The country-side had grown jealous of the city, the lesser communes of the three _bonnes villes_. The canker had spread further still; town suspected town, guild was at loggerheads with guild, and even individual citizens began to cast evil eyes on one another; and, added to this, there was the hatred of rivals jealous of Artevelde's great position; and Louis, who was now residing in France, through his agents blowing the fire. Presently the crisis came. Early in July the representatives of the communes had met at Bruges for the purpose of electing a regent, and Sohier of Courtrai, Artevelde's brother-in-law, with King Edward's consent, had been chosen to fill the office. On his return to Ghent after this conference the great tribune was besieged in his house by a mob of small tradesmen and street roughs in the pay of his rivals and of Louis of Nevers. He had been plotting, they said, to hand over Ghent to the tender mercies of the English, who were going to pillage the town; he would make the Prince of Wales Count; he had taken advantage of his position to heap up a vast fortune, and had sent his treasure to London. In vain Van Artevelde tried to appease them; the sound of his voice but increased their fury, and his servants, who knew the risk he was running, dragged him from the window and would have had him seek refuge by a back way in a neighbouring church. Too late; the mob had by this time broken into the house, and a cobbler felled him dead on his own threshold. Thus perished the noblest man of his century, and with him too fell the grand edifice he had reared. The besetting sin of his people had once more shattered the mansion of Freedom. [Illustration: Madonna & Niche] The Count of Flanders did not long survive his illustrious victim. When the English victory of Cressy gave feudalism its death-blow, he fell fighting for the French King, and note this fact--Philippe of Valois was the one man to whom Louis had ever been faithful. CHAPTER XVIII _Louis of Maele_