eir own right and inheritance; and, to convince them he could
subsist without their alliance, he was resolved not to make use of the
truce until the king had been three months in England. Having unburthened
himself in this manner, the duke took his leave, and returned to
Luxembourg. The king of England and his council were extremely irritated by
his language, but others who were adverse to the peace highly extolled it.

But, however dissatisfied the duke was with the truce, the constable of
France had cause to be still more so: for, having deceived all parties, he
could expect nothing but inevitable ruin. He made one more attempt to
ingratiate himself with king Edward, by offering him the towns of Eu and
St. Valery for winter quarters, and a loan of 50,000 crowns; but king Louis
immediately received intimation of this, and at once ordered the two towns
to be burned. King Edward returned to the constable this answer, "That the
truce was already concluded, and could not be altered; but, had the
constable performed his former promise (as to the town of St. Quentin), the
truce would never have been made." This answer stung the constable to the
very soul, and made him desperate on all sides.

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, whi