_To my ryght wyrshypfull husbond, John Paston, be thys letter
delyveryd._
[Sidenote: 1465 / JUNE 11]
Ryght wyrshypfull husband, I recomaunde me unto you. Please it you to
wyte that I recevyd letters from you on Wensday laste passyd, the were
wryten the Monday next before, wherof I thanke you of the letter that ye
send to me. I wolde fayn doo well yf I cowde, and as I canne I wol doo
to youre pleasure and profet; and in such thyngs as I cannot skyle of,
I wyll take a vyse of such as I know that be youre frendes and doo as
well as I canne. Wher as ye wrote to me that Lydham told you that I told
hym that the Ducks men werre not so besy as they had be by fore, no more
thay were not at that tyme, but sythen thay have be bysyer. What confort
that thay have I canne not have no knowlych as yet, but I suppose and
all your felshyp were gode, thay shold not have so grete confort as they
have, or ells they wold not be so besy as thay have be. Grete bost thay
make that the Duck shold have Drayton in peas, and after thys Haylesdon,
and that with in short tyme; thay er moch the bolder, I suppose, by
cause that ye be wher as ye be. At the reverens of God, yf ye may by any
wyrshypfull or resonabell mene, com oute therof as sone as ye may and
come home amonges your frends and tennaunts, and that shold be to hem
the grettyst confort that thay myzt have and the contrary to your enmys.
It ys sayd here that the Duck of Suffolk shall com to Coshay in haste
and logge ther for a season; I fyle well by your tenaunts that yf ye
were peaseabyly possessyd and your cort holden in peaseabyll wyse, and
that they myzt be in pease a yenst the other many, than they wold take
accyons a yenste hem for such wrongs as have be don to hem, and ells
they say that they thernot [_dare not_] take it uppon hem, for they
dwelle so ney to the other many that thay knowe well thay shold never be
in ease yf thay dyde soo whyle that thay dele amongs hem. On Thursday
last John Doket, the bayly ys son y lawe, and Thomas Ponte, with other,
erly in the mornyng, an owre by fore the sonne rose, com to your fold,
and drove away the flock at Drayton, both Colyet and other, in to Coshay
fee, or ever that the shipherd myght have knowlych therof and then he
fowlyd one and desyryd to have hem a yen, and thay wold not suffer hym
to have them no more but the Colyet and ther were c. and j. of yours and
tho had thay forth with hem to Coshay, and the same day we had a
replevyn for the cc. shype and replevyn for the hors that wer taken at
Haylesdon, and how that thay were obbeyd Ric. Calle shall enforme you,
and of other maters also, the whych I may not wryte to you of at thys
tyme.
Item, I have spoke with [John] Strange of the mater that ye wrote to me
of, and in gode feyth I[148.1] fynd hym, as me symyth, ryght well
disposyd to you wards; and he hath, acordyng to your desyre, spoken with
Yelverton yesterday to fyle his dysposicion in that mater, and
Yelverton, as it symyth by hym, roght not gretely thogh the mater brake,
so that he myght have any resonabell colour to breke, he ys so callyd
uppon by Wayte and other of the Duck of Suffolk ys counsell that he ote
[_wot_] not where to hold hym, and he ys put in so gret confort, as I am
enformyd, to receve money for the lond, and that temptyth hym ryght
sore; for with money he wold fayn be in handelyng, as ye know he hath
nede therof. He told John Straunge that it ys informyd hym that ye have
up an enquest to depreve ther wytnesse and ther with ys he sore movyd
. . . . . . . . . that yf any thyngs be don in temporall maters other in
spyryt[uall] . . . . . . maters tochyng executors or feoffeys or wyttnes
tyll the day of . . . . . . trety be passyd, he wyll not abyde no trety
therin, but do as . . . . . . . . . thynkyth best for to do therein.
I told John Straunge that I kn[ew] . . . . . . . . thogh it were soo
that shold passe any such enquest it shol n . . . . . . . . . . of them
in provyng of her trothys, the whych shold be no hurt . . . . . . . . .
for John Straunge desyryd me that I shuld send to you in al haste that
. . . . . . . . . any such folks that thay shold not doo in the mater
till the day of . . . . . . . . . may have knowlych howe he and other
wold doo in such maters as sh . . . . . . . . he wold be loth that he
shold have any colour to breke for any thyng . . . . . . . . and
Yelverton sayth it shall not breke thorf his defaute yf ye wyll
n[ot] . . . . . . . . be ryght glad to have your gode wyll and to goo
thorgh in all maner mate[rs] . . . . . . . . eschewyng of wastfull
expens of the dede ys godes and that the godes myzt be dyspendyd to
the welle of the dede. Straunge desyryd to knowe what appoyntements
he desyryth to have in the trety, and he sayd he wold not let that be
understond tyll the tyme of trety cam. Me symyth, save your beter avyse,
it were wel do that thay that be com up for you myzt be kypt in som
secryte place and not do [_naught done ?_] in the mater tyll the tyme
of the trety were passyd. The cost there of shall not be grete to that
it myzt hurte yf the trety were broken by that meane and then ye may
have hem nyer; and yf ye thynk it be to doo ye may have hem to go to
ther mater after the seyd tyme, for of ij. hurtes the grettyst ys best
to be eschewyd.
Item, as for youre houshold at Caster, savyng your beter avyse, me
thynkyth that v. or vj. of your folkes, such as ye wyll assyngne, were
[enough to?][149.1] kype the place, and they for to go to bord with the
prustes, and ye not to kype no houshold ther yet; and that ye shall fynd
more profettabyll than for to doo as we do nogh; for ther expens, as I
understond, have not be moch the lesse by fore Wytsontyde than it shold
be thogh I had be at home by cause of resortyng of pepell theder; and yf
the houshold were broke thay myzt have a gode excuse in that, whosome
ever come. Ric. Call shall enforme you of thys maters, and mo other,
more playnly than I may do wryte at thys tyme. It is necessary that
possessyon be kypt hyre yett tyll ye be more ferther forth in other
maters. The Blessyd Trynyte have you [in] Hys kypyng, and send you gode
spyde in all your maters, and send you grace to have a gode conclusyon
in hem in haste. Wryten on the Tewysday nex before Corpus Christi.
By your faynt houswyff at thys tyme,