Whilst Louis was riding back to Amiens, he expressed his misgivings upon two incidents in what had passed. One was that the king of England had so readily caught at the idea of visiting Paris. "He is (said Louis,) a handsome prince, a great admirer of the ladies, and who knows but that he might find one of them at Paris, who would say so many pretty things to him, as to make him desirous to come again? His ancestors have been too often in Paris and Normandy already; and I do not care for his company so near, though on the other side of the water I shall be ready to esteem him as my friend and brother." Louis was also displeased to find the English king so resolute in relation to the duke of Bretagne, upon whom he would fain have made war; and to that purpose he made him further overtures by the lord de Bouchage and the lord de St. Pierre; but when Edward found himself pressed, he gave them this short but honourable answer, that if any one invaded the duke of Bretagne's dominions he would cross the sea again in his defence. Upon which the French king importuned him no more. When Louis was arrived at Amiens, and was ready to go to supper, three or four of the English lords, who had attended upon the king of England at the interview, came to sup with his majesty; and one of them, the lord Howard, told the king in his ear that, if he desired it, he would readily find a way to bring the king his master to him to Amiens, and perhaps to Paris too, to be merry with him. Though this proposition was not in the least agreeable to Louis, yet he dissembled the matter pretty well, and began washing his hands, without giving a direct answer; but he whispered to Commines, and said that what he had dreaded was really coming to pass. After supper the subject was renewed, but the king then put it off with the greatest quietness and tact {xlii} imaginable, alleging that his expedition against the duke of Burgundy would require his departure immediately. Thus, (as our pleasant friend remarks,) though these affairs were of the highest moment, and required the gravest caution to manage them discreetly, yet they were not unattended by some agreeable incidents that deserve to be related to posterity. Nor ought any man to wonder, considering the great mischiefs which the English had brought upon the kingdom of France, and the freshness of their date, that the king should incur so much trouble and expense to send them home in an amicable manner, and endeavour to make them his friends for the future, or at least divert them from being his enemies.