The ghent men sent thither a deputation, with a carthusian friar, and an ancient knight called sir Baudouin de Bos, whom they had long kept prisoner on account of their suspicions of his fidelity to them, he having declared an opinion contrary to their proceedings; and they even had him carried, with his eyes banded, to the scaffold to behead him: he would have suffered death, had not some steady friends, by their exertions, prevented it. These ghent commissioners behaved with the greatest insolence and pride on their arrival at Bruges, as if they had no way acted wrong toward their prince; and on their departure, they received no answer. They all returned except the knight and the Carthusian, who refused to accompany them back and remained in Bruges. The other commissioners staid so long on their road to Ghent that the term of their passports expired, and, falling in with a body of Picards, they were made prisoners and carried back to Bruges: among them were two of the greatest enemies the duke had in Ghent. When the men of Ghent learnt that their deputies were prisoners, they sallied forth, on the 17th of February, in great numbers, and in three divisions. In this array they came before Courtray, the marshal of Burgundy being then absent with the duke at Lille. There was at this time in the town a very valiant and adventurous knight from Picardy, called Gauvain Quieret, who, fearless of their numbers, issued out with the few people he had, and began a sharp skirmish; but he was soon forced to retreat into the town, as the ghent men were too many: he could not, however, retire without the loss of two of his men at arms and one archer. The ghent men then attacked the suburbs; but they were so well defended that they gained nothing, except killing one man at arms: they now returned to Ghent. On the 2d of March following, sir Anthony, the bastard, on his advance toward Ghent, fell in with a considerable body of the enemy, and charged them so rapidly that he slew more than fifty, and took many prisoners, whom he carried to Dendermonde. On the 5th day of this same month, the duchess of Burgundy left Lille, by orders from the duke, to go to Bruges. The ghent men soon had intelligence of this,--and, supposing that she would travel the strait road, they posted a strong ambuscade near that road, intending to overpower her escort, and put those who composed it to death. The duchess was informed of their plan, and consequently took a different road, and arrived safely at Bruges.