In most humble wyse./ I am in hope always knowinge the iniuries suffered the service donne and vpryghtnes of our cause to hope day after day that our cause shall be hard, yett we are too well acquanted with th’ infinitt delays this place giues to all sutors: my Lord Treasurer sayth he is very willinge and desiers to end it. Master Secritory lykwyse, but they alleadg my Lord of Shrewsbury hath authorised noe man to follow his cause and semeth not to be acquanted with any such thinges; which me thinkes is strange speach to delay us, when the order he hath and that we show the order to them both wherin the haue full authority to determin with the Consentes of both parties, and thes be all the answers I can procuer hauvinge spoken divers tymes both to my Lord Treasurer and Master Secritary since his comminge to Tibaldes: so that the first tyme my sister went to Tibaldes hir magesty vsinge hir excedyng gratiusly she talked much about your ladyship and promised thes thinges shuld be finisshed and she woold speake to the Lordes hir self, as my sister will more at Large sygnify to your Ladyship notwithstandynge a letter shalbe drawn both to my Lord Treasurer and Master Secritory to waken ther memories what the promised notwithstandynge the sem as though the would be Commanded by the Queen I see litell effect of Master wolleys promis but he sayth he hath spoken to the Queen and she sayth she remembereth it well enough. he sayth he will continew to perswade hir to the perfitynge of all trobles so lykwyse all or most of the wemen promis to doe./ The Lordes haue bin and yett be at London about the subsedey so that yett my Lord Chamberlain’s letters to the Deane of Lychfyld stays till his retorne, I causes my brother william to gett on draw because I would not mistake the case, and now at thes Lords beinge at London I vnderstand the haue Commission to examin my Lord of Buckhurst about his negotiation in the Low Countries who is Commanded not to come to the Court, for discontentynge my Lord of Lecester wich is thought strange, beinge equall with him in Councell and beinge hir magesties Imbassodor befor he deliver what he had don ther: Sir Ihon norrice is also Commanded to his fathers house ther to abyd till further of hir magesties pleasure be know, and Master wilkes committed to the Fleett and all to please my Lord of Lecester as is sayd And for the Releaf of sluce ther be brutes that my lord of Lecester thinke it an vnpossible thinge which will as som suppose harme my lord's creditt the towne in respect of the haven beinge of great consequence the Duek of Parma hath woon a fort neare the Towne wherin weare ij of my very good frendes Captayn ver and Captayn Baskervill the most sayth the are putt to the sword, but by som I am putt in comfort that the be taken, within the towne be also ij good frendes of myn which if the be not releved be also cast away Sir Roger williams and Captayn Huntley./ The Royters which be viij thousand xij thousand swirfes and iiij thousand Lanskeygrites be entered france to the ayd of the kynge of navare who of latt hath receved agreat overthrow not in respectt of the number but of the great parsonages lost, the french kyng also hath noe great cause of trivmpe./ Scotland I heare maketh great showes of an intention to marry with spayn insomuch as a scottysh man Comminge latly out of spayn, the picture of the Kynges daughter was taken from him which he was carringe to the Kynge, so that Denmark now lyeth deed, besydes ther is a parlament to be keapt in Scotland in which parliment is intended to be prepounded liberty of Concience and that noe man shalbe punisshed for his religion though ther shalbe noe publicke exercise of any but the protestantes ther be taken heare but for Inventions without meninge ether of marriage with spayn or alteration of Religion but t' increse fieare heare to the end motions may be mad to hir magesty concerninge divers thinges./

For our Court ther is non in that Heyght as my Lord of Essex and suerly he is myghtely grown and can hardly be wantynge half a day he strenkneth my Lord of Lecester marvelously Sir walter Rauley is in wonderfull declenation yett labores t'vnderprope him self by my Lord Treasurer and his frendes; I see he is curtuusly vsed by my Lord and his frendes but I doubt th’ end considerynge how he hath handeled him self in his former pryd, and suerly now groweth so humble towardes every on as consideringe his former insolency he committeth over great Basness, and is thought he will never vpress agayn./ Master Blutt Henry nowell and all be out of Conceall and meane presently to seake som other fortune./ Heare was Roland Eayre with my Lord of Commerland and Master Clyfford, and in wonderfull ernest sort intreated that he myght buy the land in the land in the Peake and that he was vndon if your ladyship bought it, that he had redy mony desiered a price to be mad of it he would pay heare presently at London that he vnderstood my lord and which was great and therfor doubted that your Ladyship shuld haue, they both answered him that they had alredy passed ther wordes and that your ladyship shuld haue it befor any and that about iij weakes hence Master Clyfford meneth to be at Buxstones and will ther speake with whom you please to appoynt and after will waytt of your ladyship to acquant you with his price and that part wich is sould wich is iiij poynd ayeare your ladyship was acquanted with it befor els they would not haue sould it./ I heare nothing from Ihon Holme about kyrkby, but if he will be deligence I would thinke he myght make mony of the wood of Stooke presently./ My lady Arbell hath bin once at Court hir magesty spake ij to hir but not longe and examined hir nothing touchinge hir booke she dined in the presence, but my lord Treasurer bad hir to supper, and at dinier I dinyng with hir and sittynge over agaynst him he asked me whether I cam with my nece or no I sayd I cam with hir then he spake openly and direccted his speech to Sir water Rawley greatly in hir Commendation as that she had the french th' Italion playd of Instrmentes dansed wrough and writt very fayre wished she weare xv years ould and with that rouned Master Rawly in the eayre who answered it would be a happy thinge, At supper he mad excedynge much of hir so did he the after noun in his great Chamber publickly and of Mall and Bess George and sence he hath asked when she shall come agayne to Court My lord Treasurer hath buyld afayre gallery to his latt great chamber very fayre I take it to be a hundred and xxvj foot longe, xxj foot brood; a xvj foot hy, it hath of on syd bay windoes iij differynge all in bignes and forme on end lyght and thorowlyghtes more then half the gallery. the rouf with a frend lyke the low gallery at Chattesworth his great chamber I take to be lx foott long xxij brood and xxj hy wherin he hath mad at the nether end a fayre rock with duckes fesantes with divers other birdes which serves for a cubbord, the ould trees be ther still, he hath a cloth of estatt mad of thin horne of divers colers lykes the bestes and flowers be of Nature, hath in the Rouff a sunne goinge which truly poynteth the hower and goeth the lent of the chamber, by nyght the moune and through the rouff which be bordes paynted sky holes mad lyghtes sett ther so the appeare stares In this chamber my Lord feasted the Queen who was nobly intertayned and all lordes and ladyes satt at the bord and at the Conclution of dinner hir magesty hartely prayed that god would lend hir his Lyfe for xxj years for she desiered not to live longer then she had him. wich prayer was soe kyndly expressed that the good ould lord could not retorne thankes nor other speach for teares./ My sister I thanke god is better but not clean ryd of the Iandes, but can eatt well and walke indiferrent well, my lady Arbell and the rest doe very well, and it is wonderful how she profiteth in hir booke, besydes she will dance with an excedyng good grace, and can behaue hir self with great preportion to every on in ther degres; but Alatheia is often wyshed with your ladyship she is so mery and talketive and as prety a chyld as any is./ My brother william hath bin sick and keapt his bed a day or ij of the kreck in his neck, but now is well agayne./ My Cosin Slater I haue putt to Sir Robert Sydney appareled him and gaue him in his purse for he sayd he was spoyled of his close and mony as he was at Northamton./ Master Dyer and I lye in on chamber we haue ij bedes sett vpe and but he had hasty busines to the Court he would him self haue recommended his duty in writyng./ Heare was a weake agoe a very great brutt of my Lord of Shrewsbury’s death and that his payn of the goutt tooke him a Breevly./ My eldest brother would haue intertayned Haukworth when he was heare, mad Master Blackwall ameane to Haukworth and Master Blackwall sayth my brother spake great wordes concerning blackwall./ Since Mistress Shakerley is so vnresonable it weare good Master Hackers device proceded touching that cause./ So with my bounden and dayly prayer humbly beceching your ladyship's dayly blesinge I humbly cease this tuesday./

your ladyship's most humble and obedient sonne./

Cha: Cavendysshe

This messinger is in such hast as I haue not tyme to reed over my letter./


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'Bess of Hardwick's Letters' was developed by The University of Glasgow with technical development provided by The Digital Humanities Institute at The University of Sheffield
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