Now, Schir, I have brokin my promeis; becaus ze commandit me nouther to
wryte nor send unto zow Zit I have not done this to offend zow, and gif
ze knew the feir yat I have presently, ze wald not have sa mony contrary
suspiciounis in your thocht; quhilk notwithstanding I treit and chereis,
as proceeding from the thing in the warld that I maist desyre, and
seikis fastest to haif, quhilk is zour gude grace; of the quhilk my
behaviour sall assure me. As to me: I sall never dispair of it, and
prayis zow, according to zour promeis, to discharge zour hart unto me,
Utherwayis[65] I will think that my malhure, and the gude handling of hir
that has not ye third part of the faithfull nor willing obedience unto
zow that I beir, hes wyn, aganis my will, yat advantage over me, quhilk
the second lufe of Jason wan; not that I will compair zow unto ane sa
unhappy as he was, nor zit myself to ane sa unpietifull ane woman as
scho. Howbeit, ze caus me to be sumthing lyk unto hir in onything that
tuichis zow, or yat may preserve and keip zow unto hir, to quhome only
ze appertene; gif it be sa that I may appropriate that quhilk is wyn
throch faithfull, zea only, lufiing of zow, as I do, and sall do all the
dayis of my lyfe, for pane or evill that can cum thairof. In recompense
of the quhilk, and of all the evillis quhilk ze have bene caus of to me,
remember zow upon the place heir besyde.
I craif with that ze keip promeis to me the morne; but that we may meit
togidder, and that ye gif na faith to suspiciounis without the
certanetie of thame. And I craif na uther thing at God, but that ze may
knaw that thing that is in my hart quhilk is zouris; and that he may
preserve zow from all evill, at the leist sa lang as I have lyfe, quhilk
I repute not precious unto me, except in sa far as it and I baith ar
aggreabill unto zow. I am going to bed, and will bid zow gude nicht.
Advertise me tymely in the morning how ze have fairin; for I will be in
pane unto I get worde. Mak gude watch,[66] gif the burd eschaip out of
the caige, or without hir mate. As ye turtur I sall remane alone for to
lament the absence, how schort yat sa ever it be. This letter will do
with ane gude hart, that thing quhilk I cannot do myself, gif it be not
that I have feir that ze ar in sleiping, I durst not wryte this befoir
Joseph, Bastiane, and Joachim, that did bot depart even quhen I began to
wryte.
A French version of this letter is in the possession of the Marquis
of Salisbury at Hatfield (_cf._ Calendar of Hatfield MSS., I.
376-7) and has been printed by Mr. Henderson. ("Casket Letters,"
pp. 159-162.) It is here given in full, and the variations in the
published Latin and French versions, and in the English translation
at Halfield are indicated in the notes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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