to the conspiracy, received a general pardon from the king.

This business being thus concluded, Henry put to sea, and landed near Harfleur, at the head of six thousand men at arms, and twenty-four thousand foot, mostly archers. He began immediately the siege of that place, which, though valiantly defended, was obliged to capitulate. The fatigues of this siege, and the unusual heat of the season, had so wasted the English army, that Henry, who had dismissed his transports as they could not anchor in an open road upon the enemy's coasts, found himself under the necessity of marching by land to Calais before he could reach a place of safety. A French army of fourteen thousand men at arms and forty thousand foot was at this time assembled in Normandy, under the constable d'Albret, a force so superior to the English army, that Henry cautiously offered to sacrifice his conquest of Harfleur, for a safe passage to Calais. But his proposal being rejected, he determined to make his way through all the opposition of the enemy. That he might not discourage his army by the appearance of flight, he made slow journies till he reached the Somme, which he purposed to pass at the same place, where Edward, in a like situation, had escaped from Philip of Valois. But he found the ford rendered impassable and guarded by a strong body; and he he was obliged to march higher up the river to seek for a safe passage. He was continually harassed in his march, and found every where, bodies of troops ready to oppose his attempts; his soldiers languished with sickness, and his affairs seemed to be reduced to a desperate situation, when he succeeded in seizing by surprise a passage near St, Quintin, and he safely carried over his army. But the enemy soon passed the Somme, and threw them

selves full in his way to intercept his retreat. He observed the French army drawn up in the plains of Azincourt, and so posted, that it was impossible for him to proceed on his march without coming to an engagement. His situation was exactly similar to that of Edward at Crecy, and that of the Black Prince at Poitiers, and the memory of these glorious events, inspiring the English with courage, made them hope for a like deliverance from their present difficulties.

Henry having to fight against an army four times more numerous than his own, observed the same prudent conduct which had been followed by these illustrious generals, and obtained the same success.

No battle was ever more fatal to France, by the number of princes and nobility slain or taken prisoners, Among the former were six princes of the blood, the constable, and John of Montaigu, archbishop of Sens and chancellor. The most eminent prisoners were the dukes of Orleans and Bourbon, the counts d'Eu, Vendome, and Richemont, and the mareschal of Boucicaut. The killed are computed on the whole at ten thousand men, and the prisoners amounted to fourteen thousand. The person of chief note who fell among the English, was the duke of York.

This victory had the same consequences as those of Crecy and Poitiers; in all of them the English princes, instead of pushing the French with vigour, and taking advantage of their consternation, seem rather to have relaxed their efforts, and to have allowed the enemy leisure to recover from his losses, Henry, immediately after the battle of Azincourt, continued his march to Calais, where he carried his prisoners, and thence to England; he even concluded a truce of two years with the enemy.

During this interruption of hostilities from England, France was a prey to all the furies of civil war

excited by the factions of Burgundy, Orleans, and Armagnac, and fomented by the intrigues of the queen Isabella of Bavaria, as well known for her ambition and implacable spirit of revenge, as she was generally despised for her avarice and gallantries. She had been hitherto an inveterate enemy to the Burgundian faction; but the great treasures she had amassed having been seized at the instigation of the count of Armagnac, and being herself confined at Tours under a guard, she no longer scrupled to enter into a correspondence with the duke of Burgundy, (Jean sans peur.) She even extended her animosity to her son the Dauphin Charles, a youth of sixteen years, who was entirely governed by the faction of Armagnac. The duke of Burgundy in concert with her entered France at the head of a great army, and made himself master of the principal towns in Picardy and Champaign, and of many others in Normandy, Burgundy, and in the neighbourhood of Paris. Meanwhile his partizans raised a commotion in Paris; one of his captains, received into the city during the night, headed the insurrec tion of the people, which in a moment became so impetuous that nothing could oppose it. The person of the king was seized, the Dauphin made his escape with great difficulty; great numbers of the faction of Armagnac were immediately butchered; the count himself, and many persons of note, were thrown into prison, and soon after put to death by the populace, as well as all the other nobility who were there confined.

Ann. 1418, 1419.

Henry invades Normandy at the head of twenty. five thousand men, succeeds in subduing without any considerable opposition from any quarter all the lower Normandy, and having received a rein

forcement of fifteen thousand men from England, he forms the siege of Rouen. The cardinal des Ursins, attempting to incline him to moderate his pretensions, he replied to him, "Do you not see, that God has led me hither as by the hand? France has no sovereign; I have just pretensions to that kingdom; every thing is here in the utmost confusion; no one thinks of resisting me. Can I have a more sensible proof that the Being who disposes of empires, has determined to put the crown of France upon my head ?"

Henry, however, still continued to negociate with his enemies, and endeavoured to obtain more secure though less considerable advantages. He made at the same time offers of peace to the queen and duke of Burgundy, on one hand, who having possession of the king's person, carried the appearance of legal authority, and to the Dauphin on the other, who being the undoubted heir to the monarchy was adhered to by every one that paid any regard to the true interests of their country. After many negociations, the king offered Isabella and the duke of Burgundy to make peace with them, to marry the princess Catherine, and to accept of all the provinces ceded to Edward III. by the treaty of Bretigni, with the addition of Normandy, which he was to receive in full and entire sovereignty. These terms were submitted to; there remained only some circumstances to adjust for the entire completion of the treaty; but in this interval, the duke of Burgundy secretly concluded his treaty with the Dauphin; and these two princes agreed to share the royal authority during king Charles's life time, and to unite their arms in order to expel foreign enemies. The two princes agreed to an interview, where the means of rendering effectual their common attack on the English were to be concerted; but how both or either of them could

with safety enter upon this conference, was not an easy matter to settle. The assassination of the duke of Orleans lately perpetrated by the duke of Burgundy, and still more, his open avowal of the deed, and defence of the doctrine, tended so much to dissolve all the bands of civil society, that even men of honour who detested the example, might deem it just, on a favourable opportunity, to retaliate upon the author. The duke, therefore, who neither dared to give nor could pretend to expect any trust, agreed to all the contrivances for mutual security, which were proposed by the ministers of the Dauphin. The bridge of Montereau was chosen for the place of interview. The gates on each side were guarded, one by the officers of the Dauphin, the other by those of the duke. The princes were to enter into the intermediate space by the opposite gates, accompanied each by ten persons; but in spite of all these precautions, Tannegui du Châtel, and others of the Dauphin's retainers, who had been attached to the duke of Orleans, no sooner entered the bridge than they rushed sword in hand upon the duke of Burgundy, and murdered him. All his friends who accompanied him shared his fate, or were taken prisoners,

This unexpected incident changed the whole statę of affairs. The queen Isabella, the court of the king Charles, his ministers, and the city of Paris, broke out into the highest fury against the Dauphin. But above all, Philip count of Charolois, now duke of Burgundy, resolved to revenge the murder of his father by any means, and to prosecute the assas sin to the utmost extremity. A league was immediately concluded at Arras, between him and the king of England. Count of Charolois, without stipulating any thing for himself, except the prosecution of his father's murder, and the marriage of Henry's brother the duke of Bedford, with his sister, was