on Septuagesima Sunday, 1550. It is a terrible indictment of the manner in which the abbey lands were used by "those in England which did pretend that besides the abolishing of superstition, with the lands of Abbeys, Colleges, and Chantries, the King should be enriched, learning maintained, poverty relieved, and the commonwealth eased, and by this pretence, purposely have enriched themselves, setting abroad [that is, turning out] cloistered papists, to get their livings by giving them pensions." But "it is a common custom with covetous landlords, to let their housing so decay that the farmer shall be fain for a small reward or none at all, to give up his lease; that they taking the ground to their own hands, may turn all to pasture; so now old farmers, poor widows and young children lie begging in the miry streets. O, merciful Lord, what a number of poor, feeble, halt, Wind, lame, sickly, yea, with idle vagabonds and dissembling knaves mixed among them, he and creep, begging in the miry streets of London and Westminster."
He says that in some towns there used to be six, eight, or a dozen cows, "given unto a stock, for the relief of the poor," so that poor cottagers, who could make any provision for fodder, had the milk at a very small cost; "and then the number of the stock reserved, all manner of vails besides, both the hire of the milk and the prices of the young veals and old fat wares, was disposed to the relief of the poor, these also be sold, taken, and made away."
In another sermon, preached at Paul's Cross, and dedicated to the Lords of the Council, he says: "Be we in better case than we have been afore time because papistry among us is kept under, or else worse than ever we were because covetousness reigneth at liberty? … And hath not God given unto us … by the suppressing of abbeys exceeding abundance of all manner of lands, riches and treasures? And now where is it all become? … Here I, naming no man, do mean almost every man; for every man hath some treasure of the lord's to dispose." He is extremely severe on the reforming clergy: "Why do you take and keep some four or five men's livings? … Woe be unto you, dumb dogs, choked with benefices," so that you cannot open your mouths against any abuse. At last, he turns to the laity. "You of the laity, when ye see these small
