John Paston to -

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JOHN PASTON TO———²

RIGHT trusty and welbeloved, I grete yow hartily well,
     and will ye wite that where hit is so, that Sir John
     Fastolf, whom God assoyle, with other, was sum tyme
by Sir Herry Inglose enfeffed of trust of his maner offe Pyke-
wurthe in Rutlande, the which made his wille, proved, that the
seid maner sholde by solde by Robert Inglose and Edmunde
Wychingham his executours, to whom the seid Sir John hath
relesed, as his dute was to do; now it is so that for John
Browne¹ ther is shewed a dede under seall of armes berynge
date byfore his reles made to the Duke of Norffoke, Henry
Inglose and other, contrarie to the wille of the seid Sir Herry
and the trust of the feoffement that the seid Sir John Fastolff
was infeffed inne. And a letter of Attorney under the same
seale of armes to yow, to deliver seison acordynge to the same
feffement, to the gret disclaundre of the seid Sir John and all
his, yef this be true. Wherfore I preie yow hertili that ye
feithfully and truly rescribe to me in all the hast ye may what
ye knowe in this mater such as ye wull stonde by with outen
glose, and how ye can imagine that this crafte shulde be
practised, and specially whether ye yourself delivered seison in
Rutlond or noo. And this and what incedentes ye knowe, I
preie yow by wrytinge certefie me in all hast, that I may be the
more ripe to answer to this, to the wurship of the seid Sir John,
that was your maister, so that thorowh your defaute your seid
maisters soule ther for lie not in perell, but this disclaundre
may be eesed and cesed as reson requireth, to the wurship of
hym and all that longe to hym. And this I pray yow faile
not offe as I truste yow. Wret at Londo[n] the ix. day of
Februar.

                                         Yowr frend,                   JON PASTON.

     ² [From Paston MSS., B.M.] The MS. is a rough draft signed by John Paston
the eldest, and corrected in his hand. It seems to have been written on the cover
of a letter addressed to himself; for on the back is this direction in another hand:—
’To my most reverent and worchepfull maister, John Paston the eldest, Esquier, be
this deliveryd in hast.’

     We have inserted this letter in the year 1462 as this was the first year after
Fastolf’s death, when John Paston appears to have been residing in London in the
beginning of February. The only other possible years are 1463, 1465, and 1466.

     ¹ This name is substituted for ‘Herry Inglose,’ struck out.

FEB. 9

1462
FEB. 9