The duke of Burgundy, on hearing this, instantly ordered a greater assembly of men at arms than he had ever before made, to be at Namur on the 28th day of July. But notwithstanding the summons was so pressing, the men at arms delayed as much as possible to equip and prepare themselves; nor did they offer to assist in mounting their poorer brethren, being doubtful of the expense, and remembering, that in the preceding campaign, they had been badly paid. The duke was told of this backwardness while at table, the beginning of July, and was so much vexed that in his passion he kicked the table from him, saying, that he saw clearly how much he was governed, and that he was no longer the master; for that he had paid last year for the army upwards of two hundred thousand crowns from his treasury, and he knew not how they had been spent. The more he spoke, the more angry he grew, insomuch that, at last, he dropped to the ground, from rage and apoplexy. It was, for three days, thought that he could never recover, but it happened otherwise. He then issued another summons, commanding all to obey it instantly, on pain of death. While this was passing, the count de Charolois was at Peronne, and had renewed the tax on salt, which he had abolished on his march to France, to the great joy of the people; but this renewal changed their joy to grief, and caused great discontents, because the count had ordered the arrears of this tax, during the year it had been abolished, to be collected. The duke of Burgundy was busily employed in his preparations to march the army against Liege, and had ordered copies of the sentence of excommunication which the pope had given against those of Dinant to be stuck against the doors of all the churches throughout his dominions.--This excommunication had been issued against those of Dinant, their allies and accomplices, as a punishment for the numerous evils they were daily committing, contrary to the treaty of peace, and for their disobedience to the holy apostolical see. By this sentence, the pope gave permission to the duke of Burgundy and his allies to punish them and force their obedience,--for the doing of which, they would obtain a full pardon for their sins, as ministers of the church. In this sentence, the pope had forbidden divine service to be performed in the churches of Dinant. Nevertheless, those in Dinant, obstinate in their wills and opinions, and disobedient to the commands of the head of the church, constrained their priests to perform divine service, and to chaunt the mass as before; but, as some priests would not act contrary to the positive interdict of the pope, they drowned them.