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2 seruytude how paynful it should be it is easie to perceyve by the cruelte 1, robbing, sorennyng and spoiling in the saide realme, which (as ye write) procedeth of them. Nor the counsaile or dyet to be had betuixt the Brabands aud Hollanders and your cytie seemeth to tend to any other thing than fayned a certain pretext to make an amytie and reconciliation betwixt the borderers, which they do mesure and prepare for their own utilitie and to the hurte 4 of this noble domynyon, and also we think that to be the 5 chief foundation of all their matters. Wherefore we, having respecte to the common tranquyllitie, hertilie desire you, that with all your will, powers and industrie ye will indeuer by all the means ye can to let and stop the said dyet and counsel or at the least to dissolve it shortly before any thing be concluded, sith our adversaries do propose nothing else than by a little and little to bring and attract the Lubeckers (being very streng and free herted people) into their snares by fair promyses. But sith these things are of so grete moment and by you so performed³, perpended and considered, we will not put the spoores to a running horse. Ferthermore touching the realme of Denmark and that the accomplyshment thereof (as ye write) requireth acceleration and spede, veraylie we judge your counsails in that behalf to be full of wisdom and that the same procedeth of your grete loue and zele towards us, of the which thing, though the thing itself offereth vnto vs a grete occasion and facilite, yet we ought not to regard alonely the beginning, which many times with a sudden chance happen to be immutate and chaynge 10. And forasmoch as often times in grete matters, being begun with wise and discrete counsails, there hathe not ensued suche ende and success as hath been hoped and loked for, we have there fore taken conuenyent and mature deliberation as apperteyneth in so high a matter. Nor it is not alonelie to be considered and regarded 11, what a man may wynne and atteyne, but also by what means he may keep and defende it, when it is won and gotten, by what wayes he may remedy and helpe such chaynces as may happen unlooked for, to what friends 19 he may trust and which are to be mistrusted, and to which parte it is necessarie to adhere and behold, and fynally it is to be foreseen, what grounds and fundaments may be laid for the contynuance of the Therefore lest we should seme to be ouer hastie or to run hedlong in this matter, and lest we should hereafter perchance repente those counsails, which we should leaue 13 off then with great dishonour, we hertelie desire you to prouide, that some discrete person of that citie, having sufficient auctoritie of the other grete men same. 1 cruelte. W.: „,cruell". 2 sorennyng. W.: „brennyng (sic)". 4 hurte. W.:,,herte". 5 the. W.:,,their". 8 performed. W.: „profoundlie". 11 and regarded mangler hos W. 6 least. W.:,,best". 3 nor the. W.: „now this". 7 Lubeckers. W.: „Lubecke". 10 chaynge. W.: „chaninge (sic)". 9 alonely. W.: „alone by". 13 leaue. W.: „live". 12 friends. W.: „frend".
