Master James Baynham, not long after, [1 May 1532] was
burned, as incontinently after in the processe of this story, shall
appeare.

And thus much concernyng Symon Fishe the author of the _booke of beggars_,
who also translated a booke called _the Summe of the Scripture_ out of the
Dutch [_i.e. German_].

* * * * *

Now commeth an other note of one Edmund Moddys the kynges footeman,
touchyng the same matter.

This M[aster]. Moddys beyng with the kyng in talke of religion, and of the
new bookes that were come from beyond the seas, sayde "if it might please
hys grace, he should see such a booke, as was maruell to heare of." The
kyng demaunded "what they were." He sayd, "two of your Merchauntes, George
Elyot, and George Robinson." The kyng [ap]poynted a tyme to speake with
them. When they came before his presence in a priuye [_private_] closet,
he demaunded "what they had to saye, or to shew him" One of them said "yat
there was a boke come to their hands, which they were there to shew his
grace." When he saw it, hee demaunded "if any of them could read it."
"Yea" sayd George Elyot, "if it please your grace to heare it," "I thought
so" sayd the kyng, "for if neede were thou canst say it without booke."

The whole booke beyng read out, the kyng made a long pause, and then sayd,
"if a man should pull downe an old stone wall and begyn at the lower part,
the vpper part thereof might chaunce to fall vpon his head:" and then he
tooke the booke and put it into his deske, and commaunded them vpon their
allegiance, that they should not tell to any man, that he had sene the
booke.

III.

To this account we may add two notices. Sir T. MORE replying in his
_Apology_ to the "Pacifier" [CHRISTOPHER SAINT GERMAIN] in the spring of
1533, gives at _fol._ 124, the following account of our Author's death--

And these men in the iudgement of thys pytuouse pacyfyer be not dyscrete /
but yet they haue he sayth a good zele though. And thys good zele hadde,
ye wote well, Simon Fysshe when he made the supplycacyon of beggers. But
god gaue hym such grace afterwarde, that he was sory for that good zele,
and repented hym selfe and came into the chyrche agayne, and forsoke and
forsware all the whole hyll of those heresyes, out of whiche the fountayne
of that same good zele sprange. [Also at _p._ 881, _Workes. Ed. 1557_.]

This is contrary to the tenour of everything else that we know of the man:
but Sir T. MOR