But as he thus continued in prison, closelie kept, so that none of his fréends might haue accesse vnto him, as in such cases it often happeneth, when men be in miserie, some will euer pitie their state, there were diuerse of the nobilitie (of whome the earle of Kent was chéefe) began to deuise means by secret conference had togither, how they might restore him to libertie, discommending greatlie both quéene Isabell, and such other as were appointed gouernours to the yoong king, for his fathers streict imprisonment. The quéene and other the gouernours vnderstanding this conspiracie of the earle of Kent, and of his brother, durst not yet in that new and gréene world go about to punish it, but rather thought good to take awaie from them the occasion of accomplishing their purpose. And herevpon the quéene and the bishop of Hereford wrote sharpe letters vnto his kéepers, blaming them greatlie, for that they dealt so gentlie with him, and kept him no streictlier, but suffered him to haue such libertie, that he aduertised some of his fréends abroad how and in what manner he was vsed, and withall the bishop of Hereford vnder a sophisticall forme of words signified to them by his letters, that they should dispatch him out of the waie, the tenor whereof wrapped in obscuritie ran thus: Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est: To kill Edward will not to feare it is good. Which riddle or doubtfull kind of spéech, as it might be taken in two contrarie senses, onelie by placing the point in orthographic called C[=o]ma, they construed in the worse sense, putting the Comma after Timere, and so presuming of this commandement as they tooke it from the bishop, they lodged the miserable prisoner in a chamber ouer a foule filthie dungeon, full of dead carrion, trusting so to make an end of him, with the abhominable stinch thereof: but he bearing it out stronglie, as a man of a tough nature, continued still in life, so as it séemed he was verie like to escape that danger, as he had by purging either vp or downe auoided the force of such poison as had béene ministred to him sundrie times before, of purpose so to rid him. [Sidenote: _Tho. Wals._] [Sidenote: _Thom. de la More._] [Sidenote: K. Edward the second murthered.]