, though not in unison, were in existence, and,
like a scotched snake, might reunite and become dangerous again. But a worse
danger was the increasing power of the Duke of Burgundy, then one of the
greatest Princes of Europe, and little diminished in rank by the very slight
dependence of his duchy upon the crown of France.
    Charles, surnamed the Bold, or rather the Audacious, for his courage was
allied to rashness and frenzy, then wore the ducal coronet of Burgundy, which he
burned to convert into a royal and independent regal crown. The character of
this Duke was in every respect the direct contrast to that of Louis XI.
    The latter was calm, deliberate, and crafty, never prosecuting a desperate
enterprise, and never abandoning one likely to be successful, however distant
the prospect. The genius of the Duke was entirely different. He rushed on danger
because he loved it, and on difficulties because he despised them. As Louis
never sacrificed his interest to his passion, so Charles, on the other hand,
never sacrificed his passion, or even his humour, to any other consideration.
Notwithstanding the near relationship that existed between them, and the support
which the Duke and his father had afforded to Louis in his exile when Dauphin,
there was mutual contempt and hatred betwixt them. The Duke of Burgundy despised
the cautious policy of the King, and imputed to the faintness of his courage,
that he sought by leagues, purchases, and other indirect means, those
advantages, which, in his place, the Duke would have snatched with an armed
hand. He likewise hated the King, not only for the ingratitude he had manifested
for former kindnesses, and for personal injuries and imputations which the
ambassadors of Louis had cast upon him, when his father was yet alive, but also,
and especially, because of the support which he afforded in secret to the
discontented citizens of Ghent, Liege, and other great towns in Flanders. These
turbulent cities, jealous of their privileges, and proud of their wealth, were
frequently in a state of insurrection against their liege lords the Dukes of
Burgundy, and never failed to find underhand countenance at the Court of Louis,
who embraced every opportunity of fomenting disturbance within the dominions of
his overgrown vassal.
    The contempt and hatred of the Duke were retaliated by Louis with equal
energy, though he used a thicker veil to conceal his sentiments. It was
impossible for a man of his profound sagacity not to despise the stubborn
obstinacy which never resigned its purpose, however fatal perseverance might
prove, and the headlong impetuosity, which commenced its career without
