fe was conceded to the inmates
but that was all. All their property was confiscated. The Count of St.
Pol, now Constable of France, tried to intercede for the citizens with
Philip who remained at Bouvignes, but to no result. It might have been
chance or it might have been intentional that at last flames completed
the work of destruction. The abode of Adolph of Cleves, at the corner
of Notre Dame, was found to be on fire at about one o'clock in the
morning of Thursday, August 28th.

That Charles was responsible for this conflagration Du Clercq thinks
is incredible.[26] He would certainly have saved all ecclesiastical
property which was almost completely consumed. Indeed, Charles gave
orders to extinguish the flames as soon as they were discovered, but
every one was so occupied with saving his own portion of booty that
nothing was accomplished and the town-hall caught fire and the church
of Notre Dame. From the latter some ornaments and treasures were saved
and the bones of Ste. Perpete, with other holy relics, were rescued by
Charles himself at risk to his own life.

"It was never known how the fire originated. Some say it was
due to a defective flue. To my mind," [concludes the pious
historian],[27] "it was the Divine Will that Dinant should be
destroyed on account of the pride and ill deeds of the people. I
trust to God who knows all. The duke's people alone lost more than
a hundred thousand crowns' value."

_Cy fust Dinant_, "Dinant was," is the sum of his description, four
days after the conflagration.[28]

On September 1st, Philip, who had remained at Bouvignes while all this
passed under the direction of Charles, took boat and sailed down to
Namur. It was almost a triumph,--that trip that proved one of the last
ever made by the proud duke--and the procession on the river and the
entry into Namur were closed by a humble embassy from Liege in regard
to certain points of their peace.

Du Clercq gravely relates, by the way, that the Count of St. Pol's men
had had no part in the plunder of Dinant. This was hard on the
poor fellows. Therefore, Philip turned over to their mercies, as a
compensation for this deprivation, the little town of Tuin, which had
been rebellious and then submitted. Tuin accepted its fate, submitted
to St. Pol, and then compounded the right of pillage for a round sum
of money. Moreover, they promised to lay low their gates and their
walls and those of St. Trond. In thi