READER,
I have promised you to write something of confederacy, that when you see or hear some fancy done, you shall be no stranger to it, but know how to do it as well as any juggler in England, for by confederacy mighty wonders are wrought, which seem incredible and impossible. Some will ask for what reason I do write these things and set them forth in such a manner, for they say, we know them already; my answer is, if you do, every one does not; therefore slight not simple things, for you that seem to be so cunning and so wary may be imposed on and deceived: what would an ingenious person give, or how far would he go to learn secrets? I myself would have gone twenty miles to have learnt the worst fancy in this book; I would have you take it in good part, and so I proceed to the chapter.