levied upon the

permitted his servants to receive the money carucates in his hands, as had been done in other parts of the kingdom, and why he had beaten one of the servants of the sheriff of York; and in order that he might repay to the king three thousand marks of silver, which he had owed to Richard, king of England, his brother.

Immediately after his coronation, John, king of England, sent Philip, bishop of Durham, Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk, Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, nephew of William, king of Scotland, David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of the said king of Scotland, Roger de Lacy, constable of Chester, William de Vesci and Robert de Ros, sons-in-law of the said king of Scotland, and Robert Fitz-Roger, sheriff of Northumberland, to William, king of the Scots, with letters patent from the king, giving a safe conduct for the purpose of bringing the said king of the Scots to the king of England, and naming the morrow of the feast of Saint Edmund as that of his appearance at Lincoln.

In the meantime, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, returning to England from the parts beyond sea, fell ill at London, being attacked by a quartan ague; on which John, king of England, came to visit him, and confirmed his will, and promised him, in the name of the Lord, that for the future, in his time, he would ratify all reasonable testaments of prelates of churches. Shortly after, in the month of November, sixteen days before the calends of December, being the fifth day of the week, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, departed this life at London.

In the same month of November, on the eleventh day before the calends of December, being the third day of the week, John, king of England, and William, king of Scotland, had an interview at Lincoln; and, on the day after, that is to say, on the tenth day before the calends of December, being the fourth day of the week, John, king of England, fearlessly, and contrary to the advice of many of his followers, entered the cathedral church of Lincoln," and offered on the altar of Saint John the Baptist, in the new buildings there, a chalice of gold. After this, on the same day, he and William, king of the Scots, met for a conference, outside of the city of Lincoln, upon a lofty hill; and there, in sight of all the people, William, king of the Scots,

69 This is an allusion to the superstitious notion, that misfortune would befall those kings who entered the city of Lincoln. See Vol. i. p. 249, and the Note.

did homage to John, king of England, as of his own right, and swore fealty to him, upon the cross of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, for life and limb, and his worldly honor against all men, and for preserving the peace toward him and his realm, saving always his own rights, the following being witnesses thereto Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, John, archbishop of Dublin, Bernard, archbishop of Ragusa, Philip, bishop of Durham, William, bishop of London, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, Eustace, bishop of Ely, Savaric, bishop of Bath, Herbert, bishop of Salisbury, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Gilles, bishop of Hereford, John, bishop of Norwich, Roger, bishop of Saint Andrew's, in Scotland, Henry, bishop of Llandaff, and Roger, bishop of Bangor; Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, justiciary of England, earl of Essex, Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk, Hamelin, earl of Warenne, Baldwin de Bethune, earl of Aumarle, William, earl of Salisbury, Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, the earl of Clare, the earl of Ferrers, David, brother of William, king of the Scots, earl of Huntingdon, Roland, son of Uctred, son of Fergus, prince of the men of Galloway, Patrick, earl of Lothian, Griffin, son of Rees, king of South Wales, and many besides, from the kingdom of Scotland; and in presence of the following barons of England and Normandy; Roger, constable of Chester, Eustace de Vesci, Robert de Ros, William de Stuteville, Ralph Chamberlain of Tankerville, Warine Fitzgerald, Stephen de Turnham, and Robert, his brother, Gilbert Basset, and Thomas and Alan, his brothers, Roger de Huntingfield, Saier de Quincy, William de Hastings, Jolan de Neville, Simon de Chancy, Gerard de Camville, and many others of the barons of England and Normandy.

Accordingly, after doing homage, William, king of Scotland, demanded of John, king of England, his lord, the whole of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, as his right and inheritance; and after this had been discussed between them at considerable length, and they could not come to an agreement, the king of England demanded of the king of Scotland a truce, for the purpose of deliberating until Pentecost next ensuing. This being granted, on the day after, that is to say, on the ninth day of the calends of December, being the fifth day of the week, early in the morning, William, king of the Scots, set out on his return to his own kingdom, under the safe conduct of the persons before named, who had escorted him to the king of England.

On the same day, that is to say, on the ninth day before the calends of December, the body of Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, was carried to Lincoln, for the purpose of being buried there; on which, John, king of England, and the above-named three archbishops, and thirteen bishops, together with the said earls and barons, went forth to meet it, and received the body; and the king himself, with the earls and barons, carried the body on their shoulders to the porch of the cathedral church, rejoicing in thus showing obedience to God and to his blessed minister. At the door of the church the above-named archbishops and bishops received the body, and then it was carried on the shoulders of the priests into the choir, where it remained for the night. While the service of the dead was being performed around it, a certain woman, who for seven years had been blind of one eye, recovered her [perfect] sight. There too a certain cut-purse cut away the purse belonging to a woman, immediately upon which both his hands became contracted, and he stood motionless, crying aloud, and saying,70 "I repent, alas! if belief is ever accorded to any of the wretched, I repent, and am tortured by my deeds. I, who confess that torments still more severe are by me deserved, though hardly can I endure them more severe. And yet, although this punishment is merited by my deeds; still, great hopes have I in the mercy of God. Hope it is that makes even the delver," chained with the fetter, to live on, and to fancy that from even the iron his legs will be released. Hope it is that, when on every side no land he sees, makes the shipwrecked sailor still strike out in the midst of the waves. Full oft has the skilful care of the physicians abandoned him, whom, as the pulse died away, hope did not forsake. Those in prison fast enclosed are said to look for the day of safety, and many a one as he hangs on the cross, still breathes forth his vows. Lo, hope! how many, when around the neck they have 70 This extempore confession of the Cut-purse, consists of nine Pentameter couplets, beginning

"Pœnitet, O, si quid miserorum creditur ulli, Pœnitet, et facto torqueor ipse meo." Roger of Wendover is content to leave him to speak in plain prose only, and to the following effect. "Pity me, pity me, ye friends of God; for I renounce Satan and his works, to whom I have till now been a slave; and pray to the Lord for me, that He may not confound me in my penitence, but may rather deal compassionately with me."

71

66

ut vivat fossor quoque compede vinctus." This poetical thief must have been a reader of Ovid; there is an allusion in these words to the Tristia, B. iv. El. i. 1. 1.

tied the noose, has she forbidden to die by the purposed death! Sometimes at the altar does the violator of the temple take refuge, nor does he dread to invoke the offended Deity's aid."

Then, returning to himself, he exclaimed, "Be silent, thou my tongue, nothing more art thou allowed to say." After which, turning to the clergy, he said, "Pity me, do you, at least, pity me, ye friends of God, and pray for me unto the Lord, that He in His ineffable mercy may have mercy unto me. For Satan and his works I renounce. And immediately, upon prayer being made for him unto the Lord, the chains of Satan were loosed, by which his hands had been bound together, and he was made a whole man from that hour, praising and glorifying God. "At praises being given such as thine, do they in heaven rejoice, that so, what their power is able to effect, by testimony they may prove. Full oft do they alleviate punishments, and restore the light withdrawn, when they see that a sin has been sincerely repented of."

On the eighth day before the calends of December, being the sixth day of the week, the body of the said Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, was, after the solemnity of the mass, carried into the new church which he himself had founded in honor of the blessed Mary, the Mother of God and ever a Virgin; and he was buried by the before-named archbishops and bishops, near the altar of Saint John the Baptist. Oh! how great was the grief of all, how great their lamentations! and those of the clergy in especial. For he was truthful in word, just in judgment, foreeseing in counsel, conspicuous in virtue, and remarkable for every endowment of manners; and his life shed a glorious light upon all churches. "The closing day of man must ever be awaited, and before his death and the last rites ought no man to be pronounced happy."73 For to live is not a glorious thing, but to live well is the thing to be gloried in.

Also, while John, king of England, was staying at Lincoln, there came to him twelve abbats of the Cistercian order, and, falling at his feet, begged for mercy, saying that his foresters 72 Two Elegiac couplets. 73 A quotation,"Ultima semper

Expectatione dies homini est; dicique beatus

Ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet."

The classical reader will here remember the conversation of Solon with Cræsus, and his story of the deaths of Cleobis and Biton, related in the first Book of Herodotus.

had destroyed their cattle, by which they and the poor of Christ were sustained, and had driven them away from the royal pastures and forests; on which the king made answer, "Arise." Accordingly, all these men arose, and the king himself, by the inspiration of the Divine favour, fell on his face before their feet, asking pardon, and said to them, "My protection I do give and do grant to you, that you may feed your cattle in my pastures and forests, in the manner in which the said privilege is known to have been granted to you by my predecessors the kings of England; in addition to which, look out for some suitable place in my kingdom for you to found an abbey of your order, and I will build it for the good of my soul and those of my parents, and for the establishment of my kingdom, and there, God willing, will I be buried.”

In the month of December, in the same year, Roland, prince of Galloway, died at Northampton, in England, on the fourteenth day before the calends of January, being the third day of the week, and was buried there, in the abbey of Saint Andrew.

In the same year, Dunecan, son of Gilbert, the son of Fergus, carried off Evelina, the daughter of Alan Fitz-Walter, lord of Renfrew, before the return of William, king of Scotland, from England into his territories. The king, being greatly enraged at this, exacted from Alan Fitz-Walter twenty-four hostages, as pledges that he would keep the peace towards him and his territories, and that he would exact redress for that offence.

In the month of September, in the said year, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, within fifteen days after his death, appeared, in his sleep, to Master Roger de Roleston, dean of the church of Lincoln, and said to him, "Our Lord Jesus Christ has, in His favour, granted unto me, that one of you my brethren shall before long come to me to reign with the Lord. Be ye, therefore, prepared and watch, for ye know not the day nor the hour when the Lord shall come;" and so saying, he departed. When the morning came, the before-named dean related this vision in the chapter-house to the brethren, and they were all with one mind desiring with great desire to be relieved from the great burden of the flesh, and to be with Christ. But this vision was, at this time, fulfilled in one brother only of their number, Robert Deschapelles. For he immediately fell ill, and, breathing his last within three days, took his departure unto the Lord. [After his death] his body was found to be