rsyll off Kentte; so that I ne may nogth out, nor none vitayles
gette me, hot wyth my die hard. Wharfore my dere if it lyk zow, by the
awyse off zowr wyse counsel for to sett remadye off the salvation off
yhower castells wt. stand the malyce off ther sehures foresayde. And
also that ye be fullyehe enformede off there grett malyce wyker's in
these schyres whyche yt haffes so dispytfful wrogth to zow, and to
zowl contell, to zhowr men, and zuor tenaunts ffore this cuntree, have
yai wastede for grett whyle. Farewell my dere Lorde, the Holy Tryn zow
kepe fro zour ennemys and son send me gud tythyng off yhow. Ywryten at
Pevensey in the castell, on Saynt Jacobe day last past.

"By yhowr awnn pore,

"J. PELHAM.

"To my trew Lorde."

While her position gave her equal rank with her husband, it also laid
upon the lady of the manor the cares natural to her station. A great
lady had always her bodyguard of maidens, and the lord his following
of pages, these young people being thus provided for that they
might receive the training of gentility and courtesy which were the
essentials in the character of the noble persons of the times. These
maidens, who were intrusted to the care of the lady of the manor, had
to be trained in all domestic accomplishments as well as in polite
attainments. It is singular that this custom of sending children from
home was often interpreted by foreigners as an evidence of a lack of
parental affection; and, indeed, it did at times furnish a means of
easy riddance of daughters whose tempers were incompatible with those
of their parents, or whose self-will--or the selfish policy of the
household--made it desirable for the parents to sever the tie which
lacked the strength of affection. Thus, in 1469, Dame Margaret Paston
writes to her son, Sir John Paston, regarding his sister Margery: "I
wuld ye shuld purvey for yur suster to be with my Lady of Oxford, or
with my Lady of Bedford, or in sume other wurshepfull place, wher as
ye thynk best, and I wull help to her fyndyng, for we be eyther of us
werye of other."

It will be seen from this fashion of the times--more particularly of
the latter part of the Middle Ages--that a knight's lady performed
many of the functions of a mistress of a boarding school. Those
intrusted to her care, regardless of their rank or station, were
subjected to rigid discipline and were required to perform the arduous
duties of the household. These tasks embraced the varied forms