Petitioners.

Bidders' and beggars
Fast about yede,2

With hir bellies and hir bags
Of bread full y-crammed,
Faiteden for hir food,

Foughten at the ale:

In gluttony, God wot,
Go they to bed,

And risen with ribaudry,*

Tho Roberd's knaves ;5

Sleep and sorry slewth

Sueth? hem ever.
Pilgrims and palmers
Plighten hem togider"

For to seeken Saint Jame
And saintes at Rome:
They wenten forth in hir way"
With many wise tales,
And hadden leave to lien10

All hir life after..

I seigh some that seiden"

They had y-sought saints:

To each a tale that they told

Hir tongue was tempered to lie12

More than to say sooth,

It seemed by hir speech.

Hermits on an heap,13
With hooked staves,
Wenten to Walsingham,

And hir wenches after;
Great loobies and long,

That loath were to swink,1
Clothed hem in copes

To be knowen from other,
And shopen hem15 hermits
Hir ease to have.

I found there freres,

All the four orders,

2 Went.

3 Flattered.

4 Rise with ribaldry.

5 Those Robertsmen-a class of malefactors mentioned in several statutes of the fourteenth century. The name may have meant originally Robin Hood's men, as Whitaker conjectures.

12 In every tale that they told their tongue was trained to lie.

13 In a crowd.

14 Labour.

15 Made themselves.

Preaching the people

For profit of hem selve:
Glosed the gospel

As hem good liked ;'
For covetise of copes2

Construed it as they would.
Many of these master freres

Now clothen hem at liking,
For hir money and hir merchandize
Marchen togeders.

For sith charity hath been chapman,
And chief to shrive lords,

Many ferlies han fallen1
In a few years:
But holy church and hi3

Hold better togeders,

The most mischief on mouldR
Is mounting well fast.
There preached a pardoner,
As he a priest were;
Brought forth a bull

With many bishops' seals,
And said that himself might
Assoilen hem all,

Of falsehede of fasting,"

Of avowes y-broken.

Lewed men leved it well,

And liked his words;

Comen up kneeling

To kissen his bulls:

He bouched10 hem with his brevet,"

Here it will be admitted, we have both a well-filled canvas and a picture with a good deal of life and stir in it. The satiric touches are also natural and effective; easy, and not deficient in vigour.

and the expression clear, We will now present a

portion of the Fifth Passus, which commences thus:

1 As it seemed to them good.

3 Clothe themselves to their liking.

Unless holy church and they.

7 Of breaking fast-days.

10 Stopped their mouths.

2 Covetousness of copes or rich clothing. 4 Many wonders have happened. 6 The greatest mischief on earth. 9 Loved.

8 Ignorant.

11 Little brief.

12 Bedimmed their eyes.

13 Reached, drew in, with his catalogue or roll of names?

The king and his knights

To the kirk went,

To hear matins of the day,

And the mass after.

Then waked I of my winking,

And wo was withal
That I ne had slept sadder'

And y-seighen2 more.
Ac ere I had faren3 a furlong
Faintise me hent,4

That I ne might ferther a foot

For de-faut of sleeping,

And sat softly adown,

And said my believe,

And so I babbled on my beads,
They brought me asleep.
And then saw I much more
Than I before of told;

For I seigh the field full of folk
That I before of said,

And how Reason gan arrayen him
All the reaum to preach,"
And with a cross afore the king
Comsed thus to teachen:-
He preved that these pestilences?
Were for pure sin,

And the south-western wind
On Saturday at evenR

Was pertlich" for pure pride,

And for no point else.
Pyries1o and plum-trees

Were puffed to the earth,
In ensample that the segges11
Sholden do the better;

Beeches and broad oaks

Were blowen to the ground,

Turned upward hir tails,

In tokening of dread

That deadly sin ere doomsday

Shall for-done12 hem all.

1 Sounder.

4 Faintness seized me.

5 To preach to all the realm. 6 Commenced. 7 The three great pestilences which desolated England and the rest of Europe in the reign of Edward III. occurred in 1348-1349, 1361-1362, and 1369. 8 The great tempest of Saturday, Jan. 15, 1362. 10 Pear-trees.

11 Men, people.

9 Manifestly.

12 Undo, ruin.

The account of Reason's sermon is continued at great length;

after which the repentance of his auditors is narrated as follows:

66

7 In Cole's Dictionary this is given as a Dutch word, and interpreted 'mock-garments." Wright, in his Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial But see post, p. 242. 9 Was swollen.

10 Bit.

English has caury, worm-eaten.

8 A short coat. 11 Went.

12 Fist.

13 Each word that he uttered.

14 An adder's.

Of chiding and of chalenging
Was his chief liflode ;1
With backbiting and bismear

And bearing of false witness.

"I wold been y-shrive," quod this shrew,
"And I for shame durst;

I wold be gladder, by God,

That Gib had mischance
Than though I had this wouk1 y-won

A wey of Essex cheese.

I have a neighbour by me;
I have annoyed him oft,
And lowen on him to lords

To doon him lese his silver,7
And made his friends be his foon"
Thorough my false tongue :
His grace and his good haps
Grieven me full sore.
Between many and many

I make debate oft,
That both life and limb

Is lost thorough my speech.
And when I meet him in market
That I most hate,

I hailse him hendly9

As I his friend were;

For he is doughtier than I

I dare do none other;

Ac11 had I mastery and might

God wot my will!

And when I come to the kirk,

And should kneel to the rood,

And pray for the people

As the priest teacheth,

For pilgrims and for palmers,

For all the people after,

Then I cry on my knees

That Christ give hem sorrow

That bearen away my boll

And my broke shete.12

Away fro the auter13 then

Turn I mine eyen,

1 Livelihood (way of living). 2 Reproach, besmearing.

4 Week.

3 If, an. 6 Lied?

5 256 pounds.

7 To make him lose his money.

9 I salute him politely.

12 That bore away my bowl and shut my brook.