I have formerly[293] mentioned the reasons that prevailed with the Duke of Burgundy to marry the sister of Edward, King of England, and it was principally to strengthen his alliance against the King of France; otherwise he would never have done it, for the love he bore to the house of Lancaster, to which he was allied by his mother, who was Infanta of Portugal, but her mother[294] was the Duke of Lancaster’s daughter; wherefore his kindness for the house of Lancaster was as great as his hatred to that of York. At the time of this marriage, the house of Lancaster was quite depressed, and of the house of York there was no great talk; for Edward, who was both Duke of York and King, enjoyed the peaceable possession of the kingdom. In the war between these two contending houses, there had been seven or eight[295] memorable battles in England; in which threescore or fourscore persons of the blood-royal of that kingdom were cruelly slain, as is said before in these Memoirs. Those that survived were fugitives, and lived in the Duke of Burgundy’s court; all of them young gentlemen (whose fathers had been slain in England) whom the Duke of Burgundy had generously entertained before this marriage, as his relations of the house of Lancaster. Some of them were reduced to such extremity of want and poverty before the Duke of Burgundy received them, that no common beggar could have been poorer. I saw one of them, who was Duke of Exeter[296] (but he concealed his name), following the Duke of Burgundy’s train bare-foot and bare-legged, begging his bread from door to door. This person was the next of the house of Lancaster; he had married King Edward’s sister, and being afterwards known, had a small pension allowed him for his subsistence. There were also some of the family of the Somersets[297], and several others, all of them slain since, in the wars. The fathers and relations of these persons had plundered and destroyed the greatest part of France, and possessed it for several years, and afterwards they turned their swords upon themselves, and killed one another; those who were remaining in England, and their children, have died as you see; and yet there are those who affirm that God does not punish men as he did in the days of the children of Israel, but suffers the wickedness both of princes and people to remain unpunished. I do believe, indeed, he does not speak and converse with mankind as he did formerly; for he has left them examples enough in the world to instruct them; but you may see, by the sequel of this discourse, and by reflecting on what you know besides, that of those bad princes, and others, who cruelly and tyrannically employ the power that is in their hands, none, or but few of them, die unpunished, though, perhaps, it is neither in the same manner, nor at the same time, that those who are injured desire.