The generally recognized reputation of William being that of a "_grand trompeur des dames_," this action was but a duty which the honest prelate was bound to perform, disastrous though the consequences might be. Still he thought not of that, and was not willing to accept palliation for the count's venial sins in the shape of that nobleman's capacities as the first chanter of his time,--poetic measures of doubtful morality. VII ST. ETIENNE DE LIMOGES "_Les Limosinats_ leave their cities poor, and they return poor, after long years of labour." --DE LA BÉDOLLIERE. Limoges was the capital around which centred the life and activities of the _pays du Limousin_ when that land marked the limits of the domain of the Kings of France. (Guienne then being under other domination.) The most ancient inhabitants of the province were known as _Lemovices_, but the transition and evolution of the vocable are easily followed to that borne by the present city of Limoges, perhaps best known of art lovers as the home of that school of fifteenth century artists who produced the beautiful works called _Emaux de Limoges_. [Illustration: _St. Etienne de Limoges_] The earliest specimens of what has come to be popularly known as Limoges enamel date from the twelfth century; and the last of the great masters in the splendid art died in 1765. The real history of this truly great art, which may be said to have taken its highest forms in ecclesiology,--of which examples are frequently met with in the sacristies of the cathedral churches of France and elsewhere--is vague to the point of obscurity. A study of the subject, deep and profound, is the only process by which one can acquire even a nodding acquaintance with all its various aspects. It reached its greatest heights in the reign of that artistic monarch, François I. To-day the memory and suggestion of the art of the enamelists of Limoges are perpetuated by, and, through those cursory mentors, the guide-books and popular histories, often confounded with, the production of porcelain. This industry not only flourishes here, but the famous porcelain earth of the country round about is supplied even to the one-time royal factory of Sèvres. St. Martial was the first prelate at Limoges, in the third century. The diocese is to-day a suffragan of Bourges, and its cathedral of St. Etienne, while not a very ancient structure, is most interesting as to its storied past and varied and lively composition. Beneath the western tower are the remains of a Romanesque portal which must have belonged to an older church; but to all intents and purposes St. Etienne is to-day a Gothic church after the true northern manner. It was begun in 1273 under the direct influence of the impetus given to the Gothic development by the erection of Notre Dame d'Amiens, and in all its parts,--choir, transept, and nave,--its development and growth have been most pleasing.