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 pres cious 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 ourselves, we cannot say we can make a compleat body. Moreover, they

affirmed, that, if in the time of Newhaven we had let them have sixthousand 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 unto 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.

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 prepared 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.

A

BOUT the year of our Lord 1525, all Germany was put into an uproar and confusion, by the seditious preaching of some turbulent 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 unto 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

upon this occasion; who robbed a great part of the nobility, and plundered many towns and castles, Muncer, being their chief captain. He had a companion, a bold fellow, one Phifer, who talked much of his dreams and nightly apparitions; especially of one dream, wherein, he said, he saw in a barn an infinite company of rats and mice, all which he had chaced away and destroyed: This dream he expounded to be a commandment sent him from God, that by force and violence he should destroy all the nobility. And Muncer, to the same purpose, moved the boors throughout Franconia and Thuringia to undertake this holy war, as he called it, against their princes. Phifer, with some of his troops going out into the neighbour-country, wastes and destroys noblemen's houses, chaceth away the most, taketh some, and bringeth them captives. This good success gave great courage to the party. Muncer wins his forces with the rest of Phifers.

In the mean while, Albert Count of Mansfield, setting upon them with some troopers, kills about two hundred. The seditious, discouraged with this loss, retire a while and keep in. This gave leisure and time to the neighbouring princes, John Duke of Saxony and his Cousin George, Philip Landgrave of Hesse, and Henry Duke of Brunswick, to collect some forces against them, about one thousand five hundred horse and some companies of foot. The rebels sat down on the side of a mount where they had some advantage of the place, but they were not well armed, and most of them ignorant in war. The princes therefore out of pity advised them to lay down their arms, and offered them pardon, if they would deliver up the authors of the sedition. Muncer, finding himself in some danger, encourageth them with a long and earnest exhortation; pretends, That this great action was undertaken by command from heaven, that God would undoubtedly assist them against the tyrants; that he had promised in many places of scripture to assist the oppressed against their wicked governors; that those tyrants, so he called the princes, followed only their case and pleasures; neglected justice; pillaged their subjects with intolerable exactions; had no care to reform the corruptions of the church; spent all their life in pride and luxury: That therefore, without doubt, the time was now come, when God would take vengeance upon those Canaanites, and restore to his own good people the liberties of their goods, their lives, and consciences: That, as God had assisted Gideon, and David, and the Israelites, and gave them victories by miracles, so they should now find his power and love no less in their deliverance; and, for a token of his especial favour, mark, said he, yonder rainbow in the clouds, which, being represented in our own colours, God hereby giveth us an evident testimony that he is present with us in this battle, and will root out our enemies.'

Some few of the more desperate were animated with this oration, and especially with the rainbow; but the most of them apprehended the instant danger, and the rather, because in their army all was carried tumultuously without any rule or order. Muncer, against the law of arms and of nations, had killed a noble young gentleman who was sent to parly with them. The princes being the more provoked with this cruelty prepared for the onset. Philip the young prince of Hesse spoke