¶ A mery gest how a sergeaūt woldel erne to be a frete:
Wyse men alwaye
Afferme & say / y
e best is
For a dylygently (man
For to apply / y
e besynes
y
t he and in no wyse (can
To enterpryse / an other faculte
For he that wyll
And can no skyll / is neuer lyke to the
He that hath lafte
The hosiers crafte & falleth to makȳge
The smythe that shall (shone
To pātȳge fall his thryfte is welhygh
A blacke draper (done
With wyte yaꝑ / to go to wrytȳge stole
An olde butler
Betū a cutler / I wene shal proue afole
In olde trot
That good cā not / but euer kysse y
e cup
With her pbysyke
Wyll kepe oneseke / tyll she haue soued hym vp
A man of lawe
That neuer sawe / the wayes to by and sell
wenynge to aryse
By marchaundyse / I praye god spe de hym well
A marchaunt cke
That wyll good seke / by all the meanes he maye
To fall in sute
Tyll he dyspute / his monay clene awaye
Pletynge the lawe
For euery strawe / shall proue a thryfty man
with bate and stryfe
But by my lyfe / I can not tell you whan
whan an hatter
wyll go smater In phylosophy
Or a pedlat
waxe a medlar / in theolegy
[Page] All that ense we
Suche craftes ne we / they dryue so fere a cast
That euer more
They do ther fore / boshre we them selfe at laste
This thynge was cryed
And vere tyed / here by a sergeaunt late
That tyfely was
Or he coude pas / rapped aboute the pate
Whyle that he wolde
Se how he coude / in goddes'name play y
e frere
Now yf you wyll
Knowe how hyt fyll / Take hede & ye shall here
It happed so
Not longe ago / a thryfty man dyede
An hondred pounde
Of nobles rounde that had he layde a syde
His sone he wolde
Sholde haue this golde / for to begyne with all
But to suffyce
His chylde well thryes / y
e monay were to small!
yet or this daye
I haue helde saye / that many a man certesse
Hath with good cast
Be ryche at last / That hath begon, with lesse
But this yonge man
So well he can his monaye to Imploye
That certenly
His po
[...]cy / role hyt was a Ioye
For lest lum blaste
Myght ouer caste / his shyp or by myschaunce
Men with some wyle
Myght hym begyle / & mynysshe his substaūce
For to put out
All manere doubte / he made a good putauye
For euery why
[...]
Of his owne wyt / and toke other waye
[...]te tayre and wele
[Page] A grete dele / he dyghthyt in a pot
But tenh hym thought
That was nought / and there he lefte hyt not
So was he fayne
Frome thens agayne / to put hyt in a cup
And by and by
Couetously / he supped hytfayre vp
In his owne brest
He thought hyt best / his monaye to enclose
Then wyst he well
what euer fell he coude hyt neuer lose
He porowed than
Of a nother man / monaye and matchaundyse
Neuer payde hyt
Up he layde hyt / in lyke maner wyse
yet on the gete
That he wolde were / he rought not what he
So hyt were nyce (spente
As for the pryce / coude hym not myscontente
With lusty sporte
And with resorce / of ioly company
In myrthe and playe
Full many a daye / he lyued merely
And men had sworne
Some man is borne / to haue a goodly floure
And so was he
For suche degre / he gate and suche honoure
That with out doubte
Whan he went out / a sergaunt well and fayre
was redy strayte
On him to wayte / as sowne as on the mayre
But he doubtlesse
Of his mekenes / hated suche pompe & pryde
And wolde not go
Compnyed so / but drewe hym selfe a sydē
To saynt Katheryne
[Page] Streyght as a lyne / he gate hym at a tyde
For promocyon
Or promocyon / there wolde he nedes abyde
There spence he fast
Tyll all was past / and to hym rame there many
To aske theyr det
But non coude get / the valour of a peny
With vysage stoute
He bare hyt oute / vnto the harde hedge
A moneth or twayne
Tyll he was tayne to laye his gowne to pledge
Than was he there
In groter fere / then or that he came thyder
And wolde as fayne
De parte agayne / but that he wyst not whyther
Than after this
To a trende of his / he went and there abode
Where as he laye
So syke al waye / he myght not come abrode
Hyt happed than
A marchaunt man / that he ought monaye to
Of an offycere
Than gan enquyre / what hym was best to do
And he answerde
Be not a ferde / take an accyon therfore
I you beheste
I shall hym reste / and than care for no more
I fere quod he
Hyt wyll not be / for he wyll not com out
The sergeaunt sayd
Be not afrayde / hyt shall be brought aboute
In many a game
Lyke to the same haue I bene well in vre
And for your sake
Let me be bake / but yf I do this cure
Thus part they bothe
[Page] And to hym goth / a pace this offycere
And for a daye
All his araye / he chaunged with a frere
So was he vyght
That no man myght / hym for a frere deny
He dopped and doked
He spake and loked / so rely gyously
Yet in a glasse
Or he wolde passe / he to ted and he peted
His herte for pryde
Lepte in his syde / to se how well he frered
Than forth a pace
Unto the place / he goeth in goddes name
To do this dede
But nowe take hede / for here begȳneth y
e game
He drewe hy nye
And softly / at the dore he knocked
A damoysell
That herde hym well / came & it vn locked
The frere sayd
God spede fayre mayde / here lodget such a mā
It is tolde me
Well syr quod she / and yf he do what than
Quod he maystresse
No harme doublesse / hyt longethe for our ordre
To hurte no man
But as we can / euery wyght to fordre
With hym truely
Fayne speke wolde I / syr quod she by my faye
He is so syke
ye be not lyke / to speke with hym to daye
Quod he fayre maye.
yet I you praye / this moche at my despre
vouche safe to do
As to go hym to / and saye an austen frere
molde with hym speke
[Page] And maters breke / for his auayle certyne
Quod he I wyll
Stōde ye here styll / tyll I come downe agayne
Up is she go
And tolde hym so / as she wis bode to saye
He mystrystynge
No maner thynge / sayd mayden go they waye
And fetche hym hyder
That we togyder / may talke adowne she goth
And vp she brought
No harme she thought / but it made some folke
But this offycere (wroth
This fayned frere / whan he was come alofte
He dopped than
And grete this man / relygyously and ofte
And he agayne
Ryght gladde & fayne / toke hȳ there by y
e shoude
The frere than sayd
ye be dysmayde / hith trouble I vnderstonde
In dede quod he
Hyt hath with me ben better than hyt is
Syr quod the frere
Be of good chere / yet shall hyt after this
For crystes sake
Loke that you take / no thought in your brest
God may tourne all
And so he shall / I truste vnto the best
But I wolde now
Lomyn with you, in counsell yf you please
Or elles nat
Of maters that / shall set your herte at ease
Downe went the mayde
The marchaūt sayd / Now say on gentyll frere
Of all this tydynge
That ye me brynge / I longe full sore to here
Whan there was none
[Page] But they alone / the frete with euyll grace
Sayd I rest the
Come on with me / and out he toke his mace
Thou shalte obaye
Come on thy waye / I haue thē in my cloche
Thou goest not hense
For all the pense / the mayre hath in his pouche
This marchaunt there
For wrathe and fete / waxed welnyghe wode
Sayde horsone thefe
With a maschete / who hath caught the good
And with his fyste
Upon the lyste / he gaue hym suche a blowe
That bacwarde downe
Almoste in sowne / the frere is ouer throwe
yet was this man
Well ferder than / lest he the frere had slayne
Tyll with good rappes
And heuy clappes / he dawde hym vp agayne
The frere toke herte
And vp he stette / and well he layed aboute
And so there goth
Betwene them bothe / many aluity cloute
They rence and tere
Eche other here / and claue togyder fast
Tyll with luggynge
Halynge & iugynge / they fell doune both at last
That on the grounde
Togyder rounde / with many asdde stroke
The roll and rumble
They tourne & cumble / lyke pygges in a poke
So longe aboue
They heue and shoue / togyder that at the last
They mayde the wyfe
To breke the stryfe / hyed them vpwarde faste
And whan they se
They captayues lye / walrtynge on the place
They pulled a good: adoune about this face
whyle he was blynde
The wenche behynde / lent hym on the flore
Many a Jolle
Aboute the noise / with a grete batyll dore
The wyfe came yet
And with her fete / she holpe to kepe hym downe
And with her rocke
Many a knocke she gaue hym on the crowne
They layde his mace
Aboute his fuce / that he was wode for payne
The frere frappe
Gate many a swappe / tyll he was fall nyghe slayne
Up they hymlyfte
And with euyll thryfte / hedlynge all the stayre
Downe they hym threwe
And sayd a dewe / commaunde vs to the mayre
The frere arose
But I suppose / amased was his hede
He shoke his eres
And frome grete feres / he thought hym well a flede
Quod he now lost
Is all this cost / we be neuer the nere
yll morche the
That caused me / to make my selfe a frere
Now maysters all
And now I shall / ende there I began
In ony wyse
I wolde auyse / and counseyll euery man
His owne crafe vse
All newe refuse / and vtterly let them gone
Playe not the frere
Now make good there / and welcome euey chone
¶ Enprynted at Loudō by me Julyan Notary dwellȳg in Powlys churche yarde at the wistedore at the sygne of saynt Macke