Syr, I beseche yow to holde me excusyd for kepyng of Thomas Lynsted, yowr servaunt, and hym bothe. It is soo that he and I bothe have ben in hand with my unkyll[145.1] for hys mater, and yett wee have hym at noo good poynt; but I troste we schall have. Syr, if I take thys jurney to Caleys, I moste beseche yow to forbere hym lenger, and if I goo not to Caleys, thow I be lothe to forbere hym, yet I schall brynge hym with me schortly in to Norfolke, ye to have hym, if ye lyste, with the grace of God, Who have yow in kepyng.
Wretyn at London, the xviij. day of February, with the hande of yowre pore brodyr, Wylliam Paston.
[143.2] [From Paston MSS., B.M.] This letter refers to Henry VII.’s proposed invasion of France, which, after long preparation, actually took place in October 1492.
[143.3] William Yelverton, the grandson of the Judge, who married Anne Paston, the writer’s sister.
[144.1] The Earl of Oxford.
[145.1] William Paston the elder.
Hys Grace for hors, harnese, tents,
text reads “or hors”: corrected from Fenn
[1054]
ROGER L’ESTRANGE TO SIR JOHN PASTON[145.2]
To the ryth worchypfull Syr John Paston, Knyth, be thys delyveryd.
1492
APRIL 16