An Aunswere to the Proclamation of the Rebelles.
O Lorde stretch out thy mightie hande
against this raging route,
To God.
And saue our Prince, our state, & land
which they doe go aboute
For to subuert, and ouerthrowe,
and make this Realme a pray,
For other Nations here to growe:
what so, like fooles they say.
¶You doe imagine (I suppose)
your selues Princes to be,
To the Rebels
Or else your stile should not be so,
First article▪
to sende it out with
WE.
The Princes phrase ye take in hande,
O well disposed men:
A Traytor first, that worde to spake
and he that rulde the Pen.
¶Hir faythfull subiects ye protest
your selues in wordes to bée,
ij. Article.
But marke I pray you how your déedes
doe with your wordes agrée.
[Page] Can you hir loue, and eke obey,
as subiectes in their guise,
When you against hir will and minde,
with force of armes doe rise?
¶To all the olde and Catholike,
iij. Article.
that be of such religion
As you be, that be franticke madde,
and foolish of opinion,
You write: that they your minde may know
and you their minde againe,
Whether they meane to take your part
and so in fielde be slaine,
No faithfull man you may be sure
will lyke your crooked style:
Also your trayne if they be wise
will lyke it but a whyle,
Chorath, Dathan, and Abiram
or else Achitophell,
With Absalon, Adoniah,
of their olde faith ye smell.
In déede your olde religion
is waxen stale for age,
Ye meane to make it new againe
with mightye Rebels rage,
[Page] You shall haue much adoe be sure
though you thinke nothing so:
You haue to long a time sit still
and suffered truth to growe.
When God and Prince is ioynde in one
for to defende the truth,
And you against them stande in fielde,
marke then, what it ensuth.
The ruine of the contrarie
must néedes with speede be séene
For troubling still the flocke of Christ
and such a quiet Queene.
¶What Nobles are they that ye haue
with you to take your parts?
iiij. Article▪
They may be Noble well by name,
but farre from Noble harts.
Belyke ye would make men in doubt
that some doe beare the face
To loue their Prince, and yet at neede
to turne into your case.
O hatefull men vnto the blouds
that haue alwayes bene trewe,
If you haue such, then name them out
from Iudas line, the Iewe,
[Page] That they with spéede may hang themselues,
for treason to their Prince.
O doubtfull denne that so blowth out
a poysonde musing stinche.
Such as you be, hir noble grace
hath trusted ouer long,
For nowe you thinke that in the fielde
for hir ye are to strong.
It may be so, the Nobles mo
both fathers and their sonnes
Be puissaunt men to beare a Crosse
out of the noble Nortonnes.
¶You say your faythes is promised
in this your enterprise,
V. Article.
Eche vnto eche, to further forth
your meaning good and wise.
What fayth is that, what doe you meane?
when fayth to Prince is broke?
You meane to pull your neckes from tye,
of gentle Princes yoke:
And set your selues at libertie
and eke your rowte so rude,
So that to royall dignitie
eche shall himselfe intrude.
[Page] For this ye may right well beleue,
not woorst in all your ranke
but thinkes himselfe as good as ye,
and lookes for as much thanke.
¶You say hir Grace is led by such
as wicked are and euill.
vj. Article.
By whom I pray you are ye led?
I may say by the Deuill.
Whome would ye poynt to leade hir Grace
if ye might haue your choyse?
The Pope I thinke, your Father chiefe,
should haue your holy voyse.
And then she should be led in déede,
as Lambe for to be slaine.
Wo worth such heades, as so would sée
hir Grace, for all hir paine.
But this I would ye should me tell:
when she came to hir throne,
What was she then, of age or wit?
giue aunswere euery one.
Was not hir age so competent,
and eke hir head so wise,
As none that heard, or did hir knowe,
could more in hir deuise?
[Page] Yea, you your selues (I dare well say)
at that same present houre,
Of all the Princes farre or néere
tooke hir to be the flowre.
And had she not then will and powre
hir Counsaylers to chuse,
To take in whom that she thought good,
and whome she would refuse?
If ye should point hir Counsaylers
the case were very straunge.
No marueyle though in deedes ye roue
when so in wordes ye raunge.
And yet good Sirs, this is well knowne
that nothing hath bene ment
And done, in matters of the Church,
but by the Parliament.
Wherein the Nobles of the Realme,
the Bishop, and the Lorde,
And Commons all gaue their consent
and thereto did accorde.
The booke that called is by name
the booke of common Prayer,
Was sent to you, by these afore,
though you would it appaire,
[Page] By bruting forth that peruerse men
seducers of the Quéene
Hath set it out. O simple men,
what shall I of you deeme?
Doth not the act that is set out
speake to you in this wise?
Haue you not read and séene the same,
and now the same denies?
Will you that be but priuate men
attempt for to put downe,
The thing that was authorised
by hir that weares the Crowne?
What gappe make you to breache of lawes
if this your fact be good?
No Parlament, no Prince shall rule,
but shedding still of blood.
If men may rise against their Prince
that all things doth by lawe,
Then call for Captaine Cobler in
and wayte vpon Iack Strawe.
¶Ye saye ye feare the noble bloud
it should be made awaye.
vij. Article▪
And ye your selues will doe the same
of others that you saye.
[Page] ¶By force ye say ye will redresse
the things that are amisse.
viij. article.
Where had you that, out of what schoole?
shew me then where it is:
For in your wordes, there is inclosde
that will the Quéene or no,
You will set vp, that she put downe:
that ye so meane ye show.
If ye be subiects as you say,
where learned ye to force?
But this ye meane (I doe suppose)
with hir to make a Corce.
¶The mother Church you will defende.
ix. Article.
What children call ye these,
When trayterously themselues they bende
their Mother to disease?
But like it is, the Mother that
ye meane to prop with power,
The spouse of Christ that she is not,
but Antichristes whoore.
For sure I am, the Church of Christ
did neuer knowe this way,
In any place at any tyme
their Prince to disobay.
[Page] What fathers of the fayth ye bée
all men may easily iudge,
Who is so blinde that cannot sée
how causelesse ye doe grudge?
¶The auncient customes of the Church
you say you will restore,
x. Article.
The liberties that she hath had
she shall haue as to fore.
You speake but for to make hir smoyle
such libertie to haue
The Prince and Realme againe to spoyle
of that that once they gaue.
The Monke, the Fryer, and eke the Nonne,
the Armit and the Anker,
You doe intende belyke to place
in your most holy Ranker?
God send you all as well to speede,
and make your way as streight,
As such as you had in the dayes
of king Henry the eight.
O that he were aliue, to sée
how you his Daughter vse.
But he that hath his soule to kéepe,
shall sende you shortly newes
[Page] I doe not doubt, fit for your factes
the ende of Rebels race,
With shamefull deathes to haue the ende
full fit in such a case.
¶Good peoples helpe you séeme to craue
to ayde you in your sturre:
xi. Article.
Good people will their Princes wrath
be fearefull to incurre.
Though you ne recke like bedlem men
your life and lande to léese,
Yet shall you finde the contrary,
and that in all degrees.
If God by you will punishe vs,
in déede we must obey,
And we the better for his stroke,
though you be cast away:
For longer then he thinketh good,
you shall not sure preuaile,
And then will he in wrathfull moode
strike downe both heade and taile.
This is the way to know the foes
of God, and eke our Prince,
Which craftily haue kept themselues
and secretly did wince.
[Page] Now may the Quéene soone finde them out
who faythfull be in deede,
And cursed Papistes by this meanes
full soone she may out wéede.
The hollow hartes will now appéere
and subiects true in harts
Will now like men, both speake and doe
and liuely play their parts.
¶And to kéepe backe that forreyne powre
should not this lande destroy,
xij. Article▪
Ye will your selues it wast, before
that they shall it annoy.
But how know ye that forreine power
would entermeddle héere?
Belike you haue them willde thereto
you loue your lande so déere.
And least that they our strength might finde
when they approch to lande,
You will if you may worke the same,
it weaken to their hande.
The loose of you if you be slaine,
as fit is for your sinne,
Shall leaue the fewer in this lande,
to let the foe come in.
[Page] A case it is to fonde to thinke
that straungers should refourme
The things amisse within this lande
and make it to retourne
What? is it not a Monarchie?
what Prince hath here to doe?
Or who so strong that may vs gréeue,
if we be true thereto?
A Prouerbe olde, no lande there is
that can this lande subdue,
If we agrée within our selues,
and to our Realme be true.
Was euer lande so gouerned
sith conquest heretofore,
As this hath bene in all respectes
this .xij. yeares and more?
What peace, what rest, what quietnesse,
what welth, what helth hath reignde,
What iustice hath bene ministred,
to all that haue complainde.
Was euer Prince so mercifull
as this most noble Quéene?
How she hath nurst the Noble blouds
is euidently séene.
[Page] Whose head from shoulders hath she cut,
though some did it deserue?
Whom hath she burnt, or in the iayle
caused that they should starue?
If lenitie may make men rise,
or méekenesse gender yre,
If colde may cause the Coles to burne,
or water kindell fyre?
If Adamant may thrust away
the Iron or the Stéele,
Or shining Sunne the naked man
may cause the colde to féele?
Then may our Quéene Elizabeth
be thought to be the cause
Why these Rebels doe go about
the breaking of hir lawes.
But sure it is, hir humblenesse
that she hath euer vsde,
The Caytifes now most cankerdly
with treason haue abusde.
¶God saue the Quéene, ye crie alowde,
xiij. Article▪
with weapon stiffe in hande,
To trouble hir, whose prudent heade
hath saued all the lande.
[Page] Such glosing wordes, and painted style
are fit for foolish heades,
Or else for babes, whose infancie
doe lyke as leaders leades.
[...] the
[...]ople.
¶But now to you the simple sort
leaue off from taking part
And spéede apace vnto your home,
and to your Prince conuart.
Afore that God his wrath doe rise
by Princes furie wrought
To beate ye downe in fielde by force
and bring ye all to nought.
Doe you suppose, a Princes powre
your Captaines may resist?
There is of you can tell you no,
and if so be they list.
In hir most noble fathers dayes
when he came with his powre,
Haue ye forgot when ye were vp
how eche man tooke his bowre?
How often in one yeare ye rose
the Chronicles doth tell,
And yet no boote, ye had no gaine
although ye did rebell.
[Page] You neuer hard nor euer read
that Rebelles dyd preuayle,
And doe you thinke by dent of sworde
to make your Prince to quaile?
Nay make your count, though you do thinke
that many be as you
Of Popishe mynd, yet shall you finde
their hearts to be full true.
And multitudes that doe beléeue
this lore to be full right,
Are readie prest to take hir part
if you will trye hir might.
But better no: returne in time
if you hir grace doe looue,
And seeke not iustice as your right,
but doe hir mercie prooue.
You cannot poynt, if fielde be fought
the victorie at wyll,
What gaine shall come vnto your part
when eche doth other kill?
O simple men why should ye thus
despise the quiet state
Of this the Realme so gouerned
as you were in of late?
[Page] The Realmes about so troubeled
and you in quiet rest:
Who shall the breakers of the same
not vtterly detest?
And what if that ye should increase,
(as God forbid the same)
And Princes powre with Rebels might
should runne abrode by fame.
Would not the foes that now be still
then buskell to come in▪
When feebled is the lande of might
by broyles that ye begin?
Their holinesse and yours is like,
they séeke but for to raine,
And for your making of their way
you shall of them be slaine.
Therefore take counsell yet in time
afore yée go to farre.
Your Quéene, your Realme, and happie stat
[...],
aboue all things prefarre.
For make account▪ ye shall not bring
the state to you to yeelde,
You shall first fynd the englishe bloud
to lie in many a féelde.
[Page] The sonne, the father, yee shall bring
with dent of sword to stryke,
The brother shall the brother méete,
and doe also the lyke.
In Princes cause no kith nor kinne
affinitie nor blood
Shall staye the subiect to set out
to spende both life and good.
With conscience good, and fayth full sure,
though he be slaine in féelde
Yet shall he as true subiect dye
and so his soule vp yeelde.
Whereas if you in fielde be slayne
bicause ye did rebell
By fact, your slaughter hath the waye
to Deuills that are in hell.
Who for bicause▪ they did arise
against the Lord of might,
[...] you doe now against his powre
they lost eternall light.
The fatherlesse that ye shall make
and Widdowes in their wo
Shall pray your fee in torments great
to be for doing so.
[Page] Yea, of your owne that you shall leaue
shall cursse you for your déedes,
When they shall féele the plague to stretch
to them, for your yll meedes.
Bethinke your selues, and take aduice
and spéedily repent:
Accept the pardon of the Prince
when it to you is sent.
So may you saue your bodies yet,
your soules and eake your good,
And stay the Deuill, that hopes by you
to spill much Christian blood.
God saue our Quéene, and kéepe in peace
this Iland euermore,
So shall we render vnto him
eternall thanks therefore.
FINIS.
ꝙ. (W. S.)
God saue the Queene