A.D. 1193. • LETIEB OE KING 3HCHARTJ. 291 departed from us, our most dearly beloved chancellor, William, bishop of Ely, came to us, and, he faithfully negociating between our lord the emperor and ourselves, the result was, that we came from the castle of Trevelles, in which we were confined, to meet the emperor at Haguenau, where we were honorably received by the emperor and the whole of his court. Here, too, our lord the emperor and our lady the empress honored us with many and various presents, and, what is of especial importance, a mutual and indissoluble bond of friendship was formed between our lord the emperor and ourselves ; whereby each of us is bound <» aid the other against all living men in gaining his rights and in retaining possession of the same. For becoming reasons it is that we are prolonging our stay with the emperor, until his business and our own shall be brought to an end, and until we shall have paid him seventy thousand marks of silver. Wherefore we do beg of you, and by the fealty by which you are bound to us, do adjure you, that you will use all earnestness in raising the said sum of money, and that you, our justiciaries, who are placed above the others in our kingdom, will set an example to others ; that so you may honorably and nobly afford of your own means for our assistance, and also raise what you can on loan from others, in order that you may set an example to our other faithful subj ects for doing the like. The whole of the gold and silver, also, of the churches, you are with careful attention, and with a written inventory, to receive from the prelates of those churches ; and you are to assure them by your oath, and by that of such others of our barons as you shall think fit, that full restitution shall be made for the same. Tou are also to receive hostages from all our barons, in order that when our most trusty chancellor, as soon as our business has been settled in Germany, shall come to England, he mayfind the same hostages with our much-beloved mother, that so he may with all expedition transmit to us such of them as may have been agreed upon between ourselves and the emperor ; to the end that our liberation may not suffer any delay in consequence of the absence of the hostages and your neglect. Also, money there collected is, in like manner, to be delivered to our mother and such persons as she shall think proper. He whom, in the moment of our necessity, we shall find to be prompt, in his necessity will find us a friend, and ready to reward ; and.it will be more pleasing to us if, in our absence, any person shall in any way assist us, ν 2