A True recital touching the cause of the death of Thomas Bales, a Seminarie Priest, who was hanged and quartered in Fleet-street on Ashwednesdaie last past. 1590.  
whereunto is adjoined the true cause of the death of Annis Bankyn, who vpon the next day following was burned in Saint Georges fields about six of the clock at night.  
 printer's device consisting of an ornamental fleur-de-lis used by William Wright (McKerrow 251)  
LONDON Printed for William Wright 1590.   


ON wednesdaie being the fourth day of March last 1590. there was a Seminarie Priest brought forth of Newgate, who a few daies before had ben justly condemned for high Treason, where according to his iudgement before past, and the quality of his offence, he was laid vpon a hurdle, and from thence drawn into holborn,& so through Fetter lane conveyed into fleet street, where was a new Iebbet set up for that purpose,& people in great abundance resorted to see the prisoner executed.  
This Priest came thether appareled in the habit of a Gentleman, in a doublet of black satin, cut with great cuts,& drawn out with white silk, he had on a pair of small round pain hose,& on every pain a faire gold lace, his neather stocks were of purple silk, and a pair of bootes over them, Gentleman like, turned down at the knee, and faced with velvet, he had a black felt hat on his head,& his hair was very long, so that he could hardly be known from an ordinary Gentleman.  
Thus being appareled and come to the place of execution, conducted thether by the shéerife of London, and the officers of the said city. For that the iebbet was not full ready, the sheerife did withdraw the prisoner into a house hard by, where an ancient& worshipful Gentleman in office towards her majesty, had some time of conference with the prisoner. And when every thing was in a readiness, the prisoner was brought back again to be executed. And first before he went up, his boots were pulled off,& his neather stocks also, whereby his feet and legs were naked, his other clothes hung loose about him, with his hands tied,& so went he up the ladder, the hang-man being then ready on the top of the iebbet to receive him with the halter, which he put about his neck. Which done, the priest began to speak unto the people, showing thē that he was a Priest,& after went about to defend the popish religion colorably,& seemed to je himself, by saying he had not offended hi● majesty. whereupon the Gentleman before mentioned spake unto the priest,& shewed h●m wherein he had offended the laws of this l●●d, in cases of high treason. First, by being a S●minarie Priest thereby a sworn enemy to this land and having lived out of the land among her majesties enemies, was again lately returned only to persuade her Maiesti●s subiectes from their due obedience. The confession of this priest also taken before in writing, was red openly, where he said that the Pope hath authority to depose the queens majesty of England, as though the queens majesty and the religion now used in England, had been under the government of the Pope, and therefore to bee disannulled at the Popes pleasure, whereby he denied her majesty of her supremacy in the Churches of her dominions, which is high treason of itself. Last of all, he shewed unto the people,& avouched it to the prisoners face,( which he could not deny) that this priest who was an Englishman born, and therefore a subject to her majesty, contrary to his duty, had betaken himself a long time a subject& seruant to the Pope, with sundry other, who together were lately come over into England, to persuade her majesties subiects from their obedience, by becoming assistants and favourers of a new invasion, now speedily pretended by the helhounds of the Romish synagogue, thereby to become traitors to her majesty, in working the ruin of this land, as hath been lately pretended, yet their hope made frustrate by Gods providence, who stil doubtless sighteth for this land, and defendeth all the true subiects thereof, for the sake of our holy judith, who swaieth the sword of iustice with great wisdom and mercy, whose person the God of heaven prosper and continue in this land, and grant unto her long life, and a peace able reign over us, that during her life she may so quail the hearts of all the enemies to this land, that none hereafter may dare to attempt the hurt thereof. This Popish Priest aforesaid, after a few Popish prayers mumbled to himself, was turned from of the ladder, and permitted to hang until he was dead, and after was quartered in several pieces, to be set up in several places, to the example of al other hereafter. And over the Iebbet was written in great letters the cause of his death in these words, viz. 
 For Treason and savouring of foreign invasion.  
In the forenoon of the same day also, there were two hanged, the one in Smithfield, and the other in the fields at Graies inn lane end, for secret harbouring, receiving and denying this Priest& others such pernicious persons, by whose means great hurt may arise. The one died a very obstinate Papist, the other a very penitent person, sorry that he had transgressed her majesties laws in that case: which thing he onely did for worldly benefit. To conclude, let this their folly forewarn al others, how they enter into such actions, and refrain from secret harbouring, relieving or succouring such lewd persons, who seek by all possible means to ruinated this land, by depriving the queens most excellent majesty, and bringing in foreign enemies: that by invasion they may shed the blood of innocents, and roote out all her majesties loving subiects, which God grant may never come to pass, Amen.   

A woman executed on the Thursdaie following.  
ON the Thursdaie following there was a rumour throughout London, that a maid seruant should be burned in S. Georges fields, which but two daies before( at the Assizes holden in southwark for the county of Surrey) had been found guilty, condemned and judged so to suffer death for murder by her committed. whereupon a stake was set up in the said field, and the reeds and faggots brought thether, but by reason of the throng of people which came thether out of London, they were constrained to defer the execution until after six of the clock at night, at which time the greater multitude being departed, the prisoner was brought forth suddenly, and conveyed into the field, without any notire given to any of the people otherwise, then that she should be burned in the place where the stake before stood, to which place the people flocked in great abundance. Now the shirefe and the warders that accompanied him, perceiving the unruliness of the people to bee great, suddenly cast themselves in a round, and vpon a faire green place in the way as they came, digged a hole, and therein pitched the stake, and fastened the prisoner thereunto, who came thether in this sort: shee being stripped out of her clothes in the prison before she came forth, had nothing vpon her but a wide frocke down to her foot, made of course canvas, gathered about the wristes, with an old neckinger about her neck, and a faire kercher upon her head, about her neck there was a long iron chain fastened, whereby she was led, and came wallowing like a bear to the stake, according to her ordinary use of going when she was in service. And being fastened to the stake with two iron chains, réeds were set round about her, and faggots of very day sticks planted by them, in which shee was wholly encompassed, and nothing to be seen of her round about, but only her face, on one side the reedes looking forth. And so with as much speed as might be, after the ministers had persuaded her to call upon God, and to arm her self with patience, and not to fear death, with other good admonitions for her souls health. having said the lords prayer,& asked God& al the world forgiveness, the reeds were set on fire first underneath hir with a link,& then round about her, whereof the reedes and dry faggots took speedy hold, and so soon as she felt the force& fierceness of the fire to touch hir, she cried out twice saying, alas, alas, and having called upon God, even in short space the smoke and vapour of the fire choked hir, that she was soon dead, and so continued in the fire until she was consumed to ashes. Now forsomuch as the most part of people could neither see the prisoner, nor know the true circumstance of her offence, whereby her death justly ensued, it is thought convenient that the same be here expressed, to the intent she may bee an example to others to avoid the like wickedness.  
This person whom I can neither call by the name of maid, wife nor widow, for that she was never married, and yet hath had three or four children, did remain in and about the Borough of southwark a long time, and was when she died about two& forty yeeres of age, and about two yeeres since came into the service of one Lewes Bell a Water-man dwelling on the bank side near the clink, he being a man of good reputation& calling, and one that hath born the most part of offices to be born among the inhabitants thereabout, and before she came into this mannes service, she had dwelled with a mistress within Chain-gate, whom she robbed of ten pounds, yet conveyed it so secretly, as she went unsuspected for the same: she being new come into the service of the said Bell, who had an honest aged woman to his wife then living, which this wicked person soon dispatched with poison, whereof shortly after her mistress died, and nothing said nor suspected. This was about two yeres since. After this, as some saith, she persuaded herself, that her master would haue married her, which he never promised to do, nor intended any such matter towards her, neither was there any reason he should so do, because she was ill favoured, unhandsome, and foolish, her looks were crabbed, her behaviour unseemly, and in qualities sluttish: yet inwardly subtle, so that about midsummer last her master married a widow, being a very honest and comely woman, and of reasonable yeeres, whom as it seemeth, this bad creature secretly envied for marrying hir master, and shortly after this woman sel sick in very grievous sort,& lay languishing a long time of the said disease, which in deed was poisoned pottage, whereof she did eat but a little, whereupon her eyes watered grievously, and her stomach was very ill. This woman had two wenches in the house dwelling with her, the younger of them seeing her mistress set by the pottage, took them and did eat them, whereof soon after she swelled upward in the throat and so died. This was about Saint james tide last. The bigger girl having had some taste of the same, sickened also, so that the hair fell off from her head, and broken out in very ill favoured sort, but being strong of nature escaped death. All which notwithstanding, there arose no doubt nor suspicion of poisoning, by her to be attempted, until about Barthelmew tide following, at which time her mistress being recovered of her grievous and strange disease, took occasion to put her away, willing her to provide for her self, and so she did. Whereupon on the day before, she should depart from her said mistress service, she having carried away all her apparel and furniture, promised that night to come and sup with her master and mistress, and to give them a posset: she being departed, there was missed the sum of fifteen shillings, which by her had been taken forth of a cubborde: Whereupon the good man sent his wife to seek hir, whom with much a do she brought home, where the good man in searching her, found the most part of his wives money, and besides, found a paper of poison in her bosom, which he did not know to be poison, until one of his neighbours being a surgeon, was sent for to see the same, who told him that it was poison, and although they did demand of her to what use she bought or kept it, yet would she not confess the same, until they brought her before a Iustice, to whom with much a do,& the secret working of Almighty God, who would haue the truth of such wickedness come to light, she confessed as followeth. First, that she had with poison murdered her old mistress, about Saint Andrews tide was twelve month. Item, that she had once attempted to murder her mistress now being, with poison, whereof she sel sick, but recovered again, by giuing her poison in a mess of pottage. Item, that her mistress eating but two or three spoonefulls of the said pottage, did set them by and would eat no more, and then the younger wench in the house did eat up the rest of the said pottage, and soon after dyed thereof. Item, she confessed that she had taken ten pounds from hir mistress that she served before within Chaine-gate, and that shee had dispersed the same, and lent it forth to sundry persons. She also confessed that shee had taken the said fifteen shillings forth of her mistress cubbord, by taking her key from under her beds head when she was a sleep. And lastly being demanded what her intent was to do with that poison, which was found about her, she confessed that her intent and meaning was even that night to haue poisoned her mistress, by putting the same poison into the posset which was promised to be eaten at her mistress house that night. Whereof must needs haue ensued far greater danger both to her mistress,& to her master, with the rest of the household, had not God very miraculously, as you haue heard before prevented it.  
Thus haue you heard howe the devill wrought with this wicked creature from time to time. First he alured her by idleness and fleshly desires to become incontinent, and to lead a very loose and lascivious life, by having one child after another, and yet never married nor living satisfied, but lived like a dog that stil returned to his old vomit. hereupon a covetous desire of wealth made her pilfer and pick from one mistress and then from another, so that for want of the fear of God, one sin took hold of another, and forced her to murder an honest old woman with poison, and so from her to another, seeking to work confusion vpon confusion, until God by his wonderful providence did bring the same to light, and forced her own heart and tongue to reveal her abominable wickedness, onely to bring herself to shane and confusion, which by sentence of iustice was compassed, who awarded her due iudg●ment agreeable to her wicked deserts.   
FINIS.