ng 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