hrough that windowe into
a Chamber, which some say is the Ladies Dining Roome, others, that it
is a Chamber of a Man servant waiting upon her."

The writ was now safely lodged in the house; but the Ambassador had
ordered the messenger to take care to call the attention of some one
in it to the fact that the writ was there. Unfortunately, says the
Ambassador, this part of his instructions had been neglected. "The
Courrier returnes to me. And finding that he had forgotten to speake
at the dore as I had directed him, I caused him presently to returne
and to discharge himself in such sort as is above mentioned, which he
will depose he did."

This was done, but even then something was still left undone; for it
yet remained to be proved that Lady Purbeck was actually in the house
at the time when the writ was thrown into it. The Ambassador conceived
the idea of obtaining such proof by means of a female witness. For
this purpose, he very ingeniously contrived to find a sister of one of
Lady Purbeck's servants, and, no doubt by the promise of a heavy
bribe, he persuaded her to go to the house, to ask to be admitted in
order to speak with her sister, to find out, when there, if Lady
Purbeck was in the house, and, if possible, to see her. This ruse was
singularly successful, for, as will be seen, the first person whom the
girl saw was Lady Purbeck herself.

"A woman being sent to the house under Colour of speaking with a
sister of hers the Ladies servant, the Ladye herselfe came downe to
the dore, and opening it a little, soe that the woman saw her, she
sayd her sister should have leave to go home to her that night. And
therefore the Lady was in the house at the same time that the place of
her residence was served. She hath lived in that house about a month,
and there are (as I am informed) no other dwellers in it but herself."

The writ had now been served, although not into the very hands of Lady
Purbeck yet it was hoped sufficiently in order to satisfy the law. But
all was not yet smooth. The Ambassador wrote:--

"The morrow after this was done, about midnight, there came some
officers with two coaches and 50 archers to divers houses to search
for the Lady being directed and instructed by a warrant from the
Cardinal that whereas there was a Messenger sent from England to offer
some affront to your Lady Purbeck in diminution of this Kings
jurisdiction, that therefore they should find out the sayd Lady and
protect her."