tes
of Amboise. Erected in the tenth century by Foulques Nera of
Anjou, it was a collegiate church, and was attended by the
townsfolk, although it stood within the precincts of the
chateau. For this reason Queen Margaret calls it the castle
church.--Ed.

Whilst he was alone the fancy took him that he might obtain by force
what neither prayer nor service had availed to procure him, and
accordingly he broke through a wooden partition which was between
the chamber where his mistress slept and his own. The curtains of his
master's bed on the one side and of the servant's bed on the other
so covered the walls as to hide the opening he had made; and thus his
wickedness was not perceived until his mistress was in bed, together
with a little girl eleven or twelve years old.

When the poor woman was in her first sleep, the servant, in his shirt
and with his naked sword in his hand, came through the opening he had
made in the wall into her bed; but as soon as she felt him beside her,
she leaped out, addressing to him all such reproaches as a virtuous
woman might utter. His love, however, was but bestial, and he would
have better understood the language of his mules than her honourable
reasonings; indeed, he showed himself even more bestial than the beasts
with whom he had long consorted. Finding she ran so quickly round a
table that he could not catch her, and that she was strong enough to
break away from him twice, he despaired of ravishing her alive, and
dealt her a terrible sword-thrust in the loins, thinking that, if fear
and force had not brought her to yield, pain would assuredly do so.

The contrary, however, happened, for just as a good soldier, on seeing
his own blood, is the more fired to take vengeance on his enemies and
win renown, so her chaste heart gathered new strength as she ran fleeing
from the hands of the miscreant, saying to him the while all she could
think of to bring him to see his guilt. But so filled was he with rage
that he paid no heed to her words. He dealt her several more thrusts, to
avoid which she continued running as long as her legs could carry her.

When, after great loss of blood, she felt that death was near, she
lifted her eyes to heaven, clasped her hands and gave thanks to God,
calling Him her strength, her patience, and her virtue, and praying
Him to accept her blood which had been shed for the keeping of His
commandment and in reverence of His Son, through wh