JOHN 15 URNS. Lo\\'cr IJrou^hton. EEMAINS OP THE popular #oettp of CnglanD ; COLLECTED AND EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND BY W. CAEEW HAZLITT, OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER -AT-LAW. VOLUME THE FOURTH. LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, SOHO SQUARE. 1866. NOTICE. SLIGHT delay has occurred in the appear ance of these volumes. It was originally intended to have limited the work to three ; but a discovery was made that the matter would be amply sufficient to admit the addition of a fourth volume. The Editor is responsible for all the typographical arrangements. It was the publisher's original plan to have merely reissued in a single volume Mr. Utterson's Select Pieces of Early Popular Poetry, 1817, precisely as they stood. The present Editor has to answer for the extension of the book to its actual proportions. Kensington, April, 1866. CONTENTS. Page OHN BON and Mast Person ... 1 The H?e Way to the Spyttel Hous . . 17 The Payne and Sorowe of Evyll Maryage . 73 The Boke of Mayd Emlyn ...... 81 The Schole-house of Women ...... 97 Proude Wyues Pater noster . . . . . .147 A merry leste of a Shrewde and curste Wyfe lapped in Morrelles skin ....... 179 A Treatyse shewing and declaring the Pryde and Abuse of Women Now < Day es ..... 227 A Glasse to Yiewe the Pride of Vaine Glorious Women . 245 A Piece of Friar Bacons Brazen-heads Prophesie . . 263 The King and a poore Northerne Man .... 290 The Birth, Life, Death, Wil, and Epitaph of Jack Puffe Gentleman ........ 311 The Welch Traveller . . . . . . .321 ADDITIONAL NOTES . . . . . . . 355 FACSIMILES. Page 3 RIGINAL title-page to John Bon and Mast Person Original title-page to the Schole-house of Women . 103 Original title-page to The Proude Wyues Pater noster . 149 Original title-page to A Treatise shewing and declaring the Pryde and Abuse of Women Now a Dayes . . 229 Original title-page to Pleasant Quippes for Upstart Gen tlewomen ........ 247 Original title-page to A Piece of Friar Bacons Brazen-heads Prophesie 265 Original title-page to The King and a Poore Northerne Man 29 1 Original title-page to The Birth, Life, Death, Wil, and Epitaph of lack Pvffe Gentleman . . . 313 Original title-page to The Welch Traveller . . . 329 3lofm TBon anti nPHIS is another of the tracts which were written in favour •*• and furtherance of the Reformation. Not more than two or three copies of the original edition have been seen. It was reprinted in facsimile many years ago, and in 1852, Mr. W. H. Black edited it for the Percy Society. The present editor has been unwillingly obliged to take for granted the accuracy of the latter text, as he has not been able to obtain access to a copy of Daye and Seres's edition ; according to Mr. Black, the so-called facsimile is incorrect in several places. A production of this character would necessarily enjoy great popularity and be eagerly bought up; and the scarcity of copies of the black-letter impression may be as plausibly attributed to the demand for them at the time of publication and the subse quent neglect with which they met, as to the suppression of the piece by authority, which has been conjecturally advanced as the reason. It is to be observed that many pamphlets, both prose and poetical, of the middle of the 16th century, remain to us only in a single exemplar, and in most cases a plea of authoritative in terference with their circulation would fall to the ground. If John Bon and Mast person was suppressed, it is as likely aa not •0 have been in a different sense — manu et pedibus vulgi. VOL. IV. B 2 JOHN BON AND MAST PERSON. See Herbert's Ames, fol. 619, where the tract, consisting of four leaves, is described from a copy in Herbert's own possession. A second was sold among Mr. Richard Forster's books in 1807, and was the exemplar from which the facsimile edition was derived. See Additional Notes. ana jflflaat person fc^* ALASSE, poore fooles ! so sore ye be lade, No marvel it is, thoughe your shoulders ake : For ye beare a great God, which ye yourselfes made. Make of it what ye wyl, it is a wafar cake, And betwen two irons printed it is and bake. And loke, where idolatrye is, Christe wyl not be there ; Wherfore, ley downe your burden, an idole ye do beare. £3" Alasse, t>oore fooles ! AT, John Bon ! good morowe to the ! Nowe good morowe, mast Parson, so mut I thee. Carson, What meanest thou, John, to be at worke so sone ? The zoner I begyne, the zoner shall I have done ; For I tende to warke no longer then none. Carson. Mary, John, for that God's blessinge on thy herte ; For surely some therbe wyl go to ploughe an carte, And set not by thys holy Corpus Christi even. fojtu They aer the more to blame, I swere by saynt Steven. But tell me, mast Parson, one thinge, and you can ; 10 What saynt is Copsi Cursty, a man or a woman ? 6 JOHN BON AND Carson. Why, John, knoweste not that ? I tell the it was a man. It is Christe his own selfe, and to morowe is hys daye: We beare hym in prosession, and thereby knowe it ye maye. fofm. I knowe, mast Parson ? and na, by my faye : But me thinke it is a mad thinge that ye saye, That it should be a man ; howe can it come to passe ? Because ye maye hym beare with in so smal a glasse. Why, neybor John, and art thou nowe there? No we I maye perceyve ye love thys newe geare. 20 Sotn. God's forbod, master, I should be of that facion ; I question wy your mashippe in waye of cumlication. A playne man, ye may se, wil speake as cometh to mind ; Ye muste hold us ascused, for plowemen be but blynd. I am an elde felowe of fifty wynter and more, And yet, in all my lyfe, I knewe not this before. parson. No dyd ? why sayest thou so ? upon thy selfe thou lyest : MAST PERSON. 7 Thou haste ever knowen the sacramente to be the body of Christ. fojm* Ye syr, ye say true ; all that I know in dede ; And yet, as I remember, it is not in my crede. so But as for Cropsy Cursty to be a man or no, I knewe not tyll thys day, by the waye my soule shal to. Carson* Why, folishe felowe, I tel the it is so ; For it was so determined by the churche longe ago : It is both the sacramente and very Christ him selfe. No spleaser, mast Parson ; then make ye Christe an elfe, And the maddest made man that ever body sawe. What ? peace, mad man ! thou speakeste lyke a dawe. It is not possible hys manhode for to fofm. Why, sir, ye tell me it is even verye he ; 10 And if it be not his manhode, his godhed it must be. JOHN BON AND I tell the, none of both ; what raeaneste thou, art thou mad? fofjn* No, nother mad nor drunke, but to learne I am glade : But to displease your mashippe I woulde be very loth. Ye graunt me here playnly, that it is none of boeth ; Then it is but a cake, but I pray ye be not wroth. Wroth, quod ha! by the masse, (thou makest me swere an othe,) I hade lever wyth a docter of divinitie to reason, Then with a stubble cur that eateth beanes and peason. Ifofw* I crie ye mercye, mast Person ; pacience for a season ! In all thys cumlicacion is nother felony nor treason. 51 No, by the masse, but herest thou ? it is playne heresye. I am glade it chaunced so, theyr was no witnes by ; And if ther had I cared not, for ye spake as yl as I. MAST PERSON. 9 I speake but as I harde you saye, I wot not what ye thought ; Ye sayd it was not God, nor man, and made it worsse then nought. I ment not so ; thou tokeste me wronge. A, sir ! ye singe another songe ; I dare not reason wyth you longe. I se well nowe, ye have a knacke so To saye a thynge and then go backe. Carson. No, John ; I was but a littyll over sene. But thou mentest not good fayeth, I wene, In all thys talke that was us betwene. Sfofw* I ? no, trowe, it shannot so beene That John Bon shall an heretike be calde : Then myght he laye him so fowle befalde. parson. But nowe, if thou wylt marke me welle, From begynnynge to endynge I wyl the tell Of the godly service that shalbe to morowe ; 70 That, or I have done, no doubte thou wylt sorowe 10 JOHN BON AND To here that suche thynges shulde be fordone. And yet, in many places, they have begun To take a waye the olde, and set up newe. Beleve me, John, thys tale is true. Sfofm. Go to, mast Parson, saye on, and well to thryve ; Ye be the jolest gemman1 that ever sawe in my lyve. We shal firste have matins : is it not a godly hereynge? Sfofm* Fie ! yes ; me thinke 'tis a shamefull gay chearynge ; For often times on my prayers when I take no greate kepe, so Ye sing so arantly well, ye make me fal a slepe. Carson* Then have we prosession, and Christe aboute we beare. That is a poysone holy thinge, for God himselfe is ther. parson* Than comme we in, and redy us dresse, Full solempnely to goo to messe. 1 The abbreviation of gentleman, which is still in use as a vulgarism. In Udall's Ralph Royster JJoyster we find gemman, and also in Doctoitr Doubbk Ale, line 197. MAST PERSON. 11 Is not here a mischevous thynge ? The messe is vengaunce holye, for all ther sayeinge? Carson. Then saye we Conjiteor and Miseriatur. Jeze Lorde ! 'tis abbominable matter. Carson. And then we stande up to the auter. 90 Thys geere is as good as our Ladies Sawter. Carson* And so gose fourth wyth the other dele, Tyll we have rede the Pistell and Gospel!. fofm. That is good, mast Person, I knowe ryght well. parson. Is that good ? why, what sayste thou to the other ? 12 JOHN BON AND SMm- Mary, horrible good, I saye none other. So is all the messe, I dare avow this, As good in every poynte as Pistell or Gospel is. The fowle evyU it is ; whoe woulde thynke so muche ? In fayeth I ever thought that it had bene no suche. 10^ Then have we the Canon, that is holyest. A spightfuU gay thynge, of all that ever I wyst. Carson, Then have we the Memento, even before the sacringe. Ye are morenly well learned, I se by your recknynge, That ye wyll not forget such an elvyshe thynge. Carson. And after that we consecrate very God and man ; And turae the breade to fleshe wyth fyve wordes we can. * MAST PERSON. 13 The devell ye da ! I trowe. Ther is pestilence busines ! Ye are much bounde to God for suche a spittell holines. A galows gay gifte ! wyth fyve wordes alone no To make boeth God and man, and yet wese none ! Ye talke so unreasonably well, it maketh my herte yerne. As elde a felow as yche am, I se well I may learne. Yea, John ; and then wyth wordes holy and good, Even by and by, we tourne the wyne to bloude. Lo ! wyll ye see ? Lo ! who would have thought it, That ye could so sone from wine to bloud ha brought it ? And yet, except your mouth be better tasted than myne, I can not fele it other but that it should be wyne. And yet I wote nere a cause ther maye be whye, i2o Perchaunce, ye ha dronke bloude ofter then ever dyd I. Truely, John, it is bloud, though it be wine in taste ; As soone as the word is spoke, the wyne is gone and past. Sojjn. A sessions on it, for me, wy wyttes are me benumme ; For I can not study where the wyne shoulde become. 14 JOHN BON AND Study, quod ha ! beware, and let suche matter go ; To meddle muche wyth thys, may brynge ye sone to wo. Yea ; but, mast Parson, thyiike ye it were ryght, That, if I desired you to make my blake oxe whight, And you saye it is done, and styl is blacke in syght, Ye myght me deme a foole for to beleve so lyght? ISL Parson* I marvell muche ye wyll reason so farre : I feare if ye use it, it wyll ye mar. No, no, sir ! I truste of that I wylbe ware. I pray you wyth your matter agayne fourth to fare. Carson. And then we go forth, and Christes body receyve ; Evyn the very same that Mary dyd conceyve. The devill it is ! ye have a greate grace To eate God and man in so short a space. Carson. And so we make an ende, as it lieth in an order. HO MAST PERSON. 15 But now the blissed messe is hated in every border, And railed on, and reviled, with wordes most blasphemous ; But I trust it wylbe better with the help of Catechismus; For, thoughe it came forth but even that other day, Yet hath it tourned many to ther olde waye ; And where they hated messe, and had it in disdayne, There have they messe and matins in Latyne tongue agayne. Ye, even in London selfe, (John) I tel the troeth, They be ful glade and mery to here of thys, God knoweth. By my trueth, mast Parson, I lyke ful wel your talke : But' masse me no more messinges. The right way wil I walke. 151 For thoughe I have no learning, yet I know chese from chalke, And yche can perceive your juggling, as crafty as ye walke. But leve your devilish masse, and the communion to you take, And then will Christ be with you, even for his promisse Carson. Why, art thou suche a one, and kept it so closse ? Wei, al is not golde that hath a fayre glosse. But farewel, John Bon, God bringe the in better mind. I thanke you, sir, for that you seme verie kynde ; 16 JOHN EON AND MAST PERSON. But praye not so for me, for I am well inoughe. : Whistill, boy ! drive furth ! God spede us and the plough ! Ha ! hrowne done ! forth, that horson crabbe ! Reecomomyne, garlde, wyth, haight, blake hab ! Have a gayne, bald before, hayght, ree who ! Cherly, boy, cum of, that whomwarde we may goo. Imprmtrt at ILontom, fig Sjofm 39age, an* agllgam Sere*, fctoeilmse in Partsje, at tje stgne of tfje mtion, a littel (Kontiutte. Otum gratia tt ptibilegio atr imptimentium solum. Cfce JDpe 2Bap to t&e ©ppttel HHHE Hye Way to the Spyttel Hous. [Woodcut of Copland, the Porter, and a beggar.] If COPLAND AND THE PORTER. 1f Who so hath lust, or wyll leaue his thryft, And wyll fynd no better way nor shyft, Come this bye way, here to seke some rest, For it is ordeyned for eche vnthrifty gest. [Colophon] Enprynted at London in the Fletestrete at the rose garland by Robert Copland, n. d. 4to. black letter, 20 leaves.1 The following production, which has been reprinted by Mr. Utterson in his Select Pieces of Early Popular Poetry, 1817, can only lay claim to the title of a poem from being in the metrical form. But it is valuable and curious, nevertheless, as a contri bution to our knowledge of the state of the hospitals and of the 1 In the library of James West, Esq. sold in 1773, there were two copies of this tract. VOL. IV. C 18 THE EYE WAT TO poor in the time of Henry VIII,' and as a link in the history of mendicity. Many of its pages might be read side by side with Mayhew's " London Labour and the London Poor ;" but it is to be remarked that the "Hye Way to the Spyttel Hous" has in view rather the exposure of the frauds of beggars and alms- people than the illustration of their pursuits and struggles in search of a livelihood. As a picture, presumed to be faithfully drawn, of the lower forms of human life three hundred years ago, the " Hye Way to the Spyttel Hous" possesses unquestion able interest and importance, though its literary merit may be of an infinitesimal kind, and Ritson may be thought to have gone quite far enough in characterizing it as " a dialogue of some humour and merit." 2 Robert Copland, the " compiler and printer of this boke," as he styles himself in the Prologue, was an apprentice of Wynkyn de Worde, and probably the father or brother of William Cop land,3 a printer of considerable note. Like his contemporary Crowley, who enjoys the meritorious distinction of having been the first to commit to the press the Vision of Piers Ploughman, Robert Copland probably wrote many pieces of a satirical charac ter without putting his name to them which, like the Hye Way to the Spyttel Hous, he also printed. We may perhaps be allowed to doubt, whether Robert Copland 1 The statute 22 Henry VIII, was renewed and confirmed, with some additions, &c. by 14 and 18 Eliz. But practically, the law in this respect was of very slight force, and the evil against which it sought to pro vide a remedy remained as serious as ever. In his "Treatise against Dicing," &c. 1577, North- brooke bitterly complains of the inoperative character of the acts 14 and 18 Eliz. 8 Bibliographia Poetica, art. Copland. Ritson, however, ap pears, in this case, merely to have followed Herbert who, in his edition of Ames, has given an account of the tract from a copy in his own possession. 8 Weever, in his Ancient Funerall Monuments, 1631, quoting Stow, mentions that " one William Copeland, Churchwarden [of St. Mary Bow] gaue the great Bell which is rung nightly at nine oftheclocke[An. 1515]." THE SPYTTEL HO US. 19 had an independent press, and whether he was not, in fact, a sort of amateur in the art, employing his brother's press when ever he required it. That this practice was occasionally followed, is shown by the " Esclaircissement de la Langue Francoise," by John Palsgrave, 1530, folio, which was printed by John Hawkins at the press of Richard Pynson. It is to be presumed that the latter permitted Hawkins to use his types on this particular oc casion, or it may be that Hawkins simply superintended the passage of the book through the press. At the same time, seve ral publications with Robert Copland's name as the printer are known : yet in most cases he describes himself as prac tising the profession at the sign of the Rose Garland, which was also William's place of business. Prefixed to Chaucer's Assemble of foules, 1 530, is an address in verse by " Roberte Coplande, boke-prynter to new-fanglers," in four eight-line stanzas; and, at the end, his Enemy, in three more. And annexed to Wynkyn de Worde's edition of The Castell of Pleasure, a poem, by Nevil, Lord Latimer, is the Envoy de Robert Coplande Vymprimeur, seeming to show that he was ac customed to use De Worde's press, somewhat in the same man ner as he subsequently did that of William Copland, with this difference, that whereas he put his own name in the colophon, when he had removed to the Rose Garland, his typographical labours at W. de Worde's office bore the name and device of the latter, Copland merely attaching his name to the Envoy or to the Prologue. It is evident that this treatise was written after the 22nd Hen. VIII (1530-1), which is referred to by Copland, the writer, in the course of his dialogue, real or fictitious, with the Porter. St. Bartholomew's Hospital l and Priory were founded, according to the well-known tradition, by the famous jester Rahere. Deloney, in his Pleasant History of Thomas of Reading, circa 1597 (ed. Thorns, p. 16) says of him: — "This Reior was the most skilfullest Musicion that liued at that time [reign of 1 Hence the surrounding fields acquired the name of Spital [i.e. Hospital] fields; according to Weever (Funerall Monu ments, 1631, p. 515), they were previously known as Lolesworth Fields. 20 THE HYE WAY TO Hen. VIII], whose wealth was very great, so that all the In struments whereon his seruants plaid, were richly garnished with studdes of siluer, and some gold ; the bowes belonging to their Violines were all likewise of pure siluer. He was also for his wisedome called to great Office in the City, who also builded (at his owne cost) the Priory and Hospital of S. Bartholomew in Smithfield." A certain light is thrown on the state of the poor in the time of Henry VIII, by a curious tract entitled " A Supplicacyon for the Beggers [i. e. the Begging or Mendicant Friars]," which ap peared either in 1524 or 1525, and the authorship of which there is ground for ascribing to Simon Fish, a zealot of the period. Burton, in his Anatomy of Melancholy, 1621, draws a sorry picture of the state of England in his day. "Amongst our towns," he says, " there is only London that bears the face of a city — epitome Britannia, a famous emporium, second to none be yond seas, a noble mart : but sola crescit, decrescentibus aliis ; and yet, in my slender judgment, defective in many things. The rest (some few excepted) are in mean estate, ruinous most part, poor and/M/Z of beggars, by reason of their decayed trades, neg lected or bad policy, idleness of their inhabitants and riot, which had rather beg or loyter, and be ready to starve, than work." Besides the present piece, he is known to have written or translated : — Jyl of Breyntfords testament newly compiled. [Col.] Im printed at London by me William Copland. Black letter, 8 leaves, 4to. Jyl of Braintfords Testament. Newly compiled. [Col.] Im- prented at London in Lothbury ouer agaynst Saint Margarytes church by me Wyllyam Copland. Black letter, 8 leaves, 4to. . ' . A different edition of the preceding. Kynge Appolyue of Thyre. A romance. [Translated from the French by R. C., who added an original prologue.] W. de Worde, 1510, 4to. See Herbert, fol. 149. The Knight of the Swanne. Here Beginneth the History of THE SPYTTEL HO US. 21 the noble Helyas &c. [Col.] Imprinted at London by me Wyllyam Copland. K d. 4to. black letter. . • . A translation from the French, made prior to 1521. The Complayrite of them that ben to late maryed. W. de Worde, n. d. 4to. 8 leaves, black letter. . * . He was probably the author or rather translator of a second tract of a similar character : " A complaynt of them that be to soone maryed." W. de Worde, 1535, 4to, 13 leaves, black letter, and of the " Payne and Sorowe of Euyll Mary- age," W. de Worde, n. d. 4to. 4 leaves, black letter. The Passion of Christe, with many deuout contemplacions, examples, and exposicyons of the same. W. de Worde, 1521, 4to; and W. de Worde, 1532, 4to. In verse and prose. With woodcuts. This is said to be a translation from the French by Andrew Chertsey in Lowndes's Manual, but the last leaf con tains the " Inuocation of Roberte Coplande," in three octave stanzas. Perhaps Copland composed the metrical descriptions which precede each of the twenty-four parts, into which the work is divided. The Life of Ipomydon. Enprynted at London in the Flete- strete at the sygne of the Sonne by Wynkyn de Worde, n. d. 4to. :— " L'enuoye of Robert C. the prynter. Go lytell Jest vndepured of speche Vnto thy reders and alway me excuse To take thy mater I hertly them beseche, Though thou rudely no other termes vse. This is thy copy, thou can it not refuse Syth that no writer wolde take the to amende In this my laboure I myght it not entende." R. Copland translated and printed " The Rutter of the See, with the Hauores, Rodes, Soundynges, Kennynges, Wyndes, Flodes, and Ebbes, Daungers, and Coastes of Dyuers Regyons &c," Lond. 1528, 16mo. which went through several impres sions. Copland affixed a Prologue of his own. 22 THE EYE WAY TO He also contributed the Petycyon and Envoye to the Myrrour of the Chyrche, 1521 ; and he has verses before the Secrets of Aristotyle, 1528 ; and W. Walter's Litell contrauers dyalogue betwene Loue and Councell Sfc. W. de Worde, n. d. The Spectacle of Lovers, by the latter writer, contains also at the close, " L'Envoy de Robert Coplaude." l See Graunt's Observations on the Bills of Mortality, ed. 1665, ch. 3. C Prologue of Eoftert Copland, IF COPYLEH AND PBYNTEB OF THIS BOKE. JO dyspyse poore falke is not my appetite, Nor suche as lyue of veray alraes dede, But myn intent is onely for to wryte The mysery of suche as lyue in nede, And all theyr lyfe in ydlenesse dooth lede, Wherby dooth sue2 suche incouenyence, That they must ende in meschaunt indygence. f[ Chryst in this worlde ryght pouerte dyd sue, Gyuyng vs example to folowe that degre, 1 See Dibdin's Ames, ii. 278. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 23 Saying : beati pauperes spiritu ; l 10 Beati mites, beati mundo corde : Blyssed be they, that poore in spyryte be, And ben clene in herte, and meke therwith al For they shall possede the realm celestyall. |[ They be not poore that haue necessyte, Except therwith they ben ryght well content ; Nor they be not ryche that haue grete plente, If that they thynke that they haue competent, And euer pleased with that God hath them sent, For surely it is our Lordes ordynaunce, 20 That eche sholde be pleased with suffysaunce. If That man, that hath more than suffycyent, With goodes at wyll, and dayly doth encrease, And euer is bare, hungry and indygent, Scrapynge and snudgynge without ony cease ; Euer coueytynge, the mynde hath no pease But lyueth by rapyne and usury, And careth not how he cometh therby. |[ Eke in dystres doynge no benyfyte, Letyng the poore dye in great mysery, 30 His neyghbour in pryson dooth not vysyte, Nor yet forgyue small parcel of duety, Wery traueylers in the stretes let ly, The deed bodyes without ony buryall ; His goodes his god a man" may full well call. 1 St. Matt. v. 3, 5, 8. 24 THE HYE WAY TO C Of suche ryche men recyteth the gospell, Makyng lykenes of impossybylyte ; Saying : that more easyly a great camell May passe and go through a nedyls eye, Than a ryche man in heuen for to be : 40 For who so mys useth that God hath hym sent, With cursed Diues in hell shalbe brent.1 |[ These trewat2 beggers begging fro place to place, Nor yet these nedy of all maner facyon; These apprentyces that do rene from all grace ; These hyred seruaunts that kepe no condycion, Nor all that feyne parfyt deuocyon, Nor many other lyuyng in nede couert,s Though they lacke good, be not poore of hert. |[ Se ye not dayly of all maner estate, so How, in the lawe, they trauers4 and coniect.5 How neyghbours do fall at anger and debate ? Twene man [and] wyfe eke the lyfe imperfect : 1 i. e. burnt. 2 i. e. truant. 3 i. e. in secret want. 4 To travers here signifies to cross in argument in the way practised by the opposite counsel in a legal suit or trial. But the word is used in a variety of meanings. Shakespeare employs it to express a movement in fencing, apparently the crossing of the line of an adversary's weapon, as distinguished from fencing or thrusting. See the Merry Wives of Windsor, act ii. sc. 3. In the Marchandes Tale, Chaucer has travers in the sense of a bed-curtain, i. e. one which might be drawn across the bed. 5 Conjecture, or offer conjectural propositions. THE SPTTTEL HOUS. 25 The father and chyld from quyetnes abiect, And all for good they make eche other smart, Which is a sygne they be not poore of hart. |[ If that our prynce do aske a subsedy, From our ennemyes vs to defend, Or yf our credytours demaund theyr duety,1 To confesse pouerte than we do pretend. eo But yf our neyghbour in ought vs offend, Than we fynd money to play ouerthwart, Which is a token we be not poore at hart. f[ How many poore that haue lytell in store, Are2 content with their3 small substaunce? But euer they grudge, and wysh for more, To be promoted and haue furtheraunce. The very beggers, for theyr pytaunce, From bag and staffe are lothe for to depart, Which is a token they be not poore at hart. 70 |[ Of these two estates there be four degrees : A ryche ryche, a poore poore, a ryche poore also, A poore ryche in all necessytees. The two can agre, but the other no, A proud hert, a beggers purs therto, The ryche purs and the poore spyryt May well agre, and be in one parfyt. 1 i. e. debt. 2 Old ed. has is. 3 Old ed. has his. 26 THE HYE WAY TO C <£:rf)ortacton of tje (ftompglet. |[ I pray all you, which haue ynough with grace, For the loue of God to do your charyte, And fro the poore neuer turne your face, so For Chryst sayth : what euer that he be That to the least of myne dooth in the name of me, Vnto myself I do accept the dede, And for rewarde my realme they shall possede. ffiere fieggnnetj tf)e casualgte <&C tje enttaima in to wryte of Sol in his exaltacyon, Of his solstyce or declynacyon, Or in what sygne, planet, or degre, As he in course is vsed for to be ; Scorpio, pisces or sagyttary ; Or whan the moone her way dooth contrary, 90 Or her eclypse, her wayne, or yet her full, It were but lost for blockysh braynes dull ; But playnly to say, even as the tyme was, About a fourtenyght after Halowmas,1 1 Hallowmass, or All Saints' Day (November 1st), was the beggars' jubilee. On that day it was the ancient custom to go tovling, or going round to beg for money to fast for the souls of THE SPY T TEL HO US. 27 I chaunced to come by a certayn spyttell,1 Where I thought best to tary a lyttell, And vnder the porche for to take socour,2 To abyde the passyng of a stormy shour ; For it had snowen, and frosen very strong, With great ysesycles on the eues3 long, 100 The sharp north wynd hurled bytterly, And with black cloudes darked was the sky. Lyke as, in wenter, some days be naturall With frost, and rayne, and stormes ouer all. So styll I stode ; as chaunced to be, The porter of the hous stode also by me, With whome I reasoned of many dyuers thynges Touchyng the cours of all suche whetherynges : And as we talked ther gathered at the gate People, as me thought, of very poore estate, no the donors or their relatives. In the " Two Gentlemen of Verona," Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Speed the ex pression " to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas," and the dramatist had, no doubt, this usage at the moment in his recol lection. What Copland's special reason was for selecting " about a fortnight after Hallowmas " as the point of time when his interview with the porter took place, it is by no means easy to tell. Scot, in his Discovery of Witchcraft, 1584, ed. 1651, p. 314, alludes to the practice of beggars fasting for the souls of the departed ; and a good account of the matter may be found in Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities, ed. 1853, i. 393-4; but the custom of fasting for souls seems to have been overlooked by Brand and his editors. 1 i. e. hospital. Pepys used this form of the word. See Diary, under date of 9th Feb. 1659-60. 2 Shelter. 3 Eaves. 28 THE EYE WAY TO With bag and staf, both croked, lame and blynde, Scabby and scuruy, pocke eaten flesh and rynde,1 Lowsy and scalde, and pylled2 lyke as apes, With scantly a rag for to couer theyr shapes,3 Brechles, bare foted, all stynkyng with dyrt, With M. of tatters drabblyng to the skyrt, Boyes, gyrles and luskysh4 strong knaues, Dydderyng and dadderyng, leaning on their staues, Saying : good mayster, for your moders blessyng, Gyue vs a halfpeny toward our lodgyng. 120 The porter sayd : what nede you to craue, That in the spyttell shall your lodgyng haue ? Ye shah" be entreated as ye ought to be : For I am charged that dayly to se. The systers shall do theyr obseruaunce, As of the hous is the due ordynaunce. 1 Skin. 2 Pilled is an old form of pealed. It here implies [with the hair] pealed off. " Whilst snarling gusts nibble the juiceless leaves From the naked shuddering branch, and pills the skin From off the soft and delicate aspects." Marston's Antonio's Revenge, the Second Part of Antonio and Mellida — The Prologue. " As pyled as an ape was his skulle, He was a market beter at the fulle." The Miller of Trumpington (Wright's Anecdota Literaria, 1844, p. 24). 3 L e. forms. * Lazy. It is the adjective form of lusk, a lazy fellow, a lubber. See Scoggin's Jests, ed. Hazlitt, p. 64 (Old English Jest Books, ii. 5). THE SPYTTEL HOUS. 29 11 Copland. Porter, sayd I, Gods blyssyng and our lady Haue ye for spekyng so curteysly To these poore falke, and God his soule pardon J That for theyr sake made this foundacyon : 130 But syr, I pray you, do ye lodge them all, That do aske lodgyng in this hospytall ? IF Porter. ? Forsoth yea, we do all suche folke in take, That do aske lodgyng for our lordes sake ; And in dede it is our custome and vse Sometyme to take in, and some to refuse.3 11 Copland. Than is it comyn to euery wyght, How they lyue all day, to lye here at nyght ? As losels, myghty beggers and vacabonds, And trewands that walke ouer the londs, HO Mychers, hedge-crepers,4 fylloks, and luskes, That all the somer kepe dyches and buskes, Lowtryng, and wandryng fro place to place, And wyll not worke but the bypaths trace, And lyue with haws, and hunt the blakbery, And with hedge brekyng make themself mery ; 1 The celebrated Rahere. See the first chapter of Morley's Bartholomew Fair. 2 In the Order of the Hospitalls of K. Henry the VIII. and K. Edward the Vlth, 1557, 12mo, " The Porter" is expressly men tioned as one of the officers of St. Bartholomew's. 3 See the section touching the " admitting of children and the graunting of Penaunces," in the Order of the Hospitalls, 1557. 4 See Dunbar's Poems, ed. Laing, ii. 27 and 405. 30 THE HYE WAY TO But in wenter they drawe to the towne, And wyll do nothyng but go vp and down, And all for lodgyng that they haue here by nyght ? Me thynk that therin ye do no ryght, 150 Nor all suche. places of hospytalyte To comfort people of suche iniquyte. But, syr, I praye you of your goodnes and fauour, Tell me which ye leaue, and which ye do socour ? For I haue sene at sondry hospytalles That many haue lyne dead without the walles, And for lacke of socour haue dyed wretchedly,1 Unto your foundacyon I thynke contrary, Moche people resort here, and haue lodgyng ; But yet I maruell greatly of one thyng, ieo That in the nyght so many lodge without : For in the whatche whan that we go about, Under the stalles, in porches, and in doores, I wote not whither they be theues or hoores. But surely, euery nyght ther is found One or other lyeng by the pound, In the shepe cootes, or in the hey loft, And at Saynt Barthylmews chyrch doore full ofte, And euen here alway by this brycke wall We do them fynd that do bothe chyde and brail, 170 And lyke as bestes togyder they be throng, 1 If so, it was assuredly contrary to the Order, &c. which prescribed that a certificate of character, &c. should be required, " except in cases of extremity, where losse of liffe and perishing would presently followe, if they be not receved into this said Hospitall ; which is to be considered of by the Thresorer and two of the Almoners of the leaste." THE SPTTTEL SOUS. 31 Bothe lame, and seke, and hole them among, And in many corners wher that we go, Wherof I wondre greatly why they do so ; But oftymes whan that they vs se, They do rene a great deale faster than we. 1T Porter. Stiche folkes be they that we do abiect, We are not bound to haue to them aspect ; Those be mychers that lyue in trewandyse ; Hospytalyte dooth them alway despyse. iso IT Copland. Syr, I pray you, who hath of your relefe .? 51" Porter. Forsoth they that be at suche myschefe,1 That for theyr lyuyng can do no labour, And haue no frendes to do them socour ; As old people, seke and impotent ; Poore women in chyldbed haue here easement ; Weyke men sore wounded by great vyolence, And sore men eaten with pockes and pestylence, And honest folke fallen in great pouerte By myschaunce or other infyrmyte ; 190 Wayfaryng men and maymed souldyours Haue thyr relyef in this poore hous of ours ; And all other, which we seme good and playne, Haue here lodgyng for a nyght or twayne ; Bedred2 folke, and suche as can not craue, In these places moost relyef they haue ; And yf they hap within our place to dye, 1 In such an unfortunate case. 2 Bedridden. 32 THE HYE WAY TO Than are they burjed well and honestly ; But not euery vnseke1 stoborne knaue, For than we shold ouer many haue. 200 H Copland. How say you by these comyn2 beggers- that crye Dayly on3 the worlde, and in the hye wayes lye At Westmynster and at Saynt Poules, And in all stretes they syt as desolate soules ? Methynke it4 a very well done dede With deuocyon suche people to fede. 5T Porter. Where ony gyueth almesse with good entent, The rewarde can not be nowyse mysspent. ^T Copland. Ye, but syr, I wyll not lye, by my soule, As I walked to the chyrche of Saynt Poule, 210 There sate beggers, on eche syde the way two, As is seen dayly they be wont to do. Syr, one there was, a myghty stoburne slaue, That for the other began to beg and craue : " Now, mayster, in the way of your good spede, To vs all four behold where it is nede ; And make this farthyng worth a halfpeny, For the fyue ioyes of our blyssed lady ! 5 1 i. e. unsick, whole. 2 Common. 3 On is as often as not used in the sense of in in old books. It frequently occurs in the New Testament. 4 Old ed. has if, it. 5 The Five Joys of the Virgin were five short poems, or rather a poem in five stanzas, celebrating the beatific condition and THE SPY T TEL HOUS. 33 Now turne agayn for Saynt Erasmus sake ! And on my bare knees here a vowe I make, 220 Ovr ladyes psalter thre tymes euen now manifold virtues of Our Lady. A specimen is subjoined from a copy printed in Reliquice Antigua „•- C " Seinte Marie, levedi brijt, Moder thou art of much el mijt, Queue in hevene of feire ble ; Gabriel to the he lijte, The he brouste al wid rijte Then holi gost to listen in the. Godes word ful wel thou cnewe ; Ful mildeliche therto thou bewe, Ant saidest, " So it mote be ! " Thi thonc was studevast ant trewe ; For the joye that to was newe, Levedi, thou have merci of me ! C Seinte Marie, moder milde, Thi fader bicome to one childe, Sue joye ne seal never eft be. The stronge fend, that was so wilde, Godes hondiwerc he spilde, For on appel of the tre. Levedi, mon thou broutest bote, The stronge fend an under fote, Tho thi sone was boren of the : For the joye that tho was swote, Levedi, yemme grace that I mote Wid al mine mijte lovien the ! C Seinte Marie, quene in londe, Godes moder ant Godes sonde, That te sculde ben so wo ; Jewes heden thi sone an honde, VOL. IV. D 34 THE HYE WAY TO To1 turne agayn, as God shall turne to you ! Now, mayster, do that no man dyd this day, On yone poore wretch, that rotteth in the way, Now, mayster, for hym that dyed on tre, Lete vs not dye for lacke of charyte ! Thus he prated, as he full well can, Tyll at last an honest seruyng man Came by the way, and by compassyon Of his wordes dyd his deuocyon. 230 Whan he was gone a lytell fro thens, I sawe the begger pull out xi pens, Sayeng to his felawes : Se, what here is ; Many a knaue haue I called mayster for this. Lete vs go dyne, this is a symple2 day, Judas soldin hem to honde, On the rode heo gonnen him slo ; The thridde dai he ros to live : Levedi, ofte were thou blive, Ac never so thou were tho. Levedi, for then ilke sive That tou were of thi sone blive, Al mi sunnes thou do me fro !" 1 Old ed. has now. * Simple is here employed in the sense of poor, or unprofitable. It also formerly stood for humble or lowly. Thus Caxton, in some of his colophons, describes himself as "symple person, William Caxton," and Alexander Scot uses it in a similar way :— " Send be thy sempill servand SANDERIS SCOTT, Greting grit God to grant thy grace gude f eir." Poem*, ed. 1821, p. 12. But perhaps the stricter meaning of simple in early compositions was not gentle, i. e. " somebody, not by birth a gentleman," and THE SPYTTEL HOUS. 35 My mayster therwith shall I scantly pay. — Come these folkes hyther, good mayster porter ? ^[ Porter . No, in sothe ; this hous is of no ! such supporter ; They haue houses, and kepe full yll gestyng, And to the resorte all the hole offspryng 240 In the Berbycan and in Turnmyll strete,2 In Houndesdyche and hehynd the Flete ; And in twenty places mo than there, Where they make reuell and gaudy chere, With fyll the pot fyll, and go fyll me the can, Here is my peny, and I am a gentylman. And there they byd and fyll as dooth a gull ; there is a passage in Scot's Poems, already quoted, where the word appears to bear this precise construction : — " So tho my lyking wer a leddy, And I no lord fit no the less Scho suld my serwyce find als reddy As duke to duches docht him dress ; Ffor as prowd princely luve express Is to haif souerenitie ; So serwice cumis of sympilness, And leilest luve of law degre." 1 i.e. of none such, as we now less correctly say. 2 The whole of this locality seems to have enjoyed at that time an unenviable reputation, and it was in no better odour a century later, as is to be collected from the satirical writings of the reign of James I. At the commencement of the 17th cen tury, Turnbull, or Turnmill, Street, however, was celebrated rather for its houses of ill repute than for its beggars' haunts and thieves' kitchens. Taylor, in his " Flyting with Fenner," says to his opponent : — 36 THE HTE WAT TO And whan that they haue theyr heades full, Than they fall out, and make reuylyng, And in this wyse make the dronken rekenyng : 250 Thou beggerly knaue, bag nor staf hast thou none, But as I am fayne dayly to lend the one ; Thou getest it no more, though it lye and rote, Nor my long cloke, nor my new patched cote. This rule make they euery day and nyght, Tyll lyke as swyne they lye slepyng vpryght j1 Some beggerly churles, to whom they resorte, Be the maynteners of a great sorte 2 Of myghty lubbers, and haue them in seruyce, Some iourney men, and some to theyr prentyce, 250 And they walke to eche market and fayre, And to all places where folke do repayre, By day on styltes, or stoupyng on crowches, " Search well in Turn-bull Street, or in Pickt-watch, Neere Shorditch, or Long Alley, prethee watch, And amongst the trading females chuse out nine To be thy muses, they will fit thee fine." The begging and stealing fraternity has shifted its quarters pretty often, in obedience to the changes which have taken place in the metropolis. It was from about the reign of Queen Anne that St. Giles's dates its present notoriety; but even in the time of the first, second, and third Georges this and the circumjacent locality retained a little of its old respectability. Yet as early as 1710 a " mendicants' convivial club "seems to have existed in Dyot Street, St. Giles's, to which it had mi grated from the Poultry (see Notes and Queries, I S. i. 229). ' All this description is frequently applicable to the " frater nity of vagabonds" of the present day and their noctumal revels. 8 Assortment. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 37 And so dyssymule as fals lewtryng flowches, With bloody clowtes all about theyr legge, And playsters on theyr skyn, whan they go beg ; Some countrefayt lepry, and other some Put sope in theyr mouth to make it scome, And fall downe as Saynt Cornelys euyll. These dysceyts they use worse than ony deuyll ; 210 And whan they be in theyr owne company, They be as hole as eyther you or I : But at the last, when sekenes cometh in dede, Than to the spyttell hous must they come nede. 1T Copland. Ah, Jesu mercy ! what man coud coniect x The mysery of suche a wretched sect ? None honest man. But yet I you hertyly pray, Tell me of other that come thys2 way. Come here ony of these maysterles men, That euery where do go and ren,3 280 That haue serued the kyng beyond the se, And now that they out of wages be, They must beg, or els go brybe,4 and steale ? Methynk it is a great soule-heale5 To help them, tyll they were pouruayd Into some seruyce ; for yf they were arayd, 1 i. e. conjecture. 2 Old ed. has these. 3 run. 4 Rob. In the Flyting of Dunbar §• Kennedy, the former ivs: — " Ersche brybour baird, vyle beggar with thy brattis — " 5 i. e. a great salve for the soule. 2 38 THE HYE WAY TO Some of them were propre men and tall,1 And able to go whyther they shall. f Porter. That is trouth ; but they vse one yll thyrig, For they do were souldyers clothyng, And so beggyng deceyue folke ouer all, 1 i. e. brave. Marlowe uses it in the same way :— " So, now they have shew'd themselves to be tall fellows." — The Rich Jew of Malta, 1633. Q The Porter might be describing London as it is. This dialogue is very graphic and interesting. " Wering souldyers clothyng " was at this time, it appears, a favourite form of im posture, and the case was just the same a century later, when Taylor the Water-Poet wrote his Beggar (1621). Taylor fur nishes a humourous description of the various shifts which the decayed military mendicant of his day adapted for the purpose of extracting money from the public. He is, first of all, sup posed to meet a "Lord, Knight, or Gentleman," whom he addresses as follows : — " Brave man of honour, cast a favorable looke upon the wounded estate of a distressed Gentleman that hath borne armes for his Countrey in the hottest broyles of the Netherlands, with the losse of his members ; Cleveland hath felt my strength ; I haue bickered with the French at Brest and Deipe. I haue passed the straights, the dangerous Gulph ; the Groyne can speake my seruice (Right Honourable)," &c. If his suit is successful, he invokes a blessing on the head of the donor in the manner following : — " Peace be to thy loynes, (Right Honoura ble) and plenty at thy boord : oppression in the Countrey, and extortion in the Citie, embroder thy carkasse, and keepe thy Concubine constant, that Taylers may sue to the for worke, more then for payment," &c. He then goes a little further, and meets (supposes the writer) a Lawyer, for whom he has a speech ready cut and dry. " Humbly sheweth to your good Worship, your poore suppliant hauing aduanced his bill in the late warres," &c ; whereupon the man of law gets rid of him by a small bounty, and the fellow pronounces a suitable benediction : " May the THE SPYTTEL HO US. 39 For they bo vacabondes moost in generall, And wyll abyde no laborous subiection With honest persones vnder correction : For whan they be wery, they wyll reste away, And perchauce cary with them what they may ; And so whan a man wold bryng them to thryft, termes be everlasting to thee, thou man of tongue, and may contentions grow and multiply," and so forth. A country farmer is the next victim. " You shall doe well to take notice (Countrev- man and frend) that I am a souldier and a Gentleman, who hauing bin made Fortunes tennis-ball, was lately cast vpon these coasts of my Countrey, by the merciles cruelty of the raging and tempestuous seas ; " and he proceeds in a strain of ludicrous hyperbole and rhodomontade, until he has quite over come his dupe, who hands him something, and is blessed accordingly. " Faire be thy haruest, and foule thy winter, that plenty may fill thy Barns, and feare of scarcity raise thy price, may thy land-lord Hue vnmarryed, that thy fine may not be raisde to buy thy new land-lady a French petticoate or a new Blockt Beauer, nor thy rents raisde to keepe her tire in fashion." The soldiers who figured as beggars and vagabonds in former times were, however, sometimes genuine men of the sword. Some paraded in the streets, and made a commodity of their wounds, real or pretended (see Gascoigne's Steeh Glas, 1576, sig. E 2, verso), while others pilfered and robbed on the high way. It is probable that the well-known ballads, " We be soldiers three," and " We be three poor mariners," both of which are printed by Mr. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time, 77), were supposed to be sung by discharged members of the army and merchant service or nav}', strolling about the country to pick up what they could get. It appears from Harman's Caveat for Common Cursitors, 1565, ed. 1814, pp. 1, 30, that the counterfeit soldiers and sailors were technically known as Rufflars or Curtesy Men, and Freshe Water Mariners, or Whip Jackes respectively. See also p. 38 of the same work, Awdeley's Fraternity e of Vacabondes, 1573, 40 THE HYE WAY TO They wyll hym rob, and fro his good hym lyft.1 1T Copland. Though some so do, they do not all so, For some myght chaunce well as many one do. 300 1T Porter. That is true ; but it hath ben seen long agone, That many haue fared the wors for one ; And of these be two sortes moost comynly. The one of them lyueth by open beggery, Bagged and lowsy, with bag, dysh and staf, repr. 1813, pp. 1, 2, and The Song of the Begger in "A Descrip tion of Love, &c." 1620, sm. 8vo, where the military impostor is humourously described. Moorfields appears to have been notorious in this reign for sham-soldiers, for Nat. Field in his Woman is a Weathercock, 1612, makes one of its characters, Captain Pouts, say: — " God-a-mercy ! Zoons! methinks I see myself in Moor fields upon a wooden leg, begging threepence." But, as Mr. Collier has shown in his reprint of the drama, this passage is only copied from a situation given to Brainworm in Jonson's Every Man in his Humour, 1600. The cheats practised by beggars in early times are referred to in the ballad of Eobin Hood and the Four Beggers, where Little John makes the fellows recover their lost faculties in a mar vellously quick time : — " John nipped the dumb, and made him to rise, And the blind he made to see ; And he that a cripple had been seven years, He made them run faster than he." In the Liber Vagatorum der Betler Orden, a popular German work, there are some curious particulars of an analogous character to those described by Harman and others in our OAvn literature. 1 i.e. rob him of his goods. THE SPY T TEL HO US. 41 And euer haunteth among such ryf raf ; One tyme to this spyttell, another to that, Prolyng1 and pochyng to get somwhat ; At euery doore lumpes of bread or meat : For yf the staf in his hand ones catche heat sio Than farwell labour ; and hath suche delyte That thryffc and honesty fro hym is quyte : And in suche mysery they lyue day by day, That of very nede they must come this way. IT Copland. Of the other, now what is theyr estate ? IT Porter. By my fayth, nyghtyngales of Newgate : These be they that dayly walkes and jettes In theyr hose trussed rounde to theyr dowblettes, And say : good maysters, of your charyte, Helpe vs poore men that come from the se ; 320 From Bonauenture we were caste to lande, God it knowes, as poorly as we stande ! And sotyme they say that they were take in Frauce, And had ben there vii. yeres in duraunce ; In Muttrell,2 in Brest, in Tourney or Tyrwyn,3 In Morlays, in Cleremount or in Hedyn ; And to theyr countrees they haue ferre to gone, And amonge them all peny haue they none. Now, good mennes bodyes, wyll they say then, For Goddes sake helpe to kepe vs true men ! 330 Or elles they say, they haue in pryson be, i. e. prowling. 2 Montreuil. 3 Terouenne. 42 THE EYE WAY TO In Newgat, the Kynges Benche or Marchalse, As many true men take1 by suspecyon, And were quitte2 by proclamacyon. And yf ony axe what countrey men they be, And lyke3 your maystershyp,4 of the north all thre; Or of Chesshyre, or elles nygh Cornewall, Or where they lyst, for to gabbe5 and rayle ; And may perchaunce the one is of London, 339 The other of Yorke, and the thyrde of Hampton.6 And thus they lewter in euery way and strete, In townes and chyrches, where as people mete, In lanes and pathes, and at eche crosse way, There do they prate, bable, lye and praye. But yf ye be clenly, and haply come alone, Your puree and clothynge may fortune to be gone : But at no dore for brede, drynke, nor potage, Nor scoules of meate, nor no suche bagagc, They none desyre to put in bagge nor male ; But uery whyte threde to sewe good ale. 350 And whan they haue goten what they may, Than to theyr lodgynge they do take theyr way, Into some aley, lane, or blynde hostry, 1 i.e. taken. 2 i.e. are released. 3 i.e. if it like. 4 We are here reminded of the song in Deuteromelia, 1609, 4to:— " We be soldiers three ; Pardona moy, je vous en pree, Lately come forth of the Low Country, With never a penny of money." 5 Gabble. 6 i.e. Southampton. THE SPYTTEL HOUS. 43 And to some corner, or hous of bawdry, Where as ben folke of theyr affynyte, Brothelles and other suche as they be ; And there they mete, and make theyr gaudy chere, And put on theyr clothynge and other gere, Theyr swerdes and boclers, and theyr short daggers, And there they reuell as vnthryfty braggers, seo With horyble othes swerynge as they were wood,1 Armes,2 nayles, woundes, herte, soule and blood, Deth, fote, masse, flesshe, bones, lyfe, and body, With all other wordes of blasphemy, Bostynge them all in dedes of theyr myschefe, And thus passe the tyme wth daunce, hore, pipe, thefe. The hang man shall lode the daunce at the ende, For none other ways they do not pretende. And whan that they can gete nothyng by beggyng, To maynteyne suche lyfe they fall to stelyng ; 370 And so this way the come at the last, Or on the galowes make a tomlyng cast. IT Copland. More pyte to se our owne nacyon For to behaue them on suche facyon. Surely there is an act of parlyament, That yf ony strong vacabond be hent 3 1 Mad. 2 i. e. God's armes, nayles, &c. 3 Copland is here referring to one of the Acts of 22nd Henry VIII. which was printed (with the other acts of the year) by T. Berthelet, folio, and included by Rastell in his " Grete Abbreg- ments," 1534, 8vo. The Act is entitled, ft "An acte concernynge how aged, poore, and impotent persones, compelled to lyue by almes, shalbe ordred : and howe vacaboundes, and mighty stronge beggers shall be punyshed." 44 THE EYE WA Y TO To be set in a payre of stockes openly, Certayn days, with bread and water onely, And than to be banysht from town to town, I thynk that act is not yet put down. 380 If it were execute as to my reason, Men shold not se, within a lytell season, So many of them, nor ydle slouches, And myghty beggars wth theyr pokes and crouches ; But they be mayntened by this noughty sect, That all this land is with them infect ; I meane these bawdy brybrous ] knaues, That lodgeth them that so powles and shaues. It were almes 2 that they were loked on : For they be wors than ony thefe or felon. 390 But to our purpose. Cometh not this way Of these rogers, that dayly syng and pray, With Ave regina, or de profundis, Quern terra, Ponthus and Stella maris ? At euery doore there they foot and frydge, And say they come fro Oxford or Cambrydge, And be poore scolers, and haue no inaner thyng, Nor also frendes to kepe them at lernyng ; And so do lewter3 for crust and crum, With staffe in hand, and fyst in bosum, 400 Passyng tyme so, bothe day and yere ; As in theyr legend I purpose shall appere An other tyme, after my fantasy. 1 i. e. bribous, from bribe, to rob, or steal. * i. e. It were charity. See Mery Tales and Quiche Ansiveres, ed. Hazlitt, p. 146. 3 Old ed. has lewtre. THE SPTTTEL HOUS. 45 1T Porter. Suche folkes of trouth cometh here dayly, And ought of ryght this hous for to vse In theyr aege : for they fully do refuse The tyme of vertuous excercyse, Wherby they shold vnto honour aryse. IT Copland. Syr, yet there is another company 4io Of the same sect, that lyue more subtylly, And be in manor as mayster wardayns, To whom these rogers obey as capytayns, And be named clewners, as I here say. 1T Porter. By my sothe, all fals harlots be they And deceyuers of people oiier all ; 1 In the countree most of them fynd ye shall. They say, that they come fro the vnyuersyte, And in the scoles have taken degree Of preesthood, but frendes haue they none To giue them ouy exhybycion ; 420 And how that they forth wold passe To theyr countree, and syng theyr fyrst masse, And there pray for theyr benefactours, And serue God all tymes and houres. And so they lewter2 in suche rogacyons Seuen or eyght yeres, walkyng theyr stacyons, And do but gull, and folow beggery, Feynyng true doyng by ypocrysy, As another tyme shalbe shewed playne. Old ed. has ouerall. 2 Old ed. has lewtre. 46 THE HTE WAY TO But yet there is, of a lyke maner, trayne 430 Of fals brybours, deceytfull and fraudelent, That among people call themselfs sapyent : These ryde about in many sondry wyse, And in straunge aray do themself dysguyse ; Somtyme in maner of a physycyan, And another tyme as a hethen man, Countrefaytyng theyr owne tongue and speche, And hath a knaue1 that doth hym Englysh teche, With, me non spek Englys by my fayt ; My seruaunt spek you what me sayt — 440 And maketh a maner of straunge countenaunce, With admyracyons his falsnes to auaunce ; And whan he cometh there as he wold be, Than wyll he feyne merueylous grauyte ; And so chaunceth his hostes or his hoost, To demaund out of what straunge land or coost, Cometh this gentylman : forsothe, hostesse, This man was borne in hethenesse, Sayth his seruaunt, and is a connyng man, For all the seuen scyences surely he can ; 450 And is sure in physyk and palmestry, In augury, sothsayeng and vysenamy ; So that he can ryght soone espy If ony be dysposed to malady, And therfore can gyue suche a medycyne, That maketh all accesses to declyne ; But surely yf it were knowen that he Shold medle with ony infyrmyte i.e. a servant. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 47 Of comyn people, he myght gete liym hate, And lose the fauour of euery great estate ; 460 Howbeit of charyte, yet now and then, He wyll mynyster his cure on pore men. No money he taketh, but all for Gods loue, Which by chaunce ye shall se hym proue. Than sayth he : qui speke my hostesse, Graund malady make a gret excesse ; Dys infant rumpre vng grand postum,1 By got, <7ie ala mort tuk vnder thum. What sayth he? sayth the good wyfe : — Hostesse, he swereth by his soule and lyfe, 470 That this chyld is vexed with a bag In his stomacke, as great as he may wag, So that, or2 two or thre days come about, It wyll choke hym withouten dout ; But than he sayth, except ye haue his read, Thys chyld therwith wyll sodeynly be dead. Alas ! sayth she, yf she loue it well, Now, swete mayster, gyue me your counsell. For Gods sake I aske it and our lady, And here is twenty shyllyngs by and by. 480 Quid est? sayth he, — Forsoth she dooth offre Viginti solidi pour fournir vostre coffre : To do your help, sayth this fals seruyture. Non, poynt d'argent, sayth he, pardeu, ie non cure. He wyll no money, hostesse, I you promyt ;3 For Gods sake he dooth it echo whyt. 1 i. e. break a great imposthume. 2 Before. 3 i. e. promise. 48 THE HYE WAT TO Than calleth he anone for his casket, That scantly is worth a rotten basket, And taketh out a powdre of experyence, That a carte lode is not worth two pence, 490 And in a paper he dooth fayre fold it vp, Fastyng thre days, he byddeth that to sup. Than for a space he taketh lycence,1 God wot as yet he [be] payd for none exspence ; And so departeth. And on the next day, One of his felawes wyll go the same way, To bolster the matter of his fals bewpere.2 He sytteth down, and maketh good chere, Which, in lykewyse, loketh on the chylde, Sayeng : that heuenly vyrgyn vndefylde, soo Our lady Mary, preserue this chyld now ! For it is seke, hostesse, I tell it you ; For or thre days, but our Lorde hym saue, I ensure you it wylbe in a graue. Good syr, sayth she, alas, and well away ! Here was a gentylman euen yesterday, That tolde the same accesse and dysease. Hostesse, sayth he, yf that it wold you please. What maner man was it, I pray you tell ? Good syr, she sayth, in sothe I know not well ; oio But Englysh speche in dede he can none, And is a Jewe his man told vs eehone. Yea, [he] was, sayth he, I know hym well in dede : I wolde I had spoke with hym, or he yede ;3 Leave. 2 Accomplice. 3 i. e. before he went. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 49 But hostesse, in faythe, toke he ony thing ? By my trouth, sayth she, not one farthyng. I wote, sayth he, but I maruell that he wold ; But out of charyte in suche a meane houshold Do say so moche, for yf great estates it knewe, His company than wold they all eschewe. 520 Good syr, sayth she, yet of your gentylnes Help this poore chylde of this sayd sekenes, And here '.s xx. shyllyngs for your payne, And your exspence for a weke or twayne." Well, hostesse, sayth he, I wyll do more than that For you, but I shall tell you what. For my labour I aske nothynge at all, But for the drogges that occupy1 he shall, The which be dere and very precyous ; And surely, I wyll neuer out of your hous 530 Tyll he be hole as eyther you or I. Than gooth his knaue to a town to bye These dragges that be not worth a t — de ; And there they lye at fourtenyght at horde With these good folkes, and put them to cost ; Bothe meat and money clerely haue they lost. Yet God wote, what waste they made and reuell : So at the last departeth this Jauell With the money, and streyght rydeth he, Where the thefe his felaw and dyuers others be ; 540 And there they prate, and make theyr auaunt Of theyr deceytes, and drynk adew taunt. As they lyue, I pray God them amend, VOL. IV. 50 THE HYE WAY TO Or as they be, to bryng them to an end : For the spyttell is not for theyr estate, Howbeit they come dayly by the gate. IF Copland. A shrewde sorte, by our lady, and a comberous ! Jesus kepe them out of euery good mans hous ! But cometh ony pardoners this way ? 1F Porter. Yea, syr, they be our petours ; and fayn they may ; Chyefly syth theyr fals popery was knowen, 551 And theyr bullysh indulgence ouerthrowen, They be all nought. Keken eche with other, Subtilte is theyr father, and falshod theyr mother: For by letters they name them as they be ; P. a Pardoner : Clewner a C : R. a Roger: A. an Aurium : and a Sapyent, S. Thus they know eche other doubtles. But whan theyr iuggelyng cores do fayle, They rene ashore and here stryke sayle. 560 IF Copland. By my sothe, I am wery to here of theyr Ijuyng ; Wherfore I pray you, yf ye be pleasyng, Tell me shortly of all folke in generall, That come the hye way to the hospytall. II Porter. It is tedyous ; but for your mynde, As nye as I can, I wyl shew the kynde Of euery sorte, and which by lykelynes THE SPYTTEL HOUSE. 51 To the spyttell his way dooth adres. But as for ordre, I promyse none to kepe : For they do come as they were scattered shepe, 570 Wandryng without reason, rule or guyde, And for other lodgyng do not prouyde. But to our purpose. There cometh in this vyage They that toward God haue no courage, And to his worde gyue none advertence ; Eke to father and mother do not reuerence ; They that despyse folke in aduersyte ; They that seke stryfe and iniquyte ; They that for themself do kepe nothy ig, And suche as hate other in theyr well doyng. 580 They may be sure, or euer they dye, Lest they lacke lodgyng, here for to lye. Preestes and clerkes, that lyue vycyously, Not caryng how they shold do theyr duty, Vnruly of mauers, and slacke in lernyng, Euer at the alehous for to syt bybyng, Neglectyng the obedyence to them dew, And vnto Chrystes flocke take none anew, But lyke as wolues, that rauysh the folde, These people do this ryght way holde. 590 Yong heyres that enioy theyr herytage, Kulyng themself, or they come to aege ; Occupyeng vnthryfte company, Spendyng vp theyr patrymony Whyles they be yong, and use dyssolute playes, Of very nede they must come these wayes. All such people as have lytell to spend, 52 THE EYE WAY TO Wastyng it, tyll it be at an end ; And whan they be seke, and haue nothyng, Toward the spyttell than they be comyng. They that haue small londes and tenements, Wearyng dayly costly garments, That at the last they must be fayne To sell theyr rentes, themself to sustayne, Whiche is a token of veray experyence, This way for to come by consequence. Bayllyfs, stuardes, caters and renters, Paymasters, credytours and receyuers, That be neclygent to make rekenyngs, Delyueryng and trustyng without wrytyngs ; Uncaryng for to rene in arerage ;* By this way they must nede make passage. Landlordes that do no reparacyons, But leue theyr landes in desolacyons, Theyr housyng vnkept wynd and water tyght, Letyng the pryncypals rot doun ryght, And suffreth theyr tenauntes to renne away : The way to our hous we can them not den ay. They that sew in the court dayly For lyttell besynesse, and spendeth largely With grete gyftes, and yet theyr labour lost : This way they come to seke for theyr cost. Fermours2 and other husbandmen, that be In grete fermes, and dooth not ouer se Theyr housbondry, but leteth theyr corne rote, 1 i e. not minding to run in arrears. 2 Farmers. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 53 Theyr hey to must, theyr shepe dye in the cote, Theyr land vntyld, vndunged and vnsowen, Theyr medowes not defenced, and unmowen, Theyr fruyt to perysh, hangyng on the trees, Theyr oatell scater, and lose theyr houy bees. 630 All yong heyres, borne in a ryche estate, And wold lyue styll after the same rate, Beyng yong brethren of small possybylyte,1 Not hauyng wherwith to mayntene such degre, But make shyftes, and borow ouer all ; Suche trace pryson to be theyr hospytall. Self wylled people, that can not be in rest, But in the lawe do euer wry the and wrest,2 And wyll not fall to ony agrement, Tyll in theyr neckes3 is layd by jugement 640 The coster and charges, and so are made full bare : Lodgyng for suche folke we do euer spare. People that alway wyll be at dystaunce, And on theyr neyghbours euer take vengeaunce, Beyng auengyng on euery small wrong : From this way they cannot be long. They that wyl medle in euery mans mater, And of other folkes dedes dooth alway clatter, Mayntenyng theyr own sayeng to be true, And are4 not beleued : they can not eschue 650 1 Means. 2 Wrestle. 3 = on their backs. Thus, in A C. Mery Talys, p. 33, we have : — " The sexten toke the creple on his nek, and came in to the chyrchyarde again." 4 Old ed. has is. 54 THE EYE WAY TO But they must nedes come hjtherward: For by moche medlyng theyr credence is mard. Marchaunts that beyond the see bye dere, And lend it good chepe, whan they be here, And be neuer payed but by the lawe : Here haue no beddyng, but lye on the strawe. They that sell good cheap in despyte, Lettyng all theyr gaynes for to go quyte, Byeng ware deare, and sell for a lytell : They be uery gestes to lye in our spy tt ell. 660 Craftes men that do worke day and nyght, Havyng great charge, and theyr gaynes lyght, Wastyng theyr tooles, and can them not renew, Full well may saye : farwell, good thryft adew ! He that wynneth moche, and whan he hath doone, With waste and games spendeth it soone, Leavyng not wherwyth agayn to begyn : In this hye way he hasteth to ryn. He that hath a good occupacyon, And wyll lyue on the courtly facyon, 670 And to worke or labour is wery, Wenyng for to lyue more easyly : Somtyme dooth make an vnthryfty chaunge, With bag and staf in our parke to raunge. Rufflers and masteries men, that cannot werke, And slepeth by day, and walketh in the derke, And with delycates gladly doth fede, Swerynge and crakynge, an easy lyfe to lede, With comyn women dayly for to haunt, Makynge reuell, and drynke a dieu taunt ; eso Saynge : make we mery as longe as we can, THE SPYTTEL HOUS. 55 And drynke a pace : the deuill pay the malt man ! l Wyne was not made for euery haskerde, But here and ale for euery dasterde, And whan theyr money is gone and spent, Than this way is moost conuenyent. Taverners tyat kepe bawdry and pollyng, Marryng wyne with brewyng and rollyng ; Inholders that lodge hoores and theues, Seldon theyr getyng ony way preues, 690 So by reason theyr gaynes be geason,2 This way they rene many a season. Bakers and brewers, that with musty grayne Serue theyr customers, must take it agayne, And many tymes haue they no vtteraunce : For theyr weyghts and measure is of no substaunce, And lose bothe theyr credence and good : [They] come this way by all lykelyhood : 1 i. e. let any one pay him that chooses. A proverbial ex pression is probably here cited. Formerly, very little commi seration was felt for this class of persons, as they were notorious for their fraudulent practices. Dunbar satirizes the maltman of his day in the "Devill's Inquest" (Poems, ed. Laing, i. 47) : — " The maltman sayis, I God forsaik, And mot the devill of hell me taik, Gif ony better malt may be And of this kill I haif inlaik: Renunce thy God, and cum to me. Ane browstar swore the malt wes ill, Baith reid and reikit on the kill, That it will be na aill for me; Ane boll will not sex gallons fill: Renunce thy God, and cum to me." 2 Scanty. 56 THE HYE WAY TO For they do infect that shold be mans food. They that wyll be surety for euery det, 700 And wyll pay more than they of ryght be set, For to be named a man lyberall, And in maner he hath nothynge at all ; Suche folysshe facers whan theyr good is spent, To the spyttell warde they renne incontynent. Yonge folke that wedde, or they be wyse, And alway charges on theyr hand dooth ryse, Hous rent and chyldren, and euery other thyng, And can do nothyng for to gete theyr lyuyng, And haue no frendes them for to sustayne : 710 To com this way at last they must be fayne. They that sell away theyr rentes and landes, And bestovveth it for to be merchandes, And auentreth, tyll them haue all lost, And turmoyleth alway fro pyler to post, And euer leseth all that they go about Cometh this way amonge the other rout. They that in hope to haue theyr frendes dye, Wyll do nothynge but lyue wantonly, Trustynge to haue the treasowr that is left, 720 But many tymes it is them bereft, And haue nothyng, and nothynge can do : Suche come this way with other to. They that dooth to other folkes good dede, And hath themselfe of other folke more nede, And quencheth the fyre of another place, And leueth his owne, that is in wors cace, Whan it is brent, and woteth not where to lye : To the spyttell than must he nedes hye. THE SPYTTEL ffOUS. 57 They that wyll not suffre theyr clothe hole, 730 But iag and cut them with many a hole, And payeth more for makyng than it cost, Whan it is made, the garment is but lost, Patchyng them with colours lyke a fole, At last they be ruled after our scole. They that do make to moche of theyr wyues, Suffryng them to be nought of theyr lyues, Letyng them haue ouermoche of theyr wyll, Clothyng them better than they can fulfyll, Letyng them go to feestes, daunces and plays, 7-10 To euery brydale, and do nothyng on days,1 And gyueth them all the soueraynte : Must needes come this way, for they cannot pthe. *f[ Copland. Come hyther ony of these wofull creatures That be sore wounded, and moche wo endures With a shrewd wyfe, and is neuer quyet, Bycause that she wold haue all her dyet, But bralle and chyde, babble, crye and fyght, Euer uncontented bothe day and nyght?2 IT Porter. Come this way, quod a ? Yes, I warraunt you, 750 Of them alway come this way ynow ; We haue chambres purposely for them, Or els they shold be lodged in Bedlem. 1 working-days, not holidays or Sundays. 2 Such characters as are pourtrayed in the Scole house of Wo men and the Proud Wyues Paternoster. 58 THE HYE WAY TO IF Copland. Mary, God forbyd, it shold be as ye tell ! IT Porter. By good fayth, the uery deuyll of hell I trowe to my mynd hath not moche more payne. One were in a maner as good be slayne : Fer there is no joye but euer anguysh ; On bothe sydes they do always languysh ; For the one gooth hyther, and the other thyder, 760 Bothe they spend, and by nothyng togyder ; So at the last, of very necessyte, Hyther they come to aske lodgyng of me. IF Copland. I do knowe it is the ryght facyon ; A realme stryuyng in itself gooth to desolacyon. God amend all, I haue herd what it is. Tell of some other ; I am wery of this. 1F Porter. All maysters that lete theyr seruaunts play, Fedyng them deyntyly euery day, And dooth cloth and pay them as they shold be, 770 Beyng neclygent theyr worke to ouerse, Suffryng them waste, and theyr good spy 11, In theyr presence to do theyr lewd wyll ; And all those that pay not theyr hyre,' Vengeaunce of God it dooth desyre, These on bothe partes do eche other wrong : This way they come with a great throng. All suche servaunts as be neclygent In theyr seruyce, and wyl not be content To do theyr werk, but slacke theyr besynes, 7so Brybe and conuey fro mayster and maystres, THE SPYTTEL NOUS. 59 Chaungyng maysters, and ren fro town to towne, And are late rysyng, and betyme lye downe, Playeng by nyght, and tryflyng by day : Of ryghtousnes they do here stay. Suche folke as take on them great rent, In soyles for them inconuenyent Vnto theyr faculte, and often do remeue,1 Entreprysyng that they cannot acheue ; Doyng curyous labours, and haue small wage : 790 Vnto our hous they come for hostage. They that borow on theyr garments and napry, And do not fetche them agayn shortly,2 But lete them be worn, and than pay the some : In to our hye way they be far come. They that borow, and purpose not to pay Tyll in pryson they spend all away, And do forswere that is theyr dew ; They that lawe for a debt vntrew, And receyueth money in another mans name, soo Not beyng content to restore the same ; They that forget that to them is ought ; 3 They that stryue with all folke for nought ; And they that lend, and set no tyme to pay : 1 i. e. remove. So meve is used for move. a Formerly persons used not only to resort to Long Lane and similar localities, for the purpose of buying and selling their clothes, but with a view of raising money on them. In '• Harry White His Humour " (circa 1640) the writer says: — "It goes to his (Harry's) very heart to heare the man that cryes ' buy a brush :' for it puts him in minde of his holy-day suit that lyes in Long Lane to be brusht." 3 Owed. GO THE HYE WAY TO Reason wyll drjue them to come this way. Old folkes that all theyr goodes do gyue, Kcpyng nothyng wheron to lyue, And put fro theyr hous whan they haue nede : Toward our hous fast do they spede. They that gyue chyldren money to spend, sio And causeth them not at theyr byddyng attend, But dooth mayntene them in theyr lewdnes, And fro syne wyll them not redres ; In ydle wantonnes suffryng them to be, Nor teache them vertuous faculte ; Are the cause that, whan they be olde, * They1 take the way toward our houshold. They that euermore haue a delyte To fede, and make feastes at theyr appetyte With costly dysshes and deynty drynke, 820 Letyng theyr stocke euermore shrynke, Makyng a great porte, and be lytell worth : To come hyther they come streyght forth. They that takes no hede to theyr houshold, But lete theyr implements molde, Theyr hangyngs rot, theyr napery vnclene, Theyr furres and wollen not ouersene> Theyr vessell mar, and theyr goodes decay : Cannot chuse but nedes come this way. Lechours, fornycatours and advouterers,8 sso Incestes, harlots, bawdes and bolsterers, Applesquyers, entycers and rauysshers : These to our place haue dayly herbegers. 1 Old ed. has to. 2 Adulterers. THE SPYTTEL HO US. 61 1T Copland. No marvell of them, and happy they be, If they do and in so honest degre : For surely theyr endyng is fayrest, If that with pouerte they be supprest : For I do fynd wry ten of aduoutry That these fyue sorowes ensueth therby, Ex istis penis patietur quisquis adidter ,• 840 Aut erit hie pauper, hie aut subito morietur, Aut aliquid mebrum casu vulnere perdet, Aut erit inf amis per quod sit career e vinctus. Eyther they shall be poore, or dye sodeynly, Or lese by wound some membre of the body, Or to be sclaundred to suffre sharpe pryson, Therfore pouerte is fayrest by reason. And yet besyde that they be so beaten, That with great pockes theyr lymmes be eaten. How say ye by these horryble svverers, 850 These blasphemers and these God terers ? Come there ony this way to haue socour ? IF Porter. Do they ! yea, I warraunt euery hour, All rotten and torne, armes, heades and legges, They are the moost sorte that ony where begges, And be the people that moost anoy us. 1F Copland. I beleue well : for I fynd wryten thus, Vir multu iurans replebitur iniquitate, et a domo eius non recedet plaga.1 A great swerer is full of iniquyte, 860 1 Eccles. xxii. In old ed. this is printed so as to form part of the lint 859, where it is not required. 62 THE HYE WAY TO And fro his hous the plage shall neuer be. In the commaundements is wryten playn : Thou shalt not take the name of God in vayn ; For who sow dooth vse it customably,1 The stroke of God can not eschew truly. But come none of these slouthfull folkes hyther That be so vnlusty, so sluggysh and lyther?2 That care not how the world dooth go, Neyther halydays, nor workyng days also, But lye in bed, tyll all masses be doone, 870 Lewtryng theyr worke tyll it pas noone ; And so enioye to lynger and to slepe, And to theyr lyuyng they take no maner kepe. 11 Porter. These folkes come in so great nombre, That all the ways they do encombre ; And with them dothe come all these folke, that spare To assay theyr frendes for theyr owne welfare. But folow theyr owne myndes alway, Nor to theyr frendes in no wyse wyll obay, And of theyr promesses they be no more set by ; sso But to this way they must them nedes apply. 1 Customarily, habitually. 2 Idle. It is here found in its primitive signification ; but it acquired, long before the composition of the present piece, the general meaning of bad or vicious. Thus Chaucer says, in The Cuckoo and the Nightingale : — " For he may do al that he woll devise, And lither folk to destroyen vice, And proude hertes he can make agrise." THE SPYTTEL HO US. 63 IF Copland. And how by1 these people so full of coueytyse That all the worldes good can them not suffyse, But by vsury, rapyne and extorcyon, Do poulle the pore folke of theyr porcyon ? And they that invent newes by tyranny Vpon poore mens landes fraudelently, And lyke as wolues the shepe dooth take and tease, For theyr owne lucre and to lyue in ease, And day by day in euery maner degre, 890 They do prolonge theyr iniquite. 1T Porter. As for with them we haue to do nothyng : Ynto the lawe it is all belongyng. How be it, yf they chaunce to be poore, Then often indede they do come by our doore. 1F Copland. But then I pray you, how say ye by these, That breke this precept non furtum fades, Theves and murtherers, and these watchers of wayes, That robbe and steale bothe by nyghtes and dayes, And that delyte in murder and in theft, 900 Whose condycyons in no wyse can be left, Do not they oft tymes come hyther by you ? H Porter. Of them there cometh dayly ynow ; But they be led, and comenly fast bounde, Bycause theyr lodgyng may soner be founde ; And ben conueyed by men of charyte Where that they haue hospytalyte, 1 Be. 64 THE EYE WAY TO And ben well kept and wrapped surely, And whan tyme cometh that they must dye, They be buryed aloft in the ayre, 9i( Bycause dogs shall not on theyr graues repayre. 1F Copland. Almyghty Jesu of his mercy defende Euery good manes chylde from such an ende ! And how say ye by all these grete dronkardes That suppe all of by pottes and tankardes, Tyll they be so dronke that they cannot staude ? That is but lytell used in this lande, Except it be among Duche folke, or Flemynges ; For Englysshe men knowe not of suche rekeingcs. 1T Porter. No[t] do ! yes, yes ! I ensure you hardely, They can do it as well as ony body ; 921 With dowble beare, be it wyne or ale, They ceas not, till they can tell no ryght tale, With quyxte quaxte ie brynxte lief brore An ortkyn, or an half beres, by gots, more. Yea, rather thaw fayle drynke it clene out, With fyll the jfot ones agayn round about : Gyue us more drynke, for sparyng of bread ; Tyll theyr cuppes be wyser than theyr head : And so syt they, and spend vp all theyr thryft, 93C And after come here : they haue no other shyft. IT Copland. How say ye by these folkes full of yre, That brene in wrath hoter than fyre, And neuer be quyet, but chyde and brail THE SPYTTEL HO US. 65 With wrath and anger, fretyng hert and gall ? Wayward, wode, furyous and fell, For where they be quyetnes cannot dwell ; But alway stryfe, mystrust and great dysease, And in no wyse none man can them please. 11 Porter. Hyther they come, and I wyll tell you why ; None can lyue by the well, nor quyetly ; 941 But with eche one they fall out, and make bate,1 Causyng people them for to hate, And wyll suffre them to dwell no where, But are fayne for to remayne here. II Copland. It may well be so, for where as2 none agre, Neyther thryft, nor welfare cannot be : But I trust it be not betwene man and wyfe, Than it were pyte and eke a sory lyfe. For where is no peas at bed, nor3 at borde, 950 I reken theyr thryft is not worth a t — de. But of these people that ben so stout, That in welth and wo here it so out, That pryde wyll not suffre them for t6 fall : Methynke this way they come not all ? H Porter. 0 yes, yes ! God wote, of them be not fewe, For here all day they assemble in a rewe, And here they crake, bable, and make grete boste, And amonge all other wolde rule the roste : 959 1 i. e. make mischief. 2 Former ed. has is. 3 Old ed. has not. VOL. IV. F 66 THE HYE WAT TO With stande backe, you lewd vylayne, beggerly knaue, I wyll that thou knowe my wyfe and I haue Spent more in a daye with good honeste Than thou in thy lyfe euer was lyke to be ; For I tell the I haue kept, or now, suche reporte That all my neyghtbours dyd to me resorte ; And haue, or now, kept a grete housholde, And had ynough of syluer and of golde. In all our parysshe was none better decked, And I thynke scorne for to be thus checked Of suche lewde persons, that neuer had good ; 970 And eke I am borne of as good a blood ; As ony in this towne, and a gentylman ; But yf I had as moche as I wyst whan, I shold make a meyny of these poore carles to know, What maner thyng a gentylman is, I trowe. 1F Copland. Lo, here one may se that there is none wori Than is a proude herte and a beggers purs, Grete boost and small roost : this is euydent, For a proude hert well never be shent. But, good porter, I pray you, be so kynde 98 To tell me of them out of mynde, As for the enuyous I lete them dwell : For theyr hospytall is the depe pyt of hell. IF Porter. How say ye by this lewd ipocrysy, That is used so superstycyously ? I cry God mercy, yf I make ony lye, Of them that deuout prayers seeme to occupy ; THE SPTTTEL HO US. 67 As yf God fro the cros by them shold be vndone, And syt in the chyrche, tyll it be noone, Neuer speakyng in ony folkes presence, 990 But it soundeth to vertue and reuerence ; Yet whan they be moeued to anger and wrath, I trowe to my mynde that other folke hath Not half the spyte, vengeaunce and rygour, As they wyll have to theyr poore neyghbour. For some of them, yf they myght be a lorde, Wold hang another : they be of suche dyscorde. And where they ones take hatred or enmyte, Duryng theyr lyfe haue neuer charyte : And who that hath no charyte, nor loue, LOGO Can neuer please the Amyte aboue : And so this way they be fayne to come. 1T Copland. I beleue well : for truely there be some, That neyther haue loue to one, nor other ; For I wene, yf it were syster or brother, They wold no more pyte them nor rewe (They be sq fell), than on a thefe or Jewe. For whan ye thynk to haue them moost in reason, Than be theyr hertes full of deadly poyson ; And in theyr fury they be so vyolent, 1010 That they wyll bryng one to an exegent, And neuer pardon, nor no man forgyue, Tyll theyr neyghbour hath nothyng on to lyue ; And so they make by theyr own consyence Betwene God and the deuyll no dyffrence. But hey, alas ! do none this way trace That do take wyues of small effycace, 68 THE HTE WAT TO Which cannot yet1 bestow, nor yet saue, And to go gay they wyll spend and crane ; Makyng men wene that they loue them alone,2 1020 And be full fals unto them echone, Spendyng theyr goodes without ony care, Without good gownes, but not of hoodes bare ? U" Porter. They must come hyther, for they cannot chuse, For they that wyll themselfe so vse, The one to gete, and the other spend ; And whan all is brought to an end, Hether they come to haue conforte. Syr, I beshrew all the hole sorte ; Such genyfenycs kepeth many one lowe, 1030 Theyr busbandes must obey as dog to bowe. Alas ! sely men, ye are yll at ease, These deynty huswyues for to fede and please : For so they syt and sew half an hour on a clout, Theyr hole dayes worke is patched out ; And so by theyr tryflyng and lyuyng nought, With other means they be hyther brought. IF Copland. Well, good porter, I pray you let them alone, For happy is he that hath a good one. I pray you shewe me of other gestes, 104C For agaynst women I loue no iestes. 1 Fomer ed. has get. 8 Here we are strongly reminded of some passages in th< Proud Wyues Paternoster. THE SPYTTEL HO US.- 69 The showre is almoost dene1 and I haue fer to go ; Come none of these pedlers this way also, With pak on bak, with their bousy speche, Jagged and ragged, with broken hose and breche ? 1T Porter. Inow, ynow ; with bousy coue maimed nace Teare the patryng coue in the darkman cace Docked the dell for a coper meke His watch shall feng a prounces nobchete Cyarum by salmon and thou shalt pek my jere 1050 In thy gan for my watch it is nace gere For the bene bouse my watch hath a coyn. — And thus they babble, tyll theyr thryft is thyn, I wote not what with theyr pedlyng frenche, But out of the spyttle they haue a party stenche, And with them comes gaderers of cony skynnes, That chop2 with laces, poyntes, nedles and pyns. 1F Copland. Come ony maryners hyther of Cok Lorels bote?3 IT Porter. Euery day they be alway a flote : We must them receyue, and gyne them costes fre, 1 Done. 2 i. e. chap or hawk. 3 Under the title of Cock Lorells Bote, Wynkyn de Worde printed, without date, a brief metrical satire on the times, some what in the style of the Navis Stultifera of Brandt, 1497. A translation of Brandt's book was published by Pynson in 1508. Only one copy of Cock Lorells Bote is known, and that is not perfect. Cock Lorel, from whom it was named, was a noted robber and thief. The tract has been reprinted three times during the present century. See above. 70 THE HYE WAY TO And also with them the fraternyte 1061 Of vnthryftes, which do our house endewe, And neuer fayle with brethren alway newe. Also here is kept, and holden in degre With in our hous the ordres viii. tyme thre Of knaues;1 only we can them not kepe out, They swarme so thyke as bees in a rout ; And chyef of all that dooth vs encombre, [Is] the ordre of fooles, that be without nombre : For dayly they make suche preas2 and cry, 1070 That scant our hous can them satysfy. 1 The writer here speaks of four-and-twenty Orders of Knaves, which corresponds with the number described on a leaf attached to the Heber copy of Harman's Caveat for Common Cursitors, 1567, 4to. But it seems that an additional one was subsequently discovered or invented, for, in Awdeley's Fraternitye of Vaca- bondes, printed in 1573, 4to, we hear of twenty-Jive Orders of Knaves. The number was possibly not quite accurately deter mined, and fluctuated according to the fancy of the writer. From an entry in the Registers of the Stationers' Company (Collier's Extracts, i. 42), there is room to infer that the Fra ternitye of Vacabondes, including the twenty -five Orders of Knaves, was in existence as early as 1560-1, although no edition of so early a date is at present known. The author of this production found imitators. In 1562-3, Alexander Lacy paid "ourpence for his licence to print " The xx. Orders of Callettes or Drab- bys" (Collier's Extracts, i. 71), and in 1569-70, Henry Kyrkham obtained, on similar terms, leave to print " a ballett intituled the xx. orders of fooles (Collier's Extracts, i. 224). Whether " xx." in the last article be an error of the clerk for " xxv." it is diffi cult to judge ; but a ballad is extant with the following title : " The xxv. Orders of fooles." Finis, q. T. G. Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacie for Henry Kyrkham. See An Elizabethan Garland, 1856, p. 22. 2 i. e. press, crowd. THE SPYTTEL HOUS. 71 f Copland. Yet one thyng I wonder that ye do not tell: Come there no women this way to dwell ? 11 Porter. Of all the sortes that be spoken of a fore, I warraunt women ynow in store, That we are wery of them ; euery day They come so thycke, that they stop the way. The systerhod of drabbes, sluttes and callets, Do here resorte, with theyr bags and wallets, And be parteners of the confrary1 ioso Of the maynteners of yll husbandry. 11 Copland. A lewd sorte is of them of a surety. Now, mayster Porter, I thank you hertyly Of your good talkyng ; I must take my leue ; The shoure is done, and it is toward eue ; Another tyme, and at more leaser, I wyll for you do as great a pleaser. ^[ Porter. There be a M. mo than I can tell ; But at this tyme I byd you farwell. C iUnuog of tje &uctout. Go lytell quayre2 to euery degre, 1090 And on thy mater desyre them to loke, 1 Fraternity. a i. e. quire [of paper], hence a pamphlet, which usually con sisted only of a quire, or sheet. Writers formerly spoke of their 72 HYE WAT TO SPTTTEL 110 US. Desyryng them for to pardon me, That am so bolde to put them in my boke ; To eschue vyce I the vndertoke, Dysdeynyng no maner of creature ; I were to blame, yf I them forsoke ; None in this world of welth can be sure. quire, or quayre, as we now do of our sheets. Thus, Lyndsay, at the conclusion of the Complaynt of the Papingo, says : — "And to the quair I geif commandement, Mak na repair, quhare poetis bene present : Because thow bene but rethorik sa rude, Be never sene, besyde nane uther buke." Upon which passage Mr. Chalmers notes that Chaucer, in the Envoy to the Knightes Tale, has a similar expression : — " Go, litill quayre " The expression is, however, not particularly rare. The anony mous author of Colyn Bhwlols Testament employs it in the Envoy to that production : — " Thow litelle quaver, how darst thow shew thy face, Or com yn presence of men of honeste ? " See vol. i. p. 109. Cfje Papne anti ©orotoe of aijarpage. I^HE Payne and Sorowe of Euyll Maryage. [Beneath this a woodcut of a wedded couple with a priest who joins their hands. Here endeth ye payne and sorowe of euyll maryage. Imprynted at London in fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne, by me Wynkyn de Worde. n. d. 4to. four leaves, with Wynkyn de Worde's large tripartite. device on the reverse of the last leaf (No. vi. of Dibdin's List). The present tract enters into the series of those which have been published with the object of exposing and ridiculing the frailties of the female sex. Three other pieces of the game character proceeded from the press of W. de Worde : " A Complaynte of them that ben to late maryed," "A Complaint of them that be to soone maryed," and Henry Fielding's Fyftene Joyes of Maryage, 1509. One of these has been included by Mr. Collier in his " Illustrations of Early English Literature." AKE hede and lerne, tliou lytell divide, and se That tyme passed wyl not agayne retourne, And in thy youthe unto vertues use the : Lette in thy brest no maner vyce sojourne, That in thyne age thou haue no cause to mourne 74 THE PAYNE AND SOEOWE For tyme lost, nor for defaute of wytte : Thynke on this lesson, and in thy mynde it shytte.1 Glory unto god, louynge and benyson To Peter and Johan and also to Laurence, Which haue me take2 under proteccyon 10 From the deluge of mortall pestylence, And from the tempest of deedly vyolence, And me preserue that I fall not in the rage Under the bonde and yocke of maryage. I was in purpose to haue taken a wyfe, And for to haue wedded without auysednes A full fayre mayde, with her to lede my lyfe, Whome that I loued of hasty wylfulnes, With other fooles to haue lyued in dystresse, 19 As some gaue me counseyle, and began me to constrayne To haue be partable of theyr wooful payne. They laye upon me, and hasted me full sore, And gaue me counseyle for to haue be bounde, And began to prayse eche daye more and more The woofull lyfe in whiche they dyd habounde, And were besy my gladnes to confounde, Themselfe rejoysynge, bothe at euen and morowe, To haue a felowe to lyue with them in sorowe. But of his grace god hath me presented By the wyse counseyle of these aungelles thre : so From hell gates they haue my lyfe conserued In tyme of warre, whan louers lusty, 1 Shut. a Taken. OF EVTLL MAEYAGE. 75 And bryght Phebus was fresshest unto se In Gemynys, the lusty and glad season, Whan to wedde caught fyrst occasyon. My joye was sette in especyall To haue wedded one excellent in fayrncs, And thrugh her beaute haue made my selfe thrall Under the yocke of euerlastynge dystresse ; But god alonely of his high goodnes 40 Hath by an aungell, as ye haue herde me tell,1 Stopped my passage from that peryllous hell. Amonge these aungelles, that were in nombre thre, There appered one out of the southe, Whyche spake fyrst of all the trynyte All of one sentence, the mater is full couthe ; 2 1 This points to an earlier production by the same writer, of which we have no present information, unless it was, indeed, "A Complaynt of them that be to soone Maryed," already mentioned, printed by W. de Worde, 1535, 4to, 13 leaves. The author of the latter comments, at any rate, with equal severity upon the sex, and uses similarly powerful pleas against entrance into the married state, as may be judged by the fact that after eight days' experience, he puts into the lady's mouth the fol lowing sentiment : — " Cursed be the houre that I ne was Made a none in some cloyster Neuer there for to passe Or had be made some syster In seruage with a clousterer." Complaynt of them that be to soone maryed (Dibdin's Ames, ii. 365). 2 Pleasant. 76 THE PAYNE AND SOROWE And lie was called Johan with the golden mouthe,1 Which concluded by sentence full notable, Wyues of custome ben gladly varyable. After this Johan, the story sayth also, so In confyrmacyon of theyr fragylyte, How that Peter, called acorbylio, Affermeth playnly, how that wyues be Dyuerse of herte, full of duplycyte, Mayterfull, hasty, and eke proude, Crabbed of langage whan they lyst crye aloude. Who taketh a wyfe receyueth a great charge, In whiche he is full lyke to hauc a fall : With tempest tossed, as is a besy barge ; There he was fre he maketh hymselfe thrall. 60 Wyues of porte2 ben full imperyall,3 Husbandes dare not theyr lustes gaynsaye, But lowely4 please and mekely them obaye. The husbandes euer abydeth in trauavle ; One labour passed, there cometh an other newe, And euery daye she begynneth a batayle, And in complaynynge chaungeth chere and hewe. Under suche falsnes she fayneth to be true ; She maketh hym rude as is a dull asse, Out of whose daunger impossyble is to passe. TJ 1 St. Chryaostom. 2 Deportment. 3 Imperious. 4 Percy Society ed. has lovely. OF EVYLL MARY AGE. 77 Thus wedlocke is an endlesse penaunce, Husbandes knowe that haue experyence, A martyrdom and a contynuaunce In sorowe euerlastynge, a deedly vyolence ; And this of wyues is gladly the sentence Upon theyr husbandes, whan they lyst to be bolde, How they alone gouerneth the housholde. And yf her husbande happen for to thryue, She sayth it is her prudent purueyaunce : If they go abacke ayenwarde and unthryue, so She sayth it is his mysgouernaunce. He bereth the blame of all suche ordynaunce ; And yf they be poore and fall in dystresse, She sayth it is his foly and lewdnesse. And yf so be he be no workman good, It may well happe he shall haue an home, A large bone to stuffe with his hood ; A mowe 1 behynde, and fayned cheere beforne : And yf it fall -that theyr good be lorne, By auenture, eyther at euen or morowe, 90 The sely husbande shall haue all the sorowe. An husbande hath greate cause to care For wyfe, for chylde, for stuffe and meyne, And yf ought lacke she wyll both swere and stare, He is a wastour and shall neuer the : Mock. 78 THE PAYNE AND SOROWE And Salomon sayth there be thynges thre, Shrewde wyues, rayne, and smokes blake Make husbandes ofte theyr houses to forsake. Wyues be beestes very unchaungeable In theyr desyres, whiche may not staunched be, 100 Lyke a swalowe whiche is insacyable : Peryllous caryage in the trouble see ; A wawe calme full of aduersyte, Whose blandysshynge endeth with myschaunce, Called Gyrenes, euer full of varyaunce. They them rejoyce to se and to be sene, And for to seke sondrye pylgrymages, At greate gaderynges to walke on the grene, And on scaffoldes to sytte on hygh stages, If they be fay re to she we theyr vy sages ; no And yf they be foule of loke or countenaunce, They it amende with pleasynge dalyaunce. And of profyte they take but lytell hede, But loketh soure whan theyr husbandes ayleth ought : And of good mete and drynke they wyll not fayle in dede, What so euer it cost they care ryght nought ; Nor they care not how dere it be bought, Eather than they should therof lacke or mysse, They wolde leeuer laye some pledge ywys. It is trewe, I tell you yonge men euerychone, 120 Women be varyable and loue many wordes and stryfe : Who can not appease them lyghtly or anone, OF EVYLL MARYAQE. 79 Shall haue care and sorowe all his lyfe, That woo the tyme that euer he toke a wyfe ; And wyll take thought, and often muse How he myght fynde the maner his wyfe to refuse. But that maner with trouth can not he founde, Therfore be wyse or ye come in the snare, Or er ye take the waye of that bounde ; 129 For and ye come there your joye is tourned unto care, And remedy is there none, so may I fare, But to take pacyens and thynke none other way aboute ; Then shall ye dye a martyr without ony doute. Therfore, you men that wedded be, Do nothynge agaynst the pleasure of your wyfe,1 Than shall you lyue the more meryly, And often cause her to lyue withouten stryfe ; Without thou art unhappy unto an euyll lyfe, Than, yf she than wyll be no better, 139 Set her upon a lelande, and bydde the devyll fet her. Therfore thynke moche and saye nought, And thanke God of his goodnesse, And prece not for to knowe all her thought, 1 So counsels Udall in the Song of the Minion Wife, in his Ralph Roister Doister : — " If she will fare well, yf she wyll go gay, A good husband ever sty 11, What ever she lust to doe or to say, Must lete hir have hir owne will." 80 PAYNE OF EVYLL NAEYAGE. For than shalte thou not knowe, as I gesse, Without it be of her own gentylnesse, And that is as moche as a man may put in his eye, For, yf she lyst, of thy wordes she careth not a flye. And to conclude shortly upon reason, To speke of wedlocke of fooles that be blente, There is no greter grefe nor feller poyson, 150 Nor none so dredeful peryllous serpent, As is a wyfe double of her entent. Therfore let yonge men to eschew sorowe and care Withdrawe theyr fete, or they come in the snare.1 C '$!ere entretj) #e pajnte anti sototoe of eugll margage. Imprgnteti at Uontion in fletegttete at tje sggne of tje Sonne, fcg me tie 2 In the Complaynte of them that ben to late maryed, on the contrary, the writer observes : — " Better it is in youthe a wyfe for to take, And lyue with her to goddes pleasaunce, Than to go in age for goddes sake, In wordely sorowe and perturbaunce For youthes loue and utteraunce, And than to dye at the last ende, And be dampned in hell with the foule fende." Cfce IBofee of sgjagti HERE is the boke of mayd Emlyn that had v. husbandes and all kockoldes ; she wold make theyr berdes whether they wold or no, and gyue them to were a praty hodefulle of belles. Imprynted at London without Newegate, in Saynt Pulkers [Sepulkers] Parysshe, by me John Skot, dwellynge in the Olde Bayly. n. d. [circa 1520], 4to. black letter, with a woodcut on the title (borrowed for the nonce from Barclay's Ship of Fools, 1508), of a man and a woman, the former having his head sur mounted by a pair of bells. The Boke of Mayd Emlyn was one of five poetical tracts, all from the library of T. Caldecott, Esq. edited by Dr. Rimbault for the Percy Society. From a feeling that it would add to the completeness and interest of the present collection, it is now given precisely as it stands in the Percy Society edition, certain amendments in the pointing excepted. The lady, of whose career we are presented in this" Boke " of her with a sort of gwasi-biographical sketch, appears to have been a personage of very similar character to the " Widow Edyth," her contemporary, whose Twelve Mery Gestys were published in 1525. ($&Q Old English Jest-Books, iii.) Whether, however, Maid Emlyn was, as Chaucer's Wife of Bath may be presumed to have been, drawn from the life, or was a purely fictitious crea tion, we are unable to determine. The tract is considerably more entertaining than many of the so-called poetical effusions which appeared during the reign of VOL. IV. G 82 THE BOKE OF MA YD EMLTN. Henry VIII. and later; and the author, whoever he may have been, was unquestionably a man with a true vein of humour. As a picture of the times, its value need not be insisted upon. Like the Jests of the Widow Edith, the Book of Maid Emlyn seems to have been the work of an unfriendly pen — unfriendly to the heroine, whose exploits furnish the tale, and to the sex generally. In the Wyf of Bathes Prologe Chaucer has the following passage, which may have been seen by the present writer : — "Lo, herken such a scharp word for the nones! Biside a welle Jhesus, God and man, Spak in reproof of the Samaritan ; ' Thou hast y-had fyve housbondes,' quod he ; ' And that ilk man, which that now hath the, Is nought thin housbond — ' " And then, farther on, the Wife of Bath is made to say, in reference to King Solomon ; — " God wot, this nobill king, as to my wit, The firste night had many a mery fit With eche of hem, so well was him on lyve. I-blessid be God that I have weddid fyve ! Welcome the sixte whan that ever he schal ! For sothe I nyl not kepe me chast in al." is tje fcofce of magtj (fcmlgn tfjat jati ,b* ^usimnties antr all fcocfcottres ; s je tooHr mafee tjegr fierta tofjetfjet tjeg tooltr or no, anfc ague tjern to torn a pratg {jootjefull of Mies, rLL ye here of meruaylles Drawne out of Gospelles Of mayde Emlynne, That had husbandes fyue, And all dyd neuer thryue ? She coude so well spynne, Louynge to go gaye, And seldom for to praye, For she was borne in synne : Oft wolde she seke 10 The tauernes in the weke, Tyll her wytte was thynne ; Full swetely wolde she kys With galauntesj ywys, And say it was no synne ; Thus collynge in armes Some men caught harmes, Full lytell dyd they wynne ; And if her husbande said ought, Loke what she sonest cought, 20 At his heed she wolde it flynge. She wolde saye, lozell thou, 84 THE BOKE OF I wyll teche the, I trowe, Of thy language to blynne ; It is pyte that a knaue A prety woman sholde haue, That knoweth not golde from tynne. I trowe thou j abuse be Bytwene my cosyn and me, That is called syr Sym ; 1 so Thoughe I go ofte thyder, We do nought togyder, But prycked balades synge.2 And I so cunnynge be The more worshyp is to the, Gyuynge thanke to hym : For he me fyrste taught, So I may cunnynge caught, Whan I wente a brosshynge. With suche wordes douse 40 Thys lytell prety mouse The yonge lusty prymme She coude byte and whyne, Whan she saw her tyme, And with a prety gynne Gyue her husbande an home, To blowe with on the morne : Beshrowe her whyte skynne. 1 Maid Emlyn had a cousin in the church with whom her husband suspected her of an improper intimacy. 2 This was a very favourite occupation among all classes at that epoch. Henry himself set the example. The King and Sir Peter Carew used to sing ballads together. MA YD EMLYN. 85 And ofte wolde she sleke To make smothe her cheke, so With redde roses therin ; Than wolde she mete, With her lemman swete, And cutte with hym. Talkynge for theyr pleasure, That cocke with the fether Is gone an huntjnge ; Hymselfe all alone To the wode he is gone eo To here the kockowe synge. Thus with her playfere Maketh she mery chere, The husbande knoweth nothynge ; She gyueth money plente, Bycause newe loue is daynte, Unto her swetynge. And prayeth ofte to come, To playe there as shyneth no sonne : So at the nexte metynge, 70 She gyueth her husbande a prycke That made hym double quycke, So good was the gretynge. Kocke called of the bone, That neuer was mayster at home, But as an vnderlynge ; His wyfe made hym so wyse, That he wolde tourne a peny twyse, And then he called it a ferthynge. Nothynge byleued he so 86 THE BOKE OF But that ho dyd with his eyes se, Full trewe was his meanynge, She cherysshed hym with brede and chesc, That his lyfe ho dyd lose : Than made sho mournynge. And dranko deuoutly for his soule, The handbell ofte dyd she colic, Full great sorowo makynge. This sory widowe But a whyle I trowe w Mournynge dyd make ; Whan he was gone, A yonge lusty one She dyd than take : Longe wolde she not tary, Lest she dyd myscary, But full ofte spake To haste the woddynge And all for boddynge, Some sporte to make ; 100 Her herte to ease And the flesshe to please, Sorowos to asloke. In it out joyenge That wanton plnyonge, For the olde husbaudes sake ; Yet by your leue A frere dyd she gyue Of her loue a flake ; And savil in hor oucn no At any manor of season, MAYD EMLTN. 87 That he sholde bake, There is rome ynowe, For other and for you, And space to set a cake. The seconde husbande Nycoll, That pore sely soule, Myght not escape : A kockolde to dye It was his destenye, 120 As man vnfortunate. His wyfe vndeuoute Ofte wolde go aboute, And steppe ouer many a lake ; Makynge bost in her mode, That her husbande can no more good Than can an vntaught ape. Thus by her scole Made hym a fole, And called hym dodypate ; 130 So from his thryfte She dyd hym lyfte, And therof crcste the date ; She made hym sadde, And sayd he was badde, Croked legged lyke a stake ; She lyked not his face, And sayd he mouthed was Moost lyke an hawke ; This good man ease, HO Was lothe to dysplease, But yet thought somwhat, 88 THE BOKE OF Thynkynge in his mynde, That a man can fynde A wyfe neuer to late ; For of theyr properte Shrewes all they be, And style can they prate. All women be suche, Thoughe the man bere the breche, iso They wyll be euer checkemate. Faced lyke an aungell, Tonged lyke a deuyll of hell, Great causers of debate ; They loke full smothe, And be false of loue, Venymous as a snake. Desyrynge to be praysed, A lofte to be raysed, As an hyghe estate ; ieo And these wanton dames Ofte chaungeth theyr names, As An, Jane, Besse and Kate. Thus thynketh he In his mynde pryuely, And nought dare saye ; For he that is maysterfast, Full ofte is agast, And dare not ronne and playe. If she be gladde, iio Than is he sadde, And fere of a sodayne fraye, For womans pryde MA YD EMLTN. 89 Is to laughe and chyde, Euery houre in a daye. Whan she dothe loure, And begynneth to snowre, Pyteously dothe he saye, What do ye lacke ? Ony thynge, swete herte, iso That I to you gyue maye ? She answered hym With wordes grotchynge, Wysshynge her selfe in claye, And sayth that she lackes Many prety knackes, As bedes and gyrdels gaye ; And the best sporte That sholde me comforte, Whiche is a swete playe, 190 I can it not haue, For so God me saue, Thy power is not to paye. There is nought, Nought may be cought, I can no more saye ; Many men nowe here Can not women chere, But maketh ofte delay ; 200 The wyfe dothe mone, It is not at home, And borroweth tyll a daye, What it is I trowe, Well ynoughe ye knowe, 90 THE BOKE OF It is no nede to saye ; Thus saye the wyues, If theyr hushandes thryues, That they the causers be ! They gete two wayes, Bothe with worke and playes 210 By theyr huswyuery. With theyr swete lyppes, And lusty hyppes They worke so plesauntly, Some wyll fall anone, For they be not stronge, They be weyke in the kne. Be they pore or be they ryche, I beshrewe all suche, Amen, nowe saye ye ; 220 They thynke it is as great almes, As to saye the seuen psalmes, And dothe it for charyte. To gete gownes and furs, These nysebeceturs, Of men sheweth theyr pyte, Somtyme for theyr lust Haue it they must, Or seke wyll they be ; If it do stycke, And she fele it quycke, 230 Full slyle dothe she Begyn for to grone, And wyssheth she had lyne alone. What ayleth you than ? sayth he, MAYD EMLTN. 91 She saythe, syr I am with chylde, It is yours, by Mary mylde ! And so he weneth it be. Whan played is the playe, Jacke the husbande must paye, 240 This dayly may ye se. He was gladde ywys, Of that that is not his, And dothe it vp kepe ; She that dothe mocke hym, Another mannes concubyne, And hys chylde eke. Lo, thus dothe landes Fall in wronge ayres handes, The causers may well wepe ; 250 And worse dothe happen truely, The broder the syster dothe mary, And in bedde togyther slepe. To synne lyghtely wyll the chylde drawe, That is bekoten without lawe, Wedlocke is veray swete ; But ones for all The daye come shall, The crye shall be welawaye ; Of all wedlocke brekers 260 Thus saythe greate prechers, Theyr dettes shall they truely paye. All they that dothe oifende, God graunt them to amende, And therfore lette vs. praye. But nowe of Emlyne to speke, 92 THE BOKE OF And more of her to treate, Truely for to saye, Whan the seconde husbande was dede, The thyrde husbande dyde she wedde 270 In full goodly araye. But as the deuyll wolde, Or the pyes were colde, Fell a sodayne fraye ; Moyses had a newe brother, It wolde be none other, And all came throughe playe. But mayde maydenhode myssynge Knoweth what longeth to kyssynge, It is no nede to saye. 280 She loued well I trowe, And gaue hym sorowe ynowe, But ones on the daye, With hym wolde she chyde, He durst not loke asyde, The bounde must euer obaye. This man was olde And of compleccyon colde, Nothynge lusty to playe ; She was full ranke, And of condycyons cranke, 290 And redy was alwaye ; In Venus toyes Was all her joyes, Seldome sayde she naye ; At the laste she thought, That her husbande was nought, MATD EMLYN. 93 And purposed on a daye To shorten his lyfe, And as a true wyfe, 300 She wolde it not delaye. To fulfyU her lust, In a well she hym thrust, Without any fraye : And made countenaunce sad As thoughe she be sory had, Also in good faye. A reed onyon wolde she kepe, To make her eyes wepe, In her kerchers I saye. 310 She was than stedfast and stronge, And kepte her a wydowe veraye longe, In faythe almoost two dayes ; Bycause she made greate mone, She wolde not lye longe alone, For fere of sodayne frayes ; Leste her husbande dede Wolde come to her bedde, Thus in her mynde she sayes. The fourthe husbande she cought, That was lyke her nexte nought, 320 For he vsed his playes, With maydens, wyues and nonnes, None amysse to hym commes, Lyke they be of layes ; Hym she lyked yll, She prayed the fende hym kyll, Bycause he vsed her wayes : 94 TEE BOKE OF This mannes name was Harry, He coude full clene cary, 330 He loued prety gayes. So it happened at the last, An halfepeny halter made hym fast, And therin he swayes. Than she toke great thought, As a woman that careth nought, So for his soule she prayes. And bycause she was seke, She wedded the same weke, For very pure pyte and wo. 240 Yet, or she was wedded, Thryse had she bedded, And great hast made therto. The husbande had sone ynowe, But Emlyn bended her browe, And thought she had not so, But to ease her louer She toke another, That lustely coude do ; One that yonge was, That coude ofte her basse, 350 Whiche she had fantesy to. He coude well awaye With her lusty playe, And neuer wolde haue do. Bycause he coude clepe her, She called hym a whypper ; And as they were togyder They bothe swetely played ; MAYD EMLYN. 95 A sergeaunt them afrayed, seo And sayd they were full queuer. They were than full wo, The frere wolde ben a go, He cursed that he came thyder ; Whether they were leue or lothe, He set them in the stockes bothe, He wolde none dysceyuer. In myddes of the market Full well was set, In full fayre wether, 370 For it dyd hayle and thonder ; On them many men dyd wonder, But Emlyne laughed ever ; She thought it but a jape, To se men at her gape, Therof she shamed neuer ; And sayd for her sportynge, It is but for japynge, That we be brought hyder ; It is nother treason nor felony, But a knacke of company, sso And dye had I leuer Than it forsake, For I wyll mery make, Whyle youthe hathe fayre wether. Whan her husbande it knewe, Sore dyd he it rewe, And was so heuy and wo, He toke a surfet with a cup, That made hym tourne his heels vp, 390 96 THE BOKE OF MA YD EMLYN. And than was he a go. And whan she was at large, Care she dyde dyscharge, And in her mynde thought tho ; Nowe wyll I haue my luste, With all them that wyll juste, In spyte of them that say the so, And bycause she loued rydynge, At the stewes was her abydynge, 400 Without wordes mo ; And all that wolde entre, She durst on them ventre, Veray gentyll she was, lo ! And longe or she were dede, She wente to begge her brede, Suche fortune had she tho. God dyd bete her surely With the rodde of pouerte, Or she dyd hens go. Than she dyed, as ye shall, But what of her dyde befall, 410 Naye there do I ho ; But they that rede this erly or late, I praye Jesu theyr soules take, Amen, saye ye also. Imptgntrtr at fLoirtron toitfjout Jictoegate, in $ulfeers ^argissje, fcg me Ifojn Jofcot, fctoellgnge m tje of HERE begynneth a lytell boke named the Scole howse, wherein euery man may rede a goodly prayse of the condycyons of women. In seven-line star zas. R. Wyer, n. d. 8vo. Herbert's Ames, fol. 375; he copies Ames; and Dibdin (iii. 181) copies him. Here begynneth a lytle boke named the Schnle house of women : wherin euery man may rede a goodly prayse of the condicyons of women. The yeare of our I^orde. MDXLI. The colophon is — Explicit. Prynted at London in Paules Churche yearde, at the sygne of the maydens heed, by Thomas Petyt. MDLXI. 8vo. D 2, in fours. Here Begynneth the Scole-house of women : wherein every man may reade a goodly prayse of the condicyons of women. Anno Domini MDLX. This title is in an architectural compartment and the ini tials T. R., possibly those of the artist, are in the centre at the bottom. The colophon is — Imprinted at London in Paules Churcheyarde at the Sygne of the Swanne by John Kyng. 4to. Heer beginneth the Schole House of Women, wherin euery man may read a goodly lesson of the condicions of Women, Anno Domini M.D. [sic] 1572. [Col.] Imprinted at London at the long shop, adioyning vnto Saint Mildreds 'Church in the Pultrie by John Allde, 1572. 4to. VOL. IV. H 98 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE These four editions are all of great scarcity. Of that of 1572 there is a copy among Selden's books in the Bodleian ; and Mr. Utterson reprinted it in his Select Pieces of Early Popular Poetry in 1817. The present text is formed from a collation of the ed. of 1572 with that printed by King twelve years before, which has supplied a few better readings here and there. Warton in his History (iii. 426, ed. 1824), explicitly states that there was an edition of the Schole House of Women from the press of Robert Wyer in 1542, and he quotes the title as it has been given above, substituting, however, prayer for prayse; which seems too circumstantial a description of the volume to allow us to suppose, that he was merely speaking, as he so often does, at random. Warton's "Prayer" is, it is true, an error for " Prayse ;" but it is not unlikely that the book was in the hands of a friend, and that the mistake was committed by the latter, who copied the title too carelessly ; or it is by no means impossible that Warton himself, having been allowed to inspect the production, was guilty of this oversight. Wyer's edition may still be in existence, but it has never been heard of.1 But whoever was the first publisher of the Schole House, it is readily susceptible of proof that the tract was in print, when (after 1541) Edward Gosynhyll put forth his " Prayse of all Women, called Mulierum Pean : " for in the latter, the author says:— " A wake, they sayde ; slepe not so fast : Consyder our grefe, and how we be blamed ; And all by a boke that lately is past, Whyche by report, by the was fyrst framed, The scale of women, none auctour named : In prynte it is passed, lewdely compyled, All women wherby be sore revyled." Whoever reported, however, that Gosynhyll had written the Scale of Women, reported what was not true, as we have at tempted to explain elsewhere. 1 Dibdin, in his edition of Herbert, evidently knew no more of the impression by Wyer than he found in Warton. OF WOMEN. 99 Again, Bansley, in his " Treatyse shewing and declaring the pryde and abuse of Women now a dayes," printed about 1550, or at least, some time in the reign of Edward VI (1547-53), has the following apparent allusion to the present work : — " The scole house of women is nowe well practysed, And to moche put in ure ; Whych maketh manye a mans hayre to growe Thorowe his hoode, you may be verye sure." We have used the term " apparent allusion," because we do not think that this passage, taken by itself, would be sufficient to establish the pre-existence of Gosynhyll's book : for works in popular literature were frequently entitled from fashionable cant, or current proverbial expressions, as is the case even now, and it is far from improbable that the Schole or Schole-house of Women was in vogue as a phrase, before Gosynhyll adopted it as the title to his lucubration, and that, in fact, its familiarity to the public ear recommended it to him or to his publisher. It will be observed that, in the copy which is given above of the title of Petyt's edition, there is an important discrepancy, the title bearing the date of 1541, and the colophon that of 1561. Such mistakes are not uncommon in old books, and in the pre sent instance, we are disposed, contrary to the opinion of some bibliographers, to assign the appearance of Petyt's impression to the earlier year. The volume was evidently the property of John Kyng in 1560, and it is more than doubtful whether Petyt printed later than 1554.1 1 Herbert, in his enlarged and improved edition of Ames, mentions no book from the press of Petyt later than 1 554. In Dibdin's additions to Herbert a volume occurs, supposed to have been printed by him in 1555, so that if the date on the colophon of the Schole-house of Women is to be received as correct, one of two very improbable suppositions must be admitted, namely, either that Petyt suspended business for six or seven years, and then resumed it for the purpose of executing one book, or that all the books printed by him between 1554 or 1555 and 1561 have disappeared, leaving no trace whatever behind them. We think, on the whole, that the date on the title must be sustained. 100 THE SCffOLE-HOUSE In 1557,1 Edward More, of Hambledon, co. Bucks, a young man under twenty years of age, was provoked by the publi cation of the " Schole-house of Women " to a vindication of the calumniated sex, which did not come from the press, however, till 1560. More's book bears the ensuing title:— "A lytle & bryefe Treatyse called the defence of women, and especially of Englyshe Women, made agaynste the Schole howse of Women. Anno Domini M.D.LX. Imprinted at London in Paules churche yarde at the signe of the Swane by John Kynge," 4to. black letter. It was reprinted, in an imperfect and careless manner, in Select Pieces of Early Popular Poetry, 1817 ; but it was not thought worthy of a place in the present collection, as it is assuredly one of the most prosaic compositions in the language. It will be found, indeed, as a general rule, that the treatises, which were intended as diatribes and invectives against the female sex, are far more entertaining, and contain far better writing, than those published on the other side of the question. They were also, if a ballad-writer of the day may be credited, more popular and acceptable to the reading public. In his Crown Garland of Goulden Roses, 1612, Richard Johnson has a " Song in Praise and Dispraise of Women," which commences as follows : — " Women to praise who taketh in hand, A number shall displease ; But who so doth them most dispraise, Doth most live at their ease." More was not the only champion of the ladies against their ' unmannerly assailant. On the 27th May, 1560, John Allde paid fourpence for the right to print "a ballett2 called the de fence agaynst them that commonly defame women," and other pieces of the same kind possibly existed at one time, though no longer known. 1 He dates his book: "From Hambleden, the xx. day of Julye, M.D.LVjj ; " so that it was not in answer to King's edition of the Schole House, as has been generally held. 2 Could this be More's book itself, miscalled a ballad by the clerk ? Fourpence was, however, very little for a volume of such bulk. OF WOMEN. 101 There is ground for the belief, that King issued an edition of the Schole House prior to that of 1560 : for his licence for it was obtained in 1557-8. See Mr. Collier's Extracts, i. 3. There is a rather apt illustration of the use of the term " scholehouse," in a sense in which it occurs here, to be found in Weever's Funerall Monuments, 1631, p. 11, where that writer says : — " Besides, if one shall seriously suruay the Tombeg erected in these our dayes, and examine the particulars of the personages wrought vpon their Tombes, hee may easily discerne the vanity of our mindes, vailed vnder our fantasticke habits and attires, which in time to come will be rather prouocations to vice then incitatious to vertue, and so the Temple of God shall become a Schoolehouse of the monstrous habits and attires of our present age — " The woodcut found in Mr. Utterson's work is not in any of the original editions. eer net!) tl)e§>cJ)oleJ)oufe il|l.: £>f SCtomen |1 tofjerm euerp man reati a gooti ippratfeoftlje contritions of men. ANNO DOMINI M.D. 1572. HE prouerb olde whoso denieth, In my conceit doth greatly erre : Bothe wit and discrescion il he applieth, That thing of truthe would debarre ; How beit that folke presume so far, Wherby the truthe is often blamed, Yet in no wise truthe may be shamed. 1[ A foole of late l contriued a book, 1 The context shows pretty clearly that the " foole" here in tended was no other than Edward Gosynhill, author of " The Prayse of All Women, called Mulierum Pean," printed by W. Mydylton, n. d. 4to, and reprinted by John King, n. d. Svo. We are afraid that Mr. Collier (Extracts from the Registers of the Stationers' Company, i. 3) too hastily adopted the impression that Gosynhill was also the author of the Schole-house of Women, on the strength of a passage, in the former work, in which Gosyn hill intimates that it was ascribed to him by report. In the Hit- lierum Paean are some lines, in which he claims the authorship of that piece (the Paean) in much more positive terms: — " If question be moved who is thine authour, Be not adrad to utter his name : Say Edwarde Gosynhyll toke the labour For womanhede thee for to frame." It is difficult to explain how an allusion to the Paean could find its way into a tract printed previously to the Penan, unless we suppose that Gosynhill was dead when the later editions of the Sco/ehouse of Women came from the press, and that somebody, not very friendly to the original writer, introduced variations into the text. We have never been able to meet with the first and second editions, printed by Wyer and Petit. 106 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And all in praise of the femynie ; Who so taketh labour it to ouer look, 10 Shall prooue all is but flattery ; Pehan he calleth it : it may wel be, The pecock is proudest of his faire taile, And so ar all women of their apparail. ^[ Wherfore as now in this treatise, What so be said in rude sentence, Vertue to increace, and to lay vice, Is cheef occasion of my pretence ; And where that trueth is, is none offence ; Who so therfore that blameth me, 20 I say he deemeth wrongfully. •fl" Perchaimce the women take displeasure, Bycause I rub them on the gall ; To them that good be, paraduenture, It shall not bee materiall. The other sorte, no force1 at all, Say what they wil, or bendeth the brew. Them selues shall prooue my saying2 true. IT Eche other man in generall, And, namely,3 those that maried be, so Giue euident testimoniall, Affirming the same, if I would ly, And thus reporte, that feminy Been euel to please, and wore to trust, 1 No force is often used, as here, in the sense of no matter, it does not signify. 2 So King's ed. Allde's ed. has sayings. 3 i.e. particularly. OF WOMEN. 107 Crabbed and combrous, when them self lust ; 1f Haue tung at large, voice loud and shril, Of words wounderous passing store, Stomacke stout, with froward wil, And, namely, when you touch the sore With one bare word, or litle more, 40 They flush and flame as hote1 as fire, And swel as a tode for faruent2 ire. ^1 And when they hear one word that soudeth [A]3 little against their lewd behauiour, And twise so muche els, which y* redoundeth To their high praise, ye maybe sure, So light of eare they be and sowre, That of the better they neuer record, The worse reherce they word by word. ^[ It were much hurt for to discry The properties all of the feminy kinde ; so How be it a man may coniecture ny, And say also, as experience doth binde, That very few ther be to finde, But that they can, how so euer the matter stand, Beare fire and water bothe in one hand. ^[ Enuasions they haue both faint and feeble Them to excuse of duplicity ; As though they were inuincible Spotted in any wise to be ; And with othes so craftely 60 They shalbe forged on such a ground, As all things were bothe whole and sound. 1 Hot. 8 Fervent. 3 Old eds. have Little. 108 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE ^[ And be it ernest, or els in jape, Lo ! to them it is one maner of thing ; Surely nought els they after gape, But euer more in conning,1 To let2 a man of his saying ; Keason wil they not attend, But tel their owne tale to the end : IT And [truth] for to say, moste commonly 70 This vice is appropriat to them all ; For let a man to them replye, In resoning of matters small, These women be so sensuall, That be3 their reason not worth a t — de, . Yet wil the woman haue the last woord. 1T There may no reason theirs debar, Nor none example can them conuert, They study allgate4 to be at war, And with euel sawes to be ouerthwart ; Malice is so rooted in their hart, so That seldome a man may of them hear One good woord in a whole long yeer. IT All beit, the number of them be5 great, Yet dooth their foly far exceed : For all is fish that commeth to net ; In case that they of their minde speed, Brooch, ring, cloth or threed, Shame haue they none to ter[e] or snatch : 1 Old eds. read camming. 2 Old eds. read tel. 3 King's ed. reads by. * Always. 5 King's ed. has are. OF WOMEN. 109 All is their owne that they may catch. 5F What so it be they finger once, 90 Of wedded man or single, plain, He may as soon eat the adamant stone1 As the self same of them to retain ; Much they craue and nought giue again. As hoi some for a man is a womans corse, As a shoulder of mutton for a sick horse, 1F And yet we may not them long misse, For many sundry commodities ; So trick a way they haue to kisse 100 With open mouth and rowling eyes, Tung to tung disclose thies ; One and other commonly Haue in such case like propertie, ^F That hard it were, in mine opinion, If God him self would company keep, But they would bring him vpon 2 Waking or els a sleep. Displease them once, and then they weep, By meane wherof sone doo they3 cure 4 no Yung fooles to keep long in vre.5 If And while the wooing time dooth last, I meane with them that maidens be, Loth to displease, looue sure and fast, Axe what ye wil, and speed may ye ; 1 So King's ed. Allde's ed. has stones. 2 i. e. accompany Him. See the new ed. of Nares in voce, with the two examples there given of this use of the phrase. 3 Old eds. have dooth the. 4 i. e. to take care. 5 Use, service. 110 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE Few or none, for the moste partye, Gently entreated, deny you can Within her tables to enter your man. f That doon, they say that ye did make Promise to them by good assuraunce 120 Them to mary and to wiues take, Els had ye not had such daliaunce ; And all is for fear of good vtteraunce. In case the belly doo not swell, They holde them pleasd, and all is well. 1T Yet must ye be at farther daunger, If ye doo intend to vse them oft ; Keep them bothe at rack and maimger,1 Aray them well, and lay them soft. Yet shall another man come aloft : 130 Haue you once turned your eye and back, An other she wil haue to smick and smack. IF Perchaunce the belly may rise with all, Then wil they stare and swere a pace?. That thine is it. When it dooth fall, Be it malary borne or base, Looke, they say, on thine owne face ; Beholde wel bothe nose and iye, Nature it self the father wil trye. IT An other ther is to singuler grace HO 1 To indulge in them in all their extravagant tastes — " Feare not a shaddow, but auoid a daunger : And keepe not a iade at rack & raaunger." Uncasing of Machivils Instructions to his Sonne, 1613, p. 25. 2 Old eds. read swere and stare. OF WOMEN. Ill Giuen vnto the babe for the one, Or sure it is a meruelous face That God hath giuen vnto the mone,1 For were they xx. they must each one, Look they straight, either els a shore,2 Be like the father lesse and more. 1f And when they are once waxen small, And able to ride, or els to go, Unto like act againe they fall, As who would say you felt no wo ; 150 Yf ye renounce kindnes to sho, Then must ye send the to sum straung place, As good a maid as she before was. 11 Then if there come a loouer new, And them appoynt whether to come, They be like ready vnto the mew, And to be close from wind and sun, With litle labour they ar soon wonne ; Not one I warrant you amongs twentye, But she eft soones wil be as redy. IGO 1F Wed them once, and then adue, Farwel all trust and huswifery ; Keep their chambers and them self mew, For staining of their fisnamy,3 1 Many. 2 This word is still used in the West of England in the sense of awry, or on one side. 3 Physiognomy. " He feyed his fisnamye With his foule hondez, And frappez faste at hys face Fersely theraftyre." Morte Arthure, ed. 1847, p. 94. 112 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And in their bed all day doo lye ; Must, once or twise euery week, Fain them self for to be sick. 11 Send for this, and send for that, Little or nothing may them please ; Come in, good gossip, and keep me chat, 170 I trust it shall do me great ease ; Complain of many a sundry disease ; A gossips cup between vs twain, Til we be gotten vp again. IF Then must she haue maidens two or three, That may then gossips togither bring ; Set them to labour to blere the eye, Them self wil neither wash ne wring, Bake ne brue, nor any thing, Sit by the fire, let the maidens trot, iso Brew of the best in a halfpeny pot. 11 Play who wil, the man must labour, And bring to house all that he may ; The wife again dooth nought but glauour, And holde him vp with yea and nay ; But of her cup he shall not assay, Other1 she saith, it is to thin, Or els, iwis, there is nothing in. IT And when these gossips are once met, Of euery tale and new tiding 100 They bable fast, and nothing forget, They put, " I warrant," between each thing ;'-' 1 Either. * Old ed. repeats, clearly in error, tiding, the compositor's eye OF WOMEN. 113 Thus learne the yunger of the elders guiding, Day bj day keeping such Scooles, The simple men they make as fooles. IF Them selues alway do make good cheer, With one or other they neuer rest : Our John shall pay, is that l not best ? How say ye, gossip, is it not best ? I beshrew his hart now, is he blest ! 200 He beat me, gossip, I may tel you, That yet I am bothe black and blew. 1T Thus out it shall, what so it be, Good or bad, all is one thing, "Who so euer commeth to memory, Shall not he look for the telling ? God wot they make many a leasing;2 It dooth their stomacks greatly ease To serue what may their husbands displease. 1T The yung complaineth vnto the olde, 210 Somewhat to ease their harts therby : The elder saith : good gossip, be bolde To shew your minde wholy to me ; Fear it not ; ye knowe, pardy, That I haue been bothe olde and yung, Bothe close and sure of taile and tung. IT Then saith the yunger : I may tel you I am so matched as no woman is ; Of all this night, til the cock crew, He would not once turn me for to kisse ; 220 Euery night he riseth for to p — sse, 1 Old eds. have that is. 2 Lie. VOL. IV. I 114 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And when he commeth again vnwarme Booth turn his a — se into my barme ; l 1F Lappeth him self round all about, And thrusteth me out of my place, Leueth me scantly one rag or clout To couer and cast ouer my face. Ful little maner, gossop, he base ; The moste vnkindest man haue I That euer woman laid her by. 230 1F And be the day neuer so long, He dooth nothing but chide and brawle : Yea, yea, gossip, the more is my wrong, W . . . . and harlot he dooth me call, And bids me, gossip, scrape and scrall, And for my lining labour and svvete For as of him no peny I get. 1F I was a curst, or els stark mad, And when I maried with him vn wise ; I may tel you, I might haue had 240 Another maner of man then he is : If I had folowed my freends aduise, I should haue had a minion, A man of land, a gentleman. 1F The Deuil, gossip, ought me a shame, And paid I am now euery peny. I would God he had been blinde and lame The day and houre he first wooed me. Were not, gossip, [for] these Children three, I would not tary, ye may be sure, 250 Lap. OF WCMEfl. 115 Longer with him day ne houre. IT Then said the elder : doo as I doo, Be sharp and quick with him again ; If that hee chide, chide you also, And for one woord giue him twain, Keep him short and haue disdain ; Should he1 use you after such a rate, Bid him be stil with an euel date. IF Cherish your self all that you may, And draw vnto good company ; 200 Cast not yourself, gossip, away, Because he playeth the churle with thee ; And by your wil keep him hungry, And bid him go, when he would game, Unto his customers. God giue him shame ! IF Be even2 with him at yea and nay, And by your wil begin the war ; If he would smite, then may you say : Go to hardely, if thou dare ; I beshrewe thy hart [and] if thou spare, 270 All the world shall wunder on thee, How thou doost wreke thy teen of me. 1F Because thou hast been at the dise, And played away all that thou hast, Or from thy gillots thou couldst not arise, Of all this day ye sat so fast, And now God giue the shame at last, Commest drunken home with a mischeef, 1 Old eds. have He should. 3 Old eds. have ever. 116 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And wouldst be reuenged vpon thy wife ! 1T Better, iwis, to holde thy hand, 280 And more for thine honestye. I had leuer thy neck were in a band, Then I would take it long of thee ; Trust me, I wil finde remedye : Smite, and thou dare, I make God auow, I wil quite it, I wot wel how. 1F In case there be no remedye, But that you must haue strokes sad,1 Take vp the babe that then is nye, Be it wench, or be it lad,2 290 And bid him strike, if he be mad : Smite hardly, and kil thy Sonne, And hang therfore, when thou hast doon. IF Thus euer among they keep such schooles, The yung to drawe after the olde, Meeting euer vpon their stooles, Of euery matter that they haue would, By meane wherof the yung wax bolde ; So that within a month they be Quarter maister, or more then he. 300 1T Truely some men there be That line alway in great honour, And say : it gooeth by destenye To hang or wed : 3 bothe haue but one houre ; 1 Serious, i. e. strokes or blows meant in earnest. See Nares, voce Sad. 2 i. e. Be it a boy or a girl. 3 The old proverb. Richard Lant had a licence in 1558 to print a ballad entitled : " The Prouerbe is true yc weddynge is destyne.' OF WOMEN. 117 And whether it be, I am well sure Hanging is the better of the twain, Sooner doon, and shorter pain. 1T On pilgremage then must they go, To Wilsdon, Barking, or to some hallowes ; Perchaunce be foorth a night or two 310 On foot, for wearing of horse shooes ; A viage made vnto the stewes, And neither kneel to stones ne stocks, But the offring take with a quick box. ^1 Sometime also licence they craue To be w* some neighbour in the midwiues sted, And all to the end some other knaue Shall dub her husband a summer bird, The trueth is knowen : it cannot be hid ; All beit that few men doo him hear, 320 "Ihe cucko sapgeth all the yeer.1 £ 1T They haue also an other cast 2 |i case the husband be present ; The childe I warrant shalbe bast, And to her louer therewith sent. The sely man none euel ment, Regardeth little or nothing this, How by the babe she sends her kisse. U And that she would be reconed true, The matter to cloke more craftely, 330 1 i. e. cuckoldom continues throughout the year. An account of this curious subject may be found in the Additional Notes to " Old English Jest Books," vol. iii. 3 Device, trick. 118 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE Her kinsman call[s] him, I warrant you, And all to blere the husbands eye. God wot, the blinde eateth many a flye : So dooth the husband often, iwis, Father the childe that is not his. f Trim them self euery day new, And all to blere the husbands eye ; Plat and plant, and their heres hew, And all to make it for the eye ; The finest ware that they may bye, 340 And all that euer they may imagine, Is to alure the masculine. IT Plant them round with many a pin, Einged for routing of pure golde,1 Fair without and foule within, And of their tailes haue slipper holde. Bye who wil, ware wil be solde ; He need go no farther, the fair is heer ; Bye when ye list, it lasteth ouer yeer. 1T Spare for no cost, but drink of the best, sso And also of euery dainty eat, Hot in operation, and light to digest, Nature to prouoke, and set on a heat ; Oysters, Cockles, and els what they may get, Now this, now that and fain them self sick, Such things to receiue as for the Phisick. IF By meanes wherof Tiresias, 1 An allusion to the ring which is usually placed through the nostrils of a sow, or any other swine, to prevent them from routing. OF WOMEN. 119 Arbither chuse[n] the trueth to discus, Gaue1 Judgement plain in this case, That the wonmn is far more lecherous, ,%o- Gallus gallinis2 ter quinque sufficit3 vnus ; Sed ter quinque viri Non sufficiunt mulieri. f In case they would ought of you craue, A non they weep and lower apace, And say, that they can nothing haue Them to apparel, as other wiues hase : Trust not ouer much their mourning face, Record inough of Sampsons two wiues, Who foloweth their mindes, seldome thriues. 370 IF All heit the birder, with his blered eye, Dissemble 4 sorowe with his sad face : Yet is there no birde he may come by By his engines, that may haue grace ; By women it foloweth in semblable case, Weep they, or laugh they : all is one thing, They dele moste craftely, when they be weeping. IF And yet among [men] who so wil thriue, And office here in town and Citty, Must needs be ruled by his wiue, 330 Or els, in fay, it wil not be. The wife must able him to the degree, Able or vriable, little careth shee, Because her self would honoured be. IF Fear not, she saith vnto her spouse, Old ed. has giue. 2 Old eds. have gaUinus. Old eds. have sufftcit. 4 Affects. 120 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE A man or a Mouse whether be ye ; Should ye your honesty refuse, And be like l as other men bee In person and in eche degree, Take it vpon you, doo not refuse 390 And I my self wil finde your house. 1T So by that meane of her counsail The man may not the office forsake, Because the wife would haue a tail Come raking after, and a bonet black, A Ueluet hed, and also be take With the best, and not with the wurst ; The man must be ruled, til all be in the dust. H Of all the diseases that euer wore, Wedding is next vnto the goute ; 400 A salue there is for euery sore To help a man within or without ; But of these twaine I am in dout. No pain so feruent, hot ne colde, As is a man to be a Cuckolde. IT And be he neuer so fearful to fray, So stark a coward, yet wil he rage And draw his knife euen straight way f Be he neuer so far in age, Call him once cuckolde, and his courage 410 Foorthwith wil kindle and force him strike. 1 Old ed. has as like. 8 In the C Mery Talys, printed circa 1525, folio, some ludicrous examples are given of the sort referred to here. See No. 41 and No. 74. OF WOMEN. 121 Wurse then ye named him heretike. 11 And sith there is no salue therfore, It putteth many a man in fear To be infect with the self same sore, How wel so euer they them bere ; Good token haue they also els where, That who so euer weddeth a wife Is sure of sorow al his life. 1F Of Socrates the pacient, 420 Example good of his wiues twain, . Which on a time fel at dissent, And vnto him did them complain : He laughed therat. and they again Fel bothe on him, with an euel date, A p — spot they brake vpon his pate. If He heeld him pleased and wel content ; The p — sse ran down by his cheeks twain : Well wist I (said he) what is ment, And true it is that all men fain, 430 That after thunder commeth rain. Who hath a wife is sure to finde At home in his house many a sower winde. 1T A certain wife said to me once : I would thou knew it, God made vs Neither of Earth, stock, ne stones, But of a thing much precious, Of a rib of a man ; Scripture saies thus, Because the woman in euery need Should be like the man in woord and deed. 440 1F Man made of Earth, and woman of man, As of a thing moste principall, 122 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE Which arguoth wel, saith she then, By Judgement iust and reason naturall, That we be euer substanciall ; And yet ye men of vs bable, That women alwaies are variable. ^[ Which thing, as far as I see can, Should be imployed rather to you, Sith of the Earth God create[s] man, 450 And figures therof maketh euer new ; Nature thus naturall me seemeth now Must needs his first originall"" Ensue, or be vnnaturall. ^f As ye say (said I) help him wel Euel to thriue, and worse to fare. Who was the cause that Adam fel, His wife or no, I make you ware ? One and other little ye care, So ye may haue that ye desire, 460 Though dun and the pack lye in the mire. ^f Made of a bone, ye said ye were, The trueth it is, I cannot deny. Crooked it was, stif, and sturdy, And that would bend no maner of way ; Of nature like, I dare wel say, Of that condition all women be, Euel to rule, bothe stif and sturdy. ^[ And ouer that,1 who listeth to trye, Put me two bones in a bag, 470 Besides that. OF WOMEN. 123 Or mo, as it is of quantitie ; That doon, holde it some what sag : Shake it also, that it may wag, And ye shall hear none other matter Of these bones but clitter clatter. ^[ Like so, of women in feeld and town Assembled where that many be, A man may hear them by the sown Farther then them ye may see ; Wherfore men say moste commonly, 430 Where many geese be, be many t — ds, And where be women, are many woords. ^[ And so the husband is like to haue A singuler treasure of his wife ; He needeth neuer an il woord to craue1 All the dayes of his long life. Hath not that man a prerogatife2 That may all way of his wife haue A thing of nought, and it not craue ? ^[ And commonly, where cause is none, 490 Some thing imagined is kept in store, Which that she may, come the good man home, With spiteful spite lay him before ; Of little or nought they make much more, And be it true or false they tel, All is sooth3 as the Gospel. 11 And yet the rib, as I suppose, 1 The a of this word has dropped out, but of the true word there can be no doubt. Utterson printed true ! ! 2 Old ed. has perogatife. 3 Old ed. has soothed. 124 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE That God did take out of the man, A Dog vp caught, and a way gose 1 Eat it clene ; so that as than 500 The woork to finish that God began, Could not be as we haue said, Because the Dog the rib conuaid. 11 A remedy God found as yet ; Out of the dog he took a rib, The woman foorth with he made of it, As to the man neither kin nor sib.2 Nature she foloweth, and playeth the gib, And at her husband dooth barke and ba[w]ll, As dooth the Cur, for nought at all. sio 1T A nother reason, if ye mark wel, Dooth cause the woman of woords be riue. 1 The origin of the term way-goose is involved in some ob scurity ; but, perhaps, it is a corruption of Waes-goose. In Le Calendrier Beige, 1862, ii. 270, an account is given of the solemnity and enthusiasm with which the people of Waes, in Brabant, celebrated in former times the festival of Saint Martin, when it was usual to kill a large number of geese, the Saint's peculiar bird ; and the idea is strengthened by the modern form wayz-goose, the designation applied to certain annual banquets (though at no fixed period of the year), in which printers and their staffs are accustomed to indulge. At the same time, from the manner in which the word occurs in the text, it might be an allowable presumption that the writer merely intended to convey by way-goose, in the present case, the notion of a goose which happened to be wandering by the road-side when the dog passed. - Sib signifies, generally speaking, related, akin, but occa sionally, as here, perhaps, merely dear, or intimate. See note to Wyfe rapped in Morelles Skin, line 287. OF WOMEN. 125 A certain man, as fortune fel, A woman tungles wedded to wine,1 Whose frowning countenauce perceiuig by liue, Til he might knowe what she ment, he thought long, And wished ful oft she had a tung. IT The Deuil was redy, and appeered anon, An aspin lefe he bid the man take, And in her mouth should [he] put but one, 520 A tung, said the deuil, it shall her make : Til he had doon his hed did ake : Leaues he gathered, and took plentie, And in her mouth put two or three.2 1F Within a while the medicine wrought ; The man could tarj no longer time, .But wakened her, to the end he mought The vertue knowe of the medicine ; The first woord she spake to him, i She said : thou whoresonne knaue and theef, 530 How durst thou waken me, with a mischeef ! 1F From that day forward she neuer ceased ; Her boistrous bable greeued him sore. The Deuil he met, and him intreated To make her tungles as she was before ; Not so, said the deuil. I wil meddle no more, 1 This story is merely a metrical version of the 62nd article in A CMery Talys, ed. 1526, where it is entitled " Of the Man that had the Dome Wyfe." 2 " Whiche man, beyng glad of this medycyne, preparyd therfore, and gatheryd aspen leues ; wherfore he layde iii of them vnder her tonge, when she was a slepe." — C Mery Talys. 126 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE A1 Deuil a woman to speak may constrain, But all that in hel be cannot let it again.2 ^[ And by proof dayly we see What inclination nature maketh ; oio The aspin lefe hanging where it be, With little winde or none it shaketh. A womans tung in like wise taketh Little ease and little rest : For if it should, the hart would brest. ^[ Look, when the Sea dooth water want, Nor no winde bloweth the mil to walke ; When Ethna hil of fire is scant ; The Crowe is white,' and black is Chalke ; When women wil cease of their talke. sso It is like propertye all women to bable, As dogges to barke, and geese to gagle. ^[ And that more is, all men say, That woman to man is moste comfort ; How beit, they meane it a nother way, And say, she is mans vtter extort ; And oner that, by iust report, The smaller pease, the mo to the pot, The fairer woman the more gillot. If The fairer of face, the prouder of hart, 560 The lother to wo, the sooner wun, 1 Old ed. has /. 2 " Albeyt yet I haue power to make a woman to speke ; but yet if a woman begyn ones to speke, I, nor all the dyuels in helle that have the most power, be not able to make a woman to be styll, nor to cause her to leue her spekynge." — C Mery Talys, No. 62. OF WOMEN. 127 The lesse of speech, the more ouerthwart, Not one so daungerous as is dame dun, The fowler she is, the sooner it is doon ; So short of heel they be ouer all, That if ye blowe, they must needs fall. IT By meane wherof all men report And say, that women cannot be stable ; For be one gone, an other resort And profereth them thing seruiable. 570 Our fily is fetled vnto the saddle ; Ride who wil, shod is the Mare, And thus they exchaunge ware for ware. ^[ In case thou wouldst not haue it so, But rather finde euery thing wel, I councel thee, before thou go Foorth of the town, to crowch and kneel, And offer a Candel to the deuil ; Percase thy wife would be salewed, He would forset it all be shrewed. 589 IT Example therof that was this : A certain man from home should ride, Which, fearing his wife would doo amisse, To an Image of Sathan vpon a walles side Offred a candle, and that was espied, And said : sir Sathan, now I charge thee My wife in my abcence that thou ouer see. ^[ His iorney ended, [he] came home again, And the self Image went straight vnto ; The Deuil him shewed euery thing plain, sao How he had let that should haue be[n] doo, And from her backward drawen one or twoo ; 128 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE The [most] daungerous cure that euer he had Was to keep good that would hauc be[n] bad. ^[ An other thing as principall : Be not with her in Jalosye, What misaduenture so euer befall ; Forbid her no mannes companye ; Nor yet rebuke her singulerly, In case thou doo, though thou hadst sworue, eoo A blast shalt thou bio we in Ninerus home. ^[ For as we see by experience Euery day before our eye, And by report of men of credence, For the moste part the ferninie By their innatiue distynye First and formoste, when they be chid, Wil that thing doo they be forbid. ^[ And ouer that, thy -wife present, I councel thee be wise and ware : cio Thou praise no other mannes instrument Better then thine owne bering ware : For if thou doo, she wil not spare, Were it neuer so naturall a fool, Til she assaie the self same tool. IT So frail they be of disposition, So crooked, so crabbed, and with that so euil, So lewd, so shrewd, light of condition, That sure it were vnpossible To let them of their owne self wil ; 620 And but it come of their owne minde, A man were as good throwe stones in ye winde. 5[ Say what ye wil, they will doo as they lust, OF WOMEN. 129 The proof therof 's in a certain fable : — A husband man, hauing good trust, His wife to him would1 be agreeable, Thought to attempt if she had be reformable, Bad her take the pot, that sod ouer the fire, And set it abooue vpon the astire.2 ^[ She aunswered him : I holde thee mad,'' 630 And I more fool, by Saint Martine ; Thj dinner is redj, as thou me bad, And time it were that thou shouldst dine, And4 thou wil not, I wil go to mine. I bid thee (said he) here vp the pot. A ha ! (she said) I trowe thou dote. ^[ Up she goeth for fear, at last, No question mooued where it should stand ; Upon his hed the pottage she cast, And heeld the pot stil in her hand ; 640 And toward him she curst and ban'd, Said and swore, he might her trust, She would with the pottage do what her lust — IT No remedy for to discontent, To prattle to them of reason or lawe : For be a womans purpose bent, Nothing preuaileth to withdraw, Nor yet to keep them vnder awe. Giue them councel the best ye can, They wil folow their owne wil now and than. 650 1 Old ed. reads had. 2 Hearth ; i. q. astre. 8 This " fable " is nothing more than No. 64 of A C Mery Talys altered to suit the occasion, and turned into verse. 4 i. e. if. VOL. IV. K 130 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE ^[ Look of discretion, few womanly, And to thee were few profitable, Not three, I dare say, among thirty, That be discreet and resonable ; And yet alwaies they bible bable Of euery matter, and make it nise,1 And in conclusion be wunderous peuish. ^[ As holy as Saints in Church they be, And in street, as Angels they were, At home, for all their hipocrisie, 660 A Deuilish life they lede all the yeer. When Lent commeth, then to the freer : The Fryer limiter,2 for a pray of pence, Wil for all causes with them dispence. ^[ And that more is, I dare auow, That if the wife displeasure take, Be it right or wrong, yet thou Must needs of force, for thy wiues sake, Fight and fray, and hie woords crake, Swere and stare, as who would say, 670 Thou wouldst not let to kil and slay. ^T I case thou take the matter light, 1 To make it pleasant, or snug. I do not remember to have seen the word used in this sense very frequently. But Gas- coigne has it in a precisely similar way : — " The glosse of gorgeous Courtes. by thee did please mine eye, A stately sight me thought it was, to see the braue go by ; To see their feathers flaunte, to make their straunge deuise, To lie along in Ladies lappes, to lispe and make it nice." Posies, 1575, p. 191. 2 Old ed. has limlifter. OF WOMEN. 131 As a man of peace, looue and concord, Then wil she weep anon foorth right, And giue thee many an euil woord ; And bid thee gird to thee thy swoord, And say : if I had maried a man. This thing should not be long vndon. ^[ Kecord the wicked Jesabel, Which would haue slain good Helias. 680 Kecord also, of the Gospel, The wife of Philip,1 Herodias Which through her doughter brought to passe That Herod her graunted, or that they wist, To giue her the hed of John baptist. ^[ Thus where them self may little doo, As in regard of corporall might, Of cruelnesse they rest not so, But stir their husbands for to fight. The prouerb olde accordeth right : Women and dogges cause much strife,2 690 And moste occasion to mischeef. ^[ In case that thou so foolish be, For thy wiues woords, to make a brail, If it so fortune that she doo it see, Regardeth little what may befall, The first thing that she dooth of all, On thee she runneth and holdeth thee stil, 1 It is, perhaps, rather out of place here to point out that Herodias was at this time not the wife of Philip, but of Philip's brother, Herod. * The proverb is : " Women and dogs set men together by the ears." 132 TEE SCHOLE-HOUSE Whiles that an other may thee kil. IT And if it chaunce any vnkinde woord 700 Escape thy mouth, wherby that ye Between your self fall at discord, Trust me wel, in case that she By any mean may maister thee, For the moste parte all women be In such case all without pittye. IF Weake and feeble all beit they be, Of body much impotent, Example dayly yet may ye see, Comberous they be and maliuolent ; 710 Harmeles creatures, none euel ment ; The vpper hand if they once get, Can no more harme then a Mermeset. ^[ Who was so busy as the maid With crooked language1 Peeter to oppose?2 Once, twise, or thrise to him she said : v And thou, felowe, art one of those, The trueth (said she) thy language shose. Peter, abashed, swore and denaid, And all by reason of the lewd maid.3 720 1 St. Luke xxii. 56; St. John xviii. 17. The satirist here puts rather a violent construction on these two passages in Holy Writ, inasmuch as the woman asked Peter only once, and then not at all in " crooked language." 8 Old ed. has oppose. To oppose was formerly used in the sense of to question, to examine, more particularly as for a de gree, holy orders, &c. It is frequently so employed in Scoggin's Jests, 1626 (first printed before 1565). 3 This severe attack on the " lewd maid," is, to a large extent, OP WOMEN. 133 IT Some men there be also that say : Be she single, or be she wed, To much she coueteth of chamber play ; As did Bibles l the thing forbed, Presumed to be in her mothers sted ; Mirha also inordinately With her owne father found meanes to lye. IT The doughters twain of Lot the sage, Hauing like tikle in their tailes, Could not refrain their wilful rage ; 730 To satisfye with euel haile Their father feasted with costly vitail, Made him drunk, and so at last Medled with him, he sleeping fast. 1[ Examples heerof diuers ther be, To prooue my saying is straight as a line. As first, of the abhominable Pasiphe,2 And then the insasiat Missaline, Pirra, Fabula, and fair Heline, With other thousands many mo, 740 Which all to resite would neuer be doo. If I pray you, why was Adam shent ? Because he onely did transgresse ? Eue him meeued3 first to consent To eate of the apple she did him dresse. So all came of her wilfulnes ; a gratuitous exaggeration on the part of the author of the Schole-house of Women, of the account found in the New Testament. 1 Biblis. 2 Pasiphae. * Moved. 134 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And sith that woman that offence began, She is more to blame then is the man. f The wife of Lot willing also The wil of God to preuaricate, 750 Out of the Cittie, when she should go, Looked behinde her in her gate,1 To see by proof the prognosticate ; Displeased God, and she anon Transformed was into a salt stone. IT I pray you, what did Queen Atthaly,2 (Look in Paralipomenon,) Mother of yung king Ahazye ?3 Of all and of all the wilfullest one, Mooued the king aforsaid, her sonne, 760 To doo much euil, especially The temple of God for to destroy. *f[ Mighty Sampson two wiues had,4 The first, a Philistian by generation, Neither of them good, but passing bad, And eke to him far out of fasshion ; The first him caused by lacrimacion5 His probleme6 to hear, so that he said ;7 1 i. e. path, way. 2 Athalia, queen of Judah; assassinated B.C. 878. 3 Old ed. has Othozye. Ahaziah, King of Judah, is, of course, the person intended (2 Chron. xxii). 4 Judges xiv. 1 6 et seqq. 5 "And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not ; thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me," &c.— Judges xiv. 16. 6 i. e. Samson's riddle. 7 i. e. told her. OF WOMEN. 135 When she knew it, she him betraid. If The second delt much worse then so, 770 Deceiued him, as you shall hear, For she his strength did take him fro ; In her lap sleeping she dipt of his hear, Betraied her Lord and her bewpeer, Thus Dalila1 for meed him serued, And caused his eyes out to be carued. If The wife of Job, the man elect, Saluted him with scornes and mocks, And ful vnseemly oft him chect, Saying,2 thou fool, ful of the pocks, 780 Ful like a fool thy brest thou knocks ; Weenest thou for thy fair speech God wil come thee for to seech ? ^f Thy prating leue, foule thee befall, Trust me he wil thee neuer heale ; Thy beasts, thy goods and thy children all Be dead and brent3 now euery deale,4 And thou liest heer with many a bile5 Prating and praying to the deuine,6 1 Old ed. has Dalida. 9 An abominable and over-drawn travestie of a verse in the great prose epic of Job, if it may be so called : " Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity ? curse God and die." — Job ii. 9. 3 Burnt. 4 i. e. every portion, every branch. 5 Boil. " So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." — Job ii. 7. 6 i. e. the Almighty. 136 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE And wurse thou stinkest then a dead swine. 790 IT Like wise, the wife of olde Thoby,1 Whose name, as I remember, was Anne ; Which him intreated boisterously With sad rebukes now and than ; Called him driuel and witles man, Because he gaue with hart so liberall Parte of his goods to the porall. 1F The wanton wife of King Pharao, Joseph abhored with her to lye In place secret between them two : soo God forbid, Madame (said he). Because she sawe it would not be, A shameful lye she did inuent In prison to cast that innocent. IF In women all this propertye Is knowen sure and manifest, That if a man may come so nye To shew them game, that they looue best, And wil not doo it, then wil they iest ; But trust me sure that with the hart sio They wil neuer looue him afterwart. 1F The wise man saith in his Prouerbs2 A strumpets lipps are dulce as hony, But in her dealing she is sowre as hearbs, Wormewood or Rue, or worse, saith he ; 1 Tobiah. 3 " For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But her end is bitter as wormwood," &c. — Proverbs v. 3-4. OF WOMEN. 137 For when them liketh to mock with thee, With tung and eye such semblaunce they showe, That hard it were them to mistrowe.1 IF As though they spake with mouth and hart, With face they make so good semblaunce, 820 That hard it were a man to start From their fair glosing countenaunce. Thus with their sugred vtteraunce The simple men that meane but iust Deceiued are, where they moste trust IT In case they doo you but one benefit, An hundreth times by you recompenced, They wil you euer with that one entwit ;2 With little cause or none offenced, All our demerits shal be vnrecompenced ; sso So be it lesse, or be it more, All is lost ye gaue them before. IT If ye remooue your copy holde, And would be tenaunt by Indenture, There is no ware then to be solde, Ye must go seek at your aduenture : For as of you I haue no denture. Think [you] that I wil be so redy, Nay, by Jesse,3 I holde you a peny. IT And then, if ye no labour make, 840 Ye may be sure that then wil she Be sure out throwe the hauke to take, The like of her aiEnitie. Good God, how straunge now a daies be ye ! 1 i. e. misbelieve. 2 Twit. 3 i. e. Jesus. 138 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE I would haue thought ye had been none such ; But by the little is knowen the much. IT So at length, by huch or by cruch, Lease or more, euer they craue, ^ Until thy hand be in thy pouch. No woords preuail1 thee to saue, 850 A thousand thousand when they haue, To make a man a thred bare cote, And leaue him neither peny ne grote. 1F Now this, now that, they craue alway, One thing or other : they neuer rest ; Say what ye wil, they wil no nay, Nor none excuse, but their owne request ; So they may be trimmed and fed of the best, They haue no remorce who bereth the name,2 Nor whome they put to open shame. 860 H The trueth is knowen, as in this case, By holy writ autenticate,3 Between Thamer4 and the Judge Judas.5 The Book called Genesis6 examinate, How Thamer the widow in the way sat, Disguised her self in straunge aray, Judas to deseiue after that way. 1 i. e. avail. 3 "To bear the name" was to be in repute, either good or bad. It is here employed in the latter sense ; but in the prose Morte Arthure, ed. Wright, iii. 42, Sir Ector says to Sir Launcelot : — " And yee must remember the great worship and renowne that yee bee of, how that yee have been more spoken of then any other knight that is now living, for there is none that beareth the name now but yee and Sir Tristram." 3 i. e. authenticated. 4 Tamar. * Judah. 6 xxxviii. 14 et seqq. OF WOMEN. 139 ^f Her fresh attire and countenaunce therto Prouoked this man a question to make ; She lightly concented, as some other doo, 870 Said : what Avil ye giue thy pleasure to take ? Some pledge, she said, for promise is slack. Of him she required staffe, mantel and ring, His minde to folow, and doo the thing. ^f Short tale to make, the lawe was then, A woman that found was in adultry, Dew proof aledged by credible men, Should suffer death, saunce remedye ; The matter appeered by her bely. She openly said, in slaunder of Judas : sso Who oweth these three this deed doon has. ^f Thus be they all past shame and dreed, And careth not who bid them baile ; With ghostly sentence them to feed, Little or nothing dooth them preuaile ; Be thy back turned, anon they rail, And say, for all your counsail good, Ye had leuer a bare then a furred hood. If To say that they can counsail keep, It were to me a meruailous thing, 890 Onles it be, when they doo sleep, Or no body [be] to giue the hearing. Desirous euer of new tiding, And were it matter of lim and life, It shalbe tolde out by thy wife. If Tully1 the Eomain, vpon a day, 1 Cicero. 140 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE Thought to approoue his wiues secrye, In councel told her he had put away The Emperours sonne : to the end that we May reign and rule bothe land and Sea. 9co Glad was she, and yet she went, And him disclosed incontinent. 1F Tully escaped hard with his life, And all by meane of his one foly ; Had not the trueth been knowen beliue, To haue be[n] hanged it was ieoperdye. Be it therfore true tale or lye, Be wise and ware ; wake, or ye wink, And tel not your wife all that ye think. 1T King Salomon, bothe witty and wise, 9io A woman dooth assimilate Unto a dropping euesing1 guise, Distilling down after rain late, Whose drops vncleen dooth maculate The finest vesture that any man weres, With colde and wet the body deres.2 IT Euen so a woman litigious Disquieteth an whole houshould ; 1 " A continual dropping in a very rainy day, and a conten tious woman are alike." — Proverbs xxvii. 15. Evesing is the same as easing or casings, i. e. the eaves of a house — " Little boy Bunting, Sat on the house easing, With a bow and a bolt." Booke ofMeery Riddles, 1629. 2 i.e. injures. OF WOMEN. 141 And who so he be, that in his house Entendeth to keep a woman skolde, 920 The winde that bloweth bothe moist and colde Were better far for to herbour, And lesse should finde of displeasure. H" Enuious they be it is dayly seen, And proud also of comparison ; Eecord of Sabba,1 the gorgious Queen ; Before nor since was neuer such a one. Because she enuied King Salomon, To prooue his wisdome, and take with a trip, Passed the seas in a merualous sjiip. 930 1T Because that Naboth would not sel Unto the king of Samaria The vineyard he had at Israel, Achab the King became angry; As soon as Jesabel the Queen knew why, She straightly comaunded by writing to fain Some cryme vpon Naboth, and so he was slain. IT Look and read the book Bocas,2 And ye shall finde many a reason 3 The pride of women to deface, 940 For their misKuing in their season ; Good women he wrot were very geason,4 1 Sheba. 2 Boccaccio, De Casibus Virorum et Fceminarum Ulustrium. a Old ed. has reason. 4 i. e. geson, scarce or scanty. So, in the Hye. Way to the Spyttell Hous, by R. Copland, we find : — " So by reason theyr gaynes be geason, This way they reiie many a season." 142 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE As ye shall finde of ninteen be wot, But of the twenty neither letter nor iote. 1[ Salomon saith, three things [t]here be Seldome or neuer saturate.1 Hel2 the first is of the three ; The second a womans water gate ; 3 The ground of water insaciate ; 4 Of euery lewd fasshion recken who can, 950 And euer I warrant the woman is one. 1f [Of things] hard to knowe like number ther bee, The fourth to knowe who is he that can ; The first, which way a bird wil flee, Or of a serpents prent on a stone,5 What Hauen a ship shall driue vpon ; 1 Satisfied, satiated. 2 " The horseleach hath two/ daughters crying, ' Give, give ;' / There are three things that are/ never satisfied, yea, four things, say/ not, It is enough/ The grave ; and the barren womb ; the earth that is not filled with water ; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. . . . There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock ; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea ; and the way of a man with a maid." — Proverbs xxx. 15-19. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the present text is a miserable burlesque on the language of the " Preacher." 3 A coarse allusion which needs no explanation. 4 i. e. the earth that is not filled with water. 5 Old ed. reads serpent sprent from. Burns used prent for print, in which he merely followed the example of almost all early Scotish writers. OF WOMEN. 143 The craft of a w perceiue who can, And euer T warrant the woman is one. ^[ The ground1 also dooth vary2 by3 three ;4 The fourth may not be stablished sure : 960 A bond man set in maiestye, A fool fed fat whiles he wil in powre, An odious 5 woman in weddings vre,6 An heir made of a bond woman,7 So euer I warrant the woman is one. 11 Which things remebred wil ever 8 eche man Report of them accordingly, And say plainly, that in the woman Is little thing of praise worthy. Lettred or vnlearned whether they be, 970 They say of all creatures women are the best ; Guilts contrarium verum est. IT And were ['t] not two small venialles,9 The feminine might be glorifide, Set in thronis 10 perpetualles And as the Goddes be deifide ; The earth. Vary is used here in an intransitive, and also in a rather unusual sense. It signifies to disturb, to disquiet. Through ; equivalent to the Latin per. i. e. three things. This is the very word used in Proverbs xxx. 23. Use, experience. " An handmaid that is heir to her mistress." — Proverbs xxx. 23. 8 Old ed. has wel neer. g Faults. 10 Thronis here, and one or two other expressions, such as tratise, at line 981, and prent, at line 955, might favour a sus picion that the author of The Schole House was a North Briton. 144 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE Twoo vcniall sinnes they haue and hide, None of the seuen * their names who can tel, They can neither doo, nor yet say wel.8 IF So to conclude of this tratise' A finall end, rude though it be, The processe through who wil superuise, Shall wel3 perceiue I make no lye ; An end therfore to make shortly, In my conceit he liueth in rest, That medleth with them of all people lest. Go foorth, little book : be not a fraid To be accept with them that are wise ; And shew them plain, what so be said, 990 In any parte of this treatise, Dooth not disdain their honesties ; 1 i. e. the seven 'deadly sins. " We men have many faults ; Poor women have but two : There's nothing good they say, There's nothing good they do." Complete London Jester, ed. 1771, p. 122. The Rev. John Ward, in his Diary (ed. 1839, p. 105), quotes the following Latin epigram, somewhat to a similar purport : — "Est mulier mera bilis>, habet duo commoda tantum, Cum jacet in thalamo, cum jacet in tumulo." 3 Old ed. has wil. OF WOMEN. 145 But for the lewd might haue a mirrour Heerbj to amend their damnable errour. H Like as the Preacher dooth discommend All vices liuing with mouth and wil ; Or as the Minstrel dooth intend, With help of Lute,1 finger or quil, Example shewing to conuert the il ; Like so mine auctor dooth the same, 1000 No creature liuing spoken by name. 1T Percase any one displeasure take, Because it toucheth her properly,2 In case that she such waies forsake. Which moste accordeth to her propertye, She needeth not heerwith to be angry. God graunt vs all we may doo this, Euery man3 to amend that is amis.4 II The good alwaies wilbe content With that that is spoken in generall ; 1010 Ther wil none so soon be discontent As they that fretised 5 be with all ; Bub a scald horse vpon the gall, And he wil bite, wins and went, So wil all people that are maleuolent. 1T Go foorth therfore among the thick, 1 See Ritson's Ancient Songs and Ballads, 1829, Ixiii, Ixiv. 2 Personally, Lat. proprius. 3 So King's ed. Allde's ed. has For. 4 In King's ed. 1560, this line stands thus:— "Euery man to anende one in that is amys.'' 5 Displeased, annoyed. VOL. IV. L 146 THE SCHOLE-HOUSE OF WOMEN. And here in minde who is with thee, The woords that Salomon and Dauid spake In Judicum,1 and in Genesye ; Hierome,2 Juuenall, and olde Tohye, 1020 Caton, and Quid wil testyfie, And Merciall also, who listeth to try. 1F And vnto them that learned be, I would and wil thou meekely went, And showe them, who so made thee No thing purposed of il intent That should prohybe 3 the Sacrament ; But that the masculine might heerby Haue some what to iest4 with the feminy. tje Scale of toomen,5 3[mprfnteu at Jlon fcon at tfje long sjop attorning bnto Saint J&iOirettf in tie ^ultrie, f ofw 1 Judges. a St. Jerome. 3 So King's ed. Allde's ed. reads prohibit. * King's ed. has rest. 4 Not in Allde's ed. applies Pater noster* HPHE Proude Wyves Pater noster that wolde go gave, and •*• undyd her Husbonde and went her wave. Anno Domini MDLX. With a woodcut on the title of a man with purses at his girdle. [Col.] Imprinted at London in Paules Churche yearde at the Sygne of the Swane by John Kynge. 4to. black letter. The Proude wyues Pater noster, that wolde go gave, and vndyd her husbonde and went her waye. With a woodcut on title of two women conversing. [Col.] ^f Imprinted at London in Paules Churcheyarde at the Sygne of the Swane by John Kynge. 4to. black letter. King's press seems, about this time, literally to have teemed with popular poems for or against the fair sex ; for, not content with printing new essays on this interminable controversy, he republished some which, from their great popularity, were no longer to be procured, perhaps, and for which there was still a demand, such as Gosynhyll's Mulierum Pcean, the Schole-house of Women, &c. The printer, as was natural, or reasonable, consulted only the marketable qualities of the ware brought to him, and so we find the same person becoming the medium for introducing to public notice works of a directly opposite charac ter. It is to be hoped that Gosynhyll was dead when King reproduced his Mulierum Pcean side by side with The Schole house of Women, in the exordium to which Gosynhyll is not very politely mentioned. The Proude Wyues Pater noster was licensed to John Kyng on the 10th June, 1560, and he paid two shillings for it and 148 PROUDE WYUES PATER NOSTER. other articles. The tract was licensed (with others) to John Charlwood on the 15th January, 1581-82, and it appears from the Stationers' Registers, that it had been previously the property of Sampson (or John) Awdeley, so that it is likely enough that several editions issued from the press during the sixteenth century. This is one of the tracts described by Lane- ham in 1575 as being then in the library of Captain Cox. It is reprinted, not very accurately, in Select Pieces of Early Popular Poetry, 1817, and there is a review of it in Mr. Collier's Biblio graphical and Critical Account of Early English Literature, 1865, from the edition dated 1560. The other impression, by King, without any date on the title, is among Selden's books at Oxford; it has been collated for the present purpose; and a correct representation of the original title-page is subjoined. These are the only old editions of the poem known to be in existence. Pater nofier, tbat tooine gogage, ann unDgtifiet imf&ontte anD toent hje feest dayes, whan wyues go gaye To chyrche with grete deuocyon, Theyr prayers deuouily for to saye, Theyr thynkynge is on thys lesson: Or they go forth them selfe to trym, Both heed and brest, on foote and hande, I swere to you, by swete saynt sym, The selfe they thynke angels well to vnderstade. Theyr beautous behauyour and cotenauce demure They thenke fill pleasaunt for to beholde, But for to go gaye ye may be sure They muse full often and many folde ; And how they myght best to passe brynge, Eche as gorgyous as other to go 1 In the course of this poem there are two dialogues between two women, which is not marked in any way in the old edition. The division of the work into eight-line stanzas has been made without any regard to the sense, either by the author or by the printer of the volume ; nevertheless, I thought it advisable not to disturb this arrangement. 152 THE PROUDE WYUES In theyr aparell, gyrdell and rynge, And other trym knackes many mo. To churche they be come, this is no lye, Vnto theyr pewe there for to knele, Keuerence doynge to the other by With countenance meke, as becometh the wele ; 20 Than syt they downe, eche gossep other by, Beholdynge theyr aparell of eyther syde, Yf the one be gaier than the other, that doth espye, Than she thynketh her felowe set all full of pryde. Yet to her deuocyon she dothe her set, And Pater noster she doth begyne ; But to gaye gere her hert doth fret, And thynketh how she may suche gaye gere wyne, Sayenge to her selfe : what fortune haue I, That my felow so gorgyous is in her gere, 30 And I syte here so poorely her by ! But it shalbe amended, by god I swere. ^[ Qui es in celis — and that within shorte whyle, Or ells my husbande full sore it shall repent, For I can nought gete of him by fete nor wyle, But all shall be myne now that I in hade ca hent l 1 i.e. in hand can hent or hold. To hent, or to hend is very commonly used by early writers, though now obsolete. PAT Eli N OS TEE. 153 From him al way, whatsoeuer betyde, Tyll I be arayde as other women be. I wolde not haue ought for no maner pryde, But only because it is a good syght to se. 40 IT Sanclificetur nomen tuum — Lorde halowed be thy name, Yf to suche gere I may come, Then shall I bere bothe porte 1 and fame, As other women in euery where Do alwaye were 2 as they do wende ; Go feete and fresshe and trymme in theyr gere, In the best maner, as them doth to pretende.3 IF Adueniat regnu tuu — thy kingdom come to vs After this lyfe, when we hens shall wende ; so But whyle we be here now, swete Jesus, As other women haue, suche grace in me sende, That I may haue, Lorde, my heede in to wrap, After the gyuse, kerchefes 4 that be fyne, 1 State, show. 2 Old eds. have where. 3 Pretend is often found in Shakespeare and elsewhere in the sense of intend; but here it appears to import the same as pertain or belong. Perhaps the word is made in the present passage to bear a rather forced meaning for the sake of the rhythm, which, however, does not seem to have weighed much with the writer in the composition of this piece. * Old eds. have kercheses. Kerchiefs, as an article of dress for the head, were anciently very fashionable, and were often made in very costly material. Stow, in his Annales, describes in the following terms the passage through London of Eleanor, 154 THE PROUD E WYUES And theron to sette some lusty trymme cap, With smockes wel wrought, soude wth sylke twyne. 1T Fiat voluntas tua — thy well fulfylled be, Lorde god, alway as thys tyme dothe requyre ; And as my gossep that sytteth here by me, So let me be trymmed : nought elles I desyre. eo Therfore yf it may be in any wyse, For thou haste power therof to do thy wyD, To make me go gaye after the best guyse, For reason it is with right good skyll.1 1T Sicut in celo et in terra — in heauen as in erthe, Yt is alway sene, go we neuer so farre,2 That women aboue all the beaute bereth, And without gaye gere our beaute we marre ; Therfore, good lorde, let this be a ineride,3 And gaye gere to were that I may haue, 70 Duchess of Gloucester: — "On Monday, the 13th November [1441], she came from Westminster by water, and landed at the Temple bridge, from whence, with a taper of waxe of two pound in her hand, she went through Fleete streete hoodless, save a kerchief, to Pauls." See also A C Mery Talys, No. 99 (ed. Hazlitt), and note. 1 i.e. cause. So in the Winter's Tale, act iv. sc. 3— "Per. * * You woo'd me the false way. Flo. I think, you have As little skill to fear, as I have purpose To put you to 't." 2 Old eds. have feere. 3 Old ed. has amended. See line 180 infra, where amende is used in the sense of amended. Amende is here required by the rhythm. PATER NO S TEE. 155 Or elles my lyfe wyll haue an ende : For very pure thought nought can me saue. 1T Panem nostrum cotidianum — Our dayly brede, lorde, wyll also do well ; But of dyuers cornes I haue many a come l At home in my barne for to sell ; But ther with, lorde, I dare not mell For feare of my husbande that kepeth me so hard, A busshell therof I dare not sell, For yf he wyste the game were marde.3 so IF Da nobis hodye — gyue vs thys daye, And specially me, my lorde, that am heuy at hert, Tyll I haue my wyll, lorde : a parte, I saye, Of my desyre, lorde, or elles I must lyue in smarte — With that full maruaylously than3 she sigh't,4 And in a swone halfe gan she fall ; Her felowe, beholdynge that wofull wight, She 5 wondred full sore than here with all. IT Et dimitte nobis debita nostra — now [2nd Mercy, good Lorde, and forgyuenes ! What is this ? Wife.'] 1 Utterson printed corns. 2 Mr. Waring writes to me, " The practice to which this stanza refers is still kept up in rural districts. The farmer's wife 'robs the barn,' so they express it, sells wheat without her husband's knowledge to pay for extra finery. 3 Old eds. have can. 4 Old eds. have tight. 4 Old eds. have and. 156 THE PROUDE WYUES I was neuer thys a frayde, I make god a vow. 91 Good Lorde, sayd she, than what meaneth this ? — And her lyttell fynger than wronge she fast, Her to reuyue, and gaue her swete spyce ; So she vp sterte1 than at the laste, Lyke a tryme gossyp that fayne wolde be nece. [1st IF Sieut et nos dimittimus debytoribus Wife.'] nostris — As we do forgyue, Lorde, so let vs be forgyuen. And than to her she dyd saye without mys : Ye had a shrode2 fyt, by swete saynt steuen ; 100 Gossyp myn, how is it wyth you nowe, What is your grefe, now I you pray ? Yf I can ease you, by God auowe,8 I wyll be redy both nyght and daye. H Et ne nos in ducas in temptacionem — Let vs fall into no temptacyon now. With that the other reuyued then, . Ryght sore dysmayde, ye [may] me trow, [Both'] And to eche other they gan saye : Why be ye thus sad, my gossep dere? no Tell me the cause now, I you praye, For yf it lay in me now, I wil amende your chere. [ Se[d] lebera nos a malo — delyuer vs frome all vll, 1 Old preterit of start. 2 i.e. shrewd. 3 Old eds. have anowe. PATER NOSTEE. 157 Haggis and iaggis,1 this wyfe gan to reherse, Yf I may not go gay, I shall my selfe spyll,2 I pray you, gossyp dere, vnderstad well this verse ; 3 My husbonde is harde to me bothe day and night, And doth me not regarde, but let[s] me go euen thus ; Not as other do, but as a wretched wyght, 119 But yet it shalbe mended, I hope, by swete Jesus. H Amen — sayd the other, I pray god it be so, For ye haue good ynoughe, this I do knowe well, Of good marchaundise, so mote I the, As any is here in this countre to sell, 1 i. e. rags and jags, two words of equivalent import, here whimsically employed as an adjuration. Tag is still in use as a vulgarism I believe, and many may be acquainted with the modern ballad — " Hark, hark, The dogs do bark, The beggars are coming to town, Some in rags, And some in jags, And some in velvet gown." I remember that this was a favourite composition with me when I was a child. In the Hye Way to the Spyttell Hous, Copland says — " Come none of these pedlers this way also, With pak on back, with their bousy speche, Jagged and ragged, with broken hose and breche ? " 2 i. e. spoil. 3 Verse, in early English writers, often signifies merely, as it does here, sentence, and thence a truth or maxim. 158 THE PEOUDE WYUES For his1 degre ; but he is a frayde That he sholde passe his state 2 or loke to hawt,3 Than behynde your backes it shulde be sayde, Yf he fare4 amyss, that it were all your fawt. But copetenly take the thyrde peny of hys gayne, And bye therwith both kyrtell and gowne, Than yet shall ye leaue hym alvvay twayne, So do we, moste parte, throughout the towne ; Or elles we sholde neuer haue halfe our gayes 5 That we haue ywys, ye may be sure, But properly thus we fynde the wayes With rynges and beedes to go ful demure. Kybandes of sylke, that be full longe and large, With tryangles trymly made poynte deuyse, For some folke it were full grete charge ; Therfore all thynge by mesure, by myne adtiyse ; But as for you ye may be bolde MI To do som what more than other maye : Yet it wolde make your husbondes herte full colde, Yf he so harde be and wretched as ye saye, 1 i. e. the husband's. * i. e. exceed his means. 3 Old ed. has on hawt. Hawt is, of course, hiyh. 4 Utterson printed fore. 5 i.e. Finery. It is used in exactly the same way in a passage quoted by 5s ares from the Comical History of Francion, 1655. PATER N OS TEE. 159 That he may not se you go, as other do, And haue it so well as he hath in store. I wolde haue my fyne hoose, and eke my trym sho, With other knackes many a score : Yf I were as you be, i * fayth I swere, Som what sholde be solde y he sholde not knowe. Ye haue to sell so dyuers gere, 151 He can not knowe all, by god I trowe. Yet may I reioyce alway ywys, For my husbonde is glad, whan 1 go tryme, He wolde thynke I dyd full sore a mys Yf I wente not freshe, by swete saynte syme. He doth reioyce in my gay gere, Whan he doth se me put it on, And wolde I shulde it often were, For I shall haue newe, whan myn is done. 160 O good Lorde ! happy be ye, [1st That haue so good a husbonde, by god in throne ; Wife.~] A monge a hundreth ye shall not fynde thre Of all our neyghbours that hath suche a one. Yf god wolde myne were as your is, I wolde be as mery as byrde on brere,2 But hys harte is so set on couetyse ywys That he can neuer be of good chere, 1 Old ed. has J. * i. e. briar. 160 THE PROUDE WYUES And causeth me often for to wepe; Whan I thynke on hys vnkindenes so grete, 170 I can not ete, nor drynke, nor slepe, For grete heuynes my herte dothe bete : But throught your cousaile, my gossep dere, I hoppe the better for to spede, And for to go gayer another yere, With myrth and ioye my lyfe to lede. That I may be accepted with euery man Which me beholdeth both ferre and nere, Without your helpe no rede I can, But by your good counsaile amende1 is my chere. Thus2 hole3 in you my hope I sete, isi And without you I am but dede, Lusty fresshe gere how I may gete, And to go trym in lusty wede.4 [2nd Well, gossep, than do after me, Wife.~\ And ye shall neuer repente ywys, I swere to you by Mary so fre, All shalbe well that nowe is amys : Beware of one thinge, your t5gue go not to large, And forbere your husbonde whan he is grame,5 190 Speke neuer to hym of suche charge With euyl mode, for that were shame. 1 i.e. amended. 2 Old eds. have thys. 3 Wholly. 4 Gere— King's dated ed. 5 Angry. See Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic Words, in voce. In the present passage, however, the word is used as an adjective. PATER NOSTER. 161 Yf ye of hym suche thynge haue As ye desyre for to go gay, With louyng coutenaunce ye must it craue, And with fayre wordes to hym say : My hushonde dere, I you requyre Take no displeasure with my worde, What soeuer of you I do desyre ; — But this must be done in bed or at borde. 200 My louely husbonde, my spouse most dere, To you I must nedes talke my mone, As reason requireth ; ye be my fere, And no body elles but you alone ; Thus I must desyre you with all my herte, Take no dyspleasure what euer I saye, For yf ye do, it wyll me smarte, And for thought1 I shall dye, this is no nay. Whan he this hereth, than he wyll muse 210 And meruell, what your request wyll be ; Yf he be gentyll, he wyll not refuse No reasonable thynge, I hope, perde. Ye shall than saye, ye lacke that or this, And begin wh ye thinge y* ye haue most nede, I dare saye than withouten mys, The sooner of hym than ye shall spede. With small tryfels ye must begyn Of hym to get gaye gere in store, 1 i. e. for thinking of it. To forihink — to regret; but it cannot bear such a meaning here. VOL. IV. M 162 THE PROUD E WYUES Or elles of hym ye shall nought wyne ; 220 And thus may ye dayly encrease more and more1 Of gorgyous gere grete plente to haue, And all with his good wyll, for that is best, Yf ye it so get, so god me saue ; Than may yc were it with peas and rest. Yf he do not gyue you than good comforte, Speke ye no more, but than be still, But streight to his wares resorte, And therof take ye what ye will ; If he plaie the chorle, plaie ye the same, And let hym na[t] know no more of your minde. 230 God glue all chorles mekill2 shame, That to their wyues be vnkinde. Yf he be gentill, take nought him fro, Lytell nor moche what soeuer betyde, For if you do it wyll tourne you to wo : Than folke will say y* it cometh of pride ; Se what debate this folke haue nowe, And all because the wife wolde go gay ; I swere to you, bi god auowe, Ye were better bide stil in your olde araye. 240 Therfore beware, be not rasshe3 To do or say that shulde him displease, 1 The three concluding words of this line are omitted by Utterson, who has made amends for leaving out words here and there by inserting others where they have no right to be. 1 A form of mickle. 3 Both the metre and the sense require rasshe, i. e. rash ; and so it stands in the original, but Utterson printed ratshe. PATER NO STEM. 163 But yf he be churlysshe, gjue hym a dasshe,1 Though euer after it shuld him disease :2 Amonge his wares spare not at all : For halfe is yours as well as his. Therfore as nowe counseyll I shal Gyue vnto you, by heuyns blysse, To do euen so, and be not afrayde For lefe nor lothe why 3 shulde ye not ; 250 The faute wyll all to hym be layde Of4 any one that hereth that, That he so chorlyshe to you is aye, And wyll not be frendly as other be, Grete shame of hym, than wyll they saye, So to be serued well worthy is he, And worse, be god, withouten fable, Yf worse may be by any meane, Consyderynge that he is not vnable, Yt ought on you for to be sene, 260 Somwhat better for very pure shame, Than it is now by reason and ryght : For he is worthy for to haue the blame, Yf he wyll be suche a wretched wyght. He can not haue to moche displeasure, That hath a yonge wyfe and wyll not her trym. 1 A mild imprecation. HalliwelPs Diet, of Archaic Words. 3 i. e. disquiet, disconcert. 3 Not in Selden's copy. This line is thus printed in Utterson : — " For lefe nor locke why chulde ye not ? " 4 i. e. By. 164 THE PROUDE WYUES I wysshe them care and sorow out of measure, And specially them that be lyke to hym. Myrrours of myschefe we may them call, That kepe theyr wyues so bare and poore 270 To many one it doth befall Through suche meanes to make a good wyfe a h — . An h — ! ye may it swere by god aboue, They may be wretches that so do, Which causeth theyr wyues to chose newe loue, Though it sholde tourne them to great wo. So vylaynus they be in euery where Vnto theyr wyues in euery houre and tyde, Yf theyr wyues do go ought tryme in theyr gere, They say they do it than for gret pryde. 28 o And all this is but ialousy, god wote, That thys doth cause, I know it well ; Hanged be suche husbondes by the throt, Or elles the deuyll cary them away to hel, That ialous be eyther erly or late Ypon theyr good wyues that be so meke. God sende them strife and euer debate, And a vengeauce vpon them both day and weke. As for my husbonde I nede not to craue, But fystes and staues, yf I wyll optayne, 290 Ynoughe of them I may soone haue ; Thus dare I not speake, for feare of paine, For no such thynges, but I know another : I shall from hym stele both daye and night, PATER NOSTER. 165 I swere to you, by goddes dere mother. His bagges I hope to make full Ijght. Yf he may not se me than go gaye, I thynke nothynge1 to tary here, But pryuele to gather what I maye, And chose me than a nother fere, 300 For I can not lyue this2 in wretchednes ; I wyll leue hym bare ynow ; It is to me great heuynes To lede this lyfe, I make god auowe. With that all syruyce in the church was done, These wyues homewarde dyd take the waye : For fast it drewe than towarde none, And so they departed, and adewe gaue say. Whan she came home, thys sory wyfe, Her husbonde full mery there dyd she fynde, 310 She coulde no lenger abyde for her lyfe, But nedes vnto hym she must breke her mynde. To proue whether he wolde be to her kynde, She gan him flatter after the newe guyse, And soone her harte she gan vnbynde, Sayenge to hym that in this wyse : My spouse moost worthy, my husbonde dere, [ Wife] I pray you take it for no grefe, What soeuer of you I do desyre, But gyue my herte now some relefe. 320 1 Douce's copy, according to Utterson, has not long. 2 i. e. thus. 166 THE PROUDE WTUES As I hope ye wyll, and therto be glade, And say me not naye, what soeuer befall, And than for euer I muste be sade.1 Thus in your hand it doth ley all ; My truste is hole in you set. So many wyues in thys parysshe be That go full lusste and trym set ; A pleasure for theyr husbondes it is to se ; And nowe me thynke ye be well moued, Wherfore the bolder I to you speke, 330 As to myne herte moste best beloued, Or elles a sonder myne herte wolde breke : Desyrynge you with mynde and wyll To gyue me now some goodly gaye gere, Some lusty newes2 my backe to hyll,3 With gyrdelles and rynge for your loue to were, 1 Sober, steady. 3 i. e. new articles of dress. * i. e. to cover. It is evident that this lady did not follow the advice given in the following lines : — " And jif thi neyboures wif haue riche atyire Ther fore make you no stryue, ne bren thou noght as fyire. But thanke God of ye good y' he hathe the f euen, And so thou schalt, my good child, in grete ese leuen." How the Goode Wif Thought hir Daughter, ed. Madden, p. 10. See Morte Arthure, ed. 1847, p. 94:— " He folowes in fersly, And festenesse a dynte PATER NOSTER. 167 As other women do for theyr husbondes loue ;' So let me do for yours I praye Than wyll ye bynde me my selfe to moue Grete good of you alway to saye. 340 I am not able to performe your wyll, In gyuynge to you that I not haue ; Tt is neyther reason, nor yet good skyll, Suche thinges of me now for to craue. Ye se your selfe that I do spare, And with symple clothes that I do go ; Honesty wolde ye sholde helpe me2 care, And lyke in parell3 that we sholde go. Hye upe one the hanche, With his harde wapyue, That he hillid the swerde Halfe a fote large." And in Ludus Coventria:, ed. 1841, p. 38, there is an example of its use in the same sense : — " He xal hereafter nevyr etc brede, With this gresse I xal hym hylle." 1 The following stanza, from a ballad printed in Reliquiae Antiques, forms a curious illustration of this passage : — " Yff other men of goodys have plenty, And yowre tresowre begynnyth, To vow sche woll say full owtragly, ' I am nojt kept after myne astate ; Off gay atyrynge y am desolate : Y se other wymmen go gayer than y.' By ware, for then sche wyll pley chekmate, But ye pluk of here bellys, and let here fly." 2 i. e. my. * Apparel. 168 THE PROUD E WYUES Let vs lyue as we haue done ere, And passe not our boundes in no degre ; 350 To put our selfe in great daungere For jour small pleasure, it were grete pite. How cometh now suche thynges in your mynde, That ye desyre me to do suche coste ? Ye spende your labour and wynde, And all your wordes be but lost. A lacke, good wyfe, were thys your wyll, For to go gay aboue your estate, I1 wolde be glad to fulfyll All your desyre, yf it were not to late ; seo But I am farre behynde the hande,2 As nowe,3 dere wyfe, more than I saye. An hundred pounde, ye shall vnderstande, Within this moneth I must nedes paye. Towarde the same, wyfe, I ne haue Twenty pounde in syluer nor golde, Which doth make, so god me saue, Whan I theron thinke, mine hert ful colde ; Therfore, good wyfe, take ther of no grefe, For I am not able as thou to me4 requyre, 370 1 Old ed. has and. 9 i. e. behindhand. 3 As now is here, and in another passage a little before, em ployed merely as equivalent to now (quasi, as it is now). We have in present use the phrase as it is. * Uttersou reads the tyme requyre, which is assuredly nonsense. As thou of me, &c, would perhaps be preferable ; but the author most probably wrote to me. PATER NOSTEE. 169 Excepte I sholde ther of be a thefe, And that I thynke ye wyll not desyre : For that were a shame, I tell you playne, As well for you as it were for me ; With shame for my trespas I sholde be slayne, And hange full hye vpon a tre ; Than men wolde saye : there hangeth a thefe, Which wolde than full sore greue your herte ; Yt is no nede for to acheue A shamfull name, that wolde vs cause to smarte. Thus answere she had, this good wyfe, ssi That her herte sonke into her hose, And wery she was ryght sore of her lyfe, But wth her husbond she dyd no more glose. Sodeynly she set her handes on her syde, And sayd : thou caytyfe, god gyue thee wo : [ Wife] I tell thee playne, it is for no pryde, But onely with other wyfes for to go, That was myne entente, and nothynge elles ; But seynge it wyll none otherwyse be, 390 I shall make thee a hode, and set it full of belles, Which shalbe marked in all this countre.1 Though euery man knew it, I set not a flye,3 And what I do now I ne care, 1 Compare The Bohe of Mayd Emlyn, Princip. (supra, p. 83.) After this line a leaf, sign, c, is deficient in Selden's copy, which recommences at line 449. 3 i.e. I value it not at a fly, I care not a fly. 170 THE PEOUD WYUES Within shorte whyle thou shalte well spje That I make thy bagges full bare. With that from the borde thys wyfe gan go, And bad hym beware of her euyll wyll ; She sayd for euer she wolde be his fo, And do her best hym for to spyll. 400 Therto she wolde laboure both day and nyght With all the helpe that she coude make ; And that she coude get with mayne and myght Another sholde spende it for his sake. The man was wroth herewith ywys, And wondred full sore what his wyfe ayled, He toke vp hys hande1 and hym dyd blys,2 Wenynge to hym3 that her wyttes had fayled ; But it was not so ; on myschefe she was ; The deuill hymselfe coude not her tourne, 4io Though he with staues her sholde haue bet, Which made full sore his hert to mourne. Than was he bewayled all in wo, Kyght pyteously he dyd complayne, Thynkynge alway what hys wyfe myght do, Hym thought for sorow his herte was slavne. Bycause hys wyfe was set on rage, What best was to do he hym bethought, 1 To take up is here apparent!)' equivalent to to hold up, or raise up. a i. e. he blessed himself. 3 i. e. himself. PATER NOSTEE. 171 Her furyous anger to aswage ; Her mynde he perceyued was set to nought. 420 Fayne he wolde her let, this good honest man, And kepe her in goodnes, as he had done ere : Alas, he sayd, no rede 1 I can ; Of myne vndoynge I stande in feare ; That she wyll me robbe by day and nyght, Than farewell my ioye and my solas : Many a man hath wronge and moch vnright Thrugh theyr false wyues, alas, alas. And so am I lyke, me doth thynke : For such one is able a man to marre ; 430 For thought I can neyther ete nor drynke, So sore is my hert set now in care : Yet wyll I not my selfe caste awaye, Though she wyll be lewde and also bad, With costly garmentes I wyl not ray, For my destruction to make her glad. I thynke she hath founde some vilaine knaue, That wyll helpe her to cary away my store ; Yet I trust that God wyll me saue, And preserue me from her daunger for euer more : For a cursed wyfe is worse than a fende : 441 Yf I me blesse 2 he can me not dere ; 3 1 Advice. The speaker means to say : " I cannot suggest or counsel anything to myself." 2 Alluding to the popular superstition that a person protected himself from the attack of an evil spirit by crossing himself and repeating a prayer. 3 i. e. injure. 172 THE PROUDE WYUES But this cursed wyfe, whereuer I wende, Putteth me in doubte and great fere. Wherfore I dare not go out of the dore, Lest she me begyle, and go her waye With some lewde knaue to play the h — , And me vndo for euer and aye : Yet to my curate I wyll hye, And showe him of my grefe what I do aile, 450 To knowe yf he [can] remedy Me of my wo, or ought me auayle. In this meane while hys wyfe was gone Vnto her gossep to shewe her grefe. The good man founde hymselfe alone, Withouten comforte or relefe, Tha streight to ye chirch he gan him dresse Vnto the curate, which he there founde All redy reuest1 goynge to messe, And towarde the aulter he was bounde. 460 This man abode tyll masse was done, For to take counsayle of his curate dere ; Whan he hym met right soone anone, He made his mone with heuy chere. 1 i.e. robed. Nares, in his Glossary, ed. 1859, voce Revest, gives the word the meaning only of dressing oneself again, and quotes an apposite passage from Sylvester's Du Bartas. But see HalliwelFs Diet, of Arch. Words, voce Reveschyd. Reveschyd and revest are different forms of the same word. Mr. Halliwell cites three passages from early texts in which reveschyd is used to signify clothed. PATER NOSTER. 173 After all gretynges, to hym thus he sayd : Syr, I requyre of counsayle nowe ; My wyfe doth make me so sore dismay de, That I am like to die, I make god auowe. With shorte conclusion his mater he tolde, How it began and how it befell 470 Twen him & his wife, y* made his hert cold : But euer the preest bad hym do well, And god sholde helpe hym euer at his nede ; Yf he dyd trust vnto his grace, Alway the better sholde he spede, And heauen at the last he sholde purchase.1 Yf she wyll be nought, and not amende, And thou entend euer well to do, Good grace god shall vnto the sende, Whan she shall lyue in care and wo ; 480 Go thy way home, and take no thought, But euer take hede what so befall ; For such one as doth set her to nought, To vndo a man she careth not at all. Thys man dyd after the curates rede,2 And home full soone he dyd him hast ; But whan he came ther his herte did bled ; He spyed that his labour was all in wast, And that his wyfe had ben there before And spoyled all that she myght cary 490 1 i. e. acquire, obtain. 2 i. e. advice, as in an earlier passage. See line 423. 174 THE PROUDE WYUES Of short endes fjt:eVDtJe and curate (LOJpfe lappeU in TTERE begynneth a merry leste of a shrewde and curste Wyfe, -*--•- lapped in Morrelles skin, for her good behauyour. Imprinted at London in Fleetestrete, beneath the Conduite, at the signe of Saint John Euangelist, by H. Jackson" n. d. 4 to. 23 leaves. No other impression of this tract has been discovered, and as it is described by Laneham, in his letter from Kenilworth, as being already in print in 1575, it probably preceded, by at least twenty years, the old drama of "The Taming of a Shrew," 1594, 4to, with which, however, it has little in common except the subject. The same may be said of its relation to Shakespeare's play, first printed in the folio of 1623. In one important respect, the play of 1594 differs from the poem, and it is that while the latter re lates to persons in a humble walk of life, the characters in the play are represented as occupying a high station. The present tale is valuable as a record and illustration of the manners of the lower classes in England, to which, as might be expected, satirists have not devoted so much attention as to more elevated society. Mr. Uttersou included it in his Sekct Pieces of Early Popular Poetry, 1817, but did not print it at all correctly. It has also been edited for the Shakespeare Society. A ballad called " The Taming of a Shrew," is printed in Kit- son's Ancient Songs and Ballads, 1829, ii. 242, from one of the Sloane MSS. It seems to be a production compiled from a variety of materials, and one of the salient features in it is bor- 180 TEE WIFE LAPPED rowed from the Jests of Scogin, licensed in 1565. See Old Eng lish Jest-Books, ed. Hazlitt, ii. 91, 97. There are incidents in some of the ancient Fabliaux collected by Le Grand and Renouard, which seem to have furnished hints to the writer of this tale. See, for example, those " Du Vilain et de sa Femme," and " Du Prud'homme qui renvoya sa Femme," both printed in Renouard's edition, iii. 181-3. Skelton employs Morel as the name of a horse in his Diuers Balettys §• Dyties Solacyous (Works, i. 24) ; but in one of his Poems against Garnesche, the same writer appears to use it in a loose sense, as a term of opprobrium : — " Gup, marmeset, jost ye, morelle! I am laureat, I am no lorelle." 1" ffiw iSeggnnetf) a merrg loste of a ant (Ruwte S2Egfe lappet in JEorellw sfctn for jer soot foejaugour, |YSTEN friendes, and holde you still, Abide a while and dwell : A mery Jest tell you I will, And how that it befell. As I went walking vpon a day, Among my friendes to sporte : To an house I tooke the way, To rest me for my comforte. A greate feast was kepte there than, And many one was thereat : 10 IN MOEEELLES SKIN. 181 With wyues and maydens, and many a good man, That made good game and chat. It befell then at that tyde An honest man was there : A cursed Dame sate by his syde, That often did him dere. His wife she was, I tell you playne, This dame ye may me trowe, To play the maister she would not layne, And make her husband bo we. 20 At euery word that she did speake, To be peace he was full fayne : Or else she would take him on the cheeke, Or put him to other payne. When she did winke, he durste not store, Nor play where euer he wente : With friend or neighbour to make good chere, Whan she her browes bente. These folke had two maydens fayre and free, Which were their Daughters dere : 30 This is true, beleeue you me, Of condiciflae was none their pere. The yongest was meeke and gentle y-wys, Her Fathers sayd condicion she had : The eldest her mothers withouten misse, Sometime franticke, and sometime mad. The father had his pleasure in the one alway, And glad he was her to behold : 182 THE WIFE LAPPED The mother in the other, this is no nay, For in all her curstnesse she made her bolde. 40 And at the last she was, in fay, As curste as her mother in word and deede, Her mischieuous pageauntes sometime to play, Which caused her fathers heart to bleede : For he was woe and nothing glad, And of her would fayne be rid : He wished to God that some man her had, But yet to maryage he durst her not bid. Full many there came the yongest to haue, But her father was loth her to forgoe : so None there came the eldest to craue, For feare it should turne them to woe. The Father was loth any man to beguile, For he was true and iust withall, Yet there came one within a while, That her demaunded in the Hall. Another there came right soone also, The yongest to haue he would be fayne, Which made the fathers heart full woe, That he and the yongest should parte in twa^ne. eo But the mother was fell, and might her not see, Wherefore of her she would haue bene rid. The yong man full soone she graunted pardy ; Greate Golde and syluer with her she bid. Saying, full soone he would her haue, And wedded they were, short tale to make : IN MOREELLES SKIN. 183 The Father sayd : so God me saue, For heauinesse and sorrowe I tremble and quake. Also his hearte was in greate care, How he should bestowe the eldest y wys ; 70 Which should make his purse full bare. Of her he would be rid by heauens biisse. As hap was, that this yong man should Desyre the eldest withouten fayle : To maryage he sayd full fayne he would, That he might her haue for his auayle.1 The father sayd with wordes anon : Golde and syluer I would thee giue : If thou her marry, by sweete saynt John,2 But thou shouldest repent it all thy Hue.3 so She is conditioned, I tell thee playne, Moste like a Fiend, this is no nay : 1 Here avayle seems to signify rather pleasure than profit, which is its more usual sense ; but, indeed, it is one of those words which was apparently held by early writers to have no fixed or peremptory meaning: — " They hold your blessinge in no more avayle, Then is the flapping of a fox his taile." Taylor's Suddaine Turne of Fortune's Wheele. 2 " And whosoere can get hir firme good will, A large dowrie he shall be sure to haue : For her father is a man of mightie wealth, And an ancient Cittizen of the towne." The Taming of a Shrew, 1594. 3 " And he that hath hir shall be fettred so, As good be wedded to the Diuell him selfe." Ibid. 184 THE WIFE LAPPED Her Mother doth teach her, withouten layne, To be mayster of her husband another day. If thou shouldest her marry, and with her not gree, Her mother thou shouldest haue alway in thy top : By night and day that shouldest vex thee, Which sore would sticke then in thy crop. And I could not amend it, by God of might, For I dare not speake my selfe for my life : 90 Sometime among, be it wrong or right, I let her haue all for feare of strife. If I ought say, she doth me treate, Except I let her haue her will, As a childe that shoulde be beate She will me charme : the Deuill her kill. Another thing thou must vnderstande, Her mother's good will thou must haue also : If she be thy friend, by sea or by lande Amisse with thee then can it not go. 100 For she doth her loue with all her minde, And would not see her fare amisse : If thou to her dareling could be kinde, Thou couldest not want, by heauens blisse. If thou to the mother now wilt seeke, Behaue thy selfe then like a man : And shew thy selfe both humble and meeke, But when thou haste her, doe what thou can. Thou wotest what I sayd to thee before, IN MORRELLES SKIN. 185 I counsayle thee marke my wordes well : no It were greate pitty thou werte forlore With such a deuillishe Fende of Hell.1 I care not ftfr that, the yong man sayd : If I can get the mothers good will, I would be glad to haue that mayde ; Me thinketh she is withouten ill.2 Alas ! good man, I am sorry for thee, That thou wilt cast thy selfe away, Thou arte so gentle and so free : Thou shalt neuer tame her, I dare well say. 120 But I haue done, I will say no more, Therfore farewell, and goe thy way : Eemember what I sayd to thee before, And beware of repentaunce another day. tje gonjj man fcepattefo from tfje dFatfjer, sougjt to tje JHotjer, for to ijaue tije magfce to N OW is the yong man come to the dame, With countenaunce glad and manners demure, 1 Here forty lines are wanting in the copy which belonged to Selden. They were supplied from a second one formerly in the Heber collection. 2 Old ed. has evell. 186 THE WIFE LAPPED Saying to her : God keepe you from blame, With your dere daughter so fay re and pure. She welcommeth agayne the fayre yong man, And bid him come neare, gentle friende. iso Full curteously he thanked the good dame than, And thought her wordes full good and kinde. Then he began, I shall you tell, Unto the mother thus to say, With wordes fayre, that become him well, For her deare daughter thus to pray. Saying : good dame, now by your leaue, Take it for none euell though I come here : If you to me good leaue would giue, With you right fayne would I make good chere. 140 The dame sayd : syt downe, a while abyde, Good chere anon than will we make : My daughter shall sit downe by thy syde, I know well thou commest onely for her sake. You say full true forsooth, sayd he ; My minde is stedfastly on her set : To haue that mayde fayre and free I would be fayne, if I coulde her get. The mother thanked him for his good will, That he her daughter so did desyre, iso Saying : I hope you come for none euell, But in good honesty her to requyre. For if ye did, I will be playne, Eight soone it should turne you vnto griefe, IN MOEEELLES SKIN. 187 And also your comming I would disdayne, And bid you walke with a wylde mischiefs.1 But surely I take you for none of those, Your condittons shew it in no wise : Wherefore me thinke you doe not glose, Nor I will not counsell you, by mine aduise. ieo For I loue my Daughter as my harte, And loth I were, I will be playne, To see her suffer payne and smarte ; For if I did, my harte were slayne. If that thou shouldest, another day, My daughter haue, and her good will : Order her then vnto her pay, As reason requireth, it is good skill. In women sometyme great wisdome is, And in men full little it is often seene ; 170 But she is wise withouten mis, From a yong child vp she hath so beene. Therefore to her thou must audience giue, For thine owne profite, when she doth speake, And than shalt thou in quiet Hue, And much strife thus shalte thou breake. i. e. with a vengeance. This is an old form of expression. " For to the teith he did him cleif. Lat him ly thare with ane mischeif." Lyndsay's Historic of Squyer Meldrum, (Works, by Chalmers, ii. 250). 188 THE WIFE LAPPED Howe sayest them, yong man, what i[s] thy minde, Wouldest thou her haue, my doughter dere ? Than to her thou must be kinde, And alway ready to make her good chere. iso For an C. li. of money haue thou shalte, Of Syluer and eke of Golde so round, With an C. quarters of Corne and malte, And xl. acres of good ground : If thou wilt liue with her like a man, Thou shalte her haue, and this will I giue : And euer after, while I can, Be thy good Mother as long as I liue. And I will speake to my daughter for thee, To know if it be her will also : 190 If she be content, my daughter free, Then together may ye go. The mother demaunded her daughter than, If that she could fynde in her minde With all her harte to loue that yong man, So that he to her would be kinde. She sayd : yea, mother, as you wyll, So will I doe in worde and deede : I trust he commeth for none yll, Therefore the better may we speede. 200 But I would haue one that hath some good, As well as I, good reason is : Me thinke he is a lusty blood, But gooddes there must be withouten misse. IN MOERELLES SKIN. 189 The yong man was glad these wordes to here, And thanked the mother of her good will : Beholding the Mayden with right mild cheare, And prayed her hartely to be still. Saying to her then in this wise : Mine heart, my loue, my dearling deare, 210 Take no displeasure of my enterprise, That I desyre to he your peare. I am not riche of Gold nor fee, Nor of greate marchandise, ye shall vnderstand, But a good Crafte I haue, pardee, To get our liuing in any land. And in my heart I can well fynde You for to loue ahoue all other : For euermore to you to be kynde, And neuer forsake you for none other. 220 Lyke a woman I will you vse, And doe ;you honour, as ye should doe me : And for your sake all other refuse, As good reason is it should so be. By my trouth, but well you say, And me thinke by your countenaunce ywis : That ye should not another day For no cause deale with me amis. And in you I hope pleasure to take, If ye woulde be gentle as ye should : 230 And neuer none other for your sake To marry for a M. pound of gold. 190 THE WIFE LAPPED But sometime ye must me a little forbeare, For I am hasty ; but it is soone done. In my fume I doe nothing feare, Whatsoeuer thereof to me become. An I cannot refrayne me in no wise, For I haue it by nature a parte y wis. 240 It was wonte to be my mothers guise, Sometime to be mayster withouten misse. And so must I, by God, now and than, Or else I would thinke it should not be well ; For though ye were neuer so good a man, Sometime among I will beare the bell. And therefore tell me with wordes playne, If ye can be pacient what time it is, To suffer with me a little payne, Though that you thinke I doe amisse ? 250 Or else say nay, and make a shorte ende, And soone we shall asonder departe : Then at your liberty you may hence wend, Yet I doe loue you with all my harte. The yong man was glad of her loue, in fay, But loth he was master her for to make, And bethought him what her father before did saye, When he on wooing his iorney did take. And so consented to all her will, When he aduised him what he should doe : 200 He sayd : ye may me saue or spill, For ye haue my loue, sweete heart, and no moe. IN MOEEELLES SKIN. 191 The mother, hearing this, for the father sente, Shewing to him what was befall : Wherewith he was right well content, Of all their promises in generall. Upon this greement they departed then, To prepare all thinges for the feast : Glad was the bride and her spouse then, That they w.ere come to this beheast. 270 ?$otoe tje iSrgfce toas margrti tottf) fjer dFatfjer antr JHotjers goofc togll* E day approched, the time drue ueare, JL That they should be wedded withouten misse : The Bryde was glad and made good cheare, For she thought to make greate ioye and blisse. As that daye to tryumphe with games and sporte, Among her friendes a rule to beare : Arid eake with his friendes that thether should resorte, Thinking that no body might be her peare. The Bridegrome was glad also, in fay, As man might be vpon the molde ; 1 aso 1 Earth. Molde (mould) is constantly used in this sense in early writings. Thus, in Ludus Coventria, ed. 1841, p. 1, we find : — " We xal £ou shewe, as that we kan, How that this wer[l]d ffyrst began, And how God made bothe molde and man." 192 THE WIFE LAPPED And to himselfe thus gan he say : Now shall I receyue an heape of goldc, Of poundes many one and much goods besyde, To reioyce my sorrowes and also my smarte : I know not her peare in this country so wyde, But yet I feare alway her proude harte. She is so syb 1 to the mother withouten fayle, Which hath no peare that I know : In all mischiefs she dare assayle, The boldest Archer that shooteth in a bow. 290 But, no force, I care not, I wote what I thinke ; When we be wed and keepe house alone, For a small storme I may not shrinke, To run to my neighbour, to make my mone. Soone to the church now were they brought, With all their friends them about : There to be maryed as they ought, And after them followed a full great rout, 1 Dear. " Now have we lost a trusty ffrende, The sybbest blood of oure kynreed." Ludus Covcntrice, ed. 1841, p. 226. " I be-seke £ow syr As my sybbe lorde — " Morte Arthurs, ed. 1847, p. 58. But see HalliwelFs Archaic Dictionary, art. SlB : — " In Robin Goodfellow His Mad Pranks and Merry Jests, 1628, one of the fairies is called SIB." IN MOERELLES SKIN. 193 With them to offer, as custome is : Among good neighboures it is alvvay seene ; soq Full richly deckte withouten mis, And she thought her selfe most likest a Queene. Incontinent, when the Masse was done, Homeward forsooth they tooke the way : There followeth after them right soone Many a tall man and woman full gay. The fathers and mothers next of all Unto the Bridgrome and Bryde also : As to them then it did befall With them that tyde so for to go. 310 1T J^oto tfje 13tgfoe anfc fjer frienties came from tlje (ftfjutcf), antr toere of tjje iStgfoegtoome at tjetr feast Jonestlj) WHEN" they came home, the hordes were spread ; The Bride was set at the hye dysse : Euery one sayd, she had well sped Of such a fayre husband as serued her mysse. The friendes sate about her on euery syde, Each in their order, a good syght to see, The Bryde in the middest with much pryde, Full richely beseene she was pardye. The mother was right glad of this sight, And fast she did her daughter behold : 320 o 194 THE WIFE LAPPED Thinking it was a pleasaunt wight ; But alway her Fathers heart was cold. When he remembred, what might befall Of this yong Daughter, that was so bold, He could nothing be merry at all, But moned the yong man full many a fold. Beholding him1 often with countenaunce sad Saying to himselfe : alas, this day ! This youg man proueth much worse then mad, That he hath marryed this cursed may. 330 Where I haue counsayled him, by heauens blisse, That he should not meddle in no wise ; Least he repented withouten misse, That euer he made this enterprise. But seeing it is thus, selfe doe selfe haue, He is worse then mad that will him mone : For I will no more, so God me saue ; But God send him ioy with my daughter Jone. She is as curste, I dare well swere, And as angry y wis as euer was waspe ; 340 If he her anger, she will him tere, And with her nayles also him claspe. What auayleth it to say ought now ? The deede is done ; no remedy there is. Good cheare to make, I make God auowe, Is now the best withouten misse. 1 Old ed. has Beholde, how. IN MOERELLES SKIN. 195 For now is the time it should so be, To make good game and sporte, in fay, In comforting all this company, That be assembled here this day. 350 The father and mother were dilligent still To welcome the friendes both more and lesse ; The yongman did also his good will To serue them well at euery messe. Wherein the mother great pleasure tooke, And so did the father eake truely ; The Bride gaue a friendly looke, Casting on him a wanton eye. Then was the Brydegrome reioysed sore, Alway our Lord thanking of his great grace ; 360 Hauing in minde times many a score, That his Bryde shewed him such a fayre place. The mynstrelles played at euery bord, The people therewith reioysed right well : Geuing the Bridegrome their good word, And the bryde also, that in bewty did excell. The time past forth, the dinner was done, The tables were taken vp all : The Brydegroome welcommed them euery ech one, That were there in the hall. 370 They thanked him then and the Bryde also, Of their greate cheare they had : And sware great othes, so mote I go, They were neuer at feast so glad. 196 THE WIFE LAPPED Nbwe we will remember you, or we depart, As vse and custome doth requjre ; He thanked them with all his harte : So did both dame and syre. The Bryde to the Table agayne was set, To keepe countenaunce than in deede. sso The friendes that were together met Be-gyfted them richely with right good speede. The father and the mother fyrst began To order them in this wise : The Brydegrome was set by the Brydes syde than, After the countrey guise. Then the father the fyrst present brought, And presented them there richly, in fay, With deedes of his land in a boxe well wrought, And made them his heyres for aye. 390 He gaue them also of malte and corne An hundred quarters and more : With sheepe and oxen, that bare large home, To keepe for household store. And then came the mother as quick as a bee, To the Brydegrome with wordes smart : Saying : sonne, so mote I thee, I must open to thee my harte. She gaue them also both carte and plow, And bid them alway to doe well, 400 And God should send them good ynow, If they did marke what she did tell. IN MOERELLES SKIN. 197 Before the people in this Hall, I will say and to thee rehearse : An hundred pound now geue thee I shall, But harken fyrst vnto my vearse. Thou haste here my daughter deare, A pleasaunt thing it is ; In all the countrey I know not her peare, So haue I parte of blisse. 410 For she is wyse, and fay re with all, And will nothing cast away ; I trow there be now none in this hall, That better can saue all thing, in fay. Nor better doth know what doth behoue Unto an house or huswiuery, Then she doth, which causeth me to moue This matter to thee so busily. She can carde, she can spin, She can thresh, and she can fan ; 420 She can helpe thee good to win, For to keepe thee like a man. And here is an hundred pound in Grolde To set thee vp, thy crafte to vse : Wherefore (I am playne) I would thou should In no maner of wise thy selfe abuse. To striue with my daughter, or her to intreate For any thing that she shall doe Here after, my child therefore to beate, It should turne playnely to thy pre^e woe. 430 198 THE WIFE LAPPED 0 my deare mother, take no displeasure, Till you haue cause, what so befall ; But vse your selfe alwaye by measure : For other cause none haue you shall. My wyfe and I full well shall gree, 1 trust to God in throne : She is my loue, and euer shall be, And none but she alone. 0 my deare sonne, thou makest me glad, Which before was full of sorrowe : 440 For my deare daughter I was full sad, But now I say, our Lord to borrow, Thou geuest me good comfort. Now farewel care : Here is thy hundred pound ; 1 pray God geue thee well to fare, And kepe thee whole and sound. I thanke you, dere mother, the yong man said, Of your good gifte and daughter deare ; Me thinkes she is the worthiest mayde In all this Lande withouten peare. 450 I hoape to Hue with her alway So gentelly that [me] she shall fynde And you her mother, I dare well say, In euery season gentle and kynde. The people, standing them to behold, Eegarded the wordes of the Brydegrome than, And sayd he aunswered with wordes cold, Which become full well the good yong man. IN MORRELLES SKIN. 199 And then they prest forth, ech after other, With golde and syluer and riche giftes eake ; 460 And many a scorne they gaue the mother, But euer they praysed the yong man meeke. To whome he gaue thankes with all his mighte, As honesty requyreth him to doe ; lie ordred himselfe alway aright: Yet they thought all he should haue woe. For he was matched so ywys, That he could not wante for sorrow, in fay, But alway hampred withouten nnisse Of mother and daughter for euer and aye. 470 When all was done, they gan depart, And tooke their leaue full friendly thoe ; Thanking ech other with all their harte, And en their way home they gan to go. The Father and mother thanked them all, The Bryde and Brydegrome also without mis Did thanke the company in generall, Departing from them with ioy and blisse. Then they went home, while it was day, And lefte the Bryde and Brydegrome there ; 4so And they that did abide there, in good fay, They made at euen agayne good cheare ; And after supper they did make good sporte With dauncing and springing1 as was the vse ; 1 A spring was the name of one of the old English dances. 200 THE WIFE LAPPED Yong people by other there did resorte To no mans hynder nor confuse. After that all sportes were ended and done, And that the bryde should goe to bed, Aboute the hall they daunced soone, And suddaynly away the bryde was led, 490 To take her rest with her dere spouse, As reason would it should so be. Euen as the cat was wonte with the mouse To play, forsoth euen so did he. The next morning, if that ye will heare, The mother did come to their bedsyde, Demaunding them what was their cheare, : . And the Bryde began her head to hyde. Saying to her, as one ashamed : I wys, deare mother, I would ye were gone ; soo Or ye came heare, I was not blamed For being in his armes heare all alone. Myne own deare daughter, be not displeased, Though I doe let you of your desport : I would be loath ye were diseased, But you shall haue a Cawdell for your comforte. A while I will goe and let you alone, Till ye be ready for to ryse ; And sodaynely the mother was from them gone To make the Cawdell after the best wise. IN MOERELLES SKIN. 201 When that the mother departed was, The dallyed togither, and had good game ; He hit her awry ; she cryed, alas, What doe ye, man, hold vp for shame. I will, sweete wife, then gan he say, Fulfill your mynde both loud and still ; But ye be able, I sweare in fay, In all sportes to abide my will. And they wrestled so long beforne, That this they had for their greate meade ; 520 Both shyrt and smock was all to- tome, That their vprysyng had no speede. But yet the mother came agayne, And sayd to her daughter, how doest thou nowe ? Mary, mother, betweene vs twayne Our shyrtes be torne, I make God auowe. By Gods dere mother she sware than : This order with vs may not continue ; I will no more lye by this man, For he doth me brast both vayne and sinew. 530 Nay, nay, deare mother, this world goeth on wheeles, By sweete saynt George, ye may me trowe ; He lyeth kicking with his heeles, That he is like to beare me a blow. My owne deare daughter, if thy smock be asonder, Another shalt thou haue then by this light. I pray thee hartely doe thou not wonder : For so was I dealt with the fyrst night 202 THE WIFE LAPPED That I by thy father lay, by the roode ; And I doe [tell] thee with wordes playne, 540 Me thought neuer night to me so good As that same was, when I tooke such payne. Why, mother, were ye then glad To be thus delt with, as I am now ? Me thinke my husband worse then mad : For he doth exceede, I make God auow. I could not lye still, nor no rest take Of all this night, beleue ye me : Sometime on my syde and sometime on my backe He rolde and layd me, so mote I thee. 5 And from the beds head vnto the beds feete A cloth we had not vs for to decke, Neyther our couerlet, nor yet our sheete, That I pray God the deuell him checke. For I am ashamed, my mother deare, Of this nightes rest, by God in throne ; Before our friendes I dare not appeare, "Would to Gods passion I had layne alone. Nay, nay, deare daughter, be not ashamed, For here is nothing done amis ; seo They be more worthy to be blamed, That hereof thinketh shame y wys. For this is honesty for thee and vs all, And a new smock I will thee fet ; IN MORRELLES SKIN. 203 And eke for thee, my sonne, I shall For thy true laboure a new shyrte get. And soone of these they were both sped, The daughter and eake the sonne also ; Full quickly they rose out of their bed, And with their mother they gan go 570 Abroade among their friendes all, Which bid them good lucke and eake good grace. The cawdell was ready there in the Hall, With myrth and glee for their solace. Thus ended the feast with sporte and play ; And all their friendes, each with other, Did take their leaue and went their way From bryde and Brydegrome, with father and mother, Which right hartely did thanke them tho, So dyd the Bryde and Brydegrome eke : sso Yet, when the friendes were all ago, This yong folke abode with the mother all the weeke. The father was glad to see them agree, So was the mother, by heauen queene : And sayd eche to other : so mote I thee, I thought not so well it should haue beene Betweene them twayne, as it is now, And therefore alone here shall they bide. We will leaue them all, I make God auowe, And go to dwell in our house harde beside. 590 204 THE WIFE LAPPED At shorte conclusyon,1 they went their way, Leuing their children all that was there ; And come not agayne of many a day, For their deare daughter to inquere. Thus they bode together than ; He set vp his shop with haberdash ware, As one that would be a thriuing man, To get great goods for his welfare. And after that, he tooke greate payne To order his plowes and cattell also ; eoo He kepte both boye and also swayne, That to the carte and plow did goe. And some kepte neate, and some kept sheepe, Some did one thing, some did another, But when they came home to haue their meate, The wife played the deuell then, like her mother. With countenaunce grim and wordes smart She gaue them meate, and bad them brast.2 1 i. e. in short. Chaucer uses the expression, at shorte wordes, in the same sense, in the poem called "The Assemble of Foules :"— " At shorte wordes, tel that dethe me cease, I will be hers, whether I wake or winke." 2 "The goodman also feared that, if he should take a servant, that he would have but little lust to tarie there : for the Devill himselfe could not endure the chiding and bawling of that woman ; by which meanes she kept her husband without a ser vant a long time." — Historie of Frier Rush, 1620. IN MORRELLES SKIN. 205 The pore folke that come from plow and carte Of her lewde wordes they were agast. eio Saying eche to other : what dame is this ? The deuill I trow hath brought vs here ; Our mayster shall know it, by heauens blisse, That we will not serue him another yeare. The good man was fourth in the towne abroade About other thinges, I you say, When he came homewarde he met with a goade, One of his carters, was going away ; To whome he sayde : Lob,1 whether goest thou ? The carter spyde his master than, 620 And sayd to him : I make God auow, No longer with thy wife abide I can. Mayster, he sayd, by Gods blist, Our dame is the deuell, thou mayst me beleeue : 1 A generic term for a country hind. In Decker and Web ster's Westward Hoe, 1607, act ii. sc. 2, Mistress Birdlime says : — " So every lip has his lettuce to himself; the lob his lass, the collier his dowdy," &c. The word seems to be used by Decker in the Guls Horn Book, 1609, as equivalent to loobie. Lobcock is occasionally employed as a synonym for Lob. The latter occurs also in the third part of the Image of Ypocrysy : — " He maketh no nobbes, But with his diologges To prove cure prelates goddes, And lay men very lobbes, Betinge they[m] with bobbes." 206 THE WIFE LAPPED If thou haue sought her, them haste not miste Of one that full often thee shall greeue. By God, a man thou canst not haue To go to carte, ne yet to plow : Neyther boy, nor yet knaue, By Gods deare mother, I make God auow, 630 That will bide with thee, day or night. Our Dame is not for vs : for she doth curse, When we shall eate or drinke with rio-ht : O She bannes and frownes, that we be all the worse : We be not vsed where euer we wende, To be sorely looked on for eating of our meate : The deuell I trow dyd her1 to the send, God helpe vs a better maystres to get. Come on thy way, Lob, and turne agayue, Go home with me, and all shall be well : 640 An Oxe for my meyny shall be slayne, And the hyde at the market I will sell. Upon this, together home they went ; The good man was angry in his minde : But yet to his wife with good intent He sayde : sweete heart, you be vnkinde. Entreate our meyny well alway, And geue them meate and drinke ynough : For they get our liuing euery day, And theirs also, at carte and plough. GSO 1 Old ed. has us. IN MOREELLES SKIN. 207 Therefore I would that they should haue Meate and drinke to their behoue : For, my sweete wife, so god me saue, Ye will doe so, if ye me loue. Gyue them what thou wilt, I doe not care, By day nor night, man, beleeue thou me ; What euer they haue, or how they fare, I pray God euell mote they thee, And specially that horeson that doth complayne, I will quite him once, if euer I live : eeo I will dash the knaue vpon the brayne, That euer after it shall him greeue. What, my deare wife, for shame, be still, This is a payne such wordes to heare : We can not alwayes haue our will, Though that we were a Kinges pere. For to shame, a Knaue ! what can they get ? Thou art as lewde, for God, as they, And therefore shalt thou serue them of meate, And drinke also from hence alway. 670 What ! wife, ye be to blame, To speake to me thus in this wise : If we should striue, folke woud speake shame, Therefore be still in mine aduise. I am loth with you to striue For ought that you shall doe or say ; I sweare to Christ, wife, by my Hue, I had rather take Morell, and ryde my way, 208 THE WIFE LAPPED To seeke mine aduenture till your moode be past ; I say to you these manners be not good, eso Therefore I pray you, that this be the last Of your furious anger, that semeth so wood. What can it auayle you me for to greeue, That loueth you so well as I doe, mine harte ? By my trouth, wife, you may me beleeue, Suche toyes as these be would make vs both smarte. Smarte ! in the twenty fayning Deuelles name, That liste me once >vell for to see ! I pray God geue the euell shame : What shouldest thou be, werte not for me ? 690 A rag on thine thou shouldest not haue, Excepte my friendes had geuen it thee ; Therefore I tell thee well, thou drunken knaue, That arte not he that shall rule me. O, good wife, cease and let this ouerpasse ; For all your great anger and hye wordes eake, I am mine owne selfe euen as I was, And to you will be louing and also meeke. But if ye should doe thus, as ye doe begin, It may not continue no time, ywys : 700 I would not let, for kyth nor kin, To make you mend all thinges that is amys. Make me, mary ! out vpon the, dreuill ! l Sayest thou that, wilte thou beginne ? 1 Shakespeare puts this word, or rather the other form of it, IN MOERELLES SKIN. 209 I pray God and our Lady, that a foule euill Lyghten vpon thee and all thy kinne. By Gods deare blest, vex me no more : For if thou doe, thou shalte repente ; I haue yet somewhat for thee in store, And with that a staffe in her hand she hent. 710 At him full soone then she let flee, And whorled about her, as it had bene a man. Her husband then was fayne, perdy, To voyde her stroake, and goe his way than. By Gods deare mother, then gan she sweare, From henceforth I will make thee bow : For I will trim thee in thy geare, Or else I would I were cald a Sow. Fye on all wretches that be like thee, In word or worke both lowde and still ! 1 720 I sweare by Him, that made man free, Of me thou shalte not haue thy will, drivel, for a fool or half-witted person. Thus the clown, in Twelfth Night, iv. 3, sings : — " Like a mad lad, Pare thy nails, dad, Adieu, goodman drivel !" The drivel is, of course, Malvolio, who has been locked up on a false charge of lunacy. More generally, however, this word sig nifies, in early writers, a low fellow or a vulgar wretch, and such probably is its meaning here. 1 Always, or ever. Here it means the latter : — " Nor neuer tnyght Y here the, lowde nor styll, Therfore wyst Y not of thi wyll." Visions of Tundale, ed. Turnbull, p. 8. VOL. IV. P 2lO THE WIFE LAPPED Now nor neuer, I tell thee plajne : For I will haue Golde and riches ynow, When thou shalte goe iagged as a simple swain, With whip in hande, at carte and plough. Of that, m j deare wife, I take no scorne, For many a good man with minde and harte Hath gone to plough and carte beforne My time, y wys, with payne and smarte, 730 Which now be rich, and haue good at will, Being at home, and make good cheare ; And there they intend to leade their life still, Till our Lord doe sende for them heare. But now I must ryde a little way, Deare wife, I will come right soone agayne. Appoynt our dinner, I you pray : For I doe take on me great payne. I doe my best, I sweare by my life, To order you like a woman y-wys ; 740 And yet it cannot be withouten strife, Through your lewde tongue, by heauens blisse. Ryde to the Deuell and to his dame : I would I should thee neuer see ; I pray God sende thee mickle shame In any place, where euer thou be. Thou wouldest fayne the mayster play, But thou shalte not, by God, I make thee sure. I sweare I will thy Peticote pay, That long with me thou shalte not endure. 750 IN MOREELLES SKIN. 211 l&ito tje sooti man rofce jts toag till fje tf)cmgf)te jer anger toas past ant tjen ije re^ tournett Jome THE good man was sorry, and wente his way About his busynes, as he was vsed, And to himselfe thus gan he say : Lord God, how was I thus abused ! When I tooke this wife, I was worse then mad, And yet can I blame my selfe and none other ; Which maketh me sigh and often be sad, Repenting full sore, by Gods deare Mother. Fye vpon goods withouten pleasure. Betweene man and wife that cannot agree, 760 It is a payne far passing measure Such stryfe to see, where as loue should be. For there was neuer man y wys, So hampred with one wife as I am now ; Wherefore I thinke withouten misse She shall repent it, I make God auow. Except she turne and change her minde, And eake her conditions euerichone, She shall fynde me to her so vnkinde, That I shall her coyle both backe and bone, 770 And make her blew and also blacke, That she shall grone agayne for woe ; I will make her bones all to cracke, Without that she her condicions forgoe. 212 THE WIFE LAPPED I was neuer so vexte this time beforne, As I am now of this wife alone ; A vengeaunce on her that euer she was boriie : For she maketh me often full woe begon ; And I cannot tell where me to tourne, Nor me to wende, by God, in faye, 780 Which cause[th] me often for to mourne : [N]or yet to know what for to say. I am worse then mad or wood, And yet I am loth with her to begin ; I feare me I shall neuer make her good, Except I do wrap her in black Morels skin, That can no more drawe at plough ne carte. It shall be to late to call for her kinne, When she beginneth once for to smarte : For little ease thereby she shall winne. 790 Morell is olde ; he can labour no more, Nor doe no good but alway eate ; I trowe I haue kept him thus long in store To worke a charme that shall be feate. The horeson is blynde and lame also, Behynde and before he cannot stere ; When he from the stable to the streete1 should go, He falleth downe ryght than in the myre. Yet I am loth him for to kyll, For he hath done me good seruice or nowe ; 800 1 Old ed. has steeete. IN MORRELLES SKIN. 213 But if my wyfe fulfyll not my wyll, I must him flea, by God, I trowe. But at thys poynt nowe will I be, I wyll be mayster, as it is reason, And make her subiect vnto me, For she must learne a newe lesson. Her father did warne me of this beforne, How I should it finde in euery degree, But I did take it for halfe a scorne, And would not beleeue him then perdee. sio But now I perceaue it very well, He did it for good will, y wis ; Wherefore I thinke that Morels fell Must mend all thing that is amis. Thus he that will not beleeue his friend, As her deare father was vnto me, He is worthy for to fynde Alway greate payne and misery. But I may not choose him to beleeue, For the deede doth proue himselfe in fay ; 820 Euer she is redy me for to greeue, And thinkes to continue so alway. But now I will home to proue her minde, And see what welcome I shall haue ; She may be to me so vnkinde, That she shall repent it, so God me saue : For if I should of her complayne, Folke would me mock and giue me scorne, 214 THE WIFE LAPPED And say, I were worthy of this payne, Because it was shewed me so well beforne. sso tfje 0curtmtan toas toelcommefc tojat rrtournrtr Jome agagne. I^HE good man came ryding to the gate, And knocked as he had bene wode ; His seruaunt right soone did meete him thereat, And bid him welcome with right milde moode. The mayster sayd : what doth my dame now ? Is she as frantick yet as she was ? Than will I tame her, I make God auow, And make her sing full loude alas. Where arte thou, wife ? shall I haue any meate ? Or am I not so welcome vnto thee, sio That at my commaundement I shall ought get, I pray thee hartely soone tell thou me ? If thou doe not serue me, and that anon, I shall thee shew mine anger y wis : I sweare by God and by saynt John, Thy bones will I swaddle, so haue I blisse. Forth she came, as brym [as] a bore,1 And like a dog she rated him than, 1 i. e. as fierce as a boar. Brym or brim is another form of breme. Brim is not quite so common, but Langtoft has it. The origin of the term seems to be brim, an edge, hence sharp or IN MORRELLES SKIN. 215 Saying thus : I set no store By thee, thou wretch ; thou arte no man. 850 Get thee hence out of my sight : For meate nor drinke thou gettest none heare ; I sweare to thee by Mary bright, Of me thou gettest here no good cheare. Well, wyfe, he sayd, thou doste me compell To doe that thing that I were loath ; If I bereaue Morell of his old fell, Thou shalte repente it by the fayth now goath : For I see well that it will no better be, But in it thou must after the new guyse. 860 It had bene better, so mote I thee, That thou haddest not begon this enterpryse. tje gooto man cmtsrti Jftorell to fie slagn anti tye fjito saitetr to lag i)ts totfr tijewn to sleepe. N OW will I begin my wife to tame, That all the world shall it know ; fierce. In the following passage Minot (Poems, ed. 1825, p. 22), intends by the word, the tusks of a boar : — " Tourenay £ow has tight To timber, trey, and tene ; A bore with brems t right Es broght up on ^oure grene." 216 THE WIFE LAPPED I would be loth her for to shame, Though she do not care, ye may me trow ; Yet will I her honesty regard And it preserue, where euer ye may, But Morell, that is in yonder yarde, His hyde therefore he must leese, in fay. 870 And so he commaunded anon To slea old Morell, his greate Horse, And flea him then the skin from the bone, To wrap it about his wiues white coarse. Also he commaunded of a byrchen tree Koddes to be made a good great heape, And sware, by deare God in Trinity, His wife in his seller shold skip and leape. The hyde must be salted, then he sayd eake, Bycause I would not haue it stinke ; 880 I hope herewith she will be meeke, For this I trow will make her shrinke And bow at my pleasure, when I her bed, And obay my commaundementes both lowde and still ; * 1 I am inclined to suspect that this term was borrowed from the stage, and that it originally applied to the way in which the music was played, first loud, then still, or subdued. Thus, in Hey wood's Love's Maistresse, or the Queenes Masque, 1636, act ii. sc. 1, we have the following: — "Echo. Silent. 2. Silent. 3. Silent. Psyche. Or else I'll punish you ; And let me hear some music, loud and still. (loud music, and still music)." Hey wood here made use, no doubt, of an expression well-known IN MORRELLES SKIN. 217 Or else I will make her body bleede, And with sharp roddes beate her my fill. Anon with that to her he gan to call ; She bid abide in the diuelles name : I will not come what so befall, Sit still with sorrow and mickle shame. 890 Thou shalte not rule me as pleaseth thee, I will well thou know, by Gods deare Mother, But thou shalt be ruled alway by me, And I will be mayster, and none other. Wilte thou be mayster, deare wife in fay ? Then must .we wrestle for the best game ; If thou it win, then may I say, That I haue done my selfe greate shame. But fyrst I will make thee sweate, good Jone, Eedde blood euen to the heeles adowne, 900 And lappe thee in Morels skin alone, That the' blood shall be seene euen from the crowne. Sayest thou me that, thou wretched knaue ! It were better thou haddest me neuer seene ; I sweare to thee, so God me saue, With my nayles I will scratch out both thine eyen, in and before his time. Hence " loud and still " acquired the meaning of " at intervals," or " at regular intervals," and thence continually, always. At all events, this interpretation may be accepted, until a better one is proposed. See Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, iv. 1. 218 THE WIFE LAPPED . And therefore thinke not to touch me once : For by the masse, if thou begin that, Thou shalte be handled for the nonce, That all thy braynes on the ground shall squat. 910 Why then there is no remedy, I see, But needes I must doe euen as I thought ; Seeing it will none other wise be, I will thee not spare, by God that me bought : For now I am set thee for to charme, And make thee meeke, by Gods might, Or else with roddes, while thou arte warme, I shall thee scourge with reason and right. f Now good Morels fkin Receiue my curft wife in 1F i^oto tje curst totfe in JEotels gfctn lag because jsje tooutti not fjer jusfcanto ofcag* NOW will I my sweete wife trim, According as she deserueth to me. 020 I sweare, by God and by saynt Sim, With Byrchen roddes well beate shall she be, And after that in Morels sake skin I will her lay, and full fast binde, That all her friendes, and eake her kyn, Shall her long seeke, or they her fynde. IN MOREELLES SKIN. 219 Then he her met, and to her gan say : How sayest thou, wife, wilt thou be mayster yet ? She sware by Gods body and by that day, And sodaynly with her fyst she did him hit, 930 And defyed him Dreuill at euery worde, Saying : precious horesone, what doest thou thinke ? I set not by thee a stinking t . . . : Thou shalt get of me neyther meate nor drinke. Sayest thou me that, wyfe ? quoth he than, With that in his armes he gan her catche ; Streyght to the seller with her he ran, And fastened the dore with locke and latche, And threwe the key downe him besyde, Askyng her than, if she would obay ? 940 Than she sayde : nay, for all thy pryde, But she was mayster, and would abyde alway. Then, quoth he, we must make a fraye, And with that her cloths he gan to teare. Out vpon thee, horesone, than she did saye, Wylte thou robbe me of all my geare ? It cost thee naught, thou arrant theefe ; And quickly she gat hym by the heade, With that she sayde : God giue thee a mischiefs, And them that fed thee fyrst with breade. 9so They wrestled togyther thus they two So long, that the clothes asunder went, And to the grounde he threwe her tho, That cleane from the backe her smock he rent. 220 THE WIFE LAPPED In euerj hand a rod he gate, And layd vpon her a right good pace ; Asking of her what game was that ; And she cryed out : horeson, alas, alas. What wilte thou doe ? wilte thou kill me ? I haue made thee a man of nought ; 960 Thou shalte repente it, by Gods pitty, That euer this deede thou haste y- wrought. I care not for that, dame, he did say, Thou shalt giue ouer, or we departe, The maystership all, or all this day I will not cease to make thee smarte. Euer he layde on, and euer she did crye : Alas, alas, that euer I was borne. Out vpon thee ! murderer, I thee defye, Thou hast my white skin and my body all to-torne. Leaue of betyme, I counsayle thee. 971 Nay, by God, dame, I saye not so yet, I sweare to thee, by Mary so free, We begyn but nowe : this is the first fyt. Once agayne we must daunce about, And then thou shalt reast in Morels skyn. He gaue her than so many a great cloute, That on the grounde the bloud was seene. Within a whyle he cryed : newe roddes, newe ! With that she cryed full lowde alas. 980 Daunce yet about, dame, thou came not where it grewe ; And sodainely with that in a sowne she was. IN MORRELLES SKIN. 221 He spyed that, and vp he her hente, And wrang her harde then by the nose. With her to Morels skin straight he wente, And therein full fast he did her close. Within a while she did reuiue Through the grose salte, that did her srnarte ; She thought she should neuer haue gone on1 Hue Out of Morels skin, so sore is her harte. 990 When she did spy that therein she lay, Out of her wit she was full nye, And to her husband then did she say : How canst thou doe this vilany ? Nay, how sayest thou, thou cursed wife ? In this foule skin I will thee keepe During the time of all thy life, Therein for euer to wayle and weepe. With that her moode began to sinke, And sayd : deare husband, for grace I call ; 1000 For I shall neuer sleepe nor winke, Till I get your loue, whatso befall ; And I will neuer to you offend In no maner of wise of all my lyue ; Nor to doe nothing that may pretend To displease you with my wittes fyue. 1 i. e. alive. " Then she knew wel that it was Sir Pelleas sword. ' Alas ! ' said she to Sir Gawaine, ' ye have betraied me and Sir Pelleas also, for yee told me that yee had slaine him, and now T know well it is not so, he is on Hue." — The History of K. Arthur, 1485, ed. Wright, i. 156-7. 222 THE WIFE LAPPED For Father, nor Mother, whatsoeuer they say, I will not anger you, by God in throne ; But glad will your commaundementes obay In presence of people, and eake alone. 1010 Well, on that condicion, thou shalt haue Grace, and fayre bed to rest thy body in ; But if thou rage more, so God me saue, I will wrap thee agayne in Morels skin. Then he tooke her out in his armes twayne, And beheld her so pitteously with blood arayed : How thinkest thou, wife, shall we agayne Haue such businesse more ? to her he sayd. She aunswered : nay, my husband deare, Whyle I you know, and you know me, 1020 Your commaundementes I will, both far and neare, Fulfill alway in euery degree. Well then, I promise thee, by God, euen now, Betweene thee and mee shall neuer be strife ; If thou to my commaundementes quickly bow, I will the cherish all the dayes of my life. In bed she was layde, and healed full soone, As fayre and cleare as she was beforne. What he her bid was quickly done, To be dilligently y wys she tooke no scorne. 1030 Then was he glad, and thought in his minde : Now haue I done myselfe great good, And her also ; we shall it finde, Though I haue shed parte of her blood ; IN MOEEELLES SKIN. 223 For as me thinke she will be meeke, Therefore I will her Father and Mother Byd to guest now the next weeke, And of our neighboures many other. If ?$otoe tje gocto man fcft fcgfc Jet dFatjer JHotfjer to guest anlt mang of f)ts tfjat tf)eg mtgfjt see f)ts tomes pacgence. GREAT payne he made his wife to take, Agaynst the day that they should come ; 1040 Of them was none that there did lack, I dare wel say vnto my doome. Ye, Father and mother, and neighbours all, Dyd thether come to make good cheare ; Soone they were set in generall ; The wyfe was dilligent, as did appeare. Father and mother was welcome then, And so were they all, in good fay. The husband sate there like a man, The wife did serue them all that day. 1050 The good man commaunded what he would haue ; The wyfe was quick at hand. What, now ! thought the mother, this arrant knaue Is mayster, as I vnderstand. What may this meane, then she gan thinke, That my daughter so dilligent is ? 224 THE WIFE LAPPED Now can I nother eate nor drinke, Till I it know, by heauen blisse. When her daughter came agayne To serue at the horde, as her husband bad, loeo The Mother stared with her eyen twayne, Euen as one that had ben mad. All the folke, that at the boord sate, Did her behold then euerichone ; The mother from the boord her gate, Following her daughter, and that anone ; And in the Kitching she her fand, Saying vnto her in this wise : Daughter, thou shalte well vnderstand, I did not teach thee after this guyse. 1070 A, good mother, ye say full well, All thinges with me is not, as ye weene, If ye had bene in Morels fell, As well as I, it should be scene. In Morels fell ! what deuill is that ? Mary, mother, I will it you show ; But beware that you come not thereat, Lest you your selfe then doe beshrew. Come downe now in this seller so deepe, And Morels skin there shall you see, ioso With many a rod that hath made me to weepe, When the blood ranne downe fast by my knee. The Mother this beheld, and cryed out alas ! And ran out of the Seller as she had bene wood ; IN MOERELLES SKIN. 225 She came to the table, where the company was, And sayd : out, horeson, I will see thy harte blood ! 'Peace, good Mother, or so haue I blisse, Ye must daunce else as did my wyfe, And in Morels skin lye, that well salted is, 1089 Which you should repent all the dayes of your lyfe. All they that were there held with the yong man, And sayd he dyd well in euery maner degree. Whan dynner was done, they departed all than ; The mother no lenger durst there be. The Father abode last, and was full glad, And gaue his children his blessyng ywys, Saying the yong man full well done had, And merely departed wythouten mys. This yong man was glad, ye may be sure, That he had brought hys wyfe to this. God gyue vs all grace in rest to indure, And hereafter to come vnto his blisse. Thus was Morell flayne out of his skin To charme a shrew, so haue I blisse. Forgeue the yongman, if he did sin ; But I thinke he did nothing amisse. He did all thing euen for the best, As was well prooued then ; God saue our wiues from Morels nest ; I pray you say all, amen. mo VOL. IV. Q 226 THE WIFE IN MORRELLES SKIN. Thus endeth the iest of Morels skin, Where the curst wife was lapped l in ; Because she was of a shrewde leere, Thus was she serued in this maner. Mayfter Charme8 her. Jmprmteto at Uontion in dFleete stteate, fceneatt) tje (ftontwtte, at tje stgne of £. lofw (Buangeltst, fcg ^ugi Jacfeson. ®e tjat tan cjarme a sfjwtote togfr letter t!)en tijus, Uet jtm come to me, anfc fetej ten pounti, a gotten purse. 1 i. e. wrapped. " Sym, Sym, syckerlye Heafe I see Marye And Jesus Christe faste by, Lapped in have." Chester P/ctys, ed. Wright, i. 137. 5 To charm is here, and in the following line, put satirically for " to subdue into silence." It is used in the same way in a passage in the Marriage of Wit and Science (Sh. Soc. ed. p. 37) : " Fall you to kyssyng, syr, now a dayes ? Your mother shall charme you, go your waves." Compare Dyce's Skelton, ii. 114. a Crearpse %fKtmng ana Declaring tfte ana abuse of CQomcn *2oto a ATREATTSE shewing and declaring the Pirde anc efWoaaSoo with Musquets, Pikes and Swords, And they were not the meanest men the country then affords. Taffie long time with them did trudge ; his heart was wondrous sad; They brought him then before the judge, where he [h]is judgment had. He was to stand i'th Pillory for four long hours or more, That all the children might him spy, eio that he had scar'd before. A many then against him came, running with all speed, And their Indictments thus they frame, if you please them to read. 352 THE WELCH TRAVELLER. Will you hear more, in time you may, my pen's at your commanding ; I have no more as yet to say : for there I left him standing. Taffies Indidtment. 3httpritttt0, for troubling the Shepherd to help him out of the pit. $t£ttt, for selling the lowsie Jerken for a groat, which was borrowed of his Country man Pinken. Ittttt, for casting stinking fish and rotten eggs into his hostis face. , for casting dung in his Hostis sons face. , for casting apples at the Country man from the tree, when he had the worst himself. > for going away with the gold King. , for calling the justice Boobee. 3tt0flt, for sitting in the stocks with an old woman. $tttlt, for creeping up into the smoak-loft, and then falling down into the fire with a packsaddle at his back. Jt0tttt for acting the Devils part, when he put all the house into a bodily fear. THE WELCH TRAVELLER. 353 , for scaring all the children in the town. for scaring the Sexton in the Church, for which loose behaviour he was adjudged to stand in the Pillory, where I leave him till the next mad prank he shall play. VOL. IV. VOLUME THE FIRST. The King and the Barker. NTRODUCTION. I suspect that this poem, as it has come down to us, exhibits corruptions as re gards the arrangement of the lines, and that the rhythm has seriously suffered in consequence. Take the following examples : — Line 5. " As he rode, he houertoke yn the wey A tanner of Dautre yn a queynte araye ; Blake kow heydys sat he apon, The hornys heyng besyde, The kyng low, and had god game, To se the tannar reyde. Howr kyng bad hes men abeyde." ? Rearrange thus : — "As he rode, he houertoke yn the wey A tanner of Dautre yn a queynte araye ; Blake kow heydys sat he apon, the hornys heyng besyde ; The kyng low, and had god game to se the tannar reyde. Howr kyng bad hes men abeyde." Again :— " And he welde sper of hem the wey Yffe y may her eney now tythyng Y schall het to yow saye. Howr kyng prekyd, and seyde : ' ser, god the saffe,' The taunar seyde : ' well mot yow ffar' — " 356 ADDITIONAL NOTES. Should not the text stand as follows : — " And he welde sper of hem the wey YfFe y may her eney now tythyng, y schall het to vow save. Howr kyng prekyd, and seyde: 'god the saffe, ser.' The tannar seyde : ' well mot yow ffar.' " Again, at line 82, ought we not to read the poem thus : — " God felow, with me thow must abeyde, Seyd our kyng, for thow and y most an hontyng reyde." A little further on, at line 86, query — " God felow lend thow me theyne, And hafe her meyne," At line 89, perhaps the arrangement should be — *; Alas, theyn the thanner thowt, he well reyde away With mey hors ; Y well after to get hem, and y mey." At line 92 et seqq, I am inclined to suggest a redistribution, viz : — " He cast them yn the kyngs schadyll, that was a neys seyte ; Tho he satte aboffe them, as y [y]ouw seye; He prekyd fast after hem, and fond the redey wey ; The hors lokyd about hem, arid sey On euery syde the kow homes blake and wheyte." At the same time, there are places where the measure seems in capable of restoration, and it is impossible to be certain whether even the changes suggested above would be authorized by the real original of the poem, if such were ever to come to light. There are many separate editions of this piece, subsequently to Dauter's, in- 1596. Three may be mentioned. A pleasant new Ballad of King Edward the Fourth and a Tanner of Tamworth, as he rode a hunting with his Nobles to Drayton Bassett. To an excellent new Tune. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke. With a cut. A pleasant new Ballad of King Edward the Fourth and a Tanner of Tamworth. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, and W. Gilbertson. With two cuts. In the 4th Part of Bill. Heber., No. 1743, was another im pression, entitled, " A Merry, Pleasant, and Delectable History between King Edward the Fourth and a Tanner of Tamworth, as he rode upon a time with his Nobles on Hunting toward ADDITIONAL NOTES. 35? Drayton-Basset, very Pleasant and merry to Read. With cuts Printed for F. Coles, n. d. 8vo. Of the ed. of 1596, the only copy known to the editor is that in Selden, Arch. 39, 4to ; but Percy had the use of a perfect copy. Besides the license of this ballad to William Griffith, in 1564-5, mentioned at p. 2, note, there was an entry of it, with several other articles, to Edward White, in 1585-6. But the ear liest printed edition of it now known is that of 1596 ; for a notice of which, see vol. ii. p. 59, of present work. The King and the Hermit. This tale seems to acquire an additional interest and value from the circumstance, or probability rather, that it belongs to the Robin Hood epoch— the reign of Edward II, during which the great Nottinghamshire outlaw is conjectured to have died. In the Lytel Geste, fytte the sixth, ad finem, where Robin has just liberated Sir Richard at the Lee, we read :- - " Leve thi hors the behynde, And lerne for to renne ; Thou shalt with me to grene wode Through myre, mosse and fenne. Thou shalt with me to grene wode, Without any leasynge, Tyll that I have gete us grace Of Edwards, our comly Kynge" Then the 7th Fit begins thus : — "The kynge came to Notyrighame, With knyghtes in grete araye ; For to take that gentyll knyght, And Robyn Hode, yf he may." (Ritson's Robin Hood, 1795, i. 62, 3.) It seems far from un likely that we ought to place the incident which is narrated in the King and the Hermyt, therefore, during this Nottinghamshire progress of Edward II. Our hermit also made his house in the then extensive forest of Sherwood, and had something better than bread and water at need to offer a visitor. We are reminded strongly, when we peruse this poem, of the noted character of a similar class, whom Scott has introduced into his Ivanhoe. The whole of the 7th Fit of the Lytell Geste should be read in connection with the Kyng and the Hermyt. In Mr. Black's Catalogue of the Ashmol. MSS. fol. 110, this poem is described as " The gest of King Edward and [in ?] the Forest of Shir wood." 358 ADDITIONAL NOTES. The closing lines are printed by Mr. Black in his Catalogue of the Ashmol. MSS., and as that gentleman gives them, they vary in a very few literal minutiae from the text given here in accordance with a collation forwarded to the editor by Mr. Waring from Oxford. Line 77, wylle. Strike out the note upon this word ; but the explanation is correct. Be wrojt was a misprint, however, for he wro^t. Line 346. Fusty bandya*. The same expression is used by Skelton without any obvious meaning in his Garlande of Lau- rell, 1523, and in one of his Poems against Garnesche. In the former it is written foisty bawdias, and in the latter fusty bawdias. It would appear to belong to the interjectional vocabulary. The Thrush and the Nightingale. Line 1. Somer is comen, &c. The reader may perhaps be re minded of the beautiful and most ancient song in praise of the cuckoo (Ritson's Anc. Songs, i. 10), commencing " Sumer is icumen in." The present is not quite so old, probably, but it is prior to a second piece in the same collection, and the opening lines of the two are almost verbatim identical. The Fox and the Wolf. Page 58. A short prose version of a tale similar to this is printed in Mr. Wright's Latin Stories, p. 54, under the title of " Fabula de vulpe et lupo." Ragman Roll. This is mentioned by John Heywood in an interlude printed in 1533. It was perhaps printed about that date; but W. de Worde ceased from business in the beginning of 1535. — See Skelton's Garlande of Laurell, 1523, line 1490 (Works, i. 420). Line 5. In brede. So Skelton, in the Garlande of Laurell, 523:— " Yet now and then Sum Latin men May happely loke Vpon your boke, And so precede In you to rede, That so indede Your fame may sprede In length and brede." ADDITIONAL NOTES. 359 The Debate of the Carpenters Tools. Line 14. Twybylk. Skelton, in one of his Poems against Gar- nesche, has the word. Line 303. " I saye thou madde Marche hare, I wondre howe ye dare Open your iariglyng iawes." Skelton's Works, i. 210. And in Magnyfycence, the same writer says, — "As mery as a Marche hare." Colin Blowbols Testament. Line 391. Atropos. Skelton, in his Elegy on the 4th Earl of Northumberland (Works, i. 11), thut, addresses this per sonage : — ** O Atropos, of the fatall systers iii Goddes most cruell vnto the lyfe of man, All merciles, in th6 is no pite ! 0 homicide, which sleest all that thou can." It seems not unlikely that the author of this whimsical piece of extravagance may have seen some such production as the drinking song by Walter Mapes, introduced into Ritson's An cient Songs, ed. 1829, i. 3, commencing : — " Mihi tst propositum in tabernS, mori." Skelton, in his Diners Balettys and Dyties Solacyons (Works, i. 23), has the expression " blynkerd blowboll." Syr Peny. Syr Peny. Here is the song referred to in the Introduction, under the title of " A Song in praise of Sir Penny :" — " Go bet, Peny, go bet [go], For thu makyn bothe frynd and fo. Peny is an hardy knyght, Peny is mekyl of myght, Peny of wrong, he makyt ryght, In every cuntr6 qwer he goo. [Go bet, &c.] 360 ADDITIONAL NOTES. Thow I have a man islawe, And forfetyd the kynge"s lawe, I xal fyndyn a man of lawe, Wyl takyn myn peny, and let me goo. [Go bet, &c.] And if I have to don fer or ner, And Peny be myn massanger, Than am I nothyng in dwer, My cause xal be wol doo. [Gobet,&c.] And if I have pens bothe good and fyn, Men wyll byddyn me to the wyn, That I 'have xal be ther[in] : Sekyrly thei wil seyn so. [Go bet, &c.] And quan I have non in myn purs, Peny bet, ne peny wers, Of me thei holdyn but lytil fors, He was a man, let hym goo. [Go bet, Peny, go bet, go, For thu makyn both frynd and fo.]'' To the publications on the subject of money ma}' be added, Hake's Newes out of Powles Churchy arde, 1567; The Massacre of Money, by T. A., 1602 ; The World's Sweet-heart, a ballad, printed by Mr. Collier in his " Book of Roxburghe Ballads," 1847, p. 7 ; A New Dittie in Prayse of Money. To a new Tune called the Kings Jigge, in Deloney's Strange Histories, 1607 (Percy Society's ed., p. 66) ; The Lady Pccunia's Journey unto Hell, by Humphrey Crouch, 1653; and The Death and Burmll ofMistresse Money, with tier Will and Funerall Verses, 1664, 8vo. How the Wise Man taught his Son. Line 160. Cliery fayre. See Skelton's Works, ii. 85. How the Goode Wif thaught her Daughter. Line 48. Borelle. " This is to say, if I be gay, sir schrewe, I wol renne aboute, my borel for to schewe." Wyf of Bathes Prologe. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 361 Howe a Myrchand dyd Tiys Wyfe Betray. The following entries relative to the early printed edition of this production (all now lost) occur in the Stationers' Re gisters : — " [1560-1] Rd of John Sampson for his lycense for the pryntynge of the proude wyves pater noster, a penyworth of wytt, and the plowmans pater noster, the xiiiith of auguste . . xiid [15 Januarii, 1581-2] John Charlwood. Rd of him, for his lycense to printe theis Copies hereafter men tioned Copies which were Sampson Awdeleys, and now lycenced to the said John Charlwood Thargumente of Apparell. A PENNYWORTH OP WITTE. A hundred merry tales. ADAM BELL. The banishment of Cupid. Crowleys Epigrams. A Foxe Tale. Kiiige Pontus. ROBIN CONSCIENCE. A PROUDE WYVES PR. NR. A Sackefull of newes. Sr Eglamore. Gowre de Confess. Amantis. The good Sheppard and the Badde. See also vol. ii. p. 55, of present work, and Introduction to Books in meeter of Robin Conscience. Ult° Maij [1594] James Rohertes. Entred for his copies, by order of the Court, certen Copies which were John Charlwood's, Salvo jure cvjuscunque. The book of husbandry. Marcus Aurelius. A PENNYWORTH OF WIT. C. mery tales. ADAM BELL. The banishment of Cupid. ROBIN CONSCIENCE. A PROUD WYVES PR. NR. &C." 362 ADDITIONAL NOTES. Roberte the Deuyll. On a more particular examination of the Garrick copy of this romance, I find that it contains twenty-eight leaves, and not twenty-nine, as stated by Mr. Thorns. King Eolerd of Cysille. Erratum, page 269, line 15 from top. For in a half a penni- worth of Paper read in half a peni-worth of Paper. VOLUME THE SECOND. The Squyr of Lowe Degre. "A SQUIRE was a jstate or condition inferiour, and, generally speaking, preparatory to that of a knight, upon whom the squire attended in the nature of a servant; haveing the care of his horse and armour ; dressing and undressing him ; and carveing his meat, and serveing him with bread and wine, at table. See Memoires sur VAncienne Chevallerie, tome I, part ii, &c. A most curious and interesting account of the education, employments, and progress, of a page, varlet, or squire, will be found in the Histoire et Plaisante Cronique du petit Jehan de Saintre, an excel lent romance of the fifteenth century (Paris, 1523, 1724)." — Ritson. The entry of this piece to John King was as follows : — "Recevyd of John Kynge, for his lycense for pryntinge of these Copyes, Lucas vrialis [Lucres and Euryalus ?] ; nyce wanton ; impatiens poverte ; the proud wyues pater noster ; The Squyre of Low deggre ; Syr deg- gre; graunted the x. of June, 1560 . . . . ii8" Chaucer, in Sir Tfiopas, has ridiculed, not the Squyr of Lowe Degre, but such romances of the same class as existed in his day, on account of the false sentiment and imagery with which they abounded. Line 1. It was, &c. The older edition, of which only the title and signatures Aii, A iij, and A iv, altogether four leaves, are at present known, begin on A ii thus : — " It was a squyre of lowe degree." It may be presumed that the variations between the two impres sions were merely literal, as here, but a collation of the frag ment, so far as it goes, would have been very desirable, if access ADDITIONAL NOTES. 363 could have been got to it. No bibliographer has been hitherto aware that the poem was printed more than once. Line 824. Hey how and rumby low. See Dyce's Skelton, ii. 110, and Ritson's Robin Hood) 1795 ; also Gutch, ii. 416, 443. The KnygJit of Curtesy. Introduction, page 66. " 1857, 42" is a printer's error for "1857, 4to." In the same piece, the head-line should read " The Knight of Curtesy and the Lady of Faguel." This is also a printer's error. In a Collection of Tales in MS, written about 1670, (formerly in the possession of the Archer family), occurs " A Memorable Story of Captain Coucy and his Mistress." See Mr. Halliwell's Catalogue of Shakespeare Reliques, 1852, 4to. p. 43. The Batayle of Egyngecourte. This portion of the present romance-poem was turned by the ballad-makers to their own uses, for we have in the Alderman- bury Church-yard series, "King Henry V. his Conquest of France in Revenge for the Affront offered by the French King in sending him instead of the Tribute a Ton of Tennis Balls." Line 65 et seqq. In the Douce Collection at Oxford is a frag - ment of two leaves of a printed edition, differing entirely from that here used. The editor subjoins an illustration. SKOT'S EDITION. " Gramercy syrs the kynge gan say Our ryght 1 trust than shalbe wonne And I wyll quyte you yf I may Therfore I warne you bothe olde & yonge To make you redy without delay To Southampton to take your waye At saynt Peters tyde at Lammas For by the grace of god and yf I maye Ouer the salte see I thynke to passe." DOUCE FRAGMENT. " Gramercy syrs the Kyng can say Our ryght I trust than shall be wone And I wyll quyte you if I may Therfore I warne you bothe olde and yonge To make you redy without delay To Southampton to take your way. 364 ADDITIONAL NOTES. At saynte Peters tyde at Lammasse For by the grace of God and if I may Ouer the salte see I thynke to passe." We may presume Skot's edition to have appeared about 1530, and the Douce fragment establishes the fact, otherwise unknown, that there was another early printed edition, now lost, in a com plete state, or, at least, not hitherto ascertained to be anywhere extant. Justes of the monetJis of Maye and June. Introduction (page 111). The Princess Mary appears to have been the second wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Adam Bell. This poem was licensed to James Roberts in 1594, and there can be no doubt that between that and 1605, the date of the only known edition from his press, he republished it several times. Such a piece would be in too great demand to lie idle during eleven years. Line 16. Inglewood Forest. This once extensive tract of land is also the scene of two tales in the Arthurian series, the Avow- ynge of King Arthur, and the Auturs of Arthur, both edited by Mr. Robson for the Camden Society, 1842, 4to. In MS. Ashmole, 115, art. 102, occurs: " De communa pas- turae in fo[resta] de Inglewode in com. Cumbr[ise] concessa Ma- riae ux[ori] Guil. de Stapulton, 5 Feb. 13 Rich. II. Tom Thumb, 1630. Introduction, p. 107- In The Pleasant History of Jack Hor- ner there is the following intimation as to the stature of Jack. The editor quotes from Mr. Halliwell's Notices of Popular English Histories, 1848, p. 33 :— " Thus few was like him far and nigh, When he to age was come ; As being thirteen inches high, A giant to Tom Thumb." Page 167. In the title-page of Robin Good-fellow, his Mad Prankes, &c, 1628, Part I, a woodcut occurs, in which Tom Thumb is represented performing on a pipe at the right-hand corner. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 365 Garraguntua is, of course, a printer's error for Garragantita. Page 172. The editor has to notice another impression of this very popular production. It is also preserved in the Bod leian, and was brought to his notice by his friend Mr. Waring. It differs very unimportantly from that of 1630, and a few of the cuts are varied for the worse. The imprint is : " Printed for F. Coles, J. Wright, T. Vere, and William Gilbertson." In 12mo, without date [circa 1650]. The copy was formerly A. a Wood's. For some further notices of this myth, and references to authorities, see Thorns' Early Prose Romances, 1828, Preface, xi. The British Museum possesses a version of this legend iu Arabic. The Notbrowne Mayde. The strong affinities between the legendary lore of our own country and that of Germany and Northern Europe are too familiar to be insisted upon. The editor regards the Notbrowne Mayde as a composition of English growth, and it is not un likely that Arnold himself was the writer or modernizer. It is hard to know what weight exactly to attach to Douce's theoiy. The poem presents to us an episode for which the perturbed condition of the kingdom in the fifteenth century was apt to supply plenty of foundation and material ; the author may have had in his eye the antecedent legend of Robin Hood, the (alleged) Earl of Huntingdon and the fair Matilda, the Lord Fitzwater's daughter — the Maid Marian of the ballads, if, at least, at the period when the Notbrowne Mayde was originally written, the noble birth of the Sherwood outlaw obtained cre dence, which can scarcely be regarded as very probable. Mr. Wright's edition is printed with commendable fidelity ; not more than some half-dozen trifling deviations from his original were discovered by the present editor, upon a diligent collation. It is proper to remark, that in the first edition the con tractions are more numerous than in the second, which was evidently corrected before going to press. The text, how ever, as a whole, is inferior to that of the first edition. The latter usually employs y£ and ye for that and the; such ordinary forms as wrog for wrong, and amog for among, &c. Hearne, in a letter to James West (Restituta, i. 70), announced a conjecture that the Notbrowne Mayde was by Thomas Ehnham, author of the Vita Henrici Quinti. In Censura Literaria, vol. vi, several pages are devoted to a theory upon the authorship of the poem, based on mistaken premises. 366 ADDITIONAL NOTES. VOLUME THE THIRD. The New Noiborune Mayd. MR. WRIGHT has indicated an additional example of the mo- ralization of an ancient secular performance in the ballad of " Come over the Burne, Bessy, to me." The reader will find a version of this in Dr. Rimbault's charming " Little Book of Songs and Ballads," 1851, 8vo, where is also printed a second ditty of the same complexion, under a nearly similar title. But Mr. Collier, in his Extracts from the Stationers' Registers, has referred to several instances where a ballad of real merit in its original shape has been made to do duty in this way, and has been so shorn of all its attractiveness and interest. Among these moralizations may be mentioned The Dialogues of Creatures Moralissid ; Tye thy mare torn boy, ty thy mare, by W. Kethe (or Keith) ; and O, sweet Oliver, amended by the Scriptures, by an anonymous hand. But the list of these reli gious parodies, so to say, might be readily swollen to a large compass. Stans Puer ad Mensam. This is a different production from the piece of the same name attached to the editions of Rhodes's Boke of Nurture; but the latter was under obligations to the elder tract. It was Mr. Douce's opinion that Rhodes founded his Stans Puer ad Mensam on Lydgate, and also, in part, on a performance with a similar title, supposed to be the work of John Russell, extant in Harl. MS. 4011. It is to be observed that this piece is printed very carelessly in the Reliquiae Antiques, unless we suppose the Jesus College MS. to be a very bad one, which the present editor, not having had an opportunity of examining it, cannot pretend to deter mine. Other copies of it are in MS. Ashmole 59, art. 59 ; Ibid. 61, art. 7 ; and in Cotton MS. Calig. A. n. f. 13. But the two last are of a different translation. Introduction, p. 23. Contenance de la Table. For" 1816, 4to," read " 1816, 12mo." Line 67. For gynne warre read warre gynne. The words were wrongly transposed. Line 93, et seq. In Caxton's edition [known to me only from Mr. Blade's Life and Typog. of W. Caxton, ii. 49], the last stanza varies ; it runs as follows : — " Goo litill bylle bareyn of eloquence Pray yong children that the shal see or rede ADDITIONAL NOTES. 367 Though thou be not compendious of sentence Of thi clawses for to take hede Whiche to alle vertue shal thy yougth lede Of the wrytyng though ther be no date If ought de amys put the faute in lidgate Explicit." Debate and Stryfe betwene Somer and Wynter. The editor desires it to be understood that his text is not taken from the reprint of I860, but from the original black- letter tract in the British Museum, which he has collated in proof, and reproduced here line for line and word for word. Line 58. In a grene herler. A curious illustration of this passage occurs in A C. Mery Talys, Nos. 2 and 62. See Old English Jest-Books, i. 13, 89. Tale of the Basyn. Line 18. As I have been tolde. Air. Wright left this unsup- plied ; but it is necessary to the completion of the stanza. Frere and the Boye. Introduction. Next to the history of Tom Thumb, the Frere and the Boye is, perhaps, the most popular piece in the present collection. With changes of form only, it has found its way into almost every literature and language of the old world, and no story could be a greater favourite than the Frere and the Boye, in its various shupes, has been with the writers of our own and other countries. The proof lies in the abundant allusions to it; and in the sixteenth century its popularity was, no doubt, ex ceeding. Indeed, it is to be regarded as one of those anti- monastic performances which enjoyed a wide circulation during and after the Reformation ; and it was probably one of the later productions of the press of Wynkyn de Worde, who continued to print till 1534, or rather till the beginning of 1535. Herr Carl Engel informs the editor that he has traced the Frere and the Boye in the literatures of Wallachia and Albania. Line 300. Hey go bet. " And than came haltyng Jone, And brought a gamboue Of bakon that was resty : But, Lorde, as she was testy, Angry as a waspy ! She began to yaue and gaspy, 368 ADDITIONAL NOTES. And bad Elynour go bet, And fyll in good met ; It was dere that was farre fet — " Skelton's Elynour Humming. Turnament of Tottenham. The edition of 1631, 4to, being a scarce book, and the Preface being curious, the latter is here subjoined: — To THE COURTEOUS READER. That which here I offer to thy view, gentle Reader, is an ancient poem, intituled as thou seest by the Author, The Tur nament of Tottenham : Which as hee, after the manner of Poets, relateth it, seemeth to haue bene but a merriment or sport : But was as I haue declared in the title, a thing really performed, and done in sober sadnes. Ancient I call it, although I cannot say how ancient, for many reasons : First because the Manu script out of which I transcribed it was such : Secondly for that the language argueth no lesse. For many, not onely words, but phrases, are so obsolete and outworne, that few, except such as are well versed in the writings of the Auncients, may easily vnderstand them. Thirdly the proper names of men and women, are so deformed by nicknaming, that it is hard to say how they are truly to be called. Lastly when it is here sayd, That the brid was won by Turnament or lusting, after a warlike maner, by fight vpon horse backe. And that Master Cambden relateth, this manner of disport or warlike exercise, brought in by King Steeuen, about the yeare of our Lord, 1135, was afterward, for the much effusion of blood, oft committed by meanes thereof, by many edicts of the Church forbidden, and at last vtterly put downe by Edward the third, I do verily beleeue, that this Turnament was acted before this proclamation of King Edward. For how durst any to attempt to do that, although in sport, which was so straightly forbidden, both by the ciuill & Eclesiasticall power? For although they fought not with lances, yet as our author sayth, It was no childrens game. And what would haue become of him, thinke you, which should haue slayne another in this manner of ieasting ? Would hee not, trow you, haue bene hang'd for it in earnest? yea and haue bene buried likeadogge? Amongst sundry other treatises in this copy, there is a story of Robin Hood, & little lohn ' which seemeth to be done by the same 1 The MS. is now in the public library at Cambridge, and the story of Robin Hood §• Little John here mentioned has been printed by Hartshorne and Gutch. It bears the title of A Tale of Robin Hood. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 369 Author. Yet I will not say that this poem was written then, or nere vnto those times. For these outlawea, as M. Stow writeth, liued in the beginning of the raigne of King Richard the first, sirnamed Ceur de lyon. That is about the yeare of our Lord God 1189. It is now seauen or eight yeares since I came first to the sight of the copy, and that by the meanes of the worthy and my much honoured good friend, M. Ge. Withers : Of whom also, now at length I haue obtained the vse of the same. And because the verse was then by him, a man of so exquisite Judgment, in this kinde of learning, much commended: All also for that the thing it selfe doth concerne none more then my selfe, and others the inhabitants of Tottenham, I thought it worth the while, especially at idle times, to transcribe it, and for the honour of the place, to make it publicke. " The Author hath not any where through the whole booke, as farre as I remember, subscribed his name, to any treatise, more then to one, where I finde it thus, Explicit Passio Domini nostri, lesu Christi, quod Dominus Gilbertus Pylkynjton : Now because the character or phrase is in all the same, I haue no reason but to thinke they be all workes of the same Author." Line 7. Tyrry. It may be worth observing, that Syr Terry is one of the heroes in the Jeaste of Sir Gawayne, and the author of the present production may have had him in his mind, when he christened his burlesque hero. " Syr Terry sayd, therto I graunte ; Fare well now, god be thy warraunte " Jeast of Syr Gawayne. Treatyse of a Oalaunt. The representation of a Galaunt found here was pressed into service a good deal about the same time for various purposes. It is a portrait of Godfrey de Bouillon in the History of the Knight of the Swanne ; at cap. 16 of Borde's Boke of Knowledge, it stands for an inhabitant of Bohemia ; on the title of the Interlude of Jack Jugler, we are requested to believe in it as an accurate portrait of Bonngrace ; and on the reverse of the old play of Hyckescorner, this identical cut stands for Hicke Scorner himself. A Pore Helpe. Introduction. For three leaves read eight leaves ; the tract fills, in fact, an octavo sheet. A third copy of A Pore Helpe is in the Bodleian, among Bp. Tanner's books. VOL. IV. B B 370 ADDITIONAL NOTES. VOLUME THE FOURTH. John Bon and Mast Person. Introduction. The subjoined extract seems to fix with some degree of precision the date of the appearance of this piece, while it supplies a curious illustration of its literary history : — " There was one Luke, a physician in London, who wrote divers books against the Papists, in the end of King Henry's reign : for which he had been imprisoned in the Fleet. In the first year of King Edward, he published one book for which he was heavily cried out upon by the Papists to Sir John Gresham the Lord Mayor. It was a dialogue between John Bon and Master Parson. Which two persons were brought in, reasoning together of the natural presence in the Sacrament; but the author had concealed himself. It was writ very facetiously, and sprinkled with wit, severely biting now and then at the Priests. The book took much at the Court, and the courtiers wore it in their pockets. But the Mayor had the book so illy represented unto him, that he was very angry, and sent' for Day the printer of it, intending to make him discover the author, and to lay him in prison for printing the same. Underhil chanced to come in at this time, to desire the aid of the Mayor to take Allen before spoken of, who reported the King's death. The Mayor made Underhil dine with him, and speaking to him at dinner concerning this book, the maker whereof, he told him, he intended to search for, that so, as it seems, Underhil might declare at Court the diligence of the Mayor in his office, he presently replied to him, that that book was a good book, adding, that he had himself one of them about him, and that there were many of them in the Court. With that the Mayor desired to see it, and took it and read a little, and laughed thereat, as it was both pithy and merry. And by this season able interposition of Underhil, John Day the printer, sitting at a side-board, after dinner, was bidden to go home, who had else gone to prison." — Strype's Eccl. Mem. ii. pt. i. p. 181. John Bon and Mast Person, therefore, in all probability, came from Day's press between January 1 547, and January 1548. The Eye Way to the Spijttel Ecus. Introduction. I must retract what I observed respecting R. Copland's press, as there is no doubt, that, from the time of W. de Worde's death at the end of the year 1534, to his own, which can only be assigned by conjecture to 1548, this intelli- ADDITIONAL NOTES. 371 gent and industrious man had a press of his own, and em ployed independent devices. Misled by Ritson, I have spoken of Walter's Spectacle of Lovers, and of his Lytell contrauers dyalogue, &c. as two works, whereas they are, of course, one and the same. To the list of works with which he connected his name, the following have to be added:—!. The Introductory to write, by Alex. Barclay, printed by R. C. 1521, folio. On the last leaf occurs : " Here foloweth the maner of dauncynge of base dauces after the vse of fraunce and other places translated out of freuche into Englysshe by Robert coplande." 2. The Secret of Secrets of Aristotyle, translated out of French, and emprented by R. C. 1528. 4to, with the translator [R. Copland's] Envoy, in verse. 3. The Maner to Hue well, &c, Printed by R. C. 1540, 4to, and translated, probably by himself, out of French. See Dibden, iii. 120-4. The Art of Memorye, translated out of French into English by Rob. Copland . Lond. by W. Myd- dylton. 12mo. In MS. Ashmole, 37, art. 300, are some extracts from the present poem in Ashmole's handwriting. Proude Wyues Pater noster. The variations between the two editions are very material, but it may be difficult to determine, quite satisfactorily, which was the prior one. Probably it was the impression by King with a date ; the anonymous author may have discovered how corrupt the text was, as it was there presented, and have intro duced the improvements, both literal and literary, which we find in the undated edition, before the tract was put into the hands of King again for reprinting. In Selden's copy of the un dated issue, not only the language is superior, but the orthogra phy is less antiquated. The changes introduced certainly read like an author's own corrections. The Proude Wyues Pater noster was licenced to King, Juue 10, 1560 ; therefore, it is pro bable, that both the extant impressions made their appearance between that time and the end of the year, i.e. March, 1560-1. The right-hand figure on the old title-page is copied appa rently from one which occurs at the head of cap. 16 of Borde's Boke of Knowledge. Gossan's Pleasant Quippes. Line 107. Can you hit it? It is alluded to as a dance tune in Arthur of Bradley :— " Then Miles in his motley breeches, And he the piper beseeches, 372 ADDITIONAL NOTES. To play him Haw'thorn buds, That he and his wench might trudge • But Lawrence liked not that. No more did lusty Kate : For she cry'd, Canst thou not hit it ? To see how fine Thomas can trip it." Ritson's Robin Hood, ii. 213. Mr. Chappell, in his Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 239, notices a tune under the title of " Can you not hit it, my good man ? " The Pride and Abuse of Women. Line 216. Beware of bad I wist. Meaning, of course, beware of after-regrets. This is the precise title of one of the anonymous poems in the Paradyse of daynty deuises, and is the fifth Poem in the edition of 1578. It is also the head-line of A Warnyng for England, 1555, 12mo, and no doubt, when Bansley wrote, was a well-understood and constantly-cited proverbial expression. THE END. 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