124 Additions to the Biographies of
I am sure others have had asmoche lande as this commith to, with less grudge, and yet I will compare with hertie service, with the best of my degree, none exceptid; for myne habilite, power, and wit I must acknowledge my unworthynes, but as it pleaseth my Lordes grace of his goodnes t'accept it.
It is tolde, I heire say of late, I shulde bye benefices; let those develish feyners of such tales and false rumours justefie it if they can, and take for their labour all that I have, that I ever boughte or solde benefice. I have given this yere three; if ever I tooke peny for eny one of them, he that can prove it I give him all my lande for it. How and where I shulde bye any benefice, or to what purpose, I cannot devise.
Yea and I am a great chopper and chaunger of land. As I saide before unto your grace, lande cannot runne away, and the thing, if it were true, may soone be proved; fote of lande I never yet exchaunged with any person, and solde none, but one house, parcell of my purchase at Derbye. The lande I bought I bought of the King, and paide th'extremitie, as other did, as my particulers can showe. I circumvented no man for it; I bought it of no unthrifty heires; I beguiled no Innocentes with my bargaynes, nor had it by morgage, or other crafte; but symply and plainly. And yet such tales can be brought to your grace.
And Mr. Cicille is a greate mote to be cast against me, that he, poore man, is none suche. Surely, for Mr. Cicille, I take him to be an honest and a wourthy man, nor I see no cause why he shulde be brought and used to my displeasure, whom I have ever loved. But yet the comparisons are like to those that bringethe those tales unto your grace, that poore man is no purchaser. Let him chaunge his booke of purchase he had this yere with myne, and I wille give him one thousand poundes to bote, and yet wynne almost five hundreth poundes by the bargayne. It wilbe saide there was another joyned with him; so there was with me in my booke, Mr. Eresby with him, Nedeham with me. Yea, but he hath made myche of it away, and he bought it for other; who then doth choppe or chaunge lande, I or he? If it please your grace, I doo not like these comparisons; and I am soray they are used with me. But I knowe one man, who this yere boughte a colleage in London after less than vli a year, and paide for it less then iijxx xvli, and without any cost of buildinges or reparacion maketh now yerely iijxx vjli or thereaboutes; so that for his threscore and fiften poundes he hath more landes then I have for my Thowsande poundes.
Yf I had done so, Smyth had bene a mervelouse man, covetous, extreame, and an heighter of rentes. What other doo or can doo, or howsoever they can height their rentes, or helpe their surveies, yt perteyneth not to me, nor he is not living that can charge me that ever I grudged at it but rathir wisshe it mych more; and yet he that makith of iiijli xvjs viijd one hundreth markes a yere and more, and with laieing out of lxxijli xs gayneth one Thowsande poundes at the Kinges handes without any more trouble, daunger, or crafte, is the sely poore man, none suche as Smyth is.
Yf of alle the lande I have boughte of the Kyng (and, except the house my brother dwelleth in, alle that I have I bought of the Kyng), I have raised one peny rent, or put out one tenaunt, who that can shewe it, I give him my lande; and yet I am the covetouse and th'extreme man, the bier and chopper of lande, when I neither take fyne, raise no rent, bye at the derest, have strife nor controversy with no man living, never chaunged one fote, and bieth but of the King.
These thinges be apperaunt, easy to be convinced, if I shulde saie untruth in any point, and I
