Page:The Works of Francis Bacon (1884) Volume 1.djvu/482

 354 HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. lieutenant, with a clause, that the Earl of Kil- dare, then deputy, should obey him. But the wild Irish, who were the principal offenders, fled into the woods and bogs, after their manner; and those that knew themselves guilty in the pale, fled to them. So that Sir Edward Poynings was enforced to make a wild chase upon the wild Irish; where, in respect of the mountains and fastnesses, he did little good. Which, either out of a suspicious melancholy upon his bad success, or the better to save his service from disgrace, he would needs impute unto the comfort that the rebels should receive underhand from the Earl of Kildare ; every light suspicion growing upon the earl, in respect of the Kildare that was in the ac tion of Lambert Simnel, and slain at Stokefield. Wherefore he caused the earl to be apprehended and sent into England ; where, upon examination, he cleared himself so well, as he was replaced in his government. But Poynings, the better to make compensation of the meagerness of his ser vice in the wars by acts of peace, called a parlia ment; where was made that memorable act, which at this day is called Poynings law, whereby all the statutes of England were made to be of force in Ireland ; for before they were not, neither are any now in force in Ireland, which were made in England since that time; which was the tenth year of the king. About this time began to be discovered in the king that disposition, which afterwards, nourished and whet on by bad counsellors and ministers, proved the blot of his times : which was the course he took to crush treasure out of his sub jects purses, by forfeitures upon penal laws. At this men did startle the more at this time, be cause it appeared plainly to be in the king s na ture, and not out of his necessity, he being now in float for treasure: for that he had newly received the peace-money from France, the benevolence- money from his subjects, and great casualties upon the confiscations of the lord chamberlain and divers others. The first noted case of this kind was that of Sir William Capel, alderman of London; who, upon sundry penal laws, was condemned in the sum of seven and twenty hun dred pounds, and compounded with the king for sixteen hundred : and yet after, Empson would have cut another chop out of him if the king had not died in the instant. The summer following, the king, to comfort his mother, whom he did always tenderly love and revere, and to make open demonstration to the world, that the proceedings against Sir Wil liam Stanley, which was imposed upon him by necessity of state, had not in any degree dimi nished the affection he bare to Thomas his bro ther, went in progress to Latham, to make merry with his mother and the earl, and lay there divers &amp;lt;hvs. Curing this progress, Perkin Warbeck, finding that time and temporising, which, whilst his practices were covert and wrought well in Eng land, made for him; did now, when they were discovered and defeated, rather make against him, for that when matters once go down the hill, they stay not without a new force, resolved to try his adventure in some exploit upon England ; hoping still upon the affections of the common people towards the house of York. Which body of common people he thought was not to be practised upon, as persons of quality are; but that the only practice upon their affections was to set up a standard in the field. The place where he should make his attempt, he chose to be the coast of Kent. The king by this time was grown to such a height of reputation for cunning and policy, that every accident and event that went well, was laid and imputed to his foresight, as if he had set it before : as in this particular of Perkin s design upon Kent. For the world would not believe afterwards, but the king, having secret intelli gence of Perkin s intention for Kent, the better to draw it on, went of purpose into the north afar off, laying an open side unto Perkin, to make him come to the close, and so to trip up his heels, having made sure in Kent beforehand. But so it was, that Perkin had gathered together a power of all nations, neither in number, nor in the hardiness and courage of the persons, con temptible, but in their nature and fortunes to be feared, as well of friends as enemies; being bankrupts, and many of them felons, and such as lived by rapine. These he put to sea, and arrived upon the coast of Sandwich and Deal, in Kent, about July. There he cast anchor, and to prove the affec tions of the people, sent some of his men to land, making great boasts of the power that was to follow. The Kentish men, perceiving that Per kin was not followed by any English of name or account, and that his forces consisted but of stran gers born, and most of them base people and freebooters, fitter to spoil a coast than to recover a kingdom ; resorting unto the principal gentle men of the country, professed their loyalty to the king, and desired to be directed and commanded for the best of the king s service. The gentlemen, entering into consultation, directed some forces in good number to show themselves upon the coast; and some of them to make signs to entice Perkin s soldiers to land, as if they would join with them ; and some others to appear from some other places, and to make semblance as if they fled from them, the better to encourage them to land. But Perkin, who by playing the prince, or else taught by secretary Frion, had learned thus much, that people under command do use to consult, and after to march in order and rebels contrariwise run upon a head togethei in confusion, considering the delay of time, am