The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. 33
Neither had the king yet cast off his cares and up to the number of two thousand or better. Whicl
hopes touching Britain, but thought to master the forces joining with some companies of Almains,
occasion by policy, though his arms had been put themselves into Dixmude, not perceived by
unfortunate; and to bereave the French king of the enemies; and passing through the town with
the fruit of his victory. The sum of his design some reinforcement, from the forces that were in
was, to encourage Maximilian to go on with his the town, assailed the enemies' camp negligently
suit, for the marriage of Anne, the heir of Britain, guarded, as being out of fear; where there was a
and to aid him to the consummation thereof. bloody fight, in which the English and their parBut the affairs of Maximilian were at that time takers obtained the victory, and slew to the numin great trouble and combustion, by a rebellion ber of eight thousand men, with the loss on the
of his subjects in Flanders; especially those of English part of a hundred orthereabouts, amongst
Prufges and Gaunt, whereof the town of Bruges, whom was the Lord Morley. They took also
tat such time as Maximilian was there in person, their great ordnance, with much rich spoils, which
had suddenly armed in tumult, and slain some of they carried to Newport; whence the Lord
his principal officers, and taken himself prisoner, D'Aubigny returned to Calais, leaving the hurt
and held him in durance till they had enforced men and some other voluntaries in Newport.
him and some of his counsellors to take a solemn But the Lord Cordes being at Ipres with a great
oath to pardon all their offences, and never to power of men, thinking to recover the loss and
question and revenge the same in time to come. disgrace of the fight at Dixmude, came presently
Nevertheless Frederick the emperor would not on, and sat down before Newport, and besieged
suffer this reproach and indignity offered to his it; and after some days' siege, he resolved to try
son to pass, but made sharp wars upon Flanders the fortune of an assault. Which he did one day,
to reclaim and chastise the rebels. But the Lord and succeeded therein so far, that he had taken
Ravenstein, a principal person about Maximilian, the principal tower and fort in that city, and
and one that had taken the oath of abolition with planted upon it the French banner. Whence
his master, pretending the religion thereof, but nevertheless they were presently beaten forth by
indeed upon private ambition, and, as it was the English, by the help of some fresh succcurs
thought, instigated and corrupted from France, of archers, arriving by good fortune, at the instant,
forsook the emperor and Maximilian his lord, in the haven of Newport. Whereupon the Lord
and made himself a head of the popular party, Cordes, discouraged, and measuring the new
and seized upon the towns of Ipres and Sluice, succours, which were small, by the success,
with both the castles: and forthwith sent to the which was great, levied his siege. By this
Lord Cordes, governor of Picardy under the means matters grew more exasperate between
French king, to desire aid; and to move him, the two kings of England and France, for that, in
that he, on the behalf of the French king, would the war of Flanders, the auxiliary forces of French
be protector of the United Towns, and by force and English were much blooded one against
of arms reduce the rest. The Lord Cordes was another. Which blood rankled the more, by the
ready to embrace the occasion, which was partly vain words of the Lord Cordes, that declared
of his own setting, and sent forthwith greater himself an open enemy of the English, beyond
forces than it had been possible for him to raise that that appertained to the present service;
on the sudden, if he had not looked for such a making it a common by-word of his, 1"That he
summons before, in aid of the Lord Ravenstein could be content to lie in hell seven years, so he
and the Flemings, with instructions to invest the might win Calais from the English.":owns between France and Bruges. The French The king having thus upheld the reputation of
forces besieged a little town called Dixmude, Maximilian, advised him now to press on his marwhere part of the Flemish forces joined with riagewith Britain to a conclusion. Which Maxithem. While they lay at this siege, the King of milian accordingly did, and so far forth prevailed,
England, upon pretence of the safety of the both with the young lady and with the principal
English pale about Calais, but in truth being loath persons about her, as the marriage was consumthat Maximilian should become contemptible, and mated by proxy, with a ceremony at that time in
thereby be shaken off by the states of Britain about these parts new. For she was not only publicly conthis marriage, sent over the Lord Morley with tracted,butstated,as abride,and solemnlybedded.;
a thousand men, unto the Lord D'Aubigny, then and after she was laid, there came in Maximilian's
deputy-of Calais, with secret instructions to aid ambassador with letters of procuration, and in the
Maximilian, and to raise the siege of Dixmude. presence of sundry noble personages, men and
The Lord D'Aubigny, giving it out that all was women, put his leg stript naked to the knee befor the strengthening of the English marches, tween the espousal sheets; to the end, that that
drew out of the garrisons of Calais, Hammes, ceremony might be thought to amount to a con
and Guines, to the number of a thousand men summation and actual knowledge. This done
more. So that with the fresh succours that came Maximilian, whose property was to leave things
under the conduct of the Lord Morley, they made then when they were almost come to perfectiot
VoL. I.-43 2 F