of travelling, as he did; but his great spirit carried him through all difficulties. At Beaujeu he received advice that the Duchess of Austria was dead of a fall from her horse. She had been set upon a hot-headed young nag, that threw her down against a piece of timber, which was the occasion of her death. Others said she died of a fever, not of her fall; but be it as it may, she died not many days after, to the great detriment of her friends and subjects; for after her death they never had peace or prosperity. The people of Ghent and other towns had a greater love and respect for her than her husband, as she was their natural sovereign. This misfortune happened in the year 1482.[92] The king told me the news with a great deal of joy and satisfaction; being extremely pleased that the two children[93] were under the tutelage of the Gantois, who (he knew) were inclined to any mischief that might weaken the power of the house of Burgundy; and now he thought this was the time to attempt something, because the Duke of Austria was young, with his father still living, involved in war on every side, a stranger, and his forces very weak, because of the covetous temper of his father the emperor. From that time the king began to deal with the Gantois by means of his agent the Lord des Cordes, about the marriage of his son the dauphin with the Lady Margaret, the duke’s daughter, who is at present our queen. The Lord des Cordes applied himself in this affair to one William Ryn[94], pensionary of the town (a cunning, subtle man), and to Coppenol[95], the town-clerk, who was a hosier, and a person of great reputation among the people, who, in times of trouble, are soonest wrought upon by such folk.