The duke marched from Roye, to lay siege to Beauvais, and arrived before it on the 27th of June, when he instantly began to attack it. In the course of that night, Guillaume de la Vallée, lieutenant to the seneschal of Normandy, entered the town with two hundred lances, which greatly succoured the garrison and inhabitants, for he arrived very opportunely as the Burgundians were recommencing their attack,--when, mounting the walls, they made them to retreat. On the morrow, there arrived, the lord de Crussol, Joachim Rohault, the company of the lord de Bueil, Guevin le Groing, the lord de Torcy, and other nobles from Normandy, to the amount of more than three hundred lances. They made a vigorous defence, and were strongly supported by the city of Paris, who sent thither a body of pioneers, with pickaxes, shovels, flour, wine, gunpowder, and plenty of all sorts of stores, which were of great relief to those in the town. Several sallies and skirmishes took place before the town, in which many Burgundians were killed and wounded. At this time, a number of the inhabitants of Auxerre sallied out of their town on a foraging party, to collect cattle and whatever else they should find in the countries attached to the king, for the victualling of Auxerre, and advanced as far as Joigny, and Seignelay[39]. The bastard of Seignelay, the lord de Plancy, and others, to the number of three hundred, took the field to fight them,--and they no sooner came in sight than these gentlemen charged them so vigorously that eight score were killed, and four score made prisoners; the rest escaped by flight, or were drowned. As the Burgundians had approached so near to Paris as Beauvais[40], sir Denis Hesselin, pantler to the king and provost of the merchants, made great preparations against them,--such as repairing the walls and the battlements, cutting deep and wide trenches, having the chains to barricade the streets in good order, walling up some of the gates, strengthening others, and causing abundance of cannon to be prepared. On the 2d of July, the lord de Rubempré, arrived at Paris from Beauvais, with letters from the captains in that town to the lord de Gaucourt, lieutenant for the king in Paris, and to the provosts and sheriffs, to inform them, that there was such scarcity in the burgundian camp that a loaf of bread, worth two farthings in Beauvais, was of the value of three sols parisis to the enemy; and that the duke of Burgundy was in such despair that he had determined to gain the town or lose the greater part of his army. They therefore desired that there might be sent them, without delay, small artillery, cross-bows, and provision,--all of which was done, under the conduct of the bastard de Rochechouart, lord of Meru, who carried thither sixty cross-bowmen, cross-bows, artillery and provisions, from Paris.