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From the beginning of the first section: THE Marprelate tracts are seven in number, if we include the broadside commonly known as 'The Minerals.' The first two, 'The Epistle' and 'Epitome, ' were in preparation in May, 1588, ' but 'The Epistle' was not printed till about 15th October, while its sequel followed at the end of the next month. Meanwhile Waldegrave, the printer, in fear of detection, was forced to move his press about from place to place, with the assistance of the Welsh puritan reformer John Penry. At the beginning of February, 1589, he was lurking at Coventry, whence he issued, about the 20th, the broadside mentioned above, and just over a month later ' Hay any worke for Cooper, ' the third of the trails proper. Directly this was finished, he began to make preparations for leaving Coventry, and meeting one Sharpe, the bookbinder, afterwards the chief informer of the Martinist circle, he told him that he intended to go down into Devonshire to print Cartwright's answer to the Rhemish 'Testament, ' for the copy of which he had long been waiting. Presumably, therefore, he went to Devonshire at the end of March. Sharpe informs us next that ' about May day ' he met Penry, who told him that ' Waldegrave was surely in hand in some corner with the printing of Master Cartwright's Testament, that he looked daily for his Appellation from him, and that then he should go in hand with More work for Cooper.' ' Penry's reference to the last work shows that Waldegrave was still regarded as the Marprelate printer. He had taken with him, moreover, ' the Dutch letters ' in which the first three ' Martins ' had been printed. The next news we have of him is that he has gone to Rochelle. This Penry tells Sharpe in the second week of May. It was now necessary to obtain the services of a printer to take the place of Waldegrave, whom the Martinists appear to have looked upon henceforth in the light of a deserter. Towards the end of May one Hodgkins was engaged, but it is remarkable that though he had type and two presses to work with, nothing was done for two months after his engagement. It was, in fact, not until 22nd July that the next Martinist tract, known as 'Martin Junior, ' appeared, and it was followed a week later by 'Martin Senior.' These publications were issued from Wolston near Coventry, and immediately afterwards Hodgkins moved to Manchester with the copy of ' More worke for Cooper, ' where, on 14th August, he was captured by the authorities. This disaster silenced the Martinists for a time, and ' The Protestation, ' the seventh and last of the series, did not appear until about the end of September....

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