that had taken place.

The young Prince was deeply vexed at having failed in his plan, which he
looked upon as the very last that he could devise, but, seeing that it
could not be helped, he sought out Frances so diligently that at last
he met her in a gathering from which she could not escape. He then
upbraided her very harshly for her cruelty towards him, and for having
left her brother-in-law, but she made answer that the latter was, in
regard to herself, the worst and most dangerous man she had ever known,
though he, the Prince, was greatly beholden to him, seeing that he
was served by him not only with body and substance, but with soul and
conscience as well.

When the Prince perceived by this that the case was a hopeless one, he
resolved to urge her no more, and esteemed her highly all his life.

Seeing this maiden's goodness, one of the said Prince's attendants
desired to marry her, but to this she would not consent without the
command and license of the young Prince, upon whom she had set all her
affection; and this she caused to be made known to him, and with his
approval the marriage was concluded. And so she lived all her life in
good repute, and the young Prince bestowed great benefits upon her. (4)

4 We take this concluding paragraph from MS. 1520; it is
deficient in ours.--L.

"What shall we say to this, ladies? Have we hearts so base as to make
our servants our masters--seeing that this woman was not to be subdued
either by love or torment? Let us, I pray you, take example by her
conduct and conquer ourselves, for this is the most meritorious conquest
that we can make."

"I see but one thing to be regretted," said Oisille, "which is that
these virtuous actions did not take place in the days of the old
historians. Those who gave so much praise to their Lucretia would have
neglected her to set down at length the virtues of this maiden."

"They are indeed so great," said Hircan, "that, were it not for the
solemn vow that we have taken to speak the truth, I could not believe
her to have been what you describe. We have often seen sick persons
turn in disgust from good and wholesome meats to eat such as are bad and
hurtful, and in the same way this girl may have had some gentleman of
her own estate for whose sake she despised all nobility."

But to this Parlemente replied that the girl's whole life showed that
she had never loved any living man save him whom she loved more than her
very li