History supplies the following incident as illustrative of the charity which could brighten the hour of his deep adversity. Having been informed one day of the death of the Earl of Chester one of his sworn foes, Hubert fetched a deep sigh; and then, calling for his Psalter, he stood devoutly before the Cross and ceased not till he had sung it all over for the good of the departed soul.

His four keepers too were changed; and, what was still more ominous of a terrible fate, he ascertained (through the friendly agency, we can hardly doubt, of the Archbishop of Dublin) that the castle itself was about to be placed in the hands of one of the Bishop of Winchester's creatures. Perceiving that no time was to be lost, he revealed the perilous situation in which he stood to two of his new keepers, and threw himself upon their generosity. They responded to the appeal and contrived his escape on the eve of Michaelmas day 1233, it being their turn then to watch. One led the way, while the other, taking Hubert on his shoulders, who was too encumbered with fetters to walk himself, carried him safely through the Ballium, or area of the castle, went out through the Ostium, passed with difficulty a deep foss, ascended to the neighbouring church of St. John and deposited him on the steps of the high altar. The escape being soon made known to the Governor, a body of castellans was instantly dispatched in pursuit, who finding the Earl in his place of refuge clasping a cross, dragged him out with violence and carried him back to the castle. The King was at that moment in Oxford, and being apprized of the affair, immediately sent orders to the Devizes Governor that the prisoner should be kept in the vault which he had previously occupied, that his person was to be loaded with three pair of iron fetters, and that none should hold any communication with him. But the matter was not suffered to rest here. So notorious a breach of the privilege of sanctuary was, in the eyes of other men besides the clergy, a flagrant transgression: and as the outrage had

occurred within the diocese of the Bishop of Salisbury it was resolved that the cause should be undertaken by that prelate, Robert Bingham. Repairing therefore to Devizes Castle, he solemnly adjured the guilty parties to redress the wrong committed, by replacing the fugitive within the pale of sanctuary, or to suffer the Church's penalty on incorrigible wrong-doers. The Governor was deaf to all solicitations, and the Bishop having pronounced a sentence of excommunication upon the whole garrison quitted the castle for London. The prelates then in a body carried their cause before the King, and were so far successful as to obtain an order directing Hubert to be reconveyed into St. John's Church; though Henry at the same time sent the following secret despatch to the Sheriff of Wilts.

"It is commanded to the Sheriff of Wilts that as he loves his own body, he be at Devizes in propriâ personâ with the posse comitatus on Wednesday the morrow of St. Luke the Evangelist in the early morning, and by keeping Hubert de Burgh within the church of St. John both day and night, to prevent his escape by any means. Dated at Westminster 15 Oct. 17th Henry III."

He also dispatched two of his Justices Ralph de Bray and Ralph de Norwich, to offer to the prisoner either a fair hearing in the King's court in accordance with the conditions of his imprisonment, or a pass to quit the realm for life; but in case of his refusal to accept either, then the Sheriff's men were to guard the church and cemetery with all diligence.1

But the disordered state of the country rendered all these precautions unavailing. Hubert was carried back to his sanctuary and the church was instantly environed to prevent his exit; but assistance was nearer at hand than his enemies

1

1 The nominal Sheriff at this time was Ela Countess of Salisbury. Her executive deputy may have been "John the Dane" whose name ap

pears both before and after these events. See Jackson's List, Wiltshire Magazine.

looked for. On the very morrow after his restoration, a troop of Pembroke's adherents, headed by Gilbert Bassett, suddenly burst into the churchyard, scattered the Sheriff's posse comitatus, and drew the shivering prisoner forth from his living sepulchre. His shackles they swiftly knocked from his limbs, then seating him on a mailed steed, bore him off in triumph to the mountains of Wales.

Though at liberty, he was now in alliance with the King's declared emeny: but the Earl of Pembroke falling in the succeeding year by the dagger of a false friend, a general amnesty was agreed upon at Gloucester, whereby Hubert with the other insurgents was reinstated (outwardly) in the Royal favour; a proceeding facilitated by the fact that his old enemy the Bishop of Winchester had already retreated in disgrace from England, and was gone to Rome: this was in April 1234. Hubert relinquished the office of Justiciary and sought to live in tranquility, but soon discovered that nothing could permanently secure the King's grace. The fact was he was still too wealthy. After giving undeniable proofs of loyalty during five years, besides submitting to a heavy fine, a new quarrel was fastened upon him on some frivolous pretence, and he was actually summoned to take his trial on eight counts, some of them containing charges which the treaty at Gloucester had already obliterated. One of these [and the only one we need mention] was for breaking prison at Devizes in violation of his oath there to remain ! the indictment averring that, "whereas Hubert de Burgh had placed himself in the prison of our lord the King, and by the agreement made between them, he was to be regarded as an outlaw should he venture to escape without royal licence, neverthless he did so escape," &c., &c.

To this, Master Lawrence of St. Albans, clerk, Hubert de Burgh's advocate, made reply as follows:-"Hubert de Burgh makes answer that he entered into no such agreement: And he says, that when he was in the custody of the four Earls of