"
"It is well they should agree at the last," said Grisell, "or the
Count will carry with him the sorest of memories."
And indeed Charles the Bold was on his knees beside the bed of his
speechless father in an agony of grief.
Presently all the bells in Bruges began to clash out their warning
that a soul was passing to the unseen land, and Grisell made signs to
Clemence, while Leonard lifted himself upright, and all breathed the
same for the mighty Prince as for the poorest beggar, the
intercession for the dying. Then the solemn note became a knell, and
their prayer changed to the De Profundis, "Out of the depths."
Presently Lambert Groot came in, grave and saddened, with the
intelligence that Philip the Good had departed in peace, with his
wife and son on either side of him, and his little granddaughter
kneeling beside the Duchess.
There was bitter weeping all over Bruges, and soon all over Flanders
and the other domains united under the Dukedom of Burgundy, for
though Philip had often deeply erred, he had been a fair ruler,
balancing discordant interests justly, and maintaining peace, while
all that was splendid or luxurious prospered and throve under him.
There was a certain dread of the future under his successor.
"A better man at heart," said Leonard, who had learnt to love the
Count de Charolais. "He loathes the vices and revelry that have
stained the Court."
"That is true," said Lambert.
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