Behold my blody woundes depe and wide: 15021 Arife up erly in the morwe tide,

And at the weft gate of the toun (quod he)

A carte ful of donge ther shalt thou fee,
In which my body is hid prively;
Do thilke carte arresten boldely.

My gold caufed my mordre, foth to fain.

15025

And told him every point how he was flain
With a ful pitous face, pale of hewe;

And trufteth wel his dreme he found ful trewe;

For on the morwe as fone as it was day

15032

To his felawes inne he toke his way,

And whan that he came to this oxes ftalle

After his felaw he began to calle.

The hofteler antwered him anon,

15035

And faide, Sire, your felaw is agon;

As fone as day he went out of the toun.

This man gan fallen in fufpecioun,

Remembring on his dremes that he mette,

And forth he goth, no lenger wold he lette, 15040
Unto the weft gate of the toun, and fond

A dong carte as it went for to dong lond,
That was arraied in the fame wife
As ye han herde the dede man devife,
And with an harde herte he gan to crie
Vengeance and juftice of this felonie;
My felaw mordred is this fame night,
And in this carte he lith gaping upright.

15045

And happed fo they came into a toun
Wher ther was fwiche a congregatioun
Of peple, and eke so ftreit of herbergage,
That they ne founde as moche as a cotage
In which they bothe might ylogged be,
Wherfore they musten of neceffitee,
As for that night, departen compagnie,
And eche of hem goth to his hostelrie,
And toke his logging as it wolde falle.

That on of hem was logged in a stalle,

14995

15000

Fer in a yerd, with oxen of the plough,
That other man was logged wel ynough,
As was his aventure or his fortune,

15005

That us governeth all, as in commune.

And so befell that long or it were day

This man met in his bed ther as he lay
How that his felaw gan upon him calle,
And said, Alas! for in an oxes stalle
This night fhal I be mordred ther I lie;
Now help me, dere brother! or I dię :
In alle hafte come to me, he faide.

This man out of his flepe for fere abraide;
But whan that he was waked of his slepe
He turned him, and toke of this no kepe;
Him thought his dreme was but a vanitee.
Thus twies in his fleping dremed he.

15010

15015

And at the thridde time yet his felaw
Came, as him thought, and said, I now am flaw;

Behold my blody woundes depe and wide:

15021

Arife up erly in the morwe tide,

And at the weft gate of the toun (quod he)

A carte ful of donge ther shalt thou see,

In which my body is hid prively;

35025

Do thilke carte arresten boldely.

My gold caufed my mordre, foth to fain.

And told him every point how he was flain
With a ful pitous face, pale of hewe;

And trufteth wel his dreme he found ful trewe;

For on the morwe as fone as it was day

To his felawes inne he toke his way,

And whan that he came to this oxes ftalle

After his felaw he began to calle.

The hofteler antwered him anon,

And faide, Sire, your felaw is agon;

45032

15035

As fone as day he went out of the toun.
This man gan fallen in fufpecioun,

Remembring on his dremes that he mette,

And forth he goth, no lenger wold he lette, 15040
Unto the weft gate of the toun, and fond

A dong carte as it went for to dong lond,
That was arraied in the fame wife
As ye han herde the dede man devise,
And with an harde herte he gan to crie
Vengeance and juftice of this felonie;
My felaw mordred is this fame night,
And in this carte he lith gaping upright.

15045

3

Icrie out on the miniftres, quod he,
That fhulden kepe and reulen this citee:
Harow! alas! here lith my felaw slain.

What fhuld I more unto this tale fain?
The peple out ftert and caft the cart to ground,
And in the middel of the dong they found
The dede man that mordred was all newe.

O blisful God! that art so good and trewe,
Lo, how that thou bewreyest mordre alway!
Mordre wol out, that fee we day by day :
Mordre is fo wlatfom and abhominable
To God, that is so just and resonable,
That he ne wol not fuffre it hylled be:
Though it abide a yere, or two or three,
Mordre wol out; this is my conclufioun.

15050

33955

15060

And right anon the ministres of the toun Han hent the carter, and fo fore him pined, 15065 And eke the hofteler fo fore engined,

That they beknew hir wickedneffe anon,

And were anhanged by the necke bon.

Here moun ye fee that dremes ben to drede.

And certes in the fame book I rede,

Right in the nexte chapitre after this,

(I gabbe not, so have I joye and blis)
Two men that wold han paffed over the fee,
For certain caufe, in to a fer contree,
If that the wind ne hadde ben contrarie,
That made hem in a citee for to tarie

15070

15975

That flood ful mery upon an haven fide:

But on a day, agein the even tide,

The wind gan change, and blew right as hem left:
Jolif and glad they wenten to hir rest,

And caften hem ful erly for to faile;
But to that o man fel a gret mervaile.
That on of hem in fleping as he lay

He mette a wonder dreme again the day:

15080

Him thought a man stood by his beddes fide, 15085
And him commanded that he fhuld abide,
And faid him thus; If thou to-morwe wende
Thou shalt be dreint; my tale is at an ende.
He woke, and told his felaw what he met,

And praied him his viage for to let;
As for that day he prayd him for to abide.
His felaw, that lay by his beddes fide,
Gan for to laugh, and fcorned him ful fafle:
No dreme, quod he, may fo my herte agafte
That I wol leten for to do my thinges:
I fette not a straw by thy dreminges,
For fwevens ben but vanitees and japes:
Men dreme al day of oules and of apes,
And eke of many a mafe therwithal;

15090

15095

Men dreme of thing that never was ne fhal. 15ICO But fith I fee that thou wolt here abide,

And thus forflouthen wilfully thy tide,

God wot it reweth me; and have good day:

And thus he took his leve, and went his way.