That is to fayn, that telleth in this cas
Talés of beft fentènce and most folas,

800

Shal have a fouper at youre aller cost

Here in this placé fitting by this poft,

Whan that ye comen agen from Canterbury.
And for to maken you the moré mery,

I wol my felven gladly with you ride,

605

Right at min owen coft, and be your gide.

And who that wol my jugément withfay,

Shal pay for alle we fpenden by the way.
And if ye vouchéfauf that it be fo,
Telle me anon withouten wordés mo,

810

And I wol erly shapen me therfore.

This thing was granted, and our othés swore

With ful glad herte, and praiden him alfo,
That he wold vouchéfauf for to don fo,

And that he woldé ben our governour,
And of our talés juge and reportour,
And fette a fouper at a certain pris;
And we wol reuled ben at his devife,

815

In highe and lowe: and thus by on affent,
We ben accorded to his jugément.

820

And therupon the win was fette anon.

We dronken, and to reste wenten eche on,
Withouten any lenger tarying.

A morwe whan the day began to spring,
Up rofe our hofte, and was our aller cok,
And gaderd us togeder in a flok,

825

And forth we riden a litel more than pas,
Unto the watering of Seint Thomas:

And ther our hofte began his hors arest,

And faidé, Lordés, herkeneth if you left.
Ye wete your forword, and I it record.

830

If even fong and morwe fong accord,

Let fe now who fhal tellé the firfte tale.

As ever mote I drinken win or ale,

835

Who fo is rebel to my jugément,

840

Shal pay for alle that by the way is fpent.
Now draweth cutte, or that ye forther twinne.
He which that hath the shortest shal beginne.
Sire knight, (quod he) my maifter and my lord,
Now draweth cutte, for that is min accord.
Cometh nere, (quod he) my lady prioresse,
And ye, fire clerk, let be your fhamefastneffe,
Ne ftudieth nought, lay hand to, every man.
Anon to drawen every wight began,

And fhortly for to tellen as it was,

Were it by aventure, or fort, or cas,

The fothe is this, the cutte felle on the knight,
Of which ful blith and glad was every wight;
And tell he muft his tale as was refon,

By forword, and by composition,

As

ye

han herd; what nedeth wordés mo?

And whan this good man faw that it was fo,
As he that wife was and obedient

To kepe his forword by his fre affent,

$45

850

855

He faide, Sithen I fhal begin this game,
What, welcome be the cutte a goddés name.
Now let us ride, and herkeneth what I fay.
And with that word we riden forth our way;
And he began with right a mery chere

His tale anon, and faide as ye shul herë.

860

BY ROBERT LANGELANDE.*

THE kyng and his knights to the kyrke wente,

To here mattens of the day, and the maffe after; Than waked I of my winking, and wo was withal, That I ne had slept fadder, and fighen more;

* Born 13..; dyed i.... To this perfon, who is faid to have been "a Shropshere man, borne in Cleybirie, aboute viii. myles from Malverne billes," the above poem is generally afcribed; though, it must be confeffed, upon no very fatisfactory authority. Certain it is, that in what Mr. Tyrwhitt efteems the beft MSS. (which differ confiderably from the PCC.) the supposed author is expressly faluted by the appellation of WILLE, and the work itself intitled "Vifio WILLELMI de Petro Ploughman." Now, unlefs the word WILLE be only a perfonification of the mental faculty, and have consequently been misapprehended by the writer of this title, it must follow that the authors name was WILLIAM, and that his furname is totally unknown. The work itself, which will appear to have been composed in, or foon after, the year 1362, is a kind of religious allegorical fatire; in which Piers the ploughman, the principal perfonage, appears to be put for the pattern of Chriftian perfɛcsion, and feems once or twice to stand for J. C. himself. The

And er I had faren a furlonge fentise me hente 5 That I ne might farder a fote, for defaute of flepinge And fat foftlie adoune and fayde my beleve,

And fo I bablid on mi beads, thei brought me aflepe, And than I fawe moch more than I before of tolde, For I fe the felde ful of folke, that I before of fayde And how Reason can araien hym, al ye realme to preche,

And with acros afore ye king, comfed thus to techen. He previd that thefe peftilences were for pure fynne, And the fouthweftorne wind on Satterdaie at even

language and mode of verfification adopted by these writers, of which feveral other specimens are to be found in MS. is originally Gothic, and is conjectured to have been the favourite poetic ftyle of the common people, who were almost univerfally of Saxon origin, down to a late period. The author became popular about the time of the reformation, from his having lashed the vices of the clergy with a juft feverity, and foretold (as was thought) the deftruction of the monafteries by Henry VIII. It is, however, at any rate, a very masterly production. The extract begins immediately after "Paffus quintus de vifione," that is, with book or fection vi.

V. 14. “This,” Mr. Tyrwhitt thinks,“ is probably the form recorded by Thorn, Walfingham,...and most par. ticularly by the continuator of Adam Murimuth, p. 115.

A. D. M. CCC. LXII.-XV. die Januarii, circa horam vesperarum, ventus vehemens notus Auftralis Africus tantâ rabie erupit, &c.

The 15th of January, in the year 1862, N. S.” he adds, 86 was a Saturday."