_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
xxxiij_s._ iiij_d._ I wyll in no wyse; and ye may sey that ye of your
owne hed wyll geve hym the ode nobyll of xl_s._, and if ye have the v.
noblys I prey yow let Parker of Flett stret have therof xxx_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 assent and knowlage I wast well. Syr, for Godes 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. God 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.]
[[ye ned not to dele over largely
_“e” in “over” invisible_]]
886