He then asked the King to swear a peace on the proposed basis:  (i) The faithful execution of the treaty of Conflans; (2) the abolition of the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Paris over Flanders; (3) the surrender of all regalian rights in Picardy; (4) the release of the Duke from all fealty to the King if the treaty was in any way infringed or imperfectly executed.  Louis agreed, and Charles requested his assistance in punishing the rebellion of Liege.  The King expressed his perfect readiness.  The princes then signed a draft of the treaty and swore to execute it faithfully on the cross of St. Laud.  Charles had insisted that Louis should swear on the relic, a fragment of the true Cross once kept in the Church of St. Laud at Angers, which the King always carried with him, esteeming it highly, because he believed that whoever forswore himself on it would surely die within the year.  The Duke at the same time promised to do homage for the fiefs he held of the crown of France, but the execution of this promise was evaded.

On the 15th the Duke, with an army of forty thousand men, and the King with his slender escort, and some three hundred men-at-arms who joined him by the way, began their march on Liege.  Louis was not less anxious than his companion that Dammartin should not attempt a forcible rescue.  Victory or defeat would have been alike dangerous to his safety.  Twice at Charles’ request orders were sent to disband, or at least remove, the French army from the frontier.  The King’s letters were delivered by his messenger in the persistent presence of a Burgundian who prevented the possibility of any private communication.  Louis’ crafty old soldier, Dammartin, paid little attention to such orders.  He sent word to the Duke that, unless his master soon returned, all France would come to fetch him.

The first divisions of the Burgundian army reached Liege October 22d.  The citizens, whose walls had been destroyed and artillery confiscated, were in no position to resist an army which might have conquered an emperor.  At the suggestion of the legate they released their bishop, begging him to intercede on their behalf, and offered to surrender their goods to the Duke’s discretion if only he would spare their lives.  Charles would not listen to their overtures; he swore that he would have town and inhabitants at his discretion or that he and his army should perish in the attempt.

The townsmen, with the boldness of despair, sallied forth to meet the advance guard of their enemies; they were driven back with great loss.  Four days later, the 26th, the Duke and main body of the army had not come up.  The troops, who had repulsed the sally on the 22d, had as yet met with little resistance, and thought themselves strong enough to occupy an open town defended only by ill-armed traders and mechanics.  The weather was cold and rainy, the temptation of securing comfortable quarters and the undivided profits of the sack irresistible.  The assailants occupied