Margaret Paston to John Paston

585

MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON¹

To my ryght wyrshypfull husbond, John Paston,
be thys letter delyveryd.

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 I¹ 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?]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,
                                                                           M. P.

     ¹ [From Paston MSS.] This letter, in which it is anticipated that the Duke of
Suffolk will obtain possession, first of Drayton, and then of Hellesden, is evidently
a little later in date than Nos. 578 and 581, and can only be of the year 1465.

    ¹ The MS. has ‘in’ instead of ‘I,’ evidently by mistake.

    ¹ Paper decayed.

1465
JUNE 11

1465
JUNE 11

1465
JUNE 11

1465
JUNE 11