The English continued their siege of Orleans, and king Charles was in very great distress; for the major part of his princes and nobles, perceiving that his affairs were miserably bad, and every thing going wrong, had quite abandoned him. Nevertheless, he had great hope and confidence in God; and laboured earnestly to procure a peace with the duke of Burgundy, and had sent him many embassies to solicit it, but, hitherto, no terms could be agreed on between them. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 18: Bouvines,--in the county of Namur, situated on the Meuse.] CHAP. LVII. THE ENGLISH, MARCHING TO REINFORCE THE SIEGE OF ORLEANS, ARE MET AND ATTACKED BY THE FRENCH. The regent duke of Bedford, while at Paris, had collected about five hundred carts and cars from the borders of Normandy and from the Isle de France, which different merchants were ordered to load with provision, stores and other things, and to have conveyed to the english army before Orleans. When all was ready, the command of this convoy was given to sir John Fascot[19] grand master of the duke's household, and with him were the provost of Paris, named Simon Morbier, the bastard de Thiam knight, bailiff of Senlis, the provost of Melun, and several other officers from the Isle de France and that neighbourhood, accompanied by sixteen hundred combatants and a thousand common men. This armament left Paris on Ash-Wednesday, under the command of sir John Fastolfe, who conducted the convoy and his forces in good order by short marches, until he came near the village of Rouvroy in Beauce, situated between Genville and Orleans. Many french captains, having long before heard of his coming, were there assembled to wait his arrival, namely, Charles duke of Bourbon, the two marshals of France, the constable of Scotland and his son, the lords de la Tour, de Chauvigny, de Graville, sir William d'Albreth, the viscount de Thouars, the bastard d'Orleans, sir James de Chabannes, the lord de la Fayette, Poton de Saintrailles, Estienne de Vignolles, surnamed La Hire, sir Theolde de Valperghe, and others of the nobility, having with them from three to four thousand men. The English had been informed of this force being assembled from different garrisons which they had in those parts, and lost no time in forming a square with their carts and carriages, leaving but two openings,--in which square they inclosed themselves, posting their archers as guards to these entrances, and the men at arms hard by to support them. On the strongest side of this inclosure were the merchants, pages, carters, and those incapable of defending themselves, with all their horses.