Transcript

[fol. 44r] Ytt plesed you R. honorable L. to write unto me by the Last post, a lre of the second of this present, signeffyeng that you had so dispatched mi men from you, as they might have byn with me, by the 22. of the Last moneth, who ar as yett unretorned for Lack of answer they say, butt it is their negligens I perceve, & so do I holld mi sellf satisffyed, yett takyng it hevilye that nether mi service don to you, nor the good yntent with the which I honor you, is worthye of acceptacion or thancks, which I most recomend to God, & ympute it to mi harde hap, & nott to ani Lack yn your sellf, yett when ye shall Record how faythfully & Lovyng I have followed your L. with a Trew constancye, & with good offics allso, I shalbe estemed I hope, an honest (thowgh nott a happye) man./ And when it plesed your L. to move her majestie to have ymployed me for her service in these parts, & cowd nott enclyne her therunto, I humblye thanck you, for your sayd favor, even assmuche as it had taken place for me, wherof mi L. Tresuror advertised me, whatt good disposityon [ deleted: ye had bothe] [ Marginalia (by Herle): ether of you had] unto me, & therin was I long synce answerd & contented mi sellf, as may appere by mi lres writt on that behallf 4. posts ago, shewyng mi poore resons, whye I thowght her majestie wolld have me shew of publyck or pryvate actyon here, Butt the occasyon [ deleted: attended cheefflye uppon you ] whye mi men attended cheeffly uppon you, was to yntreatt your L. to end the cawse with Wade, accordynge to your honorable promis made sondrye tymes on that behallf, & namely in the ship when yow departed from hens, shewyng me the cowrse that I sholld holld, understandyng by mi L. Tresuror synce to that purpose, that you had affirmed unto hym you wold do it, & disberse the 40li which of your goodnes ye had offred towards the discharge of the sayd dett. And this I deppend of still, otherwise I am made a Banisshed man owt of mi contry, by reson of the advantaygs in lawe, that the sayd Wade hath agaynst me, & mi poore frynds subject to arrest for the same, wherof yf ye wolld vowchesave to have som compassyon, ye sholld grettly bynde me poore man unto you, & many others with me. Another thyng mi sayd servants attended uppon you for, which was to have you fownd som occasyon yn wryteng hither to the P. of Orenge, to monsieur, to St. alldergend, & to others, [ Marginalia (by Herle): or to ani of theme ] that I might have yntertayned good office bettwen you, & [fol. 44v] as they all knowe whatt sincere dutye I ber you, & with whatt affectyon ye were wont to comend me, so now I might have byn ynhabled the more by cowntenance of me, to have don you & theme service, which I wolld eftsones very humblye yntreatt your L. to consyder of, & to finde apte occasyon for the same, assuryng you, that ye shall Receve honor & good contentment therby, for as it shall plese you to direct me, I will frame mi cowrse & no further, & this is all the charge that I will putt you unto duryng my beyng here./ Butt I am so far from good hap, to here from your L. sodenly, as that I have nott yett understode, whither somani papers (wherof som ar of good moment) certayn bookes, & other trifells [ Marginalia (by Herle): I sent you] be com to your hands or no, which wolld content mi travayll & expence to understand of att lest wise, that they had had recapite./

Towching master northe, that I sholld be Awthor of the speches for his goyng to masse, I thynck that ther be mani here of credite, that will & can purge me therof, & butt that I wrytt pryvatelye to your L. [ deleted: herof] as a caveatt to the yong man, (your L. so estemyng of his father as ye dyd) I never opened mi [lyttes] ether of hym of of his doyngs to ani creature. butt rather I warned hym pryvately in good fryndship, that he was subject to sclanders, asswell for presentyng him sellf att masse tyme, among the frenche, as for the note of som companye he kept, which he hath ynterpreted yll of I perceve./ And for hys [ deleted: goyng to masse, I thynck] beyng in the Churche att masse tyme, he hym sellf canott denye ^ytt, [ deleted: but] butt^ with whatt intencyon he [ Marginalia (by Herle): [ deleted: dyd it, he] ] lest knowes) [ deleted: Butt] it was repported att master norrys Boord, yn the heryng of many, yett I nott present (as on that reported [ deleted: nott] thither [ deleted: often] selldom) that he had byn att masse & knocked his brest withall, the credite wherof I leve with the Awthor, master norrys master of the [ deleted: best] fese can eselyest clene this for he hard it./ Indeede as I [ deleted: gesse] can gesse (to speke yndiffrentlye) he was on daye overtaken with a masse in monsieurs chamber beng yn [ Marginalia (by Herle): belyke] beffore he was ware, & then constrayned perhaps to staye, & to be barehedded in respect of the Duke, To defface which blott he might after wards of som custom, attend uppon monsieur ynto the Churche, & remayne som whyle there coverd while masse was, which grew to be another offence, & herof I suppose that this ymputacion had his origynall./ Butt that I sholld be a breeder of mysslyke, bettwen master northe & master norrys, & bettwen the frynds of ether of theme, your L. judge [fol. 45r] ment of the contrary in mi favor, as apperes by your lre, is trew, for I dyd & do arme mi sellf with that prynciple, to be a medler yn no manes cawse, unles I be called, & that in the best parte to do ani good I can. To which effect I have seqwestred mi self from the company of all, butt of those that do com to stelle me . Butt to decyde this the better, master norrys him sellf, who is a wise & Trew gentillman shall clere me, & who hath mani juste occasyons off offence agaynst master northe occasyoned throwgh the verye rassh speches of master northe, whom I wissh to be better Tempred, for trulye I honor his father with mi hart, bothe for that he is a noble man of worthye parts, ^as that he is^ your L. assured good frynd, butt yf you bothe, do nott invoke the yong man hence (suche be his passyons) [ deleted: as] he will precipitate hym sellf into som manifest ynconvenyens, ayded therunto by those that sholld nott abuse his disposytyon, which indede is master Cotton, wherof your L. att the comyng of master norrys & of Roger Williams hither, shall fynde more than I wollde [ deleted: will] willinglye saye, bettwen whom nottwithstandyng, I will use the best office that I am hable to yelld./ Webbe a man of the Erlle of Sussex was bydden to suppe by master north, (master Cotton, wher nott contented with mene discowrses. wolld needes revyve the memory of the olld qwarell bettwen your L. & the Erlle of Sussex, uppon the new brute that the frenche had of thyngs that were in actyon in England of your syde & his, yn despute wherof, northe stabbed webbe att the Boord xiiij ynches depe under the on pappe, & xij ynches under the other, the knife conyng with a marvaylows escape to the bellyeward & nott ynwards, and suche Centawres yntertaynment is here, assuryng your L. that yf he be longer here he will consume his purse, & be corrupted bothe in nature & Religion, for I am lothe to wryte how he is seduced, & to whatt placs & company he is browght. Wherwith I very humbly take mi leve, comendyng wades cawse & the other reqwest beffore mencyoned to your L. favor that ye bere me, & that it wolld plese you to write 3 lyns to du vraye, (who is in som [ deleted: favor] [ Marginalia (by Herle): regarde] agayn with his master), that ye do understand by me howmuche he desyres to do your L. service, with thancks for the same, & [mencyon] of the good offics that you wolld have me do to [ deleted: the d.] & to the rest that ar here, for he hath tolld the d. that your L. yntended to bryng me with you hither, which it plesed you to make hym acqwaynted with in England, & of the good words, ^besyde^ ye gave nether. [ deleted: & so I ha ] Andwerpe. in hast. the 13. of maye. 1582. your L. most humbly [W Herlle] .