James Gresham to William Paston

LETTER VI.

           To my right worthy and worshepfull Lord
           Will’m Paston Justice in hast.

PLEASE it yo^r good lordship to wete yat the chief Justice
     of the Kynggs benche recomaundeth hym to yow and is
right sory of ye matier yat is cause of yo^r noun comyng hedir but
he wole do al yat he can or may for yow he hath hadde a cyctica
yat hath letted hym a gret while to ride and dar not yet come on
non horses bak And y’ for he hath spoke to ye lordes of ye Con-
seill and enformed hem of yo^r sekenesse and his also, yat he may
not ride at yese next Assīes to Estgrynsted and yough yoe Ass’ies
discontynue pve^r noun venue dez Justicez he hopeth to be ex-
cused and ye also And as for ye remen’nt of ye Ass’ies he shall
p’vey to be ther by water And almyghty Jesu make yow heyle
and strong Wretyn right simply ye Wednesday next to fore ye
fest of the Purificacon of our Lady at London.

                                           By your most symple s^rvaunt,

                                                                          ¹ James Gresh’m.

            12 by 4.
        Paper Mark.
            A Bell.
       Pl. XXI. N^o 1.

London,
            Wednesday
            30th of January, 1443.
            22 H. VI.

     From, this Letter we learn the time and place of holding the Assizes in Sussex, one of
the Counties which now makes a part of the Home Circuit; and we likewise understand
that the Chief Justice intended going by water to those places in Essex, Kent, and Surry,
which lay along the river, no conveyance in any carriage being then thought of by him,
though his illness was such as prevented his riding on horseback.

   John Hody was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench from 1440 to 1462.

     From a Memorandum on the back of this Letter, dated in April 1444, it is probable
that it was written on the 30th of January, 1443.

¹ Autograph. Pl. III. N^o 28.

            LETTER VI.

To my right worthy and worshipful Lord, William Paston,
Justice, in haste.

PLEASE it your good Lordship to weet, that the Chief
     Justice of the King’s Bench recommendeth him to you,
and is right sorry of the matter that is [the] cause of your none
coming hither, but he will do all that he can or may for you.
He hath had a Sciatica that hath letted him a great while to ride,
and [be] dare not yet come on none horse’s back, and therefore
he hath spoken to the Lords of the Council, and informed them
of your sickness and his also, that he may not ride at these
next Assizes to East Grinstead; and though those Assizes dis-
continue pur noun venu dez Justicez, he hopeth to be excused
and ye also. And as for the remanent of the Assizes, he shall
purvey to be there by water; and Almighty Jesu make you
heyle [healthy] and strong.

     Written right simply, the Wednesday next, to fore the feast
of the Purification of our Lady, at London.

                                       By your most simple Servant,

                                                            ¹ JAMES GRESHAM.

   12 by 4.
        Paper Mark.
            A Bell.
       Pl. XXI. N^o 1.

London,
            Wednesday
            30th of January, 1443.
            22 H. VI.

     From, this Letter we learn the time and place of holding the Assizes in Sussex, one of
the Counties which now makes a part of the Home Circuit; and we likewise understand
that the Chief Justice intended going by water to those places in Essex, Kent, and Surry,
which lay along the river, no conveyance in any carriage being then thought of by him,
though his illness was such as prevented his riding on horseback.

   John Hody was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench from 1440 to 1462.

     From a Memorandum on the back of this Letter, dated in April 1444, it is probable
that it was written on the 30th of January, 1443.

¹ Autograph. Pl. III. N^o 28.

51

JAMES GRESHAM TO WILLIAM PASTON ¹

To my right worthy and worshepfull Lord, William Paston,
Justice, in hast.

PLEASE it your good Lordship to wete that the Chief
     Justice of the Kynggs Benche² recomaundeth hym to
     yow, and is right sory of the matier that is cause
of your noun comyng hedir, but he wole do al that he can

or may for yow. He hath hadde a cyetica [sciatica] that hath
letted hym a gret while to ride, and dar not yet come on
non horses bak, and ther for he hath spoke to the Lordes
of the Conseill, and enformed hem of your sekenesse and his
also, that he may not ride at these next assizes to Estgrynsted;
and though thoe assizes discontynue puer noun venue dez Justicez,
he hopeth to be excused and ye also. And as for the remenant
of the assizes, he shall purvey to be ther by water. And
Almyghty Jesu make yow heyle and strong.

     Wretyn right simply the Wednesseday next to fore ye Fest
of the Purificacion of Our Lady at London.

                             By your most symple servaunt,

                                                                              JAMYS GRESHAM.

     ¹ [From Fenn, iii. 26.] ‘From a memorandum,’ says Fenn, ‘on the back of this
letter, dated in April 1444, it is probable that it was written on the 30th of January
1443.’ Did Fenn mean the 30th of January 1443-4? In the side-note immediately
below the letter, he dates it in his usual exact manner, ‘Wednesday, 30th of January
1443, 22 H. VI.’ But unfortunately there is an error here. January in the 22d year
of Henry VI., means January 1444 according to the modern computation, or 1443 in
the style formerly in use, by which the year was reckoned from the 25th of March.
But the 30th of January was a Wednesday in 1443, only according to the modern
computation of the year,—that is to say, it was a Wednesday in the year 1442-3, not
in 1443-4. I imagine, however, that the ‘30th of January’ should have been ‘29th
of January,’ and that Fenn really meant 1443-4, corresponding with the 22nd year
of Henry VI., for the memorandum to which he refers is a draft agreement, dated on
Passion Sunday, 22 Hen. VI., A.D. 1444.

     ² The celebrated Sir John Fortescue.

1444
JAN. 29

1444