_To his worchepfull broder, John Paston, be thys delivered in hast._
[Sidenote: 1479 / FEB. 23]
Ryght reverent and worchepfull broder, after all dewtes of
recomendacion, I recomaunde me to yow, desyryng to here of your
prosperite and welfare, whych I pray God long to contynew to Hys
plesore, and to your herts desyr; letyng yow wete that I receyved a
letter from yow, in the whyche letter was viij_d._ with the whyche I
schuld bye a peyer of slyppers.
Ferthermor certyfying yow, as for the xiij_s._ iiij_d._ whyche ye sende
by a jentylmannys man, for my borde, cawlyd Thomas Newton, was delyvered
to myn hostes, and soo to my creancer [_creditor_], Mr. Thomas
Stevenson; and he hertely recomended hym to yow.
Also ye sende me worde in the letter of xij_li._ fyggs and viij_li._
reysons. I have them not delyvered, but I dowte not I shal have, for
Alwedyr tolde me of them, and he seyde that they came aftyr in an other
barge.
And as for the yong jentylwoman, I wol certyfye yow how I fryste felle
in qweyntaince with hyr. Hir ffader is dede; ther be ij. systers of
them; the elder is just weddyd; at the whych weddyng I was with myn
hostes, and also desyryd by the jentylman hym selfe, cawlyd Wylliam
Swanne, whos dwyllynge is in Eton.
So it fortuned that myne hostes reportyd on me odyrwyse than I was
wordy; so that hyr moder comaundyd hyr to make me good chere, and soo in
good feythe sche ded. Sche is not a bydynge ther sche is now; hyr
dwellyng is in London; but hyr moder and sche come to a place of hyrs
v. myle from Eton, were the weddyng was, for because it was nye to the
jentylman whych weddyd hyr dowtyr. And on Monday next comynge, that is
to sey, the fyrst Monday of Clene Lente, hyr moder and sche wyl goo to
the pardon at Schene, and soo forthe to London, and ther to abyde in a
place of hyrs in Bowe Chyrche Yerde; and if it plese yow to inquere of
hyr, hyr modyrs name is Mestres Alborow, the name of the dowtyr is
Margarete Alborow, the age of hyr is be all lykelyod xviij. or xix. yere
at the fertheste. And as for the mony and plate, it is redy when soo
ever sche were weddyd; but as for the lyvelod, I trow not tyll after hyr
modyrs desese, but I can not telle yow, for very certeyn, but yow may
know by inqueryng. And as for hyr bewte, juge yow that when ye see hyr,
yf so be that ye take the laubore, and specialy beolde hyr handys, for
and if it be as it is tolde me, sche is dysposyd to be thyke.
And as for my comynge from Eton, I lake no thynge but wersyfyynge,
whyche I troste to have with a lytyll contynuance.
Quæritur, Quomodo non valet hora, valet mora? Unde dicitur?
Arbore jam videas exemplum. Non die possunt,
Omnia suppleri; sed tamen illa mora.[8-1]
And thes too verse afore seyde be of myn own makyng.
No more to yow at thys tyme, but God have yow in Hys kepyng.
Wretyn at Eton the Even of Seynt Matthy the Apostyll in haste, with the
hande of your broder.
WYLL’M PASTON, Jun^{r}.
[Footnote 7-2: [From Fenn, i. 296.] This letter was written on the
23rd of February, and the Monday following the date was the first
Monday of Lent. These particulars prove the letter to have been
written in 1479, when William Paston was between nineteen and
twenty years of age.]
[Footnote 8-1: I am favoured by Lady Beatrice Pretyman with a
facsimile of this Latin theme and distich from the original MS. My
reading of the contracted words differs from that printed
originally by Fenn.]
[[but hyr moder and sche come to a place of hyrs
_text has “sch come”: corrected from Fenn_]]
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