To the right honorable my very
good Lord the Lord Burghley
Lord Tresorer of Englande
21 September 1592
Countess of Shrowsberry to my Lord
My honorable good Lord; I reseuyd your Lordships lettre on wedensday towards night bein[g]
the xxth of this September, by a seruant of master Iohn Talbotts of Irelande./ My good Lord I w[as]
at the first much trobled to think yat so wicked and mischeuous practises shold be
deuysed to intrap my pore Arbell & me; but I put my trust in thalmighty & wyll vse such
diliagent care, as I dobt not but to preuent whatsoeuer shalbe attempted by any wycked persons
against ye pore chyld./ I am most bounde to hyr majesty yat it pleased hyr to apoynte your Lordship
to giue me knowledge of this wycked practyse, and I humbly thanke your Lordship for
aduertisinge yt, yf any such lyke hereafter be discouered I besech your Lordship I may be forewarned./ I wyll not haue any vnknowen or suspected person to come to my howse, vppon ye least
suspicion that may happen here, any wey, I shall giue aduertisement to your Lordship/ I haue litle resort
to me, my howse is furnished with sufficient company, Arbell walks not late, at such tyme as she
shall take ye ayre, yt shalbe nere the howse, & well attended on, She goeth not to any bodyes howse
atall, I se hyr almost euery howre in the day, she lyeth in my bed chambre, yf I can be more
presise then I haue bene I wylbe./ I am bound in nature to be carefull for Arbell; I find hir
louing & dutyfull to me, yet hire owne good & safety is not derer to me, nor more by me regarded
then to accomplysh hyr majesties pleasure, & yat which I think may be for hyr seruice./ I wold rayther
wyshe many deaths then to se this or any such like wycked attempt to preuayle./ About a yere
since there was on harrison a seminary yat lay at his brothers howse about a myle from hardwyck
whome I thought then to haue caused to bene apprehended & to haue sent hym vp; but found
he had licence for a tyme; notwithstandinge the seminary sone after went from his brothers
finding how much I was discontented with his lyinge so nere me. Since my comming now into the
cuntrey I had some intelligence that the same seminary was come ageyn to hys brothers
howse, my sonn william Cavendysshe went thither of a sudden to make serch for hym, but cold not
find hym./ I wryte thus much to your Lordship yat yf any such trayterus and naughty persons (thoroug hir
majestyes clemency) be suffred to go abroad, yat they may not harbor nere my howses, wyngfeld, hardwik,
nor Chattesworthe, in derbyshyre; they are the likest instruments to put a bad matter in
execution./ On Morley who hath attended on Arbell & red to hyr for the space of thre yere & a half
shoed to be much discontented since my retorn into ye cuntry, in saying he had lyued in hope, to haue som
annuitie graunted him by Arbell out of hyr land during hys lyfe, or some lease of grounds to ye value
of forty pound a yere, alledging yat he was so much damnified by leuing of ye vniuersitie; & now
saw yat if she were wyllinge yet not of abylitye to make him any such assurance. I vnderstanding by
dyuers yat Morley was so much discontented, & withall of late hauing some cause to be dobtfull of his
forwardnes in religion (though I can not charge him with papistry) toke occasion to parte with him/
after he was gone from my howse and all hys stuff caried from hence, the next day he retorned
ageyn, very importunate to serue, without standinge vppon any recompence, which made me more suspicious
& ye wyllinger to parte with hym./ I haue an other in my howse who wyll supply Morleys place
very well for ye tyme; I wyll haue those yat shalbe sufficient in lerninge, honest, & well
disposed, so nere as I can./ I am inforced to vse the hand of my sonn william Cavendysshe, not
beinge able to wryte so much my self for feare of bringing great payne to my hed, he only is
pryuy to your Lordships letter, & neyther Arbell nor any other lyuinge, nor shalbe./ I besech your Lordship
yat I may be directed from you as occasion shall fall out, to the vttermost of my vnderstanding, I haue &
wylbe carefull./ I besech thalmighty to send your Lordship a longe & happy lyfe, & so I will.
committ your Lordship to his protection./ from my howse at hardwyck this xxj.th of September 1592
your Lordships as I am bound
EShrouesbury