at Linlithgow One of William's letters gives the earliest description of the play A Satire of the Three Estates by David Lindsay of the Mount. William spoke to Sir Thomas Bellenden, who described a performance at Linlithgow Palace before James, Mary of Guise and his bishops and council on the feast of the Epiphany. As the play turned on the Reformation of the church, William obtained a more detailed description from a Scottish contact for Thomas Cromwell. Eure enclosed in his letter of 26 January 1540 the synopsis of the performance compiled by his spy, which corresponds with the later text of Lindsay's play. Eure said he had talked with Bellenden, a member of the council of James V of Scotland about the possibility of a Reformation of the 'spirituality' in Scotland. The play at Linlithgow had shown the 'naughtiness' of the church. Bellenden said after the play the King spoke to the churchmen in the audience asking them to reform their factions and manner of living, otherwise, he would send six of them into England to his uncle, Henry VIII. Survey of Northumberland, 1541 Beyond the regular duties of a border Warden, in 1541 William Eure was one of the commissioners appointed by Henry VIII to expel Scottish people from Northumberland following an Act of Parliament. In June he wrote to James V of Scotland complaining that his border subjects had begun to pasture sheep and sow grain in England. In October they viewed the border along the river Tweed to the Ryden Burn's mouth and destroyed corn sown by Scots on English ground. The Scots drew away from the border thinking Eure's men were invaders. During this business, Eure held meetings at Alnwick and Etal. He hoped to induce men from Tynedale and Redesdale to avenge the murders of the Fenwick family by attacking the Scots in Liddesdale. By 4 November, he had found that there were a great number of Scottish householders, occupied as herdsmen, labourers or artisans, mostly without land, and they were evicted. Those too who held land or mills were replaced by English tenants. Many of the empty housing was not adequate for new English settlers, even if two houses were joined together. Other Scots were servants or apprenticed to English craftsmen, these were allowed to stay. Nevertheless, the use of Scottish apprentices would be discouraged in future. William noted the valued service of