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ally blaspheme his passion in hawking, hunting, dicing and carding.—What became of his blood that fell down, trow ye? was the blood of Hales of it, woe worth it! What ado was it to bring this out of the King's head! This great abomination of the blood of Hales could not be taken a great while out of his mind.-You that be of the court, and especially ye sworn chaplains, beware of a lesson that a great man taught me, at my first coming to the court; he told me for good-will, he thought it well. He said to

but a little while? For we know by Scripture, and all learned men affirm the same, that the world was made to endure six thousand years. Now of these six thousand be past already five thousand six hundred and odd, and yet this time which is left shall be shortened for the elects' sake, as Christ himself witnesseth." LATIMER'S Third Sermon on the Lord's Prayer.

me, 'You must beware howsoever ye do [Love of Pudding-a favourite Dish of our

that ye contrary not the King; let him have his sayings, follow him, go with him. Marry, out with this counsel! shall I say as he saith? Say according to your conscience, or else what a worm shall ye feel gnawing! what a remorse of conscience shall ye have when ye remember how ye have slacked your duty. It is a good, wise verse, 'Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed sæpe cadendo.'

The drop of water maketh a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling. Likewise a prince must be turned, not violently, but he must be won by a little and a little. He must have his duty told him, but it must be done with humbleness, with request of pardon, or else it were a dangerous thing. Unpreaching prelates have been the cause that the blood of Hales did so long blind the King. Woe worth that such an abhominable thing should be in a Christian realm! but thanks to God it was partly

redressed in the King's days that dead is, and much more now. God grant good will and power to go forward, if there be any

such abhomination behind, that it may utterly be rooted up."-LATIMER's Seventh Sermon preached before King Edward the Sixth.

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Forefathers, as now in Sussex.]

"A GOOD fellow on a time bade another of his friends to a breakfast, and said, ‘If you will come you shall be welcome, but I tell you aforehand, you shall have but slender fare, one dish, and that is all.' What is that?' said he. 'A pudding, and nothing else.' 'Marry,' said he, 'you cannot please me better; of all meats this is for my own tooth; you may draw me round about the town with a pudding."-LATIMER's Third Sermon before King Edward the Sixth.

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[Shovelling of Feet, and walking up and

down at Sermon time.]

"I REMEMBER now a saying of S. Chrysostome, and peradventure it might come hereafter in better place, but yet I will take it while it cometh to mind. 'They heard him,' said he, in silence, not interrupting heard him quietly, without any shovelling the order of his preaching.' He means they of feet, or walking up and down. Truly it is an ill misorder that folk shall be walk

ing up and down in the sermon time, as I

have seen in this place this Lent, and there shall be such buzzing and huzzing in the preacher's ear, that it maketh him oftentimes to forget his matter."- LATIMER'S Sixth Sermon before King Edward the Sixth.

This is a condensed extract, and not taken verbatim,-if, at least, it be taken from the Sermon referred to. Probably "six hundred" is a slip of the pen for "five hundred.”—J. W. W.

[Robin Hood's Day.]

LATIMER.

"I CAME once myself to a place, riding on a journey homeward from London, and I sent word over night into the town that I would preach there in the morning, because it was holiday, and methought it was an holiday's work. The church stood in my way, and I took my horse and my company and went thither; I thought I should have found a great company in the church, and when I came there the church door was fast locked. I tarried there half an hour and more; at last the key was found, and one of the parish comes to me and said, ' Sir, this a busy day with us; we cannot hear you, it is Robin Hood's day. The parish are gone abroad to gather for Robin Hood. I pray you let them not. I was fain there to give place to Robin Hood. I thought my Rochet should have been regarded though I were not; but it would not serve, it was fain to give place to Robin Hood's men.' LATIMER'S Sixth Sermon before King Edward the Sixth.

[English Amusements.]

"MEN of England in times past, when they would exercise themselves, (for we must needs have some recreation, our bodies cannot endure without some exercise,) they were wont to go abroad into the fields a shooting; but now it is turned into gulling, drinking and whoring within the house. The game of shooting hath been in times past much esteemed in this realm; it is a gift that God hath given us to excel all other nations withall; it hath been God's instrument whereby he hath given us many victories against our enemies; but now we have taken up whoring in towns, instead of shooting in fields. A wondrous thing that so excellent a gift of God should be so little esteemed. I desire you, my Lords, even as you love the honour and glory of God, and intend to remove his indignation, let there be sent forth some proclamation, some sharp

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proclamation to the Justices of peace that they may do their duty: for Justices now be no Justices. There be many good acts made for this matter already. Charge them upon their allegiance that this singular benefit of God may be better practised, and that it be not turned into bowling, drinking, and whoring within the towns, for they be negligent in executing these laws of shooting. Marsilius Ficinus in his book De triplici vitâ, (it is a great while since I read him now,) but I remember he commendeth this kind of exercise, and saith that it wrestleth against many kinds of diseases. In the reverence of God let it be continued; let a proclamation go forth, charging the Justices of the peace that they see such Acts and Statutes kept as were made for this purpose."-LATIMER'S Sixth Sermon before King Edward VI.

[Latimer taught by his Father to draw the

Bow.]

"IN my time my poor father was as diligent to teach me to shoot, as to learn me any other thing, and so I think other men did their children. He taught me how to draw, how to lay my body in my bow, and not to draw with strength of arms, as divers other nations do, but with strength of the body. I had my bows bought me according to my age and strength; as I increased in them, so my bows were made bigger and bigger, for men shall never shoot well, except they be brought up in it. It is a worthy game, a wholesome kind of exercise, and much commended in physic."―LATIMER's Sixth Sermon before K. Edward VI.

[Bribery and Unjust Judgment.]

"HE that took the silver bason and ewer for a bribe, thinketh that it will never come out; but he may now know that I know it, and I know it not alone, there be more beside me that know it. Oh, briber and bribery!

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he was never a good man that will so take | MER's Sermon on Luke xii. 15. preached in bribes. Nor can I never believe that he the Afternoon before K. Edward VI.

that is a briber shall be a good justice. It will never be merry in England till we have the skins of such."-LATIMER'S Second Sermon on Luke xii. 15.

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"CAMBYSES was a great king, such another as our Master is he had many lord deputies, lord presidents, and lieutenants under him. It is a great while ago since I read the history. It chanced he had under him in one of his dominions a briber, a gift taker, a gratifier of rich men; he followed gifts as fast as he that followed the pudding; a hand-maker in his office to make his son a great man: as the old saying is, 'Happy is the child whose father goeth to the devil." The cry of the poor widow came to the Emperor's ear, and caused him to flay the judge quick, and lay his skin in the chair of judgement, that all judges who should give judgement afterward should sit in the same skin. Surely it was a goodly sign, a goodly monument, the sign of the judge's skin! I pray God we may once see the sign of the skin in England.” — LATIMER'S Third Sermon before K. Edward VI.

[Deceitful Practices.]

"But now I will play St. Paul, and translate the thing on myself. I will become the King's officer for awhile. I have to lay out for the King two thousand pounds, or a great sum, whatsoever it be well, when I have laid it out, and to bring in mine account, I must give three hundred marks to have my bills warranted! If I have done truly and uprightly, what should need me to give a penny to have my bills warranted? If I have done my office truly, and do bring in a true account, wherefore should one groat be given? yea, one groat for warranting my bills? Smell ye nothing in this? what needeth any bribes giving, except the bills be false? No man giveth bribes for warranting his bills, except they be false bills."-LATI

[Our Lady likened to a Saffron-bag.]

"IT hath been said of me, 'Oh, Latimer! nay as for him, I will never believe him while I live, nor never trust him, for he likened our blessed Lady to a saffron bag!' where, indeed, I never used that similitude. But in case I had used this similitude, it had not been to be reproved, but might have been without reproach. For I might have said thus; as the saffron bag that hath been full of saffron, or hath had saffron in it, doth ever after savour and smell of the sweet saffron that it contained, so our blessed Lady, which conceived and bare Christ in her womb, did ever after resemble the manners and virtues of that precious babe that she bare. And what had our blessed Lady been the worse for this? or what dishonour was this to our blessed Lady?"— LATIMER'S Sermon of the Plough.

[Increase of Luxury.]

"THE Diet they are grown unto of late, Excels the Feasts that men of high estate Had in times past;-for there's both flesh and fish,

With many a dainty new devised dish.
For bread they can compare with Lord and
Knight,

They have both ravel'd, manchet, brown and white

Of finest wheat: their drinks are good and

stale,

Of perry, cider, mead, methlegin, ale,
Of beer they have abundantly, but then
This must not serve the richer sort of men,
They with all sorts of foreign wines are sped,
Their cellars are oft fraught with white and
red,

Be it French, Italian, Spanish, if they crave it,

Nay Grecian or Canarian they may have it. Cate, Pument, Vervage, if they do desire, Or Romney, Bastard, Capricke, Osey, Tire,

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Muscadell, Malmsey, Clarey,-what they | And'cause sometimes the fashions we disdain will

Both head and belly each may have their fill. Then if their stomacks do disdain to eat Beef, mutton, lamb, or such like butchers' meat,

If that they cannot feed of capon, swan, Duck, goose, or common household poultry; then

Their store-house will not very often fail To yield them partridge, pheasant, plover, quaile,

Or any dainty fowl that may delight
Their gluttonous and beastly appetite.
So they are pampered while the poor man
starves,

Yet there's not all; for custards, tarts, conserves,

Must follow too; and yet they are no let For suckets, march-panes, nor for marmalet, Fruit, Florentines, sweet sugar-meats and

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[Despotism of Fashion.]

-"'Tis strange to know how many fashions

Of Italy, France, Netherland and Spain, We'll fetch them farther off;—for, by your leaves

We have Morisco gowns, Barbarian sleeves, Polonian shoes, with divers far-fetcht trifles, Such as the wandering English gallant rifles Strange countries for."

[The Lover of Pleasure.]

Ibid.

-"SOME are vain in pleasures, like to him Who for because he in delights would swim, In these our days, to please his bestial senses, Made twenty hundred crowns one night's

expences.

I only do forbear to tell his name,
Lest he should hap to vaunt upon the same."

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—Well, if he drink, a draught shall be the most,

We borrow now-a-days from other nations. That must be spiced with a nut-brown

Some we have seen Irish in trouzes go, And they must make it with a cod-piece too; Some, as the fashion they best like, have

chose

The spruce diminutive near Frenchman's hose.

Another lik't it once, but now he chops

That fashion for the drunken Switzers slops.

toast."

[Potato-Pie.]

Ibid.

"I HAVE a dish prepared for the nones, A rich Potatoe Pie and Marrow-bones."

Ibid.

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For Turkey Grow-graines, Chamblets, silken Rash,

And such like new devised foreign trash." Ibid.

[Dominion of Taylors.]

"THEN for the faults behind he looks in glass,

Strait raves again, and calls his Taylor, ass, Villain, and all the court-like names he can. Why I'll be judged, says he, here by my

man,

If my left shoulder seem yet, in his sight, For all this bumbast, half so big as the right." Ibid.

A Christmas Carol.

"So now is come our joyfullest feast, Let every man be jolly;

Each room with ivy leaves is drest,

And every post with holly.

Tho' some Churls at our mirth repine,
Round your foreheads garlands twine,
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,

And let us all be merry.

"Now all our neighbours' chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning,
Their ovens they with baked meats choke,
And all their spits are turning.
Without the door let sorrow lie,
And if for cold it hap to die,
We'll bury it in a Christmas pye,

And evermore be merry.

"Now every lad is wondrous trim,
And no man minds his labour,
Our lasses have provided them
A bagpipe and a tabor.

Young men and Maids, and Girls and Boys
Give life to one another's joys,

And you anon shall by their noise,
Perceive that they are merry.

"Rank Misers now do sparing shun;

Their hall of musick soundeth, And dogs thence with whole shoulders run, So all things there aboundeth.

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