His ambassadours and other messengers being thus dispatched, and hauing but few persons left about him, or in maner none, except such of the bishop of Norwich his seruants as he had borowed of him, he fell to take prises as any ships came by suspected not to be his fréends, so séeking to win the fauour of the mariners that belonged to the cinke ports, and so lay close in the Ile of Wight and there about the sea-coasts for the space of thrée moneths togither. In which meane time, manie things were reported of him, some calling him a fisher, some a merchant, and some a pirat and rouer. And manie (for that no certeine newes could be heard of him) iudged that he was either drowned, or dead by some other means. But he still looking for some power to come ouer to his aid, kept himselfe out of the way, till the same should be arriued, and dissembled the conceit of his reuenge and hart grudge, till opportunitie serued him with conuenient securitie to put the same in execution. Wherein he shewed himselfe discréet and prouident, and did as in such a case one wiseman dooth counsell another, saieng, --------sapiens irámque coërcet, Sæpè etiam vtiliter cedit, placidísque furentem Demulcet dictis, & dulcibus allicit hostem Blanditijs, donec deceptum in retia mittat. [Sidenote: _Polydor._] [Sidenote: The ambassadours c[=o]ming to the popes presence declare their message.] The lords all this while lay at London, and began to doubt the matter, bicause they could heare no certeine newes where the king was become: for doubting (as I said) the suertie of his person, he conueied himselfe secretlie from one place to another, lodging and taking his diet oftentimes more meanlie than was decent for his estate: and still he longed to heare how his ambassadours sped with the pope, who in the meane time comming vnto Rome, and declaring their message at full, tooke it vpon their solemne oth, that the right was on the kings side, and that the fault rested onelie on the lords, touching the whole controuersie betwéene them and him, who sought with great rigour and against reason to bridle him at their pleasures. [Sidenote: _Matth. Paris._]