My good Lord. althowghe yt ys all
one, in myne opinion whether her Maiesty send downe or not to have any bodie
ioyne with Mideltone, for that I am not aquaynted with the poyntes of his
message which yf they bee but as I doo heare, are lyttell to the aduancement of
thys seruice, but rather a detere and hynderance therto. yet concerninge the
mayne poynt vpon whiche I most force, that ys that her Maiestye showld nott
leas the benifite of yis yeare, to that part of my desyre I have of no eare
givene Wherfor assuringe my self that yowre Lordshyp will further her Maiestyes
profytt and assyst them that shall goo about the same ernestly. I wowld gladly
put yowre Lordship in remembrance that the chyfest part of my request was to
have her Maiestyes Letter, for the stay of Tyne, that none showlde be bowght
ore sowlde tyll thys monthe be past, or abowt St Iameses tyde. In which tyme
she may have leysure to consider what course wilbe most for her benyfyte, and
not to suffer a matter of suche moment as thys, which is to great for any
subiect, for a small tryfell to her self, by to muche hast to slype her handes.
The matter of Tyme to busie about
the quantite, is but friuolus, and I know not to whatt purpose, sythe yt myght
be easlier knowne here, then by examinatione of Sir Francis Guydolphynes Rooles,
for the deceyt there cannot be perceyved, that will only stand vpon affirminge
and denyinge without controle.
The monye which he yerly payes
to the Queen declarethe sufficiently, for yf he pay to her Maiestye 2400l rent,
then ys that after 40s the 1000l weyght, 1200 a thowsand pound weyght, and yf
the remayne which is to come to the account of ye yeare folowinge, yf yt be a
hundred or two ^100^ thowsand Tyne, that is but a 200 or 400th matter more of
monye. whiche ys to smale a tryfell to stand vpone at thys present.
The deceyt lyees where the Tyne
is transported, and when the Stokes be vnderrated, as where 4 Blokes showld be
a thowsand, yt ys commonly sene that thre Blokes attayne to that quantetye.
wherfore my Lord I insist styll
to crave her Maiestyes letter for the stay of the Tyne that none be bought and
sowlde, tyll her Maiestye be throughly satisfisde what wilbe her plesure. And
in the mean seasone, that yt shall ryse muche more to her benefyt then
otherwise. Then I am to aduertise Robertes, to drave in hys monye wherof I know
at his last beinge in towne he left here a good some. About this matter I must
and so he is determyned to send Alderman Cacher downe, whoo I know will not be
negligent to performe the seruice. then ther is no lett but to appoynt an other to ioyne with him for the other
Moyete, and yf Alderman Havltone be redie to take suche a charge vpon him
alone, then is yt muche more easier beinge ioyned with an other. And sythe he
hathe all redie deceyved her Maiesty of 40 thowsand pound, as when he hade for
12 or 14 yeare to gether the impost of wynes, vnder his master: why showld he
thynke muche to recompence the same now in her Maiestyes seruice, raytinge to
her so great a commodite, and to himself no small revenue.
Yf 40 thowsand pound layde owt
yelde sume fowre or fyve and twentye thowsand pound gayne, as the returne and
the vse of this monye comes to no lesse, why shall yt not be thowght, yf her
Maiestie hathe half with them, and they fyve or syx thowsand pound a yeare. that
ys ys the best way for her Maiestye and a resonable comodite, for them, whose
proportiones, few noble men in England attayne to the leke in there lyvinges. I
doo not dowt but Havtone may very well be satisfisde with fyve or syx thowsand
pound a yeare, a portione that may content any subiect in the land.
Wherfore my Lord thys ys my
request in short that I may have her Maiestyes letter to Sir Fraunces
Guydolphine for the stey of the Tyne that none be bowght or sowld tyll her
Maiestye hathe declared her plesure. And wheras I am aquaynted with the
sendinge downe of dyvers Marchantes of there men, to buy vp the Tynne before
hande, that expeditione may be vsed of the same and for that Alderman Cacher is
now at this present to goo downe about thes busines betwien me and Robertes
concerninge the settinge forward of thys seruice, I wowld gladly obteyne that
he myght carie downe the letter. for I wowld be lothe that her Maiesty beine
dravne one with friuolus deuises, showld leas sume eyght or ten thowsand pound
thys yeare, and after be sayd that yt wass throwghe my vayne motiones, when in
dede yt shalbe there practise whoo wowld have her maiestie be content with a
lyttell that they may deceyve her of muche. And to prevent this disgrace, I
crave bothe in myn owne behalf, aswell as in her Maiestyes, yowre Lordships
trwe and honorable helpe. this 14 of Iune 1595.
Yowre Lordships to Commande
(signed) Edward Oxenford
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 Letters Index: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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