Fenn considers, I think with great probability, that this letter was written 'just before the important crisis that finished Henry's reign, and placed Edward on the throne,' when Margaret of Anjou was expected in London after winning the second battle of St. Albans. Giles Saint Loe was sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1458.]

[Footnote 252.2: This t.i.tle is taken from an endors.e.m.e.nt in a later hand.]

433

JOHN DAVY TO JOHN PASTON[253.1]

_On to my Maystyr Pastone, be this lettre deliveryd._

Ryth wurchopful Sere, I recomaund me on to you. And iff it lyke you I have spokyn with Bussard, and demaundyd hym iff he had ony evydens, dedys, or copyis, or ony other evydens of ony place or off ony lyflod that longget on to my mayster,[253.2] and seyth, Nay, be is feyth, and be is trowthe, for, if he hadde, he wold send hem on to you with a good wyl; for he seyth it xud don hym non ese. And, Ser, iff it plese you I askyd hym if he knew ony evydens that he had delyveryd on to William Wossetyr, bill, or deds, or ony other evydens that xuld longgyn on to ony purchas or off ony lyfflod on to my maystrys, and he seyth, Nay trewly; for he seyth the last tyme that he wrot on to William Wusseter, it was be ffor myssomyr, and thanne he wrot a cronekyl of Jerewsalem, and the jornes that my mayster dede whyl he was in Fraunce (that G.o.d on his sowle have mercy!); and he seyth that this drow more than xx.

whazerys [20 _quires ?_] off paper, and the wrytyng delyveryd on to William Wursseter, and non other, ne knowyth not off non other be is feyth.

Be your man,

J. DAVY.

[Footnote 253.1: [From Fenn, iv. 78.] This letter was written some time after the death of Sir John Fastolf--not unlikely, as Fenn imagines, in the reign of Edward IV.; but the exact date is immaterial.]

[Footnote 253.2: Sir John Fastolf.]

434

THOMAS s...o...b..LT TO JOHN PASTON[254.1]

_To my worshipfull maister, Maister Paston of the Temple._

Worshipfull Sir, soo ye will send a polletik person to Ludgate in secrete wise to comune with me, and lete hym not in no wise speke of you to hove (?) youre good maistership, and a resonable remedy shall ease you of a gret part that the criour cleymeth of you for Maister Fastolffs detts of xiij. or xiiij. yere at the lest, and be that perave[ntu]re of the hole _qui in uno est reus morbus [in omnibus] reus_ ... ... .

Sir, remembreth your worship if y doo to ease you, lete me not be discoveryd, for ye knewe not your worship y wold not doo thus. What ever ye have of me, ye may sey it is found in the stywardes boks, and y know that ye have desired favour to have hym seese for your worship that procur hym ageyns you; whoo so shall kom to me, he may kom in Maistre Nevills name, for with hym have y a doo. As for your own servaunts, y ferd me lest they be knowyn whethir it be servaunt or othir, send knowleche of my reword and a bille under your seall or your own hands, or bothe on your worship to have it close that y be not blamyd for that; y shall telle you her after. Wretyn in Ludgate.

Your servaunt and there prisoner,

THOMAS s...o...b..LT.

[Footnote 254.1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] Beyond the evident fact that this letter was written between the death of Sir John Fastolf in 1459 and that of John Paston in 1466, there is not much clue to the date.]

435

MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[255.1]

_To my ryth worcepful husbonde, John Paston._

[Sidenote: Year uncertain]

Ryth reverent and worcepfful husbonde, I recomande me to yow, desyryng hertely to here of yowre welle fare, thankyn yow for yowr letter and for the thyngys that ye sent me ther with. And towchyn John Estegate, he com nowdyr non sent hedyr nowt zyt; wer for I sopose I must borrowyn money in schorte time but zyf [_unless_] ye come sone home; for I sopose I xal non have of hym, so G.o.dd helpe me. I have but iiij_s._ and I howhe nerr as meche mony as com to the for seyd some. I have do yowr herrendys to my modyr and my hunckyl and as for the feffeys of Stokysby, my hunckyll syth that ther be no mo than he wrot to yow of that he knowit. And also I hauwe delyvyrit the todyr thyng that ye sent me inselyd in the boxe as ye comaundit me, and the man seyt, that I delyverid it to, that he wylle nowt of the bargeyne that ye sent hym, but sweche thynggys be do or he come ther that ye sent hym worde of, he seyth that he wold nowt be noysyd with no sweche thyngis of that is, that it wer do in hesse tyme for xx. marke. I sopose he xal send yow word in shorte time ho he wylle do. I pray yow that ye wylle weche save to beyn for me swech lacys os I send yow exsaumpyll of in this letter and j. pesse of blac lacys; as for cappys that ye sent me for the chylderyn they be to lytyl for hem.

I pray yow bey hem feyner cappys and larger than tho wer. Also I pray yow that ye wylle weche save to recomaunde me to my fadyr and my modyr and tellyth heer that alle herr chyldyrryn ben in G.o.de hele, blyssyd be G.o.dd. Heydonis wyffe had chyld on Sent Petyr day. I horde seyne that herr husband wille nowt of her, nerr of her chyld that sche had last nowdyr. I herd seyn that he seyd, zyf sche come in hesse precence to make her exkewce that he xuld kyt of her nose to makyn her be know wat sche is; and yf her chyld come in hesse presence, he seyd he wyld kyllyn he wolle nowt be intret.i.t to have her ayun in no wysse, os I herde seyn.

The Holy Trinite have yow in Hesse kepyn and send yow helth. Wretyn at Geldiston on the Wedynisday nexte after Sent Thomas.

Be yowris,

M. PASTON.

[Footnote 255.1: [Add. MS. 34,889, f. 199.] The date of this letter is not clear, and we place it at the end of Henry VI.'s reign. It is probably much earlier.]

436

A WHITSUNDAY SERMON OF FRIAR BRACKLEY[256.1]

Frends, this holy tyme, as owr moder Holy Chirch maketh mension, the Holy Gost came from hevyn, and lighted in the disciples of Crist, inflamyng them with connyng, and strenghyng them with grace. And be cause the doctrine and prechyng of them shuld go thurghought all the werd, furst thei wer to be enfourmed and taught connyng, and to be strenth with awdacide and grace, and than to be endewed and yovyn all manner of langags that thei myght prechyn to all maner of naciones, so that tho naciones that thei preched to myght understond them, and every naciones his owyn tonge; and so thees Appostilles, after that thei wern enspired with the Holy Gost, wher so ever thei preached, were ther never so many naciones present, ich nacion thought that thei spokyn in ther owyn langage--etenim illud loquebantur variis linguis Apostoli.

Frends, iij. thyngs be necessary in prechyng to hym that shall prechyn thurgh the werd as the Appostell dede--that is to sey, connyng, boldnesse, and langags. If thei had had connyng and none audacite, but have fered to have preched, it shuld litill a profited, as we have examplles dayly at Cambrige, exempli [gratia][256.2] de Clerico quis studuit sermonem, &c. And if thei have bothyn connyng and audacite, and have none eloquensye ner copiousnesse of langage, so that he preche that his audiens is most excercised in, that thei may understand hym, elles it profiteth not.

Therfor thes holy Appostill[es], be for thei shuld prechyn, furst thei wer to be confirmed and strenghed. Our Lord strenghed them be under nemyng,[257.1] enformyng, and helpyng, culpando ut in Evangelium rec.u.mbentibus, &c. He strenghed them with his help and grace whan he brethed in them, seyng 'Accipite Spiritum Sanctum; et quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis, et quorum retinueritis retenta sunt,'[257.2]

&c. He strenghed them also be his doctrine whan he seid 'Pet.i.te et accipietis; si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis.'[257.3] How that ye shuld prayn to G.o.d and askyn, I taught you on Estern day. Therfor ye shall pray to G.o.d be good werkyng, right full lebyring, and in good deds perseveryng.

Frends, ye owe for to ask of G.o.d that your joy may ben a full joy and perfight; we may never have a full joy in this werd, wher as ever among folwyth hevynesse. A man joyth sumtyme in gold and sylver, and in gret substaunce of erdly G.o.ds, in bewte of women, but this joy is not perfyght--but this joy is not stabill, but it is mutabill as a shadow; for he that this joyth in the bewte of his wyffe, it may fortune to morwyn he shall folwyn her to chirch up on a bere. But if ye wull knowyn what is a full and a wery joy, truly forgevenesse of synne and everlestyng blisse, wher as is never sikenesse, hunger, ner thurst, ner no maner of disseas, but all welth, joy, and prosperite, &c. Ther be iij. maner of joys, the on void, a nother half full, the thred is a full joy. The furst is plente of werdly G.o.ds, the seconde is Gostly grace, the threde is everlestyng blisse. The furst joy, that is affluens of temporall G.o.ds, is called a veyn joy, for if a man wer set at a bord with delicate mets and drynks, and he sey a cawdron boyllyng a forn hym with pykke and bronston, in the which he shuld be throwyn naked as sone as he had dyned; for he shuld joy mych in his deliciose mets, it shuld be but a veyn joy.

Right so doth the joy of a covetouse man, if he sey what peyn his sowle shuld suffre in h.e.l.le for the myskepyn and getyn of his good, he shuld not joy in his tresore, ut in Libro Decalogorum, 'Quidam h.o.m.o dives,'

&c.

Semiplenum gaudium est quando quis in praesenti gaudet et tunc cogitans de futuris dolet, ut in quodam libro Graeco, 'Quidam Rex Graeciae,' &c. Her ye may se but half a joy; how [_who_] shuld joy in this werd, if he remembred hym of the peynes of the toder werd? 'Non glorietur fortis in fort.i.tudine sua, nec sapiens in sapientia sua, nec dives in divitiis suis.'[258.1] De quibus dicitur, qui confidunt in mult.i.tudine divitiarum suarum, quasi oves in inferno positi sunt.[258.2] 'Qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur.'[258.3] Therfor lete us joy in hope of everlestyng joy and blis. 'Gaudete quia nomina vestra scripta sunt in caelo,'[258.4] ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. A full joy is in hevyn. Et in hoc apparet quod magnum gaudium est in caelo, quoniam ibi est gaudium quod 'oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, et in cor hominis non ascendit, quae Deus praeparavit diligentibus,'[258.5] et ideo, fratres, variis linguis loquens [precor] ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum, vel habeatis gaudium sempiternum.

[Footnote 256.1: [From Fenn, iii. 392.] The original MS. of this sermon was endorsed, of course in a much later hand than the doc.u.ment, 'An ancient Whitsunday sermon preached by Frier Brackley (whose hand it is) in the Friers Minors Church, in Norwich.' Of this and the remaining papers of Henry VI.'s time the dates are very uncertain.]

[Footnote 256.2: Omitted in Fenn's literal transcript.]

[Footnote 257.1: _i.e._ reproving.]

[Footnote 257.2: John xx. 22, 23.]

[Footnote 257.3: John xvi. 23, 24.]

[Footnote 258.1: Jer. ix. 23.]

[Footnote 258.2: Psalm xlviii. (xlix.) 6, 14.]

[Footnote 258.3: 1 Cor. i. 31.]

[Footnote 258.4: Luke x. 20.]

[Footnote 258.5: 1 Cor. ii. 9.]

437