They do not seem to require much explanation, however. He had
not been met half way in Germany and was highly displeased at the
failure. Declining all further entertainment proffered by the cities,
he travelled back to Besancon by way of Stuttgart and Basel. In the
early autumn he was at Dijon.

During this summer, negotiations about Charles's marriage had
continued. The Duke of Bourbon was inclined to chaffer about the dowry
demanded by Philip. One of the estates asked for was Chinon, and it
was urged that it, a male fief, was not capable of alienation. Philip
was not inclined to accept this reason as final and the negotiations
hung fire, much to the distress of the Duchess of Bourbon, who feared
a breach between her husband and brother. Naive are the phrases in one
of her letters as quoted by Chastellain[11]:

"MY VERY DEAR SEIGNEUR AND BROTHER,

"I have heard all Boudault's message from you ... To be brief,
Monseigneur is content and ready to accede the points that you
demand. It seems to me that you ought to give him easy terms and
that you ought to put aside any grudge you may cherish against
him. Monseigneur, since I consider the thing as done, I beg you to
celebrate the nuptials as soon as possible although not without me
as you have promised me."[12]

The king, too, was interested in the matter, and wrote as follows to
Duke Philip:

"DEAR AND MUCH LOVED BROTHER:

"Some time ago my cousin of Bourbon informed me of the
negotiations for the marriage of my cousin of Charolais, your son,
to my cousin Isabella of Bourbon, his daughter, which marriage
has been deferred, as he writes me, because he does not wish to
alienate to his daughter the seignory of Chateau-Chinon. It is not
possible for him to do this on account of the marriage agreement
of our daughter Jeanne and my cousin of Clermont, his son, wherein
it was stipulated that Chateau-Chinon should go to them and their
heirs. Moreover, it cannot descend in the female line, and in
default of heirs male it must return to the crown as a true
appanage of France.

"Lest, peradventure, you may doubt the truth of this, and imagine
that the point is urged by our cousin of Bourbon simply as an
excuse for not ceding the estate, we assure you that it is true,
and was considered in arranging the alliance of our daughter so
that it is beyond the power of our cousin of B