214 HISTORY OF KING HENIIY VII. 



&quot; hopes, by his attempting of the hardest part of the 

 &quot; war first. The cause of this war he knoweth best. 

 &quot; He alledgeth the entertaining and succouring of 

 &quot; the Duke of Orleans, and some other French lords, 

 &quot; whom the king taketh for his enemies. Others 

 &quot; divine of other matters. Both parts have, by their 

 &quot; ambassadors, divers times prayed the king s aids : 

 &quot; the French king aids or neutrality ; the Britains 

 &quot; aids simply ; for so their case requireth. The king, 

 &quot; as a Christian prince, and blessed son of the holy 

 &amp;lt;( church, hath offered himself as a mediator to treat 

 &quot; of a peace between them. The French king yieldeth 

 &quot;&quot; to treat, but will not stay the prosecution of the 

 &quot; war. The Britains that desire peace most hearken 

 &quot; to it least ; not upon confidence or stiffness, but 

 &quot; upon distrust of true meaning, seeing the war goes 

 &quot; on. So as the king, after as much pains arid care to 

 &quot; effect a peace as ever he took in any business, not 

 &quot; being able to remove the prosecution on the one side 

 &quot; nor the distrust on the other, caused by that pro- 

 &quot; secution, hath let fall the treaty ; not repenting of 

 &quot; it, but despairing of it now as not likely to succeed. 

 &quot; Therefore by this narrative you now understand 

 &quot; the state of the question, whereupon the king 

 &quot; prayeth your advice ; which is no other, but whe- 

 &quot; ther he shall enter into an auxiliary and defensive 

 &quot; war for the Britains against France ? 



&quot; And the better to open your understandings in 

 &quot; this affair, the king hath commanded me to say 

 66 somewhat to you from him, of the persons that do 

 &quot; intervene in this business ; and somewhat of the 



