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I.

ing at the gates, no man answered. Mr. Sheriff B. by CHAP. agreement went upon the back-stairs, to see that no mass"hearers should escape. And after divers knockings at the Anno 1576. gate, the porter came, being a Portugal, who did speak "English, and said my lord was not at home. Then, quoth we, let us speak with you, Mr. Porter, for we have brought letters. And the porter answered us very stub"bornly. And at the length he opened the gate, and I, "the recorder, put in my left leg, meaning to enter in at "the gate. And being half in and half out, the porter, "knowing me very well, said, Back, villain; and thrust "the gate so sore upon my leg, that I shall carry the grief "thereof to my grave. Sithence that time my pain hath "been so great, that I can take no rest. And if Mr. She"riff Kimpton had not thrust the gate from me, my leg "had been utterly bruised into shivers. And besides, the porter began to bustle himself to his dagger, and took me

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by the throat and then I thrust him from me; for in"deed he was but a testy little wretch. And so I willed "Mr. Sheriff and the officers to stay the fellow from doing "any hurt to any other in his fury.

"After this we passed quietly, all doors being open, out "of the hall up the stairs: and at the stair-head there was "a great long gallery, that in length stood east and west. "In the same gallery all the mass-hearers, both men and

women, were standing. For the priest was at the gospel, " and the altar-candles were lighted, as the old manner was. "After this, we knocked at the outer door of the gallery, " and all they looked back. And then Mr. Sheriff K. and "I charged all such as were Englishmen born, and the queen's subjects, to come forth of that place. And then

came all the strangers running towards us: some of them 413 "beginning to draw first their daggers, and then after they "buckled themselves to draw their rapiers. And by that "time two bailiffs, errants of Middlesex, (whose names I "remember not,) being at the door, did draw their swords. "And immediately Mr. Kimpton caused the strangers to "be quiet; and I caused the bailiffs to put up their swords.

II.

BOOK "And then Mr. K. with all the mass-hearers, with seignior "Giraldie's wife, and her maids, were all in a heap, forty Anno 1576." persons at once speaking in several languages.

"And then I said to Mr. Sheriff, I pray you, let me and 66 you make a way for my lady. And so he making way "before, I kissed my hand, and took my lady Giraldie by "the hand, and led her out of the press to her chamber "door, and there made a most humble curtsey unto her. "And after, I put out my hand to the rest of her gentle"women, and first kissed it, and delivered them into their "chamber also. And Mr. Sheriff Barnes came into the "gallery: and so we three examined every man what he

was. And first, such as were seignior Giraldie's men, we "required them to depart. And after many lewd and con"tumelious words used by them against us, we by fair

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means got them out of the gallery into their lady's lodg"ing. And then proceeded we to the examination of the strangers that were not of seignior Giraldie's house, nor "of his retinue. And they most despitefully, against all "civility, used such like words in their language against "us, that if our company had understood them, there might "have chanced great harm.

"But in plain terms I said unto them, Sirs, I see no "remedy but ye must go to prison; for most of you be "free denizens. And then I willed the officers to lay hands "on them; and immediately every man suddenly most "humbly put off his cap, and begun to be suitors, and 66 sought favour. And so upon their submission, we suf"fered them to depart, all, saving Anthony Guarras; who was not willing to depart from us, but kept us company. "And all this done, we examined the English subjects, and "sent them to prison; who, to say the truth, provoked the

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strangers into fury and disorder against us. For if the 66 English then had, according to our direction, departed "from the strangers, and come forth unto us, the strangers "had been quiet, and we without trouble. But truly the "greatest fault was, that as well the English mass-mongers, as also the free denizens, for the covering of their own

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"offences, practised rather to have murder committed, than CHAP. "to be taken as they were.

I.

"All this while the mass-sayer stood at the north end of Anno 1576. "the altar; and no man living said a word to him, nor "touched him; saving that he did give to divers of our "servants singing cakes: wherewith I was offended with "them for receiving that idolatrous bread. And all being “done, and we ready to depart, it was said by a stander "by, If ye look in at that door, near the altar, said he, you "shall find a number of mass-mongers. And then did the "priest take a key out of his pocket, and smiling, opened "the door; and Mr. Sheriff Kimpton, with the priest, look-414 "ed in, and there was nobody.

"And then Anthony Guarras took me by the hand, to

see the altar, how trim it was. For Mr. Barnes and I "stood afar off in the gallery. And I said to Guarras, Sir, "if I had done my duty to God and to the queen, I had "taken two hundred here upon All Hollown day last, and "as many upon All Souls day also. Ho, sir, said Guarras "unto me, become of this religion, and surely you will like "it well, and it will be a ready means to make you a good "Christian. And so we went near the altar; where neither " he nor I touched any manner of thing. And so we bade "the priest farewell; who gently saluted us. And I sud"denly looking back, saw the priest shake his head at 66 us, and mumbled out words, which sounded diable, and "male croix, or to that effect. And then I said to Mr. "Sheriff, Sirs, let us depart, for the priest doth curse. And "so we departed. Anthony Guarras brought us to the ut"most gate; where Mr. Sheriff and I invited him to din"ner with us: but he departed back to hear out the afore"said mass.

;

"The foresaid Guarras, at this business, said, that he "himself was an ambassador to a greater person than " and so did shake his head. What! quoth I, do you mean 66 a greater personage than the queen our mistress? Na, na, "said he, I meant not so. No, quoth I, it were not best

II.

BOOK "for you to make comparison with the queen our mistress. "Whose ambassador are you then? quoth I. The pope's? Anno 1576." And then he departed further off in an anger. This "Guarras was a very busy fellow in this action.

"Among all these strangers, I marked one Swygo, who " is a free denizen, married to an English woman. He is a "broker, and hath his chief living by our merchants. This "fellow made himself more busy than it became him. There 66 was a tall young fellow, an Italian, that was very wanton "with us; and it hath been told me sithence, that he and "others are kept here for two causes: the one for uttering "the pope's allom; and the other to serve for intelligencer: "which, I think, are very spies. This youth was very busy, "and bestirred him as though he had been treading of a 66 galliard. There was one John Chivers, an Irishman, a "student of the inns of the chancery; who, as it appeared "unto me, (I having a vigilant eye of all sides,) was a great "stirrer of the strangers against us. This young man, "when he could not prevail, then he gat up to the south ❝ end of the altar; and there he confronted the mass-sayer, "with his cap on his head, who was on the other end, and "stood there as though he had been an Italian. His gar"ments were a cloak and a rapier, after the Italian fashion. "And when I demanded what he was, be bowed on the one "side and the other, as though he had not understood me; "much like the fashion of seignior Giraldie: by which I "did note that he had been often there.

"This is all that I do remember; and in my conscience, "and as I shall answer before God at the latter day, we ❝ used ourselves with such humble reverence unto his lady "and her family, as more we could not do to the queen, 66 our mistress, save kneeling.

415 "I sent seignior Giraldie word, as I remember, at Easter "last, by Mr. Benedict Spinello, that he should not suffer "the queen's subjects to repair to his mass: yea, and that "other things also should be amended; wherewith the people "did wonderfully grudge at him: and I am sure Mr. Spi

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I.

"nello did my message to him in a decent order. This is CHAP. not the first time that his house hath been dealt withal by "the sheriffs. Strumpets have been gotten with child in Apno 1576. "his house; and we of the hospital driven to take order for "their keeping. The masters shall justify this. I never saw any ambassador sent out of England, but that he was "both wise and virtuous, and was not indebted to any. "And whether seignior Giraldie was an ambassador or not, "surely, my lord, I knew not, until my lords of the coun"cil had told me thereof upon Monday last, at the council "board."

This shews how jealous the state at that time was of papists and mass-mongers, as they called them, and what watchfulness to prevent the subjects from lapsing into that religion.

the exche

The state was concerned to be watchful in these times, Fugitives the queen having so many enemies of the popish faction her certified in subjects, both at home and abroad; of the latter sort were quer. the fugitives, entertained by the pope and Spaniard. This year, 1576, Jan. 29, were certified into the exchequer such as were fled over the seas, of noblemen, gentlemen, priests, and schoolmasters, to near the number of fourscore; contrary to the statute reg. Eliz. 13. Their names, conditions, and in what counties they inhabited, may be read, taken from an authentic paper, in the Appendix.

No. I.