Transcript

[fol. 98r] I had nott ment to have trobled your good L. with ether writeng or speche till you had com to towne your self, butt being pressed with grett care of my dutye & zele to the Q. majestie, I have presumed to send these present advertisments by the Poste, for that the cawse of it self semes to axe poste haste. The matter is, that I gave your L. advertisment from the beginneng of on Maison flowre, how dangerows a man he was, & by how mani circumstances he was to be suspected, fering in dede that he was here to do som mischevows & desperate acte, in respecte of his Condicyons & bringing up. for first being secretorye to the late duke of Gwise, & prefferred by hym to her that was maryed to the King of Spaigne, & then to the scottish Q. that now is, all his affectyons ar to the sayd Q. & to the howse of Gwise. further pretending som matter here from the Duke of Alenson, hath bothe cownterfooted the Dukes hand & framed his Religion to serve the tyme, & then whatt may he nott attempt in the rest. [ Marginalia (by Herle): who other wise is noted of sondrye murthers & tresons] The conclusyon is that he hath secrett conference with the frenche Ambassador, how strange soever they make it, & hath insynuated hymself into the Cownt of Mongomeryes secretts, whatt by lending of hym & his son money, & whatt by feding of his humors, wherby he hath grettly abused hym & his attemptes, & hath money att will to corrupt others, so as he hath at his [ deleted: devotyon] devotyon bothe sowdyors & desperate fellowes, redy to execute ani mischeeff, & specially Captain Pagett & an viij sowdyors which served the Scotish Q. & ar clad in red, of whom there ys more than a suspicyon of som ille disposityon that they intend, & of an ill mynde that they bere to this state & tyme, insomuche as therbe secrett voyces given abrode, that it is butt on blowe which most be employed to make them all happye, wherby the Q. majesties saffety is fered in this private progresse, lest som wicked & mischevows fellow might be bolde to attempt that uppon this occasyon of her solitarynes, [ deleted: to to do that] which might make us sory for ever./ Lastly this Mayson Flewr hath given owtt verey vehemently that er the 27. daye of this present [ deleted: moneth] [fol. 98v] moneth, which is tomorow, wherin he contynues still nottwithstanding the menes of it, that there shalbe suche an alteracyon here uppon the sodeyn, as never was sene, for those that be in prison shalbe delyverd, & liberty shalbe turned into Captivitye; mene men shalbe raysed highe & those that be highe abbused, which is spoken in suche maner as that it may playnly appere, that the Scottish Q. is ment for on partye, & the Q. majestie our soveraigne for another, wherby I am forced in dutye to revele that I know to your L. for that it towcheth her majestie so nye, & us all in her person, beseching your L. to examyne this well, for the late example of frawnce [ Marginalia (by Herle): admonisheth] that no advice of this importance owght to be contempned. Moreover to confirme this in som maner, all the pronosticatyons that have bin made for this pece in france, foreshew that abowt the end of february or begynneng of marche, a grett lady that hath bin long deteyned prisoner, shalbe delyverd, & have the mene to recompense all her well willers, & to surpryse those that have committed her, which is nott so muche expressed by ani knowledge of the Constellacyons, as by the practises discoverd which the howse of Gwise & the frenche king have layd. Again the frenche Ambassador that is here, is marvaylows pensive & malencholy att this instant, uttring certain dowttfull speches, as though som prodigiows thing were to happen shortly. franciott hath declared by maner of dreme, nott ones butt sondry tymes, that he feres som grett harme ye present harme to impend to this state, having hard he sayeth in his slepe the name of mary by proclamatyon & trompett to be declared Q. of England. Lastly, on of Barwick, who is grett with som of the best there, told me assuredly that Luddington er it were long wold playe suche a parte, as the world wold wonder of it, & that the scotish Q. shold prevayll in th'end, all which collectyons I comend humbly to your L as the true discharge of mi dutye to God & the Q. majestie. And to ad to these, ther ar a grett nomber com over of Papistes, aswell sowdyors & espialles, & ^as^ men of som further conyng, owtt of flanders, who cary grett Imaginacyons in their hed, whose names I knowe, & can poynt att them every day with my finger [fol. 99r] besyde that more ar loked for dayly, so as to conclude there is som grett conspiracie in hand, & som present executyon to be don, which God prevent as he hath don often by your singuler wisdom, & it sufficeth to me that I have sayd this far to your L. for I know not how mi bolldnes may be interpreted, & enmyes I have Inowgh for mi humble zele, having written to your L. of late of certain massemongers & of suche as have byn maryed allso by masse, whose delyngs ar suche as canott be without the mischeeff of Treson & conspiracye, yett towching these flanders espialles, I sent on unto sir wallter mylldmay, who hath bin in the Dukes camp, & hath apprehended on or ij of the knott./ Here is a lre within enclosed which Thomas fayre sent me owtt of the marshallsea, desirows to speke & conferre with me, wherof I was to have spoken with your L. & if ye thinck good I will repayre unto hym, for ytt may be that he will revele som secretts, unto me aswell of the Papists that be there, with whom he is grett, as allso that he [ deleted: hath] ^may have^ som remaynes of his spanish practises in his brest, which doth move me the more, in respect of these [ Marginalia (by Herle): Raphe Skydmor is a suspected fellow Melchior mallery a spye that huntes the Court for the D. of Alba &c./] late & secrett advertisments owt of Spayne, which expresse the malyce that is borne to her majestie & her Estate./ Thus humbly taking mi leve, I [ deleted: will do] have to delyver unto master Blythe the warrant for R Smiths stallment, thancking your L. most humbly for the honorable goodnes that ye shewed to me in obteyneng of it, butt seing that the party canott performe, his promis ‡ [ Marginalia (by Herle): ‡ to her majestie ] I beseche your L. to restore it to the Q. majestie ^agayn^ being sory that she shold lese somuche by hym. which riseth ^the verey losse^ to 3300 li at the lest, & to prevent this lesse, was on occasyon of mi humble sute, which might aswell have byn good servyse to her majestie as proffitable to me, ones the Cawse hath undon me, havyng nether peny nor Credite lefte me, to mayntayne mi wretched state ^withall^ , butt her majesties gracyowsnes was noles to me than if I had the [ ... ] by it in dede for whom & for your L. God is mi judge, I dayly pray, with all the devotyon I may, in haste from London at viij of the clock at night 26 ^o^ . february. 1572. your L. most humbly W. Herlle.