bell, and candle. The king's commands have been laid upon all to put aside
their quarrels, but both the ban of the Church and the king's commands
have been ineffectual. I am as anxious as ever to abstain from taking any
part in the trouble, the more so as the alliance between our king and
Burgundy has cooled somewhat. But I have received such urgent prayers from
my vassals at Villeroy to come among them, since they are now being
plundered by both parties, that I feel it is time for me to take up my
abode there. When the king stayed at Winchester, a month since, I laid the
matter before him. He was pleased to say that what I had urged a year ago
had turned out to be as I foretold, and that he would give me leave to go
over and establish myself at Villeroy, and to hold myself aloof from both
parties until the matter should further ripen. What will come of it I
cannot say. The English king seemed to me to be ailing, and I fear that it
may not be long before young Henry comes to the throne. He is a wild young
prince, but has already shown himself in the Northern war to be full of
spirit and courage, and methinks that when he comes to the throne he will
not long observe the peaceful policy of his father, but that we shall see
the royal standard once again spread to the winds of France."

"But, Sir Eustace," Guy said, when he had concluded, "how do these matters
affect you? I thought that by the treaty the west part of Artois was
English."

"Ay, lad, it was so settled; but at that time the strength of France had
been broken at Poitiers, and the Black Prince and his army were so feared
that his terms were willingly accepted in order to secure peace. Much has
happened since then: war has been constantly going on, sometimes hotly,
sometimes sluggishly; France has had her own troubles, and as the English
kings have been more pacific, and England has become weary of bearing the
heavy expenses of the war, the treaty has become a dead letter. Gascony,