Witc Take heed, for thou mayst come in thrall Take thou not this to be a jest ; but think it to be true! Before thou prove, as I have done : lest proof do make thee rue. Yet if thou chance to place thy love; take heed What thou dost say ! And see thou place thy talk in print, or else beware a fray! And thus I end: not doubting but Ease by Disease hath made me to halt: Time hath so turned my sugar to salt. R. WITC FINIS. Imprinted at London, by RICHARD JONES. [In WYAT'S Rebellion, there was as much a social strife as a political conflict. Like the Rebellions of the previous reign, it was largely a rising of the Masses against the Classes. The Kentish Gentlemen and their dependents were mostly Horsemen, and went for Queen MARY. The Kentish commons were chiefly Footmen, and many of them went for WYAT. This Rebellion was nipped in the bud, because the Kentish commons were prevented from joining hands with the lower classes of London. Had they been able to do so, it would have been the days of WAT TYLER over again. It is clear that, as stated at page 66, WYAT thought that the Footmen opposed to him would come over to his side. This is probably the reason why the action at Hyde Park Corner was so indecisive, see pages 87 to 89. Lord PEMBROKE could not trust his Footmen; so only the Horsemen fought there against WYAT. PROCTOR was undoubtedly an affectionately loyal subject of Queen MARY, and magnifies her herein upon every possible occasion. He says himself at p. 44, that he has "not fully set forth the whole case, all as it was." He wrote too soon after the event to do so in print. At Vol. IV., pp. 88-93, of this Series, we have given a Protestant account of this Rising by EDWARD UNDERHILL, the "Hot Gospeller" : and at pp. 112-142 of the same Volume will be found Fox's account of the Imprisonment of the Princess ELIZABETH, which was occasioned by this Rebellion; though WYAT, with his dying breath, cleared her of all knowledge of it. All these narratives should be compared with the account in Professor FROUDE'S History.] To the most excellent and most virtuous Lady, our most gracious Sovereign, MARY, by the grace of GOD, Queen of England, France, Naples, Hierusalem, and Ireland; Defender of the Faith; Princess of Spain, and Sicily; Archduchess of Austria; Duchess of Milan, Burgundy, and Brabant; Countess of Hapsburg, Flanders, and Tyrol; your Majesty's most faithful, loving, and from GOD the Father, the Son, and the T hath been allowed, most gracious Sovereign, for a necessary policy in all Ages, as stories do witness, that the flagitious enterprises of the wicked, which have at any time attempted with traitorous force to subvert or alter the Public State of their countries, as also the wise and virtuous policies of the good practised to preserve the Common Weal and to repel the enemies of the same, should by writing be committed to eternal memory. Partly that they of that Age in whose time such things happened might by the oft reading conceive a certain gladness in considering with themselves, and beholding as it were in a glass, from what calamity and extreme ruin, by what policy and wisdom, their native countries were delivered; besides the great misery and peril they themselves have escaped: partly for a doctrine and a monition serving both for the present and future time. But chiefly and principally that the traitors themselves (who, through hatred to their Prince or country, shall, either of their own malicious disposition be stirred; or else by other perverse counsel thereunto induced) may always have before their eyes the miserable end that happeneth as just reward to all such caytives [caitiffs] as, either of ambition not satisfied with their own state will seek preposterously to aspire to honour; or of malice to their Prince, will enter into that horrible crime of Privy Conspiracy or Open Rebellion. The industry of Writers doth sufficiently declare in a number of stories that conspiracy and treason hath always turned to the authors a wretched and miserable end: and if their persons happen at any time to escape temporal punishment, as rarely they have done; yet their names, specially of the notorious and principal offenders, have been always had in such vile and odible detestation in all Ages and among all nations as, for the same, they have been ever after abhorred of all good men. These general considerations, moving others to indict [endite] and pen stories, moved me also to gather together and to register for memory the marvellous practice of WYAT his detestable Rebellion; little inferior to the most dangerous reported in any history, either for desperate |