[fol. 224r] For that Right honorable, these grett Robryes of late, ar charged to be mi facte & spoyll, & so Roverlyke to have kept the passage of the hoyes at Lands end, it shalbe necessarye to that mi former declaratyon exhibited yesterdaye to your honor, to ad noles a further & a dyarye justificatyon of mi self, where daye by daye I have byn from tewsdaye the third of this present moneth Julye (for then I departed the ship) to this tyme that we ar now yn. for seing the Q. majestie [prove] most justlye, by so grevous & dooble crymes, for vyolatyng her stremes & offence to her dere frynds, I shold thinck mi self an unhappye man, yf ether I dyd partake ani thing that waye, or concede ani thing in the rest.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): iij ^o^ et - iii ^o^ Julij.] Therfore comyng to the matter, I lay & supped the sayd tewsday at night in Margate with a vyttayler there, & by ocupatyon a shewmaker, nether desgysed as som pretend nor yet unknowen in that towne, departyng erlye the next mornyng on foote to Sandwiche, there dyneng in on harrysons howse a goner (for so I thinck he be called) accompanyed of certayn burgonyons & flemyngs, & after dyner Imedyatelye departed on horseback to Canterburye, ^&^ with me a flemisshe dyer of Sandwiche. Att fyshers howse I lyghted, & hyred new horse to Rochester metyng by the waye att Bollten hyll, with yong master Sadler, & somwhat further with the Baylye of dover, who claymeng som money of me, & thretnyng not to part before he had satisfactyon, this forced me, lveyng mi right way, to divert by fevershame into Sheppey over the [Rd] ferrye, att which ferrye I lay that night, giveng order for the retorne of mi horse.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): quinto Julij.] The next day which was thursday, I & myne host was occupyed in hyreng of a bote to London, & went iiij myles of to Tenam, but theyr bots being stayed to carye the Qwenes cheryes, we retorned to the ferye in vayn & lay there that night allso.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): vj ^o^ Julij.] But the fryday mornyng had myne host by breke of day, procured on Grene of Qwynborough a hebber man, to carye me up to blackwall for xijs, striving all that day with stormye wether & contrarye wynds, as scarse we cowd Reche to [fol. 224v] Erith, yett there we reposed that night in on Christofer Turners howse, from whence after supper, I visyted myne old ladye of Shrewsburye, with whom I [ deleted: was] have acqwayntance by mene of yong master Compton.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): vij ^o^ Julij.] The next mornyng we departed erlye & cam to Blackwall, from whence goyng to Lymehowse, I toke with me a long this hebber man Grene, & with a pece of [Skyll] cam to St Toolyes, & thence to my lodging in St Marye overs churche yard on of sir harrye Sydneyes men called pawll, of whose wyfe I had money to pay mi [bethyce] from Sheppey, a good argument that I caryed no spoyll with me, muche les ani somes of money, as is pretended, wherin lett this perswade the better in the rest, as an infallible rule to lede vnto the truthe.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): continuato a vij ^o^ [ ... ] ad xiij Julij.] There I contynued tyll fryday followyng, in company of honest gentyllmen & well knowen, as master henrye Istely of kent, John Thomas of Lyncolln shire, Champneyes of Bexley, the Petts of Semeck, Totshurst of Chepstade, walker of Ottford, & Blentt of St marye overs closse & dyverse other, nott kepyng my self hyd to the world, nor yett so hollye open, but that I ferd the vyolence of mi Credyters, yett withall I went abrode att tymes.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xiij ^o^ Julij.] Now the same fryday mencyoned to passe furth the tyme, I went down the River as far as Lee, in company of master Blent & on Corbett his neighbor, havyng a pece with us to shoote att fowll & mete to make merye withall.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xiiij ^o^ Julij.] The satterday being the xiiij of Julye, master Blont for busynes he had forgotten, retorned to London & I with Corbett & our fowlyng pece went down to Tenam in Kent, ij myles from Syttingburne, where that night we lay in the alehowse.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): continuato a xv ^o^ usq ad xx Julij.] Then from sonday tyll fryday followyng, were we contynuallye with on good man Michell of ^the sayd^ Tenam.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xx ^o^ Julij.] And fryday mornyng cam back agayn to Greyes in Essex, stayeng there from vj of the clock in the mornyng tyll xij att none in the Constables howse, comyng up that night by vij of the clock with the tyde bote to Blents howse, & then hard I this grett matter of the pyracye Ryfe, & mi name wonderfullye blasted abrode, to my extreme danger, as I perswaded mi self, yf I were ones taken, whither it were right or wrong, my cases so dependyng whatt on grett dett of th'one syde, [fol. 225r] & present necessitye of th'other, as every waye I was betwen thannevyld & the hamer, & lastly noway left to deffend mi self: mi hope agayn shold be taken away, yf I were ones imprisoned, & mi frynds, who otherwise well [intent] unto me, utterlye discoraiged.
[ Marginalia (by Her;e): xvj ^o^ Julij.] The satterday I contynued to be better informed of the case, but when I ones understode that your honor had sent for me, I thought no tyme to be then detracted, nor ani peryll so grett as might stay the discharge of my dutye.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xxij ^o^ Julij.] So as on sonday followyng, I repayred to master wade att hamsted, there discovering mi self francklye, that if I might plede mi case on fre foote & ^in^ lybertye, I wold as franckly present mi self to your honor, without ani exceptyon att all, butt to be justeffyed even. Summo [Iure] . so this were mayntayned, which with grett reson I semed to crave, who in dede rejoyseng att mi offer, dyd promis to sollycite the same to your honor, with that confydence that mi honest purgatyon shold as muche satisfffye yow, as the gayn of a M marks, wissheng me towards thursdaye to attend his answer, for that he [ deleted: sayd] had to ryde owt of the town tyll then, assuryng me yf he wrate for me, not to dowtt of ani thing, but as reposing in your honor to com Imedyatelye away, wherwith I departed fullye contented.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xxiij ^o^ Julij.] On monday, I thought mete for mi further securytye, to provyde mi self som place owt of that towne, lest whyle mi declaratyon were to make, I might haply by a further trayn of my credyters, be snatched up by the waye, therfore in th'after none went downt to Erith with master blent, Corbett, & a couple mo, havyng both spanyells & gon for the fowll to passe away the tyme, that night we cam to master Champneys howse att Bexley.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xxiiij ^o^ Julij.] On tewsday we departed on fote to Sennock by Sir percivall harts howse, but we dyned at Senock with master pett. Borrowyng there horses & ryd that night to the manor of Powll (a myle from Pensers) the same being master blents manor, I mynded there to tarye my answer.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): continuato a xxiiij ^o^ usq ad xxvijm. Julij.] Contynueng with hym tyll thursday att night, then willed with spede to repayr unto master wade, who had taken order suffycyentlye for me (as was wrytten) wherwith Imedyately though excedyng yll att ease, & tormented of mi leg yett cessed not that night to ryde to London, master blent & his man accompanyeng me.
[ Marginalia (by Herle): xxviij ^o^ Julij.] The next day I was forced all day to kepe mi bed, with extreme payn & dissease,
[fol. 225v] [ Marginalia (by Herle): Continuato usq ad presentem diem xxxjm. Julij.] Butt on [ deleted: tewsday] satterday, procured mi self to horseback, & nott fyndeng master wade at Bellsers, I sought hym in London so long, lest by metyng with hym, I was assured of your honors promis, to com saffe & retorne ^saffe^ , & have mi case hard as frelye as I might desyre, wheruppon sir, I fully deppend, & other favor I require nott, & thus have I simplye & frelye presented mi self yesterday to your honor, which is the trew discowrse of mi tyme spent hitherto: yf now, they can charge me ani thing further, I am prest to give a farther accompte & answer it every waye, hopyng that where they wold prevayll with untrue tales to so grett personags as the Cowncell of England be, & fylleng the world besyde with untrue rumors, they may the rather be tawght another tyme, by som admonityon now, to be more modest in affyrmeng, where the interest of Princs doth somuche depend, not without som reparatyon of mi damags & discredyte sustayned heryn, withall those that yett have hard of mi name, as a man most infamows, more otherwise than the law of theyr own contrey doth prescrybe, for theyr accusatyon doth import me noles than mi lyfe, the which being improved, they shold answer me there, with the lyke pledge agayn. And certaynly to say whatt I thinck, that nether wyllsons ship is she that hath made this spoyll, nor yett those partyes within her ar to be towched, as they describe the matter. for a Crayer say they with a ship bote abborded them, where in dede that ship had never ani crayer attending uppon her, nor yett the mene to procure on, mary a ship bote they have, an unlykely thing notwithstandyng to be used in such attempts, but your honor may decyfer it better att leysure, most humblye comendyng mi cases to your protectyon, for there is no money left to wade for me, not yett frynds in this, who otherwise notwithstandyng whilbe glad perhaps, to restore me ones a foote agayn, so now I trye my self honest & remayn fre. wherof for God sake sir, consyder accordynglye. in London the xxxj of Julye. 1565 Your honors most humblye. W. Herlle.
