In the month of November of this year, Simon Courtois, whom the king had made his attorney-general for the county of Artois, taking advantage of the truce, left Arras, under pretence of looking after his concerns in Flanders; instead of which, he went to the princess of Flanders, consort to Maximilian of Austria, and, unmindful of the honour the king had just conferred on him, by making him his attorney-general, told the princess that he was her very humble servant, as all his family had been. He added, that if she would accept of his allegiance, and make him her attorney-general, Artois should be restored to her,--for he would rather that it was in her hands than in the king's. This was told to the king's governor in Arras, who had Simon Courtois arrested and sent to Tours, where, having confessed the above, he was beheaded. A great bombard, that had been cast at Tours, was brought to Paris the Monday before Epiphany to be proved, and was, for this purpose, drawn out into the fields in front of the bastile of St Anthony. It was pointed toward Charenton, and when first fired threw the ball as far as the gallows on the bridge of Charenton; but as those present did not think it had discharged all the powder that had been put into the chamber, they ordered it to be recharged, and the chamber perfectly cleaned of all that remained within it, which was done, and an iron ball, weighing five hundred weight, put into its mouth, before which stood John Maugué the founder of it. As the ball rolled down the bombard, by some unknown accident the powder in the chamber took fire before the match was put to it, and by its discharge tore in pieces John Maugué and fourteen other persons, whose heads, legs, arms and bodies, were blown into the air. The ball killed a poor innocent bird-catcher that was attending his nets in the fields; and the bursting of the bombard maimed fifteen or sixteen others, several of whom died; so that by this accident twenty-two or twenty-three persons lost their lives. The remains of John Maugué were collected, put on a bier, and carried to St Merry for interment; and proclamation was made through the streets of Paris, that all people should pray for the soul of John Maugué, who had lost his life in the king's service.