as Ronsard called her. But although her fine understanding enjoyed this select society, more serious thoughts occupied her mind. She could not forget, even in the midst of the court, the little angel that had flown away from her; she was uneasy about the friends of the Gospel; the worldly festivities around her left her heart depressed and unsatisfied. She endeavoured to pierce the thick clouds that hung over her, and soaring in spirit to the 'heavenly kingdom,' she grasped the hand that Christ stretched out to her from on high. She returned to the well of Jacob, where she had drunk when she was so tired with her journey. She had been as a parched and weary land, having neither dew nor moisture, and the Lord had refreshed her with the clear springs of his Holy Spirit. 'A continual sprinkling (to use her own words) kept up in her a heavenly eternity;' and she would have desired all who gathered round her to come to that well where she had so effectually quenched her own thirst. Accordingly, in the midst of the worldly agitation of the court, and of all the honours lavished on her rank and her wit, the poor mother, whose heart was bruised but consoled, looked out in silence for some lamb which she could recall from its wandering, and said: [Sidenote: THE FOUNTAIN PURE AND FREE.] 'Come to my fountain pure and free, Drink of its stream abundantly.' Hasten, sinners, to the call Of your God, who speaks to all: 'Come and drink—it gives relief To every form of mortal grief; Come and drink the draught divine, Out of this new fount of mine. Wash away each mortal stain In the blood of Jesu slain. No return I seek from thee But works of love and charity.' Hasten, sinners, to the brink Of this stream so pure, and drink! Fill your hearts, so that ye may Serve God better every day. Then, well washed of every stain That of earth might yet remain, By Jesu's love at last set free, Live in heaven eternally. 'Come to my fountain pure and free, Drink of its stream abundantly!' Listen, sinners, to the call Of your God, who speaks to all.[186] These appeals were not unavailing. The Reformation was advancing in France by two different roads: one was on the mountains, the other in the plain. The Gospel gained hearts among the sons of labour and of trial; but it gained others also among the learned and high-born, whose faculty of inquiry had been aroused, and who desired to substitute truth in the place of monastic superstitions. Margaret was the evangelist of the court and of the king. Her mother, with Duprat and Montmorency, ruled in the council-chamber, the Duchess of Etampes in the court festivities, but the gentle voice of the Queen of Navarre supported Francis in his frequent periods of uneasiness and dejection. Yet not to the king alone did Margaret devote at this time the attentions of her ardent charity. All the affections of her heart were just now concentrated on a single object.