W
Hiliary of Caricature and Grotefgue
never feen fo ugly a figure either in fculpture or in painting, or one which
had fo repuliive an appearance, or a devil which was a better likenefis
than the one this monk had made for them
Si borriblesfk etji lez,
Que tnjfiauz tel: gut I2 wkient
Sear leurjirement afkrmaient
Ne en mills ne en peinture,
N 'a-zmient 3 nuljor -vfue,
Qlgiji Euji [aide 've?1e,
Que til moine: leur Fabliaux, tom. p. 414.
The demon hirnfelf now took offence at the at-Front which had been put
upon him, and appearing the night following to the facrittan, reproziched
him with having made him fo ugly, and enjoined him to break the
fculpture, and execute another reprefenting him better looking, on pain
of very fevere punithment; but, although this viiit was repeated thrice,
the pious monk refufed to comply. The evil one now began to work in
another way, and, by his cunning, he drew the facriilan into a difgraceful
amour with a lady of the neighbourhood, and they plotted not only to
elope together by night, but to rob the monaitery of its treafure, which
was of courfe in the keeping of the facriftan. They were difcovered, and
caught in their flight, laden with the treafure, and the unfaithful facriflan
was thrown into prifon. The fiend now appeared to him, and promifed
to clear him out of all his trouble on the mere condition that he {hould
break his ugly flatue, and make another reprefenting him as looking
handfome-a bargain to which the facriftan acceded without further
hefitation. It would thus appear that the demons did not like to be
reprefented ugly. In this cafe, the fiend immediately took the form and
place of the facrillan, while the latter went to his bed as if nothing had
happened. When the other monks found him there next morning, and
heard him difclaim all knowledge of the robbery or of the prifon, they
hurried to the latter place, and found the devil in chains-,who, when they
attempted to exorcife him, behaved in a very turbulent manner, and
difappeared
