Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/292

 while it furnihes an intereting picture of dometic life. "One day," we are told, "Begues was in his catle of Belin, and beide him at the beautiful Beatris. The duke kied her both on the mouth and on the cheeks, and very weetly the duches fimiled. In the middle of the hall he aw her two ons, the eldet of whom was Garin, and the younget was named Hernaudin; their ages were repectively twelve years, and ten. Along with them were ix damoiels (gentlemen's ons) of worth, and they were running and leaping together, and playing, and laughing, and making game. The duke looked at them, and began to igh; which was oberved by the lady, who quetioned him—Ah! rich duke! why have you orrowful thoughts? You have gold and ilver in your coffers, falcons in plenty on your perches, and rich cloths, buildings, and mules, and palfreys, and baggage-hores; and you have cruhed all your enemies. You have no neighbour within ix days' journey powerful enough to refue to come to your ervice if you end for him.' 'Lady,' aid the duke, 'what you ay is true; but in one thing you have made a great overight. Wealth conifts neither in rich cloths, nor in money, nor in buildings, nor in hores; but it is made of kinmen and friends: the heart of one man is worth all the gold in a country.' "—

The incident of the younger, or even at times the elder, ons of feudal lords or landholders going to eek ervice is the groundwork of the romance of "Blonde of Oxford," and of the tory of "Courtois d'Arras," printed by Meon in his collection of fabliaux and tories. The latter tale is a mediæval verion of the criptural tory of the Prodigal Son. Youths of good family eaily found ervice in this manner, and the ervice itelf was not conidered dihonourable, becaue lords and gentlemen admitted nobody to immediate attendance on their perons but ons of gentlemen— perons of as good blood as themelves. To be a good ervant was a