“On Corpus Christi day, King Richard heard mass in the Tower of London, with all his Lords, and afterwards entered his barge, attended by the Earls of Salisbury, Warwick, and Suffolk, with other knights. He rowed down the Thames towards Rotherhithe, a manor belonging to the Crown, where were upwards of ten thousand men, who had come from Blackheath to see the king and to speak to him: when they perceived his barge approach, they set up such shouts and cries as if all the devils in hell had been in their company. They had their knight, Sir John Newtoun, with them: for in case the king did not come and they found he had made a jest of them, they would, as they threatened, have cut him to pieces. When the king and his lords saw this crowd and the wildness of their manner, there was not one among them so bold and determined but felt alarmed: the king was advised by his barons not to land, but to have his barge rowed up and down the river. ‘What do you wish for?’ demanded the king; ‘I am come hither to hear what you have to say.’ Those near him cried out, ‘We wish thee to land, when we will remonstrate with thee and tell thee more at our ease what our wants are.’ The Earl of Salisbury then replied for the king, and said, ‘Gentlemen, you are not properly dressed, or in fit condition for the king to talk with you.’ Nothing more was said; for the king was advised to return to the Tower of London, from whence he had set out.” [Illustration: <f>Lord Charles of Blois obtains possession of the town of Jugon.</f>] PLATE XXVIII. LORD CHARLES OF BLOIS OBTAINING POSSESSION OF JUGON. Between the feasts of St. Remy and All Saints in the year 1342, a rich merchant of Jugon was taken prisoner by a follower of the Lord Charles of Blois. Being in fear of his life, he agreed to betray the town into the hands of the Lord Charles, upon being set free; and he had every opportunity of doing so, as he was so much respected that none had any suspicion of his intentions. The gate was thrown open at midnight, and Lord Charles obtained possession of the place, but the citizens having retreated to the castle, and with them the treacherous merchant, his treason was soon discovered, and he was hanged outside the battlements before the surrender of the castle. [Illustration: <f>The Battle of Poictiers.</f>] PLATE XXIX. BATTLE OF POICTIERS. The present beautiful Illumination is a spirited composition full of movement and invention, representing the great victory of Poictiers gained by the Black Prince over King John of France, whose army numbered seven to one of the English. The Illumination is especially intended to exhibit the great havoc and confusion caused by the English archers among the French horsemen, which, as Froissart asserts, mainly contributed to the fortune of the day. [Illustration: <f>EVAN of Wales assassinated before Mortmain-sur-mer.</f>] PLATE XXX. ASSASSINATION OF EVAN OF WALES.