de; now,' said the king, 'and yff I may, such a
loffe shalle be worth xxd. or half a yer be gone:' and when he said the
word, muche he thought, and ofte tymes sighed, and nome and ete of the
bred, and said, 'By Gode, the word that I have spokyn shall be sothe.'
The monke, that stode befor the kyng, was ful sory in his hert; and
thought rather he wold himself suffer peteous deth; and thought yff
he myght ordeyn therfore sum remedy. And anon the monke went unto his
abbott, and was schryvyd of him, and told the abbott all that the kyng
said, and prayed his abbott to assoyl him, for he wold gyffe the kyng
such a wassayle, that all Englond shuld be glad and joyful therof. Tho
went the monke into a gardene, and fond a tode therin; and toke her upp,
and put hyr in a cuppe, and filled it with good ale, and pryked hyr in
every place, in the cuppe, till the venome come out in every place; an
brought hitt befor the kyng, and knelyd, and said, 'Sir, wassayle; for
never in your lyfe drancke ye of such a cuppe,' 'Begyne, monke,' quod
the king; and the monke dranke a gret draute, and toke the kyng the
cuppe, and the kyng also drank a grett draute, and set downe the
cuppe.--The monke anon went to the Farmarye, and ther dyed anon, on
whose soule God have mercy, Amen. And v monkes syng for his soule
especially, and shall while the abbey stondith. The kyng was anon ful
evil at ese, and comaunded to remove the table, and askyd after the
monke; and men told him that he was ded, for his wombe was broke in
sondur. When the king herd this tidyng, he comaunded for to trusse; but
all hit was for nought, for his bely began to swelle for the drink that
he dranke, that he dyed within II dayes, the moro aftur Seynt Luke's
day."

A different account of the poisoning of King John is given in a MS.
Chronicle of England, written in the minority of Edward III., and
contained in the Auchinleck MS. of Edinburgh. Though not exactly to our
present purpose, the passage is curious, and I shall quote it without
apology. The author has mentioned the interdict laid on John's kingdom
by the pope, and continues thus:

He was ful wroth and grim,
For no prest wald sing for him
He made tho his parlement,
And swore his _croy de verament_,
That he shuld make such assaut,
To fede all Inglonde with a spand.
And eke with a white lof,
Therefore I hope[A] he was God-loth.
A monk it herd of Swines-heued,
And of this wordes he was adred,
He went hy