Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print archive. [Illustration: Book Cover] THE COURT JESTER [Illustration: "I am Marguerite of Hapsburg!"--_Page 51_] THE COURT JESTER _By_ CORNELIA BAKER _Author of_ The Queen's Page Young People in Old Places, etc. _With Illustrations by_ MARGARET ELY WEBB _and_ MARGARET H. DEVENEAU INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT 1906 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY DEDICATED TO MY DEAR EUGENIA F. F. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I LE GLORIEUX HEARS GOOD NEWS 1 II A FESTIVAL AT THE INN 13 III AN EXCITING DAY AND EVENING 33 IV BROKEN PROMISES 61 V THE WONDERFUL WISDOM OF PITTACUS 76 VI LADY CLOTILDE'S MOONSTONE PENDANT 98 VII A PLEASANT SURPRISE FOR THE PRINCESS 124 VIII A ROYAL ALCHEMIST 153 IX PHILIBERT IN DANGER 167 X A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE 194 XI THE LADY MARGUERITE IS VERY BRAVE 214 XII AN AUSTRIAN PRINCESS AT THE SPANISH COURT 230 XIII TRIPPING THE MEASURES OF THE EGG-DANCE 249 THE COURT JESTER CHAPTER I LE GLORIEUX HEARS GOOD NEWS The old duchess was talking of the past, while behind her chair Le Glorieux was silently and joyously turning handsprings. I wish I might give him another name, for that one is certainly a mouthful, but as he really lived, and that was what he was called, we must manage it as best we can. You may think, and with reason, that turning handsprings was not a respectful thing to do when a lady, and above all a duchess, was talking. But Le Glorieux was the court jester, the fool, who when Charles the Bold, son of the duchess, was living, was wont to make his master laugh. Therefore his conduct and conversation as a rule were not what one could expect of a sedate and dignified member of society.