After our due Respects remembred, and our best desires for your good health and happines, These may serue to intimate 154to your worshipp our safe arriual att Plymouth through gods riche mercy and good prouidence being all in health on the 10th day of this Instant month: Being so deeply ingaged by so many bonds we could not pass by this opertunity to acquaint yow with suche newes as is brought to our hands: hauing suche short time to express our desires we humbly craue your worshipps kind acceptance here of: So it is that vppon our arriual we heare that the 6th month last past there arriued 70 sayle of the king of Spains Armado all great shipps in the Channell. as they came along about the Ile of Wight there mett with them about 35 sayle of Flemings and interchanged many blowes but they left and went vp into the Downes, and the Flemings followed them and they both anchored there: only there being then Sir John Pennington Viceadmiral of the narrow seas with 4 shipps and they came and rode between them and suffred them not to fight: the General of the Spaniards sent vp with speed to the king for protection, and for Conuoy by his Majestis shipps, pretending they were bound to Dunkerk with 20000 men and some Treasure for the Emperors forces (but what there intentions were god knowes, but its not without suspition that there ends were worse they hearing how things stood between the 2 kingdoms) but the king and state denyed them any Convoy, only gaue them leaue to take supply of prouision and munition they wanted and gaue them leaue to stay there vnder his protection suche a certaine sett time and then he would leaue them; but great hast there was made to expedite many shipps of the kings and marchants into the Downes, to keep the narrow seas: and al the Coast in that quarter was raisd vp in arms not knowing there intentions: there time being expired that the king had limited, the king sent downe to Sir John Pennington to take no further protection of them and so he waghed Anchor and the hollenders lett slipp and also the Spaniards and imediatly fell to it.

Now before this time the states of Hollond had dispatcht away so many shipps to the other that they were 120 shipps. they hauing putt themselus into such an order appointing euery ship to there quarter: 6 of them presently boarded the Admiral of the Spainards and left hir not till they sunke hir downe right. 8 or 9 more they burnt and sunk: 8 or 10 they putt ashore some on our coast, some on the Cost of France: 18 more they tooke and caryed away to Flushing: al the rest escaped to Dunkerk, al but one that now is at Plymouth that we were aboard on and spake with the Captain being attended by diuers of the states shipps that narrowly watch hir in so muche that she cannot escape them.

As touching the Scotch buisnes: it is as we heard the warr is seased and forces withdrawne: but what the Issue wilbe we know not but its muche 155feared, it wil breake out afresh againe: as we heare they do demand allowance from the state towards the great Charge they haue bin necessitated vnto for their defense: thus in muche rudenes and brookenes we haue made bold to acquaint your worship with such news as we haue intreating your acceptance and your remembrance to god for vs. with our seruice to your wife to Mr. John Winthrop to Mr. Cotton and Mr. Wilson wee comend you to god and rest Att your Worshipps seruice to our power

Decimus iam annus est a quo, post iter nostrum a Constantinopoli in nave, quam dicunt London, tecum Venetijs fui, primo quidem in valetudinario (Lazaretto vocant Itali) circa mensem, post autem in vrbe ipsa: omnium mihi dulcis recensque memoria est pro suavissima quam tecum habui consuetudine. Ipse quidem mense Aprili anno 1629 illinc in Angliam navigans, tibi Venetijs commoranti et oportunitatem 156commodi per Germaniam itineris expectanti animo quidem tristi valedixi: non autem sine certa spe me brevi tempore te in Hollandia visurum; quod quamvis maxime in votis fuit (et semper et adhuc est) hunc tamen mihi gratiam negavit, qui sapienti suo concilio, et voluntate nos, nostraque regit, dirigetque Deus. Postquam enim in Angliam reversus sum, non diu ibi manere, nec in Europa licuit, brevi enim singulari numinis ductu, ad hanc coloniam translocatus sum, vbi adhuc etiam haereo. Hocque est quod te saepius scivisse cupiebam, nec defuit industria, et te per epistolas compellandi, et de tua valetudine inquirendi sed frustra, nisi quod intra paucos dies, per quendam Dominum Matrell (nescio an nomen recte teneo medicum se profitetur et gradum ibi cepisse dixit) a Lugduno huc nuper adventum, de tua salute maximo profusus gaudio intellexi: Jam autem non dubitans quin ad manus tuas hae litterae nostrae pervenirent, et te salutatum per eas vellem, nostrique in te amoris testimonium praebere, et vt intelligas me adhuc dei gratia in vivis esse, atque in hac Americae parte Nova-Anglia colonia Anglorum celeberrima (cuius nec te possit latere fama) manere: multa de rebus nostris hoc in orbe tibi scripsissem, sed, vt plenius omnia acciperes, hunc Juvenem Franciscum Higenson qui hic a pueritia per decennium vixit tibi commendatum habere mallem, ingenuus est, et (pro discendi ratione hoc in deserto) mediocriter literatus optimè novit omnia, et de colonia nostra, et de regione ipsa, et de barbaris incolis, vt ab illo quicquid in hisce cognitu dignum sit verè intelligere possis: obsecro te, vt illum amanter accipies sic, et, si qua possis, in studiorum cursu promoveas, discendi enim studio hinc peregrinatur:

Quae de me scire cupis ab illo etiam multa, intelliges six words deleted scias autem preter medicinam Opticen aliasque mathematicas disciplinas Hermeticae philosophiae (qua de superiorum et inferiorum Harmonia docemur, vt optime nosti) me maximè studiosum esse: sed ad varias etiam vertor inventiones, pro vt coloniae conditio exigit, Jam compendium in salinis quaero, ad salem ex aqua marina faciendum several lines illegible sed de his forsan satis. hoc verum five words erased a te peto, vt me de valetudine tua, prima occatione sic certiorem facias, nihil enim mihi gratius si vel lineam a te acciperem. Deus te incolumem servet vale. Tui Studiossissimus