Part 4

In order to bring the treaty to a conclusion, king Edward advanced within half a league of Amiens; and the king of France, being upon one of the gates of the city, (where he had arrived on the 22d of August,) viewed from a distance the English army marching up. "Speaking impartially, (continues Commines,) the troops seemed but raw and unused to action in the field; for they were in very ill order, and observed no manner of discipline. Our king sent the king of England 300 cartloads[59] of the best wines in France as a present, and I think the {xxxv} carts made as great a show as the whole English army. Upon the strength of the truce, numbers of the English came into the town, where they behaved themselves very imprudently, and without the least regard to their prince's honour; for they entered the streets all armed, and in great companies, so that if the king of France could have dispensed with his oath, never was there so favourable an opportunity of cutting off a considerable number of them; but his majesty's design was only to entertain them nobly, and to settle a firm and lasting peace, that might endure during his reign. The king had ordered two long tables to be placed on either side the street, at the entrance of the town gate, which were covered with a variety of good dishes of all sorts of viands most likely to relish their wine, of which there was great plenty, and of the richest that France could produce, with a troop of servants to wait on them; but not a drop of water was drank. At each of the tables the king had placed five or six boon companions, persons of rank and condition, to entertain those who had a mind to take a hearty glass, amongst whom were the lord of Craon, the lord of Briquebec, the lord of Bressure, the lord of Villiers, and several others. As the English came up to the gate, they saw what was prepared, and there were persons appointed on purpose to take their horses by the bridles and lead them to the tables, where every man was treated handsomely, as he came in his turn, to their very great satisfaction. When they had once entered the town, wherever they went, or whatever they called for, nothing was to be paid; there were nine or ten taverns liberally furnished with all that they wanted, the French king bearing all the costs of that entertainment, which lasted three or four days."

On Childermas day (the 28th of August[60]) the license of the English visitors had grown to such a height, that it was. estimated that there were at least 9000 of them in the town. The councillors of Louis were alarmed, and although on that day the superstitious monarch never spoke upon business, nor allowed any one else to address him thereon, but took it as an ill omen, Commines was induced to disturb his devotions, in order to inform him of the state of affairs. The king commanded him immediately to get on horseback, and endeavour to speak with some of the English captains of note, to persuade them to order their troops to retire, and if he met any of the French captains to send them to him, for he {xxxvi} would be at the gate as soon as Commines. Commines met three or four English commanders of his acquaintance, and spoke to them according to the king's directions; but for one man that they directed to leave the town, there were twenty that came in. In company with the lord of Gie (afterwards marechal of France) Commines went into a tavern, where, though it was not yet one o'clock, there had already been a hundred and eleven reckonings that morning. The house was filled with company; some were singing, others were asleep, and all were drunk; upon observing which circumstance, Commines concluded there was no danger, and sent to inform the king of it; who came immediately to the gate, well attended, having commanded 200 or 300 men at arms to be harnessed privately in their captains' houses, some of whom he posted at the gate by which the English entered. The king then ordered his dinner to be brought to the porter's lodgings at the gate, where he dined, and did several English captains the honour of admitting them to dinner with him. The king of England had been informed of this disorder, and was much ashamed of it, and sent to the king of France to desire him to admit no more of his soldiers into the town. The king of France sent him word back he would not do that, but if the king of England pleased to send a party of his own guards thither, the gate should be delivered up to their charge, and they then might let in or shut out whomever they pleased, which was done accordingly.

In order to bring the whole affair to a conclusion, consultation was now taken for the place that might be most convenient for the proposed interview between the two kings, and commissioners were appointed to survey it,--the lord du Bouchage and Commines on the French part, and the lord Howard, Thomas St. Leger, and a herald on the English. Upon taking view of the river, they agreed upon Picquigny, where the Somme is neither wide nor fordable. On the one side, by which king Louis would approach, was a fine open country; and on the other side it was the same, only when king Edward came to the river, he was obliged to traverse a causeway about two bow-shots in length, with marshes on both sides, "which might (remarks Commines) 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 openly, and with greater straightforwardness; yet a man must be careful, and take heed not to affront them, for it is dangerous meddling with them."

When the place of meeting was settled, the next business was to build a bridge, {xxxvii} which was done by French carpenters. The bridge was large and strong, and in the midst was contrived a massive wooden lattice, such as lions' cages were made with, every aperture between the bars being no wider than to admit a man's arm; at the top were merely boards to keep off the rain, and the area was large enough to contain ten or twelve men on a side, the bars running full out to either side of the bridge, to hinder any person from passing either to the one side or the other. For passage across the river there was provided only one small boat, rowed by two men.

The incident in French history which suggested these extraordinary precautions had occurred fifty-six years before; when, at a similar meeting upon a bridge at Montereau fault Yonne, John duke of Burgundy and his attendants were treacherously slaughtered in the presence of Charles the Seventh (then Dauphin), in revenge for the murder of Louis duke of Orleans. In the barricade of that fatal bridge there was a wicket, which the duke himself incautiously opened; a circumstance which the timid Louis well remembered, and he now repeated the story to Commines, and expressly commanded that there should be no such doorway.

When the bridge at Picquigny was ready, the interview between the two kings took place on the 29th of August 1475. The description which Commines gives of it is highly graphic and interesting: "The king of France came first, attended by about 800 men of arms. On the king of England's side, his whole army was drawn up in battle array; and, though we could not ascertain their total force, yet we saw such a vast number both of horse and foot, that the body of troops which was with us seemed very inconsiderable in comparison with them; but indeed the fourth part of our army was not there. It was arranged that twelve men of a side were to attend each of the kings at the interview, and they were already chosen from among their greatest and most trusty courtiers. We had with us four of the king of England's retinue 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 barriers, attended by twelve persons, among whom were John duke of Bourbon and the cardinal his brother.[61] It was the king's pleasure (according to his old and frequent custom) that I should be dressed like him that day.[62]"

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"The king of England advanced along the causeway very nobly attended, with the air and presence of a king." Commines recognised 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 wore a black velvet cap upon his head, and on it a large fleur-de-lis made of precious stones--[probably as a compliment to the French king]. 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, in 1470[63]; 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 apertures of the barriers, 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 desirous of seeing; and God be thanked that this interview is upon so good an occasion.' King Edward returned the compliment in very good French[64]."

{xxxix}

"Then the chancellor of England (who was a prelate, and bishop of Lincoln) 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 containing the articles which the king of France had sent to the king of England. The chancellor demanded of the king, whether he had dictated the said articles? and whether he agreed to them? The king replied, Yes; and when king Edward's letters were produced on our side, he made the like 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.

"This solemnity performed, king Louis (who had always words at command) told king Edward in a jocular way that he should be glad to see him at Paris, and that if he would come and divert himself with the ladies, he would assign the cardinal of Bourbon for his confessor, who he knew would willingly absolve him if he should commit any peccadillo in the way of love and gallantry. King Edward was extremely pleased with his raillery, and made him many good repartees, for he was aware that the cardinal was a gay man with the ladies, and a boon companion.

"After some further discourse to this purpose, the French king, to shew his authority, commanded those who attended him to withdraw, for he had a mind to have a little private discourse with the king of England. They obeyed; and those who were with king Edward, seeing the French retire, did the same, without waiting to be commanded. After the two kings had conversed together alone for some time, our master (continues Commines) called me to him, and asked the king {xl} of England whether he knew me. King Edward said that he did, naming the places where he had seen me, and told the king that I had formerly endeavoured to serve him at Calais, when I was in the duke of Burgundy's service. The king of France demanded, If the duke of Burgundy refused to be comprehended in the treaty--as might be suspected from his obstinate answer--what the king of England would have him do? The king of England replied, he would offer it to him a second time, and, if he then refused it, he would not concern himself any further, but leave it entirely to themselves. By degrees king Louis came to mention the duke of Bretagne, who was really the person he aimed at in the question, and made the same demand as to him. The king of England desired that he would not attempt anything against the duke of Bretagne, for in his distress he had never found so true and faithful a friend. Louis then pressed him no further, but, recalling the company, took his leave of king Edward[65] in the politest and most flattering terms imaginable, and saluted all his attendants with especial courtesy; whereupon both monarchs at the same time retired from the barrier, and, mounting on horseback, the king of France returned to Amiens, and the king of England to his army. King Edward was supplied from the French household with whatever he required, to the very torches and candles."

By the treaty thus concluded king Edward engaged to return to England with his army so soon as king Louis had paid him the sum of 75,000 crowns. A truce for seven years was concluded between the two sovereigns; and they mutually undertook to assist each other in case either prince should be attacked by his enemies or by his rebellious subjects; and, to make this alliance still closer, Charles the son of Louis was to wed the princess Elizabeth, king Edward's eldest daughter, so soon as they were both of marriageable age.

By the fourth and last article, the king of France engaged to pay annually to the king of England, in two instalments, the sum of 50,000 crowns.

Commines states that the duke of Gloucester, king Edward's younger brother, and some other Englishmen of high rank, being averse to the treaty, were not present at the interview; though (he adds) they afterwards recollected themselves, and the duke of Gloucester waited upon king Louis at Amiens, where he was splendidly entertained, and received noble presents both of plate and of fine horses.

{xli}

The chronicler Jean de Molinet also mentions the duke of Gloucester's disapproval of the peace, although, as we have seen, he had signed the preliminary articles of agreement on the 13th of August. It is by no means inconsistent with the aspiring character of Richard duke of Gloucester--who at this period was not twenty-three years of age--that he should have affected to place himself at the head of the more martial and chivalrous party of the English nobility, and that Commines had good information of his policy in that respect.

The same delightful historian, who, not content with barren facts, confidentially introduces his readers into the secret motives and reflections of the actors in his story, supplies some remarkable particulars of the sentiments of his master king Louis on the result of this memorable interview, which form as it were the finishing touches of his picture.

Whilst Louis was riding back to Amiens, he expressed his misgivings upon two incidents in what had passed. One was that the king of England had so readily caught at the idea of visiting Paris. "He is (said Louis,) a handsome prince, a great admirer of the ladies, and who knows but that he might find one of them at Paris, who would say so many pretty things to him, as to make him desirous to come again? His ancestors have been too often in Paris and Normandy already; and I do not care for his company so near, though on the other side of the water I shall be ready to esteem him as my friend and brother." Louis was also displeased to find the English king so resolute in relation to the duke of Bretagne, upon whom he would fain have made war; and to that purpose he made him further overtures by the lord de Bouchage and the lord de St. Pierre; but when Edward found himself pressed, he gave them this short but honourable answer, that if any one invaded the duke of Bretagne's dominions he would cross the sea again in his defence. Upon which the French king importuned him no more.

When Louis was arrived at Amiens, and was ready to go to supper, three or four of the English lords, who had attended upon the king of England at the interview, came to sup with his majesty; and one of them, the lord Howard, told the king in his ear that, if he desired it, he would readily find a way to bring the king his master to him to Amiens, and perhaps to Paris too, to be merry with him. Though this proposition was not in the least agreeable to Louis, yet he dissembled the matter pretty well, and began washing his hands, without giving a direct answer; but he whispered to Commines, and said that what he had dreaded was really coming to pass. After supper the subject was renewed, but the king then put it off with the greatest quietness and tact {xlii} imaginable, alleging that his expedition against the duke of Burgundy would require his departure immediately.

Thus, (as our pleasant friend remarks,) though these affairs were of the highest moment, and required the gravest caution to manage them discreetly, yet they were not unattended by some agreeable incidents that deserve to be related to posterity. Nor ought any man to wonder, considering the great mischiefs which the English had brought upon the kingdom of France, and the freshness of their date, that the king should incur so much trouble and expense to send them home in an amicable manner, and endeavour to make them his friends for the future, or at least divert them from being his enemies.

The next day the English came into Amiens in great numbers, and some of them reported that the Holy Ghost had made the peace, producing some prophecy in support of the assertion: but their greatest proof was that during the interview a white dove came and sat upon the king of England's tent, and could not be frightened away by any noise they could make. The less superstitious, however, explained the incident more rationally; a shower having fallen, and the sun afterwards shining out very warm, when the pigeon, finding that tent higher than the others, came thither to dry herself. This was the explanation given to Commines by a Gascon gentleman named Louis de Bretailles,[66] who was in the king of England's service. This gentleman was one of those who saw further than others into the state of affairs, and, being an old acquaintance of Commines, he privately {xliii} expressed his opinion that the French were making sport of the king of England. During the conversation, Commines asked him how many battles king Edward had fought. He answered nine, and that he had been in every one of them in person. Commines then asked how many he had lost. Bretailles replied, Never but one; and that was this, in which the French had outwitted him now; for in his opinion the ignominy of king Edward's returning so soon after such vast preparations, would be a greater disgrace and stain to his reputation than all the honour he had achieved in his nine previous victories. Commines repeated this smart answer to his master, who replied, He is a shrewd fellow, I warrant him, and we must have a care of his tongue. The next day Louis sent for him, had him to dinner at his own table, and made him very advantageous proposals, if he would quit his master's service, and live in France; but, finding he was not to be prevailed upon, he presented him with a thousand crowns, and promised he would do great matters for his brothers in France. Upon his going away, Commines whispered him in his ear, and desired him to employ his good offices to continue and propagate that love and good understanding which was so happily begun between the two kings.

Though Louis could scarcely conceal his delight and self-gratulation at the success of his policy, yet his timidity was continually revived when he imagined that he had dropped any expressions that might reach the ears of the English, and make them suspect that he had overreached and deluded them. On the morning following the interview, being alone in his closet with only three or four of his attendants, he began to droll and jest upon the wines and presents which he had sent into the English camp, but, turning suddenly round, he became aware of the presence of a Gascon merchant who lived in England, and was come to solicit license to export a certain quantity of Bordeaux wines without paying the duties. Louis was startled at seeing him, and wondered how he had gained admission. The king asked him of what town in Guienne he was, whether he was a merchant, and whether married in England. The man replied yes, he had a wife in England, but what estate he had there was but small. Before he went away, the king appointed one to go with him to Bordeaux, and Commines had also some talk with him, by his majesty's express command. Louis conferred on him a considerable post of employment in his native town, granted him exemption from duty {xliv} for his wines, and gave him a thousand francs to bring his wife over from England, but he was to send his brother for her, and not go personally to fetch her; and all these penalties the king imposed upon himself for having indulged in too great freedom of speech.

As soon as king Edward had received his money, and delivered the lord Howard and sir John Cheyne as hostages until he was landed in England, he retired towards Calais by long and hasty marches, for he was suspicious of the duke of Burgundy's anger, and the vengeance of the peasants; and, indeed, if any of his soldiers straggled, some of them were sure to be knocked on the head.

"Uppon the xxviijth daye of Septembre folowynge he was with great tryumphe receyved of the mayor and cytezeyns of London at Blakheth, and with all honoure by theym conveyed thorugh the cytie unto Westmynster, the mayer and aldermen beynge clade in scarlet, and the commoners to the nombre of v C. in murrey."[67]

The treacherous constable of France again turning round, in order if possible to recover his lost favour with his own sovereign,[68] sent a messenger to Louis, offering to persuade the duke of Burgundy to join his forces with the king's, and destroy the king of England and his whole army on their return. But this last shift of the baffled traitor only contributed to confirm his ruin. King Edward communicated to Louis (probably before this offer) two letters which the constable had addressed to him, and related all the proposals he had from time to time made; so that his three-fold treasons were revealed to all the princes with whose rival interests he had endeavoured to play his own game, and they were all alike provoked to join in his destruction.

Louis contemplated his punishment with the bitterest animosity. When he received the overture above stated, there were only in his presence the lord {xlv} Howard the English hostage, the lord de Coutay, who was newly returned from an embassy to the duke of Burgundy, the lord du Lude, and Commines, which two had been employed to receive the constable's messenger. The king, calling for one of his secretaries, dictated a letter to the constable, acquainting him with what had been transacted the day before in relation to the truce; and adding that at that instant he had weighty affairs upon his hands, and wanted such a head as his to finish them. Then turning to the English nobleman and to the lord de Coutay, he said, "I do not mean his body. I would have his head with me, and his body where it is." After the letter had been read, Louis delivered it to Rapine the constable's messenger, who was mightily pleased with it, and took it as a great compliment in the king to write that he wanted such a head as his master's, for he did not perceive the ambiguity and sting of the expression.