| |Grand document=Letter of Thomas Smith to William Cecil, 22 April 1576, from Cannon Row: 'I can not yet be idle, it is contrary to my nature. And wold in this lothesome laisuer, if I cowld now and then, emonge other ocupacions and pasymes, remember the dais of my youth & lok bak agayn to my doeyngs then & now beyng old quasi repuerascens,18 I wrote to yr L. then beyng secretary (as I remember) a book of the value of the Romayne coynes to our english standarde, vpon a question which yr L moved to me viz. what was the ordenary wage of a soldier at Roome. This booke, (as many other made in my youth) I was so negligent that I have lost. I remember I sent to yr L. one of them, and to my L. of leicester an other. I haue made all the serche I can by mr wolley, and in my L. of Leicestris study, it will not be founde. So that if yr L. haue it not, I take it lost [...] Yet I do not thynke, that yr. L. did lay it up so negligently. I do specially desier the tables which were very exactly & playnly set forthe. ffor in serchyng emong myn old bookes [f.20v] I have fownde the furst draught and aduersaria, whereby I can fill agayn all the chapiters, in maner as thei weir at the first. But the tables noe no draught of them can I fynde, and I doute neither my laisur, nor my wit, & memory of old bookes and place of them (which was then more redy and fraysh then it is now) will not serve me to make the tables agayn. Wherefore I pray yr L. to do so __ the soe me, as to giue order that the hole book may be lokid out, but specially the tables. & to le_ me have this back for my use as I said, and I will not fail to express thanks to yr L agayn. And so wishyng yr L.spedy & [...] helth I remit yow to God. ffrom Cannon Row the xxij of Aprill 1576.' (British Library, Harley MS 6992, ff.20r-v; Burnett - Simpson - Thorpe 2017, pp. 143; Burnett 2020b, p. 59) | | |Grand document=Letter of Thomas Smith to William Cecil, 22 April 1576, from Cannon Row: 'I can not yet be idle, it is contrary to my nature. And wold in this lothesome laisuer, if I cowld now and then, emonge other ocupacions and pasymes, remember the dais of my youth & lok bak agayn to my doeyngs then & now beyng old quasi repuerascens ['becoming a boy again'], I wrote to yr L. then beyng secretary (as I remember) a book of the value of the Romayne coynes to our english standarde, vpon a question which yr L moved to me viz. what was the ordenary wage of a soldier at Roome. This booke, (as many other made in my youth) I was so negligent that I have lost. I remember I sent to yr L. one of them, and to my L. of leicester an other. I haue made all the serche I can by mr wolley, and in my L. of Leicestris study, it will not be founde. So that if yr L. haue it not, I take it lost [...] Yet I do not thynke, that yr. L. did lay it up so negligently. I do specially desier the tables which were very exactly & playnly set forthe. ffor in serchyng emong myn old bookes [f.20v] I have fownde the furst draught and aduersaria, whereby I can fill agayn all the chapiters, in maner as thei weir at the first. But the tables noe no draught of them can I fynde, and I doute neither my laisur, nor my wit, & memory of old bookes and place of them (which was then more redy and fraysh then it is now) will not serve me to make the tables agayn. Wherefore I pray yr L. to do so __ the soe me, as to giue order that the hole book may be lokid out, but specially the tables. & to le_ me have this back for my use as I said, and I will not fail to express thanks to yr L agayn. And so wishyng yr L.spedy & [...] helth I remit yow to God. ffrom Cannon Row the xxij of Aprill 1576.' (British Library, Harley MS 6992, ff.20r-v; Burnett - Simpson - Thorpe 2017, pp. 143; Burnett 2020b, p. 59) |