On S. Lucies daie, there fell a great snowe, and withall a winters thunder, for a token of some euill to follow. The king to settle the state of the countrie of Gascoigne in better order, tarried there all the winter, and repared certeine decaied townes and castels. The quéene kept hir Christmasse at London, where she laie in child-bed, and was purified on the euen of the Epiphanie, making a roiall feast, at the which manie great lords were present, as the archbishop of Canturburie, the bishop of Elie, the earls of Cornewall and Glocester, and manie other. She sent ouer at the same time to hir husband for a new yéers gift the summe of fiue hundred marks of hir owne reuenues, towards the maintenance of his warres. On the euen of the Circumcision of our Lord, in the night season, whilest the aire was most cleare and bright with shining starres, the moone being eight daies old, there appeared in the element the perfect forme and likenesse of a mightie great ship, which was first séene of certeine moonks of saint Albons, who remaining at saint Amphibalus, were got vp to behold by the starres, if it were time for them to go to mattens; but perceiuing that strange sight, they called vp such of their acquaintance as lodged néere at hand, to view the same. At length it séemed as the bourds and ioints thereof had gone in sunder, and so it vanished awaie. There followed a maruellous sore later end of a winter, through cold and ouersharpe weather, which continued till the feast of S. Gregorie in March next insuing. Also there chanced the same yeare a great murren and death of shéepe and déere, so that of whole flocks and heards scarse the one halfe escaped. [Sidenote: The king demandeth a subsidie.] Whilest the king remained still in Gascoigne, he sent for his wife quéene Elenor, with his eldest sonne Edward, but bicause he could not make an end of all his businesse that winter, he continued there the summer also. And forsomuch as he stood in néed of monie, to haue some reasonable pretense to demand a subsidie, in the beginning of March, he sent to his brother Richard the earle of Cornewall (which was come ouer before chéefelie for that purpose) certeine instructions, to declare how there was like to follow great warre, by means of Alfonse the tenth of that name king of Castile, who manaced verie shortlie to inuade the confines of Gascoigne perteining to the English dominion, and therefore he required of his faithfull subiects some aid of monie, wherby he might be able to resist his aduersarie the said K. of Castile. Earle Richard did what he could to persuade the people to this paiment, but he cast his net in vaine before the face of the feathered foule, as the old prouerbe saith, Apparens rete fugêre volucria quæq;.