Transcript

[fol. 82r] Abowtt midnight mi Lord, I cam to Charlles chamber dore, alledging that the gentillman his neighbor was haply com that night to lye in his Chamber, which had opened the occasyon to me so to have free accesse unto hym, yett shewing grett fere to mi self, butt comfortyng hym in that I might, reserving of purpose the B. lre, whose cipher I gave your L. yesternight, till I might fully know hys mynde towchyng those poynts the B. reqwired me to know att his hands, yett tellyng hym that I had a lre for hym, cowd nott finde it in the darke, & durst nott seke it for my chamber fellowes, which unhaply I had forgotten to putt a part beffore night, wheratt he was importunate to have it by & by, butt I told hym there was no remedy tyll the mornyng. And demanding of hym in the B. name whither he had byn examyned who gave hym the male, & whither he had confessed it was hamellton & lastly whither his examinatyon extended not to know whatt delyng he had with the english rebelles, att which word he was so astonyed, as albeit [ deleted: though] there were no light ^his allteracion was apparent & falling^ [ deleted: he fell] into A sodein trembling & to suche a faltryng of his tong, as in som whyle he cowd expresse nothyng well, butt in th'end he axed, whye then hath nott mi Lord his lres? which I answerd yes, butt that before he had receved them, he wrytt me a lre to that end, & used the like speche by mowth or he had deciphred the sayd lres, & this was th'occasyon, yett hallf stamryng he sayd that he had confessed nothyng of hammellton, butt for the rebelles he detested them, & knew no one of them, using suche vehement passion in speking of them, as though they had byn fellowes to the devyll, & that the executyoner had bin by to have promised som present fawtt, like to escape his mowth [sayeng] in dede that your L. had threttned hym dethe or att lest wise the losse of his eres, [and this] stickes depe in his breste, wheruppon your L. may worke dowttles the whole [discoverye] namely if I be comitted close prisoner & examined uppon these articles, which I exhibyt herewith a matter noway deniable by mani proffes. And in this place I glawnsed att some secrett kinde of wryteng, to passe by his mene bettwixt us, butt he gave verey cold answer. Then I told hym of ij speciall frynds I had among the rebelles, whose chance I lamented grevously, desirows only ^to know^ how they dyd & whatt life [ deleted: &] they led & where; th'one [ deleted: whose] was the Cowntesse of northumberland, whose pore kinseman I was by the Somersetts, & the other a companion of myne Thomas Jeny, butt he cowd endure no motyon of them att all, protesting he never knew them, nor understode whatt names I ment by them, wheratt reconcileng hym with more plawsible & sweter matter I left hym contented & so departed for that night. Now this mornyng knowing whatt tyme he shold com furth I conveyed mi sellf secrettly beffore into the privey in the gardein, where I delyvered hym the B. lre, who with grett joye receving it, promised answer in th'affter noone, butt still harping uppon a certayn fere to lese his eares I confirmed hym agayn, [ deleted: repayreng in ] butt in being espyed com from the privey by john grey that attends uppon hym, I was sharply reproved by hym, which I excused by medecine & by the solublenes of mi body that risse therof, repaireng in the affter noone to Axe alley, where he cast me owtt of the grate an answer to the B. lre, which I present herewith & menyng to have caste up a lre of myne owne, whose copi is here also I was espied by a bakers wife who objected to me ytt cowd be no honest matter that I offred in so unffytt a place, [ deleted: when] which she wold declare unto the keper, butt I gave the best words I cowd, & so departeng delyvered the sayd lre under Charles stayres dore to hys own hands, who within a [ deleted: whyle] whyle after delyvered me an answer to the same, which also I have here with me. 24 ^o^ Aprilis 1571.