The Duke of Burgundy, being highly concerned at the death of the Duke of Guienne, at the instigation of other people as much concerned as himself, wrote letters[351] full of bitter reflections upon the king to several of the Duke of Guienne’s towns, but to no purpose; yet I am of opinion, that if the duke had not been dead, the king would have found work enough, for the Bretons were up in arms, and had a stronger party in the kingdom than ever they had before; but his death put a stop to all. In this violent passion the Duke of Burgundy took the field, marched towards Nesle, in Vermandois[352], and began a more cruel and barbarous war than ever before, burning and destroying all wherever he marched. His van besieged Nesle, in which there was a small garrison of frank-archers, but otherwise the town was of no great strength. The duke himself had his quarters three leagues off. A herald, coming to them with a summons, was slain by the inhabitants of the town. The governor[353] would fain have excused it, and having obtained a passport, came out to that purpose, but could not agree upon the matter. As he returned into the town, the garrison stood exposed upon the walls, but there being a truce whilst the governor was abroad, nobody fired upon the townsmen; however, they killed two more of the besiegers. Upon which the truce was broken, and word was sent in to Madame de Nesle, to tell her, that if she pleased, she and her servants might have the liberty of coming out, and bringing all her moveables with her; which she had no sooner done, but the town was attacked, taken, and most of the garrison put to the sword. Those who were taken alive were hanged, except some few whom the common soldiers in mere compassion suffered to escape; some of them had their hands cut off, a cruelty which gives me concern to mention; but having been upon the spot, I thought myself obliged to give some account of it. It must be granted that the Duke of Burgundy was highly enraged to be guilty of so barbarous an action, or that there must have been some extraordinary cause that provoked him to it. Two were alleged; one was, the strange report of the manner of the Duke of Guienne’s death, as if the king had been concerned in it; and the other, the indignation he conceived at the loss of Amiens and St. Quentin, which I have mentioned before.