men-at-arms, and supply yourself with money, so that you may hastily repair again hither, and take vengeance on the enemies of God and of his holy religion." The king was not pleased with this advice of Sir Guy, but demanded from each person his private opinion on the busi ness, beginning with the counts d'Anjou, de Poitiers, and the other nobles near him. All of them replied, they agreed is the advice of Sir Guy de Malvoisin. The count de Japhe was hard pressed to give his opinion, for he had castles and possessione in those countries ; but when the king insisted on having it, he said, that if the king could keep the field, it would redound more to bis honour to remain, than thus dis comfited to return. I, who was the fourteenth in rank, answered in my turn that I was of the same opinion with the count de Japhe ; moreover, giving these additional reasons, that it was reported the king had not as yet expended any of the money from the royal treasury, but had employed that which was in the hands of the clerks of finance ; and that the king should send to the Morea, and the adjoining coun tries, to seek powerful reinforcements of men-at-arms, who, when they should learn the high pay the king was willing to give, would hasten to join him from all parts, and by this means the king might deliver the multitude of poor prisoners who had been captured in the service of God, which would never be the case unless it were done as now proposed. You must know, that at this moment none reproved me for my opinion, but many began to weep, for there was scarcely one among us who had not some of his relations in the prisons of the Saracens. Sir William de Belmont* spoke next, and said that my advice was very good, and that he agreed in it When all had delivered their opinions, the king was much confounded at their diversity, and took eight days more to declare which he should follow. When we had left the presence of the king, the great nobles made a violent attack on me, and, through jealousy and envy, said, " Ha ! certainly the king must be mad, if he do not follow your opinion, lord de Join * I believe this to be the same whose name appears in the cartulary of the bishopric of Paris, wherein he is mentioned as doing homage to that see, in the year 1263, for his lordship of Pierre Fits.