Transcript

[fol. 177r] I do bere (mi right honorable good L:) with incredyble greeff of mynde this long deprivatyon of me & my dutye from your noble presens: whiles I am here detayned with this endles & intrycate cause, which hath had asmany incownters to stoppe & delaye the cowrse, that was labord & pretended therin: as contrarywise your L. & the L. Thresuror have had honorable care to assyste me, & to call of by your sondry lres & favors, the difficulltyes that might newly aryse, aswell to the [actyon] as to me the follower of the same, that have to dele with a multytude. But I had small or no helpe at all of my Comissyoners here, to joyne their travailles & presence (as they undertoke) with the assisters that yt plesed your good LL. to gyve me, wherby I was (to mi greatt charge & consumptyon of time & to the frustratyng of mi industrie & of the Comissions allredy sent me) fooded of these many monethes in vayne, & dryven to trust to mi self, which hath bin the occasyon (my R honorable L.) of my so long & weryesom abode here, as yt were in exyle./ yet humblie thancking your L. for your goodnes during the same, & prayeng in lyke humblenes the contynuance therof, according to your accustomed noblenes ever most honorablie disposed [to] me./ master osburne will I hope, attend upon your L. to gyve yow a fuller accompte of the partycularities hereunto appertayneng, & what further is reqwsyte therein, wherwith I wolld be bothe towching the same to troble your weightye affayres by longer discowrse in wryteng than becomes me, namely in so busye a season as this is./ but the case is suche, as I holld plainly, the wollff by the [ deleted: eies] ^eres^ , nether in surety to let go that I holld, nor well hable to holld faste that I have, by reson of thexpencs & manyfolld boylles that do [surcheape] me, havyng no supplye but myne own, to support the length & weight of the same,/ yet I do send up this mesenger George wythers of purpose, to have a warrant from the feoffies to be enhabled therby to conclude with the [contry] for the price & daies of payment: without which had, they will procede no further with me therin, for ani reson [or] argument I can make, to the contrary for that I have no awthoryty (they say) to determyne or resollve of the [fol. 177v] premisses unles yt com from the feoffies./ wherwith I have shewed my self offended, for that they had not made this demaund in the begynneng, & not reserved yt for of a certaine connyng & malyce this long, to consume tyme & expencs wherof (poore sowll) as I sayd, I had lyttel neede [ deleted: &] ^to^ have bin further aggravated therby./ But upon the receipt of the sayd warrants, they have generally assured me bothe by speeche & wryteng & so have they don master Osburne by their lre, sent nowe upp with this bearer, that they will undelaydlye & with out more Cavyll com to a good price for the feeffarme, assone as they se me awthorysed to dele absolutely with theme, for those ij poynts before suggested./ notwithstanding they be terryble affrayd (for all their hollding of & disableng the valew of the thing) lest we sholld procede to extend the comission for the Arreraigs, & for the settling of this rent demaunded by the pattent./ The some that will rise of this bargaine wilbe abowt ij m. li I hope, for they be allredy (in som private sort) com to xviij C li so there be sufficyent tyme and yeres gyven for the payment of the same: which is the uttermost poynt mi good L. that I cowd bring theme unto, or am hable as yet to certeffye your L. of in certaynty.

Master S [ ... ] foxe thinckes grett unkindenes in me, that by my medyatyon he was made acqwainted with your L. & was promised assuredly to have had okely parck passed in your L. booke to his use, chargyng me with your lres & messaigs that I browght him to that effect: & yet ij yeres be passed, & nothing don theryn he sayeth./ His sonne, detayned so long in prison, without help, hym self oppressed strangely in his office of late by yong Grevell: The Comptroller crossyng of him, & stomackyng of his frends, since he deppended of your L. & he unsure on whom to relye in suche uncertayntye as he fyndes, somtyme wysheng my L. Thresurors frendship & somtyme my L. Chancelors or bothe: so that the man is perplexed in mynde, who trulye my L. is not to be loste, for yf ye intertayne him well, I dare bring yow ij m.li in lone from him, to supplye any nede of yours within 3. weekes warning, when ye shall have cawse to use the same. He remembers the words, ye vowchesaved [ ... ] to his man E [dward] Hughes at Grenewhich: that yow had fownde his master a frind, not of shewe (suche as be in Cowrt) but of substance indede, suche as your L. wolld respect & cowntenance with the best credyte ye had./ he supposeth that [fol. 178r] Baynam hindred him for okeley parcke, but I putt that out his hedd & have buylded a new assurance in him for the same so he forbere till my goyng up to sturre any more in the matter which your L. shalbe easely hable to compasse, by suche mene as I can shewe yow, whereof I can serve to be the ynstrument to my L. Thresuror & master Chauncellor to induce theme (as I am nowe instructed) the rather therunto./ I have expressely signeffyed to the sayd master s [ ... ] foxe, that your L. had appoynted me of your own honorable motyon & care many tymes [ Marginalia (by Herle): had of hym] to sollycyte his cawses with yow, having supposed of late when I cam downe hither, that I sholld not have bin at the uttermost vj weeks absent from the Cowrt. & that therfore the fawte of this slacknes was myne & not yowres: whom the myddest of so highe affayres as yow had, cowd not remember all things without a [ deleted: solliciter] ^mene^ nether was your L. accustomed to ymparte the things that were private, betwen yow & those that ar made reckennyng of, but where yt appertayned, which was his owne reqwest allso made to me, from the begyneng, wherwith I satisfyed him, shewyng orderly howe man stoppes the sayd partycular had, in the rating of your L. booke & that ye long persisted to have had yt passe, & thowght yt good in the end to reffer yt over, to a more convenyent tyme. Therfore if yt might plese your L. now by this bearer, withowt takyng knowledge the premisse. to wryte me hallf a dosyn lynes as thowgh [ye] had wrytten to me beffore, to the lyke effect of your honorable & lovyng care had of him & that your L. marvaylles of my long staye here, gyveng unto me therwith suche words in the sayd lre, as might conffirme him, & make me in credyte appere hable to do your L. better service hereafter this were in my poore oppinion verey necessary for the person & cawse.

The awncyent factyon slepes not, but hathe instruments aswell here as ells where, by whom sondrie brutes ar raysed against your L. whom I hope god will preserve, notwithstanding the dangerowes platts that seme by them to be rype for executyon, & layd to bring in sturres & ynovatyons at this presente to troble the States with & therby to supplant grett personaigs./ my harte is [woe] that [ ... ] were not for on vj howres with your L. to open som whatt to yow by mowthe of moment & learned here, that I may not comyt to wryteng. Besyde that yf I were nowe at London, I do assure me, that I cowd do her majestie that service (of a mene parson) that wolld be necessary for her, & sholld satisfie your L. grettly: but suche is my estate, that beyng lowe, I am subject to this wrong allso, to be absent then from your [view] when the cause & my devotyon did most comaund yt, yet yt may plese your L. to yntertayne som hallf worde of me in good remembrance

[fol. 178v] yf du vraye resort to you as he was wont, which may serve som torne hereafter./

My detts be grett wherwith my conscyens is still occupyed & my mynde even pressed with the conseytt of theme, And this feeffarme (though yt yelde ij mli. will do no more but answere them. therfore I most yntreatt humbly that favor by your honorable medyatyon to be lycensed to departe the Realm [ Marginalia (by ): [my] detts ones stalled & [ ... ] nothing lefte for my [mayntenance] further here ] to gett som where a poore lyveng with credyte abrode, being must desyrowes (yf your L. so vowchesave) to travell with master Drake in his jorney, where lyveng or dyeng yow shall fynde in me contynaully a trulye devoted creature of your L. Having presumed to wryte to yow [son] drie lres since my beyng here, but cowd not understand howe your L. plesed to accept theme.

On Last reqwest I have humbly to make unto your L. that ye wold presently vowchesave to send for Thomas Wade of Greyes Inne to the end that by your honorable goodnes [ deleted: his] he might staye his sute comenced against me in the Q. benche till these things be ordered here, & his dett conseqwentlie stalled by the feoffies. beyng otherwise unreasonable to demaund (as he dothe) for 50 li. that remaynes the advayntaige of a mli./ & to enjoye therwith the whole privilege of the oylles & sulphure besyde, which was myne & not his fathers./ There be ij poore men that were bownd at my delyvery to answere me furth comyng to his actyon, who without this staye had of the lawe, by your L. menes, who have payed 50. li to him allredy of the dett he claymes. they ar subject to his arrest, & conseqwently undon & I with theme./ wherwith verey humbly fynessheng, I comend your L. to the mighty protectyon of the highe god, mowntgomery the xvj of Aprill. 1581. your L. with his prayer & service during lyffe. W. Herlleli.