Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/216

190 the pontiff willingly gave his sanction, overjoyed to find the dispute brought to a close without the necessity for any retractation on his part. The compromise was not equally gratifying to the council, and Heredia felt that his own position at Rhodes would probably be much affected thereby. He, moreover, was not slow in perceiving that he would be in a position to secure his own advancement far better by ingratiating himself with the Pope than by a weary residence at Rhodes with an offended chief and antagonistic council. Instead, therefore, of taking his departure after his mission had been brought to a conclusion, he lingered at Aviguon until he had succeeded in obtaining from the pontiff the appointment of supervisor to the disputed priory, neither of its joint holders being competent, from their advanced age, to undertake the duty themselves. It was not long before they both died, and the appointment being thus again thrown open, Heredia, who had by this time completely established himself in favour at Avignon, obtained from the complaisant pontiff his own nomination to the vacant dignity.

The dismay of the council at Rhodes when the intelligence reached them of this new usurpation of authority on the part of Clement may be readily conceived. This was aggravated by the fact that the envoy from whose diplomatic address they had expected such great results had himself taken advantage of those abuses which they had commissioned him to oppose, and had secured a nomination to which, by the rights of seniority, he did not possess any claim. The new grand-prior felt that, after having taken this step, all idea of a return to Rhodes must be abandoned. He therefore exerted himself to the utmost to secure his position at the court of Avignon, and to ingratiate himself with his new patron. In this he was so successful that ere long he became the favoured minister and principal adviser of the Pope.

About this time hostilities had broken out between the kings of England and France. An immediate collision being anticipated, Clement, who was earnestly desirous of avoiding such a calamity, despatched Heredia in the capacity of a mediator to the hostile camps, trusting that his diplomatic skill might suffice to bring about a suspension of arms. The envoy, who entertained