coming made him way, and was brought before the king into a chamber;
and with the king was the princess his mother and his two brethren,
the earl of Kent and the lord John Holland, the earl of Salisbury, the
earl of Warwick, the earl of Oxford, the archbishop of Canterbury, the
lord of Saint John's,[3] sir Robert of Namur, the lord of Vertaing,
the lord of Gommegnies, sir Henry of Senzeille, the mayor of London
and divers other notable burgesses. This knight sir John Newton, who
was well known among them, for he was one of the king's officers, he
kneeled down before the king and said: 'My right redoubted lord, let
it not displease your grace the message that I must needs shew you,
for, dear sir, it is by force and against my will.' 'Sir John,' said
the king, 'say what ye will: I hold you excused.' 'Sir, the commons of
this your realm hath sent me to you to desire you to come and speak
with them on Blackheath; for they desire to have none but you: and,
sir, ye need not to have any doubt of your person, for they will do
you no hurt; for they hold and will hold you for their king. But, sir,
they say they will shew you divers things, the which shall be right
necessary for you to take heed of, when they speak with you; of the
which things, sir, I have no charge to shew you: but, sir, it may
please you to give me an answer such as may appease them and that they
may know for truth that I have spoken with you; for they have my
children in hostage till I return again to them, and without I return
again, they will slay my children incontinent.'

[3] That is, the grand prior of the Hospital.

Then the king made him an answer and said: 'Sir, ye shall have an
answer shortly.' Then the king took counsel what was best for him to
do, and it was anon determined that the next morning the king should
go down the river by water and without fail to speak with them. And