The Paston Letters
Chapter 91 : W. BOTONER.I hafe and do purcha.s.se malgre to remembre of evidenses lakkyng by neglige

W. BOTONER.

I hafe and do purcha.s.se malgre to remembre of evidenses lakkyng by negligence, &c. And therfor I most be muet and suffre gretter losses but [_unless_] it be othyrwyse concydered. I sende yow the copie of your patentes,[105.1] in parchement, and I hafe remembred as well as I can both the stuard and Bertilmeu Elys for execucion ayenst the pleggs of your seyntuarye, carpenter (?) Snow, that evere ys disposed to breke promysses. Foryefe me of my leude lettre wrytyng, and I pray yow laugh at it.

[Footnote 104.1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] The date of this letter is uncertain, but must be between the years 1454 and 1459, when Botoner was at Caister. Bocking and Barker seem to have been in London at the time, which we know was the case in February 1456; and as we have evidence that Bocking at least was still there in October, we may perhaps attribute this letter to the October of 1456.]

[Footnote 104.2: The _apposing_ of accounts was the charging of an accountant with the balance due by him to his employer.]

[Footnote 105.1: Probably the patent of 6th June 1454, granting the wards.h.i.+p of Thomas Fastolf to John Paston and Thomas Howes. --_See_ No. 248 (in vol. ii.), also the letter following.]

347

SIR THOMAS HOWES TO JOHN PASTON[106.1]

_To my right goode maister, John Paston._

[Sidenote: 1456 or 1457]

Reverent Sir, &c. Please yow to wete that it [is] so that my maister, of his owen frowardness, and of non other mannys mevyng, hat sent a warent to Cristefor that he shuld delyver me no mony tyll the iiij^{xx}_li._ [_fourscore pounds_] where payed for Bokkyng and Wurcestre patent;[106.2] and yf the seyd Cristefore delyvered me any mony, that he shuld take a sewerte of me therfor, nowthwithstandyng my maister preyed me that I shuld reherce alle thynge in my name, where of I held me content. And now I fele this traytour wrytyng under nethe, and I nowth prevy ther to, at my comyng owt causet me to thynk the more hevynes, &c.

Nevertheles, I prey yow that a mene may be taken of trety by the mene of Clopton or Ellys. Sende me word, and I shal seke menys of trety, for, be G.o.d, I shal trust no more no fayre wordes; and there to I shall lete alle the Lords of this lond knowe what wrytyngs I have, and his disposicion. Save yowre reverens, Cristyfor sal (?) have swyche a maister, &c. I prey yow, as ever I may do yow service or be yowre bedeman that ye wele sende me yowre avise. I had lever paye xx. marke, or x_li._ in hande and x_li._ yerely furthe, with myn enemyndz good love, than to yelde me to preson ayens here entent, and sewe forth the tyncte. And no trost what my maister wele do, for I can right evele beleve that he wele bere owt the cost of the tyncte whan he maket straunge to ley dowun the condempnacion, &c.

Wretyn brevely at Horseydown the Wenesday after messe, anno x.x.xv^to.

T. HOWYS.

I shal nowt leve this mater to serve the most enemy that he hat in Inglond. I wele non of his good. I have lever other men go to the Dille [_Devil ?_] for his good than I do.

[Footnote 106.1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] This letter is dated by the writer in the 35th year of Henry VI., but he does not say in what month it was written. The 35th of Henry VI. was reckoned from the 1st September 1456 to the 31st August 1457. Taken in connection with the postscript of Botoner's letter immediately preceding (the date of which letter this partly confirms), it is not unlikely that this was written about October. Perhaps 'Wednesday after messe' should have been 'Wednesday after Michaelmesse.' If so, the exact date would be October 6th.]

[Footnote 106.2: The wards.h.i.+p of Thomas Fastolf was at first granted to John Paston and Thomas Howes, by patent of the 6th June 1454, and for this they agreed to pay 100 marks into the Exchequer. But, for some reason or other, a new arrangement was made, and the wards.h.i.+p was granted by another patent, dated 12th December 1454, to John Bokkyng and William Worcestre, who offered the King 20 marks over what Paston had offered, _i.e._ 80 in all.--See _Patent Roll_, 33 Hen. VI., p. 1, m. 10.]

348

JAMES GRESHAM TO JOHN PASTON[107.1]

_To the right wors.h.i.+pfull and myn especiall maister, John Paston, Esquyer, in hast be this delivered._

[Sidenote: 1456 / OCT. 16]

After al due recomendacion, like it you to wete, that the day of your a.s.sise is _die Lunae proximo post tres septimanas Sancti Michaelis_, whiche is on Moneday come vij. nyght; at whiche tyme I trost ye wole be here, or ellis can I do lytell or nought there inne.

As touchyng your mater ageynst Gunnore, that dwelleth in lawe, I have spoken to Lyttelton,[107.2] and comuned with hym there in, but it is not yet spoke of atte barre. Gunnore hath waged his lawe[107.3] of that he haade his day to wage it of, &c.

As touchyng your issues at Wentworth sute, it is ij_s._, and it was retourned er I come here. My Maister Fastolfs councel taketh heed thereto, &c.

As for tydynges, my Lord Chaunceler[108.1] is discharged. In his stede is my Lord of Wynchestre.[108.2] And my Lord of Shrewisbury[108.3] is Tresorer, and Broun[108.4] of your Inn is Undertresorer. If ye wold sende to hym to graunte you the namyng of th'eschetors.h.i.+p of Norffolk, &c., it were weel do, for it is told me he wold do moche for you.

Maister Lawrence Bothe[108.5] is Prive Seall. And it is seid that my Lord of York[108.6] hath be with the Kyng, and is departed ageyn in right good conceyt with the Kyng, but not in gret conceyt with the Whene [_Queen_]; and sum men sey, ne hadde my Lord of Buks[108.7] not have letted it, my Lord of York had be distressed in his departyng.

On Moneday last pa.s.sed was a gret affray at Coventre bytwene the Duke of Somersets men and the wechemen [_watchmen_] of the toun, and ij. or iij.

men of the toun were kylled there, to gret disturbance of alle the Lords there; for the larom belle was ronge, and the toun arose, and wold have jouperdit to have distressed the Duke of Somerset, &c., ne had the Duke of Buks not have take a direccion therein.

Also it is seid the Duke of Buks taketh right straungely that bothe his brethren[108.8] arn so sodeynly discharged from ther offices of Chauncellerie and Tresorys.h.i.+p; and that among other causeth hym that his opynyon is contrary to the Whenes [_Queen's_] entent, and many other also, as it is talked. Item, sum men seyn, the counseal is dissolved, and that the Kyng is forth to Chester,[109.1] &c. Also summe sey that many of the Lords shall resorte hiddir to London ageynst Alhalwen tyde.

And as touchyng th'eleccion of s.h.i.+refs, men wene that my Lord of Canterbury shall have a gret rule, and specyall in our countre.

I can no more, but Almyghty G.o.d send us as his most pleaser is.

Wretyn al in hast, the Saterday next after Seint Edwards day.

Your Servaunt,

JAMES GRESHAM.

[Footnote 107.1: [From Fenn, i. 24.] This letter is a.s.signed by Fenn to the year 1449, but the true date is 1456, as will be seen by the footnotes.]

[Footnote 107.2: _See_ p. 84, Note 5.]

[Footnote 107.3: Wager of law was an ancient process by which a defendant cleared himself in an action of debt. He gave sureties that on a certain day he would 'make his law,' then took oath that he did not owe the plaintiff anything, as alleged, and called eleven compurgators to swear they believed him.]

[Footnote 108.1: Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, afterwards Cardinal.]

[Footnote 108.2: William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, was appointed Chancellor in Archbishop Bourchier's place on the 11th October 1456.]

[Footnote 108.3: John Talbot, second Earl. He was appointed Treasurer on 5th October 1456.--_Patent Roll_, 35 Hen. VI., p.

1, m. 16.]

[Footnote 108.4: John Brown. --_See_ William Wyrcestre's _Annals_ under the year 1468.]

[Footnote 108.5: Afterwards Bishop of Durham, and finally Archbishop of York.]

[Footnote 108.6: Richard, Duke of York.]

[Footnote 108.7: Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham.]

[Footnote 108.8: The two Bourchiers, viz. Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Henry, Viscount Bourchier, the former of whom had been Lord Chancellor and the latter Lord Treasurer (_see_ Notes 1, 2, and 3 above), were the Duke of Buckingham's half-brothers by the mother's side.]

[Footnote 109.1: The Court had been staying at Coventry.]

349

ABSTRACT[109.2]

SIR JOHN FASTOLF TO JOHN PASTON.

[Sidenote: 1456 / NOV. 10]