reconcile him with M. Charles; and then he said thus to him,
"Behold, archbishop, I have in my hand the power to make thee Pope if
I will, and for this cause am come to thee; and, therefore, if thou
wilt promise to grant me six favours which I shall ask of thee, I will
do thee this honour, and to the end thou mayest be assured that I have
this power,"--he drew forth and showed him the letters and commissions
from both one part of the college and the other. The Gascon, coveting
the papal dignity, and seeing thus suddenly how with the king lay the
power of making him Pope, as it were stupefied with joy, threw himself
at his feet, and said, "My lord, now I know that thou lovest me more
than any other man, and wouldst return me good for evil; thou hast to
command and I to obey, and always it shall be so ordered." The king
lifted him up and kissed him on the mouth, and then said to him, "The
six special graces that I ask of thee are these: the first, that thou
wilt reconcile me perfectly with the Church, and procure my pardon for
my misdeed which I committed in the capture of Pope Boniface. The
second, that thou wilt recommunicate me and my followers. The third
article, that thou wilt grant me all the tithes of the realm for five
years, in aid of my expenses which I have incurred for the war in
Flanders. The fourth, that thou wilt promise to destroy and annul the
memory of Pope Boniface. The fifth, that thou wilt restore the honour
of the cardinalate to M. Jacopo and M. Piero della Colonna, and
restore them to their estate, and together with them wilt make certain
of my friends cardinals. The sixth grace and promise I reserve till
due time and place, for it is secret and great." The archbishop
promised everything on oath upon the body of Christ, and,
furthermore, gave him as hostages his brother and two of his nephews;
and the king swore to him and promised that he should be elected Pope.
And this done, with great love and joy they parted, and the king
returned to Paris, taking with him the said hostages under cover of
love and of reconciling them with M. Charles; and straightway he wrote
in answer to the Cardinal da Prato and to the others of his party,
telling what he had done, and that they might safely elect as Pope M.
Raimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, as a trustworthy and sure
friend. And as it pleased God, the matter was so urgently pressed that
in thirty-five days the answer to the said mandate was come back to