Burgundy, however, saw that he was rapidly losing friends, and thought it well to send his son, the Comte de Charolais, away. That young prince, therefore, with his wife, the Princess Michelle, set off for Gand, accompanied as far as Lendit by a great body of the _bourgeois_ of Paris of whom she took leave affectionately, begging them to deliver her uncle, the Duke of Bavaria, and then she proceeded to St. Denis with her husband, after which they went with a brilliant train to Gand.[248]
While all these commotions were going on the English made a descent upon the county of Eu, sacked and burnt Tréport and several other towns, took to their ships and sailed for England with their plunder. The Armagnacs were devastating the country, and the Parisians more and more terrified at the threats of the princes. Their party grew stronger and stronger, the King ordered the Duc d’Aquitaine to go and liberate the prisoners, which he did, riding to the Palais and the Louvre and bringing them all away with him except the ladies, who had been liberated soon after they were taken, and two or three gentlemen who had been killed in the riots. Bells rang, feasting went on, the rioters were either seized and punished or else fled, and the princes entered Paris in triumph.[249]
The Duc d’Aquitaine ordered all the favourites of Burgundy to be seized, one only was spared at the entreaty of the Duchesse d’Aquitaine, the rest were arrested or fled. Jean Sans-peur himself, warned that the streets round the hôtel d’Artois were being watched by night by the Orléanists who were crowding into Paris to join the Duc d’Aquitaine, fled from a hunting party with one gentleman only, rode at full speed in doubt and fear through the forest of Bondy, and next day meeting one of his followers with a band of men-at-arms pursued his journey safely to Flanders.
For a little while the Armagnacs were triumphant. The marriage of the Duke of Bavaria took place, and what was more important, Charles, Comte de Ponthieu, youngest son of the King, was betrothed to Marie d’Anjou, daughter of the King of Sicily, at the Louvre in presence of the Queen and Princes, the King being ill at the time.
There was also a talk of marrying the Princess Catherine, youngest daughter of the King and Queen, to Henry V. of England.