Late my brother John se thys bille, for he knoweth mor off thys mater. John Paston, K.
[21.1] [From Fenn, ii. 276.]
[21.2] John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk.—F.
[21.3] Fenn reads ‘ffoodyd ne,’ and in the modern copy ‘fooded not forth,’ of which some fanciful explanations are suggested in a footnote. The true reading ought certainly to be ‘me’ and not ‘ne,’ the meaning evidently being ‘he has put me off ever since.’ ‘To fode out with words’ is an expression which, as Halliwell informs us, occurs in Skelton, Harrington, etc.
[22.1] John Morton, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, and Cardinal.
[957]
JOHN PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[23.1]
To Syr John Paston, Knyght.
1479
NOV. 6
Syr, aftyr all dwtes of recomendacyon, pleasyt to undyrstand, that, acordyng to your lettre sent me by Wyllson, Lomnore and I mett at Norwyche and drew ought a formable bylle ought of your, and send it ayen to th’Exchetore Palmer by my brodyr Edmund, whyche had an other erand in to that contre to spek with H. Spylman, to get hys good wyll towardes the bargayn lyek to be fynyshed hastyly betwyx Mastres Clyppysby and hym. And, syr, at the delyvere of the bylle of inquisicyon to th’Exchetour, my brodyr Edmund told hym that accordyng to your wryghtyng to me, I spak with myn oncle William, and told hym that I undyrstood by yow that my Lord of Elye had aswell desyred hym in wryghtyng as you by mouthe, that non of you shold swe to have the inquisycion fond aftyr your intentys tyll other weyes of pese wer takyn betwyx you; wherfor my brodyr Edmund desyred hym that with ought myn oncle labord to have it fond for hym, ellys that he shold not procede for yow; but th’Exchetour answerd hym that he wold fynd it for you, aftyr your byll, of hys owne autorite; and so it was fond. But, syr, ye must remembre that my Lord of Ely desyred myn oncle as well as you to surcease, as I put myn oncle in knowlage, and myn oncle at the fyrst agreid that he wold make no more sute a bought it, in trust that ye wold do the same, acordyng to my Lord of Elys desyer; wherfor ye had ned to be ware that th’Exchetor skyppe not from you, when he comyth to London, and sertyfye it, or ye spek with hym. Th’Exchetor shalbe at London by Twysdaye or Wednysday next comyng, at John Leeis house, for he shall ryd forwardys as on Monday next comyng be tymys, &c.
Syr, your tenauntes at Crowmer sey that they know not who shalbe ther lord; they marvayll that ye nor no man for yow hathe not yet ben there. Also, when I was with myn oncle, I had a longe pystyll of hym, that ye had sent Pekok to Paston, and comandyd the tenauntes ther that they shold pay non areragys to hym, but if [unless] they wer bond to hym by obligacyon for the same; myn oncle seythe it was other wyse apoyntyd be for the arbytrorys; they thought, he seythe, as well my Mastyr Fytzwalter as other, that he shold receyve that as it myght be gadryd; but now he seythe, that he wottyth well some shall renne away, and some shall wast it, so that it is nevyr lyek to be gadryd, but lost, and so I trow it is lyek to be of some of the dettors, what for casuelte of dethe and thes other causes befor rehersyd; wherfor me thynkyth if it were apoyntyd befor the arbytrors that he shold receyve theym, as he seythe, it wer not for you to brek it, or ellys if he be pleyn executor to my grauntdam, then also he ought to have it. I spek lyek a blynd man, do ye as ye thynk, for I was at no syche apoyntment befor th’arbytrors, nor I know not whethyr he is executor to my grauntdam or not, but by hys seying.