other custodians, who were to deliver them into his hands if the king, his brother, should not come in the meantime. When Hugh, bishop of Durham, who had in the meantime been laying siege to the castle of Tickhill, heard of this, he was greatly vexed, as he now felt sure of taking it ; but, by the command of the said justiciaries, he took his departure, leaving his task incomplete. Shortly after this, there came messengers to England with letters from the king, addressed by him to all the archbishops, bishops, abbats, earls, barons, clerks, and freeholders ; and by them the king humbly entreated that all persons, both clergy as well as laity, would give such assistance in ransoming him as should secure his grateful thanks to them; and, in order that they might do this with the more full assurance, the emperor of the Romans wrote in general terms to all the subjects of the king of England, informing them that their lord tie king of England had come to an agreement with him as to the sum to be paid for his ransom ; but he did not state the amount of the sum. Our lord the pope Celestinus also wrote in like manner, in behalf of the king, to all the ecclesiastics of the kingdom of England, to the effect that the emperor and the whole of his empire would be placed under interdict unless the king of England were speedily liberated from his custody. He likewise issued a command that the king of France and his kingdom should be laid under interdict unless he should desist from persecuting the king of England, so long as he remained in the emperor's hands. Moved by these and other admonitions of our lord the pope, and the whole of the cardinals, and the advice of prudent men, the Roman emperor and the king of England became reconciled : on which the king of England wrote to his faithful servants throughout England, to the following effect :— The Letter of Richard, king of England, to queen Eleanor, his mother, and hisjusticiaries in England. "Richard, by thè grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to Eleanor, by the same grace, queen of England, his much-loved mother, and to his justices, and all his faithful servants throughout England, greeting. Be it known unto you all, that, after our beloved servants, the venerable Hubert, bishop of Salisbury, and William, of the Church of Saint Mary, our prothonotary, had ι