Λ. η. ΕΧΐ'κιιίτιΟΝ AGAINST SIIREWSIÎUUV. .*^ 1 of the l'oictcvins and others, and John himself with much difficulty escaped by flight. The marshal then marched forward with his army, and pillaged and burned the villages and houses, and other property belonging to the said John, thus making him a poor man and a beggar instead of a rich man, as he had been ; and then he returned to his own territory laden with immense booty, and carrying off large herds of cattle. /tow the proscribed milites excited great opposition to the king's counsellors. At this same Christmas a grievous war was carried on against the king and his counsellors, for Richard Seward, in conjunction with others of the proscribed nobles, attacked the possessions of earl Richard the king's brother, near Rrchull, and burnt his houses, crops, and even the very cattle as they stood in the stables; they also attacked Segravc, the native place of Stephen the justiciary, burnt the splendid houses there with the cattle and crops, and then went away taking with them some valuable horses and other property ; they also destroyed by tire a village belonging to the bishop of Winchester near the last named place, and carried off a quantity of booty. These soldiers, however, observed one good rule amongst them generally ; they did not do any one injury or attack any one, except these unjust advisers of the king, by whose means they had been driven into exile : but whatever belonged to these men they destroyed, burning their woods, and plucking up their fruit-trees by the roots. Of the expédition against Shrewsbury. After this, during the octaves of the Kpiphatiy. the earl marshal and the Welsh chief Llewellyn collected all the forces they could muster, anil penetrating a good distance into the king's territory, spread lire wherever they went; so that, from the confines of Wales as far as the town of Shrewsbury, there was not a place that escaped their ravages ; they then burned the town of Shrewsbury and then returned home with valuable booty. King Henry, during all these proceedings of his enemies, was lying inactive at I'loncoster together with the bishop of Winchester, for he had not a military fore1 sufficient to oppose them, therefore he retreated, overcome with shame, to Winchester, leaving all that district exposed to the ravages of the enemy as was plainly evident ; it was a dreadful sight to travellers to see the corpses of the slain, which were almost numberless, lying iinbiiried and naked in the roads, affording meals for the beasts and birds of pr y, the stench from which had so corrupted the air that the dead killed the living. And so hardened was tlie king's heart liocorno against the marshal, owing to the evil advice he listened to, that, although the bishops advised him to make peace with that nobleman, who only fought to obtain justice, he replied that he would never coinè to anv terms wuh him, unless ho ls'gged his mercy with a halter around his neck, and acknowledging himself a traitor.