of all the irregularities of which the queen was the centre, and
in which Louis de Bosredon was, he said, at that time her principal
accomplice. Charles, in spite of the cloud upon his mind, could hardly
have been completely ignorant cf such facts; but it is not necessary to
be a king to experience extreme displeasure on learning that offensive
scandals are almost public, and on hearing the whole tale of them. The
king, carried away by his anger, went straight to Vincennes, had a
violent scene with his wife, and caused Bosredon to be arrested,
imprisoned, and put to the question; and he, on his own confession it is
said, was thrown into the Seine, sewn up in a leathern sack, on which
were inscribed the words, "Let the king's justice run its course!"
Charles VI. and Armagnac did not stop there. Queen Isabel was first of
all removed from the council and stripped of all authority, and then
banished to Tours, where commissioners were appointed to watch over her
conduct, and not to let her even write a letter without their seeing it.
But royal personages can easily elude such strictness. A few months
after her banishment, whilst the despotism of Armagnac and the war
between the king and the Duke of Burgundy were still going on, Queen
Isabel managed to send to the duke, through one of her servants, her
golden seal, which John the Fearless well knew, with a message to the
effect that she would go with him if he would come to fetch her. On the
night of November 1, 1417, the Duke of Burgundy hurriedly raised the
siege of Corbeil, advanced with a body of troops to a position within two
leagues from Tours, and sent the queen notice that he was awaiting her.
Isabel ordered her three custodians to go with her to mass at the Convent
of Marmoutier, outside the city. Scarcely was she within the church when
a Burgundian captain, Hector de Saveuse, presented himself with sixty men
at the door. "Look to your safety, madame," said her custodians to
Isabel; "here is a large company of Burgundians or English." "Keep close
to me," replied the queen. Hector de Saveuse at that moment entered and
saluted the queen on behalf of the Duke of Burgundy. "Where is he?"
asked the queen. "He will not be long coming." Isabel ordered the
captain to arrest her three custodians; and two hours afterwards Duke
John arrived with his men-at-arms. "My dearest cousin," said the queen
to him, "I ought to love you above every man in the realm; you have l