Conseqwentlye hathe bin sene ferefull ^blooddy^ & firie impressyons in the ayre in the night tyme, which hath ministred matter of muche speeche here, aswell of apprehensyon in som, as of callculatyon in others, what these tokens may portende to Monsieur & the K. of Spain: by the waye of yll presayge./
Since that time Monsieur hath made his proposition to the estates generall, the copie of whose oratyon to that effecte I do send your L. in closed herein. Towching the articles that were delyverd wth the sayd oration, I am not sure att this Instant to have theme time ynowghe to inclose with this my lre (for som scruple that is made in the delyvering of theme, butt by Monday noone I shall not fayll of theme, & accordinglie to send them to your L./ In the mene time the articles ingenerall do subsiste of these poyntes, that fyrst Monsieur requires the maintenance of the Religiowes vrede, the restitutyon of Justyce, the establyshement with suffycyent persons fytt & hable therunto of the 3 cowncelles vz. that of estate, of the secrett cowncell & that of the fynances with the chamber of accompts & aydes appendent therunto. Fowrthlie that there be prompt & speadye meanes[fol. 201v] [fownde to levye men] to provyde munition, & to appoynt the order that shalbe convenient for resisteng of the Enmye. Fivethlie that where they be agreed to contribute 300m gilldernes by the moneth for the chargs of the said warres, that they will sett downe, when & how the said some shalbe answerd. /
Sixtlie that a sufficient hable man be chosen to be generall Thresuror to be answerable for the said contributyon, to the end that mener offics do not consume the same while that is in their custodye by theyr multitude & lownes./
Lastlie that yt be declared & sett downe, what the awthoritye is of the Coronelles of this towne & howe they may be limited which poynt procedes from the prince of Orenge, therby to make bothe Monsieur behollding to him & the said Coronelles allso./
The rest of the poynts of the conclusion to be taken by the states, with their answeare to eche particularitye, shalbe sent your L. with the fyrst messenger that comes, prayeng humblie (with as convenient speade as may be) answere to my former lres, after they shall becom to your honorable handes.
I send your L. allso herewith the occurrents of Italye, which ar delyvered me by a personaige of accompt & therwith a mynute of Monsieurs entrye & awguratyon here, & when yt comes furthe in print your L. shall have the fyrste drawght that shalbe sene therof sent yow by me, yf I were riche (as these things do cost money) yow sholld have more things, but your L. will bere with this in the mene tyme, for I have no ayde here, butt god & my sellf yow know best my habilitye. /
Towching the Enmyes they raysed their campe from Ingellmister, Rowseellar & Isingam, the xj ^th^ of this presente, burning theyr cabbyns & marching by Cowrtrick to deddissell a villayge wthin ij English miles of menyng. They had browght parte of their canons from Turney & Risselles to Cortrick & parte allso to the nomber of 20 peecs to Gravellyng. / Menyng is scituated uppon the Ryver Lys distant from Risselles 3 leages, & from Cortrick ij, now forteffyed verey stronglie to the lande warde from the River, butt comanded by a hill which discovers theyr [fol. 202r]whole Ramparts, & the cheefe streate that leades to the same. yf the Enm [ye] were masters of the sayd towne, they had no ypedyment to staye th [em] from the gates of Gawnt. There is within Menyng ix enseynes of scotts under Coronell Trayll, & ij Cornetts of Horsemen wth capta [ine] Seton, with provision of vyttayles & necessaries for 3. monethes. /
There hath bin controversye in the enmyes campe, betwen the wallone [s] & Allmaynes which occasioned their long stay abowt Rowssles, but now they ar reconsiled, & yesterdaye the prince was advertised to his grett perplexitie & Monsieurs that they were departed from deddissell againe towards donkyrck, but what they will do, is not as yet certaine, the prince of Parma being ernestlie sollicited to beseege the same by Lamote of Gravelling, which place obteyned with the lyttell towne of Berges St Wymock, which joynes nere unto ytt, wolld exclude all ayde of the frenche by Calys, assure Gravelling & be a port for the K. of Sp: to troble theme grettlie here, & to drawe ayde of men & shippes owt of England./
This was forsene & advertisements given of a greatt cheyne that was made att Risselles to stoppe the mowth of donkyrck haven, wheruppon vj enseynes of the frenche were dispatched thitherwards on Thursday morning, & with theme the Admirall of Zeland Trelong who is allso governor of Donkyrck, supplyed with things necessarye to endure a seege, that allso take up uppon his credyte xviijm [crowns] here to be reppayd in Paris, wherof he disposed xijm towards the expedicion of the sayd vj enseynes./
There be vj companies of scotts & wallons within Donkyrck. all redye & one Cornett of horssemen, the scotts be of Coronell Prestons Regyment. /
The cheyne that ys made for the haven wilbe of no effect, for besyde that the last storme hathe made a larger breche in the mowth of the said haven, than that the cheyne is hable well to compase ytt hath bin experimented in Holland that a cheyne in a narrow Ryver is not hable to endure the force of a hoye under sayll muche lesse of shippe that hath the sea occean under foote, yet is[fol. 202v] [ytt feared that] the towne wylbe loste, & then Monsieur leeseth his credyte here & yf the Enmye do follow his victorye withall a greatt parte will revollt, & Monsieur be dryven to provyde for his further saffetye./ The Enmye hathe 36. peecs of Battrye grett provision of munityon & store of basketts to deffend the artillerye./
There be som that thinck that those viijm sowdyers 30. grett shippes 12. galleyes & ij gallyons that ar redye att Lusborne may be employed for Donkirck, yf the prince of Parma do in ernest beseege yt./ som other do mysdowt the french preparacyons in frawnce ^under the pretence to helpe don Anthonio.^ /
Monsieur here dothe practise secrettlie wth the Cownt Dellalayng & Montygnye to drawe theme to his parte, using for arguments their own resons to theme, wherby they fyrst perswaded him hither, & next the securitye that they may be yn, by his & their conjunctyon the estimation that wilbe had of their vertew & persons, the daunger they stande in, by the conyng of the Spa: & new supplyes, the assurans that they shall have of the Religiowes vrede, & to enjoye all suche ecclesiasticall goods & lands as they ar allredye possessed of, which yf the Spa: prevaill they shalbe deprived wholye of, & of the premisses withall. /
The prince of Pynoys & his wife, sister to dellalayng & montignye ar made greatt instruments herein & largelie promised, incase they can worck so greatt a good to the generall good of the cawse & their contrey, which they have undertaken to do, & ar in the mene time muche cowrted by Monsieur & the prince of Orenge./
The wynneng of these ij ^bretherne^ wolld alonelye dissollve the K. of Spaynes enterprises here, expulse the prince of Parma, & exclude the entrye of the forreyne power that is expected, wherby the ayde of frawnce sholld not neede, & they wolld as lyttell regard England then./
Som of judgement suppose, that yf dellalayng & Montygnye be brought in ones to joyne with Monsieur in actyon, that this state will then becom whollye frenche, which wolld be a nere perill unto England & the forteffyeng of frawnce & scottland against us, wherunto som[fol. 203r]be prompt ynowghe to sett forwards the advantaigs therof & to intymate the same in their negociatyons, having allredie conseved hardlie of us, & desyre but the mene to crye qwyttans./
Therfore ytt is wysshed of those that do cownterpoyse things that dellalayng & montygnye might remayne in the state they do, to serve as Instruments of Spayne, to drawe the warres on in length, for the good of the sowdyers, & the quiettnes of the neighborhed./ Of the other syde, yf Donkyrcke sholld be lost, the frenche K wilbe utterlie discorayged from gyveng of any assistens to his brother ^being ill affected allredy that waye^ & then of necesseitye the Q. of England wilbe intreated they saye to succor the comune perill which consernes her as nere as theme./
Ytt is dailie confirmed here, that the frenche K. dissavowed all his brothers actyons & enterprise, renowncing the ayde that is demaunded, for the establyshment of his sayd brother in these contreyes which cleres the Q. of England of any condicions & contracts passed with Monsieur, a matter that doth rejoyce som persons of good porte here./ Duvraye is loked for dailye, who departed from Parys x. dayes since, & Monsieur reposeth greatt truste in his sister of Navernes negociatyon wth the french K. her brother for hym, expecting by mewfilld to have resolutyon both that waye & from others of his frindes in frawnce. Butt there is small hope remaynes of successe from thens. Therfore yf matters thryve not here, Monsieur makes an estate (as some nere unto him to newlie affyrme to retorne into England, & from thens to worcke his peace wth his brother, & to grownde his further cowrse therupon, beyng harde they saye that the frenche K. will nether suffer his onlye brother to lyve in frawnce peaceablie, in his degree: nor ells where, to make the advantaige of his owne assurance & greattnes, which argues that there was a snare layed by the sayd frenche K. to have intangled her majestie of England with the whole expence, hasarde, & envye of [the] warres.
[fol. 203v]There is a grawnte made of xij shippes by Monsieur for the servyce of don Anthonio with xij C maryners from hence, the furniture & charge wherof sholld be answeard att the Tercera, butt ytt appe [res] that there most be money provided here beffore hand for the same. Otherwise the enterprise will growe colle & vayne. The Prince of Orenge on wensday att ^mid^ night to terrefye the more sent for the principall merchants of that Portingall natyon that be here resyant to be with him the next morning before vij of the clocke: to whom he exposed by a long speeche, the justyce of don Anthonios cawse their naturall & lawfull K: the necessitye of theyr contrey Portingall, nowe oppressed by their enemyes the Spanish: & theyre habilitye here, to releve this by money, wherunto they were bownd by dutye & nature to supplye their parts therin, & to satisfye the expectacion of their K & of the actyon generall, otherwyse that he colld not favor nor esteme theme as he had don./ The Portingall merchants having time gyven theme to deliberate, made answeare the next daye that they were onlye factors that were resyant here, & had no awthoritye to dispose of other mens goodes, whose masters being manye were in Portingall with their wives, familyes & substance, under the hand of K. Phillip, subjecte to suffer confiscatyon of all & vyolens in their persons, yf they sholld make but shewe to ayde don Anthonyos parte. ytt appertayned not to theme as merchants to decyde the titelles of kingdomes but to attende the yssew of gods disposition, att which time they wolld render good accompte of their dutye & loyalltye, ether to don Anthonio, or to him that were placed in the seatt, with the expence of their goodes & blood, prayeng that they in the mene tyme might be conserved in this newtralitye here, or yf not, to have 3 monethes respyte to retyre with their thinges to a place of assurance./ Which answeare hathe satisfyed the prince att this presente who was urged to dele with theme in this warme maner by don E. Dicrasto Ambassador here for don Athonio./ a verey chillde./
[fol. 204r] They are nowe a coyneng of new money in golld & sillver, which caryes Monsieurs armes qwartered wth the armes of Braba [nt] butt the prince & he wolld of new rayse the valuatyon of the moneys to [1] upon the C more, which our natyon & the rest of the Inhabitants here wth the forreyne merchants do flattlie refuse to agree unto & will rather departe for all togeather than be subject to suche an inconvenyence, as hath allredye undon manye, & the traffick withall. yt is talked that this Bullyon [ Marginalia (by Herle): Bullyon ] of golld & sillver, wherwith they do coyne their moneyes was supplyed owt of England./
Uppon thursdaye was ytt proclaymed from the towne howsse that bothe the protestants & catholickes sholld abjure the K. of Spain & sweare to Monsieur. suche withall of the catholickes as ar not as yet sworne ar kept owt of the Churche that is assigned for the masse, till they have performed the order appointed on that behallf./
This daye dothe Monsieur sollemnise the rememberance of his nativitye, having prepared a great banckett of 14. messe of meat to intertayne the estates generall & the magistrates & Coronelles of this towne, there shalbe lykewise ronyng att the Ring & Qwyntyn with other disports./
The Duchesse of Parma is at Namures smallye respected, dellalayng att Montz, & montignye wth the prince of Parma & somtymes in the Campe./
Villyers Cornett of horssemen, who is marshall of the states campe, & brother to Hawtyn, was overthrowen this last weeke, by an Ambushe of the mallcontents, the cornett taken, the livetenant wth 57. slayne & the rest prisoners & dispersed./
The Vinkeng of Bollduck to this towne, & to Receive Monsieur as theyr soverayne is still treated of & yntertayned./
Bruxelles is tollerated with towching the masse & Religyow [es] vrede, for that ytt is a frontyer towne & hath browght yn[fol. 204v] [information] to Monsieur by Recorde that the papistes have sowght by 4. sondrye times since the contracte was agreed upon betw [en] the states & him, to betraye the sayd Bruxelles to the enmye wherwith very humblye, desyreng to here from your L. of the receipte of my former lres, & of the contynewance of your good favor I do take my leve Andwarpe the xviij ^th^ of marche 1581 your L. most humbly W. Herlleli.
