Ryght myghty prynce our good souerayne lorde To god enclynynge be hardy and gladde Of you and your realme he wyll se concorde Though other nacyons be therfore full sadde Agaynst you murmurynge with theyr werkes badde Yet drede ye nothynge for god with his myght Wyll be alwaye redy to defende the ryght Ryght noble / wyse / and excellent pryncesse Ryght benygne lady / lyberall and vertuous Dyscended lynyally of the lyne of noblenesse Fayre quene katheryne so swete adn precyous To our souerayne espoused with Ioy solacyous Almyghty god gyue grace to myltyplye From you your stoures to reyne ryght ryally And lady Mary prynces ryght beauteous Indued with honour / vertue / and prudence Ryght meke / goodly / gentyll and gracyous Syster ryght dere vnto the excellence Of our good souerayne / surmountynge in sapyence Ryght fayre younge lady / the grete lorde aboue He graunte you grace / hygh fame / fortune / and loue And all you lordes and laydes honourable And you noble knyghtes so hauntynge chyualry Unto our souerayne be meke and tendable Whiche wyll rewarde you well and nobly As to shewe his largesse vnyuersally Encouragynge your hertes that courage chyualrous In tyme of batayll for to be vyctoryous And all ye offycers of euery degree Beware extorcyon, for and it be knowen No doute it is but ye shall punysshed be Take hede of them / the whiche be ouerthrowen Remembre well how fortune hathe blowen The promoters downe / and castynge them full lowe In folowynge them ye shall fall as I trowe Englonde be true and loue well eche other Obey your souerayne / and god omnypotent Whiche is aboue / of all the worlde the rother Wyll sende you welth / from whome all good is sente He gyue vs grace to kepe his cõmaundement And saue our souerayne / with his semely quene With all theyr bloode / without trouble and tene ¶ Amen. ¶ Excusacio auctoris ¶ Go lytell treatyse submyt the humbly To our souerayne lorde / to be in his presence Besechynge his grace to accepte the mekely And to pardon thy rudenes and neclygence * * * * * * * To compyle those maters whiche sholde pleasure be Unto his hyghnes and regall maieste Now ye fayre laydes, wyse and vertuous I ryght humbly praye you for to condyscende To accepte my makynge nothynge facundious I wolde that fortune wolde connynge extende That myn endytynge I myght than amende To dyrecte my maters after your pleasaunce Whiche yet replete am with all ygnoraunce A M E N ¶ Thus endeth this Ioyfull medytacyon made & compyled by Stephen hawes somtyme grome of [the] chambre of our late souerayne lorde kynge Henry [the] seuenth ¶ Enprynted at London in [the] fletestrete at [the] sygne of the sonne by wynkyn de worde. [Illustration] * * * * * * * * * * * * * *