Transcript

[fol. 172r] At the firste time of my conversation with you (good master Herle) my oppinion of your juste and uppright nature, was no lesse than I for my parte have nowe in my chefeste necessitie painelye proved, By the which your Indifferencie and juste auswearinge of the Kings majesties gracious letters, you have purchased no lesse honeste fame, greate praise, And creddite, then you have allso bothe app ^r^ ovidd myne Innocencye, reprovidd my false Calmumniators, And renewed that good oppinion that the kings Majestie hadd allreddy Conceived in me, thewhich that doubtfull Accusation begann to deckaye, Therefore I maye assewre me nowe of your Constant brotherlye frendshipp, bothe by Rewle and by proofe, for the proverbe saith/ that a Sewer frende is tried in a doubtfull matter / And experience theareof I have hadd bothe contrarye to the expectation of myne enemyse, And the doubte of my frends, whearefore even as to the worlde your honeste fame is (by that and such other, your dooings) allreddye blowne abrode So doubte you not but that I by godds grace will with all my Indevor ^seke^ bothe to envye you in gettinge the like, And allso to requite, (as godds lawe and reason dothe teche) by all meanes possible your frendelye and brotherlye affection, And to follow withall my Indevor your good Counsaile, thinkinge my selfe most happie and bounde to god, who ledd me (travailinge in Straunge places) into the consortion and Brotherhood of a younge mann [ ... ] with suche rare verteuse, Besechinge god to continewe the like in us bothe, As conserninge the licence that you desire I hope to gett, And doubte not to have hit in your name yf so be I wolde desier hit, but I think hit not beste, leste heareafter hit shoulde be saide I shoulde hier you, with promes of that, to doo as you have / for the worke is Bothe dangerous and Spitefull, whearefore I have asked hit in myne owne name and hope to have hit veraye Shortelye / And as soone as I have you shalbe assewred of hit, But I dare not be hastie because [fol. 172v] The State is at this tyme so sickle / I have Sente you a horsse I wishe he com safelye unto you, yf theare be any thinge else that you desier wright and as soone as I cann gett hit convaied yee shall have hit, As for the coppie of the letter that you wolde have I Assewer you I neither have nor dare attempt hit for my State is So ^dangerous^ myne ennemyes So Manye my frends so fewe that hit wolde be a mervailous [wieisinge] to theme to finde one spott or faulte to bringe me to my undooinge And not onely me but allso the reste of our poore contrye menn that be heare, for we be now att that case that onely god And the kinges majestie remaineth our deffendor the reste Seke our distrucion with extreme hate, whearefore I think you will not desier hit knowinge the hett nowe As for, Gyuldensterne / hee is com in a littell better favor, And is Sent (with certaine noblemenn more as henry Steme Ireson Duke Johns Uncle, henry Gabriell cristerfo [r] henry sainte Guilte) unto the Lantsgrave, but theie are not yet out of the Countrye whearefore hit maye be chauged as is none other like, The kings majestie staieth his determinacion onelye uppon his posts retourne from Engellande with aunswere of his majesties Laste letters / Gewldensterne was takinge shipp into Engellande, with Silver for paiment of the hole dett but letters Sent [ deleted: from] ^by^ Claudius from Lubicke was the cause of his Steye, the contents wheareof was that hee aught no monneye, but that he wolde ther [...] to marrye the dutches of Somersets daughter and that hee wolde geve here that moneye to here mariadge, And So remaine theare, And that dimock shoulde be considered with him, whearefore hee is kepte heare, And can geatt no passporte, allso used veraye hardely without any [answeare] [fol. 173r] of his monneye untill the poste com from Engellande / Beside that the kinge will not once Speake with him nor yet cann hee bee Suffered to com within the courte gats, hit is also Saide that master Bartewe hathe written as ill as that and worse / Now as for dewke John hee hathe marryed the kinge of poles Sister, and hathe broughte her with him into finnlande, And is veray Stout in his dooings But reverent towards the kings majestie his brother as becometh him, Theare arr certaine appointed to goo too his highnes from this kings majestie to make a genneral ende, And som other have bene with the kinge of pole, But hee wolde have the kinge my master yelde, But his majestie is to Stowte and to riche And the Kinge of poleland perceivinge that / And having inowghe to doo allredye in other places, wolde faine com to daise of trewce, but the kings majestie will in no wise for his majestie will dither make a perpetuall pe ^a^ ce or ells take whatt hee cann gett firste, for hit is ^yett^ towijnge tyll a rodd be made / in the which my thinks his majestie doothe polliticklye thus standeth the case in poleland as yet, And as for the ^earle^ [ deleted: kinge] of tenske here will not com for his ladye, Som Saye the kinge of pole willnot lett him, Som other Saye the kings majestie willnot hee shall have his sister And other thinks hee dare not, And I think theye be all three occasions, Byt the which means the good ladye thakethe greate thowght and is deceived And nowe the more sorowfull for that herr graces Englishe musicians arr comaunded to departe the Countrye Inn home herr highnes marvailously delighted, but theire owne pride and vaineglorie is the occasion of hit, for the which cause and for whose usadge theere maye nowe no [fol. 173v] [ Marginalia (by Geoffrey Preston): of the kings owne mouthe] Englishemann nor Straunger goo into the londise courte or seme to meddle with anye thinge touchinge theire graces otherwise I wolde gladdlye have fullfulled your request the Russes Imbassador hathe bene heare and confirmed the peace made with the Kinges majestie, and departed from Stockholme iij weakes Sence well rewarded of the kinge, And nowe theare is certaine Swedens sent to moskowe conserninge the same matter / now as far fitzharbart he is braught allmoste to the estate of begginge, but our case is not yet ended, for the good ladye Cicilia whose honor hee moste touchid, hathe for pittis Sake desiered the kings majestie that hee might not be called before the lawe, to the ende hee shoulde not receave that shame and punishment that the lawe wolde geave him, the which beinge Graciouslye of the kings majestie graunted yf so be I wolde consent at herr highnes desier I was content, So that he shoulde openlye confesse by his hande wrytinge, that hee knewe none other by me but trewe and uppright service towards my prince, the which I thinke shall shortelye be ended, Charrolus Demournaye hathe clered himself openlye of the vicomts accusations and is Sent embassador Into Rie, the vicomt hathe bene rackt twis but as farr as I cann heare will confesse no thinge, the frenche ar greate about the kinge State and [harbavile] is now goinge of messadge into fraunce but [what] are about I cannot tell, I hartellye thanke you for your laste letters the which the kings majestie did veraye well like, and bothe comended and thanked you, wishing that you wolde wright of the actes of parliament with the firste, you knowe first com best welcom, I praye you faile not to discours of fraunce and other newse as soone as maye be, and I will do the like / nowe as touchinge the kinge and the kinge of denmarke betwene theime hit is peace as yet and none other like to be as farr as I understande of [fol. 174r] Nowe I praye you doo so muche as talke with Roger Ramsdon and take my chaine of him which lieth for 60 dallers for the chaine is at the leste worthe a hundreth dallers, So that my meaninge was that George Starkeye should have hadd the other 40 dallers, and as for the daggs I will not paie him a pennye tell the kinge of Sweden com Into engellande for so was our bargaine then to give v pounds englishe I cannot tell assewredlye what the chaine wayed but I am sewer hit waied betwene 7 and 9 ownces more then thone and less then thother I waied hit not because I mente honestlye Thus god preserve you and Sende you your harts desier from Stokcholme the 22 ^th^ of January An ^o^ 1563 Your assewred frende dewringe lyffe and lovinge brother Geffraye Preston