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only to herself; it was replied, that was a custom not used among them, and not to be introduced now with a young lady that was fit to be married. He persisted, that by his orders he could not communicate with any body else. Upon which they threatened to make him; and put the poor barber into a terrible fear. I fancy when he had delivered the said letters, he had not provided himself with an answer; for, indeed, (as you have heard,) that business was but collateral. However it was, Monsieur Oliver departed for that time, without any more words. Some of the council looked upon him with great contempt, both in respect of the meanness of his profession, and the uncomeliness of his demeanour and language; but more especially the citizens of Gaunt, (because he was born in a pitiful village hard by,) who putting several affronts upon him, he thought it time to be gone, for he had notice, if he had staid, he would be thrown into the river; and truly I believe it would have been his destiny. This great ambassador took upon him the title of Comte de Meulant, which is

a small town near Paris, of which he was the governor. When he had made his escape out of Gaunt, he fled to Tournay; which town (though neutral) had a great affection for the king, for it had formerly belonged to his predecessors, and paid him six thousand Parisian livres a year. In all other respects it was free, and entertained all comers."*

The termination of Oliver's flagitious life, and the particular atrocious act which occasioned his execution, are related as follows, in "The Supplement to the Memoirs of de Comines, in the English edition, dedicated to Lord Burleigh." They form a marked example of the truth of the poet's assertion, Rarò, antecedentem scelestum, Deseruit poena pede claudo.t

"Before the king's coronation (Charles VIII.), the princes of the blood, and the nobility of the kingdom, (who had so often been injured and affronted in the late king's

* De Comines, 307.

For lame Revenge still stalks behind,
Does slowly dodge the guilty mind,
And only stays to take the surer blow.

Creech.

reign by Oliver le Dain, his barber, one Daniel a Fleming, Monsieur Oliver's servant, and Monsieur John Dayac, who had managed the affairs of the whole kingdom during part of the reign of Louis XI.) caused information secretly to be exhibited against them, for several murders, rapines, and other enormous offences, which they had formerly committed, though some of them were by the express command of the late king. These informations being brought before the Court of Parliament, they were immediately apprehended, their process made out against them, and at last they were all three condemned to death; and the year following, which was 1484, Monsieur Oliver, and his servant Daniel, were executed at Paris, and Monsieur Dayac had his tongue cut out, and his ears bored through. One of the crimes committed by Monsieur Oliver and his servant Daniel, and for which they were executed, was this. A certain gentleman was committed to prison by the order of Louis XI., and having a very young and beautiful lady for his wife, Monsieur Oliver falls desperately in love with her,

and promises to release her husband by his intercession, provided she would submit to his loose desires. Accordingly she did so; but instead of performing his promise, the very next day he ordered his servant Daniel to put him into a sack, and throw him into the Seine, where he was drowned. This Oliver was by birth a Fleming, and had been barber to King Louis, and of greater power and authority with the king than any nobleman in France."

Miscellaneous Illustrations.

THE SCOTCH ARCHERS.

THE connection between the Scotch and French was ancient and intimate. Long previously to the time of Louis XI. our brave and faithful northern brethren had served in the armies of the monarchs of France, with equal credit to themselves, and satisfaction to their employers; and the opinion formed of their trust-worthiness was such, (and never was a higher compliment paid to national character,) that the guard selected for the personal protection of the monarch was originally composed, and continued to be formed, through nearly six centuries, of these gallant and incorruptible foreigners. The origin and history of this distinguished corps are given in the

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