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And at the mille dore eke they toke hir cake
Of half a bufhel flour ful wel ybake.

Thus is the proude miller wel ybette,
And hath yloft the grinding of the whete,
And paid for the souper every del
Of Alein and of John that bete him wel;
His wif is fwived and his doughter als;
Lo, fwiche it is a miller to be fals:
And therfore this proverb is fayd ful foth,
Him thar not winnen wel that evil doth;
A gilour fhal himself begiled be;
And God, that fiteth hie in magestee,
Save all this compagnie gret and smale.
Thus have I quit the miller in my Tale.

THE COKES PROLOGUE.

4310

4315

4320

THE Coke of London, while the Reve spake,
For joye (him thought) he clawed him on the bak:

A ha (quod he) for Criftes paffion,
This miller had a sharpe conclufion
Upon this argument of herbergage.
Wel fayde Salomon in his langage

4325

Ne bring not every man into thin heus,
For herberwing by night is perilous.

4330

.4318. Him thar not] I have reftored this old word upon the authority of the beft mff. in this and other places. See ver. 5911, 5918,6947, 17301. It is derived from the Sax. thearfian, neceffe, habere, and is generally ufed as an imperfonal. Him behoveth not to winne or acquire good that doth evil." I have ventured to fubftitute winne instead of the common reading wene, of which I could make no fenfe. Mr. B. S. reads, He may nought wilne.

Wel ought a man avised for to be
Whom that he brought into his privetee.
I pray to God fo yeve me forwe and care
If ever, fithen I highte Hodge of Ware,
Herd I a miller bet yfette a-werk;
He had a jape of malice in the derk.

But God forbede that we stinten here,
And therfore if ye vouchen sauf to here
A Tale of me that am a poure man,
I wol you tell as wel us ever I can
A litel jape that fell in our citee.

4335

4340.

Our Hofte anfwerd and fayde, I grant it thee:
Now tell on, Roger, and loke that it be good,
For many a pastee haft thou letten blood,
And many a Jacke of Dover haft thou fold
That hath been twies hot and twies cold:
Of many a pilgrim haft thou Criftes curfe,
For of thy perfclee yet fare they the werfe,

4345

.4345. a Jacke of Dover] The general purport of this phrafe is fufficiently explained in the following line, but the particular meaning I have not been able to investigate.

.4348.of thy perfelee] An old Boke of Kokery, which I have confulted upon this occafion, mf. Harl. 4016, has a receipt for 64 gole or capon farced," but it does not mention parseley; it only fays in general terms, "Take yolkes of eyeron (egges) "hard yfodde and hew hem finale with the herbes--and cafle "therto pouder of ginger peper canell and falt and grapes in "tyme of yere."--I have lately met with another (I fuppofe the true) receipt for ftuffing a goofe, in mf. Harl. 279. It begins-“ Take percely and fwynis grece or fewet of a thepe " and parboyle hem," &c.

་་

210

4350

That they han eten in thy ftoble goos,
For in thy fhop goth many a flie lons.
Now tell on, gentil Roger by thy name,
But yet I pray thee be not wroth for game;
A nian may fay ful foth in game and play.
Thou fayft ful foth, quod Roger, by my fay;
But foth play quade fpel, as the Fleming faith, 4355
And therfore, Herry Bailly, by thy faith
Be thou not wroth, or we departen here,
Though that my Tale be of an hoftelere:
But natheles, I wol not telle it yet,
But er we part ywis thou fhalt be quit.
And therwithal he lough and made chere,
And fayd his Tale, as ye fhul after here.

THE COKES TALE,
A Prentis whilom dwelt in our citee,
And of a craft of vitaillers was he:

4360

Gaillard he was as goldfinch in the shawe,

4365

Broune as a bery, a propre short felawe,
With lokkes blake kembed ful fetifly:
Dancen he coude fo wel and jolily

V. 4355. foth play quade spel] As this is faid to have been a Flemith proverb I have inferted spel from mff. Ajk. 1, 2, inftead of the common reading play. Spel, in Teut. is ludus, as quade or quaed is malus. Sir John Harrington, in his Apologie of Poetrie, quotes an old faying of the fame import, Soth bourde is no bourde.

The Cokes Tale] The defcription of an unthrifty prentice given to dice, women, and wine, wafting thereby his master's goods, and purchafing to himself Newgate. The moft part of this Tale is loft, or never finished by the Author,

That he was cleped Perkin Revelour:
He was as ful of love and paramour

As is the hive ful of hony fwete;

4370

Wel was the wenche with him mighte mete.

At every bridale would he fing and hoppe;
He loved bet the taverne than the shoppe;
For whan ther any riding was in Chepe
Out of the fhoppe thider wold he lepe,
And til that he had all the fight yfein,

And danced wel, he wold not come agein;

And gadred him a meinic of his fort

4375

To hoppe and fing, and maken fwiche disport; 4380
And ther they fetten fleven for to mete

To plain at the dis in fwiche a ftrete;
For in the Toun ne was ther no prentis

That fairer coude caste a pair of dis

Than Perkin coude, and therto he was fre 4385
Of his difpence, in place of privetee;

That fond his maifter wel in his chaffare, 1
For often time he fond his box ful bare.

For fothly a prentis, a revelour,
'I hat haunteth dis, riot and paramour,
His maifter fhal it in his shoppe abie,
Al have he no part of the minftralcie;
For theft and riot they ben convertible,
Al can they play on giterne or ribible.

4390

.4375. riding-in Chepe] There were fometimes jufts in Cheaptide. Hollings. v. ii. p. 348. But perhaps any proceffio may be ineant. M. Ak. 1, 2, read revel.

.4377. And til] And is added.

4394. they play] So mf. C.; all the reft read be,

Revel and trouth, as in a low degree,

They ben ful wroth all day, as men may fee.
This joly prentis with his maifter abode,
Til he was neigh out of his prentishode,
Al were he fnibbed bothe erly and late,
And fomtime lad with revel to Newgate :
But at the last his maister him bethought,
Upon a day whan he his paper fought,
Of a proverbe that faith this same word,
Wel bet is roten appel out of hord

Than that it rote alle the remenant:
So fareth it by a riotous fervant;

It is wel laffe harm to let him pace

Than he fhende all the fervants in the place :
Therfore his maister yaf him a quitance,

5395

44C0

4405

And bad him go, with forwe and with mefchance.

And thus this joly prentis had his leve:

4411

Now let him riot all the night or leve..

And for ther n'is no thefe without a louke

That helpeth.him to waften and to fouke

44T5

Of that he briben can or borwe may,
Anon he fent his bed and his array
Unto a compere of his owen fort
That loved dis, and riot, and disport,
And had a wif that held for contenance

A fhoppe, and fwived for hire fuftenance.

*

4420

V. 4413. a louke] A receiver to a thief, Sp. Sk. This explanation, I believe, is a mere fancy, but I have nothing better to propofe.

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