party of his own guards thither, the gate should be delivered up to them, and they might let in or shut out whomever they pleased. In short, so they did, and several of the English, by their king's express command, were ordered to evacuate the town,

And then, in order to bring the whole affair to a conclusion, they consulted what place would be most convenient for the interview of the two kings, and persons were appointed to survey it; the Lord du Bouchage and I were chosen to represent our master; and the Lord Howard, one Chalanger, and a herald, represented the King of England. Upon our taking a view of the river, we agreed the best and securest place was Picquigny, a strong castle some three leagues from Amiens, belonging to the Vidame* of Amiens, which had been burnt not long before by the Duke of Burgundy; the town lies low, the River Somme runs through it, and is not fordable or wide near it. On the one side, by which our king was to come, was a fine champaign country; and on the other side it was the same, only when the King of England came to the river, he was obliged to pass a causeway about two bow-shots in length, with marshes on both sides, which might have produced very dangerous consequences to the English, if our intentions had not been honourable. And certainly, as I have said before, the English do not manage their treaties and capitulations with so much cunning and policy as the French do, let people say what they will, but proceed more ingenuously, and with greater straightforwardness in their affairs; yet a man must be cautious, and have a care not to affront them, for it is dangerous meddling with them.

After we had fixed upon the place, our next consultation was about a bridge which was ordered to be built, large and strong, for which purpose we furnished our carpenters with materials. In the midst of the bridge there was contrived a strong wooden lattice, such as the lions' cages are made with, the hole between every bar being no wider than to thrust in

The Vidame of Amiens, at this time, was Jean d'Ailly, Knight, Baron of Picquigny, Raineval, La Broye, Merancourt, and Poissy, and councillor and chamberlain of King Louis XI. He married Yolande de Bourgogne, a natural daughter of Duke Philip the Good; and died in

a man's arm; the top was covered only with boards to keep off the rain, and the body of it was big enough to contain ten or twelve men of a side, with the bars running across to both sides of the bridge, to hinder any person from passing over it either to the one side or the other; and in the river there was only one little boat rowed by two men, to convey over such as had a mind to cross it.

I will now relate the reason that induced the king to have the place of their interview contrived after such a fashion, that there should be no passage from one side to the other; and perhaps the time may come, when this may be useful to some persons, who may have the same occasion. During the minority of Charles VII. the kingdom of France was much infested by the English. Henry V. lay before Rouen*, and had straitened it very much, and the greatest part of those in the town were either subjects, or partisans of John, Duke of Burgundy, who was then reigning.

There had been a long and great difference between John, Duke of Burgundy, and the Duke of Orleans, and the whole kingdom, or most of it, was engaged in their quarrel, to the prejudice of the king's affairs; for faction never begins in any country, but it is difficult to extinguish, and dangerous in the end. In this quarrel that I speak of, the Duke of Orleans had been killed in Paris one year before. Duke John had a powerful army, and advanced to raise the siege of Rouen; that he might do it with more ease, and assure himself of the king's friendship, it was agreed that the king§ and he should have an interview at Montereau-Fault-Yonne, where a bridge was erected, with a barrier in the midst, and

This was in the year 1418.

†The frequent attacks of insanity to which King Charles VI. was subject, rendered it impossible for him to govern alone, and the administration of the affairs of the kingdom was therefore entrusted to his brother the Duke of Orleans, and to his cousin the Duke of Burgundy. Neither of these princes was, however, satisfied with a mere share in the royal power; and on the 23rd of November, 1407, the Duke of Orleans was assassinated by order of the Duke of Burgundy. Hence arose a civil war, which lasted until 1435.

This should be eleven years

(1407-1418).

$ Charles VII. was at this time Dauphin only, as his father did not die until 1422. It was not until after the capture of Rouen by Henry V. that the dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy became reconciled, and signed a peace at Arras on the 11th of July, 1419.

T

in the middle of the barrier a little wicket, which was bolted on both sides; by which means, and by the consent of both parties, they might pass to either side. The king came on one side, and Duke John on the other, both attended with a strong party of their guards, but especially Duke John; they met, and had a long conference upon the bridge, and about the duke's person there were not above three or four at the most. In the height of their discourse, the duke (either by the persuasion of others, or out of a desire to pay a more than ordinary respect to his majesty) unbolted the wicket on his side, and it being opened by the others, he passed through it to the king, and was immediately slain *, himself and all those who attended him; which was the occasion of abundance of mischief that ensued afterwards, as everybody knows: but this is not material to my design, so I shall speak of it no farther, only let me tell you, you have the story just as the king told it me himself, when he sent me to choose a place, commanding expressly that there should be no door; for said he, if that had not been, there had been no means of inviting the duke to the other side, and then that misfortune had been prevented, the principal contrivers and executors of which were some of the murdered Duke of Orleans' servants, who were present at that time, and had great authority with King Charles VII.

CH. X. Of the Interview between the two Kings, and of their swearing to the Truce which had been concluded before; and how some fancied the Holy Ghost descended upon the King of England's Tent in the Shape of a White Pigeon.-1475.

THE barrier being finished, and the place fitted for the interview, as you have already heard, on the next day, which was the 29th of August, 1475, the two kings appeared. The King of France came first, attended by about 800 menat-arms: on the King of England's side, his whole army was drawn up in order of battle; and though we could not discover their whole force, yet we saw such a vast number

* On the 10th of September, 1419.

both of horse and foot, that the body of troops that were with us seemed very inconsiderable in comparison with them; but indeed the fourth part of our army was not there. It was given out that twelve men of a side were to be with each of the kings at the interview, and that they were already chosen from among their greatest and most trusty courtiers. With us we had four of the King of England's party to view what was done among us, and they had as many of ours, on their side, to have an eye over their actions. As I said before, our king came first to the barrier, attended by twelve persons; among whom were John, Duke of Bourbon, and the Cardinal his brother. It was the king's royal pleasure (according to an old and common custom that he had), that I should be dressed like him on that day.

The King of England advanced along the causeway (which I mentioned before) very nobly attended, with the air and presence of a king: there were in his train his brother the Duke of Clarence, the Earl of Northumberland*, his chamberlain the Lord Hastings, his Chancellor, and other peers of the realm; among whom there were not above three or four dressed in cloth of gold like himself. The King of England wore a black velvet cap upon his head, with a large fleur de lys made of precious stones upon it: he was a prince of a noble and majestic presence, but a little inclining to corpulence. I had seen him before when the Earl of Warwick drove him out of his kingdom; then I thought him much handsomer, and to the best of my remembrance, my eyes had never beheld a more handsome person. When he came within a little distance of the barrier, he pulled off his cap, and bowed himself within half a foot of the ground; and the King of France, who was then leaning against the barrier, received him with abundance of reverence and respect. They embraced through the holes of the grate, and the King of England making him another low bow, the King of France saluted him thus: "Cousin, you are heartily welcome; there is no person living I was so ambitious of seeing, and God be thanked that this interview is upon so good an occasion.'

Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was the son of Henry Percy and Eleanor Poynings. He married Maud, daughter of William Herbert, first Earl of Pembroke. He was killed in a popular riot, during the fourth year of the reign of King Henry VII.

The King of England returned the compliment in very good French.

Then the Chancellor of England (who was a prelate, and Bishop of Lisle *) began his speech with a prophecy (with which the English are always provided) that at Picquigny a memorable peace was to be concluded between the English and French. After he had finished his harangue, the instrument was produced which contained the articles the King of France had sent to the King of England. The Chancellor demanded of our king, whether he had dictated the said articles? and whether he agreed to them? The king replied, Yes: and King Edward's letters being produced on our side, he made the same answer. The missal being then brought and opened, both the kings laid one of their hands upon the book, and the other upon the holy true cross, and both of them swore religiously to observe the contents of the truce, which was, that it should stand firm and good for nine years complete; that the allies on both sides should be comprehended; and that the marriage between their children should be consummated, as was stipulated by the said treaty. After the two kings had sworn to observe the treaty, our king (who had always words at command) told the King of England in a jocular way, he should be glad to see his majesty at Paris; and that if he would come and divert himself with the ladies, he would assign him the Cardinal of Bourbon for his confessor, who he knew would willingly absolve him, if he should commit any sin by way of love and gallantry. The King of England was extremely pleased with his raillery, and made his majesty several good repartees, for he knew the cardinal was a jolly companion.

After some discourse to this purpose, our king, to show his authority, commanded us who attended him to withdraw, for he had a mind to have a little private discourse with the King of England. We obeyed, and those who were with

* The personage here alluded to by Commines, is Thomas of Rotherham, who was born on the 24th of August, 1423, and became Keeper of the Great Seal, Bishop of Rochester in 1468, Bishop of Lincoln in 1471, and Archbishop of York in 1480. He was appointed Lord High Chancellor of England in 1474, and with an interval of two years, occupied that post until his death, on the 29th of May, 1500. Commines here mistakes Lisle for Lincoln,