292 



Charles, Lord Stourton, fyc. 



sent to the seid Basyng. Thus your seryant wisheth you prosperous success. 

 From Kylmygton the xvijth of December. 



John Gamege." 



" To the right Worshipfull and his singler good 

 Master, Syr John Thynne Knight, delyver thies." 



In this affair Lord Stourton may have only have been doing 

 what it was his duty to do — investigating a suspected murder. 

 The other letter upon this subject is 



(No. 27.) 1549 January 1st. William Hartgill to Sir John Thynne. 

 ( Original at Longleat.) 



"My bounden dewtie right lowly remembered. It may please you to be 

 advertysed that according to your plesure I have, herein inclosed, send to you 

 such certyficatts as ye wrote to me for, in every behalf to the beste of my poure 

 accordynge to the truthe of every parcell in your gentle letters mencyoned. 

 And to the utterest of my powre I wull ayde and councell our Under Sheriff for 

 your wurshyp with all my stodye. And I have advysed him to make a boke 

 that ye may se every peny by him taken as well for fees of all kynde of process, 

 as otherwyse, for the fees of the process moste stop a great gap for it wulbe 

 worthe £40 or better yet it muste be rescey vyd in smawle porcyons. I wuld 

 be right sorry that ye shuld be a loser, and agayne I wuld ye shuld not be to 

 mowche a gayner, but oonly moderation to Rule. 



Sir, my pryst his wyff is indyted for poysoninge of here old husbond and 

 also for brekynge of his neck, and the pryste and oon other that was moste 

 concordante with them and privy howe he dyed, (because he declared to Horner 

 and Fitz- James the truthe), bothe indyted as.accessaryes, and do remayne in 

 the gayle and all theire goods spoyled and suche wemen as were at the dethe of 

 the man have ben sett in the Stocks to compell them to apele fawlsly the saide 

 powre woman but they can sey nothinge but all good, and the Coronar and also 

 the Jury do confes that none of them never toke othe of no person in gevynge 

 onyman's evydens but only the report of Henry Fytz-james and the Papeste 

 Jury whiche were made by John Dyer's clerke, who was then the Coronar's 

 clerk, and Horner and Fitz-james man: The Coroner by the lawe shuld have 

 requyred the Sheryf and Bayly of the hunderthe to have warned the next four 

 townships and of them they to have made an indeferent Jury which to do the 

 Coroner refused afore your Deputie contrary to the lawe: it is the most faulseste 

 mater handeled that ever was in this contrey. Let God (sic) beware how he do 

 come in to this parties, yf he wull do or speke leke hymselff, for then, yff 

 Horner and Fytz-james wull sey ye (yea), then shall he be indyted of morther 

 at the leyst. 



As I shall aunswer affore God, all thyngs that T did certyfye ageynst my Lord 

 Stourton' s men in huntyng is trewe, as with credeable persons I am ever redy to 

 justifie : they make the Kyng's forest * to be my Lord Stourton's purlewe : it is 

 to Lord Stourton, as Saynt Akers (St. Algar's) the Ruyge and Abbottys-more 

 is to yow, and none otherwyse. And sethens the resayte of your letters con- 

 cernynge the same they have kylled in the saide forest thre dere at oon tyine, 



* Selwood. 



