LETTERS FROM STEPHENS. 239 



Now for your office. 



First, Whereas my Lord Teynham at the first would have 

 had your Lordship&quot; have had but one life in it, and he 

 another; and my Lord Treasurer, and the Solicitor and 

 Deccombe were about to give way to it ; I turned utterly 

 that course, telling them that you were to have two lives 

 in it, as well as Somerset had. 



Secondly, I have accordingly, in the assurance from your 

 deputies, made them acknowledge the trust and give secu 

 rity not only for your lordship s time, but after : so as you 

 may dispose (if you should die, which I would be sorry to 

 live to) the profits of the office by your will or otherwise to 

 any of your friends for their comfort and advancement. 



Thirdly, I dealt so with Whitlocke as well as Heath as 

 there was no difficulty made of the surrender. 



Lastly, I did cast with myself, that if your lordship s 

 deputies, had come in by Sir Edward Cooke who was tied 

 to Somerset, it would have been subject to some clamour 

 from Somerset, and some question what was forfeited by 

 Somerset s attainder (being but of felony) to the king : but 

 now they coming in from a new chief justice, all is without 

 question or scruple. 



Thus your lordship may see my love and care towards 

 you, which I think infinitely too little in respect of the 

 fulness of my mind ; but I thought good to write this, to 

 make you understand better the state of your own business ; 

 doing by you as I do by the king; which is, to do his 

 business safely and with foresight, not only of to-morrow or 

 next day, but afar off, and not to come fiddling with a report 

 to him what is done every day, but to give him up a good 

 sum in the end. 



I purpose to send your lordship a calendar fair written 

 of those evidence which concern your estate, for so much 

 as I have passed my hands ; which in truth are not fit to 

 remain with solicitors, no nor with friends, but in some 

 great cabinet, to be made for that purpose. 



All this while I must say plainly to your lordship, that 

 you fall short for your present charge, except you play the 

 good husband : for the office of Teynham is in reversion, 

 Darcye s land is in reversion ; all the land in your books 

 is but in reversion, and yields you no present profit, because 

 you pay the fee-farm. So as you are a strange heteroclite 

 in grammar, for you want the present tense ; many verbs 

 want the preterperfect tense and some the future tense, but 

 none want the present tense. I will hereafter write to your 



