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Transcript ID: HRL/002/HTML/218

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SP 15/12/76 f. 219r - 222v. William Herle to Lord Burghley. These pages are sewn into a booklet, possibly by Herle at the time of sending. The text begins on f. 220r. 
Address Leaf:
[Endorsement by Herle:] 3. Augusti 1565 William Herles declaratyon.
Letter Text:
[fol. 220r] Th'occasyon, Right honorable, whye I was in Wyllsons ship, grew of som money due unto [ deleted: hym by] me ^by hym^ promised to be paid within on moneth with gayne, so He toke ani just prise in the servyce of Swethen, thus in respect to advance myne own, was mi being in the ship, nether as owner, captayn, vttayler, adventurer, nor servytor, all the rest being sworne to the sayd servyce (theyre allegyance to their naturall soveraigne reserved) & this may prove me ^justly^ to be none of them. But seing they had byn vj or vij wekes [ deleted: I determyned] without purchasse, I determyned to leve them & so from the trade I cam to waymowth in on Moncks ship of Lyn, havyng bin Awthor whyle I was with them & no lewd fact was comitted by the maryners, so as I & willson ran in danger to have byn cast over bord, but stayeng theyr doings further & further, xij of them att on clap departed with the bote, wherbye the government was the better afterwards. Agayn they had in possessyon a hulke laden with wod, worth vij M. li beryng grett presumpcyon of Lubysshe & danisshe goods, this person [dd] I to be relesed without demunityon of on jd, which trulye may declare bothe mi zele unto the truthe, & mi presence to have wrought good. And whyle I was with them, onlye on tonne of whyte wyne was taken of a flemyng for vyttayl, & a cable was changed for jd which morehowse made a byll of [fol. 220v] vijli for th'exchange, & vli I thinck for his wyne, bycawse it was no better than Rochell wyne. Allso of a frencheman of Feckham was had for vyttayll a hogshed of wyne & a barrell of powdred gurnards, Recevyng a byll for the same of morehowse amowntyng to ten frenche crownes, which was all (as I remember) that was taken tyll I departed from them, being [bette] to affirme uppon my peryll that nothing was taken but vyttaill whyle I was there.

Now being att Waymowth with menyng the next daye to have departed towards London, had I word from willson thatt they had taken a danskers laden with sallt, a just prise, wherin If [ deleted: they] I wold repayre [ deleted: thether] ^to the wyght^ the satisfactyon of mi money shold be made which occasyoned me to ryde thither, & conferryng there with willson I perused the shippers wrytengs, bycawse these were in the dutche tong, I departed agayn towards London, but in the waye was [ deleted: suspected as] stayed by the vyceadmiralls man as suspect to be on of willsons ship, & theruppon provyng that to the contrarye by willsons lre with the justifycatyon of the rest, I offred to the vyce admirall to com up to mi L. Admirall, so I might seme to do it ^frelye^ without compulsyon, lastlye I offred to perswade willson to com in, so uppon mi bond I might be permitted to go unto hym, havyng well wrought in the same tyll the maryners percevyng our intent, nether wold suffer hym [fol. 221r] to agre mi waye, nor me to retorne, the which allso was objected by on Brymsbye to the vyce admirall before mi dispatche to the ship, & yet we thought mete to procede ^to the same^ notwithstandyng, now being this caryed awaye, which was proved before mi L Admirall of late by on bell a gentyllman, they retorned to waymowth, being styll in that degre of dutifulnes to their prince, as they wold do nothing which were unsemelye, & wher they fownd a hulke of grett prise in portland rode, suche a on as was by theyr comissyon good prise, for respect of the place they wold not ones towche her, though otherwise they might most easelye have taken her, wherbye she escaped / In this degre of delyng dyd I leve theme att margate the tewsday being third daye of julye, protestyng uppon mi extreme peryll, that I never had on jd that cam of theyr salt, but rather at night lent Wyllson ixs of myne owne, he employeng all his own money in vyttayleng of his ship. mary I procured that the dansker had his ship agayn with half of his salt, that iff the same cowd not be proved just prise, that then he to be answerable for his rawnsom & his mennes, which they confessed to be due, wherof that salt which willson had alredye sold, shold be in parte of payment. amowntyng to a C marks & upwards. This right honorable is nott onlye a breff discowrse of the [fol. 221v] holle, butt allso most true, being hable further from the thyrd of Julye to this daye to make a dyarye despcriptyon, where I have byn & in what companye, for the same was thistant when I departed from this ship with last adieu not knowyng what is comitted synce, & yett not hable to condempne theme seing therbe more abrode bothe frenchment & scotts, & havyng their solempne promys they wold nott discredyte theme selves & their contrye by ani yll fact, nether that waye undo theme selves, but rather repayr far of into Swethen. And for myne own parte I com frelye in uppon your honors assurance, to justeffye my doings, & to difface my accusers, aswell to acqwite your honor to the Qwenes majestie, being that waye allwayes mi prefferer, as to discharge my pore honestye everye waye. Consydering whatt a reproche it is to thentretye of the traffyck, yf I justlye might be charged with this. Requireng therfore most humblye to plede my case in lybertye (accordyng to promys) & if I may be justlye towched, I require no favor byt extreme deth, for my emprisonment shold be my undoing, where otherwise mi frynds mene well unto me, but I know your honors ^word^ to be suffycyent to me, & hitherto to hathe byn allwayes invyolate. your honors most humblye. W. Herlle.

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