After these words, the duke of Burgundy, in great fear, returned to his hôtel of Artois; and to avoid being arrested, on his arrival there, he mounted a fresh horse, and, attended by six men, hastily quitted Paris by the gate of Saint Denis,—and only changing horses, but not stopping at any place, he travelled onwards until he reached his castle of Bapaume. When he had slept some little, he again continued his route with all speed to Lille in Flanders. Those whom he had left in his hôtel at Paris followed him as speedily as they could, to avoid being imprisoned, of which they were greatly afraid. In like manner, Rollet d’Auctonville and his accomplices changed their clothes, and disguised themselves, and escaped from Paris by different ways, and went to quarter themselves in the castle of Lens in Artois, by orders of their lord and master John duke of Burgundy. With so mean an attendance did this duke quit Paris, after the death of the duke of Orleans, leaving the great lords of France in the utmost tribulation and distress. When those of the household of the late duke of Orleans heard of the secret departure of the duke of Burgundy, they armed themselves, to the amount of six score, having at their head sir Clugnet de Brabant, and, mounting their horses, sallied out of Paris in pursuit of the duke of Burgundy, with the intent of putting him to death, could they overtake him. The king of Sicily, learning their intentions, sent after to forbid them executing their plan,—on which they returned, very indignant, to their hôtels. It was now publicly known throughout Paris that the duke of Burgundy had committed this murder; but the Parisians were not well pleased with the duke of Orleans, for they had learnt that he was the author of all the heavy taxes that oppressed them, and began to say among themselves in secret, ‘The knotty stick is smoothed.’ This melancholy event took place in the great winter of the year 1407, when the frost lasted for sixty-six days with the greatest severity. On the thaw, the new bridge at Paris was destroyed, and fell into the Seine; and the floods did very great mischief to many parts of the kingdom of France.