A LETTER From The LORD OF LEICESTER, To the RIGHT HONOURABLE, The EARL of NORTHUMBERLAND; And by him comunicated to the House of PEERS.  
Declaring the true causes of his long stay at Court, and with what earnest desires he continually pressed his Majesty to assign his dispatch, which he notwithstanding denied to grant.  
Also how, and in what manner his Majesty took away the Horses, bought by the Parliament, for the service of Ireland, and employed them to his own use.  
Die Lunae, Sep. 26. 1642.  

ORdered by the Lords in Parliament, that this Letter be forthwith Printed and published.  
John Browne, Cler. Parl.   
Sep. 27. London Printed for john Wright. 1642.   

A LETTER From the LORD OF LEICESTER, To the RIGHT HONOURABLE The EARL of NORTHUMBERLAND, And by him communicated to the House of PEERS.  
My Lords,  
THough I have written thrice to the Commissioners for the affairs of Ireland since my coming from London to give them account of my stay at Court, and that I have also written several Letters to some particular friends in hope that thereby the truth might be known, and myself ●ightly understood. Yet because these Letters peradventure may have miscarried, and lest I should incur the censure of the Parliament for negligence or slackness in that service to which I have been designed, I will truly & as briefly as I can relate to your Lordship how I have behaved myself and if your Lordship please you may Communicate it to the House of Peers, as in your judgement and favour to me you shall think fit, and I hope it will appear that as I have been very impatient of this delay, so I have not wanted diligence in the Solicitation of my dispatch,  
When I came to York I told the King that I was come thither to receive his Majesty's Commandments and Instructions for that employment: which he had done me the honour to confer upon me, and I did humbly beseech him that I might not be stayed at Court because the Parliament did desire my speedy repair into Jreland, and that this service as I conceived did require it at least that some governor (if I were not thought worthy of it) should be presently sent into that Kingdom; the King told me he would think of it; but I must confess I did not find his Majesty so ready to dispatch me as I hoped and expected. From that time I did not fail to beseech his Majesty to send me away, upon every opportunity I had of speaking to him, and I think there passed not a day, that I did not desire the Secretaries of State and some other persons about the King, to put his Majesty in mind of me, and to hasten my dismission: and divers times I made it my Petition to the King, that he would dispatch me, or declare his intention that he would not let me go at all.  
The King said my instructions should be drawn, and that he would give Order to Master Secretary Nicholas to do it as speedily as he could, in expectation whereof, I stayed about three weeks, till the King came from York, when his Majesty appointed me to follow him to Nottingham, and there I should have my expeditions, I obeyed his Maj. and came after him to this Town, where I have attended ever since, perpetually soliciting to be dispatched, and beseeching his Majesty that I might either go to my employment, or have his leave to retire myself to my own house and private condition, that if he were unwilling to trust me in an employment of so great importance, I did beseech him that I might be no burden to his thoughts, and that he would be so gracious as to let me know his resolution, for I conceived myself to be under a heavy censure, both of the Parliament and of the whole Kingdom, whilst possibly they might think it my fault that I was so long absent from that charge which I had undertaken. It is to no purpose to tell you every passage, but this I profess to your Lordship, that if it bade been to save the lives of all my Friends, and of myself, I could not have done more for my dispatch, nevertheless I have not been able to advance it one step, nor have I seen any token to make me hope to have it quickly till this morning, when Master Secretary Nicholas gave me a draught of my instructions to peruse, and so I hope that between this and monday I shall have done that part, and I will do the best I can in procuring some other things, without which I know not how I shall be able to do any acceptable service in that Kingdom; your Lordship knows I am a servant, and I could not run away if I would, or at least it had been to little purpose though I should have adventured to do so undecent and so undutiful an action. Therefore I hope it will be believed that I have not been too blame.  
Now with your Lordship's leave, I shall trouble you with another particular, wherein perhaps I suffer in the opinion of them that knew not what hath passed, though I be as innocent as a new borne Child, ●●y I have opposed it as much as I had power to do, so the King being informed at York by some officious persons, that there were certain draught horses provided to be sent into Jreland, his Majesty told me that he must needs have them for his own use, I did humbly beseech him not to take them away from his own service in Jreland, for which they were bought, and in which they were to be impolyed, and besides what I said myself, I made means by others to save the horses, so as I heard no more of it till I came hither, but then his Majesty told me again, that he must needs have those horses, and would have me send for them, I represented to his Majesty the inconsiderableness of those few horses, and that the Parliament might take it very ill, in regard that the horses were bought with their money for the service of the poor Kingdom of Ireland, therefore I did beseech him not to take them, or however that he would secure me from being an instrument in that which I conceived would much hurt his affairs, and that I being trusted by the Parliament, I could neither do it myself, nor consent that any other should do that which was a breach of trust, and a great diservice, even to his Majesty himself, notwithstanding this the King sent unto me by Master Endymion Porter, and Sir George Hay, at several times to the like purpose, but I returned the same answer, adding this also, that I could not do it and be an honest man to his service, though it be true that the King said he would restore the horses, or pay for them, but for all this, it pleased his Majesty to employ one Erington that served me, and gave him a warrant to fetch the horses, Erington told me of it, I forbade him as far as I could to do it, and told him that if he did it, he must not look to have any thing more to do with me for ever, and further that I made no doubt but the Parliament would hang him for stealing their horses. This and more I said to Erington, in the presence of James Battiere my Secretary, who will witness it, & conceiving it to be an unjust thing in itself, displeasing to the Parliament, and hurtful to the King's service, I protested against it, though Erington said, his Master had commanded him upon his allegiance to execute the warrant, but indeed I told him that I did not believe him, nor could think that his Majesty would command a Subject upon his allegiance to take away other men's Horses, this I thought sufficient, but it seems I was deceived, for Erington without my consent or knowledge, went from Nottingham towards Chester, as I heard afterwards, and I have never seen him since, nor heard from him, what he hath done I do not know, but I sent to Chester that the horses should be presently shipped away, and I caused my Secretary to write to Master Hawkins, to take care that neither Erington nor any body for him, should receive any more money of Master Loftus, or his Deputy, to provide the rest of the horses, for as yet I think there hath been only 1600 li. issued to buy 200. of the 600. horses allowed by the Parliament, and of that 1600 li. I will do the best I can to get a good account, whereof the Parliament God willing shall be informed with my best care and diligence, truly my Lord I do the best I can to serve my Country, they that wiser may do more, but of any thing contrary to the duty of an honest man, the Parliament upon strict examination shall never find me guilty, for the reputation of honesty and fidelity is (and I can say no more) as dear unto me, as your esteeming me  
Nottingham, Sep. 9 1642. Your Lordship's humble and and affectionate Servant, LEICESTER.  
FINIS.