‘Sire, remember, I pray thee, the words addressed to Cain, namely, ‘Vox sanguinis:’ The voice of thy brother’s blood. It is the voice of the lady of Orleans, and of her children, crying to thee, and demanding justice. Alas! my lord king, to whom wouldst thou wish to do justice, if thou refusest to do it for the love of thy own brother? If thou be not a friend to thy blood, to whom wouldst thou be a friend, seeing we ask no more than justice? O, most noble prince, consider that thy brother has been torn from thee for ever! Thou wilt never again see him, for the duke of Burgundy has cruelly caused him to be put to death.
‘Recollect he was thy brother, and thou wilt find how greatly he is to be compassioned. He, like thee, was equally fond of the queen and thy children, and, from his natural good sense, honoured all the royal blood of France; and few could be found more eloquent than he was when addressing nobles, clergy or laymen.
‘Our Lord had given him what king Solomon had demanded, prudence and wisdom; for every one knows, that he was adorned with an excellent understanding,—and of him may be said as of David, in the chapter of the Acts of the Apostles,—‘Sapiebat sicut angelus Domini.’ He was endowed with wisdom like to an angel of God.
‘Were I to speak of the beauty of his person, I could only say, that he was thy image and resemblance, with this good quality that he was perfectly courteous to all, and never caused any one to be beaten, or put to death, nor did he ever procure the death of any one. He possessed, however, the power of so doing, even to his enemies, who were notoriously defaming him, and attributing to him evils which he never thought of: he could, more especially, have had our adversary put to death several times, had he so pleased,—for no great power is requisite to have any one treacherously murdered.
‘But, in good truth, such thoughts were not in his heart; for the property of royal blood is to have such compassion and mercy that it cannot suffer any cruelty, murder or treason whatever; and of this blood my late lord of Orleans had a large share, for he was the son of a king and queen.
‘O, king Charles! if thou wert now alive, what wouldst thou say? What tears could appease thee? What would have hindered thee from doing justice for so base a murder? Alas! how hast thou loved, and to what honour hast thou diligently trained the tree that has brought forth the fruit which has put to death thy very dear son? Alas! king Charles, thou mayest now say with Jacob, ‘Fera pessima devoravit filium meum.’ The worst of beasts has devoured my son.