The Oregon daily journal., May 31, 1908, Page 67, Image 67

' ' , i i,, H.i. i.n.i.ni. ii ' i i.nr Tilrar.- 1 " - r mi mim aimiMa in in m i--w-.-v.-t- ...-.., - - !
j - ' ! J MIMMIIMM I MHIMM l ii 111 liM I IIMfflM I IlKTMIMIMll ,.
' MMMM,fcyili.m,.Wiwiiil . IIIW li ''WiMIIMMIill.l.ili , , .... i 1 .!. ... .i ji ( i . I : jl.,, ... r' .1., j . "i - - . .
- il lis. v v '
i U S2k fim- If "
, ;
jf
Wi ;
.
." ' 7
U.
IS'
x- ' -
'' :
ITTLE Alain looked up for a moment from'
; tne. gorger. upon wnicn no w uushj v
work, l ne noise ot a merry crowa coming,
down the Street of the Armorers had at
tracted his attention.'
. There was , miffhtv tnerrvmakinar in the
ancient city of Bruges, and, for that-matter, through
the length and breadth of Flanders. ? The highways
and bywayi wer filled wih people.' Gallant chevaliers
afoot or in the saddle, sturdy townsmen, rollicking
pages, grave priests, and richly clad maidi and matrons
swelled, the eager throng. For was not Charles the
'Bold the great Duke of Burgundy and Count of
Flanders, about to enter his capital city, at the head of
a goodly train, and did it not behoove the people of
Bruges p hold high Jjolldajr in bonor of the young
sovereign so lately come to his crown? ; , "
Little wonder In viewof tliis great occasion, that
the wits of a lad like Alain should sometimes go a-wool-gathering.
It was Well for the armorer's apprentice,
however, that his master, old Jehane, happened to be
abroad. Jehane Duplessis, Master Armorer of Bruges.
.was a veritable tyrant, who ruled Alain hardly, and
allowed little time for watching fay crowds or listen
ing to the music of festivals. Just now old Jehane was
bound on business so urgent that he had left Alain
'in sole charge. To" be brief, he had gone to the Town
!Hall, there to enter his name among the host of com
petitors for the honored post of armorer-ln-chief to
the new Duke. '
Now, each and every person entered for this contest
must needs submit for examination, as an evidence of
his skill, a helmet of rare design and workmanship.
- Dufiagtfee-afteraoon-the Duke hlmBelijgaaJo, ciiOQie
from all the helmets laid before him the one he liked
Jhe best Old Jehane had carried under his cloak a
ttielmet which he felt almost certain was destined to be
the prize-winner. ' It was assuredly the most beautiful :
; of its kind in alt Flanders of solid silver, exquisitely
inlaid, and worth thousands of crowns. :, - n
As Jehane placed this treasure among the many less
jsplendid helmets in the crowded Town Hall," his heart
. felt a glow of exultation. v:
Instead of exultation, Jehane's heart ought to have
known only remorse and shame. For this magnificent
Khls costly sliver helmet, had sot been fashioned by
2him at ali , In point of fact, the hands which had
fashioned at well as the brain which had planned it .
were those of Alain, the Master Armorer's young ap
prentice. The natural gifts of the lad had long ago
outstripped those of his master, and the very finest
work in Jehane's shop .was tha creation of the modest
. Alain. But Jehane, if not I genius, was crafty, and he
lept this fact to himself, and traded upon it The
young fellow wal merely his apprentice I and appreiv- '
tices had reason to dread their masters in those daysf,
Had he not adopted him, a penniless orphan? Had
le not taught hfra his art? "Surely, when all is told,"
argued Jehane to his twitching conscience, "I , Own
uic suvcr, tutu mv iiivvrui uciuuyi.vi u iiiv.
00 - ma cuizcns v pruK" kiiu 1110 nrmurcn uuim
knew naught of Alain, while they looked upon Master
. Duplessis al a most skilful artist .1 :,
Alain sat somewhat wistfully on a bench in the
gloomy workshop, hammering at a broken gorget and '
at fare Intervals venturing to rest long enough for
. a look Into the noisy street He felt the appropriation
of his helmet, bitterly for4 he had labored upon It
sealously for a whole twelvemonth, and it seemed
unjust indeed that; Jehane should show such a master
piece as his own, But Alain realized that he had no
redress. ' Who . would believe an apprentice's story
against the master's? 1 .
Alain was bending over - the rivets of Ms gorget
when there entered a burly, ruddy-faced knight whom
the lad knew as one of his master's best patrons. 1 The
newcomer wis a foreigner an Englishman, as, indeed,
his speech betrayed; but Alain liked him for his bluff,
tiMff la1 ftil;f( f lAma 1? fta
liCatX 1 HiSiIiliva & ia4 uou iivav.vB trvau viw yj asiw
liard English tongue in occasional conversations with
him. .. -V -V V-
"Hola r exclaimed th Slrt . Richard ' (such being
the common style accorded to the. Englishman, in
iview of the ret Of his name being difficult of pro
ntinciation). ; "Weeping eh? - If not parlous near it
I'll swear I saw, tears in your eyes! Surely on the
Duke's festival you should not look so glum. Come,
let us hear what the trouble is." ,
- At first Alain, cowed by fear of his master, would
not unbosom himself, but after a great deal of coaxing
on the part of the Sire Richard, he finally came out
with the whole story of his master's deceit. .
"By St Austin, that's sirt and a shame V exciafmed
the tall knight, . when he had v heard all about old
Jehane's duplicity. He had seen much of Alain's work,
na oenevea ine ooy tivij wiinoui uimcuiiy. ttui ior
the Master Armorer he had only hard words, which
sounded much worse to Alain because they were ut
tered in English. But soon, quite abruptly, he stopped
In his tirade against Jehane, and, looking straight at
the apprentice, exclaimed ; - -
A silver helmet, did you Say? Why, that must be
the one jrou finished en St John's Eve?'
' Th uae," assented Alan,
"The lame, eh? And don't you remember anything
llnkln me with that helmet?"
AU .....1.. n u,i ti.i. m... ...
v,, imwticu vuain. iou came is u
"And I save vou luch a device, did I not?"
"Indeed did you, sir an English motto.,, I have it
yet" Alain groped In the recess beneath his bench.
and drew forth a scrap of parchment upon which had1
AXAIN FIWAU.Y CA3CS OVT
been written, by way of practice, the rhyme 1 ., ..
Sir Knightajf you oft schal finden me
? A goode friende in adversltlej
''K'ltf hataJIle);."br .In chevachie, ,
See thott that I well closen be. - '
. These lines were supposed to be the ' vizor's advlca
to its weirer, and, in the English of to-day, mean some- 1
thing of this sort l . '
Sir Knight you oft shall find in me
' . A good friend in adversity;
In battle or in foray free , ? 1
See you that I well closed be.' .
"Yea, by St Austin,", said the Sire Ricliard, "those
are the lines, . A worthy clerk at home made them for -me
a Master Geoffrey Chaucer. And you engraved
them on the rlra of the vizor?" ' V
"Yes, messire. I thought them suitable, when you
made their meaning plain." ' ; -
The English knight clanged the point of his long
Sword Joyously upon the tiles. '
"Then come Instantly with me to the Town HaH,"
he cried eagerly. "Lock the door, and make haste.
I shall he answerable to old Jehane."
Alain hesitated; but he knew the. Englishman for,
a good customer who had influence with his master,)
so in the end the door was locked, and the boy and his '
guardian let forth toward the market-place of Bruges,!
where the judging of helmets had already begun. H
In the1 ancient halL Charles the Bold, late Count of.
Charolais, and now the Duke of Burgundy and Lord;
-J TM. . . . i 1 I J-!- J - A V..'
01 nanaers, sat upon st raiscu uais, suiruunuru uj
his nobles. At his feet lay five and thirty helmets,
the work of as many cunning Artificers ; and, each by
jf- 4t ftFt v. i
"WiH 4 uP ill? V "wvrl
-VTefi mrt --dKVW-iii't - -CJXv- r 1 i
' his helmet stood the armorers themselves. They wero.
crave," dignified men, hailing front many cities from j
. Bruges, from Lille," from Ghent and even from London
and Paris. - But-none of them nil looked more eon
sequential than Master -Jehane Duplessis, as he bent
his gaze now on his splendid silver helmet; and now on.
; hii lord the Duke. ' , . i-r- ,'!Y-
A rotable gathering filled, the hall, andweH-nigh
impossible it seemed for any one to gain an entry who
was not a great lord, or an ecclesiastic of high ' rank. -Thus
it seemed surprising that a simple English knight
: like tha Sire Ricliard should manage to thread his way c
with ease through the" glittering press. 'Leading by
i the hand the pale ; and trembling Alain, Sire Richard
had only to whisper his name to the surrounding men- ;
at-arms; when a road was cleared for him. As they
passed, lAIain heard a dame's voice whisper : : ,
-, ' 1. C J COPYRIGHT
There goet the Captain' of the DukeJ foreigner.
Marry, but he w doughty knight 1
One by one the contesting armorers' trophlea wer
Inspected by the Duke.: 'After fully an hour's discus-
slon, the chamberlain " at length announced, amid a
.breathless silence, that hlsi Grace was divided in his
mind between the golden helmet of Master, Anthony
Maas of Ghent, fend the silver one-of Master Jehane
Duplessis. ' . r.s-y:'fAv; -:' '
Alain's cheek flushed with joy. The silver helmet -his
own beloved silver helmet t was one of the two
from which Ihe choice was to be made. The tall cap
tain of mercenaries gripped him tightly by the arm,
however, so that he overcame his emotion and awaited.,
the final result '
Once more the Duke of Burgundy and his . lieges
examined the ; two helmets. An 7 eager discussion
' seemed to divide them into two parties.: At last, how-
ever, the Duke seemed decided, and whispered some
words Jn his chamberlain's ear. . Alain almost ceased to
breathe, so tense was his excitement, as the lo'ng-fobed
functionary, with, much dignity, stepped forward to
speak. . - . ' . . -
"His Grace," said the chamberlain, "has chosen In
favor of the helmet which, while perhaps not so costly
as its rival, is, to his mind, of far more beautiful,
fashion and design. He awards the prize, together with
the honorable title of chief armorer, to Master Jehane
Duplessis." , , v v 'v';, .
A murmur of satisfaction spread through the great
. hall, for the victory of a citizen of Bruges was popular.
Old Jehane bowed low. and was opening his mouth for
-a speech of thanks, when a tall, red-faced Englishman
came pushing his way out of the CTOwd, dragging be
hind him boy in the leathern Jerkin of an apprentice.
Bending one knee before the Duke, the English knight
cxclaimedi
' "Your Grace, I crave a word on this matter of the
helmet
"Speak, good captain," answered the Duke, albeit
greatly astonished at the interruption; "we have given
you the right to audience at all times, since we fought
side by side at MontMry."
Then iup rose the Sire Richard, and Jn good round
phrase denounced Master Jehane Duplessis as a thief
and a man of falsehood. He recounted the entire
story of the helmet, at the same time leading forward
the shrinking Alain, at whom old Jehane darted a
scowl of wrath.
WITH THSJ WBOLS STOIT
Zbc iti ifasbfoneb 4S"
S3r Grace Jf ra3er.
."This book is very odd indeed,", said Little Tom to
, '- me;
"I think the man who wrote it must have lisped a
lot," said he. " v
. (It was a leather-covered book 'of Seventeen
. Naught-ThreO . , . w.. ,K r
' "Wherever he should put an s he puts an instead;
Just listen .to this nonsense"; and the learned
Thomas' 'read : .
mH9 fauntered off In'queft of fport Xt all like
thatle said,. ' r' , ' v"
"The fqulre. and parfon ; fat 'at eafe fend feafted
undifmayed'; " , "
VThe fage, though tifually fhrewd, a lack of fenfe
difplayed'j , ' ' . ' , " . '"
!And eaft and weft they failed to find the ftateman
jwho had" ftrayed." ; " ' -'. ' '
I , took that leather-covered hook of Seventeen-
Naught-Three, ' 1 v-
I said: "Those are long a's, not the f s they
-" ,i
Ve print .books better nowadays," said Little
, Torn, said he.
; . 7- y- s
. v rt)(0fft:Spcctacle0,
IVe wondered why the spectacles that help grandpa ;
' to read 1 - ' '
Should make things, when I put them on, took very
-- queer Indeed. . . . ' v t "
Good reason why his spectacles for we will never -
do, "
For, don't you see, my eyes are brown, while grand
papa's are blue 1 ' I
But Jehane was not to be robbed of his laurels thus
easily. With assumed scornhe replied that the captain ,
of mercenaries had been taken in. by .his rascal boy,
who, indeed, imposed upon many. The story was un-.
true. - He- alone bad fashioned the helmet. Indeed, ,
how could it be thought that a mere boy could produce"
such a work of art? "
This course of argument had a powerful effect upon .
the Duke fend the audience generally. - Murmurs arose,
and all looked wjth doubt toward the Sire Richard.
But that staunch warrior smiled sjrimly, and, stepping
forward so as to look Master Jehane full in the face,
cried in resonant tones: 1 "
"Varlet and evil-doer, do you mean to tell his Grace
ft ffl&W
5 e ' " 1-'
fIX aiCHAlD IN GOOD tOURD fRKASK MWOUNCED MASTER JEHAKE DOrLESSIS AS A THIT
that you. without the slightest assistance, made the
silver helmet?"
"Assuredly; no other hand even touched it" an
swered the false Jehane. ,
"Then, I pray thee, repeat aloud the motto or device
which you engraved on a certain portion of your
masterpiece." i 4
A cold sweat broke forth on Jehane's face. The
motto? He had observed no motto.
"I forget it" he stammered.
"At least Master Jehane, you can tell us upon what
part of the helmet it is engraved ?" asked the Enghsh-
man. -
The Master Armorer, in speechless agony,' shook his
head.' -.. ;
The Sire Richard turned to Duke Charles. "Is it
likely, your Grace," he cried, "that a man should for
get tlje legend engraved by him on his trophy, or be
unable even to locate it?"
Then, addressing Alain, he bade him repeat the verse
and indicate its position on the helmet. Without a
moment's hesitation the lad explained that the words
were on the vizor-rim, and then repeated the rhyme.
XH KTTEMS' PANCIifCt LESSOR
"It is even so," said the Duke, glancing at the grart
legend on the silver. 1
Again the Englishman turned to Jehane. "Mi"' s
Artificer," he said with a smile, "since you placed them
rhymes there, at least you can tell us their meanli--in
Flemish?" ""it, -
Jehane saw that he was trapped all round, for he knerr
not one word of English, After a futile, look about
bim fotf some method of escape, be fell upon his knees
before the Duke,. confessed everything, and prayed for
pardon.
The close of thil curious affair was pleasant enough
The Duke made Alain his chief armorer, and, at once
'If.
,17' ' t . i - ' J--
" I-
' 1 U l '
' -' . If -' "
V i
I -
t - "
to punish the disgraced Jehane, and by way of a lit!!
comedy, he commanded the aged armorer to serve a
apprentice for three long years to the lad whom he hac!
striven to cheat But AJaln proved a kindly master,
and eventually took Master Jehane into partnership.
To this day you may see their Joint workshop in the
old town of Bruges. The house can be readily identi
fied by the two carved devices over the "door. Withot.'
doubt one of these belonged v to Master "Jehane. The
-eeondpresrattlver-4mtari44iponr-ja sere'
beneath the carving you may, with care, decipher tl.
following quaint legend : ' "
Sir Knighte, you oft achat finden me
A goode friende in adversitle
In bataille or in chevachie, r
See you that I well closen be.
Such was the motto . and such the trade-mar2 1
Master Alain of Bruges, the Duke's Armorer,
fir
r
3 vey (raTjdiIouent i -
Si&r down to t jay Jab! d'bole
He dfe the -cock ,
'The dni'vestand th fo?ta-
semar.lJings'N.CaJhesellhi'naJdofe'
3hn.befop;1j;s.'rifp4stVfie egn v
Affile pdusin'the.menu to seairA
HesAi'dt 'Corn, if ysu please
iAiKiJomaloes.end f3aase, l
sepvct.intheCd n - j
-1 ' 7YY
v'1 1
-i . t . ...
wv-
... j v1- .
V