THe. 17. day of Iuly this present yere of our Lord God. 1579. the Quéenes most excellent Maiestie being on the riuer of Thames, betwixt hyr high­nesse Manour of Grenewich, and Detforde, in hir priuie Barge, accompanied with Mounsier Schemere the French Embassador, the Earle of Lincolne, and M. Vizchamberlaine. &c. with whome shée entred discourse about waightie affairs: it chaunced that one Thomas Appeltree a yong man and seruant to M. Henrie Carie, with .ii. or .iii. children of hir Maiestes Chappel, & one other named Bar­nard Acton, being in a boate on the Thames, rowing vp & down betwixt the places aforenamed, the aforesaid Thomas Appeltree had a Caliuer or Harquebush, which he had thrée or foure times discharged with bullet, shooting at randone verie rashly, who by great misfortune shot one of the water men (being the secōd man next vnto the bales of the said Barge, labouring with his Dare, which sate within six foot of hir highnesse) cleane through both his armes: the blow was so great and grieuous, that it moued him out of his place, and forced him to crie and scritche out piteously, supposing himself to be slaine, and saying he was shot thorow the body. The man bléeding abundantly, as though he had had a hū ­dred daggers thrust into him, the Quéenes Maiesty shewed such noble courage as is most wonderfull to be hearde and spoken of, for beholding hym so maymed, and bléeding in suche forte, she neuer bashed thereat, but she wed effectually a prudent and mag­nanimous heart, & most curteously comforting the poore man, she bad him be of good cheare, and sayd he shoulde want nothing that might be for his ease, commaunding him to be couered till such time as he came to the shore, til which time he lay bathing in his owne bloud, which might haue bene an occasion to haue terrifyed the eies of the beholders. But such and so great was the courage and magnanimitie of our dread and soueraigne Ladie, that it ne­uer quayled. To be short, this sayd Thomas Appeltree and the rest were apprehended and brought before hir honorable Counsel who with great grauitie and wisedom imployed their times very carefully, & with gret diligence examined the sayd Appeltree and [Page]his companions, and finding the case most haynous and wicked, iustly pronounced against him the sentence of Death, and com­mitted him to the Marshalsea in Southwarke, from whence the Tuisday following he was brought throughe the Citie with the Knight Marshals men, lead vp to the Tower hill, and sore Rad­cliffe, vp to Blacke wall, and so downe to the water side, where was a Gibet set vp directly placed betwixt Desforde and Gréen­witch, for the execution of this malefactour, who in téede very pitifully bewayled the offence he had committed, and as well in prison as by the way prepared himselfe very penitentely and wil­lingly to offer his bodie to the death, loathing this world and the pleasures of the same, and constantly by faith flette unto IESVS CHRIST, affirming that without him there was no saluatien, and often sayd and protested very vehemently, that Iesus Christ the sonne of the liuing God, was his only hope & cōforte, in whose pretious bloude he was purged and made cleane, and in him by fayth he was fully assured, that his sinnes (wer they neuer so ma­ny in number) should be fréely for giuen and forgotten: such was his immoueable constancie, & so strong he was in CHRIST IE­SVS, that although he confessed his imperfection to be such and so great that of himself he was not worthy to lift vp his eles to hea­uen, yet by faith he was assured that though his life were wicked and worthye the sentence of euerlasting damnation, his Lorde IESVS CHRIST his mercifull sauiour had for him satisfied the lawe, pacifyed Gods indignation, made an agréement betwixt God and him, to whome he was by grace reconciled, conceyued and borne again, not according to the flesh, but in spirit by grace, in the precious death and blou [...]shedding of his Mediator, and in him assured, that neyther sin, death nor all the power of hel should harme him, but that his faith firmly fixed in that mightie conque­ror that had ouerthrowen Sinne, subdued Death, and conuinced Sathan, should be sufficient for him to combat and maintayne fight against his enimies, which traueled for the vtter spoyle and destruction of his body and soule, ouer whome in Christ his hope persuaded him to triumph. But when he came to the place of exe­cution, he fell on his knées, and desired all the people to pray with [Page]him, where he very deuoutly and with a constant courage prayed in this wise: O bountifull Iesu, O sweete lesu. &c. a necessarie prayer to be sayde at the houre of Death: after this he sayde the Lordes prayer, & then discoursed very godly, that the Lord Iesus Christ was the rocke whereon he layde his foundation, and that his only death and passion was the meane to wash away his sin­nes and offences, and that he for him and al other sat on the right hande of his heauenlie father, pleading and making continuall intercession, representing his bloudy and paineful wounds which neuer coulde be dryed vp, which being séene in the eyes of his glo­rious maiestie, his anger was conuerted to loue: his furie, to kindenesse and fatherlie pitie. Thus very godly he purposed to finish his miserable and wretched lyfe, and so prepared himself to ascende and goe vp the ladder, and being on the same, he tourned himself, and spake to the people as followeth: Good people I am come hither to die, but GOD is my iudge, I neuer in my lyfe intended hurt to the Quaenes most excellent Maiesty, nor meant the harme of any creature, but I pray to God with all my heart, long to prosper and kéepe hir highnesse in health, who blesse and defende hir from all perils and dangers, who prosper hir in al hir affaires, and blesse hir most honorable counsel, giuing them grace to doe all things to the glorie of GOD and the benefite of this realme: But of all things, I am most sorie for my offence, and wofully bewaile the same: and more, I am penitent and sory for my good mayster, M. Henrie Carie, who hath bene so grieued for my fault, suffering rebuke for the same: I woulde to God I had neuer bene borne that haue so grieuously offended him. And with that the teares gusht out of his eyes very fast. This sayd, he per­suaded al men to serue God and to take an ensample by him, and euery night and morning moued the deuoutely to say the Lordes prayer. And as the executioner as one gréedy of his pray, had put the roape about his neeke, the people cried, stay, staye, staye, and with that came the right honorable sir Christopher Hatton Viz­chamberlayne to hir highnesse, who enquired what he had con­fessed, and being certified as is before expressed, he vailed his bo­net, and declared that the Quéenes maiestie had sent him thither [Page]both to make the cause opento them how haynous and gréeuous the offence of the saide Thomas Appeltree was, and further to signifie to him hir gratipus pleasure: & so continued his message, as ye may read it priuted by it self, and annexed to this discourse. Which when he had declared, the hangman was commanded to take the roape from his necke, cleane contrarie to his expecta­tion, & I think (as was séene to the people) sory to lose his pray: but whether it were so or not, whether that Appeltree had cause to be ioyful or no, I leaue to your iudgements, who being come downe from the ladder, receiued his pardon, and gaue GOD and the Prince praise, for so great a benefit as he had by hir most gra­tious bountie receiued. This done, M. Vizchamberlaine sayde: Good people pray for the Quéenes maiestie, and then was this prayer sayde, which is vsually readde (for the preseruation of hir Maiestie) in the church:

O almightie and euerliuing God, the Lord of Lords, and king of kings, which dost from thy throne beholde all the dwellers of the earth, most hartily we beseech thee with thy fauor to behold our most gracious soueraigne Ladie Queene Elizabeth. &c.

Wherevnto all the people ioyefully accorded to saye AMEN, crying, God saue the Quéene, and casting vp their cappes.

Thus was the dead man restored to lyfe, and brought backe to the Marshalsea againe, euen as he was led thence to the place of execution, where he by the way moste ioyfullye prayed for the securitie of the Quéenes Maiestie.

Loe thus good reader hast thou heard discoursed vnto thée, the offence of Thomas Appeltree, iustly condemned for his trespasse to die the death, and most gratiously (notwithstanding the great­nesse of his crime) by the singular mercy and bountie of our dread and soueraigne Ladie Quéene EIIZABETH preserued, for the which cause and al others, like faithful and true subiects strongly armed with an earnest loue, let vs not cease to pray to y^e Almigh­tie with loyal & faithfull hearts for hir highnesse safegarde, who with his mightie and outstretched hande protect and deliuer hyr as he hath done wonderfully from the handes of all hir enimies, and so mercifully loke vpon vs hir subiectes, that to our continual [Page]ioyes, the aduauncement of sinne, religiō and vertue, the fal and ouerthrow of all iniquitie, we may possesse the presence of this our royall virgin Quéene euen to the comming of Iesus Christe in the cloudes of the skies: wherevnto let all that feare God and loue the Quéenes maiestie from the bottome of their hartes, say AMEN.

The night before he should suffer, he wrote this prayer follo­wing with his own hand, and on the backside of the paper wher­in the same was set downe, he wrote these wordes:

To the Queenes most excellent Maiestie, whom I beseech God long to continue ouer the Realme of England in prosperous feli­citie.

This was the title.