king of Navarre, and' of Ms imprifonment which vexed them forely. It happened one day thai fir William faid to him; c If you will give pae your affiftance, I will furely re-conquer this city and caftle for the king of Na-varre/ r How wilhyou do that ?* replied the citi-zen, € for the governor is ftrongly attached to the French intereft ; and, without having gained the caftle, we dare not fhew ourfelves, for he is mafter of the town and fuburbs/ Sir William anfwered; ' I will tell you : you muft get three or four citizens of your friends, that are of the fame way of think" ing as yourfelf, and fill your houfes well with armed jnen that can be depended on; and I promife you on my head, that we will enter the çaftle by a trick, without incurring any danger/ The citizen was fo aéiive, that he foon collected a hundred of his friends, who were as well inclined as himfelC Sir William went in and out of the town without any Aifpicion; for he had not borne arms in the laft expedition with the lord Philip de Navarre, becaufe the greater part of his property Jay near to Evreux, and the king of France, at the time he conquered Evreux, had made all the landholder* in the neigh-bourhood fwear allegiance to him, otberwife he would have taken pofleffion of their lands ; he had thus only gained outwardly their affeëlions, but their hearts remained attached to the intereft of Navarre. If king John, however, had been in France, tbte fir William would not have dared to attempt what he 376