TO THE RIGHT HO|norable sir Henrie Sidneie knight, lord deputie generall of Ireland, lord president of Wales, knight of the most noble order of the garter, and one of hir maiesties priuie councell within hir realme of England.
Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 _TAking in hand (right honorable) to gather the particular histories of diuerse countries and nations, to ioine with a cos|mographie, which one Reginald Wolfe late printer to the queenes maiestie meant to publish in our English toong: when I came to consider of the histories of Ireland, I found my self so vnprouided of helps, to set downe anie particular discourse therof, that I was in despaire to enterprise to write anie thing at all concerning that realme, otherwise than incidentlie as fell to purpose to touch the same in the historie of England. At length yet as maister Wolfes vse was, to impart to me all such helps as he might at anie hand procure for my furtherance, in the collections of the other histories, where|with I speciallie dealt; his hap was to light also vpon a copie of two bookes of the Irish histories, compiled by one Edmund Campion, fellow sometime of S. Iohn Baptists college in Oxford, verie well penned certeinlie, but so breefe, as it were to be wished, that occasion had serued him to haue vsed more leasure, and thereby to haue deliuered to vs a larger discourse of the same histories: for as he himselfe confesseth, he had not past ten weekes space to gather his matter: a verie short time doubtlesse for such a peece of worke. But how breefe so euer I found him, at the persuasion of maister Wolfe, vpon the hauing of that copie, I resolued to make shift to frame a speciall historie of Ireland, in like maner as I had doone of o|ther regions, following Campions order, and setting downe his owne words, ex|cept in places where I had matter to inlarge that (out of other authors) which he had written in breefe. And this I haue thought good to signifie, the rather for that I esteeme it good dealing in no wise to defraud him of his due deserued praise.