Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

196 THE MARTYRDOM.
own comments. At last, "some one," whose name
is not recorded, said to Henry : " My lord, as long as-
Thomas lives, you will not have good days, nor
peaceful kingdom, nor quiet times";1 to which the
bishops added that if the king did not put a stop to
the Archbishop's presumption it would grow much
worse. Then Henry fell into one of the fits of rage
for which he was famous, and repeated: "What
slothful wretches I have brought up in my kingdomr
who have no more loyalty to their king than to
suffer him to be so disgracefully mocked by this lowborn
cleric ".2 Henry had willingly forfeited the one
true friend who might have saved him from himself.
Four knights heard the words, and took an oath to-
please their earthly master even at the risk of their
own souls. They were Reginald Fitz-Urse, William
de Tracy, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard Brito or
de Breton.
It was five o'clock on the afternoon of December
29, when they entered Canterbury Cathedral, and
found the Archbishop at his post. " The time for
flight was over," he said, and he would not avail
himself of the hiding-places at hand about the
church.
" Where is the traitor " shouted one of the armed
band, for the knights brought soldiers in their train.
The question was repeated. " Where is the Archbishop
" and this time Thomas answered:
"Here I am; no traitor, but the Archbishop"
1 Morris, p. 393. 2 Ibid.