Refuge

The earl [of Flanders] himself went up a by-street, where he changed dresses with one of his servants, commanding the fellow at the same time to be silent on the subject should he chance to fall into the hands of the enemy. All this while the men of Ghent were going up and down the streets searching everywhere they could think of in order to find the earl; indeed, he was in the greatest danger, and it was God alone who watched over him and delivered him from his perilous situation. After rambling some time through the streets, and hiding himself in different corners not knowing what course to take, he entered the house of a poor woman— a very unfit habitation for so mighty a lord, for it contained but one room, over which was a sort of garret to be approached only by means of a ladder of seven steps, where, on a miserable bed, the children of this poor woman lay. It was with fear and trembling that the earl entered the hovel; and making his case known to the woman said, “Good woman, save me: I am thy lord, the Earl of Flanders, but at this moment in the greatest distress. I must hide myself, for my enemies are in pursuit of me, and I will handsomely reward you for any favor you may grant.” The poor woman knew the earl well for she had frequently received alms at his door, and also seen him pass and repass when going out hunting. Moved at his condition, therefore, she admitted him most willingly. And as it turned out, it was very fortunate for him that she did so, for had she delayed her answer but one moment, the enemies would have found him in conversation with her. “My lord,” she said, “mount this ladder, and get under the bed in which my children sleep.” This the earl did, while the poor woman employed herself by the fire-side with another child in a cradle; and scarcely had the earl concealed himself, when the mob entered the house; for one of them had seen a man go in there.

Source: Jean Froissart. The Chronicles of England, France, and Spain. P. 241.