earl with his forces mounted the hill, and recovered the plain without resistance. The lord D'Aubigny charged them with great fury; insomuch as it had like, by accident, to have brandled the fortune of the day: for, by inconsiderate forwardness in fighting at the head of his troops, he was taken by the rebels, but immediately rescued and delivered. The rebels maintained the fight for a small time, and for their persons shewed no want of courage; but being ill armed, and ill led, and without horse or artillery, they were with no great difficulty cut in pieces, and put to flight. And for their three leaders, the lord Audley, the blacksmith, and Flammock, as commonly the captains of commotions are but half-couraged men, suffered themselves to be taken alive. The number slain on the rebels part were some two thousand men; their army amounting, as it is said, unto the number of sixteen thousand. The rest were, in effect, all taken; for that the hill, as was said, was encompassed with the King's forces round about. On the King's part there died about three hundred, most of them shot with arrows, which were reported to be of the length of a taylor's yard; so strong and mighty a bow the Cornish-men were said to draw.

The victory thus obtained, the King created divers bannerets, as well upon Blackheath, where his lieutenant had won the field, whither he rode in person to perform the said creation, as in St. George's Fields, where his own person had been encamped. And for matter of liberality, he did, by open edict, give the goods of all the prisoners unto those that had taken them; either to take them in kind, or compound for them, as they could. After matter of honour and liberality, followed matter of severity and execution. The lord Audley was led from Newgate to Tower-Hill, in a paper coat painted with his own arms; the arms reversed, the coat torn, and he at Tower-Hill beheaded. Flammock and the blacksmith were hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn the blacksmith taking pleasure upon the hurdle, as it seemeth by words that he uttered, to think that he should be famous in after-times. The King was once in mind to have sent down Flammock and the

blacksmith to have been executed in Cornwall, for the more terror: but being advertised that the country was yet unquiet and boiling, he thought better not to irritate the people farther. All the rest were pardoned by proclamation, and to take out their pardons under seal, as many as would. So that, more than the blood drawn in the field, the King did satisfy himself with the lives of only three offenders, for the expiation of this great rebellion.

It was a strange thing to observe the variety and inequality of the King's executions and pardons: and a man would think it, at the first, a kind of lottery or chance. But, looking into it more nearly, one shall find there was reason for it, much more, perhaps, than after so long a distance of time we can now discern. In the Kentish commotion, which was but an handful of men, there were executed to the number of one hundred and fifty and in this so mighty a rebellion but three. Whether it were that the King put to account the men that were slain in the field, or that he was not willing to be severe in a popular cause, or that the harmless behaviour of this people, that came from the west of England to the east, without mischief almost, or spoil of the country, did somewhat mollify him, and move him to compassion; or lastly, that he made a great difference between people that did rebel upon wantonness, and them that did rebel upon want.

After the Cornish-men were defeated, there came from Calais to the King an honourable embassage from the French King, which had arrived at Calais a month before, and there was stayed in respect of the troubles, but honourably entertained and defrayed. The King, at their first coming, sent unto them, and prayed them to have patience, till a little smoke, that was raised in his country, were over, which would soon be: Slighting, as his manner was, that openly, which nevertheless he intended seriously.

This embassage concerned no great affair, but only the prolongation of days for payment of moneys, and some other particulars of the frontiers. And it was, indeed, but a wooing embassage, with good respects to

entertain the King in good affection; but nothing was done or handled to the derogation of the King's late treaty with the Italians.

But during the time that the Cornish-men were in their march towards London, the King of Scotland, well advertised of all that passed, and knowing himself sure of a war from England, whensoever those stirs were appeased, neglected not his opportunity; but thinking the King had his hands full, entered the frontiers of England again with an army, and besieged the castle of Norham in person, with part of his forces, sending the rest to forage the country. But Fox, bishop of Duresme, a wise man, and one that could see through the present to the future, doubting as much before, had caused his castle of Norham to be strongly fortified, and furnished with all kind of munition: and had manned it likewise with a very great number of tall soldiers, more than for the proportion of the castle, reckoning rather upon a sharp assault, than a long siege. And for the country likewise, he had caused the people to withdraw their cattle and goods into fast places, that were not of easy approach; and sent in post to the earl of Surry, who was not far off, in Yorkshire, to come in diligence to the succour. So as the Scotish King both failed of doing good upon the castle, and his men had but a catching harvest of their spoils: and when he understood that the earl of Surry was coming on with great forces, he returned back into Scotland. The earl, finding the castle freed, and the enemy retired, pursued with all celerity into Scotland, hoping to have overtaken the Scotish King, and to have given him battle; but, not attaining him in time, sat down before the castle of Aton, one of the strongest places, then esteemed, between Berwick and Edinburgh, which in a small time he took. And soon after, the Scotish King retiring farther into his country, and the weather being extraordinary foul and stormy, the earl returned into England. So that the expeditions on both parts were, in effect, but a castle taken, and a castle distressed; not answerable to the puissance of the forces, nor to the heat of the quarrel, nor to the greatness of the expectation.

Amongst these troubles, both civil and external, came into England from Spain, Peter Hialas, some call him Elias, surely he was the forerunner of the good hap that we enjoy at this day: for his embassage set the truce between England and Scotland; the truce drew on the peace; the peace the marriage; and the marriage the union of the kingdoms; a man of great wisdom, and, as those times were, not unlearned; sent from Ferdinando and Isabella, Kings of Spain, unto the King, to treat a marriage between Catharine, their second daughter, and Prince Arthur. This treaty was by him set in a very good way, and almost brought to perfection. But it so fell out by the way, that upon some conference which he had with the King touching this business, the King, who had a great dexterity in getting suddenly into the bosom of ambassadors of foreign Princes, if he liked the men ; insomuch as he would many times communicate with them of his own affairs, yea, and employ them in his service, fell into speech and discourse incidently, concerning the ending of the debates and differences with Scotland. For the King naturally did not love the barren wars with Scotland, though he made his profit of the noise of them. And he wanted not in the council of Scotland, those that would advise their King to meet him at the half way, and to give over the war with England; pretending to be good patriots, but indeed favouring the affairs of the King. Only his heart was too great to begin with Scotland for the motion of peace. On the other side, he had met with an ally of Ferdinando of Arragon, as fit for his turn as could be. For after that King Ferdinando had, upon assured confidence of the marriage to succeed, taken upon him the person of a fraternal ally to the King, he would not let, in a Spanish gravity, to counsel the King in his own affairs. And the King on his part, not being wanting to himself, but making use of every man's humours, made his advantage of this in such things as he thought either not decent, or not pleasant to proceed from himself; putting them off as done by the counsel of Ferdinando. Wherefore he was content that Hialas, as in a matter moved and advised from

Hialas himself, should go into Scotland, to treat of a concord between the two Kings. Hialas took it upon him, and coming to the Scotish King, after he had with much art brought King James to hearken to the more safe and quiet counsels, wrote unto the King, that he hoped that peace would with no great difficulty cement and close, if he would send some wise and temperate counsellor of his own, that might treat of the conditions. Whereupon the King directed bishop Fox, who at that time was at his castle of Norham, to confer with Hialas, and they both to treat with some commissioners deputed from the Scotish King. The commissioners on both sides met. But after much dispute upon the articles and conditions of peace, propounded upon either part, they could not conclude a peace. The chief impediment thereof was the demand of the King to have Perkin delivered into his hands, as a reproach to all Kings, and a person not protected by the law of nations. The King of Scotland, on the other side, peremptorily denied so to do, saying, that he, for his part, was no competent judge of Perkin's title: but that he had received him as a suppliant, protected him as a person fled for refuge, espoused him with his kinswoman, and aided him with his arms, upon the belief that he was a prince; and therefore that he could not now with his honour so unrip, and, in a sort, put a lye upon all that he had said and done before, as to deliver him up to his enemies. The bishop likewise, who had certain proud instructions from the King, at the least in the front, though there were a pliant clause at the foot, that remitted all to the bishop's discretion, and required him by no means to break off in ill terms, after that he had failed to obtain the delivery of Perkin, did move a second point of his instructions, which was, that the Scotish King would give the King an interview in person at Newcastle, But this being reported to the Scotish King, his answer was, that he meant to treat a peace, and not to go a begging for it. The bishop also, according to another article of his instructions, demanded restitution of the spoils taken by the Scotish, or damages for the same. But the Scotish commis,