As soon as the King of England was informed of this, he sent the Earls of Northampton and Arundel, and Lord Reginald Cobham, into Flanders; who managed matters so well with the leading men in the place, and with the corporations, that they were more desirous their lord should marry a daughter of the King of England, than the daughter of the Duke of Brabant: they very affectionately entreated their lord so to do, and supported it by many strong and good arguments (which would be too tedious to detail here), insomuch that those of the Duke of Brabant’s party could say nothing to the contrary. The earl, however, would not consent to it, notwithstanding their fair speeches and arguments; but repeated his former declaration, that he would never marry the daughter of him who had killed his father, were he to have a moiety of the kingdom of England for her dower. When the Flemings heard this, they said their lord was too much of a Frenchman, and very ill-advised; and that he must not expect any good from them, since he would not listen to their counsels. They arrested him, and confined him,--though not a close prisoner,--and told him he should never have his liberty until he would pay attention to their advice. They added, that if the late earl his father had not loved the French so much, but had listened to them, he would have been the greatest prince in Christendom, and would have recovered Lisle, Bethune, and Douay, and been alive at this day. While all this was passing, the King of England still held on the siege of Calais. He kept his court there at Christmas in a right royal manner; and in the ensuing Lent the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Oxford, and many knights and squires who had crossed the sea with them, returned from Gascony. The Earl of Flanders was for a long time in danger from the Flemings, and, being a prisoner, was perfectly weary of it. He therefore made them understand that he was willing to follow their advice, for he could receive more advantages from them than from those in any other country. These words pleased the Flemings much: they gave him his liberty, and allowed him to partake of one of his favorite amusements, hawking, of which he was very fond. It happened one day, in the same week that he was to espouse the English princess, he went out a-hawking: the falconer fled his hawk at a heron, and the earl did the same with his. The two hawks pursued their game, and the earl galloped off, as if following them, crying, “Hoye, hoye!” When he was at some distance from his keepers, and in the open fields, he stuck spurs into his horse, and made such speed that he was soon out of sight. He did not stop until he was got into Artois, where he was safe. He then went to King Philip in France, and related to him and his nobles his adventures, who told him he had acted wisely; but the English, on the contrary, accused him of betraying and deceiving them. CHAPTER LXV.