ON Monday, September 28, before the marriage, Montjoye, the French Herald, had carried the French challenge to England, and the jousts had been proclaimed at Canterbury by the Garter King at Arms. The date now had been definitely fixed for November 13, and nothing else was talked of in Paris, while the Dauphin was and had been so busy with the arrangements that he had not attended any councils, nor taken part in any of the deliberations with the English ambassadors.[341] The Earl of Dorset had no very exalted opinion of him as a jouster, and he told Wolsey that "we found him and his company not like as they have been named; for though they do run trimly and handle themself well [enough] with their small and light staves, they could not well trim themselves in their harn[ess but] be content to have our poor advices."[342] But if he knew little about harness he took delight in organizing the ceremonies of the occasion, and erected an arch triumphant at Les Tournelles, in the rue St Antoine, on which four shields were to be placed, and the rules were "that he who would touch any of them must first enter his name and arms. That he who touched the first which was silver should run at tilt according to the articles, who touched the golden should run at Randon as above mentioned. He that touched the black shield should fight on foot with hand spears or swords for the one hand: six foynes with the hand spear, and then eight strokes to the most advantage (if the spear so long held), and after that twelve strokes with the sword. He that touched the tawny shield should cast a spear on foot with a target on his arm and after fight with a two-handed sword."[343] The weather made the preparations difficult. It poured constantly, and the floor of the lists was every day a serious question, for the sand strewn upon it was daily washed away.[344] Francis was determined that the tourney should outshine in all things the tales he had heard of English magnificence, and money flowed like water, "une vÉritable dÉbauche d'or et d'argent." Armourers, painters and tailors were all reaping a golden harvest, and he borrowed and bought horses wherever he could.[345] It was all for a woman's eyes too, for the Dauphin's passion for his mother-in-law was becoming notorious, and the story goes that he had even arranged to surprise Mary one night in her room, but was prevented by a friend of his own, whose reasoning was too forcible to be disregarded.[346] His mother also remonstrated, and it was possibly at this time that Suffolk had "words" with him. Francis had to content himself with outdoing his rival in millinery, for it was absurd that he should have even hoped to overcome him in the lists, and for this he had no opportunity, though Suffolk had hoped and longed to come to strokes with the French King, and, failing him, with Francis. Suffolk and Dorset rode with the Dauphin's other aides, and wore, like the rest, cloth of gold covered with cloth of silver with trappings of cloth of gold and crimson satin for their horses. The officers of the lists, the musicians, and all connected with the fÊte were glittering in the same stuffs. At last the longed-for Monday arrived. Louis was so feeble that he was carried in a litter and lay on a couch in the royal stand, while Mary sat beside him. She was received, as usual, with acclamation. From the very opening of the jousts the English champions were the heroes of the crowd, especially Suffolk, whose prowess easily placed him first. All the chivalry of France was there: Bourbon, Lorraine, St Pol, Aragon [the bastard], Lautrec, Bayard, Bonnivet, Montmorency; and the Marquis of Dorset modestly described the English fortunes to Wolsey. On Monday, the 13th inst., the jousts began, and continued three days. The Duke of Suffolk and he ran three days and lost nothing. One Frenchman was slain at the tilt and divers horses. "On Saturday, the 18th, the tourney and course in the field began as roughly as ever I saw, for there were divers times both horse and man overthrown, horses slain and one French man hurt that he is not like to live. My lord of Suffolk and I ran the first day thereat, but put our aides thereto because there was no nobleman to be put unto us; but poor men of arms and Scots, many of them, were hurt on both sides, but no great hurt, and of our Englishmen none overthrown nor greatly hurt but a little of their hands." On Tuesday, the 21st, the fighting on foot began, "to the which they brought an Almayn that never came into the field before and put him to my lord of Suffolk to have us put to shame, but advantage they gat none of us, but rather the contrary. I forbear to write more of our chances because I am party therein. I ended without any manner hurt. My lord of Suffolk is a little hurt in his hand."[347] The overwhelming superiority of his rival roused all that was meanest in Francis. He had been slightly wounded in the hand, a mere nothing, which sent his mother into convulsions, and therefore not being present, he, as Dorset said above, "brought a man secretly which in all the court of France was the tallest and strongest man; and he was an Almayn; and put him in the place of another person to have had the Duke of Suffolk rebuked. The same great Almayn came to the bars fiercely with face hid, because he would not be known, and bare his spear to the Duke of Suffolk with all his strength, and the Duke him received, and for all his strength put him by strong strokes from the barriers, and with the butt end of the spear strake the Almayn that he staggered; but for all that the Almayn strake strongly and hardly at the Duke, and the judges suffered many more strokes to be foughten than were appointed; but when they saw the Almayn reel and stagger then they let fall the rail between them."[348] "Then they took some breath and returned to fight again; when the Duke so pommelled the Almayn about the head that blood gushed from his nose, which being done the Almayn was conveyed away secretly."[349] And so Francis was hoist with his own petard, and gained neither fight nor mistress, for Mary's feelings, national and personal, were roused to scorn by this attempt to steal her lover's glory. She had already complained to the English ambassadors of his attentions as would seem by Suffolk's letter of November 18, when he said the Queen had disclosed to him and to Dorset divers things which they felt they could not wholly repeat to their fellow ambassadors or write safely in a letter, but which made them anxious to leave her in the hands of good friends.[350] Louis, in his love for his wife, his hatred of his successor, and his honest appreciation of a good fight, was entirely in sympathy with his wife, and told her, she repeated exultingly to the Englishmen, that they had shamed all France and that they would carry the prize into England.[351] Francis was for the moment eclipsed, and Louis consulted him no more, but transacted business in his bedroom with Mary by his side. But the Dauphin was of that enviable band who never feel the shame of defeat and never allow mere personal feelings to interfere with their future, and he gave up for the moment his pursuit of his mother-in-law and threw himself just as ardently into his intrigue with Madame de ChÂteaubriant.