Paston Letters Volume 5 782. SIR JOHN PASTON (age 29) TO JOHN PASTON³

To hys well belovyd John Paston, Esquier, at Norwyche, or to Mestresse Margret, his Modre.

28 Sep 1471

I COMANDE me to yow, letyng yow weet that, &c.⁴

I wolde ffayne have the mesur wher my ffadre lythe at Bromholm; bothe the thyknesse and compase off the peler at hys hed, and ffrom that the space to the alter, and the thyknesse off that alter, and imagery off tymbre werk; and what hyght the arche is to the grounde off the ilde, and how hye the grounde off the qwyr is hyer than the grownde off the ilde.

Item, I praye yowe late the me sur by pekthred be taken or elt mesured by yerde, how moche is ffrom the northe gate, ther the brygge was, at Gressham to the sowthewall, and in lyke fforme ffrom the este syde to the west, also the hyght off the estewall, and the hyght of the sowthest towr ffrom the grownde, iff ye maye easely. Also what bred de every towr is within the wall, and whych towr is moor then other within.

Alsso how manye ffote, or what brede eche towr takythe within iche corner off the quadrate¹ ovyrthwert the dorys, and how many taylors yards is from the moote syde, wher the brygg was, to the hyghe weye, or to the heddge all a longe the entre, and what brede the entre is be twyen the dykys. I praye yow, iff ye have a leyser in any wyse, se thys doone yowrselffe iff ye maye; or ellys iff Pampyng do it, or who that ye thynke can doo it, I wolle spende xxd. or as ye seme to have the sertayn off every thyng her in. And as for my Hiders tombe, I charge yow se it yowr selffe, and when I speke with yow I woll tell yow the cawses why that I desyr thys to be doon.

As ffor tydyngs, the Kyng, and the yen, and moche other pepell, ar ryden and goon to Canterbery, nevyr so moche peple seyn in Pylgrymage hertofor at ones, as men seye.

Alsso it is seyde that the Erle of Penbroke (age 39)² is taken on to Brettayn; and men saye that the Kynge schall have delyvere off hym hastely, and som seye that the Kynge off France woll hym saffe, and schall sett hym at lyberte ageyn.

Item, Thomas Fauconbrydge (deceased) hys hed was yesterdaye sett uppon London Brydge, lokyng into Kent warde; and men seye that hys brother was sor hurte, and scope to seyntwarye [sanctuary] to Beverle [Map].

Sir Thomas FulfForthe escaped owt of Westminster with an C. sperys, as men seye, and is in to Devenshyr; and ther he hathe strekyn off Sir John Crokkers hed, and kylt an other knyght off the Corteneys, as men seye. I wolde ye hadd yowr verry pardon at onys; wherfor I praye yow ffayle not to be at London within iiij. daye afftr Seynt Feythe;¹ ye schall do goode in many thynges, and I praye yow sende me worde heroff by the next mas senger; and if it come to Mestresse Elysabeth H yggens, at the Blak Swan, sche schall conveye it to me, fFor I woll not fFayle to be ther at London ageyn within thys vj. dayes.

Mestresse Elysabeth hathe a son, and was delyveryd within ij. dayes afFtr Seynt Bertelmew;² and hyr dowtr A. H. was the next daye afftr delyveryd off an other sone, as sche seythe, xj. weks er hyr tyme; it was crystened John, and is ded. God save all! No mor tyll I speke with yow.

Wretyn at London on Mychellmesse Evyn.

J. P., K.

Item, I praye yow late some wytty felaw, or ellys yowrselff, goo to the townes ther as thes ij. women dwelle, and inquire whether they be maryed syns and ageyn or not, ffor I holde the hoorys weddyd; and iff they be, than the appelys wer abbatyd ther by. I remembr not ther names; ye knowe them better then I. Alsso in the Schreffvys bookys ther maye ye ffynde off them

Note 3. [From Fenn, ii. 80.] The evidences of date in this letter are the same as in the last.

Note 4. Here follows an account that the Duchess of Suffolk and Duke of Norfolk intend again commencing appeals against Sir John Paston and his brother, etc., concerning Caister, etc.-F.

Note 2. Jasper Tudor.

Note 1. A drawing is here given in the original letter, apparently designed as a plan of the quadrangle of Gresham, of which the subjoined is a facsimile.

Note 1. 5 th of October.

Note 2. 24 th of August.

Pepy's Diary. 28 Sep 1668. Thence to Westminster Hall [Map] and there walked a little, and to the Exchequer, and so home by water, and after eating a bit I to my vintner's, and there did only look upon su wife, which is mighty handsome; and so to my glove and ribbon shop, in Fenchurch Street [Map], and did the like there. And there, stopping against the door of the shop, saw Mrs. Horsfall, now a late widow, in a coach. I to her, and shook her by the hand, and so she away; and I by coach towards the King's playhouse, and meeting W. Howe took him with me, and there saw "The City Match"; not acted these thirty years, and but a silly play: the King (age 38) and Court there; the house, for the women's sake, mighty full. So I to White Hall, and there all the evening on the Queen's (age 29) side; and it being a most summerlike day, and a fine warm evening, the Italians come in a barge under the leads, before the Queen's (age 29) drawing-room; and so the Queen (age 29) and ladies went out, and heard them, for almost an hour: and it was indeed very good together; but yet there was but one voice that alone did appear considerable, and that was Seignor Joanni. This done, by and by they went in; and here I saw Mr. Sidney Montagu kiss the Queen's (age 29) hand, who was mighty kind to him, and the ladies looked mightily on him; and the King (age 38) come by and by, and did talk to him. So I away by coach with Alderman Backewell (age 50) home, who is mighty kind to me, more than ordinary, in his expressions. But I do hear this day what troubles me, that Sir W. Coventry (age 40) is quite out of play, the King (age 38) seldom speaking to him; and that there is a design of making a Lord Treasurer, and that my Lord Arlington (age 50) shall be the man; but I cannot believe it. But yet the Duke of Buckingham (age 40) hath it in his mind, and those with him, to make a thorough alteration in things; and, among the rest, Coventry (age 40) to be out. The Duke of York (age 34) did this day tell me how hot the whole party was in the business of GaudenGawden; and particularly, my Lord Anglesey (age 54) tells me, the Duke of Buckingham (age 40), for Child against Gawden; but the Duke of York (age 34) did stand stoutly to it.

Adeline Horsey Recollections. On September 28, 1858, my marriage took place at the Military Chapel Gibraltar, and I was the first Countess of Cardigan to be married on foreign soil, I wore a white silk gown draped with a blue scarf, and a large hat adorned with many feathers; Lord Cardigan's (age 60) friends, Stuart Paget, Mrs, Paget and the Misses Paget, were present, and we gave a ball on the yacht in the evening. We spent a very gay week at Gibraltar, and then left for Cádiz, touching at Malacca and Alicante; then we took rail to Madrid [Map], where we arrived on October 16 in time to witness a review of 30,000 troops on Queen Isabella's (age 27) birthday. After a short stay at Madrid we rejoined the Airedale at Barcelona [Map], and went 500 miles by sea to Leghorn. We experienced bad weather and many storms, and every one on board was ill except myself. The cook was a great sufferer, and his absence was naturally felt by those who were able to look at food without aversion.

From Leghorn we went to Elba, when I saw the place Napoleon embarked from after the "hundred days". We left the Airedale at Civiti Vecchia and started for Rome, Italy [Map] in our travelling-carriage with six horses, escorted by some of the Papal Guard sent by the Pope to protect us. I met many of my friends in the Eternal City; I saw everything worth seeing during my delightful sojourn there, and before we left Lord Cardigan and I were blessed by the Pope at an audience we had with his Holiness. As I wished to go to Genoa by sea, we returned to Civita Vecchia and set out in the yacht for Genoa, where we landed; we went from there to Turin, and on by rail by the Mont Cenis route to Paris [Map].

Paris was then a city of delight, revelling in the palmy days of the Second Empire, and I greatly enjoyed my visit there. One night I went to the Opera with Cardigan and we saw Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Trelawney in a box. Mrs. Trelawney was the famous Miss Howard, once the English mistress of Louis Napoleon (age 50), who paid her £250,000 when he renounced her to marry Eugenie de Montijo (age 32). Mrs. Trelawney annoyed the Emperor (age 50) and Empress (age 32) as much as she dared by sitting opposite the Royal box at the Opera, and driving almost immediately behind the Empress's (age 32) carriage in the Bois de Boulogne. She was a very fat woman, and her embonpoint increased to such an extent that the doors of her carriage had to be enlarged to allow her to get in and out with comfort.

Clarence Trelawney was a friend of mine, and the poor fellow came to a sad end. After his wife's death he married an American lady, but unfortunately he got into debt. He appealed to his relations, who were very wealthy but apparently equally mean, for they refused to lend him the £400 he asked for, and driven desperate by worry he blew out his brains.

From Paris we came to London and stayed at Lord Cardigan's town-house in Portman Square Marylebone; then we went to Deene [Map] on December 14, where we met with a royal reception, six hundred tenants on horseback escorting our carriage from the station to the house.