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SP 83/15/47 f. 110r - 111v. William Herle to Lord Burghley. 
Address Leaf:
[Superscription:] To the R. honorable mi verey good Lord the L. hyghe Thresuror of England &c. gyve these with spede att the Cowrtt./
[Endorsement by Herle:] by Master Anthony Mylldmay
[Endorsement by unknown hand:] 7 marche 1581 William Herle to my L. from Anwerpe. [ deleted: by master Anthony Mildmay.]
Letter Text:

[fol. 110r] This mornyng R. honorable good L. I was prayed by Powll Buys of [ ... ] and to com by x. of the clock to hym, who [ deleted: wryteng] ^uttryng^ many things of his affectyon & dutye to your L.& to the L. of Lecester, And of his desire to do her majestie service (as trewlye he is most honestly ynclyned that waye & is of grett habilitye to performe ytt./

He declared in breeff, that lookyng to the obligatyon that these Contreyes had to her majestie & to the necessitye of this present tyme, he had thowght good to make a motyon to som princpall person here, that a leage might be treated of bettwen her majestie of England, & these contreyes of Holland, Zeland, friseland, & som of the marytyme Townes, for the deffence of ether Estate, & the assurance agaynst suche preparatyons as might be made by sea, by ani of the Adversaryes of the Relygion & comune cawse, which might be suche a Bullwarck, to meete withall the devise of the Enmyes, as bothe it wolld Terriffye & conffownd, & breke their projects beffore they began./

The person that he had moved this unto was of lyke oppynion, & that the platt owght to be substanciallye first layed, & then proceded yn with that respect, that appertayned to so grett a cawse, & suche a princesse as the Q. was, in good substance & secresye, with that contributyon & cawtyon that her majestie sholld ympose, which the sayd Paul Buys desired me to lett your L. & the L. of Lecester understand of beffore [hand] to prepare your wisdoms & favors to consyder whatt were necessarye, to [further] the cowrse therof, when tyme were./ By the which he sayd that the States of [those] Lowe Contreyes, were ever lykelye to fall into the hands of England, & to [deppend] entyerlye of her majestie without her charge, to whom they bare their trew & loyall affectyon, how soever things had their Revolutyon./ further he was nott scrupolows he sayd, that her majestie were made acqwaynted with his pure yntencyon on this behallf, yf your LL. thowght mete in private sort, as of a thing yett undigested, to ymparte the same with her: yett of a matter that wilbe negociated with her, assone as ytt may be browght to maturitye & shape, & that with spede, wher of he willed me that your LL. sholld take knowlege: for he wolld be redy to ani thyng he might for the service of England & his Contrey./

He signeffied further unto me, to be ymparted spedylye to her majestie by your LL. Thatt abowtt 5. wekes past, the K. of Denmarck dispatched secrettlye by shipp ynto Spayne, his principall Cowncellor & Statthollder of Zegembergh from Coppenhagen, called the Riche Henryck Rantzow, for matters (as may be conjectured) prejudiciall to the States of the Lowe Contreyes, & conseqwentlye to England./

The K of Denmarke hath ij vertews in hym that ar Remarkable. The on, that he [is] changeable & heddy, & the other coveteows & busy above mesure, which is the natural disposytyon allso of his mynister Rantzow, A person well knowen to bothe your LL. [by] fame & actyon ./

[fol. 110v] ytt is lyke that in his retorn owtt of Spayne, that he may towch in England, & danyssh shippes ar easelye observed & his person withall.

In Lussborn, where the K. Cowrtt now is, ytt were a slyght matter to decipher hym, & to com a long with hym as a passenger. He is of stature butt mene, not muche here, & that most now be whyte, or most gryssell./

In examynyng of som circumstancs with Paul Buys. I do fynd that the K. of Denmarck hath grevouslye & newlie enhansed his Towll within the Sownd, which the Hollanders, & next theme the Hanze Townes do stomack, & will nott yelld unto./ And herof it may be that the K. of denmarke desyrows to Rateffye & strengthen his doings, by the K. of Spayne agaynst his Rebellyows subjects, dothe by the waye of a dooble comoditye seke to reserve his unlawfull [ deleted: actions] exactyons, & to employe his navye allso in his service, which wolld be as dangerows to her majestie & subjects to suffer, as harmfull to the hollanders & hanse Townes./ Beyng of most peryllows conseqwens that the K. of Sp: shold have ij suche furnisshed & hable navyes att his comandement, as that of denmarke & Swethen, which latter is allredy to be ymployed in ani actyon of his, as may appere by the K. of Swethens own originall lre yntercepted & extant, after it had byn putt in cypher, by the vyceroye of Naples, & then retorned towards the K. of Swethen agayn, who as ye know is an Appostate./

The Martinistes beyng lykewise joyned now every where with the papists, will procure the K. of Denmarke to change som cowrse in this next ymperyall dyett towching the dyfferens in the Relygion, & to be hevye to the protestants, & therby procure others to do the lyke./

[ Marginalia (by Herle): This is ment by certayn magistrates & gentillmen of Gawnt papists that wolld not sware to administer under the d. of allenson, who theruppon ar expullsed the Towne & charged with consipiracye & defectyon.]

Thirdlye, the sayd Paul Buys advertised me, that there were certayn in flanders, whither Townes, or men (for he spake in generall Termes) sowght menes to joyne themesellves with the mallcontents./ Beyng a thyng muche noted withall, that the frenche K. dothe staye so long from sendyng som persons of degree to congratulate with Monsieur, his new Estate: which deffect, with other observatyons doth yncrese suspycyons & diffydencs, of som harme that the State of these things ar to Receve by debilytye, & by the comixture & permission of ij Relygyons, havyng their myndes fixed still towards England, as to a sacred Anchor./

The Enmye makes a Braverye, as thowgh he wolld beseege donkerck, which ys the som of that which passed bettwen Paul Buys & me. Beseching your LL. that I might here from yow with spede, & namelye that I may be hable to yntertaytne the sayd Buis with thankes from her majestie & your LL. who hath byd me saye unto you, that he will (to me alone) ympart all the secretts & actes that shalbe treated here yn Cowncell or elles when abrode./ To the end that her majestie may be served therby comendyng hym sellf with all his hart & dutye to your LL .good favor & remembrance, & so I humblye fynisshe. Andwerpe. the vij ^th^ of marche. 1581. Your L. most humblye. W. Herllely.

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