At the commencement of this year, the king of France assembled a large body of nobles and men at arms to march into the Bourbonnois, and conquer the duke of Bourbon and destroy his territories; because he had, to his great vexation, seduced and carried off his son the dauphin, who had, until then, been lodged in the castle of Loches[54].

The count de la Marche was governor of the castle of Loches, and was in the town at the time the dauphin went away, unsuspicious that he would do so without first speaking to him. The bastard of Bourbon, however, with Anthony de Chabannes and other captains, with a large body of men at arms, entered the castle, and, with the dauphin's consent, carried him away to the town of Moulins[55] in the Bourbonnois.

Thither followed the duke of Bourbon, the duke d'AlenÇon, the count de VendÔme, the lords de la Trimouille, de Chaumont, de Prie, and other nobles and great lords, whose intentions were to invest the dauphin with the sole government of France, and to put king Charles in wardship to be managed by them.

In order to have aid to accomplish their plans, they summoned barons and gentlemen from divers countries, to whom they disclosed their intentions, and required them to make oath that they would serve the dauphin against all who should attempt to injure him. In this number came the great lords of Auvergne, who on hearing the proposal, made answer by the mouth of the lord de Dampierre, that they would cheerfully serve him in every thing, excepting against the king his father; adding, that should the king come with an army into their country, and require their support, and a free entrance into their towns and castles, they would not dare to refuse him,—and this those who made them the request must expect to see done, should the case happen.

This answer was not agreeable to the dauphin, nor to the other lords, who now began to suspect they should fail in their enterprise, and that it would turn out badly for them. They had also received exact intelligence that the king was marching a great power against them, and had already entered the Bourbonnois, carrying on a severe war against the towns and castles of the duke of Bourbon and his adherents, and had reduced several to his obedience.

In the mean time, the dauphin and his advisers had sent messengers to the duke of Burgundy to know if he would receive them in his territories, and afford them assistance to carry on their plans. The duke, after he had consulted with his ministers, replied, that his territories and fortune were at the disposal of the dauphin whenever he might please to come thither, but that upon no account would he afford him any assistance to carry on a war against the king his father,—and would be at all times ready to aid him in the recovery of his father's affections. He added, that he advised him to take this step without loss of time,—for the continuance of this warfare was disgraceful to those concerned in it, and would be the most effectual means of completely ruining the kingdom of France.

To put an end to this quarrel, the duke of Burgundy sent ambassadors to the king of France, who mediated between the parties; and a treaty of peace was concluded, on condition that the dauphin, the duke of Bourbon, and their adherents should appear with all humility in the presence of the king, and beg pardon for their offences. However, before this could be accomplished, the greater part of the estates of the duke of Bourbon and of his partisans were totally destroyed by the warriors of the king, who had marched thither a large army.

On the 19th day of July, the king being at Cusset[56] the dauphin and duke of Bourbon, accompanied by the lords de la Trimouille, de Chaumont, and de Prie were on the road to present themselves before him,—but when they were half a league off, a messenger from the king met them, and said, that the king would not promise them safety, and ordered them not to approach nearer to him.

The dauphin on hearing this, turned round to the duke of Bourbon, and said, 'My good friend, you could not have guessed how things would have turned out, or that my father would not have pardoned those of my household.' He then swore a round oath, that he would not return to his father. The duke of Bourbon replied, 'My lord, all will go well: do not doubt it: but you cannot go back, for the van of the king's army, is on the road.' He would, however, have attempted it, had not the count d'Eu, and other lords who had come from Cusset, to meet him, strongly remonstrated on the impropriety and danger of such proceedings.

The three lords aforesaid then went to Moulins; and the dauphin, with the duke of Bourbon, entered Cusset, and dismounted at the hÔtel of the king. On entering the king's apartment, they kneeled three times as they approached; and at the third they begged of him with great humility, to be pleased to lay aside his anger. The king then addressed his son, and said, 'Louis, you are welcome; you have been long absent. Go and repose yourself for to-day at your lodgings: to-morrow we will talk with you.'—After this, he conversed long and wisely with the duke of Bourbon, saying, 'Fair cousin, we are much displeased at the fault you have committed against our majesty, and which has been repeated five different times,' (mentioning when and where he had been guilty of it). 'Were it not for the honour and love we bear to some persons, whom I will not name, I would have made you feel severely my displeasure. Take care, therefore, that you be not guilty of the like again.'

After this conversation, the dauphin and the duke of Bourbon retired to their lodgings, where they remained until the morrow, and when the king's mass was ended, they again waited on him. In the presence of the members of the council, they again most humbly requested the king that he would have the goodness to pardon them and the lords de la Trimouille, de Chaumont, and de Prie. The king made answer, that he would do no such thing, but was satisfied that they should return to their houses and estates. The dauphin replied, 'My lord, I must then go back to them, for such has been my promise.' The king displeased at this speech, instantly said, 'Louis, the gates are open to you,—and should they not be wide enough, I will have thrown down sixteen or twenty fathoms of wall that you may have sufficient room to go whithersoever you please. You are my son, and cannot bind yourself under promises to any one without my leave and consent: but should you wish to go away, go,—for, under God's pleasure, we will find some of our blood who will assist us in the maintenance of our honour and power with more firmness than we have hitherto done.'

The king turned away from him on the conclusion of this speech, and went toward the duke of Bourbon, who instantly took the oath of allegiance to be true to him henceforward for ever. The king discharged all the officers of the household of the dauphin, except his confessor and cook.

The duke of Bourbon, in consequence of the terms of the treaty, promised to restore to the king, within a few days, the towns of Corbeil, Vincennes, Sancerre, and the castle of Loches, which were in his possession; but the king would not permit his army to quit the Bourbonnois and Auvergne until these places were fairly given up. The king also pardoned the duke d'AlenÇon, the count de VendÔme, and many other princes and nobles, who had taken part with the dauphin. When all these things were accomplished, the dauphin was satisfied to remain with the king his father, and peace was proclaimed in the following terms.

'We make known to you, by the king's command, that my lord the dauphin and my lord the duke of Bourbon have appeared before his majesty in all humility and obedience; that the king has affectionately received them into his good graces, and pardoned every thing. By these presents, the king wills and ordains, that all quarrels and warfare cease, and that no prisoners nor captures of cattle, or of other effects, be made, or injuries done to any one by taking castles or towns, or otherwise,—but that all persons do now attend to their affairs, and go about their business without any interruption whatever,—-and he forbids any places belonging to the duke of Bourbon or to others, being demolished.—Given at Cusset, the 24th of July, in the year 1440.'—It was subscribed at the bottom by order of the king and his great council, and signed 'Jugon.'

Within a few days after, the king gave to the dauphin the government of Dauphiny,—and ordered his army to march from the estates of the duke of Bourbon, toward Orleans and Paris.