I. which is, as I take it presently, the lady Katharine, daugh- BOOK ter to the lady Frances; both by the will of king Henry, and also by the common laws of the realm. And that we be bound both by our oaths, and also by the law, so to take her. If we shall for any affection take away the right from those that have the right, let us remember the saying of the Holy Ghost, Propter injustitias et injurias transferetur regnum a gente in gentem. This have I put in writing, that I may be the better and more perfectly answered. If any man will take the pains to do it, I require it may be don in writing: so it shall quickly come to an issue. If he can confound by just argument that I have said, he shall satisfy many; and find me ready to say as he saith. If he cannot, then do I desire him for God's 20 sake, and for the love of his country, to give place to truth quickly. Number XI. A letter of Mr. Randolph, the queen's agent in Scotland, to the lords Graunge and Lyddington: exciting them to leave the Scottish queen's party. Randolph. WHERE we see how little our dealing with you by Int. Epist. mouth can do, to bring you unto that which we know is Ran best for your selves; having spent a great deal of time to little effect; wee thought good to try another way: which is, to prove by our advice in writing, if we can win that out of you, that by word we are not hable to do: because we will have nothing undon that we may do, or at the least minded to do. That we be not charged hereafter by you, not to have don as much as in friendship we might do. We are commanded to deal with you in two principal points: the one for your obedience to the king. The other, to acknowledge the regent. Against these you alledge conscience, honour, and saufty. If in all these you be reasonably answered, I trust you will remain satisfied. For the first, she is not worthy to live, whose cause ye defend, having committed so horrible offence. Ergo, No BOOK conscience, by order to put her down: and less not to obey I. her; least, to obey her unjust quarrel. This you know your selves: this you have spoken your selves: this you have allowed your selves. Your selves wrot against her, fought against her, and were the chiefest cause of her apprehension, and imprisonment, and dimission of the crown; with somewhat more than we might say, if it were not to grieve you too much herein. But plainness argueth friendship, and so do I trust yee take it. If at that time there was nothing don against conscience, what moveth you to take conscience to leave her; but alledge conscience for your defence in setting up of her, that hath been the overthrow of your country, shame, and cause of all the misfortunes that have fallen unto you, or shall fall hereafter, if ye remain in the will ye be of? Can either of you believe, that your lives shall be happier under her, if she be at home again in her former estate, whom ye have so many ways offended, than now it may be under her son, a babe ignorant and without malice or will to revenge, if ye dutifully live under him, and yield your obedience unto him? If ye doubt the time to come, when he shall be of lawful years, ye may well think it easier by good deserts in the mean time to obtain his favour at that time, than you can at any time, if this woman, whose nature ye know how vindicative it is, full of malice, and presently (whatsoever ye judge of her your selves) as evil disposed and bent towards you two, as to none worse in Scotland. So that you two were the chief occasions of all the calamities, as she hath said, that she is fallen into. You, lord of Liddington, by your persuasion and counsil to others to apprehend her, to imprison her; yea, to have taken presently the life from her. And you, lord of Graynge, by your solicitation, travail, and labour, to bring in others to allow thereof, and to put in execution that which by the other you, lord of Liddington, was devised. Set apart therefore all conscience in this matter, where we believe that neither of you both is touched in this matter, so much as you pretend, or wish that we should believe. : If not in conscience, which is dearest, and wherein men BOOK ought to be precisest, mich less in honour; in which the world is chiefly respected, and yet weighs down. But that may be so solved, and your selves by all honest and godly men better allowed of, in respect of your countries weal, 1. somewhat to yield of your own particular; yea, though to your disadvantage, then to se daily so much bloudshed; 21 besides many calamities that men suffer through the occasion of this intestine sedition. Honour is to be respected where justice procedeth. If the cause you defend be unjust, what honour can there be to maintain it? but rather shame and ignominy to stand so long by it, as yee have done? How unjust it is, if no more could be said of all your practices, of all your attempts, the extremity of all those that hitherto in this action took her part doth sufficiently manifest. Of these two points, because in my conscience you can sooner resolve your selves, than we can sufficiently write of them, receive them to your own consideration. And go to the third, which is the chief, and to you hardest. To us not of such difficulty as ye make it. Mary, my lord of Lyddington, like his, Tu si hic esses, aliter sentires; truly we are with you in care of mind. We have compassion of your present hard state and extremities, apparent to ensue. As friends, we lament it: as well-willers, we are careful to provide for it. Thus far therefore we may promise, that your state by composition shall be no worse than theirs presently is, that have been of your part and mind with you. Saufty to your life we dare promise. Restitution to your lands and livings we dare assure you of. And so to all others that take your parts. What may be done for recovery of your losses, there shall be as mich don as lieth in us: and so much I dare say, as your self shall be witness more cannot be don for the recovery of it, wheresoever it be found or be heard of. If ye doubt of the regent person, yee seem to know less now then beforetime ye have don. Whose honesty towards the world ye have allowed of in time past. Of whose par BOOK ticular good will toward your self, we have well reported I. and thought. Of whose zele and love towards the word of God, and love to his country, no man ever doubted. What my mistres advice to him, and reverence he bears unto her to follow the same, doth or may work in him, we find, and can assure our selves sufficiently, that it is such as neither shall his promise be broken unto you, nor any thing be left undon by him, that is in his power to perform. Whatsoever ye doubt of my lord of Morton, ye shall have the like security of him; and my mistress to interpose her self so far, as in honour and reason she may. If this be not sufficient, be your selves the devisers, yee shall find us friends, fellows, companions, debters, commissioners ; term us as ye will; faithful and indifferent any way that we can to do you good. If nothing of this will serve, trust us upon our words, ye stay to your greater destruction. Yee are disappointed of your purpose, and shall be driven to that extremity, that we are both loth to think of, much less willing to put it in writing. Give us your answer hereunto. And so wishing you to be well advised, we bid you both farewel. MSS. Gul. Number X. Dr. Stories last will and testament, made at Lovain, anno 1552. EMANUEL. In the name of God, Amen, and in the year of our Lord God 1552, and in the last day of May, I, John Storie, doctor [LL.] lawded be Almighty God, being whole of mind and body, do to God and the world declare my last will and testament in maner and form following. First and before all things transitory, as I do most humbly render thanks, lawd, and praising to my Lord God, for my creation and redemption; so do I also most humbly acknowledge his great mercies by leading me, a wretched sinner, out of my native country; the which being swarved out of the sure ship of our salvation, I beseech I. Almighty God of his infinite mercy to restore again to the BOOK unity of the same vessel, being our mother, the holy catholic church, for his holy names sake. And having full trust 22 and affiance, that I am one, and within the number of the said catholic visible church, (which doth, and here on earth shall, contain both bad and good, until the same by wilful leaping out, or lawful separation be excluded,) I do confess to God, and before the world, that I in this perillous time of tryal of the corn from the moveable chaff, do believe, and have full trust and affiance in all and every article, clause, or sentence, that our said mother, the holy church, continued from the time of the apostles, hath and shall decree, set forth, and deliver to be kept and observed by us her children. And for my breaking any commandment set forth by the authority of the same church, and for my non-observance of any decree, ordinance, or counsil of the same; and especially, for mine offence in forsaking the unity of it, by the acknowledging of any other supreme head than our Saviour Jesu Christ did depute here in earth to remain, which was S. Peter, and his successors, bishops of the see of Rome; I do most humbly and penitently crave God mercy; desiring of him pardon; as I do also ask forgiveness of all such as by my said offence and evil example, I have by any means slandered or offended in this world: desiring all Christen people remaining within the unity of our said mother, the catholic church, to pray for me, being a simple and a wretched member of the same. And as concerning such my temporal goods as, by the sufferance of Almighty God, I have been steward of here in this vale of misery; my mind is, that all my debts be truly contented and payed by mine executor, &c. Also, I give and bequeath to Ellen Storye, my daughter, the sum of 600 and threescore florens, to be payed and delivered to her at the day of mariage: so, and under this condition, that she do take to husband and mary such one as her mother then living, or my overseers here under named, or any one of them, do first consent, &c. And if my said |