The siege was carried on for some time; but at length, the duke of Alençon, on account of the situation of the duchess, and to prevent his town and subjects being further harrassed, made peace with his uncle, and restored to him his chancellor and the others whom he had made prisoners. Thus was the siege broken up. The duke had taken the chancellor prisoner at a country-seat which he had near to Nantes,—and his object was to get paid a certain sum of money that his uncle, the duke of Brittany, was indebted to him.
THE FRENCH ARE NEAR TAKING THE CASTLE OF ROUEN.
On the 3d day of February in this year, at the solicitations of the marshal de Bousac, the lord de Fontaines, sir John Foulquet, the lord de Mouy, and other captains assembled a force of about six hundred fighting men in the city of Beauvais. They marched thence to within a league of Rouen, and posted themselves in ambush in a wood.
Thence the marshal sent off secretly a gentleman called Richarville with a hundred or six score combatants, all on foot, except four or five who were mounted on small horses, to the castle of Rouen, in which the marshal had for some time kept up a correspondence with a marauder on the part of the English named Pierre Audeboeuf, a Béarn man, who had promised to deliver up the castle to him.
When Richarville and his detachment approached the castle, he found the Béarnman ready to perform his promise; and they all entered, except a few who were left to guard the horses. They instantly made themselves masters of the greater part of the castle, and particularly the great tower, which was well supplied with stores.
The earl of Arundel and many English were in bed in the castle, most part of whom saved themselves as well as they could over the walls: the others retired within the town, but not without leaving several killed and wounded by the French.
When this was done, Richarville mounted his horse, and hastened back with all speed to where he had left the marshal, and told him the success of his enterprise, requiring him, at the same time, to advance quickly to the support of his men, when, without doubt, the whole of the castle would be won. But, to make short of the matter,—for all that he could say, and notwithstanding the urgency of the case which he stated to the commanders, he could not prevail on them to march, although the marshal and the principal captains had most faithfully promised to support him, if he should succeed in making a lodgement within the castle: now he had succeeded, they would not fulfil their engagements; and when within one league, as I have said, of Rouen, they began to quarrel among themselves about the division of the plunder, which had not as yet been won.