upō the vanwarde, when they perceyved our men so wyllynge to encounter with them, namely the Cardynall who was there present, perceyving our devotion to se his holynes to be suche as we were redy to watte our feete for that purpose,. and to passe a forde which was betwene us and them. After certen shotte of artyllary on both sydes they made a sodayne retrete and leavynge theyr artyllary behynde them fledde towards Edenborrowe. The fyrste man that fledde was the holy Cardynall lyke a valyaunt Champyon, and with hym the Governer, therles of Huntley, Murrey, and Bothe well, with dyvers other great men of the realme. At this passage was two Englishmen hurt with the shot of theyr artyllary, and two Scottyshmen slayne with our artillary. The vanwarde hauynge thus put backe the Scottes, and VII1 peices of theyr artyllary brought away by our hackebetters, who in this enterprise dyd very manfully employ themselves, we marched directly towardes the towne of Lythe, whiche before we coulde come to it, muste of force passe an other passage, whiche also was defended a whyle with certen ensignes of fotemen and certen peices of artyllary, who, beyng sharpely assayled havynge thre of theyr gonners slayne with our archers, was fayne to gyve place, leauynge also theyr ordinaunce behynd them, with whiche ordinaunce they slewe onely one of our men and hurte an other." The The Tract is of duodecimo size, in black letter, and at the end is Imprynted at London, in Powls Churchyarde, by Reynolde Wolfe, at the Sygne of y Brasen Serpent. Anno 1544. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum." I am indebted for the use of this curious and rare work to Mr. Isaac Reed, who bought it, if I am not mistaken, for half-a-crown. THE THE BOOKE OF FREENDESHIP. THIS curious little volume, translated by the famous Sir John Harrington, has, I believe, been somewhere slightly mentioned by Mr. Parke. It is of great rarity, and deserves a conspicuous place here. It is printed in a very minute form, which perhaps may be denominated 32mo. B. L. "THE BOOKE OF FREENDESHIP OF MARCUS TULLIE CICERO. Anno dni. It is thus inscribed: "To the righte vertuose and my singuler good Lady Katharine Duches of Suffolke. As my prisonment and adversitee moste honorable Lady was of their own nature joygned with greate and sundrie miseries, so was the sufferance of the same eased by the chaunce of dyverse and many Commoditees. For thereby founde I a great soule profite, a litle mynde knoulage, some holow hertes, and a few faithful freendes. Whereby I tried prisonmente of the body to bee the libertee of spirite: adversytee of fortune: the touche stone of vanitees, and in the ende quietnes of minde the occasion of study. And thus somewhat altered to avoyde my olde idelnesse, to recompense my loste tyme, and to take profite of my calamitee, I gave my selfe amonge other thynges to studie and learne the Frenche tonge, havynge both skilful prysoners to enstruct me, and therto plentie of bookes to learne the language. Among whyche as there were dyverse notable and for their sundry mattier woorthy readynge, so none lyked me above this Tullius booke of freendshyp, nor for the argument any with it to be compared. The whole whereof whan I had perused and sawe the goodly rules, the naturall order, and civyle use of freendshyp, when before I but liked than was I ravished, and in a certaine wonder with the heathen lerning which chiefly for it selfe I phan tasied, and for my state I deemed good to bee embrased as a glasse to dyscerne my freendes in, and a civile rule to leade my life by. These causes moved mee to thinke it mete for moe. Wherefrom I (as I coulde) translated it, and though not so lyvely, nor yet so aptlye as some wold loke for, and many could doe, yet I trust they will rather beare with my good will then rebuke my boldness, for that it proceded more of a good mynd then of anie presumption of knoulage so my enterpryse is to bee interpreted rather by freends as a treatise of freend ship, then by lerned clerkes in an argument of translacion. Well how so ever it shalbe lyked of the learned, I hope it shall be allowed of the unlatined. Whose Capacitees by my owne I consider, and for lacke of a fine and flowynge stile I have used the playne and common speeche, and to thende the sense mighte not be chaunged, nor the goodnes of the matter by shift of tounges muche mynished, I caused it to bee conferred wyth the latine Auctor, and so by the knowen well lerned to be corrected: after whose handelynge me thought a newe spirite and life was geven it, and many partes semed as it were wyth a newe cote arayed, aswell for the orderly placynge and eloquently changeynge of some woordes, as also for the plainly openyng and learnedly amending of the sence, whiche in the Frenche translatyon was somewhat darkened, and by me for lacke of knoulage in many places missed. Thus when the thinge was perfected and I beheld the fame of the Auctor, the nature of the treatise, and the clerenesse of his teachyng, I coulde not judge to whome I shoulde rather offer it then unto youre Grace, whome the freendelesse haply finde their defence and the helples repaire to as a refuge. This did I not to teache you, but to let you see in learnynge aunciente that you have by na ture |