ince of Poix married a Demoiselle d'Acigne or Assigny,
of _petite noblesse_, who in 1532 became a lady of honour to
Queen Eleanor. She died in 1558, surviving her husband by
three years. See Rouard's rare _Notice dun Recueil de
Crayons a la Bibliotheque Mejanes d'Aix_, Paris, 1863.--Ed.

Now this Prince conceived a deep affection for a widow lady called
Madame de Neufchastel, (2) who was reputed the most beautiful woman it
were possible to see; and if the Prince of Bel-hoste loved her well, his
wife loved her no less, and would often send and bid her to dinner,
for she deemed her so discreet and honourable, that, instead of being
grieved by her husband's love for her, she rejoiced to see him address
his attentions to one so full of honour and virtue.

2 M. Lacroix thinks that this lady may be Jane de Hochberg,
only daughter of Philip, sovereign Count of Neufchatel.
According to the custom of the time, she was commonly called
Madame de Neufchatel, despite her marriage with Louis
d'Orleans, Duke of Longueville. She died in 1543, after a
lengthy widowhood. We consider the accuracy of M. Lacroix's
surmise to be extremely doubtful, for the names of both the
men figuring in the story are obviously altered so as to
conceal their identity, and it is therefore not likely that
Queen Margaret would designate the lady by her real name,
and thus publish her shame to the world. The Madame de
Neufchatel she speaks of may really have been a Madame de
Chateauneuf, Chateauvieux or Maisonneuve; or we may again be
in presence of Margaret's lady of honour, the widowed
Blanche de Chastillon, _nee_ de Tournon, to whom frequent
reference has been made.--Ed.

This affection lasted for a great while, the Prince of Belhoste caring
for all the lady's affairs as though they were his own, and his wife
doing no less. By reason, however, of her beauty many great lords and
gentlemen earnestly sought the lady's favour, some only for love's sake,
others for sake of the ring, for, besides being beautiful, she was also
very rich.

Among the rest was a young gentleman, called the Lord des Cheriots, (3)
who wooed her so ardently that he was never absent from her levee and
couchee, and was also with her as much as possible during the day. This
did not please the Prince of Belhoste, who thought that a man of such
poor estate, and so lacking in grace, did n