John Paston to Margaret Paston

                                                         LETTER xxxiii

MOST worchepfull and my ryght specyall good modyr as
humbylly as I can I recomand me on to yow besechyng
yow of you^r blyssyng please it yow to vndyrstand that thys day
I spake w^t bacheler Water whiche let me haue undyrstandyng
of yo^r welfare wherof I thank god w^t all my hert, Also he leet
me haue knowlage that the lord Scalys had g'untyd yow to be
my good lord wherof I am no thyng prowd for he may do leest
w^t the gret Mastyr but he wold depert ovyr the See as hastyly
as he may and because he wenyth that J wold go wt hym as I
had promyseyd hym euyr and he had kept foorthe hys lornay
at that tyme thys is the cause that he wyll be my good lord and
help to get my pardon the Kyng is not best pleasyd w^t hym for
that he desyerthe to depert In so myche that the kyng hathe seyd
of hym that wen evyr he hathe most to do then the lord Scalys
wyll sonest axe leve to depert and weenyth that it is most be
 

cause of Kowardyese as for pardon I can neu^r get w^t owght J
schold paye to myche money for it and J am not so P^rveyd as
for Herry Hallman my Brodyr wyll axe hym no sylver tyll ye
be payeyd therfor ye may send to hym and haue it It' I am
sory that ye have fadyrd my hors y^t was at Caster to be my
Brodyr Edmundys for I had leveer y^t they had hym style then
owght ellys Wherfor thow they profyr hym yow fro hense
foorthe let not my brodyr Edmud take hym but let hym sey
whedyr they wyll let hym haue hym or not that I haue promy-
^seyd my brodyr Edmud a bettyr hors for hym so that he wyll
not cleyme the same for hys As for tydyngs her be non but y^t
the Scottys and Walyshe men be besy what they meane I can
not seye my cosyn Iohn Loveday can tell yow and ther be ney
odyr flyeyng talys for he hathe walkyd in london and so do not
I when I may J wyll com hom wt godys grace whom I beseche
to sende you yor hertys desyeyr Wretyn the v daye of Iulle.

                                  By yor humblest sone and servat

                                                                                                          J. P.

                   Paper Mark,

                       A pillar.

                  Pl. XXVII. No 5.

      This Letter was most probably written early in the reign of Edward IV. but in what
year I cannot easily determine.

     The Pardon of J. Paston here mentioned must have reference to the late change of the
Government, and the restlessness of the Scotch and Welsh alludes to the time when Queen
Margaret was soliciting their assistance, I believe.

     The reflections here thrown upon the courage of Lord Scales are new and I should
think not well founded, as his character has ever been handed down to us, as that of a
Nobleman highly distinguished for deeds of arms, not only against the enemies of his coun-
try, but in the gallant feats of chivalry ; yet we have the authority of the King for the
infinuation here thrown out by J. Paston.

     There was, however, at this time some disagreement between these spirited young men,
which soon subsided ; and my Lord Scales asterwards became his warm friend and advocate.

     We must, therefore, make some allowance for the asperity of the expressions here re-
corded, and consider them as the hasty words of a young man uttered in a moment of an-
ger. Anthony Widville was summoned to parliament as Lord Scales in 1461, and by
the death of his father in 1469 became Earl Rivers ; this Letter, therefore, must have
been written between those years, if my former supposition should be wrong.

     Autograph. PI. IV. No 10.

778

JOHN PASTON TO MARGARET PASTON¹

MOST worchepfull and my ryght specyall good modyr,
     as humbylly as I can, I recomand me on to yow,
     besechyng yow of your blyssyng. Please it yow to
undyrstand that thys day I spake with Batcheler Water, whiche
let me have undyrstandyng of your welfare, wherof I thank
God with all my hert. Also he leet me have knowlage that
the Lord Scalys had grauntyd yow to be my good lord, wherof
I am no thyng prowd, for he may do leest with the gret mastyr;
but he wold depert ovyr the see, as hastyly as he may; and
because he wenyth that I wold go with hym, as I had pro-
myseyd evyr, and he had kept foorthe hys jornay at that tyme,
thys is the cause that he wyll be my good lord and help to get
my pardon. The Kyng is not best pleasyd with hym for that
he desyerthe to depert, in so myche that the Kyng hathe seyd
of hym, that wen evyr he hathe most to do, then the Lord
Scalys wyll sonest axe leve to depert, and weenyth that it is
most be cause of kowardyese. As for pardon, I can never get,
withowght I schold paye to myche money for it, and I am
not so purveyd. As for Herry Hallman, my brodyr wyll axe
hym no sylver tyll ye be payeyd; therfor ye may send to hym
and have it.

     Item, I am sory that ye have fadyrd my hors that was at
Caster to be my Brodyr Edmundys, for I had leveer that they
had hym style then owght ellys; wherfor thow they profyr
hym yow from hense foorthe, let not my brodyr Edmund take
hym, but let him sey whedyr they wyll let hym have hym or
not, that I have promyseyd my brodyr Edmund a bettyr hors
for hym, so that he wyll not cleyme the same for hys. As for
tydyngs her be non but that the Scottys and Walyshe men be
besy; what they meane I can not seye. My cosyn John
Loveday can tell yow, and ther be eny odyr flyeyng talys, for
he hathe walkyd in London, and so do not I. When I may
I wyll come hom with Godys grace, whom I beseche to sende
you your hertys desyeyr. Wretyn the v. daye of Julle.

                       Be yowr humblest sone and servant,

                                                                                                   J. P.

     ¹ [From Fenn, iv. 116.] From the mention of Lord Scales in this letter it might
be supposed that it was written not later than the year 1469, when Anthony Wood-
ville, the last Lord Scales, became Earl Rivers by the death of his father; but I believe
the date to be 1471, and that the writer is simply speaking of Earl Rivers by his old
title. In the first place there is no appearance of either of the John Pastons requiring
a royal pardon before the year 1471: secondly, it is not probable that either of them
would have spoken so slightingly of the value of Lord Scales’s intercession at an earlier
period; and thirdly, it seems doubtful whether Edmund Paston could have been old
enough to own a war-horse many years before. Finally, we find by Letter 780 follow-
ing that John Paston, the youngest, succeeded in obtaining a pardon signed by the
King on the 17th July 1471. If the reference to the autograph plate in Fenn is
correct, this letter was in the hand of his elder brother, Sir John Paston, Knight; but
as it is not signed, like most of his letters, ‘John Paston, K.,’ we are inclined to suspect
that it was really written by the younger brother, like No. 780.

1471
JULY 5

1471
JULY 5