'I have no remembrance whatever of being present at this meeting of the three estates at Arras when such conclusions were made; but I perfectly recollect, that at Lille, in the house of the lord de Roubaix, where my lord duke held his court, it was determined, in the presence of many of his council, that in future no one should have guards,--when I joined in opinion with the others, and said, that I would not summon any, if the rest would do the same. On this, I departed from Lille; but observing some time after, that several had their guards, I did the like, but did not suppose that my lord could be angered by my so doing, or that he wished to keep me in greater servitude than others. My lord even wrote me several letters with his own hand, and signed by him, on this subject, as did my lady duchess, assenting to my having these guards. It should seem, therefore, that my lord was not then displeased with my conduct. 'In regard to Riflart de Neufville, who is said to have been killed on account of this business, and the lord des Bosquets, who was driven out of his house and grossly injured,--although I had many reasons to be displeased with both, yet when my lord shall be completely informed of the whole truth of these matters, I shall expect that the tales he has heard will be found lying and falsely wicked. 'As for the disobedience alleged against my officers and commissaries to the bailiff of Amiens, to the king's officers, and to those of the duke, whom they will not permit to execute any warrants saying and maintaining that I have not taken any oaths of allegiance but to the king of England,--I have never before heard any mention made of this, nor do I know what private wrongs may have been done, nor to whom: of course, I am unable to make any reply to this charge. I should have expected that the bailiff of Amiens, whom I consider as my particular friend, would have informed me of any misconduct in my people, for had he done so, I should have exerted myself in such wise that my lord should have been satisfied. In regard to the provost of Peronne, who has charged my officers with waylaying and chacing him into the town of Cambray, with the intention of ill-treating and perhaps of killing him,--I have inquired of my officers, and they tell me, that when they were amusing themselves twenty leagues from Cambray, they were informed, that the said provost had vauntingly declared, that if he could lay hands on them, he would hang them by the necks; on which they suddenly pursued him, to know if what they had heard were true,--and learning that he had not said any such things, they had quietly left him. 'As for the threats which my said officers have held out to the abbot of St Aubert of Cambray, they beg to be held excused.