ssibly escape.

[Sidenote: The Duke of Burgundy.]

At length, however, the gale subsided so as to allow the ship to make
a port; not the port of their destination, however, but one far to the
southward of it, in a territory belonging to Philip, Duke of Burgundy,
between whom and Margaret there had been, during all Margaret's life,
a hereditary and implacable enmity. Margaret was greatly alarmed at
finding herself thus at the mercy of a person whom she considered as
one of her deadliest foes.

[Sidenote: Generosity of the duke.]

But, very much to her surprise, the duke, as soon as he heard of her
arrival in the country, took pity on her misfortunes, forgot all his
former enmity, and treated her in the most generous manner. He was not
at Lille, his capital, when she arrived, but he sent his son to
receive her, and to conduct her to the capital, with every possible
mark of respect. When she went on afterward to meet the duke, he sent
a guard of honor to escort her, and when she arrived at his court,
which was at that time at a place called St. Pol, he received her in a
very distinguished manner, and prepared great entertainments and
festivities to do her honor.

He rendered her, also, still more substantial services than these, by
furnishing her with an ample supply of funds for all her immediate
wants. He gave to each of the ladies in her train a hundred crowns,
to Breze a thousand, and to Margaret herself an order on his treasurer
for ten thousand.

[Sidenote: Rene's gratitude.]

King Rene, Margaret's father, was very much touched with this
generosity and kindness on the part of his old family enemy. He
himself, at that time, was wholly destitute, and unable to do any
thing for his daughter's relief. He, however, wrote a letter of warm
thanks to Philip, in which he declared that he had not merited and did
not expect such kindness at his hands.

[Sidenote: A rare example.]

We have, in the conduct of the Duke of Burgundy on this occasion, one
single and solitary example, among all the Christian knights, and
nobles, and princes that figure in this long and melancholy story of
contention, cruelty, and crime, in which the Savior's rule, Forgive
your enemies, do good to them that hate you, was cordially obeyed; and
what happy fruits immediately resulted to all concerned! How much of
all the vast amount of bloodshed and suffering which prevailed during
these gloomy times would have been prevented, if those who pro