[fol. 190r] R honorable good L. I have understood by the Erlle of Bedfford, (to whose favor & goodnes, I am grettly beholldyng) that he in movyng your L. of me in som maner, ytt plesed yow so to lyke therof, as bothe ye gave him thancks, [ deleted: &] on mi behallf, & promised of your sellf to do me som speciall good, asswell for som present releeff, & beteryng of mi poore estate, as for som office to be bestowed uppon me herafter, when the opportunitye were offered, for the which R honorable L. & my deer Patron, I was to have gyven yow mi dew & humble thancks, butt that your grett & weightye affayres, have ymposed unto me a modestye, that in place of dutye I shall nott be troblesom to your L. to whom it suffiseth to knowe, that when mi service & nott mi woords, may humblye waytt uppon your L. I will nott be slowe to offer the same, & to parfforme even with mi lyfe all the good offices that so mene a man is hable to present, owyng all that I have or am lyke to have to your good L. only./
Since the writeng of mi last lre unto you I dowtt nott butt that your L. hath fullye perceved, how mi judgement doth sqware with the sufficyencye of these Sweden Ambassaders, wheryn it may be, that I have nott swarved muche from that which your L. in negociatyng with them, hathe fownd./ Archeballd duglasse & Kithe have had pryvate confference secrettly together, butt the difference of their wyttes & habilytyes ar far dyfferent, albeit that Kythe wants no will to be eqwall with the first, butt that his spirite canott cary his malyce so highe./ he tempers to be gratefull to the scottish Q. & hath an intencyon to visite Scottland in his waye homeward, butt the scottissh K. hates the Swedens of all other nacyons, namely for the massacre of the Erlle of Ruthensson, & of so mani valyant sowdyers as had served under him of the scottisshemen, agaynst the K. of denmarcke, & wer in sute of their wages (having [fol. 191v] had muche dew unto them) in the end payd with very fowle & trecherows murther./
The sayd Archeballd duglasse is to be looked unto, for he is a very practiser: of the scottish Q. factyon, & yett ynsynuates him sellf into an oppynion of her majesties service, being in truthe a Cowntermynder (under colowr therof) of all the occasyons & secretts that he may Reche unto, for the advauncement of the sayd scottish Q. his mistresse tytell, & her present Raigne yf it might be./ he hath dellt coninglye with som men of good sorte, to drawe theme to the scottish Q parts, & mi sellf have byn offred money largely, presumyng belyke that I had neede, & theruppon yf I had Tasted ones of that liberalitye, som matter haply might have byn ymparted with me, which otherwise they wolld make me a stranger in. I know som of his Instruments, & part of his jawnts.
The cheef marck that is shott att, is her majesties person, whom God doth & will preserve, according to her confydent trust in him./ The d. of Gwise is the director of the actyon, & the Pope is to confferre the Kingdom by his gyffte, uppon suche a on as is to mary with the scottish Q. so as she shall nott be [ deleted: establisshed] esteemed Q. by her own right & pretensyons, butt meerely by the Popes collucyon, wherby the fere of the yong scottissh K. Religyon is provyded for, & he barred by & mayne./ Owr practisers wolld be ayded of suche a forein power, as sholld nott afterwards be hable to comande theme here, yett dyrected by suche heddes for martiall skyll, as sholld supplye [ deleted: the nomber] in the nomber of their own, whatt [wanted] in strangers, presumyng grettly of wellthe & multitude, which practises (under pardon of mi zele) will hardly cesse, while the knowen serpent is norisshed in the bosom of our Reallme, havyng the Arte to ynchawnte all her kepers, & brethes nothing elles butt poyson, which abrode butt [fol. 191r] hissing (her uglynes ones truly sene) wolld torne to her owne Ruyne, & theirs who were most tender of her./ The d. of Gwise, yf her platt here (which God confownd) were erected, he sholld be in the redy waye to assure him sellf of the Crown ^of^ frawnce, the valew & hope of the howse of valoys beyng so nere extingwisshed, & the tytell of the K. of Naverne, beyng so ferefull & dangerows bothe for Rome & Spayne, yf monsieur or the frenche K. were owtt of the waye. which in substance, is the som of their present Trecheryes & projects to be hatched, butt that God doth miraculowsly discover & dyvert their malyce, & is the absolute deffender of her majesty. The case, & the premisse allso I humbly lay down beffore your wisdom, & do pray pardon for mi bolldnes, butt with condycyon that mi carkasse might serve for a plaster allso, for ani dedlye sore that might conserne the kyngdom or magistrate, which in Religyon, God & dutye to her majestie I [ deleted: wold] utter in all humble zele & [ deleted: truther] ^truthe^ /The L. Henry Howard, is supposed to be a preest, wherof there be mani presumpcyons, & that ^further^ he is in the secrett Register of the popes cardynalles./ ytt is he that advised Cymiers to procede by the papists to establysh his master here, & to purge Religion by the blood of sondry of our grettest howses in England, & that he sholld stand stowttlye to have the artycle of fredom for Religyon grawnted, for that her majestie he sayd, was nott resollved of what Religyon yett to be of, A [ deleted: voyce] voyce that favord of his own Blasphemye & vyle nature./
There is on of his blood, that this somer hath Receved lres & Reliqwes from beyond the seas, & hath att this present a notable Jesuite [ Marginalia (by Herle): (among all the Jesuites)] desgysed in his servyce, of whose name & the particularityes besyde, your L. shall with convenyent speede [fol. 191v] be secrettlye & faythfylly advertised, for whye it ymports her majestie [ Marginalia (by Herle): I do send on into the contry specially about this] to be well informed therof, & so do I delyver it to your L. a grette Cowncellor. sub sigille confessionis./
Of frawncs Throckmorton, I advertised master secretorye this last somer, whatt secrett resorts he had to the french ambassader, whatt Long & pryvat conferencs, att seasons suspyceows, & of his beyng att masse their att severall tymes. he is a partye very busy & an enemye to the present State. his kinseman Sir N. elldest son, dyned on sonday (yf I mistake nott the daye) with the frenche Ambassador & cam att suche tyme as the Table was sett, beyng muche made of then & respected, entryng into pryvate conference with the sayd Ambassador after dyner./
Frawncs Throckmortons brother & on dygby of Lyncollnes Yn, bothe papists & noted [ deleted: of] to carye yll & busy myndes, do yntend to depart the Reallme within these 3. dayes as slylye as they may. who in mi oppynion, wolld be observed well att the howre of their passayge, And thus havyng trobled your L. overmuche, I crave hartlye humble pardon for the same, And incase that your L. do finde me fytt to be employed in ani matter, that the tyme or her majesties service may ^now^ reqwire, I will faythfullye discharge whatt your L. shall plese to comande me, on that behallf, prayng God most hartlye uppon mi knees to blesse her majestie with his grace & long lyfe, & your L. ^with^ hellthe contynuallye to serve her. mi lodgyng. the 15. of november. 1583. the Bullhed withowt Temple Barre./ your L. most Bownden. W Herllely.
