thereby to furnish out our men of armes with Gentrie, consisteth in maintaining it as in time past: also to make it inuincible, is to vse it to fight in suadrons. And for my part I suppose that 100. varlets armed, manned, and guided, keeping this order, will ouerthrowe 100. Gentlemen fighting in haie.Some doe thinke it to be a hard matter to bring our Nation to The meanes to put this counsell in Practize. vse this order, which is true in respect of great Lordes and wilfull Gentlemen, for that euery man coueteth to be formost in the march and fight: But in one of the companies of Ordinance the Captain doth purchase obedience, either by loue or force. And when this ma∣ner hath bene a little practised, euerie one wil frame himselfe ther∣to. One thing we must note, that men when they come to fight wil neuer keepe their rankes well, vnlesse they be first vsed to it in their ordinarie march, for from the lesser men grow to the greater, and he that is perfecte in one is the readier to acquite himselfe in the o∣ther. We see the Reisters and their varlets, who haue no more de∣uotion than our French Gentlemen, religionsly obserue this order. And to saie the truth, this manner of march is verie commodious, and our selues doe commend it in them. But endeuouring to prac∣tise it, as a nouelty it doth by & by grieue vs, as being too solemne. Which riseth of our impatience, that neuer leaueth vs one quarter of an houre in one state. But this may the Captaines authoritie in time remedie. Some will saie that three hundred speares in file, maketh a greater shew than three squadrons of the like number, which cannot be denied. But for the fight (whereat we must chiefe∣ly aime) they are of no such effect. And this is it that should be well beaten into warriours heads. For the Captaines ought by instruc∣tions to make them halfe souldiours, and by experience to perfect them.Let vs now see whether the auncient order bee in these dayes no whit to be practised. I think it may be vsed in two occasions. First when we send forth twentie or thirtie speares, for that troupe being so small may better fight in haie, where it maketh most shew. Se∣condly, when wee come to charge the footmen, it is good to diuide a squadron into many small troupes in file, which may assayle in sundrie places. But except these two occasions, I would wish the horse alwayes to keepe this order of squadrons. Besides, if we con∣sider how meanely many are in these dayes mounted, and how vn∣coward at the speare, we wil be ashamed to put them into a simple bodie, which were as much as to set them to bee beaten for the 0