So as, the matter well considered, the greatest numbre, and especially the poorest, shall have most commoditie hereby; yea, and such others as have moste gayned by excessive prices, shall have also (if they will consider themselues) no small profyte and helpe; and, fynally, no manner of person in the whole realm shall have, after one or two monethes, hurt hereby, except onely the traytour which hath lyved by counterfaicting. And, therefore it is to be allowed and imbraced of all people, and every man to thinke, that, although at the first he may suppose that he hath lesse monie in his purse, yet shall he have, for the same metal, as much as that was worth, eyther in ware, or at her Maiesties mint, in fine monies. And, whensoeuer he shall utter that base monies, which, at the tyme of the proclamation, he hadde, the nexte that he shall gette, eyther by his hand labour, or for his wages, shalbe eyther fine monies, or such as he may have as much fine monies in the mint for it. And, consequently, every man ought to thank Almyghtye God, that he may lyve to see the honour of his countrey thus partely recouered: sylver to come in place of copper, pryces of thynges amende, all people to be more able to lyve of theyr wages, every mans purse, or coffer, made free from the privie thefe, which was the counterfaictour. And, fynally, the treasure of this realm to be of sylver and golde, as was wonte in our forefathers tyme, and not of brasse and copper, besides many other great commodities that hereof must needs ensue, which, but for length, might be declar ed; and, for all the same, no losse to any, otherwise, but in opinion at the begynnyng, not much unlyke to them, that, being sicke, receive a medicine, and, in the takyng, feele some bitterness, but yet, thereby, recover health and strength, and save theyr lives.

And, because it is sene by experience, that many tymes, when good thynges be deuysed and attempted, the deuyl sleapeth not to hinder the same, but causeth them eyther to be defeated, or to be defamed and mistaken: Therefore it is meete, that no manner of person gyve any credite to such as shall caste abrode any mistrust or amendment of the money, or shall pretend this decree to be greater, or more burdenous than it is. For, truely, this amendment is so fully purposed by her Maiestie, as besyde that, experience shall trie it within one moneth, or vi weekes, within which tymes, necessarie thynges for the mint must be prouided. It is sene, that her Maiestie may refourme these monies according to her proclamation, without any such great losse as might move her to forbeare it: And, on the other syde, the monies be so justly valued, as, indede, the base testons being set at iid. farthyng, and her Maiestie giving at her mint, for euery pound of them, xxs. and iii. d. in rewarde, shall, thereby, gyve rather more than they shall be worth, beynge melted, than lesse.

So that her Maiestie, who, since she came to this croune, never gayned any thing by any coynage, nor yet ever coyned any manner of base monies for this realm, will not now determine to lease the honour and fame that she shall, with small losse or gayne, recouer, by this noble acte, to benefit her realme and people.

And, as to the opinion of the burden of the losse, where the base testons be valued but at ii d. farthyng, whereby such as have them

shall seme to have the greatest losse, it is to be well and reasonably construed and taken of all men, for that there hath not, by good accoumpte, which hath bene made and well proved, bene above a sixth parte compared to the other base monies of the same sort of testons coyned in the mints of this realm, and at the coynage of the same base testons, now valued at two pence farthyng, which was done in the tyme of the wars heretofore, there were set thereto certaine marks, as a lion, a rose, a flour de luce, or a harp, called the privy marks of such as were then masters of the mint, which also be specified in the proclamation. For the better understanding whereof, here be, in the end of this declaration, set certaine stamps or prints, of every kind of the same base testons, with their saide several marks, to the intent, that every person, looking and beholding the same prints, may the better judge and discerne the same from the other, that be valued at iiii pence halfpeny, although if the same be well considered, the colour of the saide base teston will shew the baseness thereof. And, because her Majestie meaneth to ease her subjects as much as possible may be, she is pleased to commaund her officers in her mint, that where there be many counterfaict testons, which were made by counterfaictours, when the testons were at the value of xii pence a piece, and since also that they were decreed to vi pence, and, by estimation, were so made, as they did contayn about two pence farthyng, or thereabouts, in sylver: they shall do their indeavour to receave and trye such counterfaicts, and shall gyve to the subjects, eyther for every such counterfaict two pence farthyng, or so much good fine monies, as the same counterfaicts shall contayn in sylver, whereby the people shall be relieved of such losse in some parte for counterfaicts, as, in no realm, any prince eyther hath or ought to do. And, for this, and for all the commodities hereof likely to ensue, her Majesty trusteth her most honourable good meaning shall be embrased of all her good loving subjects, and every person with good will yield to bear a small burden for a tyme, to avoid a perpetual and endless oppression, not only of themselves and their posterity, but also of the whole commonweal.

Given under the Queen's Maiesty's signet at her Honour of HamptonCourt, the 29th of September, the Second Year of her Majesty's Reign, MDLX.

N. B. The stamps, or prints, of the base testons, which were printed at the end of the declaration, are now omitted, because there has been no such coyn in use these many years, and therefore it would have been of no use to have printed them.

ENGLAND'S MOURNING GARMENT,

Worn here by plain Shepherds,

IN MEMORY OF THEIR SACRED MISTRESS,

ELISABETH,

Queen of Virtue, while she lived, and Theme of Sorrow, being dead.

TO WHICH IS ADDED,

The true manner of her Imperial Funeral.

After which follows the Shepherds Spring-song, for Entertainment of King James, our most potent Sovereign. Dedicated to all that loved the deceased Queen, and honour the living King.

Non Verbis sed Virtute.

London, by V. S. for Thomas Millington, and are to be sold at his Shop under St. Peter's Church in Cornhill. Quarto, containg forty-eight pages.

This is the fifteenth in the catalogue of the Harleian pamphlets, and contains many peculiar curiosities: Its chief object, it is certain, was to perpetuate the de. served character of Queen Elisabeth, whom our author has, without the borrowed help of bombast, and undeserved praise, described to be most religious to God; temperate in all things; just, merciful, and charitable to her subjects; a faithful ally, and true friend to her distressed neighbours: But, in this compass, he has adorned her just and admirable encomium, with the history of her royal ancestors, from King Henry VII. inclusive; and, among other things, his caution to discontented, murmuring subjects is worthy our observation. These, with other particulars, are concluded with a funeral song, by way of pastoral; then follows the form, or order of the procession, made at her funeral. To which is added, the Shepherd's Spring-song in gratulation of King James I's accession to the throne of England.

To all true Lovers of the right gracious Queen Elisabeth, in her Lye; being undoubtedly those faithful Subjects that now honour and affect our most potent Lord King James, after her death.

MY epistle to you is like the little town that the Cynick would have persuaded the citizens was ready to run out at the great gates, being scarce so long as the title. In a word, the negligence of many better able hath made me bold to write a small epitome, touching the abundant virtues of Elisabeth, our late sacred mistress; treating of her princely birth, chaste life, royal government, and happy death; being a lady born, living, reigning, dying, all for England's good. The manner is handled between shepherds; the form of speech, like the H h

VOL. II.

persons, rude; affection exceedeth eloquence, and I have not shewn much art, but expressed the duty of a loving heart; shed some tears in reading our shepherds sorrow; and, in that true passion, let your love to our Royal Lord be shewn, who hateth hypocrites, as just men hell: Farewel all of you, that give the dead Queen a sad farewel, and the living King a glad welcome; the rest are time-pleasers, and I write not to them.

COLLIN,

Falicem fuisse infaustum.

THENOT. COllin.

Thenot.

N, thou look'st as lagging as the day,
When the sun, setting towards his western bed,
Shews, that like him, all glory must decay,

And frolick life, with murky clouds o'erspread,
Shall leave all earthly beauty 'mongst the dead;
Such is the habit of thy new array:

Why art thou not prepar'd to welcome May,
In whose clear moon thy younglings shall be fed,
With night's sweet dews, and open flowers of day?

Collin

I answer thee with woe and welaway,

I am in sable clad, sith she cannot be had

That me and mine did glad;

Thenot.

There's all I'll say.

Well spoken, swain, let me thy sorrow ken,

Rich soul, though wrong'd by idle antick men,
And driven by falshood to a clowdy den,

Collin.

Tell me thy grief.

O it is past relief; and which is worst of worst,

Bayards and beasts accurst, with grossest flattery nurst,
Have sung her sacred name, and prais'd her to their shame,

Who was our last and first.

Thenot.

Dear Collin, do not check the humblest song,

The will is ever master of the work;

Those, that can sing, have done all shepherds wrong,

Like lozels in their cottages to lurk :
The air's the air, though it be thick and murk;
If they, to whom true pastorals belong,

In needful lays use neither pipe nor tongue,

Shall none the virtuous raise

Collin.

Yes, those that merit bays,

Though tears restrain their lays,
Some weeping hours or days

Will find a time,

To honour Honour still, not with a rural quill,
But with the soul of skill,

To bless their rhime.

Aye me! why should I dote

On rhimes, on songs or note?

Confusion can best quote

Sacred Elisa's loss,

Whose praise doth grace all verse,
That shall the same rehearse;

No gold need deck her hearse;
To her all gold is dross.

With that, Collin, in discontent, broke his pipe, and, in that passion, as if his heart had been like his pipe, parted each piece from the other; he fell without sense on the earth, not then insensible of his sorrow; for it yielded, wept, and groaned at once with his fall, his weepings and his sighs. Poor Thenot shouted for help, at whose call came some nymphs full of sorrow for their sovereign; and, no whit amazed to see him lie as dead, their hearts were so dead, with thinking of that which had astonished his: But yet, as gathering of companies draws more and more to wonder, so procured it among the shepherds, that left none but their curs to attend their flocks, themselves flocking about Thenot and Collin, who now recovered from his trance; and, all asking the reason of his grief, with tears abounding in his eyes, that likewise drew more abundantly from theirs, he distractedly answered,

-Illum nec enim reprehendere fas est,

Qui fleat hanc, cujus fregerunt stamina parcæ,
Solus honor sequitur mortales ille misellos.

And therewithal, making a sign for the shepherds and nymphs to sit down, he told them, they had lost that sacred nymph, that careful shepherdess Elisa; but, if it pleased them to lend attention, he would repeat something of her worth memory, that should live in despite of death; whereupon a still silence seized them all, saving only now and then, by sighing, they expressed their hearts sorrow, and Collin thus began:

Seeing honour only followeth mortals, and the works of the virtuous die not with their deaths; and yet those works, nevertherless, with the