For they that loven so passyngly such trowes they have echon She sniffith, sighith, and shoke hire hede, and made rouful cher : "Benedicite," quod the pardonere, and toke hire by the swere, 40 "Yee make sorowe i-nowgh," quod he, "your life though ye shuld lese!" “It is no wondir,” quod she than, and therwith she gan to snese. "Aha! al hole," quod the pardoner, "your pennaunce is somewhat passid !" "God forbede it els!" quod she," but it were somwhat lassid ; I durst swere upon a book that trewe he shuld yowe fynd; 50 Ye made me a sory man, I dred ye wold have stervid.” "Graunt mercy, gentil sir!” quod she, “that yee unaservid; Yee be a nobile man, i-blessid mut yee be! Sit down, ye shul drynk."—" Nay, i-wis," quod he, "I am fastyng yit, myne own hertis rote." "Fastyng yit, alas!" quod she, "therof I can gode bote." 60 She stert into the town, and fet a py al hote, And set tofore the pardonere. "Jenken, I ween I note, Is that your name I yow prey ?" "Ye i-wis, myne own sustir; So was I enformyd of them that did me fostir. And what is yowrs ?" "Kitt, i-wis; so cleped me my dame." "And Goddis blessing have thow, Kitt; now broke wel thy name." And privylich unlasid his both eyen liddes, And lokid hir in the visage par amour amyddis; And sighed therewith a litil time, that she it here myghte, And gan to rown and seyn this song, Now love then do me righte. 70 "Ete and be merry," quod she, "why breke ye nowt your fast? To wait more feleship it were but work in waste. Whi make ye so dull chere? for your love at home?” "Nay forsooth, myne own hert, it is for yow aloon." "For me? alas! what sey ye? that wer a simple prey." "Trewlich yit," quod the pardonere, "it is as I yowe sey.” "Ye, etith, and beth mery, we wol speke thereof sone ; Brennyd cat dredith feir; it is mery to be aloon. For by our lady Mary, that bare Jesus on hir arm, I coud nevir love yit but it did me harm ; For evir my manere hath be to love ovirmuch." 80 "Now Cristis blessing," quod the pardonere, "go with al such! Lo how the clowdis worchyn, ech man to mete his mach. For trewly, gentil cristian, I use the same tach, And have y-do many a yer; I may it nat forbere; For kynd woll have his cours, though men the contrary swere." And therewith he stert up smertly, and cast down a grote, “What shal this do, gentil sir? nay sir, for my cote, 78 Brennyd cat dredith feir. A very old proverb, the more usual form of which, as it still exists in English and French, is, The cat that is scalded dreads cold water. In a collection of French proverbs of the thirteenth century, we have, chat eschaudez iaue creint. 86 kynd woll have his cours. Another popular proverb that is not yet forgotten. I nold ye payd a peny her, and so sone pas." The pardoner swore his grett othe, he wold pay no las. 90 “I-wis, sir, it is ovirdo, but sith it is yowr will, I woll putt it in my purse, lest yee it take in ill To refuse your curtesy ;" and therewith she gan to bowe. turn to gode! 100 110 wed to wyve, And I woll halsow it to the best, have it in your mynd; 106 seynt Daniel. There is a peculiar appropriateness in this ejaculation; in holy writ, Daniel is remarkable for his interpretations of dreams, and the popular works on dreams and their significations current in the middle ages went under the name of the prophet by whom they were believed to have been originally written. Then toke he leve at that tyme, tyll he come efftsone, And went to his feleship, as it was to doon. 120 Thoughe it be no grete holynes to prech this ilk matere, And ye shul here hereaftir, when tyme comith and spase To meve such matere; but now a litil spase I wol return me ageyn to the company, The knyghte and al the feleship; and nothing for to ly, 130 Whan they wer al y-loggit, as skil wold and reson, Everich aftir his degré, to chirch then was seson To pas and to wend, to make their offringis, Righte as their devocioune was, of silver broch and ryngis. Then at chirch dorr the curtesy gan to ryse, Tyl the knyght, of gentilnes that knewe right wel the guyse, Put forth the prelatis, the parson and his fere. A monk, that took the spryngill with a manly chere, And did as the manere is, moilid al thir patis, 140 Everich aftir othir, righte as they wer of statis. So longid his holy conscience to se the nonnis fase. The knyght went with his compers toward the holy shryne, Counterfetyng gentilman the armys for to blase, Diskyvering fast the peyntur, and for the story mournid, 150 "He berith a balstaff," quod the toon," and els a rakid end.” "Thow failest," quod the miller, “thow hast nat wel thy mynd; It is a spere, yf thow canst se, with a prik tofore, To bush a down his enmy and through the shoulder bore." "Pese!" quod the hoost of Southwork, "let stond the wyndow glasid, Goith up and doith your offerynge, ye semith half amasid ; Sith ye be in company of honest men and good, Worchith somwhat aftir them, and let the kynd of brode 160 For who doith after company may live the bet in rest.” 152 al so right as rammys hornyd A proverbial phrase that appears to have been very popular in the fifteenth century, and is made the burthen of one of Lydgate's poems. See Halliwell's edition of Lydgate, p. 171. 175 signys of Canterbury brochis. It was a common practice with pilgrims to purchase at the shrine they visited leaden brooches, representing usually the figure of the saint, and serving afterwards as signs of |