would. On 23 April 1430 Henry landed at Calais, and joined Bedford at Rouen. It was arranged that Bedford's regency should be suspended while the king was in France, but that he should continue to hold the lordships of Alençon, Anjou, and Maine, and that if he hereafter had to resign them to the king, he should be recompensed for them (Ordinances, iv. 37). The taking of Louviers by La Hire enabled that captain to plunder almost to the walls of Rouen, and it is probable that to this period may be referred a story that Bedford and his duchess nearly fell into the hands of the enemy while hunting near Rouen (Amundesham, i. 42). In Champagne and the borders of Picardy the war went badly for the English, or, rather, the Burgundians, who were chiefly concerned in it. On 4 Aug. 1431 Bedford was marching from Rouen to Paris with a slender escort, when Marshal de Boussac and Saintraille, who were occupying Beauvais, surprised him near Nantes; he escaped by getting into a boat, in which he made his way to Paris. Nearly all his men perished. The Earls of Warwick and Arundel, who were encamped before Louviers, heard that be had either been slain or taken prisoner, followed the French, defeated them near Beauvais, and took Saintraille and a youth called Guillaume-le-Pastourel, who aspired to rival the exploits of the Maid. Bedford, who had returned to Rouen, was delighted at their success. Louviers was surrendered on 25 Oct. Philip was growing more and more impatient at the prolongation of the war, and complained bitterly to the English council. Bedford and the council at Rouen answered him as well as they could, but the truth was that both England and Normandy were exhausted. Dissatisfied with their answer, he again entered into negotiations with Charles, and a legate of Eugenius IV visited both him and the English court at Rouen for the purpose of making peace. Bedford sought to keep the duke from taking any measures in the direction of peace apart from the English council. On 2 Dec. he brought the young king to Paris, and on the 16th caused him to be crowned at Notre Dame by Beaufort.
In the spring of 1432 the English lost Chartres. Bedford then made a vigorous attempt to retrieve their fortunes in Brie and the He de France. Finding that a force sent against Lagni-sur-Marne made no progress, he set out in person with reinforcements and cannon, and pressed the siege so hotly that the garrison was on the point of capitulation when a French army arrived in August and relieved the place. The French then drew off, apparently in the direction of Paris. Bedford accordingly broke up his camp and, marching to Paris in haste, left cannon and stores behind him. His failure disgusted the Parisians. Some nuns of St. Antoine, with their abbess, were imprisoned on suspicion of having plotted in his absence to admit Charles's party. In other parts he had little to encourage him. A quarrel between the Dukes of Brittany and Alençon gave him an opportunity of striking a blow at the French cause by sending troops to help Brittany, but the quarrel was composed by Richemont. On 13 Nov. Bedford's wife, Anne of Burgundy, died at Paris, and was buried in the church of the Celestins. She was only twenty-eight, and was much beloved both by the Parisians and the Burgundians, being described as 'bonne et belle' (Journal d'un Bourgeois, p. 270). Her death, which Bedford felt deeply, broke the tie which bound Duke Philip to him. Early in 1433 the regent (for he still held that title) left Paris for Rouen to receive the return of a heavy tax laid upon the provinces, and then proceeded to Calais, where he punished some mutinous soldiers. While he was there Louis of Luxemburg, bishop of Therouanne, arranged a marriage between his niece, Jacqueline or Jacquetta, daughter of Pierre, count of St. Pol, and the regent; for Bedford was anxious to form an alliance which might be useful to the English cause, and the house of Luxemburg was rich and powerful. The marriage was performed by the bishop at Therouanne on 20 April. The new duchess, who was only seventeen, was handsome and lively, and Bedford as a thankoffering presented the cathedral with two, or five, fine bells, which he had cast in England for the purpose. The match, made without the knowledge of Duke Philip, the feudal lord of the bride's father, interrupted all friendly relations between Philip and Bedford. Philip, was unwilling that the English should gain. influence in Picardy. Cardinal Beaufort in vain attempted to arrange a reconciliation between the two at St. Omer. Now that all parties were tired of the war, a conference was held near Melun, before the cardinal of Ste.-Croix, by ambassadors of England, France, and Burgundy. Bedford had an interview there with the cardinal. But the negotiations were fruitless, and Bedford visited England with his duchess, entering London on 23 June.
On 13 July 1433, in a speech in parliament, he defended his administration in France from some charges (for which Gloucester was probably responsible) of neglect and carelessness. He demanded that, if any accusation
