ynes, "was the pleasure great for the king more than
all the others together; it was the joy of seeing himself set above all
those he hated, and above his principal foes; it might well seem to him
that he would never in his life meet any to gainsay him in his kingdom,
or in the neighborhood near him." He replied the same day to Sire de
Craon, "Sir Count, my good friend, I have received your letters, and the
good news you have brought to my knowledge, for which I thank you as much
as I am able. Now is the time for you to employ all your five natural
wits to put the duchy and countship of Burgundy in my hands. And, to
that end, place yourself with your band and the governor of Champagne, if
so be that the Duke of Burgundy is dead, within the said country, and
take care, for the dear love you bear me, that you maintain amongst the
men of war the best order, just as if you were inside Paris; and make
known to them that I am minded to treat them and keep them better than
any in my kingdom; and that, in respect of our god-daughter, I have an
intention of completing the marriage that I have already had in
contemplation between my lord the _dauphin_ and her. Sir Count, I
consider it understood that you will not enter the said country, or make
mention of that which is written above, unless the Duke of Burgundy be
dead. And, in any case, I pray you to serve me in accordance with the
confidence I have in you. And adieu!"

Beneath the discreet reserve inspired by a remnant of doubt concerning
the death of his enemy, this letter contained the essence of Louis XI.'s
grand and very natural stroke of policy. Charles the Rash had left only
a daughter, Mary of Burgundy, sole heiress of all his dominions. To
annex this magnificent heritage to the crown of France by the marriage of
the heiress with the _dauphin_ who was one day to be Charles VIII., was
clearly for the best interests of the nation as well as of the French
kingship, and such had, accordingly, been Louis XI.'s first idea. "When
the Duke of Burgundy was still alive," says Commynes, "many a time spoke
the king to me of what he would do if the duke should happen to die; and
he spoke most reasonably, saying that he would try to make a match
between his son (who is now our king) and the said duke's daughter (who
was afterwards Duchess of Austria); and if she were not minded to hear of
it for that my lord, the _dauphin_, was much younger than she, he would
essay to get her