Richard had been married in France to the
eldest son of the Duke of Orleans. The poor mad King was quite powerless
to help her, and the Duke of Burgundy became the real master of France.
Isabella dying, her husband (Duke of Orleans since the death of his
father) married the daughter of the Count of Armagnac, who, being a much
abler man than his young son-in-law, headed his party; thence called
after him Armagnacs. Thus, France was now in this terrible condition,
that it had in it the party of the King's son, the Dauphin Louis; the
party of the Duke of Burgundy, who was the father of the Dauphin's ill-
used wife; and the party of the Armagnacs; all hating each other; all
fighting together; all composed of the most depraved nobles that the
earth has ever known; and all tearing unhappy France to pieces.

The late King had watched these dissensions from England, sensible (like
the French people) that no enemy of France could injure her more than her
own nobility. The present King now advanced a claim to the French
throne. His demand being, of course, refused, he reduced his proposal to
a certain large amount of French territory, and to demanding the French
princess, Catherine, in marriage, with a fortune of two millions of
golden crowns. He was offered less territory and fewer crowns, and no
princess; but he called his ambassadors home and prepared for war. Then,
he proposed to take the princess with one million of crowns. The French
Court replied that he should have the princess with two hundred thousand
crowns less; he said this would not do (he had never seen the princess in
his life), and assembled his army at Southampton. There was a short plot
at home just at that time, for deposing him, and making the Earl of March
king; but the conspirators were all speedily condemned and executed, and
the King embarked for France.

It is dreadful to observe how long a bad example will be followed; but,
it is encouraging to know that a good example is never thrown away. The
King's first act on disembarking at the mouth of the river Seine, three
miles from Harfleur, was to imitate his father, and to proclaim his
solemn orders that the lives and property of the peaceable inhabitants
should be respected on pain of death. It is agreed by French writers, to
his lasting renown, that even while his soldiers were suffering the
greatest distress from want of food, these commands were rigidly obeyed.

With an army in all of thirty