+Source.+--_Hamilton Papers_, No. 240, Vol. II.
Please it Your Highness to understand that like as we wrote in our
last letters to Your Majesty our determination to depart from Leith
homewards by land with your army upon Thursday last, and so to
devastate the country by the way in our return as we might
conveniently, so have we now accomplished the same. And first before
our departure from Leith having brent Edinburgh and sundry other towns
and villages in those parties as we wrote in our said last
letters,--we did likewise burn the town of Leith, the same morning
that we departed thence, and such ships and boats as we found in the
haven, meet to be brought away, we have conveyed thence by sea, and
the rest are brent; and have also destroyed and brent the pier and
haven. Which damages we think they shall not be able to recover in our
time. And in our way homewards we have brent the town of
Musselborough, Preston, Seton, with Lord Seton's principal house,
himself being pricking aloof from us with a certain number of
horsemen, so that he will see his own house and his own toun on fire,
and also we have brent the touns of Haddington and Dunbar, which we
dare assure Your Majesty be well burnt, with as many other piles,
gentlemen's and others houses and villages as we might conveniently
reach, within the limits or compass of our way homewards. And always
had such respect towards the keeping of good order and array in our
marching, as notwithstanding the Scots would daily prick about us, and
make as many proud shows and braggs, they could take us at none
advantage. And yesterday the Lords Hume and Seton, and also as we were
informed, the Earl of Bothwell, had assembled together the number of
two thousand horsemen and vi thousand footmen, and were once
determined to have stopped us at the Pease, which is a very straight
and ill passage for an army, assuring your majesty that three thousand
men, being men of heart, and having captains of any policy or
experience of the wars, might keep and defend the said passage against
a greater power than we had. Nevertheless being the said Scots
assembled and determined as is aforesaid, to keep that passage, when
they saw your majesty's army and power marching towards them in an
honest order and in such sort as they might well perceive were fully
bent and determined to assault them, they did immediately disperse and
scale themselves in our sight, and gave us the passage without
resistance. And so this journey is accomplished to Your Majesty's
honour.
Touching the castle of Temptallen, like as we wrote to Your Highness
what we have done to Sir George Douglas in the same, so have I the
Earl of Hertford since that time received letters from the Earl of
Angus and the said Sir George, which I send herewith to Your Majesty;
and what shall be Your Majesty's further pleasure to have done in that
behalf, I shall accomplish accordingly; and would right gladly have
returned by Temptallen, and made some countenance of assault to the
same, but that partly I forbare and tarried for the said answer, and
chiefly I was constrained to leave it for lack of carriages for great
pieces of artillery and also for lack of powder; and besides that we
were so disfurnished by carriages for our victuals, that we were not
able to carry so much with us, as might serve us for any longer time
than that we might march home. And yet having made as Good Shift and
Provision for the same as we could for our lives, the soldiers, ere we
came half-way home, were fain to drink water the residue of the way
which they did with as good will as ever did men, and as well content
to endure labour and pain, without grudging at the same. These
respects and lacks enforced us to leave both Temptallen and Hume
Castles much against our wills, and to make the haste we could
homewards for avoiding of more inconvenience. So that this night we
arrived here at Berwick with our whole army, and shall forthwith
dissolve the same, to the intent Your Highness may the sooner be
exonerated of your great charges sustained in that behalf.
Finally, we have received letters since our arrival here from the
lords of your majesty's council, by the which it appeareth that Your
Highness' pleasure to have 3900 soldiers chosen out of this army
to be transported hence to Calais to serve Your Highness in
France,--whereupon I the said Earl have called sundry of the captains
afore me, and appointed such as I thought most meet with their numbers
for that purpose. Assuring Your Majesty that though the gentlemen are
most willing to serve, yet they declare their necessity to be such,
which indeed is most evident,--as we see not how it is possible to
furnish the said number presently from these parts, to be transported
to Calais, unless the gentlemen and their men might have time to go
home and prepare and furnish themselves in such sort as they might be
able to serve Your Majesty to your honour and their honesties. For
having in this journey spent all their money, they say that of force
they must go home to make shift for more, and they have neither tents
nor pavilions here; for because this enterprise into Scotland was by
sea, all gentlemen had special commandment to bring no carriages with
them, so that few or none brought any pavilion hither. And as for the
soldiers having lain nightly in their clothes, since they came from
home being now the space of two months, and for this fortnight, every
night in the fields without covering, they have the most part of them,
what with cold and great travail and scant victualling have caught
such diseases both in their bodies and swelling in their legs, and be
so wearied with labour and pain that few or none of them be meet to go
to the seas, nor yet able to serve Your Majesty when they come to land
to your honor. And besides that they be so far out of apparrell both
in shirts, doublets, coats, and all other things, having also no money
to furnish the same, that their captains cannot with honesty bring
them to the field in such plight. So that except they might have time
to refresh themselves, both to get health and such necessary furniture
as they now want, undoubtedly we see not how it is possible to pick
out the said number of 3900 of such men as may be sent with honesty to
serve Your Highness purpose,--as I the said lord Admiral shall declare
unto Your Majesty at my coming. In the mean season, we have appointed
here 500 Harquebusiers, which be as forward and apt men to serve in
strait feat as ever we saw, and also 200 of the Lord Cobham's men, 200
pioneers under the conduct of Mr. Lee and 50 of Sir Christopher Mone's
men, besides 500 of those that come by sea, over and above 2000
reserved to keep the sea, so that the whole number that can be had
here is 1450 men, which shall forthwith be embarked and transported to
Calais, according to Your Majesty's pleasure. And this is as much as
can be done here in that behalf, without a longer respect as is
aforesaid. Thus Almighty God preserve Your Majesty in your royal
estate most felicitously to endure.
At Berwick the xviiith of May and ix o'clock within night. Your
Majesty's humble subjects and most bounden servants. (Signed) E.
Hertford, John Lisle, Rafe Sadleyr.
[Footnote 68: _i.e._ Cardinal Beaton, leader of the French Party in
Scotland.]