a deeper observation of the meaning of the incident he is
supposed to witness and describe than Marot and the rest
saw, characteristic differences between these two poets of
the time are brought out, the genuineness of courtly love
and chivalry is tested, and to the original story of the glove
is added a new view of the lady's character; a sketch of
her humbler and truer lover, and their happiness; and a
pendent scene showing the courtier De Lorges, having
won a beauty for his wife, in the ignominious position of
assisting the king to enjoy her favors and of submitting to
pleasantries upon his discomfiture. The original story as
told by Poullain de St. Croix in his Essais Historiques sur
Paris ran thus: "One day whilst Francis I amused himself
with looking at a combat between his lions, a lady,
having let her glove drop, said to De Lorges, 'If you
would have me believe that you love me as much as you
swear you do, go and bring back my glove.' De Lorges
went down, picked up the glove from amidst the ferocious
beasts, returned, and threw it in the lady's face; and in
spite of all her advances and cajoleries would never look
at her again.'' Schiller running across this anecdote of
St. Croix, in 1797, as he writes Goethe, wrote a poem
on it which adds nothing to the story. Leigh Hunt's
'The Glove and the Lions' adds some traits. It characterizes
the lady as shallow and vain, with smiles and
eyes which always seem'd the same.'' She calculates
since "king, ladies, lovers, all look on," that "the occasion
is divine" to drop her glove and "prove his love,
then look at him and smile"; and after De Lorges has
returned and thrown the glove, "but not with love, right