The Earl of Flanders thus remained alone, and it may be truly said he was in the greatest danger; for it was over with him if he had at that hour, by any accident, fallen into the hands of the mob, who were going up and down the streets, searching every house for the friends of the earl; and whomsoever they found they carried before Philip von Artaveld and the other captains in the market-place, when they were instantly put to death. It was God alone who watched over him, and delivered him from this peril; for no one had ever before been in such imminent danger, as I shall presently relate. The earl inwardly bewailed his situation from street to street at this late hour; for it was a little past midnight, and he dared not enter any house, lest he should be seized by the mobs of Ghent and Bruges. Thus, as he was rambling through the streets, he at last entered the house of a poor woman, a very unfit habitation for such a lord, as there were neither halls nor apartments, but a small house, dirty and smoky, and as black as jet: there was only in this place one poor chamber, over which was a sort of garret that was entered by means of a ladder of seven steps, where, on a miserable bed, the children of this woman lay. The earl entered this house with fear and trembling, and said to the woman, who was also much frightened, “Woman, save me: I am thy lord, the Earl of Flanders; but at this moment I must hide myself, for my enemies are in pursuit of me; and I will handsomely reward thee for the favor thou showest me.” The poor woman knew him well, for she had frequently received alms at his door; and had often seen him pass and repass when he was going to some amusement or hunting. She was ready with her answers, in which God assisted the earl; for, had she delayed it ever so little, they would have found him in conversation with her by the fireside. “My lord, mount this ladder, and get under the bed in which my children sleep.” This he did, while she employed herself by the fireside, with another child in a cradle. The Earl of Flanders mounted the ladder as quickly as he could, and, getting between the straw and the coverlet, hid himself, and contracted his body into as little space as possible. He had scarcely done so, when some of the mob of Ghent entered the house. One of them took a candle, and mounted the ladder, and, thrusting his head into the place, saw nothing but the wretched bed in which the children were asleep. He looked all about him, above and below, and then said to his companions, “Come, come, let us go: we only lose our time here.”