ime the Lord
of Grig-naulx felt the covering pulled from off him, and heard a great
noise of tables, trestles and stools falling about the room; and this
lasted until morning. However, the Lord of Grignaulx was more displeased
at losing his rest than afraid of the ghost, for indeed he never
believed it to be any such thing.

1 This is John de Talleyrand, knight, lord of Grignols and
Fouquerolles, Prince of Chalais, Viscount of Fronsac, mayor
and captain of Bordeaux, chamberlain of Charles VIII., first
majordomo and gentleman of honour in turn to two French
Queens, Anne of Brittany and Mary of England. His wife was
Margaret de la Tour, daughter of Anne de la Tour, Viscount
of Turenne, and Mary de Beaufort. She bore him several
children. It was John de Talleyrand who warned Louise of
Savoy that her son Francis, then Count of Angouleme, was
paying court to the young Queen, Mary of England, wife to
Louis XII. Apprehensive lest this intrigue should destroy
her son's prospects, Louise prevailed on him to relinquish
it (Brantome's _Dames Illustres_).--L. 4 89

2 The house haunted by the ghost would probably be
Talleyrand's chateau at Grignols, in the department of the
Gironde. His lordship of Fouquerolles was only a few miles
distant, in the Dordogne, and this would be the estate to
which his wife had retired.--Ed.

3 Talleyrand's grandmother on the paternal side was Mary of
Brabant; the reference may be to his maternal grandmother,
whose Christian name was possibly "Benigne." On the other
hand, Boaistuau gives the name as Revigne, and among the old
French _noblesse_ were the Revigne and Revigny families.--
Ed.

4 See _ante_, note 2 to Tale XXXVII.

On the following night he resolved to capture this ghost, and so, when
he had been in bed a little while, he pretended to snore very loudly,
and placed his open hand close to his face. Whilst he was in this wise
waiting for the ghost, he felt that something was coming near him, and
accordingly snored yet louder than before, whereat the ghost was
so encouraged as to deal him a mighty blow. Forthwith, the Lord of
Grignaulx caught the ghost's hand as it rested on his face, and cried
out to his wife--

"I have the ghost!"

His wife immediately rose up and lit the candle, and found that it was
the serving-woman who slept in their room; and she, thro