Transcript

[fol. 53r] Yt may plese your good L. to call to remembrance, how long it is since her majestie by your honorable mediatyon, gave unto me a lease in reversion, which was att Richemond howse, after the Duke of Northfolk was last apprehended, being now the space of 3 yeres past wellny: which tyme hath bin verey chargeable to me to maintayn mi self, butt specially it hath cost me, sithens that I had your L. warrant for mi sayd lease, in travaileng to seke owt partyculers to fille up the same, better than LXli intending by that precisencs & travayll, to make the most of mi booke, bothe that her majesties giffte might appere the gretter, & that mi Creditors shold be the better answerd therin, to which end I reserve it, howsoever I lyve besyde. Butt mi lack of skylle, how to dele in these matters, made it the derer & harder unto me, & conseqwently to be so long abowtt it, being crushed diverse wayes, when I had gotten ani good notes, ether by Caveatts putt in before, or by the Awditors & other Clerckes, who lye in waytt to bye up bookes good chepe, or elles to hynder them ^in^ that they may: which occupatyon defrawds the Q. majesties liberality mani tymes, & bryngs the proffitt thither, where it is lest deserved, & it hath made me pay 40. markes (besyde mi former chargs) for partyculers only; of the which, by their informatyons to others, & by the nomber of bookes that ar now ^past &^ to passe, I have byn prevented of many, yett in th'end I have collected together & sowed up in on Rolle, (which your L. shall receve by this berer) the particlers contayned in the sayd Rolle, which most humbly & ernestly I comend to your L. that yow wold vowchesave to rate them with asmuche spede as may be, lest I be prevented agayne, & so driven to a new charge & travayll, which mi state & necessity canott endure: for as God help me, I am driven to borow even from hand to mowth, to fede mi self with all, muche les am I hable to enter into ani new charge, that can scarsely (speking as on that contynueth in a long tempest) bere up the hellme in this, & mi coraige had long er now qwayled, butt that I made cowntenance to mi self, that those which be her majesties enmyes & grevously mi enmyes for her sake, & do pursue me contynually, sholde nott se me drowp att home, butt wold comitt mi self rather to ani hasarde abrode; of whose majesties liberality towards me (as in dede I have abowndantly fellt it) I cesse nott to sett it furth to the uttermost, bothe to them & the rest of the world, & if I had hability, her majestie & your L. shold well perceive that it shold be bestowed uppon suche a on, & uppon her service in suche sorte, as gretter prooff shold follow therof, then might be hoped for from so mene a man. There is allso another cawse, which craves most humbly the soner dispatche: for mani of my Creditors ar so gredy & so inexorable, hoping to have even the extremity of their owne demands (for that they se me now in shew, to have som pore cowntenance in [fol. 53v] the world & like to be prefferrred to som whatt) that they have putt my bonds in sute secrettly, which I understood nott butt of late, & ar like this next terme to prevaill against me, & to bryng me to an owttlawry, unles her majestie & your L. do favorably assiste me, that is to graunte me a Protectyon for a yere, therby to bryng them to som reson & to deffend mi self from prison, & when I have made money of mi booke, your L. shalbe the judge how eqwally & justly I will dele with them & all others. The other sorte of mi Creditors, thowgh they procede nott so hardly; yett the lengthe of the tyme that I have bin in passing of mi sayd booke, & that overthwarts that I have receved therin, hath so weried them, as they ar browght halfe into despaire, & do suppose flattly (according to the maner of merchants) that there is no suche thing towards me att all, butt rather that it is a speche given owtt to cowntenance me by, & that I am content with that only speche & Cowntenance, which hath don me most harme of all: which resons mi good L. do compell me, against mi will & disposityon, yea against mi dutye (consyderyng your weighty affayres) to presse yow for som spedy dispatche, & to beseche your L. most humbly withall, that I maye have mi booke passe for 31. yeres, & where there is somwhatt more than 50li in my sayd booke, that it may nott be stucke att, in respecte of the consyderatyons before alledged: for if otherwise the extraordinary yeres & this littell overplus shold be taken away, the whole booke when it comes from the grett seale (the former & present charge accompted) will nott yelde clene unto me above 250li (Cockes of the Pantry recevyng butt vij yeres fine for his booke) wherof this berer Colman, most have presently deducted [ deleted: owt of mi booke ] 55li in money or value, for dett due unto hym by assignatyon, wherby the remaynes is small to to satisfye other men with, & to releve mi self with somwhatt therof: which is the som of mi humble petycion, as on that hath never byn importunate I hope with your honor before now, butt presumyng rather in your good favor & wisdom, that mi [ deleted: scylens ] humble scylens shold serve me for a sufficyent spokes man in mi affayres, & that your L. beholding mi modesty therin, wold when yow sawe tyme, bothe consider me accordingly, & if nede were move her majestie for me: And other wise I have purposely forborn to troble you with my speche, butt where it was for her majesties servyce, & nott for ani private respect of myne owne. Therfore it may plese your L. to pardon this mi boldnes now, for whom & the Q. majestie I do most humbly & faithfully pray uppon mi knees contynually & dayly. from London this ester monday mornyng 1574. Your L. most humblye. W. Herlleli.