However that may be, next morning Schomberg went to the King and informed him that he was prepared to accept Angoulême as his colleague in the lieutenancy-general of the army, since he was already established in that post, adding that he considered that Bassompierre had been very ill-advised to contest the point so warmly. An hour or two later, when Bassompierre went to the King’s quarters to accompany him to Le Plomb, some two leagues to the north of La Rochelle, where a fine view of the English fleet and Saint-Martin-de-Ré was obtainable, his Majesty received him very coldly and avoided speaking to him; and he learned that Louis had complained to _Monsieur_, the Cardinal, and others that his obstinacy was hindering the operations of the army. Before they left Aytré, Du Hallier came up to Bassompierre and told him that he had been sent by the King to persuade him to be reconciled to M. d’Angoulême. This the marshal refused to hear of, and told Du Hallier that it was his intention to retire from the army two days later. On the way to Le Plomb, Richelieu also spoke to the marshal on the subject, and then Schomberg rode up, and counselled him to yield to the King’s wishes, “like a good courtier.” Upon which Bassompierre angrily declared that “though his King and his master might abandon him, his friends betray him, and his colleague, united to him by the same interest, leave him, he would not abandon or betray himself,” and that he (Schomberg) might, if it pleased him, remain with infamy, but, for himself, he preferred to retire with honour. On the following day Bassompierre learned that the King had directed _Monsieur_, the titular general of the Royal army, to inform the two marshals that he had decided that the Duc d’Angoulême was to serve conjointly with them. Bassompierre declared that he absolutely refused to be associated with M. d’Angoulême, and next morning the disgruntled veteran presented himself before the King and addressed his Majesty as follows:-- “Sire, in order to avoid doing anything unworthy of myself, and which might do injury to the office of marshal of France, with which you have honoured me, I am obliged, with an extreme regret, to retire from your army and to beg your Majesty very humbly to permit me to leave it. I am going to Paris to wait until the honour of your commands summons me to some place where I may be able to continue the same very humble services which I have performed in the past, demanding meanwhile, as a special favour, that you will not give credence to the evil reports which my enemies will spread abroad concerning me, until you have proved them to be true. For myself, I shall assure you that I shall be in the future what I have been in the past, to wit, your very humble and very faithful creature.”