THE ATTACK ON SIR OLIVER DE CLISSON, BY THE FOLLOWERS OF SIR PETER DE CRAON. Sir Peter de Craon having been disgraced by King Charles VI. and his brother the Duke of Touraine, and banished the court of France, imagined Sir Oliver de Clisson to be the remote cause of his disfavour. To revenge himself, therefore, he caused many men-at-arms to conceal themselves in his hôtel at Paris; and having been privately informed of all the movements of Sir Oliver, who supped with the King on the day of the feast of the Holy Sacrament, and remained the last of the party, he attacked him on his way home with his men, and would have cruelly murdered him, but for a lucky accident that saved his life. Having received a severe blow on the back of his head that struck him senseless from his horse, he fell against the door of a baker, who was already up to attend to his bread, and hearing the noise, had slightly opened the door, which the weight of Sir Oliver now threw completely back, and he fell into the shop. The horsemen, thinking they had done their work effectually, now rode off, and thus Sir Oliver escaped, though desperately wounded. The King was much affected on hearing of the attempted murder of Sir Oliver, who was High Constable of France, and went immediately in his night-dress and slippers to visit him, for it was very near the hôtel St. Pol, and the King was not yet in bed when news of the event reached him. Sir Peter, though pursued immediately, escaped into Spain, and eventually he was again received into favour, and Sir Oliver fell into disgrace. The artist has represented the hôtel St. Pol in the distance, adorned with niches and bronze statues, which, if not a true representation of the building, is interesting, as showing that such decorations were not unusual in the exterior architecture of houses of consequence at that period. [Illustration: The meeting of Charles VIᵗʰ of France and the Duke of Brittany at Tours] PLATE VIII. THE MEETING OF CHARLES VI. OF FRANCE, AND THE DUKE OF BRITTANY AT TOURS. Misunderstandings having long existed between the King (Charles VI.) of France and the Duke of Brittany, and being much increased by the protection afforded by the Duke to Sir Peter de Craon, many feared that other powerful Lords might follow his rebellious example, and the supremacy of the Crown, by degrees, be lost. It was, therefore, determined to invite the Duke to a conference with the King at Tours, which, after some difficulty, was effected; and though much bitterness was shown on both sides during the discussion, all disputes were eventually adjusted, and a general good understanding secured, by the proposal of a marriage between the son of the Duke of Brittany and a daughter of the King of France; and also between a son of the Lord of Blois and a daughter of the Duke of Brittany.