Being earnestlie required, Right Honorable, of divers my freends, to set down some breefe discourse of some of those things which I had observed in the reading of manifold antiquities, I was at first verie loth to yeeld to their desires. But, they pressing their irksome sute, I condescended to it, and went in hand with the work, with hopes of good, although no gaie success. In the process of this Booke, if your Honor regard the substance of that which is here declared, I must needs confess that it is none of mine owne; but if your lordship have consideration of the barbarous composition shewed herein, that I may boldlie claim and challenge for mine owne. Certes, I protest before God and your Honor, that I never made any choise of stile, or words, neither regarded to handle this Treatise in such precise order and method as manie other would have done, thinking it sufficient, truelie and plainelie to set forth such things as I minded to intreat of, rather than with vain affectation of eloquence to paint out a rotten sepulchre, a thing neither commendable in a writer, nor profitable to the reader. But howsoever it be done, I have had an especial eye unto the truth of things, and for the rest, I hope that this foule frizeled Treatise of mine will prove a spur to others better learned to handle the self-same argument, if in my life-time I doo not peruse it again. _II.--Some Account of the Historie of Britaine_ As few or no nations can justlie boast themselves to have continued sithence their countrie was first replenished, without anie mixture, more or lesse, of forreine inhabitant mixture, more or lesse, of forreine inhabitants; no more can this our Iland, whose manifold commodities have oft allured sundrie princes and famous capteines of the world to conquer and subdue the same unto their owne subjection. Manie sorts of people therefore have come in hither and settled themselves here in this Ile, and first of all other, a parcell of the lineage and posteritie of Japhet, brought in by Samothes, in the 1910 after the creation of Adam. Howbeit in process of time, and after they had indifferentlie replenished and furnished this Iland with people, Albion, the giant, repaired hither with a companie of his owne race proceeding from Cham, and not onelie annexed the same to his owne dominion, but brought all such as he found here of the line of Japhet, into miserable servitude and most extreame thraldome. After him also, and within lesse than six hundred and two yeares, came Brute, the son of Sylvius, with a great train of the posteritie of the dispersed Trojans in 324 ships; who rendering the like courtesie unto Chemminits as they had done before unto the seed of Japhet, brought them also wholie under his rule and governance, and dispossessing them he divided the countrie among such princes and capteines as he had led out of Grecia with him.