=Explicit secunda pars. Incipit pars tercia.=
Appollo whirleth up his char so hye, [T. _om._
Til that the god Mercurius hous the slye— [T. _om._
. . . . . .
672. _Here the_ MSS. _fail_. Ln. _has 8 spurious lines in place of_ ll.
671, 672.
* * * * *
=Here folwen the wordes of the Frankelin to the Squier,
and the wordes of the Host to the Frankelin.=
‘In feith, Squier, thou hast thee wel y-quit,
And gentilly I preise wel thy wit,’
Quod the Frankeleyn, ‘considering thy youthe, 675
So feelingly thou spekest, sir, I allow the!
As to my doom, there is non that is here
Of eloquence that shal be thy pere,
If that thou live; god yeve thee good chaunce,
And in vertu sende thee continuaunce! 680
For of thy speche I have greet deyntee.
I have a sone, and, by the Trinitee, (10)
I hadde lever than twenty pound worth lond,
Though it right now were fallen in myn hond,
He were a man of swich discrecioun 685
As that ye been! fy on possessioun
[481: T. 10999-11020.]
But-if a man be vertuous with-al.
I have my sone snibbed, and yet shal,
For he to vertu listeth nat entende;
But for to pleye at dees, and to despende, 690
And lese al that he hath, is his usage.
And he hath lever talken with a page (20)
Than to comune with any gentil wight
Ther he mighte lerne gentillesse aright.’—
HEADING. _So_ E.; Hn. The prologe of the Marchauntes tale. 676. E.
allowethe; Hn. allowthe. 689. E. listneth; _rest_ listeth, lusteth.
‘Straw for your gentillesse,’ quod our host; 695
‘What, frankeleyn? pardee, sir, wel thou wost
That eche of yow mot tellen atte leste
A tale or two, or breken his biheste.’
695, 696. Laud 600 _has_ host, wost; E. Hn. Pt. hoost, woost.
‘That knowe I wel, sir,’ quod the frankeleyn;
‘I prey yow, haveth me nat in desdeyn 700
Though to this man I speke a word or two.’
‘Telle on thy tale with-outen wordes mo.’ (30)
‘Gladly, sir host,’ quod he, ‘I wol obeye
Un-to your wil; now herkneth what I seye.
I wol yow nat contrarien in no wyse 705
As fer as that my wittes wol suffyse;
I prey to god that it may plesen yow,
Than woot I wel that it is good y-now.’
[_The_ Frankleyn’s Prologue _follows immediately; see_ p. 482.]
[482: T. 11021-11040.]
* * * * *