dermined; and to burst in a mass into the camp of the enemy; where, if they could not win a way with their swords, they would at least find an honourable death. The knowledge of the design changed the determination of Henry, who had no wish that Rouen should be reduced to a heap of ashes. He gave the men at arms their lives and liberty, on condition that they should not serve against him for twelve months: of the citizens he required a contribution of three hundred thousand crowns, in consideration of which they preserved their property and the franchises of the city. The other fortresses followed the example of the capital; and the Normans submitted to wear the red cross, the distinguishing badge of the English nation.68 CHAP. I. 1419. Jan, 16. ences at The fall of Rouen was felt to the very extre- Confermities of France. It might have been hoped Meulant. that the adverse factions would now forget their animosities, and unite against the common enemy: but every attempt to reconcile them proved ineffectual; and each had again recourse to a separate negociation with Henry. The duke of Burgundy requested a renewal of the conferences for peace; the dauphin solicited a personal interview. For reasons which are not mentioned, the young prince did not keep his ap 68 Rym. ix. 654. Tit. Liv. 60–71. Elm. 176–202. Monstrel. 268.272-274. It was remarked as something very singular that, when the king made his entry into Rouen, he was followed by a page mounted on a spirited charger, and bearing as a pennon the tail of a fox, attached to the head of a spear. Monst. 273. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. I. CHAP. pointment:9 and the duke, improving the opportunity, affected a willingness to assent to the demands of the English king, who was even persuaded to undertake in person the conduct of the negociation. Mante was assigned for the residence of Henry, Pontoise for that of Charles. Between these towns, and in a plain near Meulant, was marked out a square plot of ground, of which one side was washed by the Seine, the other three were enclosed with a deep trench and a line of palisades. The mast of a ship erected in the centre designated the spot, where it was intended that the kings should meet: and two magnificent pavilions, standing near it, offered them the convenience of withdrawing from the view of the spectators. The ground without the enclosure on the right, was allotted to the attendants of Henry, that on the left to the attendants of Charles; and for their accommodation tents were erected, in the decorations of which the two nations strove to outvie each May 30. other. It chanced that on the appointed day the king of France suffered an access of his disorder but in the morning Isabella, her daughter Catharine, and the duke of Burgundy, left Pontoise with a retinue of one thousand horse: and Henry, accompanied by his brothers of Clarence and Glocester, departed at the same time from Mante, escorted by an equal number of 69 Rym. ix. 701. 789. Tit. Liy, 71. Elm. 209. men at arms. I. At a signal they entered the en- CHAP. closure from the opposite sides, and met in the centre at the same moment. Henry bowed to Isabella and her daughter, saluted them, and taking the former by the hand led her into the pavilion. It was the first time that he had seen his intended bride. She was young, graceful, and beautiful; and by the instruction of the queen employed all her charms to make an impression on the heart of the conqueror. Though Henry strove to suppress, he could not conceal, his emotions from the inquisitive eye of the mother. This was sufficient for Isabella. From that moment the daughter was withdrawn from the conferences. It was hoped that her absence would irritate the king's passion, and thus induce him to consent to more favourable conditions.70 June 1. The first conference was employed in arrang- Henry is ing the order of the subsequent discussions. Two cheated. days later Henry stated his demand: the possession of Normandy, his other conquests and the territories ceded by the peace of Bretigny, to be held in full sovereignty, and independently of the French crown. Four days elapsed, when June 5. the ministers of Charles returned their answer. They made no objection to the king's pretensions but brought forward eight demands on the part of their own sovereign, respecting re 70 Monst. i. 276, 277. Tit, Liv. 73, 74. · I. CHAP. nunciations, exchanges of territory, and the payment of debts. Henry fondly persuaded himself that he should at last obtain the prize of his labours. Yet doubts were artfully started, explanations required, and the intervals between the conferences prolonged. In a whole month no more than seven meetings were held : a day July 3. had been appointed for the eight: but the July 11. Surprise of French ministers did not appear, and Henry discovered that his own arts had been turned against himself. The conference, conducted at Meulant with so much parade, was but a feint: the real negociation was carried on between the dauphin and the duke of Burgundy, whose respective demands and replies had been conveyed from one to the other by the secret agency of Madame de Giac. A week after the interruption of the conferences, the two princes met and embraced near Melun on the road to Paris. They bound themselves by oath to forget their former quarrel, to live in amity, to concert measures which might heal the dissensions in the kingdom, and to unite their forces against their enemy the king of England."1 Never had Henry experienced a more cruel disappointment but his passion was gratified by the surprise of Pontoise, a populous town in the neighbourhood of Paris. He immediately 71 Compare Rym. ix. 762. 776. 779. 789, with Elmham, 217226, Livius, 74, 75, and Monstrelet, i. 277–279. I. published a manifesto, in which he boasted of CHAP. his moderation; complained of the fraud of his opponents; and offered, notwithstanding the insult he had lately received, to conclude a peace on the terms which he had formerly proposed, but with this proviso, that Pontoise, with the country lying between that town and Normandy, should be included among the territories to be ceded to the English erown 72 His prospects, however, began to darken. The duration and expenses of the war had provoked the remonstrances of his subjects: the king of Castile had fitted out an armament, which swept the coast of Guienne, and threatened the city of Bayonne ; and the dauphin and duke of Burgundy were preparing to array against him the whole power of France. But if others doubted, he still appeared confident of success: and within a few days that confidence was converted into certainty by an unexpected revolution, which placed one of the two factions at his disposal, and involved the other in calamity and disgrace. the duke Two months had elapsed since the apparent Murder of reconciliation of the dauphin and the Burgun- of Burdian: yet their correspondence shewed how gundy. deeply they mistrusted the sincerity of each other. The duke importuned the prince to join his father's council at Troyes the prince required that the duke should previously meet him 72 Rym. ix. 786.—791. Tít. Liv. 76.. |