Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 10 (earine, jarbus, alack, vapours, mishap, hapless…). Matches are highlighted.
white Bear of England's wood. Now fit thee here & tell a heavy tale. Sad in thy mood, and sober in thy cheer, Here fit thee now and to thy self relate, The hard mishap of thy most wretched state. In Thessaly I lived in sweet content, Until that Fortune wrought my overthrow; For there I wedded was unto a dame, That lived in honour,
Full speech
Hips and Hawes, and sticks and straws, and things that I gather on the ground my son. Yea son. Was she fair? Thanks neighbour, set it down, Honey is always welcome to the Bear. And now neighbour let me here the cause of your coming. And now neighbour, you of this country say, your custom is out: but on with your tale neighbour. True neighbour. Well said Lampryscus, you speak it Like and Englishman. Holily praised neighbour, as much for the next. Well neighbour, now you have spoke, here me speak; send them to the Well for the water of life: there shall they find their Fortune's unlooked for; Neighbour farewell. Fair enough, and far enough from thy fingering son. Yet give some thing to and old man before you go. Yea son. Thanks son, but list to me, He shall be deaf when thou shalt not see; Farewell my son things may so hit, Thou mayest have wealth to mend thy wit. Son I do see in thy face, Thy blessed fortune work apace; I do perceive that thou hast wit, Beg of thy fate to govern it, For wisdom governed by advise, Makes many fortunate and wise. Bestow thy alms, give more than all, Till dead men's bones come at thy call: Farewell my son, dream of no rest, Till thou repent that thou didst best. Exit Old m. Then hark well and mark well, my old spell: Be not afraid of every stranger, Start not aside at every danger: Things that seem are not the same, Blow a blast at every flame: For when one flame of fire goes out, Then comes your wishes well about: If any ask who told you this good, Say the white Bear of England's wood. Now fit thee here & tell a heavy tale. Sad in thy mood, and sober in thy cheer, Here fit thee now and to thy self relate, The hard mishap of thy most wretched state. In Thessaly I lived in sweet content, Until that Fortune wrought my overthrow; For there I wedded was unto a dame, That lived in honour, virtue, love, and fame: But Sacrapant that cursed sorcerer, Being besotted with my beauteous love: My dearest love, my true betrothed wife, Did seek the means to rid me of my life. But worse than this, he with his chanting spells, Did turn me straight unto and ugly Bear; And when the sun does settle in the west, Then I begin to done my ugly hide: And all the day I fit, as now you see, And speak in riddles all inspire with rage, Seeming and old and miserable man: And yet I am in April of my age. See where Venelya my betrothed love, Runs madding all enraged about the woods; All by his cursed and enchanting spells. But here comes Lampriscus my discontented neighbour. How now neighbour, you look toward the ground aswell as I, you muse on something.
Plot summary
Plot — The Old Wives Tale
PLOT Lost in the woods, three pages encounter Clunch the smith, and accept the hospitality of his cottage. One of them goes to bed with him while his wife, Madge, tells the others a tale. Delia, the daughter of the King of Thessaly, has been abducted by the sorcerer Sacrapant, who can only be killed by a dead man, and whose power depends on a light in a glass which can only be broken by a woman who is neither wife, widow, nor maid. Delia's two brothers come to England in search of her, and meet Erestus. They give him alms and he prophesies to them. He too is a victim of Sacrapant, who has transformed him into an old man by day and a bear by night, and driven his betrothed lady, Venelia, out of her mind. The brothers enter Sacrapant's domain, but are imprisoned by Furies and set to work digging for gold. Delia, forgetting her identity under the influence of a potion, is appointed as their overseer. Others are also searching for Delia. One is the wandering knight Eumenides, another the braggart Huanebango; the former gives generous alms to Erestus, but the latter refuses. Eumenides happens upon a fight between Wiggen and the parish officials, who are refusing to bury Wiggen's dead brother Jack; Eumenides resolves the dispute by giving all his remaining money to pay for the funeral. Huanebango attempts to force his way into Sacrapant's cell, and is ejected by the Furies; Sacrapant strikes him deaf and Corebus blind. Lampriscus has two daughters, one ugly in looks and the other in temperament. Erestus advises that they should fetch water from the well of life and there see their fortune. Zantippa, the ill-tempered one, maltreats the well's spirit, a head, but finds the unconscious, newly deaf Huanebango lying beside it: her future husband will be unable to hear her shrewish words. Celanta, the ill-faced one, becomes the blind Corebus' wife. She treats the head in the well better, and is rewarded with corn and gold. The despairing Eumenides meets Jack, and accepts him as a companion. At a tavern, the knight will not eat because he cannot pay, but finds his purse miraculously full of money. He vows to give Jack a half share in everything he gets on his travels. Jack renders Eumenides resistant to Sacrapant's magic by stopping his ears, then invisibly takes the enchanter's sword and garland. Sacrapant falls dead. Eumenides digs up the glass light, but is unable to break it; that falls to Venelia, who, being betrothed but unwed, is neither maid nor wife, and so…