soone after my late soueraigne Lord and maisters death, a booke spread abroad more to his dishonor (if a princes ho∣nor may be by vile inferior subiectes impeached) then pro∣fessed enemies haue imagined to note a womā to haue suf∣fered vnder him as a martyr, & the woman therewith to be by Bales owne elucidation (as he calleth it) so set foorth & painted as she appeareth to be, & is boasted to be a sacramē¦tary, & by the lawes worthy (as she suffered) the paynes of death, such like things haue by stealth in our late soueraign Lords dayes gone abroad as they do now▪ And as I am wōt in such cases to speak, I keep my wōt to write to your grace now, in whose hands I know the estate of ye realme to be foretime in gouernment & to whō for respectes of old acquayntaunce I wish al felicity. In these matters of reli∣gion I haue bene long exercised and haue (thankes be to God) liued so long as I haue sene them throughly tryed and besides that I haue learned in written bookes of Au∣thority, I haue perceiued by bookes written without au∣thority as by M. Bale, Ioye, and other, and specially as Bale vseth nowe, that Scripture doth by abuse, seruice to the right hand and the left at once in so much as at one time Bale prayseth Luther, and setteth his death forth in En∣glish, with commendation as of a Saynt, whych Luther (whatsoeuer he was otherwise) stoutly affirmed the pre∣sence really of Christes naturall body in the Sacrament of the aultar. And yet Bale the noble clerk, would haue Anne Askew blasphemously denying the presence of Christes na∣turall bodye to be taken for a Saynte also. So as Bales Saynctes may vary in heauen, if they chaunce not by the way, which might suffice to disproue the mans creditte, if thwarting talke were not more desired of many, then the trueth in deede, which trueth was supposed to haue bene both in writing and exercise, well established, long before our late Lordes death. And Bale & his adherentes in their madnes playnely reproued & condemned. I can not forget your grace tolde me you woulde suffer no innouation and indeed if you deliuer this realme to the king at 8. yeares of age, as the king his father, whose soule God assoyle, left it, as I trust you shall, the acte is so honourable and good, as it were pity to trouble it with any innouation, whyche were a charge to your grace more then needed, beynge al∣ready burthened heauely. And albeit in the commō wealth euery man hath his part, yet as God hath placed you, the matter is, vnder the kinges Maiestye, chiefely yours and as it were yours alone. Euery man hath his eye directed vnto you both here & abroad, you shall shadow mens do∣inges if they be done, which is one in commodity of high rule. And for my part besides my duty to the kinges maie∣sty and the realme, I would that your grace in whom since your gouernement, I haue found much gentlenes and hu∣manity, had muche honor wt good successe as euer any had and pray to God that men would let your grace alone, and suffer the realme in the time of your gouernement in quyet among our selues, wherby to be the more able to resist for∣reigne trouble, which your grace doth prudētly forsee. Cer¦tayne printers, players, & preachers, make a wondermēt, as though, we knew not yet how to be iustified, nor what sacramentes we should haue. And if the agreement in reli∣gion made in the time of our late soueraigne Lord be of no force in theyr iudgement, what establishment coulde anye new agrement haue. And euery incertenty is noysome to any realme. And where euery man will be mayster there must nedes be vncertaynty. And one thing is maruelous, that at the same time is taught that all men be lyers, at the selfe same time almost euery man woulde be beleued. And amongst thē, Bale when his vntruth appeareth euidently in setting forth the examination of Anne Askew whiche is vtterly misreported. I beseeche your Grace to pardon my babling with you. But I see my late soueraigne Lord and maister slaundred by such simple persons, religiō assaulted, the realme troubled and peaceable men disquieted, with oc∣casion geuen to enemies to poynt and say, that after Wick∣liefes straunge teaching in the sacramēts of Christes chur∣che hath vexed other, it is finally turned vnto vs to molest & scourge vs, for other fruite cannot Bales teaching haue, ne the teaching of such other as goe about to trouble the a∣grement established here. In which matter I dare not de∣sire your grace specially to looke earnestlye vnto it, leaste I should seme to note in you that becommeth me not. And I know that your grace being otherwise occupied, these thin¦ges may creepe in as it hath bene heretofore, sometime it may be heard for your grace to finde out or pull out ye root of this naughtines: but yet I am so bolde to write of these of mine owne stomacke, who haue euer vsed for discharge of my selfe to say and write in time and place as I thought might do good, for reliefe of the matter, remitting the rest to the disposition of GOD, who hath wrought wonders in these matters, since they were first moued: and geuen me such knowledge and experiēce in them, as I ought to take them (as they be) for corruption and vntrueth: I meane knowledge and experience of them that be chiefe styrrers, so infect with vntruth, as they cannot speak or report tru∣ly in common matters. The pretence is of the spirit, and al is for the flesh, Women, and meat with liberty of hand and tongue, a dissolution and dissipation of all estates, cleane contrarious to the place GOD hath called your Grace thereunto. For it tendeth all to confusion & disorder, which is the effect of vntrueth. Bale hath set forth a prayer for the Duke I. of Saxe wherein the Duke remitteth to Gods iudgement to be shewed here in this world the iustnesse of his cause concerning religion, and desireth GOD if hys cause be not good, to order him to be taken and to be spoiled of his honor and possessions, with many such gay wordes whereby to tempt God, since which prayer the Duke is in¦deed taken as all the world sayth, at the time of his taking, as the account is made, such straungenesse in the sonne as we saw it here, as hath not bene sene. They happened both together, this we know, and be both maruelous, but whe∣ther the one were a token ordered to concurre with other, God knoweth and manne cannot define. Many common wealthes haue continued without the B. of Romes iuris∣diction, but without true religion, and with such opinions as Germany maynteyned no estate hath co••••••••ned in the circuit of the world to vs knowne since Christ c••me. For the Turkes and Tartarres gouernement is, as it were a continuall warre and they vphold theyr rule with subdu∣ing of nobility by fyre and sworde, Germanye with theyr new religion could neuer haue stand, & though the Empe¦ror had let them alone, for if it be perswaded the vnderstan∣ding of Gods lawe to be at large in women and children, wherby they may haue the rule of that, and thē Gods law must be the rule of all, is not hereby the rule of all brought into theyr handes? These of some will be called witty rea∣sons, but they be in deede truthes children, and so is all the eloquence, which some (to disprayse me) say I haue, what∣soeuer they say of me. For truth is of it selfe, in a right mea∣ning mans mouth, more eloquent, then forged matters can with studye bring forth. What rymes be sette forth to depraue the Lent, and how fond (sauing your Graces ho∣nour) and foolish, and yet the people pay money for them, and they can serue for nothing, but to learne the people to rayle, & to cause such as vsed to make prouision for fishe a∣gaynst Lent, fearing now Lent to be so sicke as the ryme purporteth and like to dye in deede, to forbeare to make theyr accustomed prouision for the next yeare. And thereto shall it come if the common dyet be not certayne. For the Fishmonger will neuer hope to haue good sale, when the the butcher may with flesh out face him. And fishe is that great treasure of this realme & foode inestimable. And these good wordes I geue, although I loue it not my selfe, for such as loue not fish, should neuertheles commend it to o∣ther, to the intent the fleshe by them forborne might be to such as loue it onely the more plenty. The publicke defa∣mation & trifling with Lent is a maruellous matter to thē that woulde say euill of this Realme, for there is nothyng more commended vnto vs christen men in both the Chur∣ches of the Greekes and Latins then lent is, if all men be not liers. In the king our late soueraigne Lordes dayes this matter was not thus spoken of. And I thinke our e∣nemies would wish we had no lēt. Euery coūtry hath his peculier inclination to naughtines, England and Germa∣ny to the belly, the one in licor, the other in meat, Fraunce a litle beneath the belly, Italy to vanity and pleasures de∣uised, & let an English belly haue a further aduauncement, and nothing can stay it, whē I was purueior for the seas, what an exclamatiō was there (as your grace shewed me) of the Bishops fasting day, as they called wednesday, and Winchester, Winchester grand mercy for your wine, I be∣shrow your hart for your water? Was not that song, al∣though it was in sport a signification how loth men be to haue theyr licence restrained? or theyr accustomed fare aba∣ted? vnles it were in extreme necessity. I heare say that lēt is thus spok of, by Ioseph and Tongue, with other new (whome I knowe not) as be one of Christes Myracles, which God ordeyned not man to immitate and follow, at whiche teaching all the world will laugh. For Christian men haue Christ for an example in all thinges both to vse the world as he did, onely for necessity, and contemne the world as he did, and in case to refuse it, and choose the vyle death, as he did the death of the Crosse, which thinges he did like a Mayster most perfect, for he was very god, and we must endeuour our selfe in the vse of his gyftes, to fol∣low that he did, not to fast fortye dayes without meate as Christ did, for we be but Prentises, and cary about a rui∣nous Carcas that muste haue some daylye reparation, with foode, but yet was there neuer none that sayde, how