 father, I must needs own,
that, setting the frailty of his parents on one side, he might be termed
happier, and more fortunate, as the son of lawless love, than of conjugal
hatred.«
    »Thou art a scandalous fellow, Dunois, to speak thus of holy wedlock,«
answered Louis, jestingly. »But to the devil with the discourse, for the boar is
unharboured. - Lay on the dogs in the name of the holy Saint Hubert! - Ha! ha!
tra-la-la-lira-la!« - And the King's horn rung merrily through the woods as he
pushed forward on the chase, followed by two or three of his guards, amongst
whom was our friend Quentin Durward. And here it was remarkable, that, even in
the keen prosecution of his favourite sport, the King, in indulgence of his
caustic disposition, found leisure to amuse himself by tormenting Cardinal
Balue.
    It was one of that able statesman's weaknesses, as we have elsewhere hinted,
to suppose himself, though of low rank and limited education, qualified to play
the courtier and the man of gallantry. He did not, indeed, actually enter the
lists of chivalrous combat like Becket, or levy soldiers like Wolsey. But
gallantry, in which they also were proficients, was his professed pursuit; and
he likewise affected great fondness for the martial amusement of the chase. Yet,
however well he might succeed with certain ladies, to whom his power, his
wealth, and his influence as a statesman, might atone for deficiencies in
appearance and manners, the gallant horses, which he purchased at almost any
price, were totally insensible to the dignity of carrying a Cardinal, and paid
no more respect to him than they would have done to his father, the carter,
miller, or tailor, whom he rivalled in horsemanship. The King knew this, and, by
alternately exciting and checking his own horse, he brought that of the
Cardinal, whom he kept close by his side, into such a state of mutiny against
his rider, that it became apparent they must soon part company; and then, in the
midst of its starting, bolting, rearing, and lashing out, alternately, the royal
tormentor rendered the rider miserable, by questioning him upon many affairs of
importance, and hinting his purpose to take that opportunity of communicating to
him some of those secrets of state, which the Cardinal had but a little while
before seemed so anxious to learn.27
    A more awkward situation could hardly be imagined, than that of a
privy
