divided against itself cannot stand; this may give the Turk an advantage, so that England may fear to have him a nearer neighbour than they desire. Why should not all the inhabitants of England join with one consent, to make this country to be like to Macaria, that is numerous in people, rich in treasure and ammunition, that so they may be invincible?

Schol. None but fools or madmen will be against it; you have changed my mind, according to your former prediction, and I will change as many minds as I can, by the ways formerly mentioned, and I pray you, that, for a further means, this conference may be printed.

Trav. Well, it shall be done forthwith.

Schol. But one thing troubleth me, that many divines are of opinion, that no such reformation, as we would have, shall come before the day of judgment.

Trav. Indeed, there are many divines of that opinion; but I can shew an hundred texts of scripture, which do plainly prove, that such a reformation shall come before the day of judgment.

Schol. Yea, I have heard many plain texts of scripture to that purpose; but, when I searched the expositors, I found that they did generally expound them mystically.

Trav. That is true; but worthy St. Jerom, considering that those places of scripture would not bear an allegorical exposition, said thus, Possumus, sicut & multi, alii omnia hæc spiritualiter exponere, sed vereor, ne hujusmodi expositionem prudentes lectores nequaquam recipiant *.

Schol. I am of St. Jerom's mind, and therefore with alacrity let us pursue our good intentions, and be good instrument in this work of reformation.

Trav. There be natural causes also to further it; for the art of printing will so spread knowledge, that the common people, knowing their own rights and liberties, will not be governed by way of oppression; and so, by little and little, all kingdoms will be like Macaria.

Schol. That will be a good change, when as well superiors as inferiors shall be more happy; well, I am imparadised in my mind, in thinking that England may be happy, with such expedition and facility.

Trav. Well, do you know any man that hath any secrets or good experiments? I will give him gold for them, or others as good in exchange; that is all the trade I have driven a long time; those riches are free from customs and impositions, and I have travelled thro' many kingdoms, and paid neither freight nor custom for my wares, though I value them above all the riches in the kingdom.

Schol. I know a gentleman that is greatly addicted to try experi ments, but how he hath prospered I am not certain; I will bring you acquainted with him, perhaps you may do one another good.

Trav. Well, I have appointed a meeting at two of the clock this day; I love to discourse with scholars, yet we must part; if you

•We, as many others, can expound all those things in a spiritual sense; but, I fear, that the prudent reader will, by no means, receive such an exposition.

meet me here the next Monday at the exchange, I will declare to you some more of the laws, customs, and manners of the inhabitants of Macaria.

Schol. I will not fail to meet you for any worldly respect: and, if I should be sick, I would come in a sedan; I never received such satisfaction and contentment by any discourse in my life; I doubt not but we shall obtain our desires, to make England to be like to Macaria; for which our posterity, which are yet unborn, will fare the better; and, though our neighbour countries are pleased to call the English a dull nation, yet the major part are sensible of their own good, and the good of their posterity, and those will sway the rest; so we and our posterity shall be all happy.

2

NEWS FROM

HELL, ROME, AND THE INNS OF COURT,

WHEREIN IS SET FORTH

THE COPY OF A LETTER WRITTEN FROM

THE DEVIL TO THE POPE.

The true Copy of the Petition delivered to the King at York. The Copy of certain Articles of agreement between the Devil, the Pope, and divers others. The Description of a Feast, sent from the Devil to the Pope, together with a short Advertisement to the high Court of Parliament, with sundry other particulars. Published for the future peace and tranquillity of the inhabitants of Great Britain, by J. M.

Printed in the Year of Grace and Reformation, 1641. Quarto, containing twenty-two pages,

To our dearly beloved son, the most pious and most religious primate of the Roman church, and to all our dearly beloved children the cardinals and lordly bishops in Europe.

Haste, Haste, Post, Haste.

Your intire Prince and God of this World, Lucifer, Prince of Darkness and Superstition, King of Styx and Phlegethon, supreme Lord of Gehenna, Tartaria, Colmakia, Samoyedia, Lappia, Corelia, and

Colmagoria, Prince Abyssus, and sole Commander of Seberia,
Altenia, Pecheora, and of all the infernal Furies and their Punies,
the Jesuits, Priests, and Seminaries,
Sendeth Greeting.

MOST

EARLY beloved son, and you our dutiful children, whose we admire, at whose policies we wonder, at whose power we muse, and at whose invincible stratagems we stand amazed.

Nor can we, in the first place, but extol, applaud, and most highly commend thee our dear son, for the extraordinary care in the advancement of our kingdom.

And, as next in place, the extraordinary diligent and vigilant care of all our beloved children the lordly bishops, in the advancement of our regal power to the great enlargement of our infernal dominions, by their rare and subtle plots and stratagems.

And in a more special manner we are pleased, through our infernal grace and favour, to extol them for this their present and excellent invention, in sowing discord amongst the English hereticks, as also in provoking the Scotch hereticks to an apparent opposition against their king, yea so far as to an invasion of the territories of England, all which services are most dear and acceptable unto us.

In respect of which services, as also for their fidelity to us, and our kingdom, we have caused our principal secretary of state, Don Antonio Furioso Diabello, to make an especial inrolment of their names in our calendar amongst those our dear servants, the plotters of the gunpowder treason, and the most renowned the complotters of the former invasion of England, in the year of Grace 1588, and since the creation of the world 5609; both which services, although their events were no ways answerable to our royal expectation, yet those instruments, that so freely adventured themselves in them, shall be ever renowned in our court infernal, and most acceptable to our person,

And, for the better encouragement of these our trusty and well beloved servants in the speedier advancement of this work, now intended for the utter extirpation of all hereticks, and increase of our regal power, we are pleased by this our royal manual to give unto them assurance of our aid and best assistance, in the most efficacious manner that our princely power can extend unto; and, because our former stratagems, put in execution by our beloved cousin and counsellor the King of Spain, were by him no ways effected according to our princely expectation, we have now therefore imposed our princely command upon our beloved servant the King of France, at the humble suit made unto us, by our children the lordly bishops, and by some of our servant of greatest quality in the realm of England, as also by our servants the Jesuits and Roman catholicks of England, to have a puissant army in readiness, for the

invasion of England, at such a time, as those our children and servants shall conceive it most convenient and efficacious.

And further our will and pleasure is, that you our dear son shall still persist to stir up and encourage our children the archbishops, as also thy disciples and our loyal subjects and servants, the jesuits, priests, and seminaries, to this work, that they, with all their might, together with our powerful policies granted unto them, may strive to effect this work with all celerity, that we may once more see our kingdom of superstition re-established, in the monarchy of Great-Britain, and Ireland.

The motives, to be pressed, inducing them to the expeditious effecting of the same are principally their respect to our kingly honour, and, next, their own increase of greatness; for we promise and assure them, by the word of a king infernal, that every of them shall reign as princes under us, not only over the bodies and estates of men, but also over their souls, by and through the many infernal graces by us most freely and benignly conferred on them. And hereby, to make them the more sensible of these our several graces conferred on them, we are pleased therefore here at present to express but some few of them in particular; as, namely, pride, vain-glory, hypocrisy, self-love of themselves, and of this present world, love of will worship, and advancement of idolatry, together with that special gift of covetousness, the only pillar to all the rest of our infernal graces conferred on them.

Thirdly, In respect of the clear passage by us made for them, by setting the hereticks for this long time at variance amongst themselves, by our trusty servants, the lawyers, and advancement of idolatry amongst them; the only means, in our princely wisdom, conceived to be to the breaking of the bond of unity and peace, thereby to provoke the great God of heaven to leave them to themselves, and to our powerful stratagems: We are likewise pleased to take special notice of that service by our children the lordly bishops, in working the dissolution of the assembly of parliament, in May last past, 1640, by which means nothing was effected for the good of hereticks, either concerning their church or commonwealth; so as the success of this design of ours was no way hindered. You are likewise to let them know from us, that the noblemen of England are disheartened, the gentry daunted, the commonalty divided, the number of our servants the Roman Catholicks infinitely increased, and the realm in general greatly oppressed, not only by the sundry monopolies, but also by the invincible oppressing power of our children the lordly bishops, the multitude of our servants, corrupt judges, basc-minded lawyers, seditious attornies, and wooden-headed doctors of our civil law, proctors, prothonotaries, registers, advocates, sollicitors, and apparators, whom we have caused to swarm, like to the Egyptian locusts, over all the land, for the sowing of discord, and blowing the coals of contention amongst all the inhabitants of the same; they having all of them, long since, received instructions by some of our infernal spirits, sent forth from us to that effect.

You are likewise to let them know, that, out of our princely VOL, IV. B b

respect to them, and their damnable actions, for our honour, we are pleased to take special notice of that service which they most willingly endeavoured to effect, for the confusion of all the hereticks inhabiting England, Scotland. Ireland, and the Netherlands, by the late, conceived, invincible armada, procured from Spain in the year of our reign 5660, which, through the providence of the celestial powers then over them, and the disturbance of Martin Harper Trump, here below, failed of that success which we, together with them, expected and hoped for, to our no less sorrow than theirs.

Nor can we but applaud the diligent care taken by our children and servants of greatest quality in that kingdom, in preventing the discovery of that invasive plot, by the hereticks, and their small wellmeaning state, through their speedy flight to Dover road, and private conference there with Don Oquindo, the Generalissimo of Spain, to that effect all which was most exquisitely performed, especially by our Hispaniolized lack-Latin lord, our dearly beloved servant.

And, lastly, Our hope is, that this present plot, set on foot by these our trusty and well-beloved children and servants, aforenamed, and by their earnest endeavours, and our assistance, once effected, will crown all our labours, to our unspeakable terrestrial glory, and their eternal favours, by us to be conferred on them in our royal palace of perdition, where we have already imposed our Royal command upon our trusty and well-beloved cousin and counsellor, Peoter Tretyacove, chancellor; Evane Becklemcesheve, our knight Marshal; Richardo Slowe, treasurer; and Don Serborus, grand porter of our said palace, to give them free admitance into our royal presence.

Thus, no ways doubting of your singular care and diligence, in fulfilling this our royal will and pleasure hereby expressed, we do further impose our royal favour and princely respect to be by you presented unto our trusty and well-beloved cousin and counsellor your present nuncio in the court of England, as also unto our beloved children and servants, the bishops, jesuits, priests, and seminaries, our faithful agents in this invincible plot, and also to all our faithful subjects and servants, the Roman Catholicks of England.

We are pleased to remain your royal sovereign, and patron of all your damnable plots and stratagems now in hand.

Given at our infernal palace of Perdition, this first of September, and in the 5661st year of our most damnable reign.

POSTSCRIPT.

Since the above-written, we are credibly informed of the intention of a most scandalous petition, to be delivered by a small number of heretical lords unto their king at York, which doth not a little touch our honour, and the discovery of this our present stratagem; Our