Cenfing the wives of the parish fafte,
And many a lovely loke he on hem cafte,
And namely on this carpenteres wif;
To loke on hire him thought a mery lif:
She was so propre, and fwete, and likerous,
I dare wel fain if the had ben a mous
And he a cat he wolde hire hente anon.
This parish clerk, this joly Abfolon,
Hath in his herte fwiche a love longing,
That of no wif toke he non offering;

For curtefie, he fayd, he n'olde non.'

3345

3350

The moone at night ful clere and brighte fhon, And Abfolon his giterne hath ytake,

For paramours he thoughte for to wake

And forth he goth jolif and amorous,
Til he came to the carpenteres hous,
A litel after the cockes had ycrow,
And dreffed him up by a fhot window
That was upon the carpenteres wal.
He fingeth in his vois gentil and fmal,
Now, dere Lady-if thy wille be,

I pray you that ye-wol rewe on me;

e;

3355

3360

.3358. a hot window] That is, I fuppofe, a window that was but. It might perhaps be better to write this word (with fome of the mif.) het or shette, as Chaucer does in other places, ver. 16605, 16610. Mf. A. reads shop, and HA. short.

.3361, 2.] Thefe two lines, containing Abfolon's fong,were meant, I apprehend, to be broken into four short verfes, which will rhyme together very harmonioufly if the accent be laid upon the laft of lady, as it often is in fuch compofitions:

Ful wel accordant to his giterning...

This carpenter awoke, and herd him fing,
And spake unto his wif, and faid anon,
What, Alifon! heres thou not Absolon,'
That chanteth thus under our boures wal?
And the answerd hire husbond therwithal,

3365

3369

Yes, God wot, John, l'here him every del.
This paffeth forth; what wol ye bet than wel?

Fro day to day this joly Abfolon

So loveth hire that him is wo-begon:

He waketh all the night, and all the day

He kembeth his lockes brode, and made him gay;
He woeth hire by menes and brocage,

And fwore he wolde ben hire owen page:
He fingeth brokking as a nightingale;
He fent her pinnes, methe, and spiced ale,
And wafres piping hot out of the glede ;
And for fhe was of toun he profered mede;
For fom folk wol be wonnen for richeffe,
And fom for ftrokes, and fom with gentilleffe.
Somtime to fhew his lightneffe and maistrie.

He plaieth Herode on a skaffold hie.

But what availeth him as in this cas?

So loveth the this Hendy Nicholas,

1

3375

3380

3385

3382. And fom for frokes] In the margin of mf. C. I is

the following note, " Ovid, Ictibus agreftis," &c.

V3384. He plaieth Herode] This is much in character. The parith clerks had always a principal thare in the reprefentation of mysteries. See the Pref. to Dodiley's Old Plays, p. 12.

That Abfolon may blow the buckes horne ;-
He ne had for his labour but a scorne :
And thus fhe maketh Absolon hire ape,
And all his ernest tourneth to a jape.
Ful foth is this proverbe, it is no lie;

Men fay right thus alway, The neighe flie
Maketh oft time the fer leef to be lothe:
For though that Abfolon be wood or wrothe,
Because that he fer was from hire fight,
This neighe Nicholas flood in his light!
Now bere thee wel, thou Hendy Nicholas,

3390

3395

For Abfolon may waile and fing alás.

And fo befell that on a Saturday

This carpenter was gon to Ofenay,

3400

And Hendy Nicholas and Alifon

Accorded ben to this conclufion,
That Nicholas fhal fhapen him a wile
This fely jalous husbond to begile;

And if fo were the game went aright

3405

She fhuld flepe in his armes alle night,

For this was hire defire and his alfo.
And right anon, withouten wordes mo,
This Nicholas no lenger wolde tarie,

But doth ful foft unto his chambre carie
Both mete and drinke for a day or twey.

3410

And to hire hufbond bad hire for to sey,

.3392. the neigbe flie] Gower has this proverb, Conf. Am. ja. iii. f. 58;

An olde fawe is, who that is flygb
In place wher he may be nrgbe,

He maketh the ferre leef lotb,

If that he axed after Nicholas,

She fhulde say she n'ifte not wher he was;
Of all the day she saw him not with eye; ·
She trowed he was in fom maladie,
For for no crie hire maiden coud him calle
He n'olde answer for nothing that might falle.
Thus paffeth forth all thilke Saturday,
That Nicholas ftill in his chambre lay,
And ete, and flept, and dide what him lift,
Til Sonday that the fonne goth to reft.

This fely carpenter hath gret mervaile
Of Nicholas, or what thing might him aile,
And faid, I am adrad by Seint Thomas
It ftondeth not aright with Nicholas;
God fhilde that he died fodenly;
This world is now ful tikel fikerly:

I saw to-day a corps yborne to cherche.

3415

3420

3425

That now on Monday laft I faw him werche. 3430

Go up (quod he unto his knave) anon,

Clepe at his dore, or knocke with a fton;
Loke how it is, and tell me boldely..

This knave goth him up ful furdely,

And at the chambre dore while that he stood 3435
He cried and knocked as that he were wood;
What? how? what do ye, Maifter Nicholay?
How may ye flepen all the longe day?
But all for nought, he herde not a word.
An hole he fond ful low upon the bord,

3440

Ther as the cat was wont in for to crepe,
And at that hole he loked in ful depe,

And at the laft he had of him a fight.

This Nicholas fat ever gaping upright,

As he had kyked on the newe mone.

3445

Adoun he goth, and telleth his maister fone

In what array he faw this ilke man.

This carpenter to bliffen him began,
And faid, Now helpe us Seinte Fridefwide!
A man wote litel what fhal him betide.
This man is fallen with his aftronomie
In fom woodneffe or in fom agonie.

I thought ay wel how that it fhulde be;
Men fhulde not knowe of Goddes privetee.

Ya, bleffed be alway a lewed man,

That nought but only his beleve can.
So ferd another clerk with aftronomie;
He walked in the feldes for to prie

3450

3455

3449. Seinte Fridefwide] Scint is one of the very few French adjectives which, after their naturalization here, retained for a confiderable time, I apprehend, a distinction of gender. See the Fay, &c. p. 124.---Chaucer always writes it Scinte, when he ufes it in the feminine gender, and the final e is often to be pronounced, as in this place. See ver. 7186, 10292, Seinte Marie-----ver. 7406, 7701, Seinte Charitee. Of the fame form are excellente, ver. 10459, and peregrine, ver. 10742.-There is great propriety in making the carpenter invoke St. Fridefwide, who was patronets of a confiderable priory at Oxford, and in high ellimation there.

.3457. another clerk] He alludes to a story which is told of the famous Thales by Plato in his Theaterus, p. 127, ed. Fic. but our Author probably read it in the Cento Novelle Antiche, N. 36. It is there entitled D'uno Strologo ch' ebbe nome Milenfius, che fu riprefo da una donna.”