[1] And for a further reliefe, a petition being made to the kings maiestie for a licence to take in mort|maine, or otherwise without licence, lands to a cer|teine yearelie [...]alue, and a space left in the patent for his grace to put in what summe it would please him; he looking on the void place, called for pen and inke, and with his owne hand wrote this summe, in these words (foure thousand marks by yeare) and then said in the hearing of his councell:A blessed king.

Lord God I yeeld thée most hartie thanks, that thou hast giuen mée life thus long, to finish this worke to the glorie of thy name.

After which foundation established, he liued not a|boue two daies, whose life would haue béene wished equall to the patriarchs, if it might haue pleased God so to haue protracted the same. But he was too good a prince for so bad a people, and therefore God re|mooued him, and translated him to his owne king|dome, foreséeing the euent of something which in his secret counsell he had purposed, against a nation that knew not the benefit of the acceptable time of grace: wherein God by this péerelesse princes means ment all good to this land, as might be gathe|red by the reformation of religion, wherin the kings care was exceeding great, as his desire to establish Gods glorie was zealous: according to that notable [page 1083] allusion of Iohn Leland recorded in praise of this most excellent prince, as followeth in this epigram:

Allusio ad ety|mon nominis Eaduerdi.Quisquis Eaduerdum Romano expresserat ore,

Custodem fidei dixerit esse sacrae.

Hoc ego crediderim puero feliciter orto

A superis nomen coelitùs esse datum.

Est pater antiquae fidei defensor amicus,

Degener & nullo tempore natus erit.