LETTER XXI. 1591-1592. March 10. them but into the sea but sume fifty or thriscore leagues, for which purpose my Lord Admirall hath lent me the Disdayne; which to do her Majestie many tymes, with great grace, bedd mee remember, and sent mee the same message by WILL KILLEGREWE, which, God willinge, if I can perswade the Cumpanies, I meane to performe; though I dare not be acknown therof to any creature. But, Sir, for mee then to be bounde for so great a sume, uppon the hope of another man's fortune, I will be loth; and besids, if I weare able, I see no privy seale for my thirds. I mean not to cume away, as they say I will, for feare of a marriage, and I know not what. If any such thing weare, I would have imparted it unto yourself before any man livinge; and, therefore, I pray believe it not, and I beseich yow to suppress, what you can, any such mallicious report. For I protest before God, ther is none, on the face of the yearth, that I would be fastned unto.1 And so in hast I take my leve of your Honor. From Chattame, the 10th of March. Your's ever to be cummanded, W. RALEGH. LETTER 1592. June 8. XXII. TO THE LORD HIGH ADMIRAL, HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM. From the Original. Domestic Correspondence: Elizabeth, vol. ccxlii. § 48 (Rolls House). Holograph. Without address or superscription. MY VERY GOOD LORD, I HAVE seen the letter of the Deputes of Midelburgh, to which I am bold in this manner to awnswere. 1 So in MS., but apparently the sentence is incomplete. See Life, Vol. I. p. 137. LETTER XXII. 1592. June 8. To the Lord Admiral Howard. From House. About the thirteen day of Maye, as I remember, early in the morninge, about fortye leagus of the Cap Finister, wee discried a fleet of thirteen shipps; the Admirall carriinge a redd flage and the Vice-Admirall a white; which wee veryley thought to have bynn the fleet of Saint Mallos, wherof wee had harde, and was uppon returning. Thes shipps, notwithstanding they might well know us to be Inglishmen, and might easely perceive Her Majesties shipp to be Admirall, bare from us all the could, and keipt out their flages in great bravery, till the Rowbucke reachinge the Admirall shote at hyme, and made hyme strike; which don, all strake and bare with mee, but foure, who, contrary to their bonds and promises to follow their Admirall, packt on all the sayle the1 could, and left their own Admirall and us, beinge at hand with them, and knew us as well as our sealvs; after whom three of ships. our smaler shipps followed. I asked the Admirall and the rest why the rest rane away, knowing Her Majesties shipp to be ther. He told mee he knew not what the Flemings suspected of them scalvs, or whos goods they caried. Thos seven, after I had taken out Davis from them and two other passengers, which I sent your Lordship, I dismissed; and suffered not the valew of a farthinge to be taken from any of them. The rest, as it is confessed, first forsooke ther Admirall, rane from Her Majesties shipp, and fought it out afterward, as longe as she 2 could, agaynst thos three Inglish shipps, being apoynted so well as they weare by their own confession, notwithstandinge he had seen his own Admirall strike; which in my opinion douth make it very playne that the monye belonged to thos of Anwerpe who dayly fraight shipps of Zelande for the trade of Spayne, to abuse Her Majestye. Besids, if Answer to plaint of chants of the com some mer Middle burgh, in relation to ment of the treat certain Flemish LETTER 1592 June 8. MANNSFELD had not had good reason for that he did, he would not have caried the shipp backe towards his Admiral thriscore and five leauges, but would have turnde her of,1 and gonn awaye otherside Irland or Wales. Besides, it is in their letter confessed that MANSFELD did urge sume of the cumpany to confess it was belonginge to thos of Anwarpe ;-so as it apereth it was confessed to be so. In my oppinion the Flemings cannot say less for them sealvs then they do; and if they can recover xx thowsand pound for the askinge, I cannot blame them. I protest, before the levinge God, I am of oppinion that nether MANSFELD or any of the rest durst any more robe any Fleminge, or other, (being charged and instructed as they weare,) then they durst hange them sealvs. Besids, the masters of bothe the shipps be very honest and sufficient men, and of good wealth, especially the on. From Durham House, this 8 of June [1592]. Endorsed: Your Honor's humble att cummandement, W. RALEGH. 8 Junii, 1592. The aunsweare of Sir Walter Raleigh to the letter of the Merchants of Middlebourgh. LETTER [1592. July.] SIR, XXIII. TO SIR ROBERT CECIL. From the Original. Cecil Papers, vol. xxi. ff. 58, 59 (Hatfield). I WRAT unto your father how I am dealt withall by the Deputye, to whom my disgraces have bynn highly cummended. Hee supposed a debt of four hundred yoff. s one. Sir William Fitzwilliam. pounds to the Queen, for rent, and sent order to the Shiriff to take away all the cattell my tenants had, and sell them the next day, unless the money weare payd the same day. All Munster hath scarce so mich mony in it; and the debt was indeed but fifty marks, which was payde, and it was the first and only rent that hath yet bynn payd by any undertaker. But the Shirife did as he was cummanded, and tooke away five hundred milch kine from the poor people; sume had but two, and sume three, to releve their poore wives and children, and in a strang country newly sett downe to builde and plant. Hee hath forcible thrust mee out of possession of a Castell, because it is in law between mee and his cousin WINCKFELD,1 and will not here my atornes speake. Hee hath admitted a ward, and geven it his man, of a Castell which is the Queen's, and hath bynn by mee new built and planted with Inglishe, this five years; and to profitt his man with a wardshipp, looseth her Majesties inheritance, and would plant the cussen of a rebell in the place of Inglishe men, the Castell stanetinge in the most dangerous place of all Munster. Besids, ther is a band of soldiers, which a base phello, O'DODALL, hath in Yoholl,2 which duth cost the Queen twelve hundred pound a yeare, and hath not ten good men in it; but our porest people muster and serve hyme for threepence a day, and the rest of his soldiers do nothing but spoyle the country, and drive away our best tenants. If the Queen be over rich, it may bee mayntayned; but I will, att three days' warninge, rayse her a better bande, and arme it better tenfold, and better men, whensoever shee shall need it. And, in the mean tyme, it may 1 Richard Wingfield, Deputy to Sir Henry Wallop, Treasurer at War in Ireland. 2 Youghal. LETTER XXIII. [1592. To Sir R. [From the of the Lord Deputy with Sir tenants in LETTER [1592. July.] ether be imployed in the North, or discharged; for ther is in Munster, besids, a band of horse, and another of foot, which is more than needeth. In this, if yow pleas to move it, yow may save her Majestye so mich in her coffers. For the rest I will send my man to attend yow, although I care not ether for life or lands; but it will be no small weakninge to the Queen in thos parts, and no small cumfort to the ill-affected Irishe, to have the Inglishe inhabitants driven out of the country, which are yet stronge enough to master the rest, without her charge. Yours, to do yow service, Addressed: W. RALEGH. To my honorable frinde, Sir R. CICILL, Knt., of Her Majesty's most honorable Privy Councell XXIV. TO SIR ROBERT CECIL. As printed by MURDIN, from the Original, in the Cecil Papers (Hatfield). I PRAY send me the news of Ireland. I hear that there are three thousand of the BURGKS in arms, and young ODONELL and the sons of SHANE ONEALE. I wrote in a letter of Mr. KILLEGREEW's, ten days past, a prophesye of this rebellion, which when the Queen read, she made a scorn at my conceat; but yow shall find it but a shoure of a farther tempest. If yow please to sent me word of what yow hear, I will be laught at again in my opinion touching the same, and be bold to write yow my farther suspicion. Your cousen, the dotinge Deputy,1 hath dispeopled me; of which I have written to your father already. It is a sign how my disgraces have past 1 Sir William Fitzwilliam. |