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scarcity in the French camp had become great ; news from England had arrived daily during the siege, of Henry's vast success; the brother of the Count of Flanders, whom he had taken from the clerical profession, to which he was at first devoted, that he might inherit the county of Flanders, was wounded under the walls, and everything contributed to damp the hopes of the besiegers; when suddenly-it would seem before they were at all aware that the King of England had landed on the continent-Henry appeared at the head of a large army the day after the festival of St. Laurence, and entered his Norman capital with great pomp before the eyes of the enemy. His numbers it would appear were not sufficient to justify him in fighting the confederates in the open field; but having obtained intelligence that a large convoy of wine and provisions was expected in the French camp, he sent out his light-armed Welshmen into the neighbouring forests to cut it off during the darkness of the night, while he himself produced a diversion in their favour by menacing the quarters of the French king. He accordingly caused one of the gates of the city which had been closed, to be opened, and part of the ditch to be filled up, so as to bring out his cavalry two hundred abreast. There is reason to believe, however, that the Welsh were completely successful, without any diversion being made in their favour; the troops which escorted the French waggons were attacked and put

to flight, the convoy was destroyed, and the British troops retired again into the woods, having accomplished their purpose with little or no loss.

The scarcity in the camp of the King of France had now increased to a very terrible extent, and giving up the hope of taking the city, Louis at length ordered his battering engines to be set on fire, and prepared to decamp with all speed. On the evening before this intention was executed, the King of England issued forth from the city, probably misled by the burning of the artillery into a belief that the French retreat was already begun. He was repulsed in his attack on the quarters of Louis, however, and retired, though not without some success, having taken several prisoners of distinction, and slain a considerable part of a body of cavalry which opposed him. The next day the adverse army actually withdrew from before Rouen, the rear of the French being covered by the Count of Flanders and his troops. We do not find from any good authority, that Henry attacked his enemies in their march, and the event of their retreat was certainly more honourable to them than the siege itself.

Some authors affirm, and amongst others Hoveden, whose testimony, as an eye-witness of much

* Lord Lyttleton frames his account of these events, solely upon the statement of Diceto and William of Newbury; two persons who were not present, one of whom lived in a cloister, while the other, there is every reason to believe, never quitted England.

that he relates, is well worthy of attention upon these points, that the King of France was only allowed to depart unmolested in consequence of a

The words of Hoveden, on the contrary, are very different. We know, that he was very much about the person of Henry, and from his situation followed him upon many of his expeditions. Why, therefore, his testimony should be rejected without any manifest absurdity appearing in the statement, and with many strong probabilities existing in its favour, is difficult to divine. The only reason given by Lord Lyttleton for so doing is, that, in his opinion, it was not necessary for Louis to make such an engagement with Henry, as the French king's forces were too numerous to fear attack. This mode of dealing with authorities, would appear to me perfectly unreasonable under any circumstances, for surely all men do things that are not strictly necessary too often for any argument to be deduced from the exact fitness of a particular act, against the positive testimony of a person who was probably an eyewitness. The argument is still less tenable in the case of Louis, who was notorious for inconsistency of conduct. But, in this instance, it would appear that he acted most reasonably, according to the account of Hoveden. Lord Lyttleton admits that the very next day, the King of France sent messengers to make a proposal, which then could be of little or no service to him; whereas, if, as Hoveden states, he suggested such an arrangement only the day before, the advantages he gained were immense. By it he secured the retreat of his army, already somewhat enfeebled by famine and reverses, through a large extent of very difficult country, where Henry-possessing the whole adjacent territories, near to his resources, provided with an assured retreat, and accompanied by a body of light infantry, which had already done signal service against the French-could attack him incessantly, harass his march, and perhaps totally defeat him. It would therefore seem to me that there is every reason to receive rather than reject the testimony of Hoveden.

promise to return in a more peaceable manner on the following day, for the purpose of holding a conference with Henry in regard to the arrangement of a treaty of peace. It is added that he did not appear in person according to his engagement; and although this account is not confirmed either by William of Newbury, or by Diceto, it is, very probably, accurate. We find it admitted, on all hands, that not later than the day after the French king's retreat, the Count of Blois and the Archbishop of Sens visited Henry in order to arrange such a conference; and it is much more probable that Louis should, in the first place, by holding out the prospect of speedy pacification, employ the only means of securing his retreat and saving the lives of his soldiers, than that he should incur all the risk, and then make the same concession.

Whether Henry did or did not permit the French army to retire unmolested in consequence of an agreement between him and the French King, to the effect that negociations for peace should be speedily renewed, it is certain that such a proposal was made by the King of France immediately before or immediately after the commencement of his retreat, and that a truce was concluded till a meeting could take place. The town appointed for a conference was Gisors, and the day the 8th of September following, being the Nativity of the Virgin.

The King of France was now, as well he might be, eager to terminate a war which had produced

no glory to himself, but which on the contrary had displayed him to the eyes of Europe in a pitiful and inferior point of view. Once more he had undertaken great efforts and had failed in carrying them into execution; once more he had appeared at the head of immense armies, and had led them to nothing but reverses; once more he had contended with his neighbour and feudatory, and had been repelled at every point, frustrated in every attack. His finances were exhausted, his troops disheartened, his enemy confident from success, and strengthened by great renown. In these circumstances, his desire of peace cannot be doubted; and it would seem, that he entirely dictated to the younger Henry and his brother Geoffrey the conduct which they were to pursue towards their father.

Richard, however, was at a distance from the spot, and was not likely to submit so easily. At the head of a small body of forces in the south of France, he was endeavouring to gain absolute possession of Poitou and Aquitaine. The successes of his offended parent, the defeat of his friends, discouraged him not; he was not of a character to abandon the advantages which his own exertions had already acquired for him; and although there can be no doubt that the King of France sent messengers to summon him to the conference at Gisors, yet when the day of the Nativity of the Virgin arrived, Richard did not appear, but still protracted the struggle in Poitou. It is true that It is true that very little

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