sources for enriching the treasury.* It was certainly difficult for the allies to derive more benefit from the north of that kingdom, equally drained and plundered; but Great Britain and the Low Countries, sheltered from the scourge of war, and the two states of Burgundy, the frontiers of which had scarcely been approached, afforded sources of abundant succours in every point of view.

The necessaries thus furnished to the enemies of Charles, as well as their forces and their finances, were managed by very skilful hands. The duke of Burgundy was accounted one of the most able, and the duke of Bedford one of the greatest generals of his time. Nor was the latter less conspicuous as an active, enterprising, and indefatigable statesman: he was never absent, whether in the council or the field; upon all occasions where the presence of the chief was requisite, Bedford never failed to show himself.

From this cursory view of the situation of affairs,

* Many very striking instances are extant of the distress to which Charles VII. was reduced. The chaplain who assisted at the baptism of Louis XI., in July, 1423, was obliged to procure the silver vases employed upon that occasion; forty livres, however, which had been borrowed upon these articles, were not paid until the end of the year.-See Villaret, xiv. p. 285. In 1429, when it was found necessary to victual the city of Orleans, the treasurer of the queen had only four crowns left in the money chest. See Laverdy, page 314.

it is apparent how powerful were the enemies of the French king; and yet we have not mentioned his most dangerous opponent, which was no other than -himself. At the very dawn of adolescence, Charles had manifested symptoms of personal energy, and displayed some interest in regard to his own affairs; he also assisted frequently at political conferences, and attended expeditions in person; but having attained the age of twenty, and being invested with the regal dignity, he became estranged, as it were, to every thing but his pleasures, his mistresses, and his favourites. While his warriors were prodigal of their blood and their fortunes, in order to maintain him on his throne, he was only occupied with banquetings, masquerades, and balls. He abandoned the revenues of his provinces to the plunder of his ministers and confidential favourites, permitting them to impoverish and persecute his most loyal subjects, to make use of the forces he possessed against his own generals,

*In 1418, at the sieges of Tours and the town of Azay, near that city; in 1419 and 1420, (see Chronicle of France, pages 324 and 325,) at those of Nismes and St. Esprit ; and in 1421, at the attacks of Beziers and of Sommière, near Nismes; as well as at the siege of Chartres, and some other places in Perche and its environs; and also at the investment of Cosne, in 1422. From the latter period, however, until the expedition for the purpose of the coronation, in 1429, it does not appear that Charles ever showed himself to his army.

and even sometimes approving of their crimes. He almost uniformly selected his friends from among those who were conspicuous for their vices* and paucity of talent; and he was so deficient in that species of firmness which should be the most prominent virtue in a king, particularly when troubles oppress the state, that he permitted the murder of his own friends, within the confines of his palace, and even in his presence, without undertaking either to defend or to avenge them.

Such, however, is a correct portrait of the monarch to whom historians have given the surname of The Victorious. If he proved triumphant, it was owing to the devotion of his warriors and his subjects, as well as to propitious and unexpected occurrences, but never to his own labours or individual exploits; in fact, he recovered his kingdom in opposition to himself, and in despite of his own insensate mode of proceeding.

During ten years, Charles VII. had for superintendent of the province of Languedoc, from whence he derived the greater part of his resources, one Guillaume de Champeaux, bishop of Laon, whom he was obliged to displace on the 31st December, 1441. This ecclesiastic appropriated for his own benefit from six to seven hundred thousand crowns, a most enormous sum for that period; and not contented with these pilferings, he committed various other crimes, even conspiring against the king; and notwithstanding the royal commands several times reiterated, he nevertheless retained his functions for a considerable period. -See Lettres de Destitution, in Vaissette, vol. iv. page 461.

It must be confessed that Charles was much improved by the experience of twenty years, after which his conduct seemed happily to coincide with the posture of his affairs; yet, this acknowledgment cannot justify his extraordinary mode of administration at a time when it was necessary that he should have conducted himself even with more than ordinary prudence, and displayed the utmost stretch of penetration; when it was requisite for him to act as a skilful statesman struggling against his enemies and adverse fortune, and to display the courage of a hero in his country's cause.

It is, above all, essential that a king, at the commencement of his reign, should give proofs of his courage, his activity, his equitable administration of public affairs, and all those qualifications which are the essentials of royalty. The conduct of Charles VII. formed a complete contrast. Towards the close of 1422, scarcely three months after the demise of his father, one of his partisans, having scaled the walls, and surprised the small town of Meulan, was therein besieged by the duke of Bedford and the earl of Salisbury; in consequence this captain applied for succour; the post was of importance; and six thousand men were despatched to his assistance. Instead of accompanying this force in person, Charles thought fit to remain sixty leagues distant from the scene of action. apathy even more unpardonable was displayed in

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respect to the funds appropriated for the mainenance of these troops; for a favourite courtier charged by the king to distribute the same, consumed the whole amount in purchasing silver vessels, trinkets, and precious stones. In consequence of this, the army, on arriving within six leagues of Meulan, disbanded for want of pay; and the result was, that the besieged, rendered furious on finding themselves betrayed to such men, and for such ignoble purposes, tore the standards of Charles into pieces, trampled them under foot, entered into an immediate capitulation, and the garrison forthwith passed into the service of the

enemy.

The duke of Brittany, who had hitherto continued neuter, at length joined the English, and after this alliance, took possession of numerous places. Charles, in the spring, received reinforcements from Scotland and from Spain, when an army of ten thousand men was collected, and employed to lay the siege before Crévant. The allies, under the command of the earl of Suffolk, marched to their rencounter; but the positions occupied by the French were impregnable; the army, therefore, without any risk, might have continued the siege and braved the English forces-but the French stood in need of experienced commanders; and Charles, whose presence on this occasion might have served to make them act with circumspection,