to your Lordship, though my leisure, as he says, is small. And so, with my humble commendations to your Lordship and my Lady, I end. At Greenwich, the 15th of May, 1569. Your Lordship's humbly at command, The Queen's Majesty, whilst I was folding up my letter, hath willed me to notify to your Lordship how well she allows of your preciseness in that you willed Mr. Candish not to resort any more thither without warrant hence; nevertheless her Majesty finds cause to allow so well of the gentleman, as she is content that your Lordship may use him as your Lordship is wont to do. Order is given to Carlisle to put to full liberty the Queen of Scots' servants; and surely the Deputy Warden doth it of some error, for on my faith I know not of any direction given him therein, and so I pray your Lordship to assure the Queen of Scots. To the right honourable my very good Lord the Earl of Shrewsbury, Knight of the Order, &c. No. XXXVI. (Cecil Papers.) THE EARL OF SUSSEX TO SIR WILLIAM CECIL. Good Mr. Secretary, I AM Sorry from the bottom of my heart to conceive, by the end of your letter which I received this morning, that my Lord of Norfolk and you should stand in worse terms of amity than you in either clearly foretimes did; or that any of you, without cause, or upon suspect of some cause, should forbear towards the other that good opinion that has so long time been conceived on either side. I have been well acquainted with the faithful good will that either of you hath borne to other, grounded upon both your stedfast zeals to the service of the Queen and the realm; whereby, in all wise men's opinions, great good hath ensued, and therefore the grief is the greater to me to suspect the quailing of your friendships, whereby the one of you might fail to the other (in that I never thought any of you would have failed to any) and the whole realm thereby fare the worse. This is the first time I have heard hereof, and truly it is the worst thing, to my grief, that of long time I have heard of; but such are the plagues in this wretched world, by the permission of God, for the punishment of our sins. What should be the ground hereof I cannot guess; and then, not knowing the sore, I can hardly devise of any especial salve. This only I crave of you, as a general medicine for many such diseases in this time, that if seditious tongues have sowed cockle in any of you, you will both of you remember what good ground you are, and what seed you have both heretofore brought forth; and, with the touchstone of the old and pure faithfulness that was wont to be between you, you will try both the sower and the cockle, and cast them both away, and so return to yield your former fruits; whereby God, the Queen, and the realm, shall be the better served, and every of yourselves, in your own particular, the more honoured, loved, and esteemed. When I remember what you both are, I cannot conceive that by any possibility the one of you would willingly do any fact whereby the other might have just cause to conceive offence; and then I certainly think the mistrust, on either side, must grow by sinister reports; wherein there is no remedy so good as to discover the untruth in the beginning. Therefore, good Mr. Secretary, seeing God hath dealt so liberally to you his gifts of patience, wisdom, and other virtues, I exhort you, in visceribus Domini nostri Jesu Christi, that you will plainly and fully rip up this matter from the bottom with the Duke himself, in whom you know you shall find honour, truth, wisdom, and plainness; and as I trust by this dealing there shall need no third person to interpose, so if I knew a need thereof, I would leave all other matters, and, upon some feigned cause, ride post to London, yea to Jerusalem, to do the good I desire therein; and surely I think it presently to be one of my greatest misfortunes to be absent in such a time; and so I end, and wish unto you as to myself. From York, the 15th of May, 1569. T. SUSSEX. No. XXXVII. (Cecil Papers.) THE EARL OF SUSSEX TO SIR WILLIAM CECIL. I AM heartily glad, good Mr. Secretary, to perceive by your letters of the 30th of the last, and by my Lord of Norfolk's of the 31st, the good and hearty reconcilement between you, which I trust shall long continue; and your faithful promises of love and trust, made on both sides, shall I hope remain so sure as no practisers by evil offices shall undermine any of you. His Grace writeth very frankly of the assured trust and confidence he reposes in your good will; and surely I was very glad to receive knowledge thereof, not only in respect of you both, whom I protest I have loved, do love, and will love, better than any two other subjects in the realm, but also, and principally, for the service of our good Queen, whose surety and honour I weigh above all other things in the world, and hath been, is, and must be, chiefly supported by you two, whom the world hath always judged to be void of private motives, and to respect only her, and the realm, in all your actions. In respect whereof a great number of honourable and wise, in all parts of the realm, will gladly, and of good conscience, aid, assist, and set forth, all your intents and doings, by all the good means they may, for the more honour and surety, and the better service of her Majesty. And if the ground whereupon they build their actions (which is your amities, and knitting together in the true service of her Majesty, and the realm) should fail, although their zeals should remain good, yet their exertions, for lack of such maintenance, should take small effect; and, therefore, I will end this matter with the old proverb, valeant qui inter vos dissidium velint; and betake you to the Almighty, who guide you with the same spirit that he hath ever done. From Cawood, the 9th of June, 1569. Your's assuredly, T. SUSSEX. No. XXXVIII. (Howard Papers.) SIR WILLIAM CECIL TO THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY. It may please your Lordship, I CANNOT but, according to my duty which I do bear you, advertise your Lordship of things necessarily belonging unto you. The Queen's Majesty, hearing doubtfully of uncertain reports that you should be, or would shortly, depart to the baths at Buxton, demanded of me what I heard thereof from your Lordship; whereunto I could not make any certain answer but in this sort-that I knew (as indeed I did by Mr. Bacon and your Secretary) that you were earnestly advised of your physicians to go thither for the recovery of your health; and, therefore, I thought if you were gone thither, necessity compelled you; and yet I was assured in so doing you had left a substantial order for attendance upon the Queen of Scots, as should be both honourable and sure. Whereupon I found her |