And have the hakeneymannes hod and hold hym yserved;

And who repentyde rathest shold aryse after,

And grete syre Gloton with a galon of ale.

Ther was lauhyng and lakeryng and 'let go the coppe !'

Bargeynes and bevereges by-gunne to aryse,

And setyn so til evesong rang and songe umbwhyle, Til Gloton hadde yglobbed a galon and a gylle.

With al the wo of the worlde hus wif and hus wenche Bere hym to hus bedde and brouhte hym ther-ynne; And after al this excesse he hadde an accidie,

He slep Saterday and Sonday tyl sonne yede to

reste.

Thenne awakyde he wel wan and wolde have ydronke ;

The ferst word that he spak was 'ho halt the bolle?'

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hood. The first to repent of the bargain was to arise and pledge Sir Glutton with a gallon of ale. There was laughing and chiding, and cries of Let go the cup!' Bargains and drinking began to arise, and they sat so till evensong and sang occasionally till Glutton had swallowed a gallon and a gill. ... With all the sorrow in the world his wife and his daughter carried him to his bed and put him therein. And after all this excess he had a fit of sloth. He slept Saturday and Sunday, till sundown. Then he awoke very pale, and wanted to drink. The first word that he spoke was, "Who detains the bowl?"

SLOTH.

THO cam Sleuthe al by-slobered with two slymed

eyen.

'Ich most sitte to be shryven,' quath he, 'or elles shal ich nappe.

Ich may nouht stonde ne stoupe ne with-oute stoule knele.

Benedicite' he by-gan with a bolke and hus brest knokede,

Rascled and remed and routte at the laste.

'What a-wake, renk,' quath Repentaunce, 'rape the to shryfte!'

'Sholde ich deye,' quath he, 'by this daye ich drede

me sore,

Ich can nouht parfytliche my pater-noster as the prest Lit seggeth.

Ich can rymes of Robin Hode and of Randolf, erl of Chestre,

Ac of oure lord ne of oure lady the lest that evere was

maked.

Ich have a-vowed vowes fourty and for-got hem a

morwe;

Ich parfourned nevere penaunce that the preest me

hihte,

Ne right sory for my synnes ich sey nevere the tyme.

Then came Sloth all slobbered over, with two dirty eyes. 'I must sit to be shrived,' quoth he,‘or else I shall sleep. I may not stand or stoop, or kneel without a stool. Benedicite,' he began, with a belch, and beat his breast, stretched and groaned, and snored at last. 'What! awake, man!' quoth Repentance; 'haste thee to shrift.' 'If I die to-day,' quoth he, 'I fear I know not perfectly my Pater-noster as the priest says it. I know ballads of Robin Hood and of Randolph, Earl of Chester, but of our Lord and of our Lady not the least rime ever made. I have vowed forty vows, and forgot them on the morrow. I never did penance ordered me by the priest, nor was I ever right sorry for my sins. If I say

And ich bidde eny bedis bote hit be in wratthe, That ich telle with my tunge ys ten myle fro my herte.

Ich am ocupied eche day, haly day and other,

With ydel tales atte nale and other-whyle in churches;

Godes pyne and hus passion is pure selde in my thouhte.

Ich visited nevere feble man ne feterid man in prisone;

Ich hadde levere huyre of harlotrye other of a lesyng to lauhen of,

Other lacke men, and lykne hem in unlykynge manere,

Than al that evere Marc made Matheu, Iohan, other Lucas.

Vigilies and fastyngdayes ich can for-gete hem alle. Ich ligge a bedde in Lente my lemman in myn

armes,

Tyl matyns and messe be don then have ich a memorie atte freres.

Ich am nought shryven som tyme bote syknesse hit make,

Nouht twyes in ten yer yut tel ich nauht the halvendele.

Ich have be prest and person passyng therty wintere,

any prayers, unless it be in anger, what I say with my tongue is ten miles from my heart. I am occupied every day with idle tales at the alehouse; and at other times in church; God's suffering and His passion are very seldom in my thoughts. I never visited the feeble, nor the fettered man in prison. I had rather hear a scurrilous tale or a lying story to laugh at, or blame men, and liken them in a scandalous manner, than all that ever Mark wrote, Matthew, John, or Luke. Vigils or fastingdays I can forget them all. I lie abed in Lent till matins and mass are done, and then I am mentioned at the convent. not shriven for a long time, unless sickness frightens me to it, not twice in ten years, yet I tell not the half of my sins. I have been

I am

Yut can ich nother solfye ne synge ne a seyntes lyf

rede.

Ac ich can fynde in a felde and in a forlang an hare, And holden a knyghtes court and a-counte with the

reyve ;

Ac ich can nouht constrye Catoun ne clergialliche reden.

Yf ich bygge and borwe ouht bote hit be y-tayled, Ich forgete hit as gerne and yf eny man hit asketh,

Sixe sithe other sevene ich for-sake hit with othes; Thus have ich tened trewe men ten hondred tymes. And som tyme my servauns here salarye is byhynde;

Reuthe ys to huyre the rekenyng whenne we shulleth rede acountes,

That with so wicked wil my werkmen ich paye.

If eny man doth me a byn-fet other helpeth me at nede,

Ich am unkynde ageyns courtesye ich can nat understonde hit.

For ich have and have had somdel haukes maneres, Ich am nat lured with love bote ouht lygge under thombe.

priest and parson passing thirty years, yet I can neither sing my notes nor read the life of a saint. But I can find a hare in a field and in a furrow, and hold a knight's court and go through accounts with the steward; but I cannot construe Cato or read like a scholar. If I buy and give a pledge for anything, unless it be scored on a tally I forget it as soon, and if any man asks for it, six or seven times I deny it with oaths. Thus have I vexed true men a thousand times. And sometimes my servant's wages are behindhand. 'Tis pity to hear the reckoning when we must make up accounts, with so bad a will do I pay my workmen. If any man does me a kindness or helps me at need, I am unkind towards his courtesy, I cannot understand it, for I have and have had in some measure the manners of a hawk; I am not lured with love unless something lie beneath the thumb. The

The kyndenesse that myn emcristene kydde me fern yere,

Syxty sithe ich sleuthe have for-gute hit sitthe.

In speche and in sparyng of speche yspilt many tymes

Both fleshe and eke fish and vitaile ich kepte so longe,

Til eche lyf hit lothede to lokye ther-on, other smylle hit;

Bothe bred and ale, botere, melke, and chese

For-sleuthed in my service and sette hous a fuyre, And gede a-bowte in my youthe and gaf me to no thedom,

And sitthe a beggere have y-be for my foule sleuthe; Heu michi, quod sterilem duxi uitam iuuenilem !

kindness that my fellow-Christians showed me long ago, sixty times I, Sloth, have forgotten it since. By speech and by sparing speech I have wasted many a time both flesh and fish. And victuals I kept till every one loathed to look on it or smell it; both bread and ale, butter, milk, and cheese I wasted by idle carelessness in my service, and I set the house on fire, and I went about in my youth and devoted myself to no thrifty pursuit, and have been a beggar since through my foul sloth. Alas that I have passed my youth unprofitably !

From Richard the Redeless.'

THE PARLIAMENT.

AND whanne it drowe to the day of the dede-doynge, That sovereynes were semblid and the schireknyghtis,

Than, as her fforme is, ffrist they beginne to declare The cause of her comynge and than the kyngis will.

And when it came to the day of the deed, when lords and shire knights were assembled, then, as their custom is, they begin to declare the cause of their coming and then the King's will.