has
captured (this is a mark of lateness, some of the verisimilitude of
the early time having been dropped), he plays him no tricks. Nay, when
Isengrim and he begin to play chess he is completely worsted by his
ancient butt, who at last takes, in consequence of an imprudent stake
of the penniless Fox, a cruel but appropriate vengeance for his former
wrongs. Renart is comforted to some extent by his old love, Queen
Fiere the lioness; but pain, and wounds, and defeat have brought him
near death, and he craves a priest. Bernard the Ass, Court-Archpriest,
is ready, and admonishes the penitent with the most becoming gravity
and unction. The confession, as might be expected, is something
impudent; and the penitent very frankly stipulates that if he gets
well his oath of repentance is not to stand good. But it looks as if
he were to be taken at the worse side of his word, and he falls into a
swoon which is mistaken for death. The Queen laments him with perfect
openness; but the excellent Noble is a philosophic husband as well as
a good king, and sets about the funeral of Renart

("Jamais si bon baron n'avai,"

says he) with great earnestness. Hermeline and her orphans are fetched
from Malpertuis, and the widow makes heartrending moan, as does Cousin
Grimbart when the news is brought to him. The vigils of the dead are
sung, and all the beasts who have hated Renart, and whom he has
affronted in his lifetime, assemble in decent mourning and perform the
service, with the ceremony of the most well-trained choir. Afterwards
they "wake" the corpse through the night a little noisily; but on the
morrow the obsequies are resumed "in the best and most orgilous
manner," with a series of grave-side speeches which read like a
designed satire on those common in France at the present day. A
considerable part of the good Archpriest's own sermon is unfortunately
not reproducible in sophisticated times; but every one can appreciate
his tender reference to the deceased's prowess in daring all dangers--

"Pur avoir vostre ventre plaine,
Et pour porter a Hermeline
Vostre fame, coc ou geline
Chapon, ou oie, ou gras oison"--

for, as he observes in a sorrowful parenthesis, "anything was in
season if _you_ could only get hold of it." Brichemer the Stag notes
how Reynard had induced the monks to observe their vows by making them
go to bed late and get up early to watch their fowls. But when Bruin
the Bear has dug his grave, a