Transcript

[fol. 162r]

• Imprimis that James Chillister, was borne att Saffron Walldon, whose true name is James Davyd, butt alltred belike to avoyd som grett penallty, which declares the reste of his life to be according to his dooble name./
• Item that the same supposed James Chillister, being servant to sir Henry Sydney, & keper of Ottford in kent under his sayd master, dyd with on Harrison allure thither certayne of the monyers of the Towne, who conveying with them the stampes, dyd coyne together a grett masse of money of those vj peny peces of Phillip & Mary, wherof there was muche uttred by the ayde of a merchant of London, butt in th'end the matter being discoverd Chillester & Harrison fled over the seas desgised as maryners, in the same ship wherin king Phillip was, butt the pore workmen being taken, were executed which he was wont to glory att, sayng that he cowd nott only deceve or abuse the wisest Spaniard of all, butt allso bring fellowes to hanging & escape hym self.
• Item the sayd Chillester desgised him self afterwards by clipping of his berd or by shaving of it, & retorned into England to fetche a bag of money that he & Harrsion had hydden under a brydge abowtt Hollstone, butt being prevented by Harrison, he conspired how to kylle the sayd Harrison in that he had bin before hym, retornyng into frawnce as far as Marseilles, where he lived by shifftes & by going to the seas, till the jorney of Saint Qwyntynes cam on, att which tyme he reppayred thither & by menes made unto the Erlle of Pembroke, he obteyned his pardon./
• Item the sayd Chillester being com into England agayn, practised sondry lewd devises, having to this daye nothyng to lyve uppon, nor wil serve ani, & lastly retyreng towards Barwick, he was suborned (among other good parts of his) to be an accuser of sir V. Browne, wherin he was cheeff instrument, butt in th'end supposing to gayne more of thother syde, he wold have joyned with sir V. Browne against his adversaryes, butt he was wisely reffused./
• Item that being somtymes sir william Ingelbyes man, he hath bin privey to som notable deceytt or abuse that he wrought with his sayd master, so as sir william Ingelby [fol. 162v] dare by no mene ether displese hym, or denye hym whatt he demandes, wherof this Chillester is wont to saye that he caryes Ingelby in his sleve./
• Item he is a grett enmye to the Q. majestie a vehement Papist in his religion (if he be of ani) desirows of innovatyon, & a reporter of prophesyes to perswade men the better to rebellyon & to the desire of new thinges, he knowes all the Traytors & Papists that wishe ylle to the state, & is cownted a grett Cowncellor among them, he was a grett Companyon to Mather, who comended hym for [ deleted: sufficyency] grett sufficyency to sondry of his Acqwayntance as namely to John Gilpin servant to the right honorable sir walter Mylldmaye & to other.
• Item. he is a grett jarser att the whole Cowncelll, publisheng to those that be of his leven how weke the governement is that now we have, as though it were in his hed to frame a better polycye & to dele more wisely, butt verey suttly (as he supposeth, wherin Mather & he agreed in oppinion) he will conferre butt with on att ones, being thought to be a grett discowrser of the state of Ireland, & by his mappes it shold appere (for that they discover only the sea cost & sondry havens theruppon) that he perswades whatt places were mete to be landed att for the hurt of the Reallm, which God long preserve./
• Item the sayd Chillester is cownted verey factyows of all his neighbors & hated of all good men & true subjects, & noted bothe for religion & malyce of the state, ^to be^ on of the dangerowst fellowes in this land, a grett [fawner] of the Late Duke of Northfolke, & wholly addicted to the scottish factyon, insomuche that he sayd to on Towrs & to others, in beholding certayn armour, that if the tyme were com being well armed, he wold nott expresse when he wold serve, notyng playnly that it whold nott be of the Q. majesties syde./
• Item he dyd avowche openly when as the Brydge at Barwick was broken & the Towne being then unforteffyed, that we shold have the same possessed by the Scotts in despite of all the power of England, & that he dyd loke assuredly for it, which was so wholly disputed, as the aforesayd Towrs gave hym a grett blowe [ deleted: for it] in the presence of Doctor Bulleyn, inhablyng that he cowd bylld a brydge agayn in few howres of nede were./
• Item the sayd Chillester in fallyng owtt with on Cowper a lynnen draper in fry [fol. 163r] day strete, threttned hym that these puritane & protestant knaves (for that the sayd Cowper is on of sownd religion) shold change their cotes shortly & be worthylye corrected, perswading to sondry an assured & a spedy allteractyon of governement, & that whyle this Religion & Prynce endures, that there can be no good nor mery world.
• Item he wold be examined whatt figures he hath cast, or knowen to be cast towching the shortnes of the Q. majesties life, or the prefferment of the Duke, & of the Scottish Q. for herin he hath bin allwayes busye./
• Item he hath bin a mene for the delyvery of on D. Edriche a phisicyen owtt of the marshallsea uppon his bond & anothers, who ar of no value, which Edriche was there for popery & massemongering abowt oxford, & is on of so grett malyce towards the Q. precedyngs & against this present state, as non can be more, butt Chillester wisheth he might deliver all the Papistes owt of prison by suche colowrable menes./
• Item the sayd Chillester was observed by D. Bulleyns menes, the same day that Mather was executed, to follow hym still, closing his mowth with his finger, & poynteng to Mather, as it were to conjure hym to a constant scylens of suche thinges as might have passed bettwen them, butt when he perceved ani one to behold hym, he wold change purpose, calling uppon Mather to remember God, wherof if he be sharply examined, he can utter strange thynges that hath passed bettwen Mather & hym./
• Item the sayd Chillester to joyn unto hym self som oppinion of lernyng, & to [ Marginalia (by Herle): chelidomius Tigurinus worke in latten & translated into french by on Bowgsh. of the instructyon of an christian prince, of the dignitye of mariaige, & of pece & warre.] be thought to be of sownd religion towards God, & of an honest dutye to his Prynce, hath dedicated a tretyse to the Q. majestie before christmas last, which was on Goldwelles translatyon owt of Frenche, that dwelled abowtt the strond, who being now dede, this Chillester hath sett furthe this worke in his own name, which worke he recoverd of Goldwelles wife, with whom he was & is more familier than honesty wold; As therin he makes small consycens, for that he abuseth mo menes wives than [ deleted: his own] on, yett having on of his own, & in effect lyves so vicyowsly, as all his neighbors crye owtt uppon hym, among whom he hath begotten ij of his own maydens with childe in a verey short tyme./

[fol. 163v] Lastly if he be hard holden, adding som hope in th'end, he bothe can & will confesse muche, & if he be examyned of on God his brother in Lawe, who is on grett Papiste, an extreme usurer, & an yll mynded man towards the Prynce, there wold somwhatt fall owt that waye, whose howse were mete to be served for sedycyows bookes, & for wrytengs that may be there of thys Chillesters unles this God have som ynclyng of chillesters apprehensyon & therby made a ryddance before hand of suche things owtt of the waye, which God (as he is a verey cruell fellow & a miserable) kylled with a rake a pore innocent chylde in a womans belly by betyng her uppon that bellye. [ deleted: wherby] [ Marginalia (by Herle): xx ^ti^ wekes past, wherby] he scaped verey narrowly the danger of the Lawe. Butt if it may plese your L. to comande the sayd Chillester after his first examiniatyon, to make a Diarye from ester last how he hath spent the tyme, & in watt Company & of the Conferencs & practises that passed in that space, [ deleted: seming to] ^that yow wold seme unto^ hym, that if he swarve butt on jote from the truthe, that you ar hable to reprove hym wherby he is then past all hope of mercy or favor, this in mi oppynion will decipher hym to th'uttermost, for if he fayll, it may be straight bowlled owt, & compelle hym to revele all, Against whom there ar present wyttnesses these partyes following. Doctor Bulleyn. Cowper a lynen draper in fryday strete. fynstede a goldsmith in foster Lane. John Gilpine sir wallter mildmayes man. on Bulle mi L. wentworthes servant, from whom Chillester did stele an obligatyon. on wantland lyeng abowtt Sowthwark. allso Towrs a purveyor of the mynte. & fynally the generall repport of all his neighbors in Saynt Giles paryshe, without Crippellgate. Butt this it may plese your L. to remember by the waye, that Chillester nether att his apprehensyon, nor in his conveying up dyd se me, nor understand of mi being there, for I sent hym up by water with the kepers of the marshallsea. with ij men that I brought with me, & which ij men he had of his owne, & I retorned up by horseback, the chargs wherof in all was 36s which I payd, ^for this jorney^ , so as I nede nott be mencyoned ani waye unto hym. & thus I humbly finishe, having wrytten whatt I have collected, seing it was your L. so to comande me Among other of his bookes that ar left in the sheriffes custody, it appered his studi was muche in Machiavell. De Princips./ [fol. 164r] Whyles I was absent mi Lord abowtt this busynes in Essex, on sonday att night laste & on monday mornyng, cam to seke me william Barthlett the scott, with a bondell of lres that he had taken from on Andrew Chambers & his Companyon, which were directed owt of Scottland to the Bp. of Rosse from the Erlle of Hontleys brother, & from Alexander Lassley late the sayd Bps. man, & from sondry other, allso som lres to Cuthbert, which in myne absence cam to the Recorders hands, which I thought good to advertys your L. for the honest part that the sayd Barthlett used ^therin^ for whom I undertoke to your L. if ye remember it, that he shold do ani servyce he cowd, & now it apperes who might intercept more of them, if he were a Denizen, that he therbi might use vyttayleng frely, thus humbly taking mi leve the xix of marche. 1571. your L. most humblye. W. Herlleli.