424 OBSERVATIONS ON A LIBEL. 



men in every shire, of &quot; vicesimo&quot; of the queen ; at 



what time, except a handful of soldiers in the Low 



Countries, we expended no men in the wars ; and 



now again, at this present time, and there will 



appear small diminution. There be many tokens in 



this realm rather of press and surcharge of people, 



than of want and depopulation, which were before 



recited. Besides, it is a better condition of inward 



peace to be accompanied with some exercise of no 



dangerous war in foreign parts, than to be utterly 



without apprentisage of war, whereby people grow 



effeminate and unpractised when occasion shall be. 



And it is no small strength unto the realm, that in 



these wars of exercise and not of peril, so many of 



our people are trained, and so many of our nobility 



and gentlemen have been made excellent leaders 



both by sea and land. As for that he objecteth, we 



have no provision for soldiers at their return ; 



though that point hath not been altogether neglected, 



yet I wish with all my heart, that it were more 



ample than it is ; though I have read and heard, 



that in all estates, upon casheering and disbanding 



of soldiers, many have endured necessity. 



For the stopping of traffic, as I referred myself 

 to the muster-books for the first, so I refer myself to 

 the custom-books upon this, which will not lie, and 

 do make demonstration of no abatement at all in 

 these last years, but rather of rising and increase. 

 We know of many in London a\id other places that 

 are within a small time greatly come up and made 



