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4 ANNUAL REGISTER For the YEAR 1772. 5
As before I was married, so aftar, I did my Lord my fathar many servises about his Magisty;--he having divers sutes agaynst Sir Ed. Dimoke and Sir Henry Ascough, then his great enimies; and on time, at his Lordship's command, did leave a fute worth 4000l. and begged a lease which his Magisty had of Horncastle, only to crosse Sir Ed Dimoke; which lease being made to Queen Elizabeth twenty years before, by the bishop of Carlisle, and not inrouled, I was forced to procure his Magisty to write six or seven times to on or othar, before I could gett it inrouled. Aftar it being inrouled, his Magisty passed an assignment of it to me. I had large promises of my fathar for this, but gott nothing of him; and the lease being inrouled so long after the date, is proved worth nothing also.
Now to goe on, my brothar Thomas, Earle of Lincolne, gave himselfe holy to trobles and futes, and broughte me and my hole estate in question: first he began to complane at the Counfell-table, wher, divers and sondery times, by pursiuantes and commandes, I was brought. When he could not ther work his wicket purposes, he sued me in all the cortes in England; and, by making clame to all my land, hindered me so as I coulde make no commodity of any thing, nor lett nor fell any of it; also he gott all the despirate felloues he could hear of, and caused them to walke 15 and 16 in cumpany, and to make diuers and fundry assaultes upon me and my servantes; sumtimes he came himselfe with them, but alwayes when he had three to on odes. On time I touke his houndes in the feld from him; another time his sword, but at his earnest intreaty gave him agayne. He so jugled with the justisses, as he had most of them here about Tattfall and Cristed to doe what he would command, and caused diuers of my tennants and servants to be indited at setionses: but I thanke my God, I ouarthren him in all trials, and had the bettar of him bothe in corte and cuntry; yet had he like to have had a great advantige of me in the corte of Wardes, the Lord Knowles, his kinsman, being master of that corte, but that, upon my complaynt, his Magisty called the Lord Knoules and all the corte before him, aftar which I had fayre proceedings ther also; when he had thus tried all the corces that could be, he sodenly died, preferently aftar Cristmas, in the year 1619. The next day aftar the Countis sent for me, and I went to hir the day follouing, with home I was kindly entartayned and agreed to have pease. The sommar follouing I propounded to the Countis and yonge Earle a fayr corce for the diuision betwixt our tou lordships of Cristed and Tattfall, which was the chefe cause of difference and ccasion of greatest mischefe, and the hardest thing to be disided betwixt us, it being dividing of a parke, and the abbeye bouks of Cristed being consealed in thayr hands; which was, that my Lord and hir Ladyship should sett and mayntayne a partision pale in an indifferent place as we should agree of, ther to be the partision parpetully betwixt us; and what ground or woods proved to belong to me of his side the pale, he was to bye of me; and I was to do the like; and four indifferent gentilmen weare chosen to sett the prises. All which was
was agreed of betwixt us, undar our hands and seals. And the Countis and younge Earle did accordingly sett a partision pale, as it was agreed of betwixt us. Upon all my monies being spente, and my plate gone uttarly from me, my wife, aftar the hath forced my stay in London, both from my profitt and plesure, all the somar, coms home to my house in Channonroe the beginning of August, wher to my great hinderance, I was forced to borroue mony to mayntayne hir till my rentes came in at Mikilmas time. Also, in thes my trobles with my wife, I was forced to give my Lord of Houldarnes my gray running hors called Whit-mayne for a gratuety, for which I might have had 100l. only to continue his favor towards me, and to intersed for me to his Magisty, which if I had not donn, it had bene farr worse for me and mine, for ethar I must have bene disgraced, or have gone beyond see, for which I had provided a licence from the Lords of the Priuy Counsell, after I found all my kindnes both in lettars and messages would not prevayle to make my wife leave Lenton's company in my absence; but by the right reverent and grasius Georg Abbot, Lord Artchbishop of Canterbury, I was parswaded to staye, and reseave my wife agayne; aftar which, the seing the errors that she had bene draven into, the greu to hatred of all them that had caused her going from me, or had any hand in it, and was ever aftar, till her death, as good a wife as could be in the world; which sheued [[showed]] that it was only the evill, cursed, and wicket counsell of that lime of the Divill, Lenton, and his wicked frendes, the Lady Molinex, Askeu's wife, and the rest, that caused hir to doe all she did; which she so repented, as she thought wors of herselfe evar aftar whilst she lived, and could nevar abide to heare of any of them aftar; and so we lived in greate love and comforte on of anothar, at my house called Comrer, in com. Barkes, till I was sensured in the Star-chambar, which was the 9th day of May, in the 21st year of King James; at which time, aftar I was sensured I came sodenly doune from London tithar to hir, and so carried hir of a soden into Lincolneshear, and all my househould, only toue or three who I left to keepe possetion ther, who wear shortly aftar putt oute, and the possetion of Comrer taken from me without any legall traill by Cranfield, Lord-Treasurer, and Sir Walter Pie, Master and Atturney of the corte of Wardes, who wear both the most corrupted judges that evar lived. Then lived my wife and I togethar all the sumar follouing, at my house at Cristed, in great plesure and sportes, in hunting, &c.--and she was to me the louingest, most comfortable, and best wife in the world. Nou she being with childe, was dilivered and brought to bedd after Christmas; and taking som could, as we thought, and hir child-bed, both she and her childe died the being a fortnight aftar she was brought to bedd. I, thinking she had bene past dangar, and she also being of the same opinion, I went towards London on Munday. Now she being dead, I lived almost a year, and prospered well in all my affayres, and kept myselfe unmarried; and if I had so continued, it had bene happye for me aud all my children.
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