ntents, but read, my lord,
read."

Campo-Basso read the letter.

"To Our Most Illustrious Brother Charles Duke of Burgundy, and Count of
Charolois:--

"We recommend us and send Your Grace greeting. We are anxious to
pleasure our noble brother of Burgundy in all things, and heartily
desire the marriage between our son and the illustrious Princess of
Burgundy, but we shall not move toward it until our said noble brother
shall return from Switzerland, nor will we do aught to distract his
attention from the perilous business he now has on hand. We pray that
the saints may favor his design, and would especially recommend that our
noble brother propitiate with prayers and offerings the holy Saint
Hubert. We, ourselves, have importuned this holy saint, and he has
proved marvellously helpful on parlous occasions.

"Louis, R."

The duke's anger was terrible and disgusting to behold. When his
transports of rage allowed him to speak, he broke forth with oaths too
blasphemous to write on a white page.

"The fawning hypocrite!" he cried. "He thinks to cozen us with his cheap
words. The biting insult in his missive is that he takes it for granted
that we are so great a fool as to believe him. Even his recommendation
of a saint is a lie. The world knows his favorite saint is Saint Andrew.
King Louis spends half his time grovelling on his marrow bones before
that saint and the Blessed Virgin. He recommends to us Saint Hubert,
believing that his holy saintship will be of no avail."

Charles was right. Sir Philip de Comines, seneschal to King Louis,
afterward told me that His Majesty, in writing this letter to the Duke
of Burgundy, actually took counsel and devoted much time and thought to
the choice of a baneful or impotent saint to recommend to his "noble
brother of Burgundy." Disaster to Louis had once followed supplication
to Saint Hubert, and the king hoped that the worthy saint might prove
equally unpropitious for Charles. Yolanda's wonderful "t" was certainly
the most stupendous single letter ever quilled. Here were the
first-fruits of it.

"Were it not that these self-sufficient Swiss need to be blooded, I
would turn my army against France to-morrow," said the duke.

"And have Bourbon and Lorraine upon Your Lordship's back from the east,
Ghent rebelling in the north, and the Swiss pouring in from the south,"
interrupted Hymbercourt.

"You are certainly right, my Lord d'Hymbercourt," replied Charles,
sullenly. "They