revered as a martyr, had not their faith been staggered and scandalized by the non-accomplishment of a prophecy, which he was said to have uttered at the gallows, that he should rise from the grave on the third day.' of Henry. In the spring Henry resumed his victorious career: Conquest and by a reinforcement of fifteen thousand men, was enabled to divide his army, and undertake several operations at the same time. Cherburg, after a resistance of six months, opened its gates the whole of Lower Normandy was reduced; and the king proceeded to settle the government of his conquests. He appointed a treasurer and chancellor of the dutchy; granted his protection to all who swore fealty; abolished the odious tax upon salt; and by the distribution of favours and the suppression of grievances, sought to attach the natives to the person of their new sovereign 2. His progress was viewed with indifference by the rival chiefs, who to gratify their own ambition, scrupled not to sacrifice the independence of their country. A project of reconciliation, framed by the cardinals Ursini and St. Mark, had been gratefully accepted by the Duke of Burgundy, and indignantly rejected by his opponents. From that moment the latter were stigmatized as the enemies of peace, and their interest visibly declined even within the walls of the capital. One night a gate of the city was treacherously May 23. opened to a party of Burgundians; who were instantly joined by thousands of citizens: and the king, unable to stem the torrent, reluctantly gave his sanction to their proceedings. A general arrest followed, and the Massacre ' Rot. Parl. iv. 107-110. Wals. 399, 400. 2 Tit. Liv. 50-58. Elm. 117, 118. in Paris. June 12. count of Armagnac, several ladies and bishops, the lords of the council, the officers of the treasury, and the members of the parliament, were thrown into confinement. But the leaders of the Burgundians were not yet satisfied. By reports and accusations they goaded the passions of the populace to a state of madness: and on the night of the twelfth of June sixty thousand persons assembled in arms, broke open the gaols, and without distinction of rank or sex, guilt or innocence, massacred all the prisoners. At the same time perished numbers of those who were known or suspected to be hostile to the party but one individual, Charles, the third and only surviving son of the king, escaped by the care of Tannegui du Chastel, who took him out of bed, wrapped him in a sheet, and carried him to a place of safety. After these horrors the queen, accompanied by the duke of Burgundy, entered Paris in triumph, and having possession of the king's person, exercised without opposition the royal authority'. But the remains of the opposite faction repaired to Poitiers, proclaimed the young dauphin regent of the kingdom, and established a rival administration. Thus France was divided into two separate governments, more hostile to each other than to their natural enemy, the king of England, and equally desirous to purchase by concessions his assistance for their own interest. Henry listened to their proposals, but obstinately refused to accept them. It was his policy to play off one party against the other; that by working on their apprehensions, he might induce them to rise in their offers. When his ministers met the envoys of the dauphin at Nov. 10. Alençon, they assumed a tone of the most insulting su Negocia tions. 'Monstrel. i. 262-266. periority. It was not for them to bring forward any project: they had come to receive the proposals of the dauphin. The crown of France was the rightful inheritance of Henry. What could his adversary give him as an equivalent? When they had thus drawn from the French negociators a declaration of the offers, which they had been authorized to make, they upbraided them with a want of sincerity; questioned the validity of the powers with which they had been furnished; and hinted a doubt whether their master at so early an age could give sufficient security for the fulfilment of his engagements. This conference was hardly terminated, when a second was opened under the mediation of the cardinal Ursina, with the envoys of the king of France and the duke of Burgundy. They presented to Henry a flattering portrait of the princess Catharine : but the politician would not permit the charms of the lady to weigh in the balance against his interests. During a fortnight he practised upon the hopes and fears, and prejudices of the negociators; and then dismissed them with the remark, that Charles from his infirmity, and the duke from his inferior rank as a vassal, were equally incapable of disposing of the territories belonging to the French crown. 2 The negociations for peace had not interrupted the Rym. ix. 633-645. - › Monstrel. i. 271. In both negociations the English contended that the Latin, the French that the French language should be employed. It was at last agreed that two copies of every instrument should be made, one in each language, and that in case of dispute the Latin should be deemed the authentic copy. This circumstance is deserving of notice, on account of the reason given by Henry, that his ambassadors did not speak or understand the French tongue : a proof that English had by this time become the language of the higher classes. Rym. ix. 655–659. Dec. Siege of July 29. operations of war: and Henry from the reduction of Pont de l'Arche advanced to lay siege to Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy. In time of peace its population was estimated at two hundred thousand souls: but the approach of the enemy had prompted numbers to emigrate; and the magistrates by proclamation had urged the departure of all who were not furnished with provisions for ten months. By the French a confident hope was indulged that Rouen would arrest the victorious career of Henry. Its fortifications were strong: numerous batteries covered its walls: the Seine winding round it, served to protect it from insult : and to fifteen thousand citizens trained to war, had been added four thousand men at arms under the command of Guy de Boutellier, an officer of approved valour and the most ardent patriotism. By his orders the suburbs were immediately burnt, the ground levelled in the neighbourhood of the walls, and the country around reduced to the state of a naked wilderness. At the approach of July 30. the English, he boldly met them in the open field: and though he was repulsed by superior numbers, continued daily to repeat his attacks, destroying their works, beating up their quarters, and disconcerting their operations. The army encamped in six divisions, opposite to the six gates of the city: and to preserve the communication between them, trenches where opened sufficiently deep to screen the passengers from the shot of the enemy. I shall neglect the events of the siege: but the works erected, and the precautions taken by Henry are, from their connexion with the history of the military art, more deserving of notice. The natural and artificial strength of the place, with the number and courage of the garrison, forbade a hope that Rouen could be reduced by force: but it might be starved into submission: and to prevent the introduction of supplies became the great object of the king's solicitude. Lines were drawn round the city, and strengthened with thick hedges of thorns: and without the camp the most commanding situations were chosen, and fortified with towers of wood, batteries of cannon, and engines for the projection of arrows. Still the Seine remained open to the besieged. But a bridge was soon thrown across it above the city; and near the bridge was moored a squadron of boats, which with incredible exertion had been dragged over the land by the labour of men and horses. Below, the navigation was impeded by two booms, each consisting of three strong chains of iron '; and the mouth of the river was carefully watched by a Portuguese fleet in the pay of the English monarch. Two hundred sail of small vessels, employed for the purpose, poured daily supplies of provisions into the camp of the besiegers; but within the walls the privations of famine began to be felt before the expiration of two months. Twelve thousand individuals were expelled from the city by order of the governor. Henry forbade them to be admitted within the lines though a few were supported by the humanity of the troops, the rest perished through want of shelter and food. During the next month the besieged were content to feed on the flesh of their horses; and when that resource failed, contrived for ten weeks to protract their defence with no other nourishment than reptiles and weeds. It was calculated that the number of those, who fell victims to famine and disease, had amounted to fifty and 'One chain was suspended 18 inches within the water, the second level with the surface, the third three feet above it. Mons. 268. |