assist him with their services against the duke of Brittany, who had so grossly injured him; and they assured him they would do so to the utmost of their power.

On the 3d of January, in this year 1464, died Charles duke of Orleans, about seventy years old, who left a son about three years of age, and a daughter of seven or eight years old. He it was who commenced the civil war in France against John duke of Burgundy, in revenge for the murder of his father, which lasted upward of thirty years, to such great loss and destruction of the kingdom that it would be pitiless to relate it, as it may be seen in the Chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet.* This duke of Orleans was made prisoner at the battle of Agincourt, and carried to England, where he remained twenty-five years; and it is supposed that he would never have obtained his liberty, if duke Philip of Burgundy had not ransomed him; he also gave him in marriage his niece, a daughter to the duke of Cleves, by whom he had the two children above mentioned. On his return to France, he led an exemplary and devout life; and on every Friday throughout the year, he gave thirteen poor persons their dinner, in honour of God; he served them in person at table, before he ate anything himself, and then washed their feet, in imitation of our Saviour, who washed the feet of his disciples on the day of the Passover.

CHAPTER CXIX. THE MARRIAGE OF KING EDWARD OF ENGLAND, AND THE ALLIANCE HE WISHES TO FORM WITH FRANCE.-THE BASTARDS OF BURGUNDY RETURN FROM THEIR EXPEDITION. THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY DANGEROUSLY ILL. THE FAMILY OF CROY ARE DISMISSED FROM THEIR PLACES.

In this year, between Christmas and Easter, Edward king of England, surnamed Long Shanks, one of the handsomest knights of his kingdom, took to wife the daughter of lord Rivers, an English knight of middling rank, who, in his youth, had been sent to France to serve the duchess of Bedford. The duke of Bedford was then regent of France for his nephew king Henry VI. an infant; and his duchess was his second wife, and sister to the count Louis de St. Pol, an exceedingly handsome lady. After the death of the duke, his widow, following her own inclinations, which were contrary to the wishes of her family, particularly to those of her uncle, the cardinal of Rouen, married the said lord Rivers, reputed the handsomest man that could be seen, who shortly after carried her to England, and never after could return to France for fear of the relatives of this lady. She had several children by lord Rivers, and among them was a daughter of prodigious beauty, who, by her charms, so captivated king Edward that he married her, to the great discontent of several of the higher nobility, who would, if possible, have prevented the marriage from taking place. But, to satisfy them that the lady's birth was not inferior to theirs, king Edward sent letters to the count de Charolois, to entreat that he would send him some lord of the family of the lady to be present at her wedding. The count sent him sir James de St. Pol, her uncle, grandly accompanied by knights and gentlemen, to the number of more than one hundred horse, who, on their arrival at London, put an end to the murmurings on this marriage, and gave great satisfaction to the king. After the feasts, when they were about to return home, the king presented sir James de St. Pol with three hundred nobles; and to each knight and gentleman of his company he gave fifty nobles, besides most handsome entertainment.

It was commonly said at the time, that the count de Charolois had sent so handsome a company of nobles to England to please king Edward, and gain him over to his interests, knowing that the king of France was anxious to form an alliance with Edward to his prejudice, and that the lord de Launoy had been sent by Louis to negotiate a treaty with England. King Edward, however, would not listen to it, and even sent the letters which the lord de Launoy had brought from the king of France to the duke of Burgundy, for his perusal, and likewise wrote to him everything the lord de Launoy had told him from Louis,

*Il semble par là que Monstrelet nie son auteur de note in M. du Cange's copy.-See the note at the end la plupart de ce qui est contenue au 3me volume."-MS. of the second book.

which greatly astonished the duke, who from that time became suspicious of the king of France's designs, and of those by whom he was surrounded. It was also said that king Edward had charged sir James de St. Pol to tell the count de Charolois, that if he wanted men-at-arms, he would send him as many as he pleased.

In this year, the frost was so severe that wine was not only frozen in the cellars but at table even some wells were frozen, and this weather lasted from the 10th of December to the 15th of February. The frost was so sharp for seven or eight days that many persons died in the fields; and the old people said that there had not be so very severe a winter since the year 1407. Much snow also fell; and the rivers Seine and Oise were frozen so that waggons passed over them.

Toward the end of February, sir Anthony and sir Baldwin, bastards of Burgundy, returned from their intended expedition to Turkey. Though there were more than two thousand combatants embarked at Sluys, from four to five hundred died at sea of an epidemical distemper that raged in the fleet. They left their fleet and arms at Marseilles, and travelled through Avignon to Burgundy, and thence to Brussels. At this time, also, the bishop of Tournay and the other ambassadors returned from their embassy to France. It was then said, that had they not gone thither, the king was determined to invade the territories of the duke of Burgundy, thinking to have the support of the count de St. Pol and the duke of Brittany, but in which he failed.

The duke of Burgundy was now attacked by so severe an illness that every one despaired of his life. The count de Charolois was then at Brussels, but without hope of his father's recovery; and knowing that the lord de Croy and his friends had in their hands the government of the country, and of all its strongest places, and that the lord de Croy had been absent fifteen days with the king of France, he suddenly sent his most confidential friends to Luxembourg, Namur, the Boulonois, Beaumont, Hainault, and other parts, to take instant possession of them, and appoint other governors on whom he could depend. As the physicians gave no hope of the duke's amendment, his son sent orders to all the abbeys and monasteries dependent on him, to offer up their most devout prayers for his restoration to health; and he was so much beloved by his people that their prayers were heard, and he recovered his health. On his recovery, he made his son governor of all his dominions, who instantly dismissed the lord de Quievrain, the duke's second chamberlain, the lord d'Auxi being the first, and appointed the lord d'Aymeries in his room, which displeased the duke so much that he immediately revoked the appointment he had given to his son.

The count de Charolois, upon this, called together the great lords of the court, namely, the count de St. Pol, sir Anthony his bastard brother, and the majority of the duke's council, and said to them, "I will not hide my mind from you, but wish to tell you now what I had intended doing before, that you and all my other friends may know that I consider the lord de Croy, his friends and allies, as my mortal enemies." He then declared his reasons for this opinion, and had the same published throughout all the towns under his father's subjection, by letters, the contents of which shall be hereafter related. The count, having thus explained himself to his friends, instantly sent three or four knights of his household to the lord de Quievrain, who was first chamberlain in the absence of his uncle, the lord de Croy, ordering him to quit the service of the duke his father as quietly as he could, that his father might not hear of it, nor be troubled thereat. The lord de Quievrain, perplexed at such orders, unwilling to quit so good a situation, and fearing to offend the count de Charolois, followed his own counsel, and went on the morrow morning to the duke, and, throwing himself on his knees, thanked him for all his bounties for the trifling services he had done, and requested his permission to depart, for that the count his son had ordered him to leave the court, and he was afraid he would not be contented until he was put to death.

The duke, hearing these words, was in a mighty passion, and forbade him to quit his service then, snatching up a club, he sallied out of his apartment in the greatest rage, saying to his attendants, that he would go and see whether his son would put to death any of his servants. Some of them, however, dreading the consequences of his passion, had the doors closed, and the porter hidden with the keys, so that the duke could not go out, but was

forced to wait until the porter was found. At this moment, his sister, the duchess of Bourbon, accompanied by sir Anthony of Burgundy, and many ladies and damsels, came to him, and remonstrated with him so prudently, that they moderated his anger, and he returned to his apartments. In the mean time, the lord de Quievrain left his house, with only one attendant, as secretly as he could.

The count de Charolois, hearing of his father's anger against him, held daily councils with the duke's chief ministers, to seek the means of appeasing it; and it was concluded, that the count should write letters to all the great towns under the duke's dominion, stating to them his grievances, and the reasons he had for dismissing the lord de Croy and his friends from all the places they had holden under the duke. Similar letters were likewise despatched to the principal nobles, and they were ordered to be publicly read, that everyone might know the true state of the matter.

CHAPTER CXX.-A COPY OF THE LETTERS WHICH THE COUNT DE CHAROLOIS SENT TO THE NOBLES AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS UNDER THE DOMINION OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, TO EXPLAIN THE REASONS WHY HE HAD DISMISSED THE LORD DE CROY AND HIS FRIENDS FROM HIS FATHER'S SERVICE.

"VERY dear and well beloved, you know, thanks to God, how long and grandly our lord and father, by the noble virtues inherent in his nature, has exalted the house of Burgundy, of which he is the head, in a much higher degree than it ever was in the memory of man. And although from his great age he has of late been afflicted with illness, to the weakening of his faculties, he has, nevertheless, always endeavoured to preserve his possessions untouched, to maintain his subjects in peace,—and to rule them with equity and justice; and we have seen nothing to counteract such happy effects but the fraud and damnable deceptions of the lord de Croy and his friends, who, through an inordinate ambition and insatiable avarice, have attempted to gain to themselves the whole government and the possession of all the strong places so long as our said lord and father should live, and, like ungrateful people, after his decease, to ruin and destroy the country, from hatred to us; for ever since we have arrived at years of discretion, they have laboured, to the utmost of their power, by false and wicked reports, that we might incur the anger of our said lord and father, as you and the three estates have been before duly informed, knowing that by such means alone they could succeed in their attempts. They have, likewise, sought other means of destroying us, had it been in their power, for while my lord the king, when dauphin, was in this country, they endeavoured to lay hands on us, and make us their prisoner. This we have been told by the king's own mouth since his coronation, from his love to us; for which singular affection we hold ourself, and ever shall hold ourself, under the greatest obligations to him.

"Since his majesty's coronation, they have been so much vexed at the favour the king showed us, that they have never ceased to intrigue until they had found means to deprive us of his majesty's good graces, and to keep us at a distance from him. By their machinations, the French ambassadors lately, in the presence of our lord and father, made heavy and public accusations against us in the town of Lille, as you may have heard; and the said de Croys have offered their services to the king after the decease of our lord and father, in case he should intend making war on us, which I cannot believe his majesty will do,-for we have not done anything, nor, please God, will we do anything, that may induce him to it. "They have boasted that they would make war on us from the strong places of Boulogne, Namur, Luxembourg, and others in their hands, and that they would deliver them up to the power of others than the said duke our father or ourself. These de Croys have, beside, by wicked reports to our great prejudice, incited the king to repurchase the towns and country our said lord had in pledge; and because our said lord made some difficulty in acceding to this plan, because the king required an acquittance for a very large sum, which ought to have been paid at the time of this repurchase, the lord de Croy told him, and caused him to be told, as from the king, that, notwithstanding the repurchase of these said lands, he should

remain in the enjoyment of them during his life, which the lord de Croy knew at the same time to be void of foundation, and notoriously contrary to truth.

"The lord de Croy, still further to do mischief to the territories of our said lord and father, has, by himself and friends, strongly aided and supported the pretensions of the count de Nevers, our cousin, against us; and in consequence, the said count has boasted that the king had promised to assist him with four hundred lances, in conjunction with the men of Liege, to invade Brabant after the decease of our said lord and father, and to deprive us of our rights therein. To be enabled to do greater harm to us, by giving the count de Nevers further powers, the lord de Croy had made an exchange of the government of the regained country and towns, which had been given him by the king as a reward for his services in that business with our said cousin of Nevers, for a barony in the Rethelois, called Rosay; and it is said that they and their friends had mutually promised, on oath, to assist each other against whoever intended to injure them. Notwithstanding that, very lately, some persons attached to the service of our said lord and father, anxious to make up all the differences between us and the lord de Croy, had waited on us to this purpose, whom we, from our reverence to God our Creator and Author of all peace, and respect to our said lord and father, condescended to grant their desires, without remembering the many injuries and persecutions we had suffered from the said lord de Croy and his friends, and gave them a paper, signed by our own hand, containing in substance, that when the lord de Croy should do us any services, we would hold them for agreeable, and not be ungrateful to him for them, and that, if, in the performance of such services, he should incur any loss or inconvenience, we would support him against all, in so far as we should be bounden in reason and justice to do, the lord de Croy, however, paid not any attention to this said paper, but has acted in regard to us from badly to worse; and when it has been remonstrated to him, that he ought to act differently from what he has done towards us, and that the places he holds under our said lord and father were not his inheritance, he has boldly replied, that they were given to him by my said lord and father, not only for his life, but for the life of his children after him; and it was his intention that they should enjoy them after his decease, even the governments of Namur, Boulogne, and Luxembourg. In fact, he had done all in his power to obtain from our said lord and father a gift of these places, and would have succeeded, had not some of our said father's more faithful counsellors remonstrated with him on the impropriety of such a gift.

"The said lord de Croy, further to trouble the dominions of our said lord and father, has lately attempted to introduce into the castle of Namur a large body of men-at-arms, under the pretence of defending the place against the men of Liege; but, thanks to God, he failed, -for the good people of Namur, knowing his real intentions, would not suffer it to be done. On finding such opposition to his designs, he went thence to Beaumont in Hainault, where he attempted the same; but the inhabitants behaved in the same loyal manner, and would not permit it to take place. On the other hand, he had, a little time before, instigated duke Louis of Bavaria, the count de Valence his son-in-law, and other dependants of the said duke, to appear before the town of Luxembourg with a great army, with a view of becoming masters of that town and castle, and would have succeeded had not proper precautions been taken before their arrival.

"In short, the lord de Croy and his family, forgetful of, and ungrateful for, all the extraordinary honours and wealth they have received from our said lord and father, their lord and sovereign, have done everything in their power, and still continue their intrigues, to ruin and destroy his country, by causing it and its peaceful and loyal inhabitants to be involved in the calamities of war.

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Having considered all these wicked machinations, and having a sincere love for the loyal people of our said lord, we have provided the surest remedy against the future attempts of the lord de Croy and his family, by taking possession of the towns and castles of Namur, Luxembourg, and Boulogne, which we have intrusted to the guard of valiant and faithful captains, in the name of our said lord, and solely to preserve the poorer ranks from the miseries of war, and for no other purpose whatever. We have, for some days past, supplicated, with the utmost humility, an audience of our said lord and father, that we might

declare the aforesaid matters to him, and assure him of our upright intentions in what we have done; but as we have not hitherto been able to obtain an audience, we have assembled before us those of his blood, the knights, esquires, and members of his council, of his household, and of our own, that are at present in this town, to whom we have most fully detailed the matters above-mentioned, and our determination to provide, with the aid of God, such remedies as the various cases may require, so that our said lord may enjoy in peace the whole of his dominions, and that they may descend to us unimpaired after his decease. For the preservation of which we are willing to expose our life and fortune, and remain his most loyal and obedient subject, without taking any greater part in the government of his country than he shall be willing to allow us.

"We declared also to this assembly, that to enable us the better to serve our said lord and father as an obedient son should, it was our intention to remain at his palace, and near to his person, without permitting the lord de Croy or any of his family, whom we hold and repute our enemies, to have any longer the government of his household or country, which they have formerly enjoyed: that in regard to the other loyal officers, counsellors, and subjects of our said lord, we consider them as our true and trusty friends, and cherish them as such; and we hope that as they have for some time past displayed their loyal services, they will continue so to do, both in regard to our said lord and father, and to the welfare of his dominions, and on our part, we intend steadily, and with all our heart, to obey and execute whatsoever our said lord and father shall, after due consideration and counsel, command us, for the good of his country, without, in future, showing any favours to the lord de Croy or to his family, whom, as I have before said, we repute our mortal enemies; and we further requested the said assembly to assist us in the preservation and defence of the dominions of our said lord from the smallest depredation or infringement; which request the whole assembly liberally and unanimously complied with and granted. Since these things took place, the lord de Quievrain, nephew to the lord de Croy, has quitted this town, which has much displeased our said lord and father, and greatly angered him against us; but by the good pleasure of God, and the prudent remonstrances of his good and loyal counsellors, we hope that his anger will soon be appeased.

"Of all these matters, very dear and well beloved, we inform you by these presents, as our true and loyal friends, to whom we wish to lay open the secrets of our heart; and that you may be truly informed how things have happened, most earnestly requesting of you that you do not afford any assistance to, or receive, the said lord de Croy, his family, or friends, but treat them as the enemies of our said lord and father and of ourself. We beg that you will not give ear to reports or letters that may be made or delivered contrary to the above statement, for we are most desirous of serving, honouring, and obeying, with our whole heart, our said lord and father, in every possible way, as we are bounden to do, and as we have hitherto done, nor shall he ever have, if it so please God, any cause of reasonable complaint against us. Therefore, without the smallest attempt against his person, or to encroach on his government, we shall employ our whole life, honour, and fortune, for his safety, security, and prosperity, and for the welfare of his country and subjects, against all who shall, at any time, presume to molest, or any way aggrieve, him or them. We therefore entreat and request you most cordially to join in aiding and supporting us in these measures, should there be occasion, for we have the fullest confidence in you. Very dear and well beloved, may the Holy Spirit have you in his good keeping.

"Written at Brussels the 22d day of March, in the year 1464," and signed “CHAROLOIS.” The superscription on these letters was, " By order of the count de Charolois, lord of Château Belin and of Bethune."