The Paston Letters
Chapter 228 : 811 MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[154-2]_To John Paston, esquyer._ [Sidenote: 1472(?)

811

MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[154-2]

_To John Paston, esquyer._

[Sidenote: 1472(?) / OCT. [23]]

I grete you wele; letyng you wete that on Saterday last past within nyght the felesshep at Cayster tokyn ought of Mawtby Cloos xvj. shep of diverse mennes that were put therein to pasture, and thei ledde them a wey, so that every man ferith to put any bestis or catell therin, to my grete hurt and discoragyng of my fermour that is now of late come theder. And the seid evill disposed persones affraid my seid fermour as he came from Yarmoth this weke and shotte at hym that if he had not had a good hors he had belike to have ben in joparte of his lyfe; so that be thes rewle I am like to lese the profite of the lyfelode this yere but if there be purveyed the hastyere remedy. Thei threte so my men I dar send non theder to gader it. Thei stuffe and vetayll sore the place, and it is reported here that my Lady of Norffolk seth she wull not leas it in no wyse. And the d.u.c.h.esse of Suffolkis men sey that she wull not departe from Heylesdon ner Drayton,--she wuld rather departe from money; but that shuld not be wurchepfull for you; for men shull not than set be you. There for I will avyse you to have rather the lyvelod than the money; ye shall mown excuse you be the College which must contynue perpetuall, and money is sone lost and spent whan that lyfelode abideth.

Item, I lete you wete that Hastyngis hath entred ageyn in to his fee of the Constabyllshep of the Castell of Norwich be the vertu of his patent that he had of Kyng Harry; and I here sey he hath it graunted to hym and his heyeris. There was at his entres your unkill William and other jentilmen dwellyng in Norwich. This was do be fore that ye sent me the letter be Pers I had forgetyn to have sent you word ther of. G.o.d kepe you. Wretyn the Friday next after Sent Luke.

Be your moder.

[Footnote 154-2: [Add. MS. 34,889, f. 108.] This letter was clearly written between the surrender of Caister in 1469 and its recovery by Sir John Paston after the death of the Duke of Norfolk in 1476. The year 1472 may be considered very probable from what Margaret Paston writes in June of that year (No. 803).]

812

SIR JOHN PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[155-1]

_A Johan Paston, Esquyer, soit done._

[Sidenote: 1472 / NOV. 4]

Worshypfull and weell belovyd brother, I recomand me to yow, letyng yow weet that I sente yow a letter and a rynge with a dyamond, in whyche letter ye myght well conceyve what I wold ye scholde do with the same rynge, with menye other tydyngs and thyngs whyche I prayed yowe to have doon for me, whyche letter Botoner[156-1] had the beryng off. It is so nowe that I undrestond that he is owther deed or ellys harde eskapyd, wheroff I am ryght hevye, and am not serteyn whethyr the seyd lettyr and rynge come to yowr handys or nott. I wolde nott that letter wer seyn with some folkys; wherffor I praye yow take good heede hoghe that letter comythe to yowr handys, hooll or brokyn, and in especiall I praye yow gete it, iff ye have it nott.

Also I praye yow feele my Lady off Norfolks dysposicion to me wards, and whethyr she toke any dysplesur at my langage, or mokkyd, or dysdeyned my words whyche I hadd to hyr at Yarmothe, be twyen the place wher I ffyrst mett with hyr and hyr lodgyng, ffor my Lady Brandon and Syr William[156-2] also axhyd me what words I had had to hyr at that tyme.

They seyd that my Lady seyde I gaff hyr ther off,[156-3] and that I sholde have seyde that my Lady was worthye to have a Lords soon in hyr belye, ffor she cowde cheryshe itt, and dele warlye with it; in trowthe owther the same or words moche lyke I had to hyr, whyche wordys I ment as I seyde. They seye to that I seyde she toke hyr ease. Also I scholde have seyde that my Ladye was off satur [_stature_] goode, and had sydes longe and large, so that I was in goode hope she sholde ber a fayr chylde; he was nott lacyd nor bracyd ine to hys peyn, but that she left hym rome to pleye hym in. And they seye that I seyde my Lady was large and grete, and that itt sholde have rome inow to goo owt att; and thus whyther my Lady mokk me, or theye, I woote nott. I mente weell by my trowthe to hyr, and to that she is with, as any he that owythe heer best wyll in Ingelond.

Iff ye can by any meed weete whethyr my Ladye take it to dysplesur or nowt, or whether she thynke I mokkyd hyr, or iff she wyght it but lewdnesse off my selffe, I pray yow sende me worde; ffor I weet nott whethyr I maye trust thys Lady Brandon or nott.

Item, as ffor tydyngs nowe, heer be but ffewe, saff that, as I undrestande, imba.s.sators off Bretayne shall come to London to morawe, and men seye that the Lorde Ryverse[157-1] and Scayls, shall hastelye come home; and men seye that ther is many off the sowders that went to hym into Bretayne been dede off the fflyxe, and other ipedemye [_epidemics_], and that the remenant sholde come hom with the Lorde Skalys. And som seye that thees imba.s.sators come ffor moor men. And thys daye rennyth a tale that the Duke of Bretayne[157-2] sholde be ded.

I beleeff it not.

I sent yow worde off an hawke; I herde nott from yow syns; I do and shall doo that is possible in suche a neede.

Also I canne nott undrestand that my Lord off Norffolk shall come heer thys tyme; wherffor I am in a greet agonye howe is best ffor me to sue to hym ffor rehavyng off my place; that goode Lorde weet full lytell how moche harme he doothe me, and how lytell goode or worshyp it dothe hym.

I praye yow sende me yowr advyce. No moor to yow at thys tyme, but G.o.d have yow in Hys kepyng.

Wretyn at London the iiij. daye off Novembre, anno E. iiij^ti xij^{o}.

I feer me that idelnesse ledyth yowr reyne; I praye yow rather remembre Sir Hughe Levernoys tyll yowr hauke come.

JOHN PASTON, K.

[Footnote 155-1: [From Fenn, ii. 112.]]

[Footnote 156-1: William Botoner, otherwise Worcester. He certainly was alive some years later than this.]

[Footnote 156-2: Sir William Brandon, Knight, was standard-bearer to the Earl of Richmond, and was slain in Bosworth Field by Richard III. He was father to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.--F.]

[Footnote 156-3: Meaning apparently, as Fenn suggests, 'I paid her off, or treated her with unceremonious language.']

[Footnote 157-1: Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, etc., went to endeavour to obtain the possession of the Earls of Pembroke and Richmond, who were detained as prisoners by the Duke of Brittany.--F.]

[Footnote 157-2: Francis II., the last Duke of Brittany, was born in 1435, and died in 1488.--F.]

813

SIR JOHN PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[158-1]

_A John Paston, Esquyer, soyt done._

[Sidenote: 1472 / NOV. 8]

Brother, I comend me to yow, letyng yow weet, &c.[158-2]

As for the delyverance off the rynge to Mestresse Jane Rothone, I dowt nott but it shall be doon in the best wyse, so that ye shall geet me a thank moor than the rynge and I ar worthe or deserve.

And wheer ye goo to my Laydy off Norffolk, and wyll be theer att the takyng off hyr chambre, I praye G.o.d spede yow, and our Ladye hyr, to hyr plesur, with as easye labor to overkome that she is abowt, as evyr had any lady or gentyllwoman, saff our Lady heer selffe, and soo I hope she shall to hyr greet joye, and all owres; and I prey G.o.d it maye be lyke hyr in wors.h.i.+p, wytt, gentylnesse, and every thynge excepte the verry verry thynge.[158-3]

No moor to yow at [this] thyme, but I woll sleepe an howr the lenger to-morrow by cawse I wrote so longe and late to nyght.

Wretyn betwen the viij. and the jx. daye off Novembre anno xij^o E.

iiij^{ti}.

J. P., K.

[Footnote 158-1: [From Fenn, ii. 118.]]

[Footnote 158-2: The first part of this letter treats of some money transactions of no consequence, etc.--F.]

[Footnote 158-3: Fenn, in his modernised text, makes this 'except the s.e.x.']

[[every thynge excepte the verry verry thynge.

_text unchanged: duplication at line break, but Fenn has the same text at mid-line_]]

814

MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[159-1]

_To John Paston, Esquyer._

[Sidenote: 1472 / NOV. 19]

I grete you wele and send you G.o.ddes blyssyng and myn, letyng you wete that I have sent to Doctor Aleyn wyffe to have spoke with her as ye desired me, and she was so syke that she myght not comyn; but she sent her broder elaw to me, and I lete hym wete the cause why that I wuld have spoke with her as ye desired me. And he told me that he shuld have brought me wrytyng this day from her be vij. of the belle, how that she wull that ye shuld have labored or do for her; but he came no mor at me.

Nevertherlesse she sent me an nother ma.s.senger, and lete me wete[159-2]

that her husband had sent her the same nyght from London that she shuld come up as fast as she cowde to labor to the Lordes there in her propre person; wherfor she myght geve me non answer, ner send you word how that ye shuld do till [that] she had spokyn with her husband, or had other writyng from hym.