But of this matter enough and too much. Now let vs returne where we left before, which was at the death of queene Marie. After whose deceasse suc|céeded hir foresaid sister ladie Elisabeth into the right of the crowne of England: who after so long restreinement,Ladie Elisa|beth procla|med quéene the same daie that quéene Marie died. so great dangers escaped, such blu|sterous stormes ouerblowne, so manie iniuries di|gested and wrongs susteined by the mightie protecti|on of our mercifull God, to our no small comfort and commoditie, hath béene exalted and erected out of thrall to libertie, out of danger to peace and quiet|nesse, from dread to dignitie, from miserie to maie|stie, from mourning to ruling; brieflie, of a prison|ner made a princesse, and placed in hir throne roiall, proclamed now quéene, with as manie glad hearts of hir subiects, as euer was anie king or queene in this realme before hir,The Lord make Eng|land thanke|full to him for his great be|nefits. or euer shall be (I dare saie) hereafter. Touching whose florishing state, hir prince|lie reigne and peaceable gouernement, with other things diuerse and sundrie incident to the same, and especiallie touching the great stirres and alterations which haue happened in other forren nations, and al|so partlie among our selues here at home, forsomuch as the tractation hereof requireth an huge volume by it selfe, I shall therefore deferre the reader to the next booke or section insuing:He meaneth his owne worke; not this volume or anie part thereof. wherein (if the Lord so please to susteine me with leaue and life) I maie haue to discourse of all and singular such matters doone and atchiued in these our latter daies and memorie, more at large.

Now then after these so great afflictions falling vpon this realme, from the first beginning of quéene Maries reigne, wherein so manie men, women, and children were burned, manie imprisoned and in pri|sons starued, diuerse exiled, some spoiled of goods and possessions, a great number driuen from house to home, so manie wéeping eies, so manie sobbing harts, so manie children made fatherlesse, so manie fathers bereft of their wiues and children, so manie vexed in conscience, and diuerse against conscience constrained to recant; and in conclusion, neuer a good man almost in all the realme but suffered some|thing during all the time of this bloudie persecution: after all this (I saie) now we are come at length (the Lord be praised) to the seuentéenth of Nouember,Nouemb 17. quéene Marie endeth. which daie as it brought to the persecuted members of Christ, rest from their carefull mourning, so it ea|seth me somewhat likewise of my laborious writing, by the death I meane of quéene Marie,Quéene Eli|sabeth begin|neth hir reigne. who being long sicke before vpon the said seuentéenth daie of Nouember, in the yeare aboue said, about thrée or foure of the clocke in the morning, yéelded hir life to nature, and hir kingdome to quéene Elisabeth hir sister.

As touching the maner of whose death,The maner of quéene Ma|ries death. some saie that she died of a timpanie, some by hir much sighing before hir death supposed she died of thought and sor|row. Wherevpon hir councell seeing hir sighing, and desirous to know the cause, to the end they might minister the more readie consolation vnto hir, fea|red (as they said) that she tooke some thought for the kings maiestie hir husband, which was gone from hir. To whome she answering againe; In deed (said she) that may be one cause, but that is not the grea|test wound that pearseth mine oppressed mind: but what that was she would not expresse to them. Albe|it afterward she opened the matter more plainlie to mistresse Rise and mistresse Clarentius (if it be true that they told me, which heard it of mistresse Rise himselfe) who then being most familiar with hir, and most bold about hir, told hir that they feared she tooke thought for king Philips departing from hir.Q. Marie tooke thought for the losse of Calis. Not that onelie (said she) but when I am dead and o|pened, you shall find Calis lieng in my hart, &c. Which one supposing to be true, hath left this report:

Hispani Caleto. oppidulo amisso contabuit vxor,

Quam cruciatu aegro confecerat anxia cura.