authority. John, on his side, was equally assiduous to secure England; and upon his arrival in London, claimed the throne, as being heir to the brother, of whose death he pretended to have received certain intelligence. But in this the tra tor's expectations were disappointed. His claim was rejected by all the barons, who took such measures to provide for the security of the kingdom, that John was obliged to return to the continent, and openly to acknowledge his alliance with the king of France.

In the mean time, the unhappy Richard suffered all the mortifications that malicious tyranny could inflict. The emperor, in order to render him. more impatient for the recovery of his liberty, and make him submit to the payment of a large ransom, treated him with the greatest severity, and reduced him to condition worse than that of the meanest malefactor. Richard, however, was too noble-spirited to be meanly depressed by those indignities. As he did not know what extremities he might be reduced to, or what condescensions he might be obliged to make, he wrote to the justiciary of England to obey no orders that should come from him, if they seemed in the least contrary to his honour, or the good of the nation. His precautions were well founded; for the emperor, willing to intimidate him, had him even accused at the diet of Worms of many crimes and misdemeanors, partly to justify his own cruelty, and partly to swell the ransom. There he was charged with making an alliance with Tancred, the usurper of Sicily; of turning the arms of th: crusade against a christian prince; of affronting the duke of Austria before Acre; of obstructing the progress of the christian arms, by his contests with the king of France; of. concluding a truce with Saladin, and leaving Jerusalem in the hands

of the infidels. This frivolous charges were heard by Richard with becoming indignation. He even waved his dignity to answer them; and so fully vindicated himself before the princes who composed the diet, that they exclaimed loudly against the con-> duct of the emperor, while the pope even threatened him with excommunication. This barbarous monarch now saw that he could no longer detain his prisoner. He therefore was willing to listen to terms of accommodation. A ransom was agreed upon, which amounted to an hundred and fifty thousand marks, or about three hundred thousand pounds of our money. Of this, Richard was to pay one hundred thousand, before he received his liberty; and sixty-seven hostages were to be delivered for the remainder. The agreement being thus made, Richard sent Hubert, one of his faithful followers in the Holy Land, to England, with the terms upon which he was to receive his liberty, and with a commission to raise money for that purpose.

In the feudal times, every military tenant was, by law, obliged to give aid for the ransom of his lord from captivity. The tax arising from this obligation was accordingly raised throughout the kingdom, and assessed by itinerant justices. But the ardour of the people outwent the cool offerings of their duty; great sums were raised by voluntary contribution, to purchase the freedom of their king.. The churches and monasteries melted down their plate; the bishops, abbots, and nobles, paid a fourth of their annual income; the inferior clergy contri-. buted a tenth of their tythes, and the requisite sum: was thus at length amassed; with which queen Eleanor, and the justiciary immediately set out for Germany.

While the English were thus piously employed,. in preparing for the ransom of their king, Philip

was as assiduously occupied in endeavouring to prolong Richard's captivity. As he had the passsions. of the emperor to work upon, whom he knew to be avaricious to the last degree, he made him fresh proposals still more lucrative than those which had been agreed upon for Richard's ransom. He offered to marry the emperor's daughter, and to gratify him with a sum equal to the ransom, if he would only detain his prisoner for one year more in captivity. The emperor therefore perceived, that he had concluded a treaty with Richard too hastily, and repented of his rashness. He was very willing to sacrifice every consideration of honour or justice; but then he feared the resentment of his princes, who, in these feudal times, had power to punish his injustice. Thus he continued fluctuating between his avarice and his fears, between different motives, equally sordid, until the day fixed for the king's deliverance arrived.. His releasement from captivity was performed with great ceremony at Mentz, in presence of the German nobility; the money was paid by queen Eleanor, the hostages were delivered as a security for the remainder, and Richard once more restored to freedom. In the mean time, the emperor beheld his releasment with an agitation. of all the malignant passions. He could not bear to see one he had made his enemy in a state of felicity; he could not bear to lose the superior advantages that were offered for his detention. All his terrors from his own subjects gave way to the superior dictates of avarice; he therefore once more resolved to send him back to his former prison, and gave orders to have him pursued and arrested. But luckily, the messengers were too late. Richard, well acquainted with his perfidy, and secretly apprized of the offers of the French king, had ordered some shipping to attend him at

the mouth of the Scheld; so that upon his arriving at the place of embarking, he went instantly on board, although the wind was against him, and was out of sight of land when his pursuers reached Antwerp.

Nothing could exceed the joy of the English, upon seeing their monarch return, after all his atchievements and sufferings. He made his entry into London in triumph; and such was the profusion of wealth shewn by the citizens, that the German lords, who attended him, were heard to say, that if the emperor had known of their influence, he would not so easily have parted with their king He, soon after, ordered himself to be crowned anew at Winchester. He convoked a general council at Nottingham, at which he confiscated all his traiterous brother's possessions; and then having made proper preparations for avenging himself on the king of France, he set sail with a strong body of forces for Normandy.

A. D. 1194.

Richard was but one day landed, when his faithless brother John came to make submission, and to throw himself at his monarch's feet. It was not without some degree of resentment that Richard received a prince who had all along been leagued with his mortal enemy against him. However, at the intercession of queen Eleanor, he was received into favour. "I forgive him," said the king," and "I wish I could as easily forget his offences as

he will forget my pardon." This condescension was not lost upon a man, whose heart, though naturally bad, was not yet dead to every sentiment of humanity. From that time he served him faithfully; and did him signal services in his battles with the king of France, which followed soon after. These wars, which produced no remark ́able event, nor were succceded by any permanent

A. D.

1195.

consequences, only served to keep the animosity of the two nations alive, without fixing their claims or pretentsions. The most remarkable circumstance in the tedious journals of these transactions, is the taking the bishop of Beauvais captive at the head of his vassals, and his being put in prison by Richard. When the pope demanded his liberty, and claimed him as a child of the church, the king sent his ho liness the bloody coat of mail, which that prelate had worn in the battle; asking whether that was the coat of his son. The cruelty of both parties was in this manner enflamed by insult and Both kings frequently put out the eyes of their prisoners, and treaties were concluded and broke with very little repugnance. At length, the pope's legate induced them to commence a treaty, which promised to be attended with a firmer reconciliation; but the death of Richard put an end to the contest.

revenge.

1199

Aymar, viscount of Limoges, a vassal A. D. of the crown, had taken possession of a treasure which was found by one of his peasants in digging a field; and to secure the remainder, he sent a part of it to the king. Richard, as superior lord, sensible that he had a right to the whole, insisted on its being sent him; and, upon refusal, attacked the castle of Chalus, where he understood this treasure had been deposited. On the fourth day of the siege, as he was riding round the place to observe where the assault might be given with the fairest success, he was aimed at by one Bertram de Jourdon, an archer from the castle, and pierced in the shoulder with an arrow. The wound was not in itself dangerous; but an unskilful surgeon endeavouring to disengage the arrow from the flesh, so rankled the wound that it mortified, and brought on fatal symptoms.