eason, as being in
correspondence with the English; and, in proof of the charge, his enemies
produced forged letters from the King of England compromising the loyalty
of Gilles. Charles gave him over to his brother for punishment. In vain
were Gilles's supplications to the Duke, or the entreaties of the
Constable, who went to Dinan and knelt to Francis to beg for the pardon of
his brother. Equally fruitless his being acquitted at Redon, from there
being no proof of his guilt. The unfortunate Gilles was dragged from
prison to prison, and consigned to keepers destitute of every feeling of
humanity. Montauban, an Italian by descent (his mother was a Visconti),
sent for poison from Lombardy, and administered in his soup a strong dose,
which the good constitution of Gilles enabled him to resist. Starvation
was then tried, and the wretched Gilles would stand at his prison window,
calling on the passers by to give him bread: "Du pain, du pain pour
l'amour de Dieu," but no one ventured to relieve him. At last, a poor
woman dared to give him food, and placed a loaf on the edge of his grated
window, continuing for six months to share with him in secret her scanty
meal of black bread. Seeing that he could hold out no longer and that his
death was determined upon, Gilles begged the woman would fetch him a
minister of religion, that he might confess before he died. By stealth she
brought him a Cordelier monk, who confessed him across the bars of his
prison, and Gilles adjured him to seek his brother and acquaint him with
his pitiable condition. The monk started on his errand, but in the mean
time the gaolers of Gilles determined on putting an end to his life. They
twisted a cloth round his neck, and smothered him between two mattresses
while he slept. The monks of Bosquen carried his body to their abbey for
interment, and the wooden effigy that was placed over his grave is still
preserved in the Museum at St. Brieuc. The monk who had received Gilles's
confession went in quest of Duke Francis, who, on hearing of his brother's
death when at Avranches, had left for Saint Michel. The monk met him on
the Greve, and cited him in the name of his brother "de la part du Messire
Gilles" to appear within fifty days at the tribunal of Heaven to answer
for his murder. The menace was realised. Duke Francis died within the
appointed time, struck with remorse, and terrified at the summons of the
Cordelier. The monk was never seen again. On the death