A mery gest how a sergeaūt woldel erne to be a frete

Wyse men alwaye

Afferme & say / ye best is

For a dylygently (man

For to apply / ye besynes

yt he and in no wyse (can

To enterpryse / an other faculte

For he that wyll

And can no skyll / is neuer lyke to the

He that hath lafte

The hosiers crafte & falleth to makȳge

The smythe that shall (shone

To pātȳge fall his thryfte is welhygh

A blacke draper (done

With wyte yaꝑ / to go to wrytȳge stole

An olde butler

Betū a cutler / I wene shal proue afole

In olde trot

That good cā not / but euer kysse ye cup

With her pbysyke

Wyll kepe oneseke / tyll she haue soued hym vp

A man of lawe

That neuer sawe / the wayes to by and sell

wenynge to aryse

By marchaundyse / I praye god spe de hym well

A marchaunt cke

That wyll good seke / by all the meanes he maye

To fall in sute

Tyll he dyspute / his monay clene awaye

Pletynge the lawe

For euery strawe / shall proue a thryfty man

with bate and stryfe

But by my lyfe / I can not tell you whan

whan an hatter

wyll go smater In phylosophy

Or a pedlat

waxe a medlar / in theolegy

All that ense we

Suche craftes ne we / they dryue so fere a cast

That euer more

They do ther fore / boshre we them selfe at laste

This thynge was cryed

And vere tyed / here by a sergeaunt late

That tyfely was

Or he coude pas / rapped aboute the pate

Whyle that he wolde

Se how he coude / in goddes'name play ye frere

Now yf you wyll

Knowe how hyt fyll / Take hede & ye shall here

It happed so

Not longe ago / a thryfty man dyede

An hondred pounde

Of nobles rounde that had he layde a syde

His sone he wolde

Sholde haue this golde / for to begyne with all

But to suffyce

His chylde well thryes / ye monay were to small!

yet or this daye

I haue helde saye / that many a man certesse

Hath with good cast

Be ryche at last / That hath begon, with lesse

But this yonge man

So well he can his monaye to Imploye

That certenly

His po[…]cy / role hyt was a Ioye

For lest lum blaste

Myght ouer caste / his shyp or by myschaunce

Men with some wyle

Myght hym begyle / & mynysshe his substaūce

For to put out

All manere doubte / he made a good putauye

For euery why[…]

Of his owne wyt / and toke other waye

[…]te tayre and wele

A grete dele / he dyghthyt in a pot

But tenh hym thought

That was nought / and there he lefte hyt not

So was he fayne

Frome thens agayne / to put hyt in a cup

And by and by

Couetously / he supped hytfayre vp

In his owne brest

He thought hyt best / his monaye to enclose

Then wyst he well

what euer fell he coude hyt neuer lose

He porowed than

Of a nother man / monaye and matchaundyse

Neuer payde hyt

Up he layde hyt / in lyke maner wyse

yet on the gete

That he wolde were / he rought not what he

So hyt were nyce (spente

As for the pryce / coude hym not myscontente

With lusty sporte

And with resorce / of ioly company

In myrthe and playe

Full many a daye / he lyued merely

And men had sworne

Some man is borne / to haue a goodly floure

And so was he

For suche degre / he gate and suche honoure

That with out doubte

Whan he went out / a sergaunt well and fayre

was redy strayte

On him to wayte / as sowne as on the mayre

But he doubtlesse

Of his mekenes / hated suche pompe & pryde

And wolde not go

Compnyed so / but drewe hym selfe a sydē

To saynt Katheryne

Streyght as a lyne / he gate hym at a tyde

For promocyon

Or promocyon / there wolde he nedes abyde

There spence he fast

Tyll all was past / and to hym rame there many

To aske theyr det

But non coude get / the valour of a peny

With vysage stoute

He bare hyt oute / vnto the harde hedge

A moneth or twayne

Tyll he was tayne to laye his gowne to pledge

Than was he there

In groter fere / then or that he came thyder

And wolde as fayne

De parte agayne / but that he wyst not whyther

Than after this

To a trende of his / he went and there abode

Where as he laye

So syke al waye / he myght not come abrode

Hyt happed than

A marchaunt man / that he ought monaye to

Of an offycere

Than gan enquyre / what hym was best to do

And he answerde

Be not a ferde / take an accyon therfore

I you beheste

I shall hym reste / and than care for no more

I fere quod he

Hyt wyll not be / for he wyll not com out

The sergeaunt sayd

Be not afrayde / hyt shall be brought aboute

In many a game

Lyke to the same haue I bene well in vre

And for your sake

Let me be bake / but yf I do this cure

Thus part they bothe

And to hym goth / a pace this offycere

And for a daye

All his araye / he chaunged with a frere

So was he vyght

That no man myght / hym for a frere deny

He dopped and doked

He spake and loked / so rely gyously

Yet in a glasse

Or he wolde passe / he to ted and he peted

His herte for pryde

Lepte in his syde / to se how well he frered

Than forth a pace

Unto the place / he goeth in goddes name

To do this dede

But nowe take hede / for here begȳneth ye game

He drewe hy nye

And softly / at the dore he knocked

A damoysell

That herde hym well / came & it vn locked

The frere sayd

God spede fayre mayde / here lodget such a mā

It is tolde me

Well syr quod she / and yf he do what than

Quod he maystresse

No harme doublesse / hyt longethe for our ordre

To hurte no man

But as we can / euery wyght to fordre

With hym truely

Fayne speke wolde I / syr quod she by my faye

He is so syke

ye be not lyke / to speke with hym to daye

Quod he fayre maye.

yet I you praye / this moche at my despre

vouche safe to do

As to go hym to / and saye an austen frere

molde with hym speke

And maters breke / for his auayle certyne

Quod he I wyll

Stōde ye here styll / tyll I come downe agayne

Up is she go

And tolde hym so / as she wis bode to saye

He mystrystynge

No maner thynge / sayd mayden go they waye

And fetche hym hyder

That we togyder / may talke adowne she goth

And vp she brought

No harme she thought / but it made some folke

But this offycere (wroth

This fayned frere / whan he was come alofte

He dopped than

And grete this man / relygyously and ofte

And he agayne

Ryght gladde & fayne / toke hȳ there by ye shoude

The frere than sayd

ye be dysmayde / hith trouble I vnderstonde

In dede quod he

Hyt hath with me ben better than hyt is

Syr quod the frere

Be of good chere / yet shall hyt after this

For crystes sake

Loke that you take / no thought in your brest

God may tourne all

And so he shall / I truste vnto the best

But I wolde now

Lomyn with you, in counsell yf you please

Or elles nat

Of maters that / shall set your herte at ease

Downe went the mayde

The marchaūt sayd / Now say on gentyll frere

Of all this tydynge

That ye me brynge / I longe full sore to here

Whan there was none

But they alone / the frete with euyll grace

Sayd I rest the

Come on with me / and out he toke his mace

Thou shalte obaye

Come on thy waye / I haue thē in my cloche

Thou goest not hense

For all the pense / the mayre hath in his pouche

This marchaunt there

For wrathe and fete / waxed welnyghe wode

Sayde horsone thefe

With a maschete / who hath caught the good

And with his fyste

Upon the lyste / he gaue hym suche a blowe

That bacwarde downe

Almoste in sowne / the frere is ouer throwe

yet was this man

Well ferder than / lest he the frere had slayne

Tyll with good rappes

And heuy clappes / he dawde hym vp agayne

The frere toke herte

And vp he stette / and well he layed aboute

And so there goth

Betwene them bothe / many aluity cloute

They rence and tere

Eche other here / and claue togyder fast

Tyll with luggynge

Halynge & iugynge / they fell doune both at last

That on the grounde

Togyder rounde / with many asdde stroke

The roll and rumble

They tourne & cumble / lyke pygges in a poke

So longe aboue

They heue and shoue / togyder that at the last

They mayde the wyfe

To breke the stryfe / hyed them vpwarde faste

And whan they se

They captayues lye / walrtynge on the place

T[…]p […]ode

They pulled a good: adoune about this face

whyle he was blynde

The wenche behynde / lent hym on the flore

Many a Jolle

Aboute the noise / with a grete batyll dore

The wyfe came yet

And with her fete / she holpe to kepe hym downe

And with her rocke

Many a knocke she gaue hym on the crowne

They layde his mace

Aboute his fuce / that he was wode for payne

The frere frappe

Gate many a swappe / tyll he was fall nyghe slayne

Up they hymlyfte

And with euyll thryfte / hedlynge all the stayre

Downe they hym threwe

And sayd a dewe / commaunde vs to the mayre

The frere arose

But I suppose / amased was his hede

He shoke his eres

And frome grete feres / he thought hym well a flede

Quod he now lost

Is all this cost / we be neuer the nere

yll morche the

That caused me / to make my selfe a frere

Now maysters all

And now I shall / ende there I began

In ony wyse

I wolde auyse / and counseyll euery man

His owne crafe vse

All newe refuse / and vtterly let them gone

Playe not the frere

Now make good there / and welcome euey chone

Enprynted at Loudō by me Julyan Notary dwellȳg in Powlys churche yarde at the wistedore at the sygne of saynt Macke