unnecessary policy of keeping the two nations in continual faction and counterpoise for the strengthening of your authoritie, what remaines then but to bring forth your royall standard, and make the conjunction of your armes the happy instrument of the peoples union? They shall no sooner see the common ensigne of honour, wherein they have both equall interest, but all other notes of diversity will be thought unworthy theire remembraunce; and then your enymie shall quickly find to his cost, that the two mighty and populous kingdomes of England and Scotland have but one head, and one hearte. Now, albeit your Majestie have at this time as good choice of occasions as the world can afford, yet that of Fraunce secmes most proper for this purpose; for, as that countrey was the cause of our ancient enmity, so would it be made to feele the first effects of our reconcilement, were it for nothing else, but to cancell the strict aliance that was wont to be so suspected and prejudiciall to England; had not the Scots of old beene our backe freinds, and should themselves in all occasions more affectionate to the French then us, your Majestie might happily at this day have seene your selfe King of Fraunce.

And yet, had not wee preferd Scotland before Fraunce, your Majestie had never come to be King of England; this will seeme no riddle to them, that are never so little acquainted with the historie of those times; and, if England were able to make her party good both against Scotland and Fraunce, when theire league offensive was at the strongest, what might not England and Scotland doe now in Fraunce, where there is another manner of party, then that of Burgundie, to receive us? Surely wee might drive all the Rojolists into the sheepfold of Berris, and make another King of Burges. But I will not labour in vamme to make your Majesties courage exceede your conscience; God Almighty I know hath filled your heart with dominion, and so sealed it up from seditious thoughts, as that you esteeme conquests no better then splendide robberyes, as you are pleased to expresse your selfe in one of your late workes of divinity; nor doe I pretend to incite your Majestie to any thing but what may stand as well with your goodnesse as your greatnesse. Cursed be they that tell the King, hee may doe all he can; for my part I shall thinke my selfe blest of heaven, if I may but obtaine my humble desire, which goes no further then to what you ought; it is not spoile, nor the bellowes of warre, that I thinke worthy to move your Majestie to forgoe the long contentment of peace. Nothing should make me so hardy for to wish it, were there any other hope, but in your armes to right the wronged world, and acquite yourselfe of the duty to God and nature.

Behold, sir, as much as I am able to present, and perhaps more then I should have thankes for, but that is the least part of my intention. The love to truth, and your Majesties service, deserve this and a great deale more of an honest man, and hee that seekes reward of well-doing knowes not the true value of a good conscience.

I shall bee content to remaine unknowne, so as I make your Majestie know what false and wicked men keepe from you, the misfortunes of government, and the just complaint of your subjects.

If I have offended your patience, your Majestie may be pleased to consider how long yours * hath offended all the world, and forgive mee.

Let it not seeme strange or evil in your Majesties eyes that I have used a few harty words in a cause my soule loves, above all that is mortall. And, for the advancement whereof, I dare suffer as much as they deserve that disswade you from it.

THE

COUNTESS OF LINCOLN'S NURSERY.

At Oxford, printed by John Lichfield and James Short, Printers to the famous University, 1622. Quarto, containing twenty-one Pages.

To the right honourable, and approved virtuous Lady, Bridget, Countess of Lincoln.

FOR the better expressing and keeping in memory my love, and your worthiness, I do offer unto your ladiship the first work of mine that ever came in print; because your rare example hath given an excellent approbation to the matter contained in this book; for you have passed by all excuses, and have ventured upon, and do go on with that loving act of a loving mother in giving the sweet milk of your own breasts, to your own child; wherein you have gone before the greatest number of honourable ladies of you place, in these latter times. But I wish many may follow you, in this good work, which I desire to further, by my kind persuasion. And such women, as will vouchsafe to read this little short treatise, may be put in mind of a duty, which all mothers are bound to perform; and I shall be glad if any will consider, and put in practice, that which is both natural and comfortable. I hope they will at least commend with me such as do this good deed, and no more speak scornfully of that which is worthy of great praise; and, for my part, I think it an honour unto you, to do that which hath proved you to be full of care to please God, and of natnral affection, and to be well stored with humility and patience, all which are highly to be praised; to give praise to any person or thing deserving praise, I dare do it; and for this lovely action of yours, I can with much thankfulness praise

With the enemies of our church and state..

God, for all his gracious gifts of grace and nature, whereby he hath enabled you to do the same; desiring also with my heart, that you may ever, and every way, honour God, who hath honoured you many ways, above many women; and I rejoice, that I can bear witness, that God hath adorned you with fair tokens of his love and mercy to your soul: As the practice of true christian religion; dedicating yourself to God's service; answerableness to all holy commands of the holy God, which are testimonies of God's love, and do challenge a very great esteem from me, amongst the rest, that can truly judge and rightly discern what is best: I am full of thoughts in this kind, or of this matter; yet I say no more but this, Go on and prosper, hold fast all that is good, trust in God for strength to grow and continue in faithful obedience to his glorious Majesty; and I will not cease to intreat the Lord of heaven, to pour abundantly all blessings of heaven and earth upon you, and your children, as they increase in number.

Your Ladiship's, in the best and safest love.
ELISABETH LINCOLN.

To the courteous, chiefly most Christian, Reader.

THE general consent of too many mothers in an unnatural practice (most christian reader) hath caused one of the noblest and fairest hands in this land to set pen to paper: as ashamed to see her sex farther degenerate; desirous for the glory thereof, to have all both rightly know, and answer their kind, hath made honour itself stoop to these pains, which now she sends thee to peruse. Three things easily invite to read what to vew is offered: Eminency or interest in the author, rarity in the handled matter, brevity in the quick dispatch. These three meet in this one. The author, so eminent in honour, thou canst hardly be anciently honourable, and not be interested in her honour's acquaintance, scarcely not alliance. Next for the rareness, a peculiar tract of this subject, I believe, is not in thine hands. Lastly, It is so brief, as I am persuaded, it smoothly gliding thee along in the reading, thy sorrow will be, it lands thee so soon. What may give satisfaction to a reader, let me acquaint thee next, is here to be found. These are two things, usefulness of the subject, fulness of the prosecution. If method and soundness can make full, this is full. What, not alone confirmation ushering in the assertion, but refutation, for ushering out objections, can do, to making sound and thorough, this is such. The accommodation' to these particulars (gentle reader) I leave to thyself, lest I become tedious, whilst I am honouring brevity. The pay, assure thyself, will be larger than the promise: The wine much better than the bush. This one word, and I will stand out of the gate, thou mayest go in. If noble who readest (likeness is mother

and nurse of liking) this comes from nobility; approve the rather and practise. If meaner, blush to deny, what honour becomes speaker to persuade to, precedent to lead the way to. And so I either humbly take my leave, or bid farewel.

Bless'd is the land where sons of nobles reign,

Bless'd is the land where nobles teach their train.
To church for bliss, kings, queens, should nurses be.
To state its bliss great dames babes nurse to see.
Go then, great book of nursing, plead the cause;
Teach highest, lowest, all, its God's and nature's laws.

THOMAS LODGE.

BECAUSE it hath pleased God to bless me with many children, and so caused me to observe many things falling out to mothers, and to their children; I thought good to open my mind concerning a special matter belonging to all child-bearing women, seriously to consider of; and to manifest my mind the hetter, even to write of this matter, so far as God will please to direct me; in sum, the matter I mean is, the duty of nursing, due by mothers to their own children.

In setting down whereof, I will, first, shew that every woman ought to nurse her own child; and, secondly, I will endeavour to answer such objections, as are used to be cast out against this duty, to disgrace the same.

The first point is easily performed, for it is the express ordinance of God, that mothers should nurse their own children, and, being his ordinance, they are bound to it in conscience. This should stop the mouths of all repliers, for God is most wise, and therefore must needs know what is fittest and best for us to do: and, to prevent all foolish fears, or shifts, we are given to understand, that he is also all-sufficient, and therefore infinitely able to bless his own ordinance, and to afford us means in ourselves (as continual experience confirmeth) toward the observance thereof.

If this, as it ought, be granted, then how venturous are those women that dare venture to do otherwise, and so to refuse, and, by refusing, to despise that order, which the most wise and Almighty God hath appointed, and instead thereof to chuse their own pleasures? O what peace can there be to these women's consciences, unless, through the darkness of their understanding, they judge it no disobedience?

And then they will drive me to prove that this nursing and nourishing of their own children in their own bosoms is God's ordinance. They are very wilful, or very ignorant, if they make a question of it. For it is proved sufficiently to be their duty, both by God's word, and also by his works.

By his word it is proved, first, by examples, namely, the example of of Eve. For who suckled her sons Cain, Abel, Seth, &c. but

herself? Which she did not only of mere necessity, because yet no other woman was created; but especially, because she was their mother, and so saw it was her duty; and because she had a true natural affection, which moved her to do it gladly. Next, the example of Sarah, the wife of Abraham; for she both gave her son Isaac suck, as doing the duty commanded of God; and also took great comfort and delight therein, as in a duty well pleasing to herself; whence she spake of it, as of an action worthy to be named in her holy rejoicing. Now if Sarah, so great a princess, did nurse her own child, why should any of us neglect to do the like, except (which God forbid) we think scorn to follow her, whose daughters it is our glory to be, and which we be only upon this condition, that we imitate her welldoing. Let us look therefore to our worthy pattern, noting withal, that she put herself to this work, when she was very old, and so might the better have excused herself, than we younger women can; being also more able to hire, and keep a nurse, than any of us. But why is she not followed by most in the practice of this duty? Even because they want her virtue and piety. This want is the common hinderance to this point of the woman's obedience; for this want makes them want love to God's precepts, want love to his doctrine, and, like step-mothers, want due love to their own children.

But now to another worthy example, namely, that excellent woman Hannah, who having, after much affliction of mind, obtained a Son of God, whom she vowed unto God, she did not put him to another to nurse, but nursed him her ownself, until she had weaned him, and carried him to be consecrated unto the Lord; as well knowing that this duty, of giving her child suck, was so acceptable to God; as, for the cause thereof, she did not sin, in staying with it at home from the yearly sacrifice: but now women, especially of any place, and of little grace, do not hold this duty acceptable to God, because it is unacceptable to themselves; as if they would have the Lord to like, and dislike, according to their vain lusts.

To proceed, take notice of one example more, that is, of the blessed Virgin; as her womb bare our blessed Saviour, so her paps gave him suck. Now who shall deny the own mother's suckling of their own children to be their duty, since every godly matron hath walked in these steps before them: Eve, the mother of all the living; Sarah, the mother of all the faithful; Hannah, so graciously heard of God; Mary, blessed among women, and called blessed of all ages. And who can say, but that the rest of holy women, mentioned in the holy scriptures, did the like; since no doubt, that speech of that noble dame, saying, Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? was taken from the ordinary custom of mothers in those less corrupted times?

And so much for proof of this office and duty to be God's ordinance, by his own word according to the argument of examples: I hope I shall likewise prove it by the same word from plain precepts. First, from that precept, which willeth the younger women to marry, and to bear children, that is, not only to bear them in the womb, and to bring them forth, but also to bear them on their knec, in their arms,