My very good frendes I deferred my wrightinge soe long that I feared mee yow woulde thinke I had forgotten yaw for wante of matter to wright of, and meanes to sende, but nowe I have to to muche matter unlesse yt weare better. Wee weare verry lyke to have loste M.r Wilson whoe abought the latter ende of Aprill fell daingerouslye sicke, abought which tyme hee wrought unto yow, but hee was lyke to have beene in his grave beefore the letters wente owte of the howse. and albeeit hee stande a hylene (as children saye) yett is it generallye thought thatt hee is soe wasted, and spente wrth the sicknes, that hee will scareslye bee able to goe to them which some tymes sende for him. to whome hee had now gone had not his sicknes hindred him. but thankes bee to god he wente not. for when that side [?] hathe him amongst [word illegible] them [?] whatt maye they not doe with him? Accowmpte of him as noe longe liver & provide againste suche a sede vacante whatt is best [‘bee’ deleted] to bee donne.

my verie Good Sr, I cannot expresse the ioy which we all have had from your letters which I received last from Mr swinnerton of the 23 of may and 6 of Iune. we much Congratulate your good beginninges hopinge greatly that yow shall make an happie end. I am glad yow have so well spedd in the first point, and also that both fa Rob and mr Swin agreed so well with yow therin. my whole desire is that yow keepe frendshipe with them, and that yow first Conferre and treat of matters before yow propose them to our superiours, both because I had no other intention in settinge downe the articles, and also for that yf yow canne conclude amongst yoar selves yt will beare greater shew of love and peace, and I dowbt not but that his hoi will soonest yeld unto that wherin yow shall unitely agree.

I reaceved only one letter from yow by mr Champneys pacquett & he no more as he will signifye. What will ensue Bianchetto his letters theffect will showe. Many conceyve smalle hope from an Antihierarchicall Archpriest of any good & that conceypte fortyfyed by delegation to mr Thomas fitzherbert a man of good partes & my freinde in particular but against whome some suppose inefragable exseptions. This very day was signifyed to me by reporte (& letters they say) from Rome that the Pope meaneth to make Byshopps for Englande. I have tolde the Nuntio heere that some will not mislike if f Parsons be made a Byshoppe (the Pope in his conscience thinckinge him able, wherof others dowbte) so that he will goe into Englande from whence he ranne awaye & there defende that Oathe wherof he talketh & writeth beinge out of gunshott.

my Good Sr I have received yoars of the 7 and 29 of Aug and 7 of 7b, and am vene glad yow have received all myne. I am sorie yow have so soone promoted the suit for dowaie, because upon your last letters that yow wold first heare from me, I supposed yow old not begin that suit so speedily, and therfor I was of mind to have sent one of purpose to the president, who now staggereth, thinkinge to draw him to concurre with us. but now I am affeard he will take the matter ill and be verie hardly drawen. but yow must do as well as yow may, yet my desire is that yow wold not prosecute the matter hotely until I send yow word what I have don with the said partie. I have conferred this sommer with some of our brethren, and neither they nor I can tell how to releive the said Colledge.

my lovinge Sir, three Letters I have received now together, one of the 16 and another of the Last of Aug by mr moore, and the third a little before of the 22 of Aug. by all which I well conceive what difficulties yow fynd. I Like well of your course in sendinge mr moore, who is safely arrived, but at the writinge hereof not come unto us. yt pleaseth me also that yow fynd frendes who advise yow not to deale by way of opposition on our partes, but unitedly and constantly to seeke our owne. a thinge which yow know I have alwaies liked. mr moore shall have at my handes what favour I canne shewe: to make him one of my Assistantes I could easily incline, but that mr parkers place which is void, is so farre from those partes, where he is like to remaine. howbeit herein I meane to follow the advise of my other frendes. mr mush is earnest with me for another.

Good S.r since my return I have skantlie stirred from your dearest frend, wher, I take it, I find the kindlier welcome for your sake, he remayning stil extraordinarilie affected to the common cause, and you in particuler, for which both you & we al are too too much endebted, discharg it as we may. your poor mr is quite cassierd, and gone, I pray god it be not imputed to you, but the worst, you know is, what was meant you from the first: who succeedeth him is a Licentiat of the Lawes, and Divinitie, a sufficient man, as it seemeth, and wel practized in these our causes, as having in former times occasion to trie his wits. He seemeth staied, suerlie settled, sincerile affected, and of a verie good judgment in matters of government, he lyved latelie if you can remember him with D. Kell. I doubt not but he wil do good service, to god, and the common cause.

Though endorsed 11 October 1609, this letter is dated 2 October 1610 in the AAW catalogue but (from internal evidence) was written at some time after 7 January 1610 but before More's arrival in Rome on 20 March 1610 (NS) (see Letter 9). The reference to Coeffeteau's book may indicate that the letter was written in Paris.

my Good Sr, I have in effect alredie answered both yow letters of the 29 of lanuarie and of the 20 of feb. and have adventured to send it by my old frend unto yow, with the inclosed copie of Cardinal bianch. Letter to me. I was the bolder to do it because it conteineth nothinge but what I care not yf he see. for sith that paul hath made this resolution, and that both yow and I are willinge to obey it, I write not any thinge therin, but which may insinuate so much, and I hope albeit my said frend should see it, he could take no great exceptions therat. and it may be a furtherance to increase frendship betwene him and yow which I am not much against, die case standinge with us as it doth, we must have patience and be content with the first clause of not beinge bound to deale with the fathers in our Goverment. As in that letter I sent yow a coppie of bianch. letter to me, so in this I send yow another copie of my answere to him, that yow may see how I proceed.

my Rev. good Sr your Last of the 6 of march both to my selfe and mr west, whose presence yow now enioy of S Cuthbertes daie againe to my selfe I have received, and together with them a duplicate from Card blanch. of that which he had sent before unto me by mr Swin. and one from our protecteur to the Assistantes. so that yow may see how I have received all yours, as I trust yow have received myne. I have answered your former letters two waies, one by paris, and have sent yow ther inclosed a copie of my answere to blanc with another copie sent me out of wailes. die other by my old frend for expeditions sake, both beinge dated the 11 of April and in my old frendes a copie of blanch his letter to me, which in this your Last, yow say was sealed before yow could see it.

my Reverend Good Sr, since the receit of your last, wherin yow sent me the duplicate of bianchettes Letter, I [word deleted] have written unto yow thereof by your meane att bruxels, which I trust will come to your handes. mr farington and the rest have ben with me of Late. I have shewed them all. they tell me your wauntes shalbe better supplied, but will not have yow returne in any case. I cannot yet gett them to take any thought for sendinge either money or Letters, but are content to Lett that burden still rest upon me. wherin surely I will do to my power, but I dare not give yow my worde for an absolute performance thereof, your six pound to mr heath I have alredie paid by meanes of will[ia]m cape; and now father preston and mr vincent beinge in prison, I have sent them vih xiiis iiiid yf they will take it, for dischardge of our Letters sent by mere helpe. I told my brethren thereof, but they made me no answere how I should be repaied againe. the imprisonment of the two foresaid frendes wilbe a great hinderance. I dare not come at London, because the bishops send out there pursivantes in such nomber that no man can escape, the tyme was never so hard in that respect, but that the Lower house standeth so stifly upon it, it is thought the kinge wold have all the penal Lawes against us in his owne handes, yow shall heare from our brethren as shortly as may be. yt greveth them that thinges go as they do.

Deere Syr I wrote unto you from Florence and milan which letters I wold be glad were safely comen to your hands. As I tooke cooche at milan I saw F. Gerard passing by but spoke not to him, and touching my voiage hitherto I thank God and good praiers it hath bene very good and without any hurt or danger. For though ther be many thousands of soldiers in the state of milan and savoie and twoe thousand French gathered about lions to pass into Piemont yet we saw none but in citties. In lions I found mr woodward sick of an ague and his fellow maurice had left him and taken his iorney towards you. At first mr wood wold not know me, after in talke he allowed the moderation of missions and acknowledged the great necessities of Priests [.] other talke litle we had except about the casting of my booke into the Inquis: It is thought that both he and maurice goe to informe against there superiour which in others wold be counted a serious faction.

Molto Illre signor. I have forgotten whither in my last letters I gave you warning or noe of a journey which then I was to begin, and now I thanke god I have ended, by reason wherofe I have not satisfyed your expectation in writing unto you. I learn by a letter which some three daies since I receaved from mr G. West which was the first and last that ether I receaved from him or you, which was written the 21th of August last, that you are desirous to hear from me, which you shal by the grace of god, if god grant me libertie. In the journey I spake of before, I met with one Mr Smith, which soone after was taken at or about Wallingford. who whiles the pursuivantes were searching in the house got out at a windoe, and had escaped, had not a simple clowne by chance espyed him who was cause of his apprehension.

Molto Illre Signor. Since my last letters which were of the last of October or ther aboutes I have little to write of but that I purpose whiles I live and am at libertie (which can not be long) to write to you as oft as I can, I wold not have written yet this weeke at the least but soe it is good Sr that I may now wel fear that every letter wil be my last, and therfore take this one as my last unies things fal out better then I have reason to expect. About the time of my last letters your coosen Sr francis Hastings dyed, and dyed a beggar too, and about that time your frend Mr [name obscured: possibly ‘Hore’] had a yong sonn Francis. The cowntesse of Kildare in Ireland dyed about that time; but al your poor frendes nere or about us live as yet dailie expecting such hazardes, and miseries as wold make a Christians heart even bleed to thinke of them. In the beginning of this month the Catholiks of our parish were summoned to appear at the Shirtowne, and for as much as they feared that the oath wold be tendred unto them they appeared not, and streight upon that contempt they were excommunicated in the church, and the names of above threescore in the parish wher I live were set upon the Church doors amongst which your two sisters with ther Coosins, and Companie were the first. The knaves that went then away out of the cowntrie have since that time renewed ther commission and are to come shortlie downe again.

my verie Good Sr, I have of Late receyved two large and lovinge Letters from yow. one of the 1 and [word deleted] the other of the 15 of Ianuaric. yow still seame to compleyne of want of intelligence and I am overwearied with writing for I keepe the same course with yow that I did with mr Baker. yf my Letters miscarie, what remedie? yet I find the [word deleted] way of bruxels verie sure though slow, yt is not to be told how often I have written, as I hope yow see by this, our frendes must be content that we do as we may. these tymes grow so perillous that we cannot putt anythinge in execution, and therfor I am of opinion that it is better for us to proceede Lente as we doe then then to propose or demande any thinge. for both the tyme is not for it, and I see [word deleted] wee shalbe crossed propose what we will, what yow write of mr Ratcliffe I feare is overtrue in some respect, for he hath given his Censure that the oath may be taken, when the taker meaneth no more but temporal allegiance to the kinge. and in this reservation he referreth himselfe to the definition of his hol. in my other Letters I have sent yow in particular what he hath don[.] how it wilbe taken I wold be gladd to know, for heare by diverse it is condemned, and my selfe did never like of such haltinge, as he knoweth well enough. I pray yow Lett me know what Censure is given therof. yf he be guiltie therin, others of all sortes will hardly scape free, how to behave my selfe in this and such like eventes I know not. miserie maketh many to committ a nomber of absurdities. mr Abbotes of London is now (as I am told) mad b of Canterburie. he is the sorest enemie that ever we had. I sent in my former Letters much relation about the death of 4 of our brethren one onely (namely mr Rob) beinge a benedictine: and I thinke I shall send yow word shortly of moe. for it is said that Abbotes will have more bloud, and one david Ringsteed by his means they say is like to be executed for harboringe preistes.

My good frende, if heeretofore for wante of meanes of sendinge imediatelye to your selfe I have ben thought remisse nowe I hope I paye yow whome & I wright the moore bicause I have promised our Archpr. that if I have libertye I will not faile to wright unto yow for a quarter of a yeare but afterwards I bidd him & his Rabbies [?] doe what theye will them selves & expecte noe moore at my handes, nowe therefore to beegin my lettres I tell yow that yours of the 26th of Febru: came safe to my handes the 7 of Aprill & revived my feeble spirits for I had travailed the too dayes beefore very harde on foote & comminge to my dames thinkinge to have reste newes came the nexte morninge that the knaves weare in the towne which made me flee to the place wheare I laste lefte yow & so spende 4 dayes with my frende Leptye Tipt etcetera[.] my Cosin Thomas presentlye offered to sende my lettres if I woulde wright. & judge yow when I have donne whether I accepted off his offer or noe[.] In my beeinge abroad I understoode of the takinge of a cople of pp. the one was M.r Henrye Mayhewe at widdowe Cables in Wilteshire, the other one Mr Frauncis & as I suspecte it is M.r Kannion at Mr Edwarde Keynes his howse in summersetshire, the first was taken on Easter daye the 2de the frydaye after, soe that yow maye see that in the cheefeste feastes & solemnityes bee ower greatest daingers soe all thinges goe the contrarie waie in our miserable cunntrye.

My Rev Sr I have received your two last of the xi of may and all the rest that came before. I wrote as much in comm. of mr pett as I could. I thought in that letter or rather petition there neded no Complementes, not three daies before I had sent one sufficiently furnished with them. I thanke yow for laboring that those odiouse thinges be not sent to me. for it wold overthrow me quite, in my opinion there need no ordinarie processe in that matter, which is so evident and notorious. mr black, bookes are sufficient testimonies of his error, and now your frend mr Sheldon hath published a worse, and one mr Roger widderington a laick, one more perillous then them both. do yow not therfor think it tyme for S Peter to draw his sword by any means of Justice he can? the quarrell in the north is almost appeased, but such relations as yow speake of will sturre up the coales againe. mr Troll and all his fellowes at the first did but onely relate unto mr Sam superior what offence was given in the countrie.