our arrival, our lord the pope would neither see us, nor admit us to the kiss, nor at his foot. Indeed, most of the cardinals hardly deigned to give us a reception even with a word. In consequence of this, being long racked with anxious cares, in the bitterness of our spirit, we entreated those who were more faithfully attached to you, by every possible means, that, through their intervention, our lord the pope might in some way or other grant us the indulgence of an audience. At length, at their urgent request, the lord abbat of Vaueouleurs and Robert, archdeacon of Lisieux, who were not so strongly suspected, obtained a reception. But when they, on giving the salutation on your behalf, made mention of your name as being a most devoted son of the Church of Rome, the whole court cried aloud with one voice, "Forbear! forbear!" as though it were abominable to our lord the pope to hear mention made of your name. Upon this, they left the court, and returned at a later hour to our lord the pope, and gave him information as to the object of our mission, and what injunctions we had received from your majesty. They also related, in their order, each of the benefits you had conferred on the archbishop of Canterbury, and aB the excesses and affronts he had been guilty of against your dignity. The whole of these matters were at first privately mentioned to him, and, afterwards, in the presence of our lord the pope and all the cardinals, they being confronted by two clerks of Canterbury, Alexander, and Gunther of Flanders. The fifth day of the week before Easter now drawing nigh, on whieh, according to usage of the Roman Church, our lord the pope is wont publicly to absolve or publicly to excommunicate, feeHng certain that as to what regarded your grievances and those of your kingdom they had hitherto managed matters with the greatest foresight,6* we consulted those whom we knew to be faithful to your majesty ; namely, the lord of Portuenza, the lord Jacinto, the lord of Pavia, the lord of Tusculanum, the lord Peter de Mirio (the lord John of Naples being absent), and begged them with the most urgent prayers and entreaties, that they would disclose to us the intentions of our lord the pope towards \is, and what determination he purposed to form on our case. However, the information they gave us in answer was nothing but what was ill-boding and 6 * It is pretty clear that " proni diutissime " is a misprint for " providentissime.'