of John Lyon : he faid to his brothers (for he pro** phecied to them all that was to happen) j * Cetv taiqjy, gentlemen, f John Lyon fuffers at this mo-ment; and keeps his head very low ; but he aéts with good fenfe, and will contrive to throw m as low as we are now high. I will give you one piece of advice, which is, to kill him while we continue in the favour of my lord the earl : I can very eafily do it, if you charge me with this bufinefs, by which we fhall efcape all the danger, and can eafily get ac7 quitted for his death.' * . His brothersj refufed to confent to this, faying he had not done them any wrong, and that no man ought to lofe his life but by the fentence of ajudge. Things remained in this fimàtion fori fome time, when the devil, who never flecps, put it into the heads of the • people of Surges to make a canal from the river Lys : the earl agreed in their plans, and fent a-number of pioneers, with a body of men at arms to guard them. They had in former times / attempted to do this, but the citizens of Ghent had by force made them defifL - News was brought to GheAt, that the inha-r bitants of Bruges were now intending to carry by force their old fcheme of making a'canal to obtain • the waters of the Lys, which would be very preju-dicial to them ; fo that great murmurs arofe in Ghent, more particularly among the mariners, who were much affeded by it. They faid, that the people of Bruges fhould not thus make a canal to flraw off the courfe of the river, as it would be the fuifl of the town. Some others faid, in an under* • * - ! % hand . 108