The last house in this street was also
the last in the town. It belonged to Maitre Cornelius Hoogworst, an
old Brabantian merchant, to whom King Louis XI. gave his utmost
confidence in those financial transactions which his crafty policy
induced him to undertake outside of his own kingdom.
Observing the outline of the houses occupied respectively by Maitre
Cornelius and by the Comte de Poitiers, it was easy to believe that
the same architect had built them both and destined them for the use
of tyrants. Each was sinister in aspect, resembling a small fortress,
and both could be well defended against an angry populace. Their
corners were upheld by towers like those which lovers of antiquities
remark in towns where the hammer of the iconoclast has not yet
prevailed. The bays, which had little depth, gave a great power of
resistance to the iron shutters of the windows and doors. The riots
and the civil wars so frequent in those tumultuous times were ample
justification for these precautions.
As six o'clock was striking from the great tower of the Abbey
Saint-Martin, the lover of the hapless countess passed in front of the
hotel de Poitiers and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds made
in the lower hall by the servants of the count, who were supping.
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