The Paston Letters
Chapter 248 : Aftyr all dewtes of recomendacyon, lyeketh yow to weet that I ensuer yow your sendyng

Aftyr all dewtes of recomendacyon, lyeketh yow to weet that I ensuer yow your sendyng to Caster is evyll takyn among my lordes folkes, in so myche that some sey that ye tendryd lytyll my lordes dethe, in as myche as ye wold so sone entre upon hym aftyr hys dyssease, with ought avyse and a.s.sent of my lordes consayll; wherfor it is thought here by syche as be your frendes in my lordes house that if my lady have onys the graunt of the wardshepp of the chyld,[247-2] that she wyll ocupye Caster with other londes, and ley the defaute on your unkynd hastyness of entre with ought hyr a.s.sent. Wherfor in eny wyse get yow a patent of the Kyng ensealyd be for hyrs, and ye may by eny meane possybyll.

Also I prey yow comon with my Lord Chamberleyn for me, and weet hough that he wyll have me demeanyd.

It iss told me for serteyn that ther is none hey to gete at Caleys; wherfor if I mygh be pardond for eny kepyng of horse at Caleys till Myd somer, it wer a good torne.

The berer herof shall come home ayen fro London with in a day aftyr that he comyth thedyr, if ye wyll ought comand hym. I prey yow send me woord by hym hough ye do with your maters, and I prey yow in eny wyse lete me undyrstand, by the berer heroff, hough Bowen of the Cheker wyll dele with me; vj^xx. and x_li._ it is nough, and I wold have vij^xx._li._ and x_li._ and I to plege it ought in iiij. or v. yer, or ellys to forfet the maner.

Wretyn at Norwyche, the Twysday next aftyr your departyng thens, xxiij.

die Januarii, anno E. iiij^ti xv^{o}.

JOHN PASTON.

[Footnote 247-1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.]]

[Footnote 247-2: This child was Ann, who soon after was betrothed to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, the second son of King Edward. She died very young, and the Duke was, as it is supposed, smothered in the Tower by the command of his uncle Richard III.--F.]

884

SIR JOHN PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[248-1]

_To John Paston, Esquier, at Norwyche, be thys delyveryd._

[Sidenote: 1476 / JAN. 27]

I recomaunde me to yow, letyng yow weete that I was infformyd by Ric.

Radle, that on Scarlett, that was undrescheryff to Hastyngs,[248-2]

wolde sywe to me on yowr behalff, ffor that ye weer dyspleasyd with a returne off Nichill[248-3] uppon yow in the seyde Hastyngs tyme; wherffor Ric. Radle thoghte that the seyde Scarlett wolde be gladde to gyff yow a n.o.ble or a riall ffor a sadell to amends, so that ye wolde sease and stoppe the bylle, whyche ye entende to putt into the corte ageyn hys Master Hastyngs.

Wherffor the seyde Scarlett com to me, and prayed me to helpe in the same, and so I have don my devoir to ffeele off hym the most that he can ffynde in hys stomake to depart with to please yow; and in conclusyon I trowe, he shall gyff yow a doblett clothe off sylke, price xx_s._ or therabout; whyche uppon suche answeer as I heer ffrom yowe, I deme that Bysshop the atornye shall, iff I conclude with hym on yowr behalve, paye in mony or otherwyse, to whom that ye woll a.s.synge heer.

I shall by the means of Raddele weet at whoys sywte it was takyn owte; I deme it som thynge doon by craffte, by the means off them that have entresse in your lond, to th'entent to noyse itt therys, or to make yow past shame off the sellyng theroff.

Item, I have receyvyd a letter ffrom yowe wretyn on Tywesdaye last.

Item, wher that som towards my Lady of Norffolk noyse that I dyd onkyndely to sende so hastely to Caster as I dyd; there is no dyscrete person that so thynkyth, ffor iff my lorde hade ben as kynde to me as he myght have ben, and acordyng to suche hert and servyce as my grauntffadr, my ffadr, yowr selff, and I, have owght and doon to my Lords of Norffolk that ded ben, and yitt iff I hadde weddyd hys dowghtr, yitt most I have doon as I dydde.

And moor ovyr, iff I had hadde any demyng off my lordys dethe iiij.

howrs or he dyed, I most neds, but iff I wolde be knowyn a ffoole, have entryd it the howr byffor hys dycesse; but in effecte, theygh that in that mater have alweys ment onkyndely to me, they ffeyne that rumor ageyn me; but ther is noon that ment truly to hym that dede is, that wolde be sory that I hadde itt, and in especiall suche as love hys sowle.

Item, wher it is demyd that my lady wolde herafftr be the rather myn hevy lady ffor that delyng, I thynke that she is to resonable so to be, ffor I did it nott onwyst to hyr cowncell; there was no man thoght that I sholde doo otherwysse; an as to seye, that I myght have hadde my ladyes advyce or lyve [_leave_], I myght have teryed yitt, or I cowde have speken with hyr, or yitt have hadde any body to have mevyd hyr there on my behalve, as ye wote I dydde what I cowde. Moreovyr I taryed by the advyce off Sir Robert Wyngffelde iij. dayes there, ffor that he putte me in comffirt that the Lord Howard,[249-1] and hys brother Sir John, sholde have comen to Norwyche, att whoys comyng he dowtyd nott but that I sholde have a goode dyrection takyn ffor me in that mater, they leyhe to me onkyndenesse ffor ovyrkyndenesse.

Item, as ffor my mater heer, itt was thys daye beffoor alle the lordes off the cowncelle, and amonge them all, it was nott thowght, that in my sendyng off Whetley thyddr, in mediately afftr the dycesse off the Duke, that I dalt onkyndly or onfyttyngly, but that I was moor onresonably dalte with; wherffor, late men deme what they wylle, grettest clerkys are nott alweye wysest men; but I hope hastely to have on weye in it or other.

Item, I wende [_expected_] to have ffownde a gowne off myn heer, but it come home the same daye that I come owte, browght by Herry Berker, loder [_carrier_]. I wolde in alle hast possible have that same gowne off puke ffurryd with whyght lambe.

Item, I wolde have my longe russett gowne off the Frenshe russett in alle hast, ffor I have no gowne to goo in here.

Item, I praye yow recomande me to my moodr, and lat us alle prey G.o.d sende my Lady off Norffolk a soone, for uppon that restythe moche mater; ffor if the Kyngys soone[250-1] mary my lords dowghtr, the Kynge wolde that hys soone sholde have a ffayr place in Norffolk, thowhe he sholde gyffe me ij. tymes the valywe in other londe, as I am doon to weete.

I praye yow sende me worde off my ladyes spede as soone as ye kan.

Item, as ffor Bowen I shall ffele hym, and sholde have doon, thowghe ye hadde nott sente.

Item, ther is offryd me a goode marriage for my suster Anne Skypwithys sone and heyr off Lynkolneshyre, a man v. or vj. mrke by year. No mor.

Wretyn at London, the xxvij. daye off Janyver, anno E. iiij^ti xv^{o}.

Item, my Lady off Excester[250-2] is ded, and it was seyde that bothe the olde Dywchesse off Norffolk,[251-1] and the Cowntesse off Oxenfforde[251-2] weer ded, but it is nott soo yitt.

Item, I shall remembr Caleyse bothe for horse and alle, &c.

[Footnote 248-1: [From Fenn, ii. 190.]]

[Footnote 248-2: John Hastyngs was Sheriff of Norfolk the preceding year.--F.]

[Footnote 248-3: Nihils, or Nichils, are issues which the sheriff that is apposed in the Exchequer says are _nothing worth_ and illeviable, through the insufficiency of the parties from whom due.--F.]

[Footnote 249-1: Afterwards Duke of Norfolk.--F.]

[Footnote 250-1: Richard, Duke of York, second son of King Edward IV., in or before January 1478, married Anne, sole daughter and heir of John Mowbray, late Duke of Norfolk.--_Rolls of Parliament_, vi. 168. She was at that time only in her sixth year, and she died early.]

[Footnote 250-2: Anne, daughter of Richard, Duke of York, sister of Edward IV., and widow of Henry Holland, the last Duke of Exeter, her first husband; she died 14th of January 1475, and lies buried with Sir Thomas Saint Leger, Knight, her second husband, in a private chapel at Windsor.--F.]

[Footnote 251-1: Ellenor, only daughter of William Bourchier, Earl of Ewe, in Normandy, and widow of John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk.--F.]

[Footnote 251-2: Margaret, daughter of Richard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, and wife of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, now a prisoner in the Castle of Hammes, in Picardy; or it may refer to Elizabeth, widow of the late Earl of Oxford, and daughter and heir of Sir John Howard, Knight.--F.]

885

JOHN PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[251-3]

_To Sir John Paston, Knyght, at the George, by Powlys Wharf, in London._

[Sidenote: 1476 / FEB. 3]

Aftyr all dwtes of recomendacyon, lyeketh yow to wete, that with in thys owyr past, I receyd your letter wretyn the xxvij. day of Januar, by whyche I undyrstand that Scarlet wold have an end with me; but lesse then xl_s._ is to lytyll, for iff I wold do the uttermost to hym, I shold recover by the statwte, I trow xl_li._ or more, but lesse then x.x.xiij_s._ iiij_d._ I wyll in no wyse; and ye may sey that ye of your owne hed wyll geve hym the ode n.o.byll of xl_s._, and if ye have the v.

n.o.blys I prey yow let Parker of Flett stret have therof x.x.x_s._ and lete Pytte and Rychard and Edward drynk the xl_d._ As for your gownys, they shalbe sent yow in as hasty wyse as is possybyll. Thys must be consayll:--It is promysyd my lady by my Lord Chamberleyn that the _diem clausit extremum_ for my lord shall not be delyverd tyll she be of power to labore hyr sylff her most avauntage in that mater, wherfor ye ned not to dele over largely with thexchetoures. Also consayll:--Robard Brandon and Colevyle have by meanys enformyd my lady that ye wold have gotyn Caster fro hyr by stronge hand, now thys frost whyll the mote is frosyn, in so myche that she was porposed to have sent thedyr R. Brandon and other to have kept the place tyll syche tyme as she made axe me the questyon whedyr ye entendet that wey or not, and I avysed hyr that she shold rather sofyr R. Brandon and hys retenew to lye in Norwyche of hys owne cost then to lye at the taverne at Yermouthe on hyr cost, for I lete hyr have knowlage that ye never entendyd non entre in to that place, but by hyr a.s.sent and knowlage I wast well. Syr, for G.o.des sake, in as hasty wyse as is possybyll, send me woord how ye feele my Lord Chamberleyn and Bowen dysposed to me wardes, for I shall never be in hertes ease tyll I undyrstand ther tweys dysposysyon. Also, I prey yow, let Symond Dame have knowlage as soone as ye have red thys lettyr that I wold in eny wyse that he swe forthe the axions a yenst Darby and other for Byskley, notwithstandyng the bylle that I sent hym to the contrary by Edmund Jeney, for Darby and I are brokyn of, of our entrete whyche was apoyntyd at Thettford. G.o.d sped yow in thes maters, and in all other. Ye send me woord of a good maryage for my syster Anne. I prey yow aspye some old thryffty draff wyff in London for me. Thomas Brampton at the Blak Fryers in London wyth syche other as he and I apoyntyd wyll helpe yow to aspye on for me on ther part. I prey yow that I may be recomandyd to hym, and prey hym that he wyll, in as hasty wyse as he can, comforte me with on letter fro hym, and fro the other persone that he and I comond of, and I prey yow as ye se hym at the parvyse[252-1]

and ellys where, calle on hym for the same letter and telle hym that ye most nedys have on to me, and when ye have it breke it and ye lyst or ye send it me.

_Endorsed_--iij. Februarij, anno xv^{o}.

[Footnote 251-3: [From Paston MSS., B.M.]]

[Footnote 252-1: The church porch. In London it commonly meant the portico of St. Paul's Cathedral, which is doubtless the place here intended.]

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