Copyright Information All material is made available free of charge for individual, non-commercial use only. The copyright and other intellectual property rights in the transcribed letter text, metadata about the letters and the design of the letter display are owned by the University of Glasgow. You are permitted to access, print and download letters from this site on the following conditions: - use of all material on this site is for information and for non-commercial or your own personal use only; any copies of these pages saved to disk or to any other storage medium may only be used for subsequent viewing purposes or to print extracts for non-commercial or your own personal use. - the content must not be modified in any way. - any use of the material for a permitted purpose must be accompanied by a full source citation. No part of this site may be reproduced or stored in any other web site or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without the University of Glasgow's prior written permission. Commercial exploitation of the transcribed letters, including use by radio or television programme makers and examination boards, is prohibited without licence from the University of Glasgow. Further information on copyright and citation can be found at:- (URL: http://www.bessofhardwick.org/background.jsp?id=171) X.d.428 (111) 182 My duty m:ost honourably Remembred I truste you^r La.dyship will pardone me in wrytinge playnely & truly, altho it be ether bothe bluntley and tediously. I mett my L.ord at bolsor yesterday aboute one of the clocke who at the very fyrste was rather desyrouse to heare from hence, then to inquyre of Kyllingeworthe, quothe he, gilbert what taulke had my wyfe wi^th yo.^w marry my L.ord quothe I it hathe pleased her to taulke wi^th me once or twyse synce my cumminge, but the matter she moste spake of is no smale discomforte for me to vnderstande then was he very desyrouse & bade me tell him what, I began./ tTruly ser, wi^th as greved a mynde as ever I sawe woman in my sam lyfe, she toulde me you^r L.ordhip was vehemently offended wi^th her, in suche sorte, and wi^th so many wordes & shewes in you^r angre, of evell will towardes her, and as therby you^r La.dyship sayde, yo^u colde not, but stande doubtefull of that all his wonted love & affection is cleane turned to the contrary for you^r La.dyship further sayde, yo^u had geven him no cause at all to be offended, yo^u hearinge that you^r imbroderers weare kepte oute of the Lodge from theyre beddes by dykensons Iohn dykensons commandemen^t, sayde to my L.ord thes wordesnoone, in the morninge, noone, did yo^u gyve commandemen^t ya^t the imbroderers shoulde be kepte oute of the Lodge, And my L.ord answered no, Then quothe you^r La.dyship they weare kepte from theyr beddes there yesternyghte, and he that did so sayde Io.hn dykenson had geven them ya^t expresse commandemen^t, whi^ch my L.ord sayde was a lye, And he sayde it was vtterly vntrewe, & so I wolde have gone on to have toulde the reste, howe you^r La.dyship willed him to inquyre whether they weare not in this manner kepte oute or no, his procedinge into vhe vehement coller & harde speches, but he cutt me of, sayinge it was to no purpose to heare any resytall of this matter, for if he lysted he sayde he cold remember cruell speches you^r La.dyship vsed to him, whi^ch weare such as, quothe he, I was forced to say tell her, she scolded lyke one ya^t came from the banke, then gilbert sayd he Iudge yo^u whether 161 I had cause or not, well quothe he I will speke no more of this matter, but she hathe suche a sorte of varletts aboute her as never restethe carryinge of tales & there vttered cruell wordes agaynste owen chefely and the imbroderers, over lounge to troble you^r La.dyship wi^th, so beynge alyghted from his horsse all this whyle, sayde lett vs gett vpp and be goynge, and I shall have ynoughe to doe when I cum home, then (quothe I) I thynke my La.dy be at Chatesworthe by this tyme, what quothe he is she gone from Sheffeld, I answered by ix of the cloke whervppon he seemed to marvayle greatly, & sayde is her malice suche she wolde not tarrye on nyght for my cumminge, I answered ya^t you^r La.dyship toulde me that he was contented at you^r fyrste cumminge yo^u sholde goe as yesterday whi^ch he fursware he never harde of then quothe I, my La.dy further toulde me that when you^r L.ordship was contented for her departure yo that day, he sayde ya^t he had busynes in the Peake and wolde shortely cum thither & lye at Chatesworthe (quothe he) her cum goynge away thus gevethe me li smale cause to cum to Chatesworthe, but answered not whether he sayde so or not, but I assure you^r La.dyship before god he was & is greatly offended wi^th you^r goynge hence yester=

day

After he had seene all his groundes aboute bolsor and was comen into the way homewardes, he began wi^th me agayne, sayinge ya^t all the house myghte deserne you^r La.dyship’s stomoke agaynste him by you^r departure before his cumminge, I answered, besydes ya^t I sayde before, ya^t you^r La.dyship sayde yo^u had very gret & earnest busynes, as well at Chatesworthe for you^r thynges there, as to dele wi^th sertayne freeholders for ser thomas stanhope, but he allowed not of any reson or cause, but was exceedinge angrye for the same wherevppon I spake at large, whi^ch I beseche you^r La.dyship to pardon my tediousnes in repetall therof, or at leste y^e moste therof , quothe I, I pray you^r L.ordship gyve me leave to tell yo^u playnely what I gathered by my Lady, I see she is so greaved & vexed in mynde, as I proteste to god, I never sawe any woman more in my lyfe, and after she had toulde me, howe wi^thoute any cause at all you^r L.ordship vttered moste cruell & bytter speches agaynste her, when she all the whyle never vttered any vndutyfull worde, and had particularly Imparted the whole matter, she playnely decl declared vnto me, that she thoughte, you^r L.ordship's harte was wi^thdrawen from her, and all you^r affection & love to hate & evell wille sayinge ya^t yo^u toke it as you^r crosse, ya^t so contrary to you^r deservinges he adiudged of yo^u, applinge the manyfolde shewes whi^ch you^r yo^u so infyt infynitely have shew made profe, & so forgott no earnest protestacion ya^t you^r La.dyship pleased to vtter to me of you^r deere affection and love to him bothe in healthe & sycknes, takinge it vppon you^r soule ya^t yo^u have wysshed his greives weare on you^r selfe to disburthen & quyte him of, and quothe I my L.ord when she toulde me of this her deere love towardes yo^u, and now howe you^r L.ordship had requyted her, she was in suche perplexitie, as I never sawe woman, and concluded ya^t you^r La.dyship's speche was, ya^t now yo^u know he was thoughte him selfe moste happye when yo^u were absente from him, and moste vnhappye when yo^u were wi^th him, and att this I assure you^r La.dyship he melted, and altho I can not say his very wordes weare, ya^t he had Iniuryed & wronged you yet bothe by his countenance & wordes he it playnely shewed the same, and answered, I know quothe he, her love hathe bene great to me/ and myne hathe bene & is as great to her, for what can a man doe more for his wyfe then I have done for her, and daly doe for her, and so reckened at large you^r La.dyship may thynke wi^th the moste, what he had geven & bestowed whervnto I coulde not otherwise replye then thus. quothe I, my L.ord she weare to blame if she consydered not thes thynges, but I gather playnely by her speche to me, ya^t she thynkethe notwi^thstandinge that you^r harte is as I have sayde hardened agaynste her, as I have once or twyse alredy toulde you^r Lordship, and ya^t yo^u love them ya^t love not her, and beleave thos aboute yo^u wi^th which hatethe her, and at your departure I sayde, your La.dyship toulde me, that you verely thoughte my L.ord was gladder of your Ladyship's you^r abcence then presence, wherin I assure you^r La.dyship he depely protested the contrary & sayde, gilbert yo^u know the contrarye, and how often I have curced the buylded buyldinge at Chatesworthe for wante of her companye, but (quothe he) you see she carethe not for my companie by her goynge away I wolde not have done so to her for v^cli but after this he taulked not muche, but I know it pynched him & in my conscyence I thynke so, but what effecte will follow (god knowethe,) I will wryte agayne to you^r La.dyship what I fynde by him this day, for yesternighte havinge not talked wi^th any but my selfe, I know that his harte desyred reconsyliation, if he wyste whi^ch way to brynge it to passe, The lyvynge god graunte it, and make his harte turne to you^r comforte in all thynges / To morow he will sende me to Darby aboute Si^r tho.mas Stanhops matter. I moste humbly beseche you^r La.dyship's blessing to me & myne, george reioyced so greatly yesternyghte at my L.ord's cumminge home, as I colde not have beleved if I had not seene it. Sunday at ix of the clocke. For godes g sake maddame pardone my very tedyouse & evellfavored scryblinge. you^r La.dyship's moste humble and obedient lovinge sunne durynge my lyfe Gilbert Talbott the hastie lettres from Si^r Iohn cunstable was to advertise ya^t there are ij Scotts ya^t travell wi^th lyne lynen clothe to sell ya^t have lettres of importance to this Quene thone of them is brother to curle my L.ord huntington lettre was refusall of Land ya^t my L.ord offred him to sell. Initial release version, September 2013