THE WAY OF A VIRGIN.
So they quitted the court, and went and carried out the sentence themselves, without the aid of any sergeants. By this means the young man enjoyed his joust, and was sooner weary of it than she who would not begin.[1]
- ↑ This story, the 86th of Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, is singularly lacking in climax when compared with the majority of old fabliaux. The opening is very promising; but once the husband has stated his case, the fabric seems to fall to pieces, and the wife's final speech is as silly as it it unjustified. The author has tried to round off the story by dragging in the ages-old tag about the woman who, from hating the pleasures of love, becomes a veritable glutton for them. Compared with "Beyond the Mark", which is artistic and dramatic from the first to the last line, "Foolish Fear" is a poor thing. Nevertheless, we have thought fit to include it in this anthology because its opening is as characteristic as its finish is uncharacteristic of this type of fabliaux.
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