"Others whom I had warned went to their death, in some cases because they
disbelieved me, in others because they preferred death to the dishonour of
drawing back. One of the latter, on the eve of the battle, confided to a
hot-headed knight in his following that I had foretold his death; and
instead of quarrelling with the stars, the fool seemed to think that I had
controlled them, and was responsible for his lord's death. So when in
Paris some months since, he publicly insulted me, and being an Italian
noble as well as an astrologer, I fought him the next day. I killed him,
but not before I received a wound that laid me up for months, and from
which I have not yet fairly recovered. While lying in Paris I decided upon
taking a step that I had for some time been meditating. I could, when
Katarina left Paris with your lady, have well gone with her, with ample
means to live in comfort and to furnish her with a fortune not unfitted to
her rank as my daughter.
"During the past three years the reputation I gained by my success in
saving the lives of several persons of rank, increased so rapidly that
money has flowed into my coffers beyond all belief. There was scarcely a
noble of the king's party who had not consulted me, and since Agincourt
the Duke of Aquitaine and many others took no step whatever without coming
to me. But I am weary of the everlasting troubles of which I can see no
end, and assuredly the aspect of the stars affords no ground for hope that
they will terminate for years; therefore, I have determined to leave
France, and to practise my art henceforth solely for my own pleasure, I
shall open negotiations with friends in Mantua, to see whether, now that
twelve years have elapsed since I had to fly, matters cannot be arranged
with my enemies; much can often be done when there are plenty of funds
wherewith to smooth away difficulties.
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