356 JOINVILLB'S MEMOIRS OP SAINT LOUIS IX. [PT. I. thinking to acquit himself by the large sums which he gave, or should leave to the monastery of father-preachers in Provins ; for the discreet man, as long as he lives, ought to act like to the faithful executor of a will.* First, he ought to restore and make amende for any wrongs or misdeeds done to others by the deceased ; and from the residue of the fortune of the dead he should give alms to the poor, in the name of God, as the Scripture plainly sheweth. The holy king was, one Whitsun holidays, at Corbeil, accompanied by full 300 knights, and also by Master Robert de Sorbon and myself. After dinner, the king went into the meadow above the chapel, to speak with the earl of Brittany,f father to the present duke, whose soul may God receive, when Master Robert, taking hold of my mantle, in the presence of the king and the noble company, asked my opinion, whether, if the king should seat himself in this meadow, and I were to place myself on a bench above him, I should, or u should not, be blameable ; to which I answered, Yes, most certainly.* 4 4 Why, then," added he, 4 4 do not yon think yourself blame-worthy for being more richly dressed than the king?" 4 4 Master Robert," replied I, "saving the king's honour and yours, I am in this respect blameless ; for the dress I wear, such as you see it, was left me by my ancestors, and I have not had it made from my own authority. It is you, on -the contrary, that deserve being reprimanded ; for you are descended from bondmen, on both sides, have quitted the dress of your ancestors, and have clothed yourself in finer camlet than what the king now wears." I then took hold of his eurcoatj and compared it with what * The lord de Joinville is laughing at those who, having committed atrocious acts of plunder during their lives, imagine they may acquit themselves before God by giving alms to some monasteries or churches. f John I. of the name, and who is noticed in several parte of this history. He died the 8th of October, 1286, and was father to John II., duke of Brittany, deceased in the year 1305. It is apparent from this, that the lord de Joinville wrote his history, or at least augmented or corrected it at different times ; for in this part he says, that John II . waa still alive, and elsewhere he speaks of Guy de Dampierre, earl of Flanders, and of his death, which happened at Compeigne in this same year 1305. % A sort of dress or robe common to men and women. In the accounts quoted in the preceding note is an article,—'1 For three pieces and a half of fine velvet in grain, given to the aforesaid Eustache, to make a aurcoat,