own of France; they were still in
possession of Calais; and the memory of the battles of Crecy, Poitiers,
and Agincourt was still a tower of strength to them. Between 1470 and
1472 the house of York had triumphed over the house of Lancaster; and
Edward IV. was undisputed king. In his views touching France he found a
natural ally in the Duke of Burgundy; and it was in concert with Charles
that Edward was incessantly concocting and attempting plots and campaigns
against Louis XI. In 1474 he, by a herald, called upon Louis to give up
to him Normandy and Guienne, else, he told him, he would cross over to
France with his army. "Tell your master," answered Louis coolly, "that I
should not advise him to." Next year the herald returned to tell Louis
that the King of England, on the point of embarking, called upon him to
give up to him the kingdom of France. Louis had a conversation with the
herald. "Your king," said he, "is undertaking this war against his own
grain at the solicitation of the Duke of Burgundy; he would do much
better to live in peace with me, instead of devoting himself to allies
who cannot but compromise him without doing him any service;" and he had
three hundred golden crowns presented to the herald, with a promise of
considerably more if peace were made. The herald, thus won over,
promised, in his turn, to do all he could, saying that he believed that
his master would lend a willing ear, but that, before mentioning the
subject, they must wait until Edward had crossed the sea and formed some
idea of the difficulties in the way of his enterprise; and he advised
Louis to establish communications with my lord Howard and my lord
Stanley, who had great influence with King Edward. "Whilst the king was
parleying with the said herald, there were many folks in the hall," says
Commynes, "who were waiting, and had great longing to know what the king
was saying to him, and what countenance he would wear when he came from
within. The king, when he had made an end, called me and told me to keep
the said herald talking, so that none might speak to him, and to have
delivered unto him a piece of crimson velvet containing thirty ells. So
did I, and the king was right joyous at that which he had got out of the
said herald."

[Illustration: Philip de Commynes----217]

It was now three years since Philip de Commynes had left the Duke of
Burgundy's service to enter that of Louis XI. In 1471 Charles had, none
knows wh