The next morning, before the same audience, the Count of Charolois, kneeling upon a velvet cushion, addressed himself first to his father, and began his discourse about the Bastard of Rubempré, alleging that the causes of his apprehension and imprisonment were just and reasonable, as would appear upon his trial. Yet I am of opinion that nothing was ever proved against him, though the presumptions were great; and I afterwards saw him discharged out of prison, where he had been kept five years. Having cleared this point, his next business was to vindicate the Duke of Bretagne and himself. He confessed that the Duke of Bretagne and he had entered into an alliance and friendship together, and had sworn to be brothers-in-arms; but that the said alliance was not intended in any way to prejudice the king or his kingdom, but rather to serve and support him when occasion required. And lastly, as concerning the pension that had been taken from him, he said, he had only enjoyed it for one quarter, and that amounted to nine thousand francs; and that, for his part, he never was solicitous either for that pension, or for the government of Normandy; for as long as he was so happy as to be in favour with his father, he could afford to dispense with the bounty of other people. I really believe that, if it had not been for the respect he bore his father, who was there present, and to whom he directed his speech, he would have answered in much sharper terms than he did. However, Duke Philip concluded his discourse[21] with great modesty and wisdom, beseeching his majesty to continue to regard him with favour, and not easily to entertain an ill opinion of him or his son. After which, he called for wine and sweetmeats; and then the ambassadors took their leave of them both. When the Count d’Eu and the Chancellor had taken their leave of the Count of Charolois, who stood at some distance from his father, the Archbishop of Narbonne coming last, the count said to him, “Present my most humble respects to the king, and tell him that he has handled me very roughly by his chancellor; but before the year is at an end, his majesty may have reason to repent it.” The archbishop delivered his message punctually to the king at his return, as you will find hereafter; and these words bred a mortal hatred between his majesty and the count, which was augmented by the king’s late redemption of certain towns upon the Somme—namely, Amiens, Abbeville, St. Quentin, and others; delivered formerly to Duke Philip by King Charles VII.[22], in pursuance of the treaty of Arras[23], to be enjoyed by the said duke and his heirs male, till the sum of 400,000 crowns should be paid.[24] How this affair was managed, I can give no certain account; only this I can say, that the affairs of the duke in his declining years, were so entirely governed by two brothers, the Lords of Croy[25] and Chimay[26], and others of their family, that he consented to take the king’s money, and restore the