's warm and powerful one, saying,
+with the directness his near relationship warranted, "Gottfried, it
+would be a great comfort to me if you would take Blanche for your
+wife."
+
+At this Gottfried blushed up to the roots of his gray hair, and
+murmured, "What an idea to come into your head--I an old cripple, and
+this young blossom! It would be a sacrilege!"
+
+"She does not dislike you," said the duke.
+
+The brave Gottfried blushed deeper, and said, "She is but a child."
+
+"Oh, these conscientious notions!" grumbled the exhausted man. But
+notions or not, Gottfried was firm, and of a marriage-bond with the
+child would not hear; he promised to afford the little maiden loving
+care and protection--promised to guard her as the apple of his eye--as
+his own child, until he could, with confidence, lay her hand into that
+of a worthy lover's.
+
+And while he promised this, his voice sounded hollow and sad like the
+tolling of a funeral bell. The duke, with the clear-sightedness of the
+dying, cast a glance into his brother's heart, and discovered there a
+holy secret.
+
+"You're an angel, Gottfried," he murmured, "but you make a mistake,"
+and shortly after breathed his last.
+
+On the day of the funeral Dame Isabella von Auberive, a distant
+relative whom Gottfried, for propriety's sake, had summoned hither,
+arrived at the castle to share with him in the care of the young girl.
+Beside her father's bier, surrounded by the dim, flickering candles, he
+kissed the sweet orphan reverently on the brow, as one kisses the hem
+of a Madonna's robe; and promised her his loving care. But when she, in
+a torrent of childish grief, wound her arms about his neck and pressed
+her little head against his shoulder, he became almost as white as the
+dead man in his coffin, and tenderly but firmly released himself from
+her.
+
+It could not be--'twould be sacrilege.
+
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+During the brilliant period in the reign of King Francis I., it
+happened that in the marvellously fair, luxuriant Touraine, through
+whose velvet green meadows ran the "gay-jewel-glistening Loire,--the
+frolicsome, flippant Loire,"--there arose on its banks, one by one, the
+stately dwellings of many a proud lord.
+
+Somewhat apart from the others, in a retired spot, where King Francis's
+elegant hunters seldom found their way, towered up the Castle of
+Montalme; large, massive, with gloomy little windows sunk into deep
+holes in the walls, and with a round turret on either wing. Stern and
+forbidding, it looked down into the moat in whose waterless bed toads
+and frogs revelled amid the moist green foliage; for the age was fast
+drawing to a close in which every nobleman had been a little king, and
+the simple heroic French feudality, blinded by the nimbus of Francis
+I., were rapidly being transformed into a mere host of courtiers.
+
+The dull uniformity in the architecture of Montalme stood out in
+striking contrast to the rest of the castles of sunny, pleasure-loving
+Touraine. The internal arrangement corresponded to the plain exterior,
+and to the naive pretensions of a century when, even in Blois and
+Amboise, the favourite castles of the king, the doors were so low that
+Francis himself, who is known to have been of regal stature, had to
+stoop to enter them. The scantiness of the furniture in this huge
+Castle of Montalme added to its forlorn aspect; nor was the slightest
+deference paid to prevailing fashion. The ladies wore sombre-coloured
+dresses, cut high in the neck, and covering the arms down to the very
+end of the wrists; skirts hanging in long, heavy folds, allowing only
+the pointed toe of the leather shoe to peep out. The gentlemen wore the
+hair long, and their faces smoothly shaved; their doublets reached in
+folds almost to the knees, as had been the fashion under the simple,
+economical rule of the late king.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+A year had glided by since the death of the duke. Blanche enjoyed the
+happiness of youth, free from care, and Gottfried the peace of honest,
+high-souled self-denial. A guardian angel, he limped about modestly at
+the side of his niece, rejoicing to be able to remove every stone which
+threatened to mar the smoothness of her path, or to scare away the
+hawks lurking in ambush to surprise her innocence.
+
+And when considering the charms of his dear little niece, Gottfried
+thought of the orgies in the Amboise Castle, of the "petite bande" and
+the merry raids of the king, the real aim of which was nothing higher
+than some foolish love-adventure, he shuddered. Deeply and often he
+pondered the matter. Blanche was eighteen--it was time for her to be
+married--and yet his brave, faithful heart shrank with anguish at the
+bare thought of it. He would not hesitate (at least he believed this of
+himself) to part with her if only he could find a true-hearted,
+honourable man. But in this age of beauty and song--the age of King
+Francis such an one was hard to find.
+
+Meanwhile Blanche was contented with her lonely, monotonous life,
+perhaps, in part, because she knew no other, yet, also, because a
+fountain of youthful gaiety was still unexhausted in her heart. There
+were many things to do in the daytime, and she played chess with her
+uncle in the long winter evenings, while sparks flashed out of the
+heavy oak logs in the chimney, and the single tallow candle in its
+artistically wrought iron candlestick wove a little island of light in
+the Cimmerian darkness of the monstrous hall.
+
+Sometimes Gottfried entertained her with stories--the legend of
+Tristran and Iseult--or the pathetic tale of the Count of Lusignano and
+the fair Melusina; often, too, he told her of his own adventures in
+foreign lands.
+
+But the happier Blanche made herself in this lonely life, the more
+furious became Dame Isabella. She was a worthy woman, but never could
+realise that her once distinguished beauty had long been buried under a
+weight of corpulence, and therefore did not restrain herself from
+putting on all sorts of ridiculous airs and graces, in order to attract
+the attention of the whole neighbourhood to her supposed charms. Out of
+sheer _ennui_ she ogled even her page, Philemon, a boy of twelve years,
+although he cherished a modest but so much the more glowing adolescent
+passion for the lovely Blanche.
+
+Whilst winding endless skeins of silk off the hands of the page, she
+sighed in a heart-breaking way, and made the most pointed remarks about
+the laziness and unmannerliness of those noblemen who purposely avoided
+any approach to the kind, chivalrous king.
+
+Gottfried long forbore to respond to such innuendoes. Of what use would
+it be to try to explain to this silly old person that the court of King
+Francis was not the proper sphere for such a fat old woman as herself,
+or for a little maiden like Blanche, who would receive a kind of
+adulation before which the good, true-hearted warrior shuddered? Once,
+however, when Dame Isabella, more excited than usual, stormed in upon
+him and insisted that the young girl's future should be taken into
+immediate consideration, he gave her an angry answer. But it did not
+silence her, and though the worthy woman talked plenty of nonsense, yet
+she sometimes made a remark that Gottfried could not think wholly
+unjustifiable. "Blanche is eighteen years old!" stormed Dame Auberive;
+"if you do not wish her to marry you must resolve to place her in one
+of the nunneries, which are the only respectable refuge for unmarried
+women of her position."
+
+"Who told you that I did not want Blanche to marry?" exclaimed
+Gottfried, with anger and agitation; "it is only that I have not yet
+found any one good enough for her." But Dame Isabella replied with
+cutting scorn, "No one will ever seem to you good enough for her!" and
+bounced out of the room the picture of righteous indignation.
+
+Shortly after this it happened that a young knight was brought into the
+castle badly wounded; he had fallen among thieves, been robbed, and
+left unconscious by the roadside. He must be a man of rank, the
+servants thought who brought him in, for his dress, though soiled and
+torn, was of the finest material, and he wore the full beard with
+close-shaved hair which most of the courtiers wore in imitation of the
+king. Gottfried recognised in him a certain Henri de Lancy who, at the
+battle of Marignano, had fought beside him and won general admiration
+for his bravery, and had, more than all, dragged him--his old friend
+Gottfried--out of the thick of the battle after a ball had broken his
+leg.
+
+As he bent over the handsome youth lying there before him with closed
+eyes, so pale and helpless, an emotion of deep pity overcame Gottfried,
+and he exerted himself to the utmost to lavish on De Lancy all the
+comforts which the poor castle of Montalme could command.
+
+The sight of the wounded knight roused the quiet castle out of its
+phlegmatic drowsiness, and the heart of Dame Isabella beat so wildly
+that her orders confused the heads of her servants. Even through the
+veins of the innocent Blanche thrilled a strange, dreamy unrest.
+
+At that time there prevailed, together with a sultry kind of
+viciousness, compared with which modern profligacy appears petty and
+childish, a frank, genial naivete, which is lost to our age with its
+prudish, artificial morality. The most delicate maiden did not
+hesitate, at that time, to lend help in nursing a sick man; and
+besides, women in that century--thanks to the rarity of doctors--found
+it necessary to acquire some knowledge of the healing art.
+
+Hence it was that Blanche came to the assistance of Dame Isabella and
+her Uncle Gottfried in the care of De Lancy, and as her hand was the
+most delicate, it usually fell to her to loosen the bandages around the
+ugly wound on his head, and as she had the steadiest nerve, it was
+she who, with Gottfried's help, removed the splinter of a broken
+sword-point from his shoulder.
+
+Quiet and helpful as an angel, she hovered about the unconscious man.
+But once, as she was bending over his couch to watch the breathing of
+the sufferer, a great abatement of the wound fever happily set in. De
+Lancy opened his eyes, which, though at times blue as the heavens
+above, were at others black as an abyss. The "petite bande" knew these
+eyes well.
+
+Just now they were very blue and fixed with peculiar pleasure on the
+tender little maiden. But she drew back embarrassed. The strange,
+marvellous eyes had driven away his guardian angel, and from that hour
+she avoided the sick man's room.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+We shall readily imagine that Henri de Lancy would not endure to be
+nursed like a sick woman, and, as soon as he could lift hand and foot,
+he dragged himself off his couch--possibly his impatience to see the
+pretty girl again had also something to do with this haste.
+
+It provoked the young dandy that he could not introduce himself into
+the presence of the ladies in a more elegant costume; yet his
+comparatively simple travelling dress was becoming to him, and still
+more (at least in the eyes of the sweet Blanche) his paleness, his
+deep-sunk, feverish eyes, and the weakness in all his movements, which
+he strove to hide; for there is something which appeals to the
+sympathies of a true woman in seeing a strong, chivalrous man impatient
+and mortified at his weakness. Under her dropped eyelids Blanche
+watched all his movements, and was constantly considering how to remove
+what might interfere with the comfort of the helpless invalid. Yet she
+did not offer him the slightest service herself, only secretly made
+Dame Isabella acquainted with the need. Her sympathy and her charming
+bashfulness did not fail to touch the heart of the convalescent.
+
+The "petite bande" would have laughed in scorn and right heartily, had
+they seen how modestly the audacious De Lancy exerted himself to please
+the unpretending little girl with the pale face of a novice.
+
+And Lady Isabella neglected the page Philemon and adorned herself to
+such a degree that--well--it cost De Lancy all the trouble in the world
+not to laugh in her face. The finest part of her toilet was her
+"coiffure," which in style dated back at least thirty years. It
+consisted of a towering head-dress that ran up to a point, from which
+an enormous veil fluttered down to her knees.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The days came and went--the beautiful July days--flooding Touraine with
+golden sunshine from dawn to dewy eve. The air was heavy with the
+perfume of roses and linden blossoms. Henri's hollow face had regained
+its full, natural contour, and his arm had long been freed from the
+sling. He was able to travel--yet of his departure spoke never so much
+as a dying word.
+
+He was only a merry-hearted, heedless fellow, but with a very
+attractive manner; when it pleased him he could assume toward women at
+once such a courteous, amiable, respectful manner that no one could
+long be vexed with him, even were she the proudest of the daughters of
+earth. He had so completely enchanted Dame Isabella that she spent
+whole nights pondering over the preparation of the most _recherche_
+viands. She served up to him the most skilfully made pies, capons
+dressed with spices after the Spanish custom, or young peacocks which
+she knew how to roast so artistically as not to singe a feather on tail
+or little crown; and when the dame saw with what love-intoxicated gaze
+he often fastened his eyes on the beautiful girl, she furthered his
+intercourse with her as only she could. It would have delighted her to
+win such an aristocratic connection as De Lancy.
+
+But there was one person in Montalme who could not feel friendly toward
+the gallant young knight--and this was the lord of the castle himself.
+
+"How long is he going to stay?" he growled out one day to Dame
+Isabella. "He has sent for his clothes and his pages, and next he will
+be inviting his friends here to display Blanche's charms to the whole
+country."
+
+"Don't imagine this," said Isabella, with a shrewd smile; "lovers are
+miserly, and would, if possible, keep the joy of their heart out of
+sight of the entire world."
+
+"The joy of his heart!" exclaimed Gottfried. "Then it is high time that
+I interfered and obliged him to declare himself!"
+
+"Let nothing of the kind occur to you!" exclaimed Isabella, with a look
+of horror. "Spare the germ of his young love until it ripens into an
+earnest desire for the happiness of marriage."
+
+Gottfried became gloomy. "If I thought that the man would woo the girl
+honourably! He is a most attractive fellow, but although brave and
+generous, the best among the young coxcombs of to-day are proud of
+transgressions which the worst in my day would have been ashamed of,
+and, in fact, they regard it only as a good joke, an aristocratic
+pastime, to seduce an innocent girl!" and he struck his brow with his
+fist.
+
+"Such an idea should never come into your mind," said Isabella,
+passionately; "it is shocking in you to insult the man who saved your
+life, by such scandalous suspicions. You call your suspicions
+conscientious--they should properly bear quite a different name."
+
+"What, then?" growled Gottfried. Dame Isabella stood on the tips of her
+toes, and hissed in his ear, "Jealousy!"
+
+At this he ground his teeth,--his eyebrows contracted with pain;--he
+turned on his heels and left the room: determined to watch and be
+silent!
+
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+
+In the cool, lofty rooms of the Castle of Montalme Blanche wandered
+about all this time like one bewildered by a great joy. Her eyes were
+half-closed, as if dazzled by too clear a radiance, and her voice was
+full of plaintive rapture, like that in which the nightingale sobs his
+love through the warm summer nights, and all her motions had an added
+grace.
+
+But one day Dame Isabella whispered to her, "He is desperately in love
+with you!"
+
+And it awakened Blanche out of her sweet, unconscious ecstasy. She
+began to test it--to doubt! She noticed exactly how often he addressed
+a word directly to her, was sad if he passed her without seeking
+response; his glance to her glance--his smile to her smile!
+
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+
+Dreamy afternoon stillness brooded over Montalme, the doves cooed
+monotonously on the roof. In one of the deep, oak-panelled window
+niches Blanche stood gazing down into the courtyard, which was full of
+dark shadows. There stood De Lancy in the picturesque costume Titian
+has immortalised in the portraits of Francis I., the puffed sleeves and
+high ruff under which the handsomest man in France was pleased to hide
+the stoop in his shoulders and the thickness of his neck.
+
+To young De Lancy this costume was wonderfully becoming. With the black
+velvet bonnet at his ear, he was amusing himself with a falcon, which,
+perched on his shoulder, he alternately teased and soothed; then a
+greyhound stretched to full length came bounding forward with light,
+quick leaps, and sprang upon him. De Lancy slipped his thin, delicate
+hand behind his ear, and stroked him with all the tenderness which men
+of our day are accustomed to bestow on their dogs and horses, with a
+certain pride in their training. At this, however, the falcon became
+jealous, beat his wings, and pecked the hound with his beak. De Lancy
+enjoyed teasing the two animals, and when by alternate caresses he had
+made both positively unhappy, he pressed with one hand the head of the
+falcon against his cheek, and with the other the head of the hound to
+his breast. Then the two creatures were contented, and he smiled--his
+eyes grew darker, and his white teeth glistened.
+
+But the heart of the maiden, who, gazing down into the court, saw the
+pretty play, was convulsed with pain,--was it a kind of jealousy which
+agitated her--or simply a wish? Suddenly De Lancy glanced up, and
+espying the young lady of the castle, greeted her respectfully. Blanche
+thanked him somewhat bashfully, and drew back trembling from head to
+foot. When she ventured again to look down into the court, De Lancy was
+no longer to be seen.
+
+But the wings of the gently moved afternoon air bore to her ear a
+little song which the gay youth trilled to himself as he strolled away:
+
+
+           "Ha! me chere ennemie
+            Si tu veux m'apaiser,
+            Redonne--moy la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser.
+            Ha! j'en ay la douceur
+            Senti jusque au c[oe]ur.
+            C'est une douce rage
+            Qui nous poindra doucement
+            Quand d'un meme courage
+            On s'aime incessament.
+            Heureux sera le jour
+            Que je mourrai d'amour!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   V
+
+
+This audacious love-song at that time flitted from lip to lip at the
+court of King Francis, until about a year later the poet Ronsard sang
+it,--and after he had enriched it with two or three daintily elaborated
+verses it was incorporated with his works.
+
+De Lancy had often hummed it when hastening through the gray corridors,
+or walking in the garden under the sombre boughs of the blossoming
+lindens. But never had Blanche heard it so completely and clearly. Warm
+and full the tones of his voice rang in her ears. Through this
+exuberant and frivolous nature passed the agitating sense of an almost
+pathetic tenderness.
+
+Blanche stared before her into the empty air, and there came into her
+face a great terror--a mighty longing!
+
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+
+Gottfried watched and suffered--each hour more suspicious and uneasy.
+
+In the castle chapel of Montalme stood a narrow-chested saint with
+peaked beard,--St. Sebaldus,--who bore on his wooden forefinger an
+amethyst ring. With this ring was connected a legend,--viz.,--that
+whoever would have the courage to draw it off the finger at midnight
+and put it on his own--to him Heaven would grant the fulfilment of his
+wish, even were it the most presumptuous in the world. But should the
+one who took off the jewel let it fall from his linger ere returning it
+on the following night, as in duty bound, to the saint, some terrible
+misfortune would speedily overtake him.
+
+It was midnight, and deathly stillness reigned; the moonlight played
+about the pointed roof and glittered in the deeply set windows of the
+old castle. Black and heavy, almost as a bier-cloth, the shadow of this
+gigantic old building spread over the ground. In the garden below, the
+nightingales sobbed their sweet songs in the flowering lindens,
+sometimes interrupted by the weird screech of an owl. Then a slender
+figure glided softly through the echoing corridors of the castle--the
+figure of a love-sick girl. At times she paused and listened and laid
+her hand upon her breast. A vague, ghostly fear chilled the blood in
+her veins. Now she stepped through the high hall adjoining the chapel.
+She opened the door heavily weighted with its ornamental iron bands and
+rosettes. The moonlight glanced through the coloured windows and
+painted fantastic images on the brown church pews. Two long, brilliant
+streaks of light cut through the shadows which broadened out over the
+marble floor.
+
+Above the altar hung a Madonna with attenuated arms and too long a
+neck, as the "Primitives" in their naive awkwardness like to picture
+her. Blanche knelt before her and lisped an Ave and the Lord's Prayer;
+then turning to the saint who, stiff and complacent, gazed down from
+his pedestal, she drew the ring off his finger and put it on her own.
+
+Just at this moment she heard a slight rustle outside, a confused
+feeling of dread and fear suddenly came over her,--a vague, painful
+fear of all the mysterious powers of night and darkness. Quite beside
+herself, she was hurrying out of the chapel when, in her confusion, she
+almost rushed into the arms of a man who stepped toward her in the
+adjacent hall.
+
+Although she had passed so softly through the house, one ear had
+recognised her step,--Henri de Lancy,--by whose chamber she was obliged
+to go in her way to the chapel.
+
+And now he stood before her, and his blue eyes shone in the clear
+moonlight, and he bent over her smiling. She started back, but did not
+fly--only remained standing as if spellbound. When he seized her hand
+and she tried to free herself, however, he held her fast, whispering,
+"Stay only a little while, I pray you; I've so much to say to you!"
+
+"Leave me! leave me!" she cried, timidly.
+
+"Only a minute!" he begged of her. "You have always avoided me, I could
+never say it to you, but indeed you must long have known how infinitely
+I love you!"
+
+He stooped over her--she trembled like a delicate rose-bud with which
+the spring wind plays. She thought of the saint's ring which she had on
+her finger for the purpose of conjuring Heaven to grant her Henri de
+Lancy's love. Had the conjuration then worked so speedily? Oh,
+measureless joy! Oh, never-anticipated blessedness!
+
+And yet--
+
+It was so still--so late! "Leave me! leave me!" she whispered. "Wait, I
+must ask Gottfried."
+
+"And do you believe he will know better than yourself whether you love
+me?"
+
+He laid his arm round her--his kiss hovered over her lips--when--the
+door was torn open, and, with drawn dagger and face distorted with
+rage, Gottfried rushed upon De Lancy. "Cowardly traitor!" he yelled,
+and stopped, for Blanche, uttering a hoarse shriek of anguish,
+stretched out her arms before the beloved man to protect him.
+
+Woe! woe! in this moment the enchanted ring slipped from her finger!
+
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+
+Angry men's voices echoed through the halls and galleries--then
+stillness reigned again.
+
+Without, the dewdrops rustled in the leaves, but the nightingales were
+hushed. In her lonely chamber sat a pale, sad girl, tearless and
+comfortless. When the gray morning came a gloomy rider stormed out of
+the castle.
+
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+
+At that time,--in the beginning of the sixteenth century,--shortly
+after the battle of Marignano, and the great awakening at Wittenberg,
+there brooded over creation a sultry atmosphere, in which the thoughts
+and feelings of men frothed and raved with unbridled wantonness,
+stimulated by the storm-ridden air.
+
+King Francis had brought back with him to his native land, after his
+sojourn in Italy and his conference with Pope Leo, a highly cultivated
+artistic taste, united with a certain subtle depravity of morals.
+Henceforth his court became an open field for the fine arts, and an
+arena for the most debauched, sensual orgies. And not merely owing to
+his high position, but also because he maintained in the midst of his
+wildest excesses the prestige of a magnanimous chivalry, his example
+influenced all the young people of France directly and irresistibly.
+
+It was in the zenith of this regal frivolity and regal favour that
+Henri's voluptuous life was interrupted by the above-related intermezzo
+of sincere, honest love for this child of Montalme. But it was at the
+very time when King Francis, basely deserting his noble wife, the good
+Queen Claude, at the head of a jolly troupe of knights, accompanied by
+the most beautiful women of France, was roving from city to city, from
+castle to castle, from forest to forest, making the air resound with
+the clang of cymbals, the blowing of horns, and the baying of dogs; in
+summer dropping down on the fairest flower-strewn meadows, or near
+mossy-green woods to hold their revels, and in winter pelting each
+other with snowballs and filling the various castles with shouts and
+laughter.
+
+Now here--now there--he appeared as in a fairy tale--like a vision--the
+impersonation of joy. Where one hoped to find him he had just vanished,
+and where he was not expected he came. This constant change of
+residence frequently embarrassed his ministers or those immediately
+responsible for affairs of state, as well as the foreign ambassadors.
+And whilst the most serious problems were perplexing their heads, he,
+with his knights and the "petite bande," was ranging all over the
+country in search of adventure, and when needed was never to be found.
+
+It was as difficult to prevent one's self from being infected with the
+frivolity of the king's court--if living in the midst of it--as to keep
+one's health intact in a plague lazaretto. To have done it, one must
+have been peculiarly organised, and Henri de Lancy was not peculiarly
+organised.
+
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+
+Weeks passed. Ever slower the time dragged on amid the aching stillness
+of Montalme. Blanche's trembling hope, which resolved itself at first
+into hot, feverish unrest, changed by degrees to stony despair.
+
+She grew paler and paler--her languid steps ever more feeble--her talk
+abstracted and disconnected. With head slightly bent forward, her lips
+half-open, and her eyes fixed on vacancy, she watched and listened--in
+vain! He came not, and nobody came who could give her any knowledge of
+him. Once when Gottfried, who did not allow her to be out of his sight
+in this sad, sad time, sought for her in vain in castle and garden, led
+by a jealous suspicion, he climbed up into the tower chamber which De
+Lancy had occupied. Through the half-open door he espied Blanche. She
+was sitting at the foot of the bed upon which De Lancy had been laid
+when wounded. She smiled, and on her innocent lips trembled the words
+of his daring love-song:
+
+
+           "Si tu veux m'apaiser
+            Redonne--moi la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser."
+
+
+She was dreaming!
+
+Whole nights she sat up sleepless in her bed and murmured or sang
+softly to herself. And now many times through the stillness of night
+she heard the beat of a horse's hoof at full speed passing her window.
+Who could the rider be who thus hurried by Montalme at the dead of
+night?
+
+There was one person in the castle whose faith was firm as a rock in De
+Lancy's truth. This was Dame Isabella. Daily she invented fresh excuses
+for his remaining away--daily arrayed herself in expectation of his
+return. For hours together she would grin and curtsey before the
+mirror, preparing for her advent at court.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+One day when Blanche, with her hands in her lap, sat brooding, Dame
+Isabella rushed to her, exclaiming, "Blanche! Blanche! quick, the royal
+hunting party is coming by the castle!"
+
+Blanche trembled, for she knew that he must be among the king's
+retinue. She stepped to the window.
+
+Like a gold embroidered thundercloud, the hunting-party whirled out of
+the distance and drew nearer. Horns sounded and rapid hoof-beats
+vibrated on the air. As they approached, a good chance was afforded to
+see the costly apparel of the ladies, and also of the gentlemen, of
+whom an old chronicler of the times avers, not without point, that some
+among them wore their lands and castles on their shoulders.
+
+They fluttered by like a glittering swarm of birds of paradise. Blanche
+stretched her little head forward--there he was--one of the first!
+
+He did not even look up--but rushed by like a storm-wind, his face
+turned to a blonde, regal lady, and looking proud and imposing indeed.
+Blanche staggered back. What could there have been in that brilliant
+throng of further interest to her? Dame Isabella, however, lingered at
+the window, and grinned and bowed with might and main, while her huge
+head-gear rocked comically back and forth.
+
+And now the king approached on a milk-white steed with scarlet velvet,
+gold-embroidered housings. He looked up, and was reminded of an amusing
+picture which De Lancy, on his return to court, when questioned by the
+ladies as to the adventure which had detained him so long away, had
+drawn of a worthy old scarecrow who tended his wounds in Montalme. The
+existence of the lovely maiden Blanche he had deemed it wisest to
+conceal. Stifling a laugh, Francis returned Dame Isabella's greeting
+with roguish exaggeration, then turning, whispered to those nearest
+him, whereupon they also looked up, and being greeted by her, the
+entire retinue stopped a minute to inspect the self-satisfied old
+monstrosity. But they did not all possess the amiable courtesy which
+distinguished the king even in his unrestrained naughtiness. One of the
+ladies smiled, another laughed, and, like a spark in a ton of powder,
+this laugh was enough to set off the kindling stuff of repressed
+hilarity which at once exploded.
+
+So pointed were the looks--so hearty the laughter of the party--that
+even the self-admiring Isabella could not in the slightest degree be
+deceived as to the cause of their merriment. Mortified, she drew back
+out of sight, and the hunting party passed on. Yet at a distance the
+sound of the continued laughter was audible. Dame Isabella was furious.
+"They laughed at me, they pointed at me with their fingers!" she
+repeated, over and over again, her corpulent figure, and especially her
+double chin, trembling in a remarkable way; and utterly forgetting her
+former admiration of the court, she added, "The disorderly mob! the
+base women!"
+
+Blanche, who, with her elbows in her hands, was staring straight before
+her like one stunned, thought, "Perhaps he is laughing at me too!" and
+thought these words aloud; since she had been so absorbed in sorrow and
+longing she had often uttered whole sentences like one in a feverish
+dream.
+
+"That you may be sure of!" said Dame Isabella, in a huff, and rustled
+out of the room to lay aside once and for all the ugly headgear which
+she had had a chance to observe was in appalling contradiction to the
+prevailing style. She distinctly recalled Henri de Lancy's expressed
+admiration for this same head ornament. Now she knew that he had been
+making fun of her, and anger and resentment gnawed at her heart.
+
+It chanced that on the following day two mendicant friars sought
+admission to the castle. Dame Isabella asked to have these bare-footed
+martyrs conducted to her room, welcomed them hospitably and in the most
+respectful manner; in the first place because she was pious, but in the
+second because these wandering monks served as a kind of peripatetic
+newspaper; for which their roving life afforded them sufficient variety
+of material. Thus the lady obtained the most precise information about
+the frivolities of the king and his rollicking companions, especially
+the handsome De Lancy, who, she was told, among all these lawless
+revellers was the worst. He was not only following the royal example to
+the last extent (the monks exaggerated perhaps a trifle, seeing how
+much it pleased their listener), but of late he had actually formed a
+liaison with a married woman, the Countess de Sologne, whom, as she was
+carefully guarded by her husband's jealousy, he visited secretly at
+night. And they ended by saying, "It would not surprise us if the
+castle lady heard the reckless knight ride by, since it was the
+shortest way to Laemort, the hereditary seat of the Solognes."
+
+We may rest assured that Dame Isabella gave the monks for this precious
+communication plenty of money to spend on their way. Possessed of her
+glorious bit of knowledge, she was dying to tell it, and seeing Blanche
+at the chess-board, opposite her uncle, who exerted himself all the
+time to try to distract her thoughts, she began immediately to relate
+what she had heard. They were not prudish in those days, and if here
+and there one cared to preserve the innocence of a young girl, that
+blissful ignorance was by no means maintained which to-day is held
+peculiarly sacred and inviolate.
+
+Dame Isabella repeated word for word all she had heard of the shameful
+proceedings which hourly went on in the Castle of Amboise, and of the
+startling depravity of Henri de Lancy. In vain Gottfried attempted, by
+his displeased looks, to silence her; she went on further, and advised
+Blanche to rejoice that she had escaped the danger of becoming the wife
+of this vicious fellow. Blanche sat stiff and straight, not uttering a
+word, and continued to shove the little ivory figures slowly over the
+board--that she made the castle execute the peculiar leaps of the
+knight, Isabella did not notice. But when she finished by saying that
+they might hear Henri de Lancy ride by nightly, since the nearest way
+to his beloved duchess led by Montalme, they suddenly heard a painful
+quiver like the dropping of a little bird which had been shot through
+the heart. Blanche had fainted and fallen.
+
+"Cruel woman!" exclaimed Gottfried, furiously, "must you tell? I could
+be silent!"
+
+He had long known of Henri's infidelity.
+
+Consciousness soon returned to the poor girl, and with it the
+recollection of her sorrow. Blanche longed to lose herself again, but
+the blessing was denied her. Not even the repose of sleep did Heaven
+grant her. She would lie awake, listening feverishly the whole night;
+but no sound disturbed the deathlike stillness either the first or the
+second night. During the day Blanche dragged herself from room to room,
+as if her once flying feet were weighted with lead, but most of the
+time she sat stiffly erect with her hands lying helplessly in her lap,
+staring before her with glazed eyes.
+
+The third day was drawing to a close. Gottfried came in, and, seating
+himself beside her, inquired after her health. She replied there was
+nothing the matter with her, but at the same time crept close to him
+like a very sick child, and he, who had usually repulsed her innocent
+caresses, now put his arm around her slender body and laid her little
+head tenderly on his shoulder; he no longer thought of his own pain,
+but of hers.
+
+She begged him to tell her a story, as a sick child begs for a
+cradle-song.
+
+He had told her many a tale in bygone days, yet of all she liked best
+to hear of his own adventures and what he himself had seen. Therefore
+he asked now, "A true story, my jewel?" She shuddered, "Oh, no! no! a
+fiction, my uncle, pray!"
+
+He passed his hand thoughtfully over his brow. Nothing occurred to him
+but a little legend which had been told him by a half-crazy monk who
+was crouching on the steps of the Milan Cathedral, and with a somewhat
+tremulous voice he began:
+
+"It happens occasionally that in the midst of the blessedness of heaven
+an angel looking down yearns for earth, which seems attractive in the
+enchantment of distance. Then St. Peter, at the Almighty's command,
+grudgingly opens the gates of heaven a little, and the angel slips
+through. But however much he exerts himself and beats his wings, the
+little fluttering things carry him up, and he cannot escape from the
+spheres of sinless purity which float around Paradise. St. Peter
+rattles his bunch of keys and again the gates of heaven open, and now
+on the threshold stands Jesus Christ, well-beloved Son of the Father,
+and infinitely compassionate Son of Man, who knows the earth
+thoroughly. And when the lovely, unwise rebel turns his gold-encircled
+little head to question him concerning it, he beckons him to come
+nearer, and smiling lays a warm beating weight on his breast. Then he
+says, 'Try it!'
+
+"And lo! when now the angel attempts to lift his wings the little
+weight which Jesus Christ has laid on his breast draws him down to
+earth--for the weight is a human heart. Slowly, slowly he descends from
+the spheres until he lands on a green meadow. There he sinks into a
+deep, dreamless sleep, and when he awakes he has lost his wings,
+forgotten his heavenly origin, and has become a man--only with an
+intense longing in his soul for virtue and purity, which he is not
+himself aware is homesickness; holiness, happiness, heaven, and home
+being to him unconsciously one and the same thing. Yet but now howe'er
+much his yearning may hurry him upward again, his heart chains him fast
+to the earth and he cannot return to his radiant home until a great
+human grief has broken the heart which was laid on his breast. Then our
+Lord Jesus Christ glides downward to earth--takes the poor rebel in his
+arms and carries him back to Paradise."
+
+Gottfried paused. Blanche was silent a moment, then she sighed, "Your
+story is sad, almost as sad as if it were a true one!"
+
+To which Gottfried replied, "But it has a lovely ending!"
+
+The sad maiden, however, was perfectly silent, and looking into her
+melancholy eyes he discerned a doubt in them if even the joy of heaven
+could compensate for that which we suffer and are deprived of on earth.
+
+After a little while Blanche began, "Is the dear God then displeased if
+an angel looking down yearns for the earth?"
+
+"No," murmured Gottfried, "but he is sad, very sad!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   X
+
+
+For two nights she had had no sleep; on the third she was exhausted and
+slept soundly, and dreamed a sweet--wonderfully sweet dream.
+
+It seemed to her that she met her beloved in the garden. A delicious
+perfume was wafted from the crown of the lindens, soft greenish shadows
+spread twilight over the earth, and all nature, as in measureless
+rapture, held its breath, no lightest touch of air stirred--she lay in
+his arms, love-enchanted and his lips closed her mouth.
+
+Thus she dreamed--when suddenly she sprang up as if one had struck her
+heart with an iron hammer.
+
+Was not that the sound of a horse's hoof which broke on the stillness
+of night? In her long white nightdress she flew to the window.
+
+She recognised him, notwithstanding the speed of his horse, and in
+spite of the curtain of darkness with which midnight sought to veil his
+figure. She bent far over the window-breasting and stretched out her
+arms; a frightful longing confused her senses, and she sang--poor
+child!--without knowing what the words meant:
+
+
+           "Si tu veux m'apaiser
+            Redonne--moi la vie
+            Par l'esprit d'un baiser.
+
+           "Heureux sera le jour
+            Quand je mourrai d'amour!"
+
+
+Louder and louder the voice swelled out, piercing as a cry of anguish;
+yet full of a powerful sweetness the song echoed through the sultry
+stillness of night. It struck the ear of the rider. He checked his
+horse, looked around him, and then spurred the animal anew until he
+leaped wildly on.
+
+She bent forward--farther forward,--"Plus d'espoir!" she groaned. Her
+heart was so heavy, so heavy! Beneath, the dew glistened like a silver
+sheen over the azure fields, out of which an angel seemed calling her
+to "Cool rest--cool rest!"
+
+She bent forward--forward! and then fell many, many fathoms deep into
+the moat below.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+The heavy fall was heard in the castle, and soon the servants with
+torches hurried forth to see what had happened.
+
+There, below, glimmered something white as a blossom broken off by the
+storm. They climbed down. The light of the torches played over a pale,
+lovely face which smiled in death. She was not disfigured, not a
+particle of dust, not a speck of mud or soil of earth, adhered to her
+white garment, although she had fallen among plants growing in the mud.
+In spotless purity the white folds wound about her beautiful limbs. And
+when the people saw this, they marvelled, and said, "A miracle!" Then
+one pressed through the throng, deathly pale with distorted face--Henri
+de Lancy!
+
+But Gottfried coldly turned him away from the dead maiden.
+
+Right tenderly the old soldier lifted the lovely body in his arms,
+murmuring:
+
+"Her heart was broken--she is released!"
+
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+
+It was an age full of horrors, when the noblest blood of illustrious
+Hellenism rose up to face a background of battles, orgies, and pulpit
+harangues. It was not only a period in which Lorenzo de' Medici, in
+disguise and at the head of a bacchanalian troop tore through the
+streets of Florence; Benvenuto Cellini stabbed his enemies at the
+street corners; Pope Leo at a cardinal's supper presented a sacrifice
+of doves to the Goddess of Love upon a white marble altar, and
+offered to his favourite, Raphael, a cardinal's hat in payment of his
+bills--but a time also when Savonarola preached the loftiest
+asceticism; Rabelais, in the midst of his obscene rhapsodies, created
+the wonderful idyl of l'Abbaye de Telesme; Fra Angelico on his knees
+painted his picture of Christ, and the triumphal procession of an
+emperor ended in a monastery!
+
+A time full of enigmas! and among the many enigmas which lived in it,
+was one of a sad, silent monk, of whom his cloister-brethren asserted
+that he once had led a very dissolute life, but now was the most
+absorbed _devote_.
+
+And whilst King Francis, at variance with himself and the world, tried
+to maintain, even to the end, the appearance of ostentatious levity,
+and to win fresh renown as a patron of art, and to console himself for
+his lost self-respect with the flatteries of the Duchess d'Etampes,
+this monk devoted every single hour which remained to him, after the
+barest satisfaction of his physical needs, and the fulfilment of
+his religious duties, to one and the same work,--a sweet girl's
+head,--which he, with his slender, effeminate, courtier's hand, formed
+out of wax after a death mask, and ever again re-formed, and could
+never finish to his own satisfaction. Discouraged, disappointed, he
+destroyed each day the work of the preceding until finally, in the very
+last year of his life he became more tranquil, and then under his
+never-weary hands arose an exquisite maiden's head with a sweet,
+thoughtful expression of face,--the little head bent forward as if
+listening to a great joy, yet weighed down by the presentiment of a
+terrible pain!
+
+And he worked at the head on his knees, like Fra Angelico at his
+ecstatic pictures of saints, and he coloured it most beautifully--but
+still, not as if it were the head of a living maiden, but as of one who
+had died in the freshness of youth. When he succeeded, he smiled and
+closed his eyes for ever.
+
+
+
+
+                                  XII
+
+
+After long wanderings, the bust has found a resting-place in the museum
+at Lille. Full of a dreamy pathos, it stands in its glass case--an
+atonement for Love betrayed--in memory of the bitterest repentance.
+
+As the embodiment of an old legend, it interests us and seems to say:
+"A tear for Blanche of Montalme; for Henri de Lancy--a prayer!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blanche:, by Ossip Schubin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLANCHE: ***
+
+***** This file should be named 35385.txt or 35385.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/3/8/35385/
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive.
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/35385.zip b/35385.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d50f76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/35385.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bc6394
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #35385 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35385)