n to blows; (3) and when some one asked her
what she understood perfect love to be, she made answer, "I call perfect
lovers those who seek some perfection in the object of their love, be
it beauty, kindness, or good grace, tending to virtue, and who have such
high and honest hearts that they will not even for fear of death do base
things that honour and conscience blame."

1 _Lettres de Marguerite, &c_, p. 251.

2 Epilogue of Tale xxxvii.

3 Epilogue of Tale xlvi.

In reference to this subject of conjugal fidelity a curious story is
told of Margaret. One day at Mont-de-Marsan, upon seeing a young man
convicted of having murdered his father being led to execution, she
remarked to those about her that it was very wrong to put to death a
young fellow who had not committed the crime imputed to him. It
was pointed out to her that the judges had only condemned him upon
conclusive proofs and the acknowledgments that he himself had made.
Margaret, however, persisted in her remark, whereupon some of her
intimates begged of her to justify it, for it seemed to them at least
singular. "I do not doubt," she replied, "that this poor wretch killed
his mother's husband, but he certainly did not kill his own father." (1)

Besides being unfortunate as regards her husbands, Margaret was also
denied a mother's privileges. She experienced great suffering at her
confinements, (2) and on two occasions she was delivered of still-born
infants of the female sex.

1 Gabriel de Minut's _De la Beaute, Discours divers, &c._,
Lyons, 1587. p. 74.

2 _Nouvelles Lettres de Marguerite_, pp. 84 and 93.

She had centred many hopes upon her little boy, John, of whom she was
confined without accident, but he died, as already stated, in infancy,
and this misfortune was a great shock to her, though she tried to
conceal it by having the Te Deum sung at the funeral in lieu of the
ordinary service, and by setting up in the streets of Alencon the
inscription, "God gave him, God has taken him away." However, from that
time forward she never laid aside her black dress, though later on
she wore it trimmed with marten's fur. Her best known portrait (1)
represents her attired in this style with the quaint Bearnese cap, which
she had also adopted, set upon her head.

1 Bibliotheque Nationale, _Recueil de Portraits au crayon,
&c._, fol. 46.

Not only did Margaret lose her son by death, but she was prevented from
enjo