PEDLER

¶By our lady then have I gone wrong And yet to be here I thought long ¶Forsooth women have many And they e ma ked in many ettes As frontlettes, fyllettes, parlettes, and barcelettes And then their bonettes and their poynettes By these lets and nets the let is such That speed is small when haste is much. ¶Well though this your ney acquit no cost Yet think I nat my labour lost For by the faith of my body I like full well this company Up shall this pack for it is plain I came not hither all for gain Who may nat play one day in a week May think his thryfte is far to seek Devise what pastime you think best And make you sure to find me pressed ¶This liketh me well so mote I the. ¶Yet be you sewer for all this doubt This waiting must be brought about Men can nat prosper wilfully led All thing decay where is no head Wherefore doubtless mark what I say To one of you three twain must obey And sins you can nat agree in voice Who shall be head, there is no choice But to devise some manner thing Wherein you all be conning And in the same do best The other twain make them pressed In every thing his entente Holly to be at come ndement And now have I nde one mastery That you can do in yfferently And is neither fell nge nor buying But even only very lying And all you three can lie as well As can the falsest devil in hell And though afore you harden me grudge In greater maters to be your judge Yet in lying I can some skill And if I shall be judge I will And be you sure without flattery Where my consciens findeth the mastery There shall my judgement strait be found Though I might win a thousand pound ¶Then is that ycyn a sovereign thing To preserve a m rome hanging. ¶Sir I thank you but your reward Is nat the thing that I regard I must and will be indifferent Wherefore proceed in your intent. ¶Sir in your cure I can nothing tell But to our purpose you have said well. ¶Sir you have sought her wonders well And where you found her as you tell To here the chance you found in hell I find you were in great parell. ¶A greater nay know you any so great. ¶Then shall nat judgement be delayed Of all these three if eke man's tale In Poule's church yard were set on sale In some man's hand that hath the sleight He should sure fell these tales by weight For as they weigh so be they worth But which weyth best to that now forth Sir all the tale that you did tell I bear in mind and yours as well And as you saw the mater metely So lied you both well and discretely Yet were your lies with the lest trust me For if you had said you had made fle Ten tampyons out of ten women's tails Ten times ten mile to ten castles or jails And fill ten rivers ten times so deep As ten of that which your a en ones die Or if you ten times had bodily Fetched ten souls out of purgatory And ten times so many out of hell Yet by these ten bonnes I could right well Ten times sonner all that have believed Then the tenth part of that he hath moved. ¶I would be glade to do you good And him also be he never so wood But doubt you nat I will now do The thing my consciens leadeth me to Both your tales I take far impossible Yet take I his father incredyble Nat only the thing it self alloweth I But also the bolden thereof avoweth I I know nat where your tale to try Nor yours but in hell or purgatory But his boldness hath faced a lie That may be tried even in this company As if you list to take this order Among the women in this border Take three of the youngest and three of the oldest Three of the hottest and three of the coldest Three of the wisest and three of the shrewdest Three of the lowest and three of the highest Three of the farthest and three of the nyest Three of the fairest and three of the maddest Three of the foulest and three of the saddest And when all these threes be had a sunder Of eke three two justly be number Shall be found shrews except this fallen That you hap to find them shrews all Him self for troth all this does know And oft hath tried some of this row And yet he sweareth by his consciens He never saw woman break paciens Wherefore considered with true entente His lie to be so evident And to appear so evidently That both you affirmed it a lie And that my consciens so deeply So deep hath sought this thing to try And tried it with mind indifferent Thus I award by way of judgement Of all the lies you all have spent His lie to be most excellent. ¶Therefore I have devised one way Whereby all three your minds may say For eke of you one tale shall tell And which of you telleth most marvel And most unlike to be true Shall most prevail what ever ensue. ¶Now by my troth to speak my mind Sins they be so loath to be assyned To let them loose I think it best And so shall you live best in rest ¶Now be you all even as you begone No man hath lost nor no man hath won Yet in the debate wherewith you began By way of advise I will speak as I can I do perceive that pilgrimage Is chief the thing you have in usage Whereto in effect for love of Christ You have or should have be enticed And who so does with such intent Does well declare his time well spent And so do you in your pretence If you procure thus indulgence Unto your Neighbours charitably For love of them in God only All this may be right well applied To shewell you both well ocupied For though you walk nat both one way Yet walking thus this dare I say That both your walks come to one end And so for all that do pretend By aid of gods grace to ensue Any manner kind of virtue As some great almyse for to gyve Some in wyllfull pouetie to live Some to make hie ways and such other works And some to maintain priests and clerks To sing and pray for soul departed These with all other virtues well marked All though they be of sundry kinds Yet be they nat used with sundry minds But as God only does all those move So every man only for his love With love and dreaded obediently Works in these virtues vnyformely Thus every virtue if we list to scan Is pleasant to God and thankful to man And who that by grace of the holy ghost To any one virtue is moved most That man by that grace one apply And therein serve God most plentifully Yet nat that one so far wide to wrest So liking the same to myssyke the rest For who so wresteth his work is in vain And even in that case I perceive you twain Liking your virtue in such wise That eke others virtue you do despise Who walks this way for God would find him The farther they leek him the farther behind him One kind of virtue to despise another Is like as the sister might hang the brother. ⚜That is of all the very worst way For more harden it is as I have harden say oh Begin de iue where none is pretended Then where it is begun the abuse to be mended How be it you be nat all to Begin One sin of virtue you are entered in As this I suppose you did say true In that you said you use no virtue In the which words I dare well report You are well be loved of all this sort By your railing here openly At pardons and relics so lewdly. ⚜For his and all other that you know feigned You be neither counceled nor constrained To any such thing in any such case To gyve any reverence in any such place But where you doubt the truth nat knowing Believing the be good may be growing In judging the best no harm at the lest In judging the worst no good at the best But best in these things it seemeth to me To make no judgement upon you But as the church does judge or take them So do you receive or forsake them And so be sure you can nat err But may be a fruitful follower. ❧ And I a pedlar ¶That makes no mater sins we be matched I could be merry if that I catchyd Some money for part of the beware in my pack ¶Why dost thou nat know that every pedled In every tryfull must be a meddler Specially in women's tryflynges Those use we chief above all things Which things to see if you be disposed Behold what beware here is disclosed This gere shows it self in such beauty That eke man thinketh it say come buy me Look were your self can like to be chooser Your self shall make price though I be looser Is here nothing for my father Palmer Have you nat a want on in a corner For your walking to holy places By Christ I have herd of as strange cases Who liveth in love or love would win Even at this pack he must Begin Where is right many a proper token Of which by name part shall be spoken Gloves, pynnes, combes, glasses unspotted Pomanders, hooks, and lasses knotted Broaches, Rings, and all manner beds Lace round and flat for women's hedes Nedyls, thread thymbell, shers, and all such knacks Where lovers be no such things lacks Sypers swathbondes rybandes and sleeve laces Gyrdyls, knives, purses, and pyncases. ¶You that they do I make God a vow ⚜Let women's maters pass and mark mine What ever their points be, these points be fine Wherefore if you be Willing to buy Lay down money, come of quyckely. ¶Sir if you list to appose me What I can do then shall you see. ¶Perfect in drinking as may be wished by thinking ¶Sir after drinking while the shot is tynkynge Some hedes be swimming but mine will be synkynge And upon drinking mine eyse will be pynkynge For winking to drinking is always lynkynge. ⚜Sir I have some sight in singing. ⚜What ever my breast be, my voice is meet ¶And I thought you would nat have mist To make men live as long as you list. ¶So might we live without you than. ¶I neither will judge the best nor worst For be you blessed or be you cursed You know it is no whyt my sleight To be a judge in maters of weight It behooves no pedlars nor proctors To take on them judgement as doctors But if your minds be only set To work for soul health you be well met For eke of you somewhat does show That souls toward heaven by you do grow Then if you can so well agree To continue together all three And all you three obey on will Then all your minds you may fulfil As if you came all to one man Who should goo pilgrimage more then he can In that you palmer as debit May clearly dyscharde him parde And for all other sins ones had contryssyon Your pardons giveth him full remission And then you master potycary May send him to heaven by and by. ¶You have nat cause to fear to be bold For you may be here uncontrolled And you in this have good advantage For lying is your come usage And you in lying be well sped For all your craft does stand in falsehood You need nat care who shall Begin For eke of you may hope to win Now speak all three even as you find Be you agreed to follow my mind ¶Sir me thinketh your devotion is but small ¶Why do potycaries kill men.