We should be at a deadlock, indeed, if it were not for Poitou and
its Abbey of Bonne Aventure, whose library is luckily rich in
historical manuscripts of the period, and richest of all in that
priceless manuscript of Dom Gregory, which, treating in general of
the ecclesiastical history of Poitou in the fifteenth century, dealt
so particularly and so liberally with the life of Master Fran?ois
Villon, because Master Fran?ois Villon in his old age was so
excellent a patron of the church. We say dealt advisedly, for time
has treated somewhat scurvily the fair skins of parchment upon which
the good Dom Gregory recorded his thoughts and his opinions at
considerable length as the rich setting of the facts, too few in
number, with which he condescended to enlighten posterity. Many
pieces of parchment are missing from the roll of his record, and,
unhappily, the greatest gap in the story is precisely at that point
where our hero found himself so suddenly and so strangely taken into
favour by his king, and so suddenly and so strangely smiled upon by
his mistress. We have indeed some admirable homiletics of the worthy
friar's in praise of the conduct and carriage of Master Fran?ois
Villon at the time of his unexpected exaltation.
Pages:
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157