Maister Bertie well obserued the houre, and no iot failed. At the which time the bishop had with him maister sergeant Stamford, to whome he mooued certeine questions of the said master Bertie, bicause master sergeant was towards the lord Wriothesleie late earle of Southampton, & chancellor of England, with whom the said master Bertie was brought vp. Master sergeant made verie friendlie report of ma|ster Bertie of his owne knowledge for the time of their conuersation togither. Wherevpon the bishop caused maister Bertie to be brought in; and first making a false traine (as God would, without fire) before he would descend to the quarrell of religion, he assaulted him in this maner. The quéenes plea|sure is (quoth the bishop) that you shall make present paiment of foure thousand pounds due to hir father by duke Charles,Maister Bertie atta|ched for debt of foure thou|sand pounds due to the quéene. late husband to the dutchesse your wife, whose executor she was. Pleaseth it your lordship (quoth maister Bertie) that debt is estalled, and is according to that estallment trulie answered. Tush (quoth the bishop) the quéene will not be bound EEBO page image 1143 to estallments,Ket capteine of the rebels in Norffolke in king Ed|wards time. in the time of Kets gouernment, for so I estéeme the late gouernment. The estallment (quoth maister Bertie) was appointed by king Hen|rie the eight; besides, the same was by speciall com|missioners confirmed in king Edwards time, and the lord treasuror being an executor also to the duke Charles solie and wholie, tooke vpon him before the said commissioners to discharge the same.

If it be true that you saie (quoth the bishop) I will shew you fauor. But of an other thing maister Bertie, I will admonish you as mening you well. I heare euill of your religion; yet I hardlie can think euill of you, whose mother I know to be as god|lie and catholike, as anie within this land, your selfe brought vp with a maister, whose education if I should disallow, I might be charged as author of his error. Besides partlie I know you my selfe, and vn|derstand of my friends inough to make me your friend: wherfore I will not doubt of you, but I praie you if I maie aske the question of my ladie your wife; is she now as readie to set vp the masse, as she was latelie to pull it downe,A dog clothed in a rochet vnder the name of bishop Gardiner. when she caused in hir progresse, a dog in a rochet to be caried & called by my name? Or dooth she thinke hir lambs now safe inough, which said to me when I vailed my bonnet to hir out of my chamber window in the tower, that it was merie with the lambs now the woolfe was shut vp?It is merie with lambs when woolues be tied. Another time my lord hir husband hauing inuited me and diuerse ladies to dinner, desired eue|rie ladie to choose him whome she loued best, and so place themselues. My ladie your wife taking me by the hand, for that my lord would not haue hir to take himselfe, said, that for so much as she could not sit downe with my lord whome she loued best, she had chosen me whome she loued worst.

Of the deuise of the dog, quoth master Bertie, she was neither the author nor the allower. The words, though in that season they sounded bitter to your lordship: yet if it should please you without offense to know the cause, I am sure the one will purge the other. As touching setting vp of masse, which she learned not onelie by strong persuasions of diuerse excellent learned men,Purgation of the ladie du|chesse for not comming to masse. but by vniuersall consent and order whole six yeares past inwardlie to abhorre; if she should outwardlie allow, she should both to Christ shew hir selfe a false christian, and vnto hir prince a masking subiect. You know my lord, one by iudge|ment reformed, is more woorth than a thousand trans|formed temporizors. To force a confession of religi|on by mouth, contrarie to that in the heart, worketh damnation where saluation is pretended. Yea ma|rie (quoth the bishop) that deliberation would doo well if she neuer required to come from an old religi|on to a new. But now she is to returne from a new to an ancient religion: wherein when she made me hir gossip, she was as earnest as anie.