HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. 239 



kings and counsellors, and persons of estate, so well 

 as to see them described, and entered in the table and 

 pourtrait of the times. 



About the same time the king had a loan from 

 the city of four thousand pounds ; which was double 

 to that they lent before, and was duly and orderly 

 paid back at the day, as the former likewise had been; 

 the king ever choosing rather to borrow too soon 

 than to pay too late, and so keeping up his credit. 



Neither had the king yet cast off his cares and 

 hopes touching Britain, but thought to master the 

 occasion by policy, though his arms had been unfor 

 tunate ; and to bereave the French king of the fruit 

 of his victory. The sum of his design was, to en 

 courage Maximilian to go on with his suit, for the 

 marriage of Anne, the heir of Britain, and to aid him 

 to the consummation thereof. But the affairs of 

 Maximilian were at that time in great trouble and 

 combustion, by a rebellion of his subjects in Flanders ; 

 especially those of Bruges and Gaunt, whereof the 

 town of Bruges, at such time as Maximilian was 

 there in person, had suddenly armed in tumult, and 

 slain some of his principal officers, and taken himself 

 prisoner, and held him in durance till they had en 

 forced him and some of his counsellors to take a 

 solemn oath to pardon all their offences, and never 

 to question and revenge the same in time to come. 

 Nevertheless Frederick the emperor would not suffer 

 this reproach and indignity offered to his son to pass, 

 but made sharp wars upon Flanders to reclaim and 

 chastise the rebels. But the Lord Ravenstein, a 



