any invasion; for, if you drive him to bring these things with him (as, if matters be well foreseen, and a good plot laid, you may easily do) a world of shipping will scarce suffice for the transportation thereof, besides an infinite mass and charge, that must be provided before-hand; yea, and what waste and loss thereof will fall out, though wind, weather, and shipping were had to pass without disturbance, experience thereof remaineth yet fresh in memory.

Again, if scarcity of victuals and unsavouriness thereof once grow, the pestilence and other sickness (which assail the best victualled and ordered army that ever was) will then be doubled and trebled, in such sort, that it will, in a short time, fight and get the victory for you.

And here, by the way, I would put you in remembrance, that there be continual lets and disturbances by your navy of the quiet passing of their victuals which should come unto them; whereof you shall oftentimes take advantage also by storms and contrary winds.

Wherefore I hold it for the best and surest way to suffer the enemy, coming to invade, to land quietly at his pleasure; which he will otherwise do, whether you will or not: Only fronting him in the plains with your horsemen; and by all means and diligence to draw the victuals, cattle, carriages, and corn behind your back; and that which you cannot, to waste and spoil, that the enemy take no advantage thereof, keeping such streights and passages with your footmen, as may be kept, and which, with small numbers of your horsemen, you may safely do, until great power do come to back you. And, though they win some streight, which they cannot do without great loss, yet, by keeping of back-receipts in streights, you shall always (if you be so driven) retire without any great loss or danger: And always remember to leave a ward in every place meet to be guarded, though it be but of twenty or thirty persons, which will be an occasion for the enemy to stop the winning of them before they can pass; because else those few numbers will always annoy their victuals and ammunition, that daily and hourly must have free and quiet passage to them. Now, if they tarry the winning or yielding of them up, though it be but a day or two kept, you get thereby time to yourselves to grow stronger, and your enemy loseth opportunity, and waxeth weaker.

For we see, and find by experience, that huge armies, lying in the fields but fifteen or sixteen weeks, are brought to that weakness, and their first courage so abated by sickness and pestilence, which are handmaids unto such great assemblies, especially where any want of those things is that belong to the sustentation of man's body, that they may, with smaller numbers and less danger, be dealt withal, than at the first landing. Moreover, your people shall, in that time, attain to some knowledge, by daily exercise and use of their weapons; and the terror of shot will be more familiar unto them. For it is not numbers that do prevail, but trained men, resolute minds, and good order. For, if a prince would only select and choose out such men to wear armour, and employ the rest, I mean the baser sort, to the spade and shovel, there is no doubt but he shall sooner attain unto victory by this means, than with rude multitudes, in whom there is nothing but confusion and disorder.

Again, the spade and the shovel are so necessary instruments of war, both to the invader and defender, as nothing is so impossible, that thereby may not be atchieved, and made easy: And, without the employment whereof, we cannot presume, at any time, of safety. I could discourse at large hereof, in shewing the use and benefit of them. But, because to every man of judgment and experience it is sufficiently known, I shall not need to speak much therein; but wish you to embrace them, it being to a defender so special and singular a commodity, in that he may better be furnished with infinite numbers of them.

And moreover, if you shall appoint them to weapons, who are apter to labour than to fight, you shall find double inconveniences thereby, in misplacing them contrary to their natural disposition and use.

And, touching my own opinion and judgment, I should more stand in fear of a few picked and choice soldiers, that were furnished with a ufficient number of pioneers, than with the hugeness of an army of unselect and disfurnished numbers. Now, to say somewhat by the way, touching your armed pikes, the only body, strength, and bulwark in the field: It is not a little to be lamented, to see no more store in this land. We have so wonderfully weakened ourselves, that it is high time to look to the restoring of them again. And touching the use of shot, as it is a singular weapon, being put into the hands of the skilful and exercised soldier, being the pillar and upholder of the pikes, and without which he is no perfect body: So no doubt, on the contrary part, committed to a coward's, or an unskilful man's handling, it is the priviest thief in the field. For he robbeth pay, consumeth victuals, and slayeth his own fellows, in discharging behind their backs. And one thing even as ill as this, he continually wasteth powder, the most precious jewel of a prince.

Wherefore, I would wish captains not only to reject such as are altogether unapt, but greatly to commend them that discharge but few shots, and bestow them well. For it is more worthy of praise to discharge fair and leasurely, than fast and unavisedly: The one taking advantage by wariness and foresight, whereas the other loseth all with rashness and haste.

But to return to the pike again. Myself being in the Low Countries in the camp, when those great armies were last assembled, and perusing, in every several regiment, the sorting and division of weapons, as well as their order and discipline: There were two nations, the French being one, that had not, betwixt them both, an hundred pikes. Whereof I much marvelling, and desiring greatly to know the cause that had moved them to leave the pike, which, in my conceit I always judged the strength of the field; happening afterward into the company of certain French Captains, some of them ancient in years, and such as were of the religion, I demanded the reason that had moved them to give over that defensible weapon the pike, and betake them altogether to shot. Not for any disliking, or other cause, said they, but for that we have not such personable bodies, as you Englishmen have, to bear them; neither have we them at that commandment as you have, but are forced to hire other nations to supply our insufficiency, for, of our selves, we cannot say we can make a compleat body. Moreover, they

affirmed, that, if in the time of Newhaven we had let them have six thousand of our armed pikes, they would have marched through all France; so highly esteemed they the pike, who nevertheless, in our judgment, seem to have given over the same, or to make small account thereof.

Moreover, for the better and readier ordering and training of your men in every shire: Those, that are appointed to be captains, should have, under every of their several charges, only one sort of weapons, viz. one captain to have the charge of pikes, another of shot, &c. And no man's band to be less than two hundred men. By means whereof, your serjeant-major, or such to whom you shall commit the order of your footmen, may, from time to time, readily know the numbers of every sort of weapons, whereby he will at one instant range them into any order and form of battle you will have them. And every captain and his officers shall serve with their own men, which is a matter of great contentment to both captain and soldier. For otherwise, if he have charge of more sorts of weapons, then must he either disjoin himself from his officers in time of service, or else he must commit his men under another man's direction, which breedeth oftentimes great disliking and murmur.

Orders for the provision and guard of the Beacons.

FIRST, That the beacons be provided of good matter and stuff, as well for the sudden kindling of the fires, as also for the continuance thereof.

That the beacons and watch-places, appointed to give warning un. to the country, of the landing or invasion of the enemy, be substantially guarded with a sufficient company; whereof, one principal person of good discretion to have the chief charge, at all times, of every beacon.

That the beacons that are next to the sea-side, and are appointed to give the first warning, may be very sufficiently guarded, as well with horsemen as footmen, whereof some discreet soldier, or man of judgment, to have the chief charge, as hath been said before, who must be very respective and careful, that he give not any alarm upon light matter or occasion: Nothing being more dangerous than false alarms to breed a contempt and security.

Your horsemen must be ready to give warning to the other beacons in the country, lest by weather they may be prevented, that they cannot kindle fire, or else the enemy may hinder them by sudden assault; and so either let the kindling of them, or extinguish the fire newly kindled, before the other beacons can take knowledge thereof. For it is always to be feared, that the enemy will seek, by all means and policy, not only to surprise the beacons, that are next the sea-side, and should give first intelligence unto the country; but also such as are appointed to guard them, if their watchfulness prevent them not.

Other necessary notes to be observed.

THAT there may be order taken to have a store of powder, match, bullets ready cast, moulds of divers bores, charges, bow-strings, shooting gloves, warlrasses, and such other necessaries fit to be used at that time: Whereof (I doubt me) whether the whole shire be able to furnish the tenth part, that would be required. Whereof it were good to be provided aforehand, and brought in carts, to those places of assembly; whereby men may be readily furnished for their money, and the service nothing hindered in time of need.

That it be looked unto, by such as have charge to take the view of men, and their weapons, that every shot be provided of a mould, a priming pin, a ferries, a flint, and match powder, which things are as needful to be seen into, as the piece itself, although few provide and make reckoning thereof.

That, in the said musters and assemblies, there be good numbers of labourers appointed, who may also be assigned to have a spade, a mattock, a shovel, an ax, or a bill. And these pioneers, to resort to the places of assembly, at every alarm; over whom, should be a skilful engineer appointed, to have the chief charge and govern

ment.

And, whereas you have great numbers of hacknies or hobblers, I could wish, that upon them you mount as many of the highest and nimblest shot as you can, which may be sent down to the sea-side upon every alarm, or to such streights and places of advantage, as to a discreet leader shall seem convenient. The which arguliteers shall stand you in as great stead, as horse of better account.

pre

For, by the means of them, men will take great courage to offer a proud attempt upon the enemy, being assured of their succour, if any occasion or appearance of danger force them to retire. It were considerable, that all the youth of the land were well pared with bows and arrows. For in woody places, or behind banks, or in other places these might annoy the horse and men: Witness the brave battles atchieved in France, by bowmen; and these arms would supply many thousands, which are not able to get better.

A

WARNING FOR ENGLAND,

ESPECIALLY FOR LONDON;

IN THE

FAMOUS HISTORY OF THE FRANTICK ANABAPTISTS,

Their wild preachings and practices in Germany.

Printed in the Year 1642. Quarto, containing twenty-eight pages.

ABOUT the year of our Lord 1525, all Germany was put into an

uproar and confusion, by the seditious preaching of some turbu lent ministers. The ringleader among them was one Thomas Muncer, who pretending a wonderful and more than ordinary zeal, having with great passion preached against the popish errors, at length began to preach against Luther, terming him as too cold, and his sermons as not savouring enough of the spirit; with great earnestness he pressed the exercises of mortification, and exhorted to a more frequent and familiar conversation with God; he pretended to some divine revelations, that God by dreams and visions did reveal untò his saints his will. By these discourses, he won a great opinion and reputation with the people, who daily flocked after him and admired him as a man divinely inspired: At length he began more plainly to publish his design, and told his followers, that he had received a command from God to kill and root up all wicked princes and magistrates, and to chuse better in their places.

Frederick, Elector of Saxony, hearing of these his seditious sermons, banished him out of his country; from thence he went first to Norrenburg, then to Mulhuse; every where poisoning the people with his seditious doctrine; because the senators of Mulhuse, and the better sort, disliked him, he wrought so effectually with the base people, that, rising in a tumult, they turned out their chief magistrates, and created others. So that now Muncer was not only a preacher, but a senator; whatsoever he commanded, was done, his pleasure was a law, and his direction in all things, as he said, a divine revelation. He taught a community of all goods to be most agreeable to nature, and that all freemen ought to be equal in dignity and condition. By this means he gathered great companies of mean people, who, leaving their labours, thought fit and just to take part with others of better wealth

and store.

In Swevia and Franconia, near forty thousand peasants took arms