Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 4.djvu/533

1550.] this time twelvemonths for their money, and cunnot be paid yet. They cry out for their money, and as the prophet saith, Clamor operariorum ascendit ad aures meas—the cry of the workmen is come up into mine ears. Oh, for God's love, let the workmen be paid if there be money enough, or else there will whole showers of God's vengeance rain down upon your heads. Therefore, ye minters, ye augmentationers, serve the King truly. So build and purchase, that the King may have money to pay his workmen. It seemeth ill-favouredly that you should have enough to build superfluously, and the King lack to pay his poor labourers. I have now preached two Lents. The first time I preached restitution. Restitution! quoth some; what should he preach of restitution? Let him preach of contrition, quoth they, and let restitution alone; we can never make restitution. Then I say, if thou wilt not make restitution, thou shalt go to the devil for it. Choose thou either restitution or else damnation.'

He mentioned a story of some one who, consciencestricken at one of his sermons, admitted that he had robbed the King, and at different times brought him above 500l., which he had paid over to the exchequer. He had said 'to a certain nobleman that was one of the council, if every man that had beguiled the King should make restitution after this sort, it would cough the King twenty thousand pounds.' 'Yea, that it would,' quoth the other, 'a hundred thousand pounds.' 'Alack, alack!' he concluded, 'make restitution. For God's sake make restitution. Ye will cough in hell else, that