in honour of
her memory, _The Dethe of Blaunche the Duchesse_. In the same year he
again bore arms in France, and during the next ten years he was
frequently employed on diplomatic missions. In 1370 he was sent to Genoa
to arrange a commercial treaty, on which occasion he may have met
Petrarch, and was rewarded by a grant in 1374 of a pitcher of wine daily.
In the same year he got from the corporation of London a lease for life
of a house at Aldgate, on condition of keeping it in repair; and soon
after he was appointed Comptroller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wool,
Skins, and Leather in the port of London; he also received from the Duke
of Lancaster a pension of L10. In 1375 he obtained the guardianship of a
rich ward, which he held for three years, and the next year he was
employed on a secret service. In 1377 he was sent on a mission to
Flanders to treat of peace with the French King. After the accession of
Richard II. in that year, he was sent to France to treat for the marriage
of the King with the French Princess Mary, and thereafter to Lombardy, on
which occasion he appointed John Gower (_q.
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