_To my Master Paston, the elder, be thys letter delyveryd in hast._
[Sidenote: 1461 / OCT.]
Ryght wurchypful sir, I recommend me to zour good masterchyp. The cause
qwy I wryth I let zour have knowlech of the mene that be in Cotton
Halle, how they be strangely dysposyd ageyns zow; for, as I here say,
they make revell there. They melt led and brek down zour bregg, and make
that no man go in to [the] place but on a ledder, and make them as
strong as they kan a geyns zow be the supportacion of Jeney and
Debenham, and hys sone; for they seye ther that Jeney hath sold the
lyflod on to Debynham, and that hys son the knyth shall dwell ther, and
ther forr they have warnyd a cort ageyns Munday, and now they ar a vysed
to kepyt on Saturday be forr Munday. Qwat they mene therby I wot never,
but as for the felechyp in the place that ys there now, and have be here
al thys weke, there ys no man of substans, as we here, and there have be
but vij. or viij. al thys wyke; but there wyll be a gret felechyp thys
nyth or to morwe up on Saturday, for than they wyl kepe the cort. And as
for Edward Dale, he dar not abyde wyl at horn, they thret hym so, be
cause he wyl send them no vytaly. And as for me self, Edward Dale dar
not let me wyll [_well_] be there for takyng in suspecyon. And jas for
the tenaunts, they be wel dysposyd except j. or ij., so that ze wyl
support them in hast, for they may nowt kepe of ther katel of the ground
long; and specyally they desyr to have zowr owne presens, and they wold
be of gret cownfort. No mor I wryth to zour, but the Holy Gost have zour
in kepyng. Wretyn on the Fryday after my departyng.
Be your Servaunt,