ght;

"Who is there?"

"It is your chambermaid," said the gentleman, "who is taking me back to
the place from whence she brought me."

At these words the poor girl's heart and strength failed her. She could
no longer bear her unpleasant burden, and she fell on the floor and
rolled one way, whilst the squire went rolling the other.

The host, who knew what was the matter, spoke sharply to the girl, who
soon afterwards left his house; and the gentleman returned to Burgundy,
where he often gleefully related to his gallant companions the above
written adventure.

*****

STORY THE NINETEENTH -- THE CHILD OF THE SNOW. [19]

By Philippe Vignier.

_Of an English merchant whose wife had a child in his absence, and told
him that it was his; and how he cleverly got rid of the child--for his
wife having asserted that it was born of the snow, he declared it had
been melted by the sun._

Moved by a strong desire to see and know foreign countries, and to meet
with adventures, a worthy and rich merchant of London left his fair and
good wife, his children, relations, friends, estates, and the greater
part of his possessions, and quitted the kingdom, well furnished with
money and great abundance of merchandise, such as England can supply
to foreign countries, and with many other things which, for the sake of
brevity, I do not mention here.

On this first voyage, the good merchant wandered about for a space of
five years, during which time his good wife looked after his property,
disposed of much merchandise profitably, and managed so well that her
husband, when he returned at the end of five years, greatly praised her,
and loved her more than ever.

The merchant, not content with the many strange and wonderful things
he had seen, or with the large fortune he had made, four or five months
after his return, again set forth in quest of adventures in foreign
lands, both Christian and pagan, and stayed there so long that ten years
passed before his wife again saw him, but he often wrote to her, that
she might know that he was still alive.

She was young and lusty, and wanted not any of the goods that God could
give, except the presence of her husband. His long absence constrained
her to provide herself with a lover, by whom shortly she had a fine boy.

This son was nourished and brought up with the others, his
half-brothers, and, when the merchant returned, was about seven years
old.

Great were the rejoicings between