I have written a lre at this present to master Secretorye Wallsyngham, of the state of things here, to the end I might enclyne hym the rather by mi obseqousnes, to make som conclusyon with Wade, accordyng to mi habilitye, & to gyve me som cowntenance herafter yn these parts, yf the occasyon do require, beyng hitherunto nott somuche favord, as to Receve on lyne on mi behallf, to gyve me cowntenance with any, which your L. sholld have consydred of towards your poore creature, as on daye ye may haplye have neede of me./
I am well respected here, by myne own yndustrye, & on fryday it plesed Monsieur to conffer with me in his Cabbynett, & to use me with very good Termes & offers, Incase I wollde remayne yn this Contry, gyveng me the credite to have accesse unto hym, butt for me I will dyrect non other cowrse, butt that which shall be prescribed me from your L. so ye vowche save to accompte of me./
In the lre I wryte to master Secretorye, there be sondrye advertisments of ymportance, the copye wherof I send you herewith verbatim; with a copye allso of the othe that the Townessmen & in habitants of the provynce most take, & the lyse of those that be chosen newlye to be of the Chamber of fynances./
mi L. Thresuror wrytt unto me (of his goodnes) a very kynde lre by this last post, so as yf your L. wolld take the occasion to confferre of me with hym, & with master Secretorye Walsingham, no dowtt they wolld joyne with yow in on to do me som good./
In lyke maner it might plese you to wryte to Monsieur St Alldegond thancks for the good curtesye he useth to me, & when you shall have occasyon to wryte[fol. 230v] or send to the P. of Orenge, to gyve me the credite therof, which wolld withowt your charge encrese mi poore cowntenance. which I recomend to your L. as the cause requires, so it be speedelye don, or not att all./
here hath byn a grett jarre bettwen Qwynsy & Du Vraye, agaynst whom marchemownt & Chartier ar allso Banded, so as Chartyer aspires to the sayd du Vrayes office./ Duryng which passyon, Du Vraye made his mone unto me, that his master had comanded hym on good frydaye to reppayre unto the masse, & to the Catholyck service, otherwise he cowd nott longer trust hym with his secrett affayres, nor wolld be served of hym att all, which I am well ynformed to be trew, by those that be verey nere unto Monsieur [ deleted: besyde] ./
Du Vraye (as he tolld me) stood uppon his conscyens stowttlye, nott to displese his highe God, for ani wordlye [ deleted: matter] master, that sholld comande hym, absentyng hym sellf from frydaye till Tewsdaye [ deleted: remayneng] , vexed yn the [ deleted: mene] ^mene^ tyme grettlye yn mynde, that his enmyes sholld carye suche a hand over hym, protestyng that he wolld complayne to the Q. of England, that he was seqwestred from his office & state, for that he wolld not obeye papistrye, which sholld gyve his master a shrewd note, when men sholld discover his inward [ deleted: yntent] yntencyons to Religyon by this brode presydent./
He sayth, that this was procured cheeffly by Marchemownt (your L. mortall enmye of all others & master Secretoryes) to make good that which the sayd marchemownt utterid to your L. that Du [ deleted: Vraye] Vraye cownterfayted Religion to abuse yow & those of the Religion: for otherwise he cowd be content to reppayre to masse openlye./ In this heatt, he sware that he wolld disclose all Marchmownts lres unto me butt they were at Parys, yn which wer manifest tresons agaynst the frenche K. & conspiracyes to destroye the State & nobylytye of England./
He told me further, that Monsieur beryng hym yll will for Cymiers sake, had yett byn constrayned more than a dossen tymes, wth grett teres, to conffesse to the sayd Du Vraye, that Cymiers had never offended hym, butt had don the offices of a wise & faythfyll servant, & that he was constrayned to disfavor hym first, for the plesyng of other persons & to hyde the humor, that otherwise might have byn disclosed. wissheng that it had cost hym hallf his lyveng, that ether he had nott so far passed agaynst hym [ Marginalia (by Herle): yn credite] or might enjoye hym agayne wthout note of ynconstancye, which knowlege of Cymiers ynocencye, by the attestacion of Monsieur him sellf so often, (du Vraye sayd) was as hurtfull to hym as dyanas sighte was to Acteon./
The lyke conseytt hath Monsieur, of sir Henry Cobham, nott onlye for Cymiers sake, butt for other ympressyons Receved. Butt trulye Monsieur ha [d] weke cowncell of his frenche abowtt him, as I wrytt to your L. by mi la [st.] Of hym sellf Monsieur is very [paynfull] & [docyble] , & sekes to ymitate the P. of Orenge, & to prevayll of popularitie, yett his hed is overlayd & his memorye muche trobled wth the overcharge./
[fol. 231r]The sayd Du Vraye hath affyrmed to me in his passyon, that Monsieur hath sworne ernestlye, that he never will trust protestant, nor esteme of the [me] butt to serve his Towre, which is a principall note that I do reccomend to [ deleted: recomend to] your memorye, for the servyce of God & her majesties & for a caveatt to good men./
The sayd Du Vraye allso assured me, that the frenche K. dyd protest to hym, att his departure from the Cowrtt, that he wolld by no mene mixe hym sellf wth his brothers affayres, nor ayd the cowrse he had taken./
In lyke maner hath Bandino a florentyn, on that hath grett accesse unto the frenche Cowrtt written hither that it is resollved by the K. & his cowncell, that Monsieur shall have no assistens thens, beyng a peryllows thyng to the present state of frawnce, & to the K. to noorysshe by ani degree, Monsieurs grettnes./ Butt rather lookyng that England sholld be yntangled therewith, the same to feele the burden & qwarrell that ys to follow./ my good L. make nott light of these advertisments, for they ar grownded & sure, & fytt for her majesties understandyng./
The sayd Du Vraye further affirmed that the frenche K. mynde is shrewd bent agaynst her majestie even to Revenge the mockes that he hath Receved of her, & that Monsieur his master is nothyng better affected than his brother, yf the tyme served./
Her majestie is noted (he sayth) bothe here & in franwnce, to be a procurer [of] Combustyon, & a feeder of ytt, therby to assure her owne estate, by the wrack of another, which stynges theme att the harte. And the frenche K. dothe & will cowntenance the howse of Gwise agaynst her majestie whatt he may./ The D. of Gwise hath a grett nomber of gentillmen & captaynes att this present to be his followers, & dothe somwhatt he sayes, in pycardye abowtt shippeng, att lestwise to have som vesselles bespoken for an enterpr [ise] yf nede be./ The voyce that we shalbe trobled with cyvyll warres at ho [me] doth yncrese, God of his goodnes cutt of malycyows practises./
The mustryng of those of Cambraye by the frenche K. officers is [ ... ] butt on Du Bee, Monsieurs servant had the principall charge therof, & [ ... ] the garrison with mony, that Monsieur had provyded of his own, without any [ deleted: ^ayd^ ] of the frenche K therunto./
This mornyng, Monsieur is advertised that the enmye hath settled his seege abowtt Owdenarde, & made a brydge over the Ryver. Those of Gawnt who [m] ytt ymports, feryng the enmyes enterprise, wolld have supplyed theme of Owdenard this last weke with certayne Enseygnes of men more whom they reffused to Receve, & now sollicyteng for ayde, the enmye by his approche hath excluded that expectacion, wherof most nedes follow, that the sayd towne is yn hasard to be loste, & beyng theme of Gawnt in danger with theme. For Gawnt beyng composed of multitudes of mene people, wherof more than hallf be papists, & suche as nether awncyentlye nor modernlye, dyd [abyde] [fol. 231v] extremitye att any tyme, will surely compownd wth the Enmye, yf good remedy be nott provyded beffore the losse of Owdena [rde] . And herof followes a gretter matter, that wheras all their aydes of mony & contributyons do subsiste of the Droitz de Convoi & Licent de marchandizes & devrees sortant & entrant, & of the consumptyons mentyoned yn [ deleted: the] master Secretoryes lre: now as they shall leese their Townes & contryes, & be pressed so nere wth the enmyes forcs, These menes of mony & Revenewes faylles theme, & so is their whole state maymed, & their cowncells becom vayne. which is convenyent for her majestie to undrstand yn tyme. for the P. of Parma shewes hym sellf to be a resolute gentillman, wyse & furnisshed of that he wants, & noles beloved than ferd of his./
your L. I hope will pardon me, that I write rather trew than plawsible things for the on is necessarye, & the other dangerows. On thyng I most ynfforme yow of further, that there be som grett ones, that holld oppynion, that the good P. of Orenge will hardlye escape this hurte. butt rather langwisshe on & yn the end be seased with a consumptyon or dropsye. or becom uproffitable which God dyverte, yf it be his holye will. Aniastri hath repported att Turny, that the powder which the pystoll was charged with, was poysond & made of purpose for that attempt.
yesterdaye [ deleted: is] arryved here certyen Englysshe shippes, & discharged their ordynance beffore the Palyce, with whom cam La fogiera, & Imedyatelye the voyce was spred, asswell among merchants as Cowrtyers, that the Q. majestie had sent Monsieur 10. chests of Bullyon to begyn the warres withall, Quasi esra a prepurur it fuogo./
Monsieur (which was a thyng much noted) was excedyng merye yesterday & yntertayned La fogiera, nott in his Cabenett privatelye, but goyng to the Churche, & afterwards in a new Tenys cowrtt within the palyce, yn the sight of the whole trayne, walkyng up & down wth hym more than an howre, ytt may plese your L. to remember whatt Villiers sayd of late towching the necessitye that the Q. was entred ynto, to mayntayne the cawse of this syde, seying that she was far yntangled as they./
Coronell morgan is appoynted to governe the Englysshe Bands in flanders & is lyke to have a Regyment of x. enseynes more: for Monsieur (butt speciallye the P.) estemes hym a person of vallew & credit, eqwall with the best that is here of ani natyon. which good cowntenance of his, acheved by his owne meryte & yndustrye, were trulye meete to be accompanyed with your favor allso, to make the man beholldyng to your L. & to make the P. judge that you do judge rightly of men. The Erlle of penbroke wolld take allso kyndlye att your hands, as on that estemes of the sayd morgan, wh [o] though he canott speke, as other men can do, yett his judgement & exe [cution] yn the fylld, do vallew hym among the sufficyentest. / Wherwth [I] very humbly finisshe, comendyng the premisses to your secresye as a Cownc [ellor.] Andwerpe, the 22 aprill. 1582 your L. wth his harte & service. W. Herlle
