‘Peter!’ quod he, ‘god yeve it harde grace, 665
I am so used in the fyr to blowe,
That it hath chaunged my colour, I trowe.
I am nat wont in no mirour to prye,
But swinke sore and lerne multiplye.
We blondren ever and pouren in the fyr, 670
And for al that we fayle of our desyr,
For ever we lakken our conclusioun.
To mochel folk we doon illusioun, (120)
And borwe gold, be it a pound or two,
Or ten, or twelve, or many sommes mo, 675
And make hem wenen, at the leeste weye,
That of a pound we coude make tweye!
Yet is it fals, but ay we han good hope
It for to doon, and after it we grope.
But that science is so fer us biforn, 680
We mowen nat, al-though we hadde it sworn,
It overtake, it slit awey so faste;
It wol us maken beggers atte laste.’ (130)
672. E. Cm. lakke; _rest_ lakken. E. of oure; _rest omit_ of. 681.
E. _omits_ it.
Whyl this yeman was thus in his talking,
This chanoun drough him neer, and herde al thing 685
Which this yeman spak, for suspecioun
[531: T. 16155-16187.]
Of mennes speche ever hadde this chanoun.
For Catoun seith, that he that gilty is
Demeth al thing be spoke of him, y-wis.
That was the cause he gan so ny him drawe 690
To his yeman, to herknen al his sawe.
And thus he seyde un-to his yeman tho,
‘Hold thou thy pees, and spek no wordes mo, (140)
For if thou do, thou shalt it dere abye;
Thou sclaundrest me heer in this companye, 695
And eek discoverest that thou sholdest hyde.’
686. E. Cm. Which this; _rest_ Which that this; cf. ll. 684, 691, 701
(yemán).
‘Ye,’ quod our host, ‘telle on, what so bityde;
Of al his threting rekke nat a myte!’
698. E. his; _rest_ this. E. Cm. rekke; Cp. recche I; Hl. Pt. Ln.
recche the.
‘In feith,’ quod he, ‘namore I do but lyte.’
And whan this chanon saugh it wolde nat be, 700
But his yeman wolde telle his privetee,
He fledde awey for verray sorwe and shame.
‘A!’ quod the yeman, ‘heer shal aryse game, (150)
Al that I can anon now wol I telle.
Sin he is goon, the foule feend him quelle! 705
For never her-after wol I with him mete
For peny ne for pound, I yow bihete!
He that me broghte first unto that game,
Er that he dye, sorwe have he and shame!
For it is ernest to me, by my feith; 710
That fele I wel, what so any man seith.
And yet, for al my smert and al my grief,
For al my sorwe, labour, and meschief, (160)
I coude never leve it in no wyse.
Now wolde god my wit mighte suffyse 715
To tellen al that longeth to that art!
But natheles yow wol I tellen part;
Sin that my lord is gon, I wol nat spare;
Swich thing as that I knowe, I wol declare.— 719
=Here endeth the Prologe of the Chanouns Yemannes Tale.=
706. _So_ Hl. Cp. Pt. Ln.; E. _omits_ after, _having_ heer _only_.
711. E. that; _rest_ so. 717. E. And; _rest_ But.
[532: T. 16188-16211.]
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