Transcript
Editorial comments:
SP 12/86/36 f. 165r - 166v. William Herle to Lord Burghley.
This letter has a stain/mark in the middle of the page.
Address Leaf:
[Endorsement by unknown hand:]
14. maij.
1572. W. Herle to my L.
Letter Text:
[165r]
I am forced mi good Lord, to make mi humble mone unto yow, as to mi only Patron &
reffuge, & albeit your busynes be so grett att this present, as cawseth me to cary a due
respect therunto, yett mi case is so extreme as can indure no delaye, being by mi late
servyce brought into suche a disdayne & hatred in the world, as besyde these thretts
that I suffer daylye, sondry qwarrells ar made unto me, & mi grettest frynds
vowchesave nott to loke uppon me, wherby these that ar mi Credytors, here so yll
reports of me, & mi self cowntenanced by non in the world, as they pursue me with a
vexatyon worse than dethe it sellf, that they pluck those pore things that I shold eate
even owtt of mi throte, & this stands mi case mi good Lord, nether hable to contynew
in this maner, nor have ani comfort butt in the Q. majestie & your L. which if she
knew mi hard state, wold take som compassion of me, for I am nott in ani danger nor
extremitye butt for her sake, & for the zele I have to her saffety, being before better
thought of by the world, & cowd have wanted no mayntenance nor releeff att mi
frynds hands, which now is decayed, & mi sellf reproched, as though it were a
sacrilege to serve his Prynce or wisshe the preservatyon of the state, which greves me
sorely the more, in that it is thought that whyle servyce is a doing, that the same is very gratefull butt the terme
ones served, that men ar lothesom to their Prynce & the world, & becom a verey
scorne to all other, which discorages other thyngs of gretter importance, & kepes back
by verey fere, the mynds of men to do that good they cowd, But for me surely, I have
don nothing butt that becam me, & if I shold lese x m. lives for her majestie it is mi
dutye so to do, & so will contynew in despite of all malyce, nether hable to deserve
muche, nor yett to clayme ani thing, butt her majesties favor & Cowntenance, whyle I
do well, which if I shold nott have, it is butt mi ylle hap, & no want of her goodnes,
who otherwise bestowes it largely uppon all sorts, & there is non butt hath grett cawse
to comend her gracyowsnes uppon their verey knees, assuryng your L. by allmighty
God, that as I am a pore gentyllman & have a body hable to serve her majestie so mi
mynde doth still pray for her, & if I had wellthe it shold be bestowed in her servyce to
the last peny, Butt among other thyngs, I most nedes complayne of John Smithe,
whom [fol. 165v] I never offended, unles it were for mi carefullnes of the Q. majestie, as
becomes every honest subject for his soveraigne, & now he doth so discredite me in
every place & with every sort of men, as every table in the Cowrt is full of his yll
speches of me, & every noble man & gentyllman warned by hym to take hede of me,
insomuche as I am by his frynds & other poynted att &
[stoned]
as though I were a
Monster, which I am hable to prove to his face, having among other warned Captayn
ward to forbere speking to me butt he answerd hym rowndly, that he estemed me for
an honest true subject & so wold use me whyles he lived, & to other he hath threttned
verey bytterly that I shold be slayne, & that all the men in England shold not save me,
[nor]
those that most favored me, menyng therby the Q. majestie & your L. butt as I know
his vanity & can truly charge hym that he semes to be that he is nott: so fere I nott his
owne sword, unles it be by trechery, & will beseche her majestie that I may prevent
this trechery with due force, before I be vyllaynowsly murderd, And where he may
suppose that I have don hym grett wrong, in this matter objected against hym by John
wright, I am hable to bryng in good wyttnesse to your L. that I charged the sayd John
wright in the begineng to take hede how he accused mi man in so grett matters as he
dyd John smith, whom I comended to be a noble gentyllman, & of grett worthines
bothe in his Contry & abrode wherby it shold appere I sayd, that he cowd nott be
towched with mi infidelity, that ever somuche abhorred it in other, & though the case
were true, yett wold it be hard for hym to be beleved without grett prooff, in respect
of John Smiths credite, mary I tolld hym if it conserned the Q. majesties life, as he
alledged, thatit were most necessary then to be reveled, wherunto he charged me
uppon mi allegiance to utter it to your L. which I dyd by wryteng
[
deleted: unto you]
att Awdley
^end^
collectyng a grett nomber of poynts
[
deleted: the]
which the sayd Wright had instructed me of,
wheruppon your L. comanded me to kepe him furthcomyng, whose chargs in rydeng
to & fro & otherwise coste me xiijli./ & now the pore fellow is in prison verey
miserably, still mayntayneng that he sayd, beseching to be bayled by suretyes, wherin
I have understode so far, whattsoever Smith pretends in Innocencye,
^to the contrary^
, that if
he had his chargs borne, he wold bring furth prooff of the most parte of those thyngs
that he hath alledged,
[
deleted: & will]
from beyond the seas & will putt in bond here for his
retorne, & otherwise have not I deserved ylle of John [fol. 166r] Smith, butt rather did hym a
good turne, when the Erlle of Marche was here, so surely had sent hym a Chartell, &
I had nott with grett travayll & perswasyon paceffied the matter, which was don by me
in respect that I sawe fowlle matter that the sayd Erlle did charge smith
^with^
giveng
hym the lye in the throte, wherin I thought it the parte of an honest man to take awaye
the occasyon betyme, & for no thanckes that I loked for att his hands, butt seing the
wrong he offres me, & the malycyows proceding that he hath in hand, is so vehement,
I do utter thys muche to your L. besechyng of yow as of a Cowncellor Justicer, bothe of
remedy & ayd against hym, And towching my necessity it growes more & more
bothe, without liveng & staye, rather as a vagabond & abject than otherwise
^lesing also mi tyme, the grettest losse of all^
perceving that mi partyclers will take no place, for that I am prevented by othes & so
am I driven to a marvaylows & extreme perplexity, beholding
^withall^
that thys busynes
of the parliament doth hynder all private sutes, & then followes the comyng over
^of^
those noble men, & uppon that the progresse, which I shall not be hable ether to
follow, or other wise to abyde the tyme, yett Thomas waye the keper of the
marshallsea, who is
[
deleted: keper]
privey to mi estate for mi hard troble being brought up by master
Horsey, cost me
[
Marginalia
(by Herle): & mi frynds the laste yere whles I was in the towre that wold have given me a C li. in cattell in wales,
will nott now uppon this mi generall disgrace give me a peny. besyde other expencs & losses sustayned
therby]
a C marke, comforted me a x wekes paste that your L. had a care of me & wold move her
majestie in suche sort
[
deleted: for me]
, as that I shold be hable to live in the world,
[
deleted: for the]
& be owtt of
these detts, for the which I compt mi sellf so beholding to your goodnes, as though I
never have ani thing yett mi pore life shalbe redy to deserve it where I may, beseching
your L. most humbly that if this tyme serve nott for me, to have then your honorable
advice how to retyre mi sellf
[
deleted: owt of the]
from the malyce of mine enmyes, who do
attend to procure mi overthrow, & to triumphe in all they may against me. I am bold
herewith to send to your L. these wrytengs inclosed wherby yow may se that where I had
thought to have obtayned that sute for R
[obert]
smyths suretyes, only for credite sake, for
that it wold have bin a grett cowntenance to me in the Cyttye, I am now thought that I
never delte in it, nor travarsed with your L. & sir Wallter mylldmaye att all, butt have
given them words from tyme to tyme, & there am I reproched of every syde, which is
conyngly furtherd by the Q. majesties adversaryes, to discredite me wholly. And yett I
wilbe bold to tell your L. this muche, that In bringeng the stallment to 500li. a yere, that
I have don her [fol. 166v] good service, assuryng your good L. uppon mi allegiance, that she
shall lese 2000 li. att the lest, besyde the vexatyon & undoing of the suretyes, if this
offer be nott accepted, & so most humbly taking mi leve, I crave pardon for this my
boldnes, in opening mi hard case to your L. even as it is withoutt desgiseng ani thyng,
& so do pray to God for your honorable helthe & for the Q. majesties happy raigne,
from mi lodging the xiij of maye. 1572 ./ your L. most humbly. W. Herllely.