in his religion, and never to suffer, whatsoever may befall, that there' shall be any other form or exercise of religion in his realm than the Catholick. The said Duke of Guise shall communicate with the principal officers and magistrates, having the principal charge and administration of justice in cities of his government, his Majesty's declaration, to the intent they should know his mind, and the good end whereunto he tendeth for the uniting and quietness of his subjects, to the intent the said Monsieur de Guise, and the said officers and magistrates, should, with one accord, intelligence, and correspondence, proceed to the effect abovesaid, so that fruit and quietness may thereof insue, such as his Majesty desireth, not only for himself, but for the whole realm. The bailiffs and stewards, which are not in religion accordingly qualified, shall, within one month, resign their offices to gentlemen capable, and of the quality required by the edict, which may keep and exercise the same. And to the intent this shall be done, his Majesty doth now presently declare them deprived after the said month, if they do not then resign, that they shall have no occasion or colour of excuse to delay their resignations, and yet permitteth them, in the mean while, to resign without paying any fine. All bailiffs and stewards shall be resident at their offices, upon pain of loss of the same; and, if they cannot so be, then they shall be bound to resign. All archbishops and bishops shall likewise be resident in their diocese, and such as for age and other disposition of person cannot preach the word of God, nor edify the people, and do other functions appertaining to their charge and dignity, shall be bound to take a conductor to comfort them, and to employ themselves in the duty of their charge. To which conductor they shall appoint an honest and reasonable pension, according to the fruits and revenue of their living. Also parsons and vicars shall be resident at their bencfices, or else shall be admonished to resign them to such as will be resident, and do their duty. Archbishops and bishops shall take information of them which hold abbies, priories, and other benefices in their diocese, of what quality soever they are, and how they do their duty in the administration of them, whereupon they shall make process by word unto the governors, which shall send them to the King to provide therein as reason shall move them. They shall compel the curates actually to abide at the places of their benefices, or else shall appoint others in their stead, according to the disposition of the canons. At Paris, the third day of November, 1572. Signed, CHARLES.

Letters of Monsieur De Gordes, the King's Lieutenant in Dauphiny, to certain of the Religion in his Government; whereby he exhorteth them to come back again to the Religion of Rome; and how the King is determined to suffer no other.

SIR,

I AM sufficiently advertised of your behaviour. but you should remember what advertisements I have before sent you to return to the

Catholick religion of yourself, which is the best hold and stay that you can chuse for your preservation and health, putting from you all those which persuade you to the contrary, who would abide to see any commotion or disorder, rather than abate any point of their opinion; and, by this means, you shall make evident to the King the will which, you say, you have to obey his Majesty; counselling you, forasmuch as I desire your well-doing, that this is the best for you to do, without looking for any more open commandment; otherwise, assure yourself, there can but evil come of it, and that his Majesty would be obeyed: and thus I pray God to advise you, and give you his holy grace. Your intire good friend,

From Grenoble, December 6, 1572.

GORDES.

The Answer of the Gentlemen, Captains, Burgesses, and others, being in the Town of Rochelle, to the Commandments, that have been given them in the Name of the King, to receive Garisons.

WE the gentlemen, captains, burgesses, and others, now being in this town of Rochelle, do give answer to you, Monsieur N. and to such 'commandments, as you give us in the name of his Majesty, that we cannot acknowledge, that that which is signified unto us, and the proclamation, which you require that we should cause to be published, do proceed from his Majesty; and thereof we call to witness his Majesty himself, his letters of the twenty-second and twenty-fourth of August, his own signet, and the publishing of the same letters, by the which his said Majesty layeth all the fault of all the trouble lately happened, and of the cruel slaughter done at Paris, upon those of the house of Guise, protesting, that he had enough to do to keep himself safe within his castle of Louvre with those of his guard. And we shall never suffer ourselves to be persuaded, that so foul an enterprise, and so barbarous a slaughter, hath at any time entered into the mind of his Majesty; much less, that the same hath been done by his express commandment, as the paper importeth, which you have exhibited unto us; nor that his Majesty hath been so ill advised, as himself to cut off his own arms, or to defile the sacred wedding of Madame, his own sister, with the shedding of so much noble and innocent blood, and with the shame of so cruel a fact to stain the nation of France, and the blood royal, which hath heretofore ever, among all nations, borne the name of Frank and Courteous; nor that he hath had a mind to deliver matter to writers to set forth a tragical history, such as antiquity hath never heard speak of the like, and such as posterity cannot report without horror; but that it was first laid at Rome, and afterwards hatched at Paris, by the authors of all the troubles of France. And, howsoever it be, we are ready to maintain, That out of the mouth of his Majesty doth not proceed hot and cold, white and black; and that he doth not now say one thing, and by and by another, as he should do, if the paper, that you present unto us had passed from him; protesting, that he will inviolably keep his edict,

and immediately breaking the same, in declaring, that he commanded those murders to be committed; having also made protestation before, that it is to his great grief, and done by the outrage and violence of those of Guise, against whom he was not able to make specdy resistance in time, as his Majesty desired. And, in this quarrel, we the gentlemen, captains, and others, that make you this answer, are ready to try it by combate, man to man, or, otherwise, to maintain the honour of our King against all those that so profane holy things, and, as much as in them lieth, do, by such words and titles, villainously defile the excellence of his Majesty, and of the noble Princes of his blood: Which we may right well conjecture and estimate by the slaughters, that are yet doing, as well in the town of Paris, as elsewhere, upon so many noblemen, gentlemen, and others, men, women, and children; and upon a great number of young scholars, the maintenance, under God, of realms and commonwealths in time to come; and by many other barbarous, unnatural, and unmanly acts, generally committed. We think, therefore, and judge, that herein treason is enterprised against the person of his Majesty, and of my Lords his brethren, and that the Guisians mean to invade the crown of the realm, as they have of a long time practised; and, howsoever it be, we say, that his Majesty is forced by the power, that they have taken upon them, and usurped, by means of the rebellious stir of the commons of Paris. As for that which they say, That the admiral, and those of the religion, had conspired against the King's Majesty and his brethren, these are allegations of as great truth, and of as good likelihood, as their manner of proceeding in justice hath been orderly begin-ning at execution before examination of the fact. But there is now no need to tarry for time to discover it, for the matter is plain to be seen with eye, and groped with hand; and all those of the Romish religion, that have any drop of the nature of man remaining, do confess it, and hold down their heads for shame, cursing, both with heart and mouth, the cruel executors of this abominable enterprise, and the wicked disturbers of common quiet; which can yet no more suffer, than they hitherto have done, that this poor realm should long enjoy the benefit of that peace, which the King alone, next under God, had wisely caused to be made, and to be accordingly observed; whereof this realm began to feel the good taste, to the great contentment of all persons, except the enemies of peace and of this realm, namely, the Guisians. Finally, when his Majesty, being out of their hands and power, shall declare what is his pleasure, we will endeavour to obey him in all things, wherein our consciences, which are dedicated to God alone, shall not be wounded: In which case, we will rather forsake the earth, than heaven, and our frail and transitory houses, rather than the heavenly mansions. But hitherto the law of nature, and the duty that we owe to our natural prince, to the preservation of his crown, and to the safety of our lives, our wives, and children, doth command us to stand upon our guard, and not to put us at the mercy of those that have received the same bloody commission from the Guisians, under the pretended name of the King, to use us in the same manner, as they have wickedly, traiterously, and unnaturally done to those about his Majesty, and, as it were, under his wings, and under the skirts of his robe, which the traitors strangers have stained

with the true French blood, without his Majesty's being able to remedy it, nor to stay their cursed attempts; so much less is he able, now so far off, to defend us as he would: Which his Majesty's goodwill, being known unto us, doth arm us for our defence, and for the safeguard of our lives, and of the privileges which he hath given us, until such time as he shall be able by himself to defend us against his enemies and ours.

A DISCLOSING OF

THE GREAT BULL,

AND CERTAIN

CALVES THAT HE HATH GOTTEN,

AND ESPECIALLY THE

MONSTER BULL,

That roared at my Lord Byshops Gate.

Imprinted at London, by John Daye, dwelling ouer Aldersgate. Black Letter, Octavo, containing twenty Pages.

EXPERIENCE of the leud lustiness and unchastitie of popishe

clergie hath long agoe ministred an olde tale, how a person of a towne hauing the lordship annexed to hys personage, as many haue, by reason thereof, was by speciall custome charged, as in many places there be, to keepe a common bull for the towne, whereby theyr cattle, and hys tithe, might be encreased, which bull had great libertie, and is, by custome, not poundable. It happened, that complaint was brought to hym by hys neighbors, of the insufficiencie of hys bull, that he dyd not get calues so plentifully as in tyme past they were wont to haue. The person, a wise man of good skill as it should seme, caused hys bull to be tyed fast, and hys crowne to be shauen, and then let him goe, saying, Now go thy way, there was neuer any bad of thys marke, he will get calues I warrant hym. So is it happened, that of late a holy bull, I thinke some Jupiter, is come for loue of hys lo, or rather, for lust, to some leud Pasiphae arriued in thys land.

It is the great persons bull, which person was wont, by custome, to finde common bulls for all England, when he claimed or vsurped the lordship of England, as annexed to hys personage. It is the same bull that begat the famous Monecalfe, that, of late years, made the terrible expectation. Of late, being against custome empounded, or kept from breaking of hedges as he was wont to do, and from spoyling of severall pastures, he grew to some faintnesse. But now hath hys

owner new shauen hys crowne, and sent hym to get calues agayne, for encrease of the townes hearde, and the persons tithe.

And, surely, the experience is notable, for, since he came ouer so lately disguised, he hath light vpon certain rank kyen, who, I thinke, by their long forbearing, are become the lustier, that is, treason, superstition, rebellion, and such other; and with them he hath so bestirred hym, that, by the helpe of maister Doctor Harding, Sanders, and other, some there, some here, iolly cowkeepers and heardemen of popish clergie, which sent and brought hym ouer, and brake open for hym the severall hedges and fenses of true religion, obedience, allegeance, fayth, and honestie, he hath begotten a maruellous number of calues in few yeares; that is, since the yeare 1567, he hath begotten multitudes of all the formes of calues hereafter mentioned, beside other in the wilde woodes not yet knowen; and lastly, he hath begotten a most horrible monster, of whom shall hereafter be entreated.

He hath begotten some traitorous calues, as the practisers and vnderminers of the state. Some rebellious calues, as those that have combred the realme with vnhappy sedition. Some deinty calues with white faces, as dissembling hypocrites that watch theyr time. Some calues with blacke faces, as blacke soule and hys fellowes common bleaters, and railers at true religion. Some apostaticall calues, that haue forsaken fayth, and do impugne the knowen truth. Some tame drousy calues, that, with theyr brutishe superstition, can not raise vp their heades from ground, nor their eyes to heauen. Some mad wild calues, as roges and rumor spreaders. Some running and gadding calues, wiser than Walthams calfe, that ranne nine miles to sucke a bull, for these runne aboue nine hundred miles. And no maruell, for they desire not to sucke milke, but bloud. Some calues with hornes, and some without; some with power, running fiercely; some, pushing with theyr vnarmed heades as eluishly as they be able. Some doctor calues, some proctor calues, and some of other degrees. Some weyward calues, euer running backward and athwart, without regard of ditch behinde them, or hedge before them. Some calues, whom no fense will hold, no, not the brode sea. Some cow calues, some bull calues. Some calues, that neuer wil be but calues, though they liue these hundred yeares. Some winking calues. Some suttle vndermining calues; and some fonde licking calues there be, that be none of the same bulles calues, but calucs out of Gods own hearde, seduced by leude companie of other stray calues. These, in seeking to licke woundes whole, do not onely licke poyson into theyr owne bodies, but also enuenime other therby, and specially the good damne, with whose wholesome milke them selues be fedde. Thys bulles calues, 'since they receaued theyr sires blessing, are waxen wilder then they were, no heardeman can rule them; but, as if the gad flye were in theyr tailes, they runne whisking about, or, of mere eluishnishe, will taste no wholesome and naturall foode.

The monster, of whom I tolde you, is no way so fitly to be described, as by the olde tale of the ancient poetes, that seme, as it were, to haue foreshewed hym in figure, as followeth : Pasiphae, Queene of Creta,