eality his birth was as princely as theirs; and no monarch in
Europe, not even Henry, equalled him in material resources; he was
idolized by the Parisians; and Henry was aware that France had been made
over to England more by his revenge for his father's murder at Montereau
than by the victory at Agincourt. Therefore the King endured his grand
talk about _our_ arms and _our_ intentions; and for Malcolm's sake, James
submitted to a sort of patronage, as if meant to imply that if Philippe
the Magnificent chose to espouse the cause of a captive king, his ransom
would be the merest trifle.

When Henry bade him to the Pentecostal banquet, 'when kings keep state,'
he graciously accepted the invitation for himself and his two sisters,
Marguerite, widow of the second short-lived Dauphin, and Anne, still
unmarried; but when Henry further explained his plan of feasting merely
with the orderly, and apportioning the food in real alms, the Duke by no
means approved.

'Feed those miserables!' he said. 'One gains nothing thereby! They make
no noise; whereas if you affront the others, who know how to cry out,
they will revile you like dogs!

'I will not be a slave to the rascaille,' said Henry.

'Ah, my fair lord, you, a victor, may dispense with these cares; but for
a poor little prince like me, it is better to reign in men's hearts than
on their necks.'

'In the hearts of honest men--on the necks of knaves,' said Henry.

Philippe shrugged his shoulders. He was wise in his own generation; for
he had all the audible voices in Paris on his side, while the cavils at
Henry's economy have descended to the present time.

'Do you see your rival, Sir?' said the voice of the Bishop of Therouenne
in Malcolm's ear, just as the Duke had begun to rise to take leave; and
he pointed out a knight of some thirty years, glittering with gay devices
from head to foot, and showing a bold proud visage, exaggerating the
harshness of the Burgundian lineaments.

Malcolm shuddered, and murmured, 'Such a pearl to such a hog!'

And meanwhile, King James, stepping forward, intimated to the Duke that
he would be glad of an interview with him.

Philippe made some ostentation of his numerous engagements with men of
Church and State; but ended by inviting the King of Scotland to sup with
him that evening, if his Grace would forgive travellers' fare and a
simple reception.

Thither accordingly James repaired on foot, attended only by Sir Nigel
and Mal