felt under his thigh, the diamond that John Stockton had left
there, and without saying anything, or evincing any surprise, he picked
it up, and put it on his finger.

They remained together until the morning, when the watch bell was about
to ring, when, at the request of the damsel he rose, but before he
left they embraced with a long, loving kiss. He had scarcely gone when
Richard came off the watch, on which he had been all night, very cold
and sleepy, and found his wife just getting up. She made him a fire, and
then he went to bed, for he had worked all night,--and so had his wife
though not in the same fashion.

It is the custom of the English, after they have heard Mass, to
breakfast at a tavern, with the best wine; and about two days after
these events, John and Thomas were in a company of other gentlemen and
merchants, who were breakfasting together, and Stockton and Brampton
were seated opposite each other.

Whilst they were eating, John looked at Thomas, and saw on one of
his fingers the diamond. He gazed at it a long time, and came to the
conclusion that it was the ring he had lost, he did not know where or
when, and he begged Thomas to show him the diamond, who accordingly
handed it to him, and when he had it in his hand he saw that it was his
own, and told Thomas so, and asked him how he came by it. To this Thomas
replied that it belonged to _him_. Stockton maintained, on the contrary,
that he had lost it but a short time before, and that if Thomas had
found it in the chamber where they slept, it was not right of him to
keep it, considering the affection and fraternity which had always
existed between them. High words ensued, and both were angry and
indignant with each other.

Thomas wished to get the diamond back, but could not obtain it. When
the other gentlemen and merchants heard the dispute, all tried to bring
about a reconciliation, but it was no good, for he who had lost the
diamond would not let it out of his hands, and he who had found it
wanted it back, as a memento of his love-encounter with his mistress, so
that it was difficult to settle the dispute.

Finally, one of the merchants, seeing that all attempts to make up the
quarrel were useless, said that he had hit upon a plan with which both
John and Thomas ought to be satisfied, but he would not say what it was
unless both parties promised, under a penalty of ten nobles, to abide
by what he said. All the company declared that the merchant