The Paston Letters
Chapter 235 : Item, I suppose bothe Pytte and Kothye Plattyng shall goo ffrom me in hast; I wyll nev

Item, I suppose bothe Pytte and Kothye Plattyng shall goo ffrom me in hast; I wyll never cherysshe knaves soo as I have don, ffor ther sakys.

Item, I praye yow sende me a newe vestment off whyght damaske ffor a dekyne, whyche is among myn other geer at Norwiche, ffor he shall ther too as ye woot off: I wyll make an armyng doblett off it, thow I sholde an other tyme gyff a longe gown of velvett ffor another vestment, and send it in all hast to Hoxon to send me.

I hopyd to have been verry mery at Caleys thys Whytsontyde, and am weell apparayled and apoyntyd, saff that thes ffolks ffayle me soo, and I have mater ther to make off ryght excellent. Som man wolde have hastyd hym to Caleys thowe he had hadd no better erand, and som men thynke it wysdom and profyght to be theer now weell owt off the weye.

Item, as ffor the Bysshop[188-1] and I, we bee nerrer to a poynt than we weer, so that my part is nowe all the londes in Flegge Holly, the maner off Heylesdon, Tolthorpe, and tenements in Norwyche and Erlham, excepte Fayrechylds, but ffarweell Drayton; the Devyll do ytt them.

Item, large and fferr comynycacion hathe ben bytwyen Sir John Fogge, Ric. Haulte, ffor ther suster and me, byffor Doctor Wyntborne and ellys wher, so that I am in better hope than I was, by Seynt Lawrens[188-2]

that I shall have a delyveraunce.

Item, as ffor tydyngs heer, I trow ye have herde yowr parte, howe that the Erle off Oxenfford landyd by Seynt Osyes in Ess.e.xe, the xxviij. daye off Maye, saff he teryed nott longe, ffor iff he had, the Erle of Ess.e.xe[188-3] rod to hym wardys, and the Lords Denham and Dura.s.se, and other mor, whyche by lyklyod sholde have dystrussyd hym; but yit hys comyng savyd Hogan hys hed, and hys profesye is the mor belevyd ffor he seyde that thys troble sholde begyn in Maye, and that the Kynge sholde northwards, and that the Scotts sholde make us werke and hym batayle.

Men loke afftr they wot not what, but men by harneys ffast; the Kyngs menyall men and the Duke off Claraunces, ar many in thys town; the Lord Ryverse[188-4] com to daye, men seye to purveye in lyke wyse.

Item, how that the Cowntesse off Warwyk[188-5] is now owt off Beweley Seyntwarye, and Sir James Tyrell conveyth hyr northwarde, men seye by the Kynges a.s.sent, wherto som men seye that the Duke off Clarance is not agreyd.

Item, men seye that the Erle off Oxenfford is abowt the Ilde off Tenett hoveryng, som seye wyth grett companye, and som seye, with ffewe.

No mor, but G.o.d kepe yow.

Wretyn at London the iij. daye off June, Anno E. iiij^ti xiij^{o}.

JOHN PASTON, K.

[Footnote 187-1: [From Fenn, ii. 138.]]

[Footnote 187-2: Whitsunday fell on the 6th June in 1473.]

[Footnote 187-3: A royal, a gold coin of 10_s._ value.]

[Footnote 188-1: Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester.]

[Footnote 188-2: 10th of August.]

[Footnote 188-3: Henry Bourchier, Earl of Ess.e.x, Lord Treasurer.]

[Footnote 188-4: Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, beheaded at Pontefract, 1483.]

[Footnote 188-5: Anne, widow of Richard Neville, the great Earl of Warwick, sister and heir to Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick, and mother of Isabel, the wife of George, Duke of Clarence.]

835

ABSTRACT[189-1]

[Sidenote: 1473 / JUNE 13]

Norf. and Suff. Deeds, No. 67. 'Relaxatio Willielmi Paston facta Will.

Wainflet et aliis de toto jure suo in manerio vocat' Caldecots, Akethorp, Spitlings, Habland, Broweston, etc. Jun. 13, Edw. IV. 13.'

[Footnote 189-1: [From MS. Index in Magd. Coll., Oxford.]]

836

SIR JOHN PASTON TO EDMUND PASTON[189-2]

_A Edmond Paston, Esquyer, a Caleys soyt donne._

[Sidenote: 1473 / JULY 5]

Brother Edmond, I grete yow weell, letyng yow weete that abowt thys daye vij. nyght I sende yow a letter by Nycholas Bardeslee a sowdyer, whyche is wont woute[189-3] to be at border [_brother_] Perauntys,[189-4] and also an hoseclothe[189-5] off blak ffor yow. I wende that ye sholde have hadde itt within ij. dayes, but I am afferde that he deseyved me.

Item, I lete yow weet that Plattyng is comen hyddr, and he seythe that ye gaffe hym leve to ffetche hys geer and Pittys, and that is hys erande hyddr and noon other, ner he thowt never to goo ffro me, ner he wyll nott goo ffro me as he seythe, wherffor, I praye yow sende me worde off hys condycions, and whyghe ye thynke that he sholde never do me worshypp.

He seythe also that he and Pytte weer at the takyng off the Esterlyngs, and that he was in the _Pakker_, and Pytte in the _Crystoffre_. I praye yow sende me worde howe bothe he and Pytte quytte them, by the report off some indyfferent trewe man that was ther, iff they quytte them weell, I wolde love them the better, wherffor the next daye afftr the syte of thys letter, I praye yow wryght ageyn, and sende it by the next pa.s.sage.

Item, I sende a lytell praty boxe herwith, whyche I wolde that Juddy sholde delyver to the woman that he wetyth off, and praye hyr to take it to the man that she wetyth off; that is to seye, as moche as ye knowe all well i now, but ye maye nott make yow wyse in no wyse.

Item, I praye yow sende me worde as ye wer wont to do off heer wellffar, and whether I weer owt and other inne or nott; and whether she shall fforsake Caleys as sone as ye sende me worde off or nott.

By G.o.d I wolde be with yow as ffayne as yowr selff, and shall be in hast with G.o.dds grace.

Item, as ffor my brother John, I hope within thys monyth to see hym in Caleys, ffor by lyklyhod to morowe or ellys the next daye he takyth shyppe at Yarmothe, and goothe to Seynt James[190-1] warde, and he hathe wretyn to me that he wyll come homwarde by Caleys.

Item, I suppose that James Songer shall come with me to Caleys, the rather ffor yowr sake.

Item, Mestresse Elysabett ffareth well, but as yit Songer knoweth nott so perffytly all that ye wolde weet, that he woll nott wryght to yow off thees ij. dayes tyll he knowe moor, but iff she hadde ben bolde, and durst have abydyn styll at hyr gate, and spoken with me, so G.o.d helpe me, she had hadd thys same that I sende nowe wher ye woot off, whyche ye shall see woryn heer afftr, itt is a praty ryban with praty agletts[190-2] and goodlye.

Make yow not wyse to Juddy, nowther not that ye wolde weet any thynge, ffor I maye sey to yowe at hys comyng ovr, he browt goodly geer reasonablye.

Item, as ffor my byll[191-1] that is gylt, I wolde it weer taken head too; ther is one in the town, that can glaser weell i nowe, as I herde seye. Also, ther is on comythe every markett daye ffro Seynt Omerys to Caleys and he bryngethe dagers, and ffetchyth also, he may have it with hym, and brynge it ageyn the next markett daye ffor xij_d._ or xvj_d._ at the most, and ellys late it be weel oylyd and kepte tyll I come. No more.

Wretyn at London the v. daye of Julle, Anno E. iiij^ti xiij^{o}.

[Footnote 189-2: [From Fenn, ii. 146.]]

[Footnote 189-3: So in Fenn.]

[Footnote 189-4: Fenn suggests a fanciful explanation of the expression 'border Perauntys,' presuming the latter word not to be a proper name; but see page 163.]

[[_page 163 = near end of Letter 815_]]

[Footnote 189-5: Cloth for hosen.]

[Footnote 190-1: _See_ page 186, Note 5.]

[Footnote 190-2: Pendant ornaments of metal, like tags or points, etc.--F.]