The king of "France was not in good heakht nor had been ever fince he heard of the misfor-tunes of his fon-in-law, Richard ; and his dif-order was greatly increafed when he was told of his death. The duke of Burgundy took the chief govern-ment of the realm: he came to Saint Omer and Bourbourg, where were the duke of Bourbon, the lord Charles d'Albreth, fir Charles de Han-giers, fir John de Châteaumoran't, and fuch prelates as the patriarch of Jerufalem, the bifhops of Paris and Beauvais. On the part of England were the earls of Northumberland, Rudand and Devon-shire, fir Henry Percy, fon to the earl of Nor-thumberland, fir Evan Fitzwarren, and the. bi-fhops of Winchefter and Ely. - • . The French propofed having the queen of Eng-land delivered to them, but the Englifh would not liften to it, faying they would gladly have her re-fide in England on her dower, and that, if lhe had loft her hufband, they would provide her another^ who fhould be young and handfome, and whom Ihe would love. Richard of Bourdeaux was too old for her, and the perfon they fhould offer was fuitable in every refped, being no other than the prince of Wales, eldeft fon to king Henry. . " . The French would not agree to this, for they dared not come to any final conclufion in this matter without the confent of the king her father. He was now in a very bad ftate, and much weakened ' in his conftitution, for there had not been 104