University of Virginia Library

TOM TRUTH TO THE ENUIOUS.

If Momus children seek to know
My name and where I dwell,
I am Tom Truth, and my aboad
I list not it to tell;
For wise men love not to enquire
Who, where, but what is said,
And hold themselves therewith content
Till further proof be made.

THE DOUBLE DEALINGS OF THE REBELS IN SCOTLAND.

If tongue coud tell or pen coud write
The craftie cloaked case,
Or yet the treasons to recite
Of this new Regents grace,
Then Tullies style, or Virgils verse,
Of God sure woud I crave,
His shameless acts here to rehearse,
As he deserves to have.
But that were far above my reach,
And more than well could be;
Sith he all others doth excell
In craft and crueltie.
Yet can I not with silence pass
His vices strange and rare,
But that I must sett forth the same,
The truth least I should spare.
And now, since that it is my luck,
Unfittest tho I be,
This Cacos offspring to advance,
As seems, to his degree,
I pray you, take it in good part
Whats'ever I shall say,
In setting forth his shameless acts
Whose shame shall not decay.
Yet can I not sett furth the same,
Nor in such wise express,
As fittest were for one past shame,
And past all godliness.
This traytor tyrant of our time,
This Satans seed, I mean
This rebel regent that his prince
To mate doth not disdain;
This perfect pattern of deceipt,
Whose high and haughty mind
Is pufft so full of pride, that hard
It were the like to find;
This sinfull seed of loathsome love,
This bastard past all grace,
At Glocester that traytor vile
A perfect pattern chase.
Who, to obtain the kingly seat
Of this most worthy land,
His brothers sons—his nephews dear—
To guide he took in hand;
The Lambs, alass! unto the wolf
To guide committed were,
Who murderd them to have their place,
As storys well declare.
But shall I say this traitor now
At him did learn his lore,
Who doth surpass his wilie wit
A thousand fold and more?
A scholar, sure, of pregnant wit,
And apt for such a place,
Who trained up was in the school
Of lying Satans grace;
Where he hath learnd a finer feat
Than Richard earst did see,
To do the deed, and lay the blame
On those that blameless be.
For he and his companions eke,
Agreeing all in one,
Did kill the King, and lay the blame
The sakeless Queen upon;
And, that this deed in each mans sight
Might seem to be most plain,
They drew her from her spouse that night,
By craft and subtile train;
And feigned that her sucking son
Was in great danger brought,
Wherefore with speed to visit him
The messenger besought.
Which subtile shift, so feately wrought,
Was cause men thought it true,
That she of purpose parted hence,
And of the murder knew.
For if that both at once had been
There murderd at that time,
Then might each babe with half an eye
Have spyed who did the crime.
And, this suspicion to encrease,
They found a new devise,
That Bothwel, cheifest murderer,
Was tryed by assiȝe,
And found not guilty by his peers,
Of whom the cheifest be
Such as the Kings death did conspire,
And knew as well as he.
They cleard him eke by Parliament,
O traytors false and vile!
That they their good and vertuous Queen
Might sooner so beguile.
And when that he was cleared both
By size and parliament,
To marry then they went about
To have her to consent,
And said that she, the realme, and they
Should so most safest be
From danger of all civil strife,
And outward enemy.
Alack! good Queen! what hap hadst thou
So oft thy foes to trust?
Coudst thou not shun those biting beasts
Whom thou hadst tryd unjust?
But who, I pray you, was the man
They willed her to take?
Forsooth, the cheifest murderer
Whom they most clear did make;
And that their purpose, once begun,
Might come unto an end,
They caused traitor Lethington
On her still to attend,
That this false Machivilian
Might tempt her evry day,
Whose poysond words so sugard were
That she coud not say nay,
But did consent to their request,
Suspecting nothing less
Than they such false deceipt to mean,
And use such doubleness.
But, when the woefull wedding day
Was finished and past,
Their boiling malice that lay hid
In rageing sort outbrast.
For they, that were of council both
To murdring of the King,
And to the marriage, gan to spread
How Bothwel did the thing;
And how he took away the Queen
By force against her will,
And sought himself to reigne as King,
And eke the prince to spill.
But, bastard! now the truth is known,
How that thy self it was
That thought to spill both prince and Queen,
And to possess their place.
But when among the simple sort
This rumour once was brought,
It ran abroad from place to place
More swift than can be thought.
So they, not privy to the sleight,
Did think it for most sure,
That she to wed the murderer
The murther did procure.
And thus this simple Queen each way
Was wrapt in woe and care,
For they that have not skill of craft
Are soonest caught in snare.
And then the traitor Ledingtone,
In treason never slack,
At hand, like pickpurse still before,
Began to start now back,
And fled unto her faithless ffoes
Her secrets to betray:
“Like will to like,” the proverb sais:
You know the old said sa.
Then Murray, that of long before
This murder did devise,
Did void the land, the rather so
To blind the simples eyes.
And then his fellow traitors all,
The more their cause to clear,
Did rise in arms against their Queen,
As though she guilty were.
But she, to save the sakeless blood,
Not willing to offend,
Did leave her power and offerd them
All things amiss to mend.
The traitors, not therewith content,
Did lead her home away,
And changed all her brave attire
Into a ffrock of grey.
That done, they lead her forth by night
Unto Lochlevin hold,
And kept her here in prison close
That no man see her could;
And when they had thus brought to pass
Their traiterous, false desire,
They send with speed to bastard James,
And willd him to retire.
Who, coming home for love he bare
The Prince, as he did say,
Did take in hand to rule the realm,
Lest it fell in decay.
How well this traytor loves this child,
Committed to his gaurd,
Is plain in that the mother dear
He kept in cruel ward,
And caused her there, by forced fact,
The present death to shun,
Her Royal crown for to resign
Unto her tender son,
And make this minion Murray eik
Cheif Regent of the land,
Untill the Prince, of lawfull age,
The same shall take in hand.
Which while he woud, as Richard did,
If he might have his will,
His nephew young, his sister's son,
By secret means to spill,
And then he woud usurp the crown,
As next heir to the same,
Which does appear in that he doth
His ffather so defame;
And saieth his mother precontract
Was in most solemn wise
Unto the King, before that he
Was married to the Guise;
Although that wise men know the truth
This sorceress how she wrought
By rings and witchcraft from the Queen
The Kings mind to have brought;
And thus this traytor doth debase
The Queen in all he can,
That from her grace withdraw he might
The hearts of every man.
A cowle, a cowle for such a Greek
Were fitter for to wear,
Than this Apostate deacon shoud
Such princely rule to bear!
But where is now true discipline?
Dare no man take on hand
To teach such false Apostate monks
Their faults to understand?
And make this base born Deacon come
Home to his former state,
From whence the Lither Lozell fled
Lest he shoud live too straight?
But, sure, no marvel tho Gods rodd
Hath plagued this noble dame,
That gave to monks shoud serve in church
Such place of worldly fame.
Yet he, not all unmindfull of
This Ladies gratefull deed,
Did purpose with a cruel death
To quick her for her need.
But God Almighty, in whose hands
The hearts of princes be,
Preservd her from these false attempts,
And vile captivity.
And when this noble prey was past
This brothers bloody might,
He raged like a tyger fell
Ffor sorrow and for spite.
So seeing that he coud not then
His noble Queen to spill,
Upon her faithfull subjects he
Began to work his will.
Ffor some he cast in prison deep—
No cause at all thereto—
And some he thurst out of the realm,
To work them greater woe.
And some he put to cruel death
His rage for to fulfill:
No means he unattempted left
Her subjects lives to spill.
Yet, not content in this great rage
On men to play his part,
In spight of God, against his Christ
He gan to shew his art,
And pulled thence both bells and lead,
With jewels many one,
That he and his companions might
More braver therein gone.
Ffor sure I am that some of them,
Amongst this traiterous train,
Have on their back more lead at once
Than covereth churches twain;
So that no hardend heart of brass
But woud lament right sore
To see prophaning of each place
As served God in yore.
And, when he had this sacriledge
Committed every where,
On lofty towers and castles strong
His rage did then appear.
On Dunbar first he spued his spight—
A castle fair and strong;
And there he wrought both day and night
Till it was laid along;
Then hasteth furth, and Lochnivar
So seemly to the view—
He spoiled them first and sackd them then:
Who coud more cruel do?
The Laird of Skirlings house likewise
Did feel the former chance,
Which traiterously he did deface,
His glory to advance.
Then Rosslin Bower, of brave attire,
Which Sinclair doth possess,
Most shamefully he ransackt so
To work him more distress.
Lord Herris lands—that Baron bold
Who let him of his will,
When he was gone throughout the same,
He did both robb and spill.
But what shoud I here longer stay
Each place here to recite,
Since few there are but that his rage
Hath now defaced quite?
When he had wrought his wicked will
And had his false intent,
To blind the eyes of simple men
He calld a parliament,
Where flockd his fellow traytors all,
Both Morton and M'Gill,
With Lindsay, Mar, and Lethingtone,
Yea, Balfour lay not still,
With others of this fruitless flock,
And falsely did invent
That all things here concluded were
By full and whole consent.
Thus sinfull Satan workd his will,
Through these his children dear,
That falsehood reigns instead of right,
As here it doth appear.
Yet have they not so slilely wrought,
Tho Satan was their guide,
But that their treason evry deal
At last is well espyd.
For they, to seem more innocent
Of this most heinous deed,
Did catch four of the murderers,
And put to death with speed;
Whereby they hopd to make men think
Therein that they were clear,
Sith justice they did execute
On some that guilty were:
As Hepburn, Dalgleish, Powrie too;
John Hay made up the mass;
Which four, when they were put to death,
The treason did confess,
And said that Murray, Morton too,
With others of their rout,
Were guilty of the murder vile,
Tho now they look full stout.
Yet some perchance do think that I
Speak for affection here,
Tho I woud so, three thousand can
Herein true witness bear,
Who present were, as well as I,
At the execution time;
And heard how these, in conscience prickd,
Confessd who did the crime.
Therefore, all princes, take good head
Let this for warning stand;
And try before you trust, I warn,
Lest check be near at hand.
But though this check it seems so sure
That mate is now at hand,
Yet may his Queen such guard procure
As shall his force withstand;
And then she may, as he began,
Bid check and mate with thee,
And warn him, since his force is done,
To yeild or else to flee:
To yeild, I mean, from false attempt,
And fly such vain request,
And guard himself with reasons rule,
And set his heart at rest,
And spend no more his time in vain
Such false attempts to try,
Lest, if they use them over oft,
He'l climb, I fear, to high.
And thus I cease, and make an end,
And wish him to beware
No more such checks and taunts to give,
Lest he be caught in snare.