Theare are tymes, whearin the vse
of friendes, are so necessarie, that althoughe we be lothe to be combersone,
yet are we compelled, to thrust into theare handes, the trust of owre
troblesume causes. Suche ys my state at this present, whoo in myne owne
conceyte have no mistrust of yowre good dispositione towardes me, yet am I
forced by what vnloked for occasione I can not tell, at thys tyme to turne my
thowght vpon yow, as the only friend, wythe whome, I thinke I may be bowldest.
Whearfore for yat I vnderstoode, the great danger of lyfe, whearin Mr vicechamberlane lay, consideringe the vaynes & humors of yis worlde, I doo not mistrust, but many thinges hearby, fallinge into her Magestyes handes to bestowe, that theare wowld be many suters.
And for that to the kepinge of the forest of Walthame, & the parke
of Haueringe, myne evidences show me a certeyne ryght to the same, from whiche
I cannot be perswaded tyll I know better to the contrarie. I haue most humbly
wrytten to her Magesty that after so many bestowinges of yt vpon others voyd of
any pretence, she will now atlenghe giue eare, to the iustnes of my cause,
& atlenge as she hathe often disposed yt vpon others vpon fauoure, that now
not only vpon iustice, but also vpon grace she will deygne yt to the ryghtfull
keper.
And thys I do not notice to yow,
as yf I thowgh yt in yowre powre to doo more then yt shall please to come of
her maiesties owne dispositione, but for that yow are the only person that I
dare relye vpon in the Courte, and at this present to implore as an instrument,
to make my desyre knowne vnto her Magestye.
And thus hauinge opened to yow my
cause, what I haue wrytten in effect to her Magestye and what I crave of yowre
curtesie, I commit yow to God. thys 21 of October 1595.
Yowre louinge and assured friende
and brother.
(signed) Edward Oxenford
Addressed: To the ryght honorable
& his very welbeloued friend & Brother in Lawe, Sir Robert Cecil, one
of her Magestyes pryvie Councel. [trace of seal]
Endorsed: 21 October 1595; Earl of Oxforde to my Master.
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- A 1572 Oxford Letter and the Player’s Speech in Hamlet. August 11, 2020. “The player’s speech has been a source of consternation among Shakespeare scholars for above 200 years. Why was Aeneas’ tale chosen as the subject?”
- Gutenberg, proto-Hack Writers and Shakespeare. May 26, 2020. “A less well known effect of the Reformation was that many young Catholic men who had taken religious orders in order to receive an education began to lead lives at large from monastic discipline. Like Erasmus and Rabelais they took up the pen.”
- Shakespeare’s Funeral Meats. May 13, 2020. “Famous as this has been since its discovery, it has been willfully misread more often than not. No mainstream scholar had any use for a reference to Hamlet years before it was supposed to have been written.”
- Shakespeare Scholarship in the Internet Age. August 12, 2018. “I love to be presented with a legitimate challenge to any of my work. This does not change the fact that such challenges are followed by an unpleasant sinking feeling. Had I missed something?”
- Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
- Check out the English Renaissance Letter Index for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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