Of his comming to the Crowne,

AS soone as King Henry was dead and buryed, the great Lords of the Land caused his eldest Sonne Prince Edward to be proclaimed King: and assembling at the New Temple in London, they there tooke order for the quiet Governing of the kingdome, till he should come home. For at this time he was absent in the Holy Land; and had beene there a∣bove a yeare when his Father dyed. But we cannot bring him home without telling what he did, and what he suffered in all that time, and in his returne; for at his first comming thither, he rescued the great City of Acon, from being •urrendred to the Souldan; after which, out of envy to his Valour, one Anzazim a desperate Saracen, who had often beene employed to him from their Generall, being one time, upon pre∣tence of some secret message, admitted alone into his Chamber, with a poysoned knife gave him three wounds in the Body, two in the Arme, and one neare the arme∣pit, which were thought to be mortall, and had perhaps beene mortall, if out of unspeakeable love, the Lady Eleanor his Wife had not suckt out the poyson of his wounds with her mouth, and thereby effected a cure, which otherwise had beene incurable: and it is no wonder, that love should doe wonders, which is it selfe a wonder. And now being disappointed of Aides that were promised to be sent him, and leaving Garrisons in fit places for defence of the Country, he with his Wife Eleanor takes his journey homewards, and first passing by Sicilie, was there most kindly received by Charles King of that Island, where he first heard of his Fathers death; which he tooke more heavily farre, then he had taken the death of his young Sonne Henry, whereof he had heard a little before; at which when King Charles marvailed, he answered, that other Sonnes might be had, but •no∣ther Father could never be had. From hence he passeth through Italy, where much honour is done him both by the Pope and other Princes; and then descends into Burgoigne, where by the Earle of Chalboun, a stout man at Armes, he is challenged at a Turneament, with a pretence to solemnize his presence, but with a purpose indeed to disgrace his person; and though Prince Edward in many respects might Page  128 justly have refused it, yet the noblenesse of his mind would not suffer him to passe by any occasion of shewing his valour and in this 〈…〉 as he made it appeare, that •ame had beene no 〈…〉 the report it ma•e of hi•. And here a great part of his English Nobility met 〈◊〉; from whence he passeth in∣to France, where the King Philip his •eare Cou•• (as being Sister Sonnes) en∣tertaines him with great solemnity: and graceth his solemnity with so much cour∣tesie, that it wonne Prince Edward vol•ntarily to do him homage for the Territo∣ries he held in France; & this voluntarines in Prince Edward, won the King of France againe to grant quietly unto him, all the Lands in France that belonged to him; and so these two great Kings by reciprocall courtesie effected that, which thei• Prede∣cessours by force could never effect. From her 〈◊〉, passeth through A•uitaine, and having there taken homage of his Subjects, and set all things in order, he set Saile and arrived in England, above a yeare after the death of his Father: a long time for plotting of mischiefe, and a strong temptation to plotters of mischiefe; if all the causes of quietnesse had not concurred: but such was the worthinesse of Prince Edwards person, and such the undoubtednesse of his Title, that as there could be no Competitour, so there would be no Oppugner• And indeed the Divine Pro∣vidence had shewed a speciall care over him from his Child-hood! whereof one or two Examples will not be unfit to be related. One was this, that being yet but young, and playing one time at Chesse with a Friend, in the midst of his game, without any apparent occasion, he removed himselfe from the place where he sate, when suddenly there fell from the roofe of the house a great stone, which if he had stayed in the place but never so little had beaten out his braines. Another Ex∣ample of the Divine Providence over him, (though it happened afterwards) was this: Having prepared a great Fleete of Ships for a journey into Flanders, and be∣ing at Winchelsey, where the Ships were to meete; it happened that riding about the Harbour, his Horse frighted with the noyse of a Windmill, which the wind drove violently about, skrambled up and leapt over the Mud•wall of the Towne, so as neither the King nor the Horse was to be seene, but every one judged the King could not chuse but be throwne and killed; yet such was the Divine Provi∣dence over him, that the Horse lighted upon his feet, and the King keeping the Saddle returned safe. And under the wing of this Divine Providence, he had now passed all the dangers of his tedious Journey; and being safely come to London, was on the fifteenth day of August in the yeare 1274. Crowned at Westminster, to∣gether with his Wife Queene Eleanor, by Robert Kilwarby Arch-bishop of Canter∣bury: where five hundred great Horses were let loose, for any that could take them; and yet the outward solemnity was not more great, then the inward joy was univer∣sall, every man rejoycing, not onely at a change, which of it selfe is pleasing, but at a change so much for the better, as this was like to be.